# Chapter 1181: Entering the Primordial
To be honest, Duan De's behavior left everyone baffled. They felt he was simply tired of living. Dare to enter the Primordial Ancient Mine? What kind of joke was that? Even the Battle Victory Buddha might fall if he went in!
He walked along singing, his expression calm, truly approaching the Forbidden Zone. It was clear this was no jest—he was about to enter.
"Duan De, are you tired of living?" Ye Fan asked sternly.
"Damned immoral Taoist, you're not serious, are you? You really want to go in?" Big Black Dog also stared with bell-like eyes and asked.
"Senior Uncle Duan, don't do it! Don't ever think of doing something foolish. If you die, I'll be very sad," Little Bald Head also shouted.
The Battle Victory Buddha stopped and looked at Duan De. His entire body shimmered with golden fur, his countenance solemn and dignified, a look of compassion on his face, not uttering a single word.
"Ancient Buddha, don't look at me like that. This poor Taoist and you are not of the same lineage. I have no connection with the people of Mount Sumeru, and I won't become a monk," Duan De said with a dry laugh.
The Battle Victory Buddha still didn't say a word. Instead, he walked around Duan De once, looked carefully again and again, lost in thought.
"This poor Taoist is just a commoner, with no great background," Duan De recited, "Boundless Heavenly Venerable."
The others found it strange and also fell silent, staring at him without blinking. Duan De's origins were mysterious; no one knew his master or lineage, and now he was becoming even more extraordinary.
However, no matter how they opened their heavenly eyes and carefully observed, they could not discern anything.
The Battle Victory Buddha said, "If you had spent a million years cultivating the Dao to become an immortal, why would you still recite 'Boundless Heavenly Venerable'? You could just honor yourself—you would likely be no less."
Duan De coughed dryly, looking depressed, and said, "If I were such an existence, why would I be so restrained? I could ascend to the sun and moon above, descend to the underworld below, roam freely through the nine heavens and ten earths. Even if there were deities in the Primordial Ancient Mine, they probably couldn't harm me."
Everyone thought about it—indeed, that was true. Although Duan De's origins were mysterious and his cultivation bizarre, he absolutely could not be a Supreme-level figure. Otherwise, why would he be in this situation?
"To be honest, coming here was absolutely necessary for me. Most likely, there's a ninety percent chance of death, just as you all said—it really does seem like I'm seeking death," Duan De sighed.
"If you truly want to enter, you must have an Ancient Emperor Token. Otherwise, you'll only die. Do you have such a thing?" Divine Silkworm Princess asked.
Earlier, they could still think he was joking, that he wasn't serious. But now he was so solemn, truly about to step in—he might fall into an abyss of eternal damnation. They had to warn him.
"I do have an ancient token," Duan De nodded, taking out a dilapidated, somewhat rusted bronze plaque—simple, ordinary, and unremarkable.
Duan De seemed to have quite a few ancient tokens. In the past, he had used one token to intimidate others, and now he had produced another—truly unfathomable.
"An Ancient Emperor Token is not just anything. How could you have dug one up?" Divine Silkworm Princess naturally didn't believe his bronze plaque would work.
"Rest assured, I don't want to die immediately. This should be authentic—I dug it out with my own hands."
Divine Silkworm Princess didn't believe him. "Nonsense. The ancient tokens of the Primordial Emperors are all in the hands of the various royal clans. They were never buried underground, nor were they ever lost. How could you have one?"
"This one of mine is genuine without a doubt. It can definitely get us in. It was personally forged by a Primordial Emperor, probably about a million years ago," Duan De said with certainty.
Since he said so, and he was such a slippery character, he certainly wouldn't be stupid enough to actually seek death. People naturally had nothing more to say and couldn't dissuade him.
"Brother Duan, since you're about to enter the Primordial Ancient Mine, don't you have anything to say? Won't you talk about your origins and past?" Ye Fan asked.
