Chapter 1288: The Land of Attaining the Dao
Ye Fan had not yet set foot on the road, but his name had already spread, causing a great upheaval ahead on the Stellar Ancient Path and drawing attention from all directions.
The Sacred Body of the Burial Emperor Star has arrived!
This was like a storm, sweeping across the path ahead, carrying a momentum that swallowed mountains and rivers, alarming the various opponents on the road ahead.
"I was negligent; I didn't know it was you who had arrived before. I think the entire ancient path won't be lonely anymore." At the moment of parting, the Guide Envoy of the Second Human City said this to Ye Fan, his words profound and meaningful.
Many trial-takers revealed strange expressions. For the Guide Envoy to say such a thing was naturally a form of praise, fully illustrating Ye Fan's potential.
"One hundred thousand years have passed. The Sacred Body lineage has been silent for so long. I think your enemies are also yearning for it. The battles to come will make people tremble. Some of us old fellows are looking forward to it."
The Guide Envoy's words stirred people's blood and made it boil.
According to legend, the Burial Emperor Star was an ancient land. Since ancient times, who knows how many powerful figures had emerged from it. Especially when the Sacred Body appeared, each time it would fight until the Stellar Ancient Path shattered!
The trial of the Second Human City came to an end. A group of people ascended the heavenly path and departed for the next training ground, leaving behind a legend here.
This storm was enormous, and it was unknown how long it would take to calm down.
Everyone had left. The Second Holy City became desolate. A person sat alone under the city gate, not taking the road, stopping here.
He was a failure. No one cared, no one paid attention. Everyone's gaze was focused on the path ahead, watching those who had hope of Attaining the Dao.
From then on, there was an old soldier in the city. Until he grew old, he never fought anyone again. Several thousand years later, his eyes were dim, his body hunched. Occasionally, he would tell people about the desolation on the path to becoming an emperor.
Sometimes, when he got drunk, he would sigh in the autumn wind, his body trembling, his dim old eyes gazing into the distance at the emperor's path. Then he would turn around, leaving people with a desolate back.
He once had a name: Guan Cheng. Twice, he was pinned to the ground by spears, blood flowing, and twice he barely survived.
In fact, from then on, he had no name. He was just a failure on the emperor's path, a microcosm, representing many people.
Being able to survive was already a miracle for him. As the years passed, most of those who walked the emperor's path died, their blood staining the starry sky, their bones forming mountains, casting the glory of the one at the end of this path.
When the autumn wind swept through, countless leaves withered and fell, the ground covered with broken branches, a season of desolation.
The emperor's path was a struggle for supremacy; the strong were on the road!
Ye Fan marched on, continuing to advance. Accompanied by the baptism of life-and-death trials, they passed through nine consecutive checkpoints, and more than a year had passed.
Treading across rivers of stars, breaking through large Forbidden Zones of Life, Ye Fan consolidated his realm, thoroughly solidifying the foundation of the Dao after becoming a Sage.
The tenth checkpoint was a special place. He had heard many people talk about it over the past year, but actually arriving gave him a different feeling.
In the dark universe, a Holy City hung in space, emitting a sacred radiance, orbiting an ancient star like a satellite.
Standing on this city and looking down, one could see blurry mountains and rivers on the life star below. There were even terrifying creatures flying into the sky, letting out dreadful howls that shook the vast universe.
This was the tenth checkpoint, located above a life-bearing ancient star. It was unique—a vibrant ancient land.
This was the first time Ye Fan had seen a life-bearing ancient star since stepping onto the Stellar Ancient Path. It was not small, though far from comparable to the Big Dipper, it could still be considered magnificent.
This was a dangerous star, filled with powerful creatures. Naturally, Ye Fan and his group could not land on it; they were teleported to the Holy City by the Five-Colored Altar.
"That's right, you have arrived at the tenth checkpoint of the Stellar Ancient Path, the first life-bearing ancient star on this road. It is full of danger but also contains infinite opportunities."
As soon as they entered the city, someone explained to them.
According to him, nine was a special number, representing the extreme and transformation. Passing the ninth checkpoint naturally meant entering a special place.
Not to mention anything else, the mere fact that the tenth checkpoint was a life-bearing ancient star was enough to make it stand out.
"This place is like a dam, holding back a great deal of water. In fact, it's the trial-takers. Over the decades, who knows how many outstanding talents have stopped here, lingering and never taking the road."
The people in the city revealed a startling fact. This was a primordial ancient star. Cultivating here could lead to rapid progress; it was no myth.
Moreover, this star was called the Land of Attaining the Dao, also known as the Sage Star. The reason was simple: many people chose to become Sages here, accumulating strength.
"This place has the most primitive and powerful laws. Choosing to become a Sage here, once you break through, you will seize fortune and creation. The Dao foundation you build will be extremely solid, laying the most stable foundation for future attainment of the Dao."
The reason was simple. Throughout the ages, who knows how many outstanding talents had come here, not to mention ancient Great Emperors. They had passed through this first life-bearing ancient star on the Stellar Ancient Path, and the heavens had imprinted their Dao and some of their trajectories.
It was not about attaining the Dao and becoming an emperor here. These laws were highly beneficial for those becoming Sages, with no negative effects.
Entering the Holy City, they clearly felt it was larger than the previous nine cities, and there were more people. This city hung in space, orbiting the life-bearing ancient star below. Over the decades, who knows how many trial-takers had lingered here.
Many people, for various reasons, had stopped here and not taken the road. It wasn't that they weren't strong, but that they had their own purposes.
