Chapter 105: Slapping the Face of a Divine Bridge Realm Cultivator
Over six thousand years ago, a certain immortal sect holy land, at the peak of its prosperity, mobilized all its strength. Gathering tens of thousands of powerful cultivators, they attacked, attempting to break into the Primordial Abyss. The result was near total annihilation, cementing this place’s unparalleled reputation for terror.
“Those skeletons have no life fluctuations, so why are they crawling up from the abyss?” Everyone felt a chill of terror while also being deeply puzzled.
The Nine Sacred Mountains stood tall, majestic and imposing. Countless skeletons struggled at the mouth of the abyss, with one area being the most densely packed—a full thousand skeletons piled up into a small mountain of bones.
A Giant Bronze Coffin!
Two dazzling beams of light shot from Ye Fan’s eyes. He saw a corner of the bronze coffin, not completely buried by the thousand skeletons. A surge of indescribable emotion welled up in his heart. Everything had started because of the Nine Dragons Coffin.
At that moment, Jiang Han Zhong, an elder of the Jiang Family, also spotted the ancient bronze coffin. His expression tightened. “The Ancient Forbidden Land has undergone an inexplicable change, with thousands of skeletons struggling to crawl out. Could it all be because of that bronze coffin? What is its origin, and why is it appearing there?”
The old knight of the Yi Holy Land also frowned, muttering to himself, “Legend says that a certain artifact is buried deep within the endless abyss. That immensely powerful immortal sect holy land attacked this place back then precisely because of that elusive object. Could it be this bronze coffin?”
“The Ancient Forbidden Land is one of the seven Forbidden Zones of Life in the Eastern Wasteland. Since ancient times, no one has been able to breach it. No cultivator has ever truly penetrated its depths. Whatever is buried in the abyss must have an extraordinary origin.” Ji Yun Feng, an elder of the Ji Family, squinted, continuously sizing up the giant bronze coffin.
Next, everyone had a headache. Not long ago, they had encountered a single skeleton that had caused over a dozen cultivators to vanish into thin air. Now, the Nine Sacred Mountains were densely packed with tens of thousands of skeletons. How were they supposed to pick the divine medicine?
“Which sacred mountain did you climb?” Jiang Han Zhong asked Zhou Yi, Lin Jia, and the others.
Zhou Yi, dressed in moon-white robes with black hair flowing over his shoulders, had a calm and refined demeanor. He answered composedly, “The peak where the ancient coffin lies horizontally.”
Jiang Han Zhong nodded and said to everyone, “That sacred mountain has the most skeletons, and the divine medicine has already been picked. Let’s avoid it and climb a different sacred mountain.”
Nearby, a knight sighed and whispered, “There are so many skeletons on the mountain. How can we go up? Going means certain death. There’s no chance at all. If we try to go up, we’ll die without a doubt.”
Xu Dao Ling, an elder of the Yi Holy Land, spoke up, “We can always think of a way. Let’s first go closer and take a look.”
Soon, everyone arrived at the foot of the Nine Sacred Mountains. Up close, the mountains were lush with vegetation and beautiful scenery. Combined with their grandeur and majesty, they could be called magnificent.
“Should our three families split up or join forces to climb one sacred mountain?” Ji Yun Feng, the Ji Family elder, asked with a half-smile.
Jiang Han Zhong stepped forward directly and said, “Brother Xu, don’t hold back. That young knight once consumed the divine medicine born here, so he should be able to resist the power of the curse. Let’s join forces and help him climb the sacred mountain to pick the divine medicine, meeting the needs of all three families.”
Xu Dao Ling, the old knight of the Yi Holy Land, saw that the matter was exposed and had no choice but to call Ye Fan over. When Ye Fan removed his helmet, revealing his handsome true face, Liu Yi Yi, Zhang Zi Ling, and Wang Zi Wen, who were not far away, all showed expressions of shock.
“Let’s think it over and see if there’s a feasible way to pick the divine medicine.” The few old men gathered the knights together and began discussing.
Ye Fan and the others were left aside, temporarily ignored.
“Ye Fan…” Liu Yi Yi was the first to run over. After three years without seeing him, she hadn’t changed much. She still seemed as delicate as before, her big eyes filled with extreme surprise. She whispered, “This place is very dangerous. Why did you come too?”
