Chapter 225: Source Locking Men
Learning from the lesson of those before them, the group quickly retreated, distancing themselves from the lake, fearing they would perish there.
After retreating several hundred meters, the eight people turned back to look. The more they watched, the more alarmed they became. The blood-colored mist rose like smoke, curling upward like strands of vengeful spirits.
The small lake, only a few dozen zhang in circumference, was so red it made one’s heart tremble, so vivid it took one’s breath away. That pool of water seemed capable of devouring heaven and earth.
“What kind of lake is this? How can it make one’s hair stand on end?!” One of them shivered uncontrollably. It wasn’t that he was cowardly, but the atmosphere here was simply wrong. Facing the blood lake, people couldn’t help but shudder.
Moving away from the “Fire Dragon Tomb” and “Dragon Spills Blood,” they stood on higher ground. The others also noticed the anomaly. Looking at the great rift valley and the small blood lake as a whole, they immediately discerned their shapes.
“This is a fucking blood-spitting earth dragon! How can such terrain exist?!” someone exclaimed, cold sweat pouring down his body.
It was too similar—a masterpiece of nature’s craftsmanship!
This kind of mountain and terrain seemed meticulously carved, not at all like a natural formation.
Several cultivators broke out in cold sweat. Seeing such terrain, they were stunned, but mostly filled with fear.
Ye Fan looked at the sky. The setting sun was dipping westward, and evening glow scattered down. His expression suddenly changed, and he shouted, “We need to retreat further!”
According to the *Source Heaven Scripture*, the “Fire Dragon Tomb” and “Dragon Spills Blood” were most dangerous during the transition between day and night.
Seeing Ye Fan’s reaction, the others all changed color and followed him in a frantic run.
After they had run several li, the sun brushed the horizon, about to set. A chilling, muffled sound rang out. The great rift valley trembled, and the water of the blood lake surged upward, spilling out of the ground and rising into the air.
Among the eight survivors, their cultivation levels varied. The weakest person lagged a full li behind and let out a heart-rending scream.
The seven turned back to look, watching as he was dragged away by a mysterious force, directly into the blood lake. He didn’t even stir a ripple before disappearing completely.
The others were terrified out of their wits, but they dared not fly. They ran on foot, chasing after Ye Fan and Old Knife Handle, who were nearly vanishing over the horizon.
Only after they had fled over ten li did Ye Fan stop. The others arrived one after another, all drenched in cold sweat—not from exhaustion, but entirely from fear.
“If I could choose again, I would never come to this damn place. Even if you gave me a mountain of Source, I wouldn’t be tempted,” one young cultivator said, on the verge of tears.
The others shared his sentiment, their faces pale, looking as if regret had come too late.
“This Primordial Forbidden Zone is truly extraordinary. We’re still far from the ancient mine, yet we’ve encountered such a demonic place. If we had charged ahead recklessly, we’d all be dead by now,” one of them said, trembling.
“That is a great ominous terrain—‘True Dragon Spits Blood’!” Old Knife Handle said with a grave expression.
“Old sir, have you heard of it?” Ye Fan was shocked inwardly, but his face remained calm.
“I think, young friend, you know more than I do. If you hadn’t warned us, few of us would have survived,” Old Knife Handle said, glancing at him.
“I only sensed danger by intuition; I don’t understand it. Old sir, please explain it to us in detail,” Ye Fan asked.
“I’m not very clear either. I’ve only heard fragments,” Old Knife Handle shook his head. “I don’t know how long ago—at least seven or eight thousand years, maybe even ten thousand.”
In the past, someone discovered such terrain in the Northern Domain. No one knows how many people died back then, many of them major figures of that era.
In the end, a Source Heavenly Master emerged and deciphered that terrain. But he paid a heavy price, nearly dying, and within half a year, that Source Heavenly Master vanished without a trace.
“They had to break that mountain terrain—was there something underneath?” one cultivator asked sharply.
“Of course, otherwise, who would go to their deaths?” Old Knife Handle stopped speaking and said no more.
Ye Fan sighed inwardly. Both the “Fire Dragon Tomb” and “Dragon Spills Blood” contained Divine Source. At least two pieces, just over ten li away. Unfortunately, he had no way to retrieve them.
This was the first time he had clearly detected Divine Source. If he had earth-shattering combat power and fully comprehended the *Source Heaven Scripture*, he might try his luck here.
For now, he could only restrain himself. Just being able to walk out alive would be the greatest success.
The sky darkened. The seven people walked very slowly. Despite their considerable strength, they dared not move quickly. They looked around carefully, studying the terrain, afraid of straying into a death trap.
Because the “Fire Dragon Tomb” and “Dragon Spills Blood” were not unique; there were certainly other demonic terrains.
“Old Knife Handle, are you sure this is the way out of the Forbidden Zone? It feels like we’re heading toward the ancient mine,” one cultivator said nervously.
The setting sun had long vanished. The sky was dark, with no stars or moon. A faint mist rose over the endless red earth, making it impossible to discern direction.
Old Knife Handle frowned too. The further they went, the more they lost their sense of direction. It felt like a maze. The surroundings were eerily quiet, the atmosphere strange.
Red sand and gravel covered the ground. Stepping on it lightly produced a “crackling” sound that traveled far in the silent, empty night.
The seven dared not be careless. They walked without touching the ground, afraid of disturbing anything. The legends about the Primordial Ancient Mine were too numerous.
