Chapter 1322: One Hundred Thousand Heavenly Soldiers
The broken bronze cauldron within Ye Fan's body was glowing, its green radiance making his body appear crystal clear and translucent—a rare sight, as the ancient cauldron had autonomously revived on its own.
"Seize that stele!" His heart shook violently, knowing it must be connected to the giant stele engraved with the words "Heavenly Soldier." He was certain it was an ancient artifact left behind by the Heavenly Court.
"Kill ah..." The battle cries shook the heavens. The twelve saints swept forward like a steel flood, slaughtering in all directions. They were a group of "demons," crushing everything in their path.
"Enemy attack! Stop them!" At the mountain gate of the Gu Family, figures rose one after another to block these invaders. All kinds of magical artifacts flew through the air.
This was a powerful clan, possessing extremely deep and terrifying foundations—a giant clan that had withstood the test of time and passed down through the ages.
However, those at the mountain gate were utterly inadequate. As figures soared into the air, they fell like harvested crops, blood mist spreading, the stench of gore filling the air.
In almost an instant, they collapsed. The Golden Lion charged through, opened its mouth and inhaled, swallowing heaven and earth, drawing dozens or hundreds of people into its maw, turning them into its blood meal amid golden light.
"Who dares trespass on the Gu Family's sacred grounds?" With a great shout, a sage was roused and activated the defensive grand formation. Patterns and lines emerged across the entire mountain region, light soaring into the sky, temporarily halting the advance of the twelve saints.
This clan had a glorious past, once overlooking the entire ancient star and ruling over infinite territories. Now, it showed slight decline, having not produced a Great Sage for over a dozen generations.
However, the formations laid down by their predecessors could not be underestimated. Even at the mountain gate alone, there was a Saint King formation, with chaotic energy swirling and tens of thousands of sword beams sealing the path ahead.
Ye Fan and the others halted, not launching a full assault, because their main target was the stele, not to truly fight their way in.
One elegant peak after another stood tall, white mist flowing, making the area ahead look like an immortal's cave dwelling. Waterfalls cascaded down like white silk, magnificent and transcendent.
The beautiful mountains rose together, spiritual energy dense, the fragrance of medicine filling the air. Each peak had some ancient buildings. And at the deepest part of the Gu Family, there was even a floating city, majestic and towering, wrapped in banded clouds.
The Gu Family occupied an extremely vast area, with exotic flowers in full bloom, immortal grasses covering the ground, and all kinds of rare and strange beasts appearing—a truly exceptional and rare Daoist land.
Large swaths of array patterns emerged, interweaving into laws, guarding the beautiful mountains and ancient building complexes, making it impossible for anyone to cross even half a step.
At the mountain gate stood a massive divine stele, mottled with age, bearing the marks of time. It was a very special ancient artifact.
In the past, many great powers had fought over it, but time had worn away people's expectations. No one could gain anything from it, and now it could only be considered an antique.
The ancient stele was a hundred zhang tall, extremely heavy and imposing. Unfortunately, it could only be used to decorate the gate, with no other use.
Ye Fan had come for it. He acted personally, his saintly might rolling forth like a torrent, charging straight toward the ancient stele. He entered the Saint King formation, reached out a massive hand, and directly pulled the stele out.
"How dare you!"
Many people inside the mountain gate shouted. Although this stele had no great use, it concerned the Gu Family's face. If someone pulled it out, wouldn't that mean they were incompetent?
An ancient sage made his move, personally attacking!
Dozens or hundreds of flying swords shot out simultaneously, each like a meteor, dazzling and brilliant. Tens of thousands of sword beams crisscrossed and slashed wildly. Combined with the various attacks within the formation, the place became a riot of color, as if the stars of heaven and earth had been shaken down.
Ye Fan let out a great roar, holding nothing back. The dark blood divine ring behind him merged with the golden curse, transforming into a halo that bloomed. He was like an Immortal King stepping out of a divine gate, dominating the world and looking down on his era.
