Chapter 231: Divine Source Seals the Demon
“Mountains and rivers bury ancient sages…” Ye Fan murmured to himself. According to the revelation on the stone pillar of the ancient pavilion, this should be the case.
Before this, he had not seen the ancient coffin in the pine forest, but he believed it truly existed. The Fourth Generation Grandmaster would not have carved such things recklessly.
Based on speculation, deeply buried within the depths of the Immortal Forest, this should be the grand burial tomb vaguely mentioned by the stone pillar.
Ye Fan was extremely shocked. What kind of existence was this? With such mountain and river terrain, the person buried here was absolutely extraordinary.
The Blazing Dragon Tomb connected to the pine forest, pulling a coffin in flight, was too similar to the Nine Dragons Pulling Coffin. Could there be some inexplicable connection? Otherwise, why would the outlines of the ancient coffins be so alike?
The difference lay in the fact that the nine dragon corpses truly existed, while this place was merely a terrain formation, only a single Blazing Dragon Tomb.
Ye Fan believed there was some intersection of inheritance or civilization between the two. Otherwise, the ancient coffins could not be so similar. He just didn’t know which inherited from the other.
Ye Fan’s thoughts wandered endlessly. It took him a good while to come back to his senses. For now, all those thoughts were useless. Escaping from the Primordial Forbidden Zone was the real priority.
Regarding the Blazing Dragon Tomb, the Dragon Blood Spill, and this pine forest, there were many runes on the stone slab, annotated using Source Heaven pattern lines. Ye Fan’s head spun from reading them.
Without comprehending the *Source Heaven Scripture*, one simply could not understand the annotations of the Fourth Generation Grandmaster or grasp their meaning.
What surprised him most was that large sections of markings on the stone slab had been erased. The engraved diagram should have been large, encompassing a much broader terrain, but it had been destroyed.
Ye Fan inwardly lamented the loss. Those smoothed-over stone carvings should have depicted the various terrains of this region, essentially serving as a map of the outer perimeter of the Primordial Forbidden Zone.
He believed there were definitely other deadly places like the Dragon Blood Spill, and not just a few. If the complete diagram were intact, they could avoid these dangerous areas.
“The Primordial Forbidden Zone is just too vast. The Fourth Generation Grandmaster only carved a part of it, and unfortunately, it was destroyed.” Though Ye Fan felt regret, there was nothing he could do. The carved diagram was lost, leaving only stone shavings.
Extremes reverse. Such terrain, with an unimaginable existence buried underground, made Ye Fan’s imagination run wild. He wished he could dig three hundred zhang straight down and unearth it.
He shook his head. Even the Source Heaven Master had no solution for this place. An aged Eastern Wasteland Divine King had fallen here. He had absolutely no hope.
“Primordial Ancient Mine…” Ye Fan sighed. This was not just a single secret place, but a continuous, clustered region.
As for the innermost ancient mine… no need to even mention it. He estimated that even if Old Madman went there, he would enter but never return.
As for the outer areas of the Primordial Forbidden Zone, they were equally dangerous, places of great calamity and evil. No matter how many people came, they would all die.
Ye Fan stood up and looked into the temple. The scenery inside was blurry.
This temple was many times larger and taller than the few they had seen along the way. It was clearly an important site, holding a special status in ancient times. But time flowed like a shuttle, taking everything away. Now, only dilapidation and desolation remained.
Ye Fan entered, holding the *Source Heaven Scripture*, carefully examining the place. His powerful divine sense materialized, scanning every inch of space. If any artifacts were found here, they would surely be extraordinary.
Unfortunately, the place was empty. Nothing remained.
On the ground was a thick layer of stone dust. The high platform in the center was the same, nothing but dust and ashes.
“Gone… all annihilated in the river of time. Nothing remains.” Ye Fan understood. This ancient temple hadn’t collapsed because it was inscribed with shocking Dao patterns. As for the divine statues and such inside, they had naturally all decayed to dust.
Tracing back to the Primeval Era, even a hundred thousand years was just a unit, far from a complete measure. Over such a vast span of time, even magical artifacts would have decayed.
Unless it was an Extreme Imperial Weapon forged by a Great Emperor, indestructible and eternal, capable of lasting forever in the world. Otherwise, nothing could be preserved.
Ye Fan searched the empty main hall. Amidst a pile of ashes, he found a piece of rusted, mottled iron.
