Chapter 107: Ascending the Sacred Mountain
The Nine Sacred Mountains stood towering and majestic, covered in ancient trees that scraped the sky, with strange rocks jutting out everywhere—truly a magnificent sight.
At the foot of the mountain, Ye Fan looked at Jiang Hanzhong and said, “I have only one condition: let all six of them go.” As he spoke, he pointed toward Liu Yiyi, Zhang Ziling, Lin Jia, and the others.
Liu Yiyi and Zhang Ziling showed anxious and worried expressions, signaling Ye Fan to flee immediately, but they could not speak their minds, as the area was surrounded by knights.
Zhou Yi, Lin Jia, and Wang Ziwen had not expected that Ye Fan, at such a critical moment, would first think of sending them away. Li Xiaoman was also startled, staring intently at Ye Fan not far away.
“They can’t help now anyway, and staying would be useless.” Ye Fan fixed his gaze on Jiang Hanzhong. “You only want to use them to test those white bone frames on the mountain. There’s no need to sacrifice innocent people.”
“You are indeed loyal and righteous, but unfortunately, you are in no position to negotiate terms with us.” Jiang Hanzhong glanced indifferently at the few people nearby, saying nothing more, clearly unwilling to let them go.
Not far away, Zhou Yi, Li Xiaoman, and the others all changed color. They could naturally discern the intentions of the Jiang Family elder—in the end, they would be silenced, never allowed to leave alive.
Ye Fan picked up a mountain stone weighing over a dozen jin from the ground, weighed it in his hand, then swung his arm and hurled it forcefully toward the mountain. It was hard to imagine how much strength he possessed; the stone traced a beautiful arc, shooting from the foot of the mountain straight to the summit, crashing heavily into a pile of white bones.
“What are you doing?!” The Ji Family elder, Ji Yunfeng, was furious, his killing intent unmistakable.
“Aren’t you trying to test those white bones on the Sacred Mountain? I’ll do it for you directly, no need to send living people up.”
The elder of the Yaoguang Holy Land, Xu Daoling, immediately darkened his expression. “Who told you to act recklessly?”
Jiang Hanzhong also revealed killing intent, holding the brocade box in his hand. A faint luster flickered—neither wood nor jade, not dazzling, but ancient and full of meaning. There was no terrifying energy fluctuation, yet it gave off an extremely dangerous feeling.
Ye Fan had an illusion: it seemed like a world unto itself, not a box, as if it could contain all things, encompassing mountains, rivers, and the earth.
“Boom!”
At that moment, a violent tremor came from the Sacred Mountain, as if some massive creature had been enraged. Countless rocks tumbled down, snapping many trees in their path.
“Those white bones are coming down the mountain!” Many knights cried out in alarm. They saw the mountain densely covered with countless white bones crawling downward, not very fast, but a vast, white expanse that made their scalps tingle.
“Look at what you’ve done!” Jiang Hanzhong was enraged, staring at Ye Fan with undisguised killing intent in his eyes.
“Sending people up would have yielded the same result!”
“We need to make a decision now—how to proceed, and whether to continue harvesting the divine medicine.” The Yaoguang Holy Land elder, Xu Daoling, had a very grim expression.
The Ji Family elder, Ji Yunfeng, spoke solemnly, “There’s no need to hold back now. Let’s each bring out our forbidden artifacts and forcefully open a path forward. We must ascend the Sacred Mountain and harvest the divine medicine.”
The Jiang Family elder’s face was ashen. He glared fiercely at Ye Fan, then held up the brocade box and said, “This forbidden artifact allows my divine power source to erupt nine times, instantly restoring my cultivation. I have nine chances to strike.”
Hearing this, Ye Fan was startled. He secretly breathed a sigh of relief—this old fellow could actually use his divine abilities. If he had truly fought for his life earlier, he would have died without a doubt.
The Jiang Family elder produced a fist-sized strange stone, pitch black all over, densely covered with countless engraved patterns, carrying a natural Dao resonance. “A forbidden artifact personally refined by a Supreme Elder of my Ji Family, imprinted with endless Dao patterns. It can briefly gather ‘heavenly momentum,’ giving me nine chances to strike.”
Ye Fan’s heart tightened. The foundations of these ancient aristocratic clans were too deep—they could produce such artifacts, allowing them to briefly restore divine power in the Ancient Forbidden Land.
The Yaoguang Holy Land elder held a palm-sized piece of emerald jade, shimmering with green light, also covered with profound and complex Dao patterns, flowing smoothly like naturally formed leaf veins. “To harvest divine medicine in the forbidden zone, a Supreme Elder of my Yaoguang Holy Land personally refined this artifact. It allows me three chances to strike.”