This single roar directly shattered the Gu Family's mountain gate, causing even the surrounding formations to dim, crackling as they were continuously worn away.
The hundreds of flying swords in front were blocked by the divine light radiating from Ye Fan, as if stuck in a quagmire, all frozen in place. And in the next instant, they shattered inch by inch, exploding with a boom, turning into a cloud of dust. Metal shavings fell to the ground, and the sacred artifacts turned to ashes.
Such was Ye Fan's might. This ancient sage was greatly alarmed—what kind of battle power was this? He was shaken until his blood and qi surged, blood flowed from his seven orifices, and his body shook violently.
"Retreat!" That was his only thought now. He hadn't even charged out in the first place, only attacking from a distance, and now he fled even faster.
Ye Fan's attack power was too strong. He activated the supreme secret technique of Buddhism, vibrating the Om Heavenly Sound. A ripple surged from his mouth, transforming into an indestructible Dao wave.
Puff!
Blood light flashed. This powerful ancient sage's physical body shattered. Even from such a distance, he could not escape this calamity. Only a dim primordial spirit remained, shrieking as it fled.
Inside the mountain gate, many disciples' faces turned pale. This was a sage ancestor, and he had almost been roared to death. What kind of concept was that? A fantasy, like a myth!
Behind, the Golden Lion, the Black Bear Sage, the Scorpion, and the others found their mouths dry. A chill rose up their spines. They felt there was a gap between them and Ye Fan that could not be crossed!
Ye Fan did not pursue. He raised his hand and pulled with force. The stele rumbled, many beautiful peaks shook, and the hundred-zhang-tall giant stele was pulled from the ground.
The Gu Family's alarm bells rang loudly. All kinds of magical artifacts flew out, attacking outward. There were even sacred artifacts, and even a Great Sage-level formation activated, sweeping divine light outward.
Ye Fan, unhurried, carried the giant stele, walked out of the mountain gate, glanced back, and then departed.
"Let's just conquer the Gu Family, kill them all clean. This shady family has not a single good thing in it." A group of fierce beasts howled loudly, wanting to plunder this giant clan.
"Forget it. With the Great Sage formation in place, you can't get in. It would only cause more casualties." Ye Fan shook his head. He had already achieved his goal. The green copper cauldron was glowing, and he wanted to study it thoroughly immediately.
The group retreated calmly and unhurriedly, leaving the Gu Family first tense, then gnashing their teeth in hatred. These people were too arrogant!
The Gu Family's old Saint King emerged from seclusion, only one step away from becoming a Great Sage. He was a long-time rival of Lin Han, with profound cultivation, but unfortunately, he was too late.
At an uninhabited place, Ye Fan held the stele and examined it closely. The green cauldron inside his body had stopped vibrating, calmed down, and no longer glowed.
But the stele was shaking. It shrank from a hundred zhang tall until it was less than a palm's length, landing in his palm like a stone token.
On its front were engraved the two words "Heavenly Soldier," like dragons and snakes coiling, like gods and demons roaring. This was ancient divine script, a very old type of writing that Ye Fan had now mastered.
Because after venturing deep into the starry sky, he discovered that this script was a common ancient script used by all races. The more powerful and ancient the race, the more proficient they were in it.
"What kind of stele is this? How did it become such a small piece?" The Dragon Horse and the others gathered around, staring intently.
No one could discern anything, only that it was extremely hard. The Dragon Horse, Golden Lion, and others tried one by one, but none could damage the stele in the slightest.
"No wonder it has remained undamaged through the ages, with time itself unable to wear it away. In terms of material alone, it is even harder than various sacred artifacts."
This was an ancient artifact whose rank could not be determined. It could only be described as a secret artifact. Perhaps it had special powers, but unfortunately, no one from ancient times to the present had been able to use it.
Ye Fan took out the green copper cauldron. The stele, now less than a palm's length, trembled continuously, clearly extraordinary and not a dead object.
