Chapter 229: Source Heaven Diagram
Ye Fan's speed could be said to be unmatched within the Dao Palace Secret Realm, almost like shrinking the earth into inches. When he stretched his legs, there was a feeling of time flowing and space shifting.
In the blink of an eye, he had rushed several li, but when he looked up ahead, his body turned ice-cold. Moonlight shone through the pines, clear springs flowed over stones—a plain and tranquil beautiful scene lay right before him. He had not escaped; he was about to charge into the pine forest.
"How can this be?" He abruptly stopped. Ahead was a scene of peace, with thin mist rising from the pine forest, soft and pure.
This pine forest should have been behind him. How had it moved to the front?
He turned to look back. Behind him, the six figures had vanished without a trace. It was empty and desolate, with nothing at all. The red earth stretched far into the distance.
"Why is it like this?"
"When things reach their extreme, they reverse." This kind of terrain could kill a Great Xia Imperial Lord. Ye Fan simply could not decipher it. His heart pounded with unease. He changed direction again and flew off like the wind.
Stars shifted, heaven and earth revolved.
Ahead, a stream babbled, and the pine forest was like a painting, a place fit for immortals to cultivate.
That tranquil scene once again blocked his path, as if he himself were rushing into it.
How could this immortal forest move? Ye Fan's heart tightened. He sensed no fluctuation of field energy; everything was as calm as water.
Why was this happening? He changed direction once more, but after rushing only a short distance, he encountered the same scene.
The quiet and elegant pine forest seemed to have been lying across his path all along, blocking his way, as if he himself were seeking out secluded beauty and stepping forward.
Ye Fan stopped, silently calculating, using what he had learned to analyze this anomaly. But after a long while, he could find neither the cause nor the solution.
This place was definitely not caused by so-called field energy. The forest truly seemed capable of moving.
By now, Ye Fan no longer trusted his own senses. He closed his eyes, released his divine sense, and probed the surroundings. The result was still the same—no change at all.
"It seems I'm trapped here, unable to escape." He wondered if the others were in the same situation.
The pine forest and clear spring were less than a hundred zhang away. It would be untrue to say Ye Fan wasn't tense. This concerned his life and death. No one could remain calm in such a situation.
"What to do?" In the prime of life, no one wanted to die. He summoned the cauldron forged from Primordial Mother Qi, suspending it above his head, with strands of Mysterious Yellow Qi cascading down. Then he took out the Li Fire Divine Furnace, holding it in his palm, ready to strike at any moment.
At midnight, all was silent. Aside from the gentle sound of the stream, there was nothing. It was exceptionally peaceful.
Ye Fan stood there for a full half-hour, yet still nothing happened.
"Where did those people go? Why is there no sound? Did they all escape?" Ye Fan was suspicious. Standing here like this was no solution. In the end, he took out the Source Heaven Scripture, cramming at the last moment.
The extraordinary book shimmered with silver light, heavy in his hands, especially crystalline under the moonlight. On the cover, the three characters "Source Heaven Scripture" gleamed brightly.
He opened it and flipped directly to the latter half, finding the pages on "When Things Reach Their Extreme, They Reverse," searching for a method to decipher.
After reading for a long time, cold sweat dripped down Ye Fan's back. This was nearly unsolvable. The book advocated a swift retreat, but he was trapped here and couldn't retreat at all.
"Observing the terrain…" He sighed. He hadn't comprehended it thoroughly enough; he hadn't reached a high level in "Observing the Terrain." Otherwise, he could have avoided danger and discovered this deadly place beforehand, never falling into this peril.
It was too late to say anything now. In such a short time, his current achievements were already astonishing. He couldn't possibly fully comprehend the scripture all at once.
After repeatedly studying and carefully pondering, Ye Fan found that there were one or two methods he could try, but they involved extremely profound Source Arts that he simply couldn't execute. Moreover, even if he could, there was only a fifty percent chance of success.
"No wonder this is a demonic land that kills Source Heaven Masters…" He was nearly in despair.
"Buzz!"
Suddenly, Ye Fan's ears roared. He felt as if a giant hammer had struck his body. Blood flowed from his ears, nose, and mouth, and his body was flung away like a scarecrow.