Zhang Zi Ling also rushed over quickly, grabbing Ye Fan’s shoulder and shaking him excitedly. “Where have you been these past two years? I once went to the Spirit Ruins Cave Heaven with senior sect members to visit you and Pang Bo, but we found out you both had disappeared.”
“It’s a long story…” Ye Fan had experienced many things but couldn’t speak of them, as it would definitely bring trouble to them.
Lin Jia was extremely beautiful, with naturally phoenix-shaped eyes. In this life-or-death situation, she found it hard to smile, yet she still appeared alluring, purely due to her innate temperament. She had met Ye Fan not long ago but hadn’t pointed it out. She stretched out her slender jade hand, touched Ye Fan’s head, and said, “You’ve finally grown taller.”
Wang Zi Wen also stepped forward quickly. “I never thought we’d meet again here. I really don’t know whether to celebrate or mourn.”
Zhou Yi frowned and muttered, “Today, we’re probably in grave danger. We need to find a way to save ourselves. These people definitely don’t care about our lives.”
Li Xiao Man, dressed in white, stood gracefully, her expression calm. She nodded at Ye Fan but said nothing.
Just then, the people ahead finished their discussion and looked over. Jiang Han Zhong directly pointed at Wang Zi Wen. “You, come here.”
“May I ask what the elder commands?” Wang Zi Wen, as always, looked refined and polite.
“You will go up the mountain immediately. Do your best to pick the sacred medicine. If you succeed, I will take you as my disciple and make you a formal disciple of the Primordial Aristocratic Clan.”
Hearing Jiang Han Zhong, the elder of the Jiang Family, say this, Wang Zi Wen’s face changed color. It was clearly using him as cannon fodder, sending him to test the waters and see the result.
“I… have low skills. I’m afraid I won’t even reach the mountain before I’m overwhelmed by those skeletons and turned to dust.” Wang Zi Wen seemed refined but was not a coward. His eyes were bright as he met the Jiang Family elder’s gaze. “Please, elder, show mercy.”
“If I tell you to go, you go! Why so much nonsense!” A nearby knight was dissatisfied and shouted loudly.
“Then just kill me now. Otherwise, I’d rather die than obey!” Wang Zi Wen said bluntly.
“Then I’ll kill you right now!” A knight drew a gleaming sharp sword.
Even if the source of divine power was dried up, a cultivator’s physique still far exceeded that of ordinary people. Wang Zi Wen suddenly leaped up, landed on his strange beast, pulled out a dagger, and stabbed it fiercely. The mount immediately reared and galloped away.
Almost at the same time, Zhou Yi, Li Xiao Man, and Lin Jia made the same move. They quickly leaped up, mounted their beasts, and slapped them hard, charging into the distance.
Nearby, Liu Yi Yi and Zhang Zi Ling simultaneously grabbed one of Ye Fan’s arms, trying to pull him away to escape, but it was too late. Several knights holding long spears blocked their path.
Liu Yi Yi and Zhang Zi Ling drew their swords and faced off against the knights. Even knowing the odds were slim, they didn’t want to wait for death.
“Did you really think you could escape? Clever as you are, you can’t escape my grasp.” Jiang Han Zhong ignored Ye Fan and the other two. He simply whistled, and the four savage beasts that had run into the distance immediately turned back.
Wang Zi Wen, Zhou Yi, Lin Jia, and Li Xiao Man were very decisive. They immediately jumped off their mounts and sprinted into the distance, but the four strange beasts pursued relentlessly, quickly cutting them off.
“These strange beasts have long been spiritually awakened. They were only lent to you temporarily. Did you really think you could control them?”
In the end, Zhou Yi, Li Xiao Man, Wang Zi Wen, and Lin Jia were all escorted back by several knights.
“You want me to go to my death to scout for you? Impossible! I’d rather die like this.” Wang Zi Wen did not beg for mercy.
Lin Jia also said coldly, “I know this is a world where the strong prey on the weak, but I never thought that you, who claim to be holy lands and transcendent ancient families, would be so despicable.”
Jiang Han Zhong shook his head. “There’s no true black or white in this world. As long as we are worthy of the vast majority of people, sacrificing a few irrelevant ones now and then is nothing.”
