Chapter 109: Sacred Medicine
In the deepest part of the Forbidden Zone of Life, nine Sacred Mountains were connected together, encircling a massive abyss, pitch black and impossible to see the end of.
At this moment, one of the majestic, towering Sacred Mountains was silent, lush with dense vegetation. In the flat central area of the mountaintop, there was a spring pool about two meters square, bubbling forth, overflowing with tiny points of crystalline radiance, as if formed from gathered divine liquid. Lying in this very small spring pool was a person, but he looked like a dried corpse—flesh withered, skin all over his body dull and lusterless, nearly cracked, tightly clinging to the bones. "I'm not dead..." Ye Fan regained consciousness the moment he fell into the spring pool. The spring water contained rich life essence, preventing his body from continuing to age.
His vitality was nearly exhausted, his internal organs had all shriveled, and his flesh seemed dried out for hundreds of years. Now, soaking in the spring pool, he began to rapidly absorb life essence, like a long-parched desert receiving a life-giving rain.
Ye Fan lay back in the two-meter-square spring pool, feeling his throat was cracked, his lips nothing but a layer of skin. He turned his head with difficulty, then opened his mouth to drink deeply.
The spring water was sweet, carrying bursts of fragrance, moistening Ye Fan's cracked lips and throat. Like nectar and jade liquid, it left an endless aftertaste, and gradually, a surge of strength grew within him.
Ye Fan gulped down the spring water, his withered vitality slowly rekindling a spark of life. His flesh gradually recovered its vitality, and his shriveled internal organs were gently nourished by the life essence.
He knew he had finally escaped danger and survived. In the divine spring, the evil power of the Ancient Forbidden Land could no longer age him further. A full half-hour passed, and he didn't know how much spring water he had drunk. His stomach was completely filled, and eventually, he could swallow no more.
Ye Fan lay back in the spring pool, unwilling to move again. Gazing at the clear, azure sky, he let out a long breath. Surviving the disaster, his vitality slowly recovering, he felt an immense relief.
He lay there for a full hour, feeling his inner vitality gradually strengthen, before finally moving his thin, weak arms. His withered flesh swelled slightly, life force continuously recovering, his heartbeat growing stronger.
Only then did his five senses slowly return. His body felt extremely comfortable, soaked in the spring water, a vast amount of life essence flowing through his pores into his limbs and bones. "It's good to be alive..." A satisfied expression appeared on Ye Fan's face. Not long ago, his life flame was about to extinguish, and he felt that simply surviving was the greatest gift from heaven.
"When people are at ease and successful, they are never satisfied. Only when they reach the end of their rope and experience endless despair do they understand that simply living plainly and peacefully is a kind of happiness." Ye Fan lay there, looking up at the sky, his face full of smiles, slowly recovering his vitality.
His flesh and organs were being nourished, his pulse grew stronger, his skin gradually relaxed and gained some luster. Ye Fan finally had strong power again, no longer exhausted. He slowly sat up. And at that moment, his five senses fully revived, and he immediately sensed a rich fragrance, a refreshing aroma rushing toward him.
Around the two-meter-square spring pool were eleven small trees, each half a meter tall, glowing green, as if carved from emerald, sparkling and verdant. They resembled pine trees, with clusters of needle-like leaves, like green jade divine marrow polished into shape, gleaming brightly.
Ye Fan was no longer an ordinary person. Having cultivated successfully, his spiritual perception was extremely sharp, and he naturally saw many things he couldn't perceive before.
Although the eleven small trees were very short, their branches were covered in old bark, vigorous and powerful, winding and stretching like coiled dragons. They seemed to have grown for hundreds of thousands of years, existing for endless ages, giving an extremely ancient and strange feeling—not like plants, but like living fossils.
At the top of each small tree hung a single, brilliantly shining golden fruit, about the size of a longan, crystal clear, as if cast from gold, quite extraordinary.
The emerald-like green tree bearing such golden fruits, the two complementing each other, looked very dazzling. The fragrance spread everywhere, making one unable to help but be intoxicated.
Having gone through countless hardships to enter the Ancient Forbidden Land for this sacred medicine, Ye Fan was now very excited. Looking at the eleven golden fruits on the eleven small trees, he felt everything was worth it.
The Holy Lands and Primordial Aristocratic Clans had planned for a long time, sending out strong individuals twice, expending endless effort, refining forbidden artifacts, even bringing in a replica of the Desolate Tower. But the result was total annihilation—all the super-strong individuals fell, and several transcendent major powers gained nothing. Yet now, Ye Fan sat in the divine spring, the sacred medicine within arm's reach, easily obtainable. How could he not be satisfied and excited?
"Splash, splash..."
Ye Fan waded through the spring pool, taking two steps to reach the shore. He immediately picked a golden fruit. The rich fruity fragrance penetrated his internal organs, instantly making him feel refreshed, as if his soul were about to float out of his body. "Truly a divine medicine. I wonder why it can only grow on this evil Ancient Abyss."
Ye Fan put the golden fruit into his mouth, gently chewing. The sweet taste and fragrant aroma turned into tangible essence, instantly causing all the pores on his body to relax. His whole body felt comfortable, as if bathed in a spring breeze.