“Even Divine Iron has decayed…”
The iron block was white, covered in cracks and much rust. It had long lost its spiritual nature and had no value.
He had seen this kind of Divine Iron before. On the eighth level of the Fire Domain, when that Crow Daoist was refining his weapon, he used this kind of Divine Iron, as white as mutton fat, as material.
It was said to be extremely rare in the world. Even the weapon of the Saint Lord of Yaoguang contained some of this Divine Iron. Only Great Powers could find a bit; ordinary people could never obtain it.
“This should have been a large piece, but it has corroded over the ages until only this tiny bit remains…”
Ye Fan believed that this magnificent ancient temple must have been an important site in ancient times. The Divine Iron indicated that many precious items should have been left behind, but they were all destroyed by time.
As he expected, amidst the ashes, he saw pieces of broken copper and scrap iron. There was Purple Thorn Divine Copper, Great Luo Silver Essence, and Immortal Tear Green Gold.
Ye Fan felt deep regret. These were all supreme divine materials in the world, the top choices for forging Extreme Dao weapons. But all their essence had drained away, rendering them nearly useless.
Especially that piece of Immortal Tear Green Gold. Even now, it was still as big as a fist, with tear-like marks on its surface. Legend said these were the tears of immortals. Unfortunately, the green gold was no longer as crystalline as jade; it had long lost its luster.
“What a pity. Were such materials common in the Primeval Era? In this age, searching the entire Eastern Wasteland wouldn’t gather much.”
Letting them decay in the dust was an extremely extravagant waste. Ye Fan found dozens of pieces, but not a single one was usable.
“What a shame. Even the various Saint Lords would be heartbroken if they saw this…”
Ye Fan searched the entire main hall but found nothing useful. Divine materials were indeed present, but they had all rotted.
Finally, beneath the divine platform in the center of the hall, he sensed an object. He brushed away the thick dust and ashes, uncovering the historical debris, and brought it back to the light of day.
Ye Fan was initially excited, but when he saw the object, the corner of his mouth twitched.
He had thought it was a formed magical artifact. Even if its essence had drained away, it might still contain Dao patterns he had never heard of or seen before.
This object had no Dao patterns at all. It was a jade ornament meant for playing with. It was entirely green and oily, no bigger than a walnut. It was a green jade turtle.
Lifelike, almost exactly like a real turtle, vivid and animated. It felt warm and smooth in the hand. It was an excellent piece of jade.
“That’s not right. Even the Great Luo Silver Essence decayed, even the Immortal Tear Green Gold was destroyed. How could this green turtle have been preserved?”
Ye Fan felt something was off. He turned it over and over, examining it. It was a dark turtle, with a long neck resembling a snake or a dragon, and a shell like the Eight Trigrams.
This piece of jade was also dull in color, its essence completely lost. Although it was green, it had long lost its spiritual energy.
This thing was definitely not an Extreme Dao weapon. It was far from it. He couldn’t even sense the presence of Dao patterns on its surface. Ye Fan couldn’t understand why it had survived.
His fingers turned golden. He squeezed the jade hard, but it didn’t break. This shocked him. This green jade turtle was definitely not ordinary. Its hardness was beyond imagination. He had to take it seriously and extended his powerful divine sense to probe it.
“What’s this? It seems like there’s something inside…” Ye Fan was surprised to discover that an object was sealed within the green jade. He could faintly sense it.
All the divine materials had decayed, but had he finally found a treasure?
He examined it closely but couldn’t figure it out. This green jade turtle was not a weapon at all, yet it hadn’t been destroyed by time.
“Buried in the dust beneath the divine platform in the center of the ancient temple… Could it have some origin?” Ye Fan played with it casually, unable to fathom it.
He passed through this magnificent temple and arrived at the back. The pine forest was silent. In the forest, there were hundreds of Source Heaven pattern lines, all flickering, resonating with the strange book in his hand.
“This is…”
Ye Fan’s head spun. He slowly began to discern a clue. This was a profound and unfathomable Source Heaven Diagram, capable of fixing Dragon Veins, sealing Divine Sources, and altering the grand terrain of mountains and rivers.
“Was the Fourth Generation Grandmaster crazy?”
Ye Fan was astonished. This was a super “Heaven Diagram.” It should normally be laid out across dozens of li of mountains and rivers, but it was concentrated within a hundred zhang radius. So densely packed, any mistake could cause the heavens to collapse and the earth to crack.