"What exactly is this thing? Could it have a great origin? How does it compare to the Sacred Spirit ancestral artifact that appeared at the Tenth Pass of the Human Path?" the Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon muttered.
"Clang!"
Ye Fan placed the stele into the green copper cauldron. It suddenly burst into brilliant light, rumbling continuously, emitting a killing aura that shook the heavens.
The ancient stele erupted with earth-shattering power, like thousands of troops and horses galloping. It truly made people's eardrums ache, their bones go weak, and their bodies tremble uncontrollably.
Rolling killing intent surged like a tsunami, flooding this uninhabited area. Ye Fan seemed to see crowds of people appearing all around, each one like a battle-hardened, undying god or demon!
"Roar!"
One roar after another rang out, so real. The Dragon Horse, Scorpion, Golden Lion, Black Bear, and all the others felt their hearts tremble, their bodies shuddering, as if they had arrived in the most terrifying mythological era, on a battlefield of life-and-death struggle.
Shadowy figures flickered—a group of god-like warriors, their battle intent soaring, as if they wanted to roar the heavens apart and shatter the nine layers of the sky.
These were one hundred thousand heavenly soldiers!
They were like undying spirits, transmitting their indomitable will through the stele, crushing all enemies. In that instant, they alarmed a region of hundreds of thousands of li. All living creatures trembled in fear, even sages felt a chill in their hearts.
"What is this thing?" The twelve saints were all startled, retreating. A wave of cold air surged into their bodies, as if they were facing the many gods and demons of the ancient past.
The ancient cauldron showed no change. Only the stele trembled, its surface covered with densely packed small characters, like tadpoles swimming, profound and complex.
Ye Fan carefully examined them, reading the ancient script. Soon, his brow relaxed. This truly was a supreme treasure!
This was a divine token of the ancient Heavenly Court, capable of mobilizing a division of troops—one hundred thousand heavenly soldiers. Moreover, it was a fearsome magical artifact. When the one hundred thousand heavenly soldiers jointly activated it, it was enough to suppress an entire domain!
Finally, the stone token stopped trembling, calmed down, and became plain and unadorned. Ye Fan took it out of the green copper cauldron and murmured to himself, "So it belongs to the ancient Heavenly Court, just like the green cauldron. No wonder the two reacted strangely when they met."
His heart surged with waves. This was a secret artifact, extremely powerful, capable of guarding an entire star domain. It was truly an ancient war stele!
He turned it over and found two more characters on the other side of the stone token: "One Hundred Thousand."
Connected together, it became "One Hundred Thousand Heavenly Soldiers." Holding it meant controlling a division of the ancient Heavenly Court's troops, capable of sweeping through a domain and suppressing a region—absolutely powerful.
Ye Fan closed his eyes, digesting what he had just learned. Its only drawback was that it was not a magical artifact that one person could use. It was a rare "great vessel" that required one hundred thousand heavenly soldiers to activate!
Magical power, Dao cultivation, realm, and the like were not the primary conditions for wielding it. What was truly needed was high battle intent, unyielding courage, indomitable will, and unity of heart and mind.
This was the divine token of the ancient Heavenly Court, carrying an extraordinary meaning. These conditions seemed like restrictions, but they were actually a form of encouragement—one hundred thousand heavenly soldiers united in will could become an invincible army!
"This is a treasure. Does it really require one hundred thousand people to activate?" The Dragon Horse, Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon, and the others were drooling. They had just felt the terrifying aura of one hundred thousand undying spirits transforming into gods and demons roaring, and they knew this was an unimaginable ancestral artifact.
"The stele contains several battle formations of immense power, but they require at least ten people to execute, representing the one hundred thousand heavenly soldiers. If you all work together, you might be able to activate the war stele, though I don't know how much of its power you can unleash," Ye Fan said.
The twelve saints immediately shouted excitedly, their expressions agitated. This stele was a magical artifact left by the ancient Heavenly Court, perhaps something refined by the Emperor Venerable himself. After eons, they might be able to grasp it!