"Ah…"
He crashed to the ground, his whole body in agony. Even his precious body, as strong as it was, nearly collapsed.
"What attacked me?" Ye Fan was horrified. The cauldron above his head rapidly enlarged, enveloping him. The Li Fire Divine Furnace in his hand blazed with flames, burning fiercely before him.
All around was silent. He saw nothing. He didn't know what had struck him.
"Buzz!"
It came again!
His ears roared, his vision blurred, his divine sense felt like needles stabbing into it, and nearly half of his senses failed. An inexplicable force slammed into his body.
"Ah…"
This time, he wasn't struck. The cauldron forged from Primordial Mother Qi absorbed him inside. Strands of Mysterious Yellow Qi fell, producing heavy sounds.
At the same time, the lid of the Li Fire Divine Furnace opened, flames burning in all directions, sweeping across the sky.
"Damn it!" Ye Fan was furious. He had suffered a great loss and still didn't know what had attacked him.
Inside the cauldron of Primordial Mother Qi, he checked his condition and was deeply shocked. Blood was seeping from all seven orifices, his bones were nearly shattered, and blood lines appeared on his skin.
This was only because of him. If it had been anyone else, even a cultivator in the third secret realm, they would have been utterly destroyed, body and soul. Such an attack was terrifying. His physical body surpassed spiritual treasures, impervious to blades and swords, yet it had nearly been shattered. One could imagine how dreadful it was.
"Buzz!"
Another trembling sound came. This time, Ye Fan was inside the cauldron and wasn't as flustered as before. He clearly saw that it was a strange light wave vibrating. It seemed gentle, but its power was astonishing, making cold sweat break out on his palms.
"Clang!"
The gentle light wave struck, like a ripple, very soft, but when it hit the Li Fire Divine Furnace, it immediately left a deep groove on its surface.
In the past, when he had used the Battle Saint Art with all his might, he had only left a palm print on its surface. This ripple-like light wave had dented the divine furnace by a large chunk. This was truly astonishing. No wonder it had nearly shattered his physical body. With a few more such strikes, he would surely be destroyed, body and soul.
The light waves came from the pine forest, constantly rippling outward. Under the night moon, they appeared especially light. This was indeed a demonic land, its terrors beginning to show.
"Whoosh!"
Ye Fan withdrew the Li Fire Divine Furnace into the cauldron. In just a short moment, four or five deep grooves had appeared on its surface, as if it had been whipped by the Heavenly Emperor's whip.
Fortunately, this furnace was very mysterious, nearly indestructible. Before long, it slowly bulged back, becoming as transparent as crystal, quickly repairing itself.
"This furnace has the power of immortality…" Ye Fan's eyes gleamed with divine light, but this was not the time to be distracted. The crisis outside remained unsolved; he would surely die here.
What gave him some comfort was that the cauldron forged from Primordial Mother Qi, though not yet spiritual and lacking special abilities, was unmatched in the world in terms of sturdiness. The ripples that struck its surface produced clanging sounds but left no marks. The strands of Mysterious Yellow Qi falling actually crushed a light wave.
Ye Fan controlled the precious cauldron, breaking through the air. He didn't want to give up and tried again.
Unfortunately, the result was still the same, and it attracted even more light waves. The sky was filled with them, like a rain of light, colorful, descending upon him.
"Clang!" "Clang!" "Clang!"…
Piercing sounds split the air, deafening. The cauldron of Primordial Mother Qi was knocked flying in all directions.
"Hiss!"
Suddenly, the light waves disappeared. A black line seeped out from the forest, drifting lightly across the sky, but it made Ye Fan's hair stand on end.
That black line actually cut through the void! This made him shudder. With such force, he feared even his cauldron might not withstand it.
"When things reach their extreme, they reverse—indeed. It looks peaceful, but it's so terrifying."
"Clang!"
The cauldron of Primordial Mother Qi shook violently but did not shatter. However, Ye Fan inside felt terrible. The powerful force shook his whole body, making him ache.
But what made his scalp tingle was that the pine forest, bathed in silver moonlight, overflowed with countless black lines, gently brushing toward him.
