# Chapter 1369: Imperial Mausoleum
Ye Fan turned his head back, his pupils shooting out two sharp divine beams like golden lightning tearing through the void. Those who were watching from the surrounding mountains felt their bodies turn ice-cold and all retreated.
He began carving a formation, using his heartblood to inscribe it, arranging it on the mountain peaks and giant cliffs. Lines of runes flickered, moving like dragons and snakes winding around the mountains, radiating brilliant divine radiance with the aura of life.
This was no longer simple formation arrangement, but had imbued it with essence, energy, and spirit, as if creating life, awakening divine will, causing the mountains and ancient tombs to gain consciousness.
"I've already heard that the Overlord was thoroughly defeated by you. How satisfying, well fought! I've always been annoyed by his 'I'm the best under heaven' attitude," Pang Bo said from within the great tomb.
Ye Fan recounted the details of the battle, but his hands never stopped. A dragon-shaped curve was carved, dividing the mountains into two parts, forming a divine Taiji pattern in the wilderness.
Almost instantly, this place began to glow, devouring the essence of heaven and earth. The sacred forces of yin and yang poles collided, which could be used to assault the tomb entrance.
This was Ye Fan's improved Source Heaven formation. In recent days, he had been pondering Source Arts, combining them with the vast yin-yang divine formation from the ancient Heavenly Court, gaining many insights.
For a moment, the mountains hummed and trembled, wind and thunder rumbled. Lines of dragon-snake-like runes crawled over the peaks, shining brilliantly, making this place suddenly different.
Pang Bo spoke of some matters regarding his fall into the mausoleum. Back then, a gap had been torn open when a peerless Sacred Spirit dissolved into the Dao, allowing him to enter the tomb. It could be said he had escaped death by a hair's breadth. If Ye Fan hadn't given him a Chaos Ancient Emperor Talisman back then, he would have turned to yellow earth long ago.
That ancient talisman had shielded him from disaster, dying in his place four times.
Ye Fan nodded, then fell into thought. Soon, he would use the divine power of the formation to break this place apart. This place would likely collapse with heaven-shattering force. The Chaos Ancient Emperor Talisman had limited uses and probably wouldn't be reliable enough.
"Pang Bo, listen carefully..." He transmitted his thoughts through divine consciousness, teaching Pang Bo the Presence Secret, telling him to study it well in the coming days to guard against any contingency.
"World-shaking divine art!" Pang Bo exclaimed in admiration. His years hadn't been wasted. Opening the Green Emperor's divine treasury in the Eternal Star Domain had granted him fortune that could be called peerless.
Among the treasures were not only ancient evolutionary divine liquids, but also several handwritten journals and booklets containing understandings and evolutions of the Dao, as well as annotations on special scriptures.
"Having such a wondrous art is too profound. Mastering it means possessing half an immortal body. We can go explore those Golden Ancient Paths, competing with the Great Demon God, Human King, Divine Maiden, Di Tian, Green Poetry Fairy Maiden, and others for fortune," Pang Bo said with great enthusiasm. Before long, he had already tasted the unique excellence of the Presence Secret that dominated the world.
Entering the depths of the starry sky to traverse the Human Clan's Sacred City Ancient Path was no longer the main focus. This couldn't satisfy the training conditions of some young heavenly prodigies. They began paying attention to some abandoned wondrous places.
The so-called Golden Ancient Paths were extremely dangerous divine grounds, long since unvisited by cultivators. They had once been part of the ancient paths, but were now overgrown with thorns, nearly abandoned.
Star Ruins counted as a section of the Golden Ancient Path. An outstanding talent had barged in here for training, inadvertently triggering the mausoleum of an ancient Great Emperor, causing it to manifest in the world. It became a gathering place of wind and clouds, sweeping away its former desolation and becoming lively.
The Golden Ancient Paths were actually one secret realm after another, extremely ancient, filled with mist. They were star domain ancient lands from the Primordial Era that had gradually been abandoned in the river of time.