According to legend, there might be people as strong as the Great Demon God here, waiting for a secret stele to emerge. Some were searching for the remaining writings of ancient Great Emperors, and others were digging for heavenly materials and earthly treasures.
There were also people searching for divine beasts. This place held great secrets, terrifying and full of danger, but it also contained many things that could move cultivators.
"This group has finally arrived. Which one is the Sacred Body of the Burial Emperor Star?" There were many people on the street, all looking at the cultivators entering the city.
Although more than a year had passed, the storm was no longer so intense and had gradually calmed down, the arrival of Ye Fan and his group still caused a stir.
"What a fierce man. He even killed the Great Commander guarding the city and trampled the nephew of the enforcer Liu Fengdu into a pulp. I really want to see what he looks like."
"One hundred thousand years. The Burial Emperor Star has produced another Sacred Body. Many people on this road are looking forward to it. Most of them can't sit still anymore. There will definitely be an earth-shattering battle!"
Some people were discussing. A large number of cultivators had stalled in the city.
On both sides of the street were medicine shops, weapon pavilions, scripture buildings, as well as various taverns and tea houses. People came and went, extremely bustling and lively.
The Great Commander of the Tenth Human Holy City and some soldiers had dark faces, involuntarily glancing at Ye Fan. They had no good feelings for this lawless visitor from the Burial Emperor Star.
No matter how great the mistakes of Yu Han and Yan Yu were, they should not have been killed by Ye Fan. It should have been reported to the Stellar Ancient Path, and the enforcers should have dealt with them.
Now, cultivators on the ancient path were all spreading the news that Ye Fan had killed the city-guarding commander. This had caused commanders everywhere to lose face, which was truly not a glorious matter.
"Roar..."
Suddenly, a huge beast's roar came, shaking the entire ancient city. The city walls rumbled as if they were about to collapse.
The city body emitted rays of light, propping up a brilliant light curtain that covered the entire ancient city, protecting it from decay.
Ye Fan and the others were shocked. They found a huge ancient beast attacking. It looked like a tyrannosaurus, taller than the entire city, and had flown up from the ancient star below.
At this moment, it opened its mouth and roared. The heavens shook, the void of the universe split open, and huge cracks spread everywhere. It was like a world-destroying divine beast.
"What... is happening?" Rui Wei was shocked. Over the past year, he had made it to this checkpoint with no danger.
The people in the city were relatively calm, clearly not encountering this for the first time. Some were complaining and cursing incessantly.
"Who did this? Going to provoke an ancient beast at the peak of the Saint King realm? Don't they want to live?"
"I heard a few days ago that a tyrannosaurus was about to lay eggs. Could it be that someone stole that divine egg?"
Many people cursed, and some were very envious. Many people had stopped here just to find a mount. The offspring of a high-level Saint Beast was naturally the most ideal.
Through the discussions on the street, Ye Fan and the others learned that the ancient star below was far more dangerous than they had imagined.
This attacking tyrannosaurus stirred up trouble for a full half hour before reluctantly retreating. It let out a furious roar that split the sky, but instead of returning to the ancient star, it went deep into the universe.
"You see, this place is very dangerous. There are extremely powerful creatures on the ancient star below, often attacking this Holy City. If you want to accelerate your cultivation there, you will be risking your life," the Great Commander said.
The life-bearing ancient star below had the most powerful Saint Beasts, whose strength was unknown. It was full of danger, but for some cultivators, it also held unimaginable opportunities.
"The universe is vast. The conditions on life-bearing ancient stars vary. Some places are paradises for cultivation, while others are no longer suitable for cultivation."
The Great Commander of the Tenth City explained some things, very responsibly and earnestly informing them so they could arrange their time more reasonably here.
This ancient star was very special. It had never changed since ancient times. It was a sacred land for cultivation, where all kinds of Dao roared, making it easy for others to fall into a state of enlightenment.
The cultivators who had stepped onto the Stellar Ancient Path this time had uneven cultivation levels. Some had already become Sages many years ago, while others barely became Great Powers, at the second level of the Immortal Platform.
In recent years, some Guide Envoys had directly sent some Great Powers at the second level of the Immortal Platform here. It wasn't cheating, but pitying their unparalleled talent. The ancient stars they came from had suppressed their Dao too much, making it difficult for them to break through.
"In some ancient lands, the most brilliant and talented people, considered the top talents of their ancient stars, only reached the second level of the Immortal Platform after hundreds of years of cultivation."
"On other ancient stars, when they reached over two hundred years old, some talents had already become Sages, which is lamentable."
The Great Commander introduced some startling facts. Some seemingly weak people, who had barely reached the Great Power realm after hundreds of years of cultivation, were almost constantly breaking through after arriving here, their strength growing at a terrifying rate.
"There are heaven-defying talents who, after arriving here, broke through from the second level of the Immortal Platform all the way to becoming Sages in the shortest time. After accumulating and exploding, the most ruthless suppression was followed by the most unrestrained release."
"Roar..."
Suddenly, a roar that made one's hair stand on end interrupted the Great Commander's introduction. A Stone Man was actually emitting a sea of blood energy, roaring and violently shaking the ancient city.
The terrifying pressure made the entire ancient city tremble, as if it would shatter at any moment!
"Sacred Spirit!" Ye Fan was greatly shocked.
The tyrannosaurus that had left earlier flew back from the depths of the universe, having somehow invited such a Stone Man with surging blood energy.
This was truly a special ancient land. As soon as Ye Fan and the others arrived, they encountered such a great calamity. A Stone Man Sacred Spirit had emerged, attacking the Tenth Human Holy City!