After walking for half an hour, they completely lost their sense of direction, as if they had stumbled into a labyrinth.
The sky grew darker. Mist swirled, at first like thin gauze, then thickening until it seemed they could not see their hands in front of their faces.
“I think... we can’t go on,” one cultivator stopped, his heart pounding. “I feel like we’re going the wrong way.”
“I have that feeling too. This doesn’t seem like the way out,” another agreed, fear in his eyes. “If we’re heading toward the Primordial Ancient Mine, then heaven won’t answer, and earth won’t respond.”
Everyone’s heart grew heavy. Lost and unable to find the way back, being in the Primordial Forbidden Zone was like losing half their lives.
Old Knife Handle was silent for a long time, then sighed. “We have to keep moving. Otherwise, I’m afraid something might happen.”
“We absolutely cannot go further. Otherwise, we might step right into the ancient mine, and then there’ll be no chance to regret it!”
“Better to wait until sunrise tomorrow before moving on.”
“Stopping is not good either. This place makes one’s hair stand on end!”
Their opinions differed, and they began to argue.
“Young friend, what do you think?” someone asked Ye Fan. Old Knife Handle also looked at him.
“Let me think it over, ponder it...” Ye Fan was worried, unable to calm down. He felt this region was ominous.
Looking up, he saw no stars or moon, only a dim, dark cloth-like sky. Gazing into the distance, he saw no earth, only floating mist. They seemed trapped in a box.
This closely resembled the ghost mist recorded in the *Source Heaven Scripture*. People could lock down mountains and dragon veins, seal Divine Source. Conversely, evil Source could also seal heaven and earth, trapping people to death.
Ghost mist rising was a great ominous sign. They had likely entered a demonic terrain and would be sealed here.
If Source locked people, it was the most dangerous—a life-taking killing formation!
Ye Fan cursed. After learning the *Source Heaven Scripture*, he had yet to seek Source or lock veins, but now he was trapped instead, facing imminent death.
Ghost mist spread, hiding killing intent. Once triggered, everyone would instantly turn into pus and blood.
One could say the gates of hell had already opened for them.
Now he understood why, since ancient times, only five Source Heavenly Masters had emerged in the Northern Domain. The dangers they faced were too terrifying. This profession almost never ended well.
“Everyone, we’ve run into a big problem. Can anyone retrace our steps back?”
Everyone’s heart sank. This was the news they most feared.
“This place is like a maze. We’ve lost all sense of direction. How can we find the way back?”
“I left some marks, but when I tried to sense them, I found they’ve lost connection,” Old Knife Handle sighed.
Ye Fan felt a chill in his heart. Being trapped and killed by evil Source was hard to break—almost a dead end.
He had never set veins or locked Source in his life, yet he would be sealed to death. This infuriated him. He was probably the most pathetic disciple of a Source Heavenly Master in history.
Ye Fan crouched down, scratching and drawing on the ground, calculating something. “There’s still a chance. We haven’t entered the central area. We’re only on the edge, with just ghost mist and nothing else. Maybe we can get out.”
“Young friend, what are you saying? Do we still have a way out?”
“Little Daoist, we’re counting on you. You have to think of something.”
The others gathered around.
Ye Fan looked at them seriously. “Think carefully. Each of you, draw me a route map. Based on your feelings, sketch the terrain you passed along the way.”
The others sensed the gravity of the situation and didn’t dare delay. They crouched down and drew on the red sandy soil.
As Ye Fan expected, their route maps were vastly different, as if they hadn’t walked together but had come from different directions and paths.
Ye Fan pieced together the seven maps and studied them intently. Occasionally, he stood up, measuring within a hundred zhang radius, moving from one spot to another.
After half an hour, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. They hadn’t fallen into a hopeless trap. He thought of a way to escape.
But when he stood up, he froze. Not far away sat seven figures. Counting himself, there should only be seven people. How was there one extra?
“That... who is that?!”
Hearing his low shout, the others were alarmed. Five figures stood up and quickly moved away from that spot.
“Swish!”
A sixth shadow shot up, swift as a ghost. In the blink of an eye, it vanished into the thick mist, leaving no trace. They couldn’t even make out its face.
Everyone present turned pale, cold sweat streaming down. In that brief moment, their clothes were soaked.
What was that thing? They hadn’t even seen it clearly!
One of them was chattering his teeth, trembling all over. “I vaguely saw... that wasn’t a human. It was covered in beast fur...”
Hearing this, the others felt their scalps tingle. That thing covered in beast fur had been sitting not far from them, and they hadn’t noticed at all. This terrified everyone.
“What’s wrong with him?!”
One person had never stood up, still sitting on the ground like a weathered stone statue.
The others stepped forward and came before him. They all changed color. It was too gruesome to bear. His skull had been opened, and the brain inside, white and viscous like bean curd, had been mostly eaten, with only a small part remaining.
“Chi!”
Old Knife Handle flicked his finger, shooting a rainbow-colored beam into a patch of thick mist.
There, a shadow quickly disappeared, rushing into the depths of the darkness.
The group pressed forward together. At the spot, they found a small puddle of brain matter with two black beast hairs stuck in it.
Clearly, the brain matter had dripped from the creature’s mouth. It belonged to the dead man. Only the beast hairs were from the unknown creature.
“Let’s leave this place. Don’t bother with it.” Ye Fan stepped forward. The most urgent thing now was to get out of this maze. Divine Source was buried underground here. If they stayed too long, they might never leave.