Therefore, they could also be called Primordial Golden Secret Realms. As for even more ancient secret realms, they could be called Mythological Golden Ancient Paths, or Mythological Secret Realms.
"Wait a few days, and I'll rescue you!" After Ye Fan finished arranging the Source Heaven formation, he urged Pang Bo to be careful, saying that major changes would likely occur in the coming days.
"Don't worry, nothing will happen to me. We brothers still need to join hands to conquer the world, to go see the God Clan and the Imperial City where the ancient Heavenly Court is located," Pang Bo said boisterously.
They had a brief conversation, succinctly recounting their respective experiences. They didn't talk at length because Ye Fan needed to monitor the situation with the Imperial Corpse and the Yellow Springs, guarding against any upheaval.
Cloud Mist Continent hung in the universe, floating for who knows how many years. Although it was a yin-nurturing ground, it had been bathed in the essence of the sun and moon for ages, with countless heavenly materials and earthly treasures on its surface.
This was a peculiar celestial body, not a star but a continent, existing in the universe like this, somewhat strange. However, it was nothing special in Star Ruins. This was a burial ground for stars, with many fragments of ancient continents, different from other star domains.
A great yellow river cascaded down, flowing into the distance. There was no life, no hope to be felt. Death energy permeated everything, making the entire star region appear desolate and withered.
This great river flowed out from the void, as if without a source, falling from nowhere. The yellow water was like corpse fluid, possessing a soul-seizing, spirit-snatching power.
It was adjacent to Cloud Mist Continent, not very far away. Some speculated that the true Imperial tomb was hidden in the void, and now it had cracked, allowing the Yellow Springs to flow through the void.
Ye Fan observed for a long time, not approaching at first because this was different from the Yellow Springs water seen in extreme yin places. It possessed an eerie, evil power.
Before even getting close, one's body would show signs of dissolving and returning to the Dao. It seemed to contain tremendous destructive force. In recent days, many cultivators had explored it, only to all turn to dust.
Ye Fan fully displayed his Source Arts, opening his divine eyes to see through the void. Vaguely, it seemed he really did see a great tomb suspended in the cosmic void, where Imperial Qi surged mightily.
But in the next moment, it became empty and ethereal, drifting and indistinct, with nothing left. Only a dead silence remained, with not a single sound to be heard.
Seeming real yet illusory, no one could see the true form of an ancient Great Emperor's tomb. What existed were only tomb shapes sketched based on deductions from Dao traces, not necessarily real.
Ye Fan frowned. Even his Source Heaven Eye couldn't see through it, showing how extraordinary the burial place of the Imperial Corpse was, defying common sense. Even though the Great Emperor had passed away, his Imperial blood and immortal bones still inspired awe, not to be profaned.
Ye Fan tried to approach, wanting to go further than others, but his entire body's hair stood on end. He felt a fierce killing intent, cold to the marrow of his bones.
"Seal!"
Ye Fan shouted softly, his hands tracing lightly. One after another, mysterious trajectories appeared, driving brilliant divine clouds to dance. Dao patterns were branded into the void, stabilizing the stars and dissolving the killing intent.
Source Arts at this level were no longer the execution of a single art or technique. Ye Fan's ten fingers spread wide, immortal radiance shooting in all directions. Six golden formations took shape in succession, protecting him within. Moreover, lines of runes spread out, approaching the Yellow Springs to survey the true situation of this death ground.
This was the manifestation of Source Arts. Divine patterns formed in sheets, turning into brilliant rivers flowing through the star domain, interweaving strange Source Dao symbols.
Ye Fan showed a grave expression. Some places truly couldn't be probed. Even a Source Heaven Master couldn't figure them out. This exceeded the scope of Source Arts he had mastered.
This was the burial ground of an ancient Emperor. No divine art was useful here. He couldn't penetrate deeper. The void cut off everything, with only the yellow river flowing unchangingly.