Having known each other for so many years, although this Taoist was unscrupulous, he had still helped out many times. Now that he was going to the Primordial Ancient Mine, where life and death were uncertain, Ye Fan wanted to ask.
"Regarding this poor Taoist, I am but one among the multitude of living beings, with nothing special. In truth, over these many years, as I walked among the ancient underground tombs, I have been seeking answers to three questions," Duan De said with a serious expression.
Everyone's expression tightened. They felt that his solemn demeanor was truly rare. What were these three questions? They all wanted to know and couldn't help but listen attentively.
"Who am I?"
"Where do I come from?"
"Where am I going?"
Duan De's face was full of gravity, without any hint of joking. Yet everyone still felt he was fooling them—clearly being evasive.
"Senior Uncle Duan is a philosopher," Little Bald Head blinked his big eyes and said.
Dragon Horse looked utterly disdainful. "Pah! I spit a mouthful of immortal qi. It's one thing for someone on the other shore of the starry sky to say such things, but you, spending your days stealing from graves and robbing tombs..."
"The field of inquiry I delve into—how could you possibly understand? This is great archaeology, studying the origins and trajectories of all living beings!" Duan De said shamelessly, reverting to his usual self.
A group of people showed contempt and said no more.
Ye Fan was startled, looking at his back, lost in thought, but still couldn't see through him.
The group arrived at the edge of the Primordial Forbidden Zone and dared not venture further.
The existences within the Primordial Ancient Mine, in this era when the Immortal Path was about to open, had awakened. During ordinary times, they slept, unwilling to expend even a trace of their "divine essence."
In the past, even stepping into the Forbidden Zone was nothing. But now it was completely different. Once one stepped inside, they would disturb the supreme existences deep within the Forbidden Zone. At that point, whether it would be fortune or disaster was hard to say.
In the end, Ye Fan and the others withdrew, traversed through the void, and entered the Divine Silkworm Ridge, where they waited for news.
The vast mountainous terrain seemed endless, covered with mulberry trees everywhere, crawling with all kinds of strange silkworms. But the descendants of the Ancient Emperor, the divine silkworms, were very few.
"These mulberry trees were born from Divine Source, not true vegetation!"
Ye Fan, Li Heishui, Yan Yixi, Dongfang Ye, and others were visiting an Ancient Imperial Clan territory for the first time, naturally very surprised. Everything they saw was novel.
Even the Holy Prince and Ji Zi, as children of the ancient Saint Emperor and Great Emperor, had never been to such a place. This was their first time setting foot on this sacred land.
As for Big Black Dog, he was a bit guilty at heart, looking left and right, very uncomfortable. There was no helping it—he had too many enemies and had even provoked members of the Divine Silkworm Clan.
In the deepest part, there were nine Divine Silkworm Ridges, towering and majestic, mysterious and unfathomable, shrouded in large swaths of mist—all immortal qi, bearing the aura left by the Primordial Emperor.
Ye Fan and the others were able to come here only because of the relationship between the Battle Victory Buddha and the Holy Prince. Naturally, they couldn't truly go to the central forbidden area.
However, they were fortunate enough to ascend the first Divine Silkworm Ridge, entering a place of imposing grandeur. Here, vegetation was lush, pools dotted the landscape, and it was very deep and serene.
At the foot of the mountain, on a green stone, a slovenly Taoist was sleeping soundly. Beside him was a row of wine jars. This was actually the clan's Ancient Imperial Prince, the Divine Silkworm Daoist.
His face was somewhat pale, with a depressed air between his brows. He was in a deep slumber, motionless.
The people of the Divine Silkworm Clan sighed and said nothing. This Ancient Imperial Prince was different from Huang Xudao, Huo Qizi, and the others. He lacked vitality and carried more of a decrepit air. He seemed out of place in this world, and had been so for many years—no one could change it.
Ye Fan and the others did not disturb him. They entered this mountain ridge, passed through the Divine Mulberry Forest, walked across the Source Mountain, and arrived beside a spring pool as green as jade.