Ye Fan fled with the cauldron. With so many black lines, the Primordial Mother Qi cauldron couldn't hold out. Even if it didn't shatter, it would shake him to death alive!
"This truly is—no way to heaven, no door to earth!" He was in despair. The pine forest was quiet and pure, looking like an immortal forest, but it was more terrifying than a ghost forest. Yet, with stars shifting, he couldn't escape. Wherever he rushed, it blocked his way.
At this moment, Ye Fan saw that the sky was filled with black lines, dense and thick, but the lower parts of the pine forest were clear, shrouded in mist.
"Forget it. Die if I must!" He gritted his teeth, controlled the precious cauldron, and hugged the ground, charging straight into the pine forest.
"When things reach their extreme, they reverse." According to the Source Heaven Scripture, once this kind of terrain was activated, entering meant it was nearly impossible to come out alive. But Ye Fan had no choice. If he didn't charge in, he would die immediately.
In the sky, the black lines danced like demonic hands. After a short while, they disappeared. The forest was very tranquil. Ye Fan waited in the cauldron for a long time, but nothing changed.
"Am I really going to be trapped here?" He came out of the cauldron, standing on the ground, stroking the Source Heaven Scripture.
Suddenly, the Source Heaven Scripture rustled, flipping pages on its own, shooting out streaks of auspicious light.
"This is…"
Auspicious light also flickered in the pine forest. Ye Fan's expression shifted. Holding the Source Heaven Scripture, he walked forward.
He was quite shocked. On the ground, he saw "Source Heaven Patterns"—runes unique to the Source Heaven Scripture. They glittered on the ground, mutually attracting the scripture.
Ye Fan strode over. The first Source Heaven pattern was profound and complex; he couldn't understand it at all. The runes numbered in the hundreds, forming a six-pointed star diagram.
They were all carved into Source Stones, buried underground, now flowing with light and color, revealing themselves.
Ahead, auspicious light shimmered in more than one place, leading to the deepest part of the pine forest, like guiding lamps.
"Why is this? Did a Source Heaven Master once come here?" Ye Fan's heart suddenly stirred with excitement. He had been in despair, but now a glimmer of hope appeared.
Holding the scripture, he walked slowly, carefully observing, heading toward the deepest part of the pine forest.
Suddenly, his expression froze, and he was deeply shocked.
Not far away stood an ancient building, old and dilapidated but still standing, in the shadows.
It was a temple!
When the blue iron pyramid was unearthed in the Yaoguang Holy Land's mining area, it had revealed a lush scene of the primeval earth, briefly showing some races and different temples.
What he saw now was definitely a primeval temple. Countless years had passed, and though it was ancient, it had not collapsed.
Ye Fan's heart trembled. No wonder this place was special. It was clearly not ordinary soil. In the primeval era, it had been a sacred ground.
"When things reach their extreme, they reverse." This kind of terrain was probably just the surface. There might be other things.
Ye Fan did not walk over, because the Source Heaven patterns on the ground did not point there, but ahead.
He continued forward, not distracted.
Along the way, he saw dozens of rune clusters, all profoundly mysterious, but he couldn't understand any of them. Some were shaped like true dragons, winding and twisting; others were like ancient turtles, steady yet agile; and there were many star charts, corresponding to the stars in the sky.
These were Source Heaven Diagrams!
They were the patterns laid down by the highest achievers recorded in the Source Heaven Scripture!
Without a doubt, they must have been made by a Source Heaven Master. No one else had such means!
Deep in the pine forest, moonlight fell like white feathers, large patches scattering down. Water flowed gently. A pavilion stood quietly ahead.
This pavilion was full of ancient charm, entirely built from Source Stones, engraved with the marks of time.
Four pillars were carved with many ancient characters. Ye Fan only looked at the first stone pillar and was stunned.
"Sacred Lord falls, Imperial Lord dies, Divine King perishes…"
Ye Fan couldn't help but be shocked. This place was indeed beyond imagination. He carefully read the records. This was a journal left by a Source Heaven Master!
I'll write just this chapter today. Otherwise, the second chapter would go into the late night again. I'll continue working hard tomorrow.