Jiang Hanzhong didn’t believe it at all. He sneered, “Impossible, isn’t it? The Yaoguang Holy Land is no weaker than our ancient aristocratic clans. How could you be so careless as to refine such a flawed forbidden artifact for entering a forbidden zone of life?” The Ji Family elder also spoke coldly, “Brother Xu, there’s no need to hide your strength now.”
“I only have three chances to strike, but this forbidden artifact seals the divine power of a Supreme Elder from my Yaoguang Holy Land, which I can use twice.” Upon hearing this, Jiang Hanzhong and Ji Yunfeng drew in sharp breaths. This emerald leaf was truly a heavy treasure.
The three elders gathered together and briefly discussed.
Ye Fan listened clearly from the side. So-called forbidden artifacts were heavy treasures specifically refined for entering the Ancient Forbidden Land. These holy lands and ancient aristocratic clans were immensely powerful, with deep foundations and heaven-reaching means. He couldn’t help but ask, “Why didn’t you prepare more forbidden artifacts?”
“What would a mortal like you understand!” Jiang Hanzhong’s expression was not pleasant. He now felt the urge to kill, because Ye Fan’s reckless action had caused the white bones on the Sacred Mountain to become densely packed, all crawling downward.
Xu Daoling glanced at him and said, “Refining such a forbidden artifact requires unimaginable materials—enough to forge a ‘great artifact’ of immense power.”
“There’s no time to waste. Advance now!” The Ji Family elder, Ji Yunfeng, urged.
Ye Fan was forced to walk at the very front, with the three elders close behind, followed by the many cultivators and Li Xiaoman and the others.
The Sacred Mountain was lush with vegetation and strange rocks, truly beautiful, but no one paid attention to that. At this life-or-death moment, everyone was sweating with tension.
Just as they climbed halfway up the mountain, nearing the summit, it was as if they were deities in the clouds—unfathomable, impossible to gauge.
Thus, Jiang Hanzhong, Ji Yunfeng, and Xu Daoling took turns striking, finally nearing the summit of the Sacred Mountain, less than two hundred meters from the top.
At that moment, screams came from behind. People kept falling. As they neared the summit, many knights’ life forces rapidly drained away, and many died of old age.
“No good—we can’t hold on either!” At this point, although Jiang Hanzhong, Ji Yunfeng, and Xu Daoling held forbidden artifacts, their appearances had aged greatly, their bodies somewhat stooped.
“If this continues, we’ll die for sure. We can’t get close to the summit.”
“Retreat—all of you retreat!” Xu Daoling shouted, ordering the knights to fall back. The original plan could not be executed; the people they brought were useless.
Jiang Hanzhong fixed his cold gaze on Ye Fan. He held the brocade box, his entire body blazing with divine light, and a surging power like an ocean burst forth, instantly sealing Ye Fan. Then, he took out a sealed jade bottle, broke the restriction on the spot, and a streak of black light shot into Ye Fan’s body.
“A puppet imprint?” Ji Yunfeng asked.
“Indeed. I can’t trust this kid. If he goes up and destroys the divine medicine, or recklessly consumes it himself, wouldn’t we be left with nothing?” Jiang Hanzhong patted Ye Fan and said, “Go up!”
Then, he turned to the other two and said, “Now, let’s fully cooperate to send him to the summit. We must harvest the divine medicine.”
“Good!” Xu Daoling nodded.
Ji Yunfeng said, “We can still strike nine times in total. If we risk the danger of being annihilated and advance another hundred meters, we should be able to clear all the bones and send him to the summit.”
The closer they got to the summit, the heavier the demonic aura became. Although the white bones had been cleared, the three elders were aging rapidly, and even Ye Fan could not resist, transforming from a youth into a young man.
At this moment, hundreds of ancient characters vibrated within Ye Fan’s heart, echoing like great bells and drums, shattering the black light that had rushed into his sea of consciousness, completely dispelling it. The puppet imprint had no effect on him.
Ye Fan broke out in a cold sweat. At the last critical moment, he had nearly been crippled. The Jiang Family elder was too insidious—without warning, he had no ability to resist. Now, he pretended to be controlled, obeying the three men’s words and striding toward the summit.
“Take this!” Xu Daoling tossed over a jade purification vase. “This vase can hold a great mountain, with its own internal space. After harvesting the sacred medicine, use it to collect the divine spring.”
Only a few dozen meters remained from the summit. The three elders had cleared all the bones and stopped there, not daring to take another step forward. At this point, they were in constant danger of being annihilated, already aged beyond recognition.
Ye Fan felt his life force draining away. By the time he reached the summit, his hair was as white as snow, and he was terribly aged.
“That is…” At that moment, his expression froze. On the Sacred Mountain, a peerlessly beautiful woman stood quietly. She suddenly turned and looked at him.
[After staying up late yesterday, I suffered from the aftereffects, resulting in the first chapter only being finished now. I will strive to write the second chapter. To be continued. If you want to know what happens next, please log in to read more chapters. Support the author, support legitimate reading!]