“Then go ahead and do it!”
A nearby knight shook his head, looked at Lin Jia and Li Xiao Man, and said, “You two are truly beauties of national allure. On an ordinary day, no one could bear to harm you. But if you don’t comply today, don’t blame us for being ruthless and destroying flowers.”
Ye Fan looked at Jiang Han Zhong. “What you’re doing is too cruel. You could use the savage beasts to test the way. Why send people to their deaths?”
Jiang Han Zhong’s expression was calm. He shook his head. “In this Forbidden Zone of Life, these strange beasts are very important to us. We can’t afford to lose them casually.”
“In your eyes, are we worth less than these mounts?” Ye Fan asked coldly.
Jiang Feng, the knight who had pursued Ye Fan two years ago, stepped forward with a mocking smile. “Do we need to spell things out?” He patted Ye Fan on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. You’ll definitely live longer than them. Most people will cooperate with you, helping you climb the sacred mountain to gather the divine medicine for us.”
Ye Fan looked at Xu Dao Ling, the old knight of the Yi Holy Land, and then at Ji Yun Feng, the Ji Family elder. “Do you both hold the same attitude?”
Neither side responded. Their expressions were indifferent, and they said nothing.
Jiang Feng laughed loudly, glanced contemptuously at Ye Fan, patted his shoulder, and taunted, “People should know their place. Who do you think you are to speak to us like this? Even if the sect masters of the six Yan factions came in person, they wouldn’t be worthy. The three elders won’t bother with you.”
“Aren’t you being a bit too arrogant and overbearing!” A cold light flashed in Ye Fan’s eyes. “You, who are so arrogant, what realm have you actually reached?”
“The Divine Bridge realm.” Jiang Feng looked down at him with a sneer of disdain. “Your level is too low. You’ll never understand. If I didn’t still need you, I would have already killed you for daring to speak to me like that.”
Ye Fan was indeed startled. He hadn’t expected Jiang Feng to have reached the Divine Bridge realm, a full major realm above him. If they met under normal circumstances, he would die without a doubt, no question about it.
Seeming to notice Ye Fan’s shock, Jiang Feng sneered, “A frog at the bottom of a well, how can it know the vastness of the world? You cultivators from the Yan region are limited to the Wheel Sea stage. You’re nothing but a mortal who doesn’t understand cultivation. I disdain to say more to you.”
Ye Fan turned to face Xu Dao Ling, Ji Yun Feng, and Jiang Han Zhong. “If you want me to help you pick the divine medicine, you need to make me feel good first.” Saying this, he pointed at Jiang Feng. “You must kill this man first!”
Jiang Han Zhong, the Jiang Family elder, shook his head. “You overestimate yourself. You’re just a mortal. You have no right to threaten us. There are many ways to make you comply.” With that, he pointed at Zhang Zi Ling and, in a cold voice, ordered a knight forward. “Kill him.”
This Jiang Family elder was very calm, as placid as an ancient well. Killing a person seemed to mean nothing to him. The knight drew his sword and prepared to step forward.
“If killing one isn’t enough, we can kill them one by one.” The Jiang Family elder’s voice was ice-cold.
“You would force me like this…” A cold light flashed in Ye Fan’s eyes.
At that moment, Jiang Feng stepped forward and glanced at him lightly. “People should know their place. A useless cripple who can’t cultivate wants to control us? You want to take my life? You don’t know when to die!”
“There are all kinds of ways to control you. At worst, we can directly dominate your mind!” Jiang Feng reached out, lightly slapping toward Ye Fan’s face in an extremely insulting manner, sneering, “To us, you’re only worth a little use. It’s already generous of us to leave you a whole corpse afterward.”
Ye Fan grabbed his hand, stopping it from falling. “From start to finish, you’ve been looking down on us with a strong sense of superiority. Is a cultivator at the Divine Bridge realm really that impressive?”
“Slap!”
Suddenly, Ye Fan swung his palm with force and slammed it heavily onto Jiang Feng’s face, sending him flying several meters away. He sneered, “As a mortal, slapping the face of a Divine Bridge realm cultivator really feels great!”
Li Xiao Man, Zhou Yi, and Lin Jia all showed expressions of shock. The surrounding knights were even more stunned.