Such a terrifying Source Heaven Diagram, even for a Source Heaven Master, could only be laid out a few times in a lifetime.
“What was he doing?” Ye Fan watched for a while, then exclaimed, “Borrowing the terrain!”
Without a doubt, he was borrowing the terrain of “extremes reverse”!
A flash of inspiration crossed his mind. He thought of the stone carving in front of the ancient temple. The ancient coffin marked within the pine forest seemed to be located right here.
“That’s it! It must be buried underground in this forest!”
Ye Fan was immediately horrified. The Fourth Generation Grandmaster had left behind a carved testament, sternly warning later generations not to recklessly disturb the grand terrain beneath the pine forest, or they would face deadly calamity.
But he himself was borrowing the underground terrain. This was truly taking a risk. One wrong step would mean being ground to dust. This deadly place buried ancient sages. It was unpredictable.
Ye Fan felt a chill run down his spine. This was the true central area of the pine forest. A great evil was buried underground.
Within this hundred-zhang radius, there were exactly three hundred and sixty-five Source Heaven pattern lines. A True Dragon in the sky, a Vermilion Bird dancing horizontally, a Dark Turtle like a mountain… The patterns here were not simple runes; they all formed diagrams. Combined, they looked like a painting of the Immortal Realm, or a celestial phenomenon.
“The Grandmaster really went all out… using this to protect himself and change his fate in his later years.”
Ye Fan dared not walk in. If he went deeper, he feared he would never come out in this lifetime. The hundred-zhang radius could trigger the killing intent of heaven and earth, allowing one to borrow the power of this terrain for oneself.
He stood outside the Source Heaven Diagram. The hundred-zhang radius was right before him, clearly visible.
Carefully observing, he saw a broken stone ruler on the ground, along with some fragmented stone garments.
Ye Fan’s heart sank. That ruler was made from the old skin of Divine Source. It was called a Heaven-Measuring Ruler, very precious, and was essential for exploring divine mines.
As for the fragmented stone garment, he was no stranger to it. He had worn one when exploring Purple Mountain. It was also made from the old skin of Divine Source, capable of isolating all auras.
“Red hairs…” He saw several strands on the fragmented stone garment. This place was sealed by the Source Heaven Diagram, so everything from the past was preserved and hadn’t dissipated.
Ye Fan’s heart turned cold. The Fourth Generation Grandmaster had met with misfortune. In the end, he still couldn’t change his fate.
“Were the red hairs growing from his own body, or…” He thought of the First Ancestor of the Zhang Family.
Regardless, something must have tracked him here, causing the calamity.
What exactly was this thing? Couldn’t even the terrain of “extremes reverse” stop it? Couldn’t even the burial ground of an ancient sage make it retreat?
If there were no bones, there must be a calamitous change. It meant failure. This was the message left by the Fourth Generation Grandmaster. Ye Fan had seen a lying stone in the pine forest with many words carved on it.
He sighed deeply. The later years of a Source Heaven Master were truly terrifying. The Fourth Generation Grandmaster had exhausted his efforts, hiding in the Primordial Forbidden Zone, yet still couldn’t escape disaster.
Borrowing the power of this place still couldn’t change anything. The most terrifying thing was the psychological torment. One could imagine it must have been a hellish ordeal.
Ye Fan carefully read the words on the lying stone and found a way to escape. This left him somewhat stunned. The surface of the pine forest had indeed been sealed by the Fourth Generation Grandmaster.
However, anyone holding the *Source Heaven Scripture* would inevitably be trapped inside. This was by design of the Source Heaven patterns laid by the Fourth Generation Grandmaster, intended to lure later generations in to receive his inheritance and take his lifelong, “sublimated” work out.
Ye Fan silently bowed towards the depths of the pine forest. Alas, a generation of extraordinary talent, with earth-shattering abilities, still couldn’t change his own fate in the end.
“I don’t want to endure such torment in my later years…”
Half an hour later, following the stone carvings left by the Fourth Generation Grandmaster, Ye Fan smoothly walked out of the pine forest without encountering any danger.
He looked back. The moonlight was like water. The pine forest was like a painting. A scene of pure tranquility.
Ye Fan sighed softly. The esteemed Fourth Generation Grandmaster hadn’t even left behind his bones. What exactly had happened