The longan-sized golden fruit was less than a mouthful. When bitten, it turned into nectar and jade liquid, sliding down his throat. Ye Fan felt as if he were about to ascend to heaven in broad daylight, with a sensation of lifting off the ground, floating like an immortal. Now, he was already a cultivator, unable to treat it like ordinary fruit as before. He quickly sat down, leaning against the vigorous small tree, and began to circulate the mysterious method recorded in the *Dao Scripture*.
But he was too weak. His body was decrepit, nearly dying of old age. Although drinking the divine spring had restored some energy, he still had hair white as snow, wrinkles piled up, and withered flesh. The strange golden energy entered his body, not going to the Sea of Suffering or the Life Spring, but directly rushing to his limbs and bones, nourishing his aged body, gradually giving his flesh a crystalline luster.
When the mysterious method of the *Dao Scripture* began to circulate, it only served to accelerate the dissolution of the sacred medicine. After just half an hour, Ye Fan's flesh swelled up, no longer withered, and grew increasingly ruddy. His snow-white hair gradually turned black.
He reached out and picked the second golden sacred fruit, put it into his mouth, and gently chewed. The sweet fruit pulp turned into golden energy, quickly rushing to all parts of his body. His skin shimmered with golden light, and tiny points of divine radiance rippled out.
Half an hour later, Ye Fan felt full of spirit, his flesh full of power, rekindling vigorous vitality. His skin had elasticity. With two sacred fruits in his stomach, he had completely shed his aged appearance, becoming a middle-aged man of about thirty, his whole body surging with essence.
Ye Fan stood up, his every move full of vigor, no longer feeling decayed. He was rapidly regaining his youth. Just then, as if remembering something, his expression suddenly changed, and he rushed toward a nearby spot.
A hundred meters away, a golden book shone brightly, lying quietly in the grass. It had not been taken by the Holy Maiden of Tianshuang into the endless abyss. Ye Fan quickly picked it up and put it back into his Sea of Suffering. "What a relief!"
After retrieving the *Dao Scripture*, Ye Fan walked back, unavoidably looking around. The Sacred Mountain was silent, with no white skeletons appearing, very peaceful.
He looked into the distance and immediately felt his scalp tingle. The other Sacred Mountains were densely packed, with white skeletons continuously climbing up from the endless abyss. "Why is it like this? Only here is there nothing, completely silent." Ye Fan's mind raced, and he immediately thought of the Green Copper Block. "It sent the Holy Maiden of Tianshuang flying, and she hasn't appeared since. Could the Green Copper Block have a powerful deterrent effect?" He was uncertain, not knowing if this was the case. "The Desolate Tower can suppress immortals, and the Green Copper is also a supreme treasure. Perhaps it has such a deterrent effect." The Green Copper Block was silent, sinking in the spring eye beneath the Sea of Suffering, like a rock, firm and immovable. He simply couldn't control it, let alone use it against enemies.
Not long ago, it was the Holy Maiden of Tianshuang who had probed into his Sea of Suffering herself, touching the Green Copper Block, and suffered a severe blow. The mysterious Green Copper was inviolable and uncontrollable, truly leaving Ye Fan both hopeful and helpless. "That is..."
Ye Fan's expression stiffened. On a neighboring Sacred Mountain, he discovered a person with flesh and blood. Far away, not very clear, but he could confirm it was definitely not a skeleton.
On that peak, a giant iron sword over ten meters long was thrust straight into the mountain. A person stood quietly on the sword's hilt, a black cloak fluttering in the wind. "Desolate Slave!" Ye Fan immediately made this judgment. True flesh-and-blood bodies couldn't exist here for long; it must be an existence like the Holy Maiden of Tianshuang.
"And..." When Ye Fan looked carefully, he saw another silhouette on another Sacred Mountain, also flesh and blood, standing on the mountaintop. A silver bell as large as a house shone brilliantly, hanging quietly above its head.
Ye Fan's expression grew serious. He saw a third person, standing on a cliff of another Sacred Mountain. White skeletons climbed around him, and above his head hung an ancient tower, nine stories tall, over ten meters high, seeming capable of suppressing a world. "A fourth!" At this moment, he saw a fourth Desolate Slave. That person stood with hands behind their back, purple robes fluttering. Above their head was a square, four-sided great seal, ancient in meaning, grand and majestic. "What is going on?!" Ye Fan was shocked. Every Sacred Mountain he could see had a figure.
Artifacts like bells, towers, and seals were the hardest to refine. Those who used them as weapons were generally extraordinary figures, and those who truly cultivated them to success would surely achieve unimaginable accomplishments.
"Legend says that only peerless experts can become Desolate Slaves. Those who used bells, towers, seals, and such as weapons were mostly earth-shaking figures in the past. Perhaps records of them can be found in ancient history."
Ye Fan quickly walked back to the spring pool. Wanting to fully restore his vitality, he picked two more golden fruits. The golden energy flowed like a gentle stream into his flesh, organs, and bones.
His body burst forth with dazzling radiance. The golden energy overflowed from his body, making his form sparkle, as if carved from divine jade. Vigorous life essence spread out, his body fully recovered, shimmering with precious light. At this moment, Ye Fan had once again become a teenager of about ten.
He felt a powerful divine force. Life essence boiled, rolling like waves, surging mightily. His internal organs shone with divine splendor, flawless and pure. His bones gleamed brightly, condensed with divine brilliance. His skin flowed with light, dazzling beyond compare. He no longer seemed like a flesh-and-blood body, but rather a deity worshipped devoutly by the world.