This pool was no more than ten feet long, yet strands of immortal qi rose from it. Under the control of the Divine Silkworm Princess, it became emerald green and crystal clear, translucent and bright, transforming into a mirror.
"Swish!"
Green light flashed, and it illuminated the scene of the Primordial Forbidden Zone, reflecting the figures of the Battle Victory Buddha and Duan De, clear and visible.
This was a spiritual pool left by the Ancient Emperor of the Divine Silkworm Ridge. Every direct bloodline descendant could use it to temper their bodies. But it also had a miraculous effect—it could observe the three realms and six paths, similar to the Heavenly Penetrating Divine Eye of the Demon Emperor Hall.
Unfortunately, unless one was an Ancient Emperor, it was difficult to activate. Descendants could only infuse the aura of the people and scenes they wished to see into it to capture their trajectories.
Given the relationship between the Divine Silkworm Princess and the Battle Victory Buddha, she could naturally obtain a wisp of his condensed aura. Now, by the side of this spiritual pool, everything could be observed.
"They've gone in!" Ye Fan said.
The Battle Victory Buddha and Duan De, holding the Ancient Emperor Tokens, stepped into the Primordial Forbidden Zone, immediately making everyone nervous. They held their breath and watched.
"Damn it! How could I have forgotten the Devouring Demon Jar? This is something this Emperor has longed for my entire life. I should have snatched it away just now. Letting him take it in is like throwing meat-filled buns at a dog—gone forever!" Black Emperor regretted endlessly.
The Primordial Forbidden Zone was terrifyingly vast. Every step could bring deadly danger, because this place buried the great secrets of ten thousand ages. Even various Great Sages and Ancient Clan Giants dared not approach.
"Something's wrong! The Primordial Ancient Mine is stirring!" Ji Zi said in a deep voice.
In the emerald green spiritual pool, the Primordial Ancient Mine emitted a patch of immortal mist, rising gracefully, hazy and eerie. Even from such a distance, it made people tremble!
"What is Duan De saying? Why can't we hear the sound?" Everyone was anxious, staring at the spiritual pool.
At this moment, inside the Primordial Forbidden Zone, Duan De held the Ancient Emperor Token, his lips moving. No one knew what he was saying.
"Why is there an extra Ancient Emperor Token? I've never seen it before." An indifferent, emotionless voice seemed to come from the Chaotic Immortal Domain beyond the thirty-three heavens, shaking heaven and earth, rumbling and booming, making everyone by the spiritual pool turn pale.
Duan De said something else, and the Primordial Ancient Mine fell into silence. After a long time, the rusted, mottled bronze plaque in his hand flew into the Primordial Ancient Mine.
"It really is an Ancient Emperor Token!"
Finally, only this cold voice came from the ancient mine.
"Chi!"
From the ancient mine, three beams of light shot up one after another, dazzling and blinding—true immortal radiance. They arrived in an instant and struck Duan De's body.
"Pfft!"
His body exploded, shattered into pieces, blood mist dissipating, turning into wisps of qi that merged into heaven and earth, vanishing in an instant.
"What? Duan De is dead!"
"No, why would this happen?"
By the spiritual pool, a group of people cried out in shock, all their faces ashen. Duan De had died just like that—body and spirit annihilated, not even a trace of bone left!
No one could accept this fact. What kind of person was Duan De? Cunning and slippery—why would he choose such a path to death?!
"Senior Uncle Duan!" Little Bald Head Huahua wailed loudly.
"Master Duan!" Ye Tong also shouted. In years past, when Ye Fan traveled far away, for a long period, it was Big Black Dog, Duan De, and Li Tian who taught him. To him, they were half-teachers.
"How could this be?" Everyone shouted.
The Primordial Ancient Mine grew even more shrouded in mist, immortal qi rising. The merciless, indifferent voice sounded again: "It is the ancient... Tribulation-Transcending Heavenly Art!" (To be continued)