Suddenly, his scalp tightened, as if pierced by needles. Ye Fan sucked in a breath of cold air and rapidly retreated.
In the void where the Yellow Springs flowed out, a flower abruptly appeared, like a human face, frighteningly pale white. The seven orifices were all present, but the features were blurry.
It was rooted in the starry sky, with no leaves. Its entire body was deathly white, only the petals exposed, accompanying the Yellow Springs. The human-face-like shape and the crying expression on it were hair-raising.
Ye Fan retreated, distancing himself from the Yellow Springs, then flew toward Cloud Mist Ancient Continent. This place had also changed, no longer shrouded by heavenly essence and earthly splendor as before, as if it had lost its vitality.
At the same time, there was an ominous aura, making people afraid to approach easily. Ye Fan walked carefully, silently measuring, using Source Arts on the real land to deduce the Great Emperor's mausoleum.
He moved between deadly killing opportunities, roughly covering the area. Waves of shock surged in his heart. Without even observing the burial ground in the void, just by examining this tangible ancient continent, he had obtained some unusual clues.
"In the despair of ten thousand ages... there is hope of great life."
Ye Fan was almost bewildered. Reaching this conclusion, he found it very contradictory. This was clearly an Imperial mausoleum, so why would it reveal such an omen?
He withdrew from the ancient continent, stood in the cold starry sky looking down, then thought carefully, silently deducing with Source Arts.
One continent, two continents... On a shrinking divine plate, Ye Fan connected the lines of the dozen or so most important continents in Star Ruins, marking their positions.
He pieced together the ancient continents, then separated them, moving them along specific trajectories, slowly presenting the current pattern.
"These are a dozen death grounds, each a desperate land of accumulated death and hidden yin, perfect for burying corpses, excellent!"
But upon careful observation, he reached another conclusion. These dozen ancient continents were also a dozen hidden dragons. Viewed individually, they were all burial grounds. But separated and moved along specific trajectories, they were equivalent to a dozen dead dragons devouring divine essence, with hope of great life.
"Dragon corpses ascending to heaven." Ye Fan's heart shook. He had actually seen a clue.
Each of the dozen ancient continents had Imperial Qi. Some buried coffins, some had formations arranged, and some held artifacts from the Great Emperor's lifetime. These were all false tombs.
A dozen "dragon corpses" devoured heavenly essence, spitting out wisps of life energy, spreading toward the high heavens, gathering in one place in the void, seeming to imply transcendence.
"Could it be that the dozen ancient continents each nurture heavenly essence, ultimately ascending to heaven, with the true finishing touch cave transcending above them, creating things in the void, holding hope of great life?!"
Without a doubt, the void where the Yellow Springs flowed should be the finishing touch cave transcending above the dozen dragon corpses. Everything focused there.
Ye Fan was stunned. Dead is dead, what was this for? Was it to create a strange secret ground for eternal life?
Suddenly, his brow glowed. The cauldron on his Immortal Platform hummed softly because something inside was surging, trying to break free.
Ye Fan's mind moved. He opened his cauldron, and an ancient lamp instantly floated out, suspending before him, emitting a green, oily light, illuminating the ancient Star Ruins ground.
This lamp had a human body and a ghost face, its origins mysterious. After the battle with the Overlord ended, Ye Fan had consulted Azure Phoenix Daoist in the Fiftieth City and was told this was likely a relic of Numinous Treasure Heavenly Venerable from the Mythological Era.
"All heavens sing from afar, ten thousand Emperors set forth rites, rivers and seas stand silent, mountains and peaks hide clouds, sun and moon halt their course..." Chanting sounds came from within the bronze lamp, precisely the Salvation Scripture. The voice was not loud, but it penetrated the starry sky.
Ye Fan was horrified. He had once questioned the function of the Salvation Scripture. In ordinary times, it had no great use, and he didn't know why it had been passed down, undying for ten thousand ages. Now, his heart beat violently, as if he had touched upon some clues. Could it really be as he had guessed, to suppress the calamity of eternal life?