Chapter 226: Deities
The mist grew thicker. As cultivators, they could barely see a hundred meters ahead before their vision was completely blocked. The fog carried an unusual force, and the boundless land was utterly swallowed by darkness.
“Little brother, do you have any way to truly lead us out?”
“Daoist, we’re all relying on you. If we can get out alive, I’ll set up a longevity tablet for you…”
Trapped in the Primordial Forbidden Zone, no one could remain calm. All were uneasy, crowding around Ye Fan.
“Do any of you have Source on you? I need it to alter the terrain’s layout.” Ye Fan asked the other five.
Old Knife Handle said nothing, directly handing over a dozen bags, each holding fifty jin of Source—the very payment he had collected.
Seeing him do this, the other four also opened their pouches, contributing another three hundred-plus jin. None of them were ordinary people; otherwise, they wouldn’t have spent fifty jin of Source to enter the Primordial Ancient Mine.
“Is it enough?” Old Knife Handle asked.
Ye Fan took out five hundred jin of his own Source and said, “Barely enough.”
“Don’t force it. We still have more here.” Hearing his words, the others pooled another three hundred-plus jin, completely emptying themselves this time.
Ye Fan retrieved one hundred and eight large flags and began carving on them carefully. Following the records in the Source Heaven Scroll, he inscribed sets of mysterious patterns.
He planned to use offense as defense—stabilizing the earth veins, sealing the Divine Source, and forcibly breaking open a path.
Of course, he understood that with his current strength, he couldn’t possibly stabilize the Divine Source. Unless he fully comprehended the Source Heaven Scroll, he was still far from that level. However, altering the terrain within a small area, he had about a twenty percent chance. He intended to “stir the grass and startle the snake,” scaring off the awakened evil Source.
An hour later, Ye Fan finished carving all one hundred and eight flags. Then he whispered instructions to the group: “Stay close to me and don’t wander off.”
Hearing his warning, aside from Old Knife Handle, the other four grew extremely tense.
“Bang!”
Ye Fan thrust a flag into the ground. Using his finger as a blade, he carved a star chart around the flagpole and embedded over a dozen jin of Source into it.
“Will this really work?” One of them doubted, seeing nothing special.
“Look, the mist threads around the flag have thinned a lot,” another, more observant, noticed the change.
The group showed signs of joy.
Ye Fan worked quickly, not daring to delay for fear of accidents. Soon, he had planted over a dozen flags, fluttering in the mist.
The area immediately cleared somewhat. The fog was forced back, and the scenery was no longer blurry.
“Chi!”
Not far away, light bloomed. The star chart beneath one flag shone brightly, standing out vividly in the night.
“Bad! That creature is pulling up the flags!” someone cried out.
“Crack…”
A flag snapped. A blurry figure darted away like the wind, having broken the flag.
“Crack…”
In the distance, a second flag was shattered, falling to the ground. They only caught a glimpse of a shadow covered in beastly fur before it vanished.
“What do we do? We set them up, and it destroys them right after,” Old Knife Handle frowned.
“This is bad. Things are very unfavorable.” Ye Fan’s heart sank. He had sensed it earlier—this creature had a significant origin. Now he was certain: it was a spirit guarding the Divine Source.
“What now?” the others asked.
“Don’t harm it under any circumstances,” Ye Fan warned solemnly. This was only the outermost spirit. According to the Source Heaven Scroll, it was the lowest-ranked guardian.
Something must be sealed within that Divine Source!
There was likely a terrifying living being inside the Source. Otherwise, it wouldn’t have such a powerful spirit guarding a king.
Normally, the stronger spirits slept, leaving only the weakest to guard the Source. If this one was harmed, it would surely awaken something far more fearsome—something they absolutely couldn’t handle.
“A Divine Source sealed with something… It must be a rare treasure. Have we really gotten this close to the Primordial Ancient Mine?” Ye Fan muttered to himself.
He was truly in a bind. This Divine Source had a spirit guardian, so the “stir the grass” plan was out of the question. Even if the thing inside the Source didn’t emerge, a single powerful guardian could wipe them all out.
“What would a Source Heaven Master do in this situation?” Ye Fan pondered to himself, thinking for a while.
Half an hour later, Ye Fan planted all the flags in the same spot, carving a massive star chart and embedding over a thousand jin of Source.
“Everyone, we have only one chance,” Ye Fan transmitted. “In a moment, the terrain here will shake, and the mist will briefly part. The window is very short. If we can’t escape, we’re dead.”
He spoke the truth. Soon, an earthquake would hit here, likely startling even stronger spirits. If they couldn’t break out, they’d be locked in forever.
“Get ready. I’m making my move.” Ye Fan threw the last hundred jin of Source into the center of the star chart, embedding it instantly.
In that moment, light shot into the sky, tearing through the black mist. Starlight from the heavens poured down.
The ground shook violently. Over a hundred flags blazed, and the thousand jin of Source on the ground turned into endless essence, cracking the earth.
The carved star chart corresponded with the constellations above, drawing down starlight as the ground trembled fiercely.
“Go!”
Ye Fan was the first to dash out. Old Knife Handle followed closely, fleeing for their lives into the distance.
Behind them, low roars sounded, as if something was awakening.
Screams echoed, and blood rained down, but they didn’t look back. They pushed forward with all their might.
Soon, Ye Fan and Old Knife Handle broke free, followed by two others. They didn’t dare pause for a moment, sprinting straight toward the “Fire Dragon.” Behind them, mist churned, sealing off that region again.
Only when they neared the Fire Dragon Grave did the four survivors finally catch their breath. That place was too eerie. Looking back, they saw clouds and mist rolling, shrouding everything in impenetrable darkness.
Outside, the moonlight was clear, the stars filled the sky, and the night was as calm as water.
“Thankfully, the ‘Dragon Bleeds Here’ is nearby, or we’d be in big trouble,” Ye Fan said, standing by the small blood-colored lake. He sensed no creatures pursuing them.
“The thing sealed in that Divine Source must be terrifying,” Ye Fan mused, rubbing his chin. He realized that even becoming a Source Heaven Master might cost him his life.
“One day, when I’m strong enough and fully understand the Source Heaven Scroll, I’ll dig you out!” Ye Fan stared at the misty area.
In just a few hours, he had discovered three pieces of Divine Source. The Primordial Forbidden Zone was truly mysterious—he couldn’t fathom why it was like this.
“Let’s go. We need to leave this place quickly. Though nothing alive is here, this Dragon Rift Valley and the blood lake make our hair stand on end,” one of the surviving cultivators suggested.
Ye Fan nodded. Even though it wasn’t the shift between day and night, staying near the “Fire Dragon Grave” and “Dragon Bleeds Here” was still dangerous.
They detoured for dozens of li, far avoiding the misty area, and concealed their auras, fearing they might invite disaster.
The bright moon hung high, casting pure white light over the red earth like thin smoke swirling.
The scene was serene, nothing like a terrifying forbidden zone. It seemed more like a quiet moonlit night perfect for a stroll.
“Can we get out alive? By our bearings, we’re heading outward, but I always feel we’re getting closer to the Primordial Ancient Mine…”
“I have that uneasy feeling too.”
Two of the four spoke up.
Ye Fan was also uncertain. “It seems some strange force is creating illusions for us.”
Old Knife Handle couldn’t be sure either. “Could the power of the ancient mine be calling us, leading us astray?”
The four couldn’t find their way back. They climbed a high point to gaze into the distance.
“It’s over… None of us will survive!”
“Heavens! Human-shaped… Forbidden Deities!”
Two cultivators’ teeth chattered as they pointed in the same direction, trembling violently.
Ye Fan and Old Knife Handle turned to look and were instantly petrified.
It was hard to gauge the distance, but three figures stood on the horizon. Though far away, their outlines were faintly visible.
Moonlight flowed like water, and the boundless land was utterly still. The figures on the horizon were hazy and ethereal.
Clearly, they had also noticed the four.
One of them radiated blazing light, dazzling and brilliant, standing on the horizon like a golden sun, or like a deity.
Another had a slender form, robes white as snow, hair flowing in the wind, like a celestial maiden from the Nine Heavens, with an air of emptiness and shimmering radiance.
As for the one in the middle, they were plain and hazy, unreal and illusory.
Three such figures standing in a forbidden zone of life—the more they resembled deities, the more unsettling it was, sending chills down the spine.
“I’ve walked night paths all my life, and now I’ve finally run into ghosts!” Old Knife Handle sighed. He had traveled near the Primordial Ancient Mine for decades, always escaping danger, but now he felt doom was near.
The distance was too great to make out their features, but their divine halos said it all.
Ye Fan’s heart pounded. “Let’s run…”
The other two were on the verge of tears, their legs trembling. With so many legends about the Primordial Ancient Mine, facing this situation, they felt there was no way out.
“Human-shaped living beings like deities…”
“We must have reached the central area of the Primordial Ancient Mine!”
Ye Fan acted first, descending the high ground. Once out of sight of the three figures, he crouched low and sprinted.
Old Knife Handle, though looking aged, was very agile, not much slower than Ye Fan, and also took off running.
The other two, shaking all over, scrambled after them, fleeing for their lives.
Ye Fan ran for dozens of li without stopping. Old Knife Handle wasn’t far behind and also halted. They waited a long time before the other two caught up.
The two collapsed to the ground, trembling like sieves. It wasn’t exhaustion—it was sheer terror.
“Forbidden… We encountered such things…” they stammered, drenched in cold sweat.
“They didn’t come to kill us. Why?” Old Knife Handle wondered.
All four were puzzled. In this place, encountering deity-like beings meant certain death—even the Saint Lords couldn’t escape.
“Surviving is a good thing. Let’s leave quickly,” Ye Fan urged.
That direction was off-limits now. The four gathered themselves and chose another path to seek a way out.
After walking for about an hour, they all felt something was wrong.
“We’re approaching the Primordial Ancient Mine!” Ye Fan and Old Knife Handle said simultaneously.
Suppression, fear, sorrow, grief… These emotions pulsed from ahead, overwhelming and uncontrollable.
They activated their divine eyes to peer into the distance. At the far end of the earth, endless starlight poured down like a waterfall, cascading to the ground.
Countless stars converged into a river, a vast white expanse flowing into the horizon. The strange fluctuations came from there.
It must be the Primordial Ancient Mine! The four made the same judgment, their hearts pounding wildly. They were likely less than a hundred li away.
Since ancient times, any Saint Lord of the Eastern Wasteland or Imperial Lord of the Central Province who entered had never returned alive!
“Could those three deity-like beings have deliberately not attacked us, just to force us into the Primordial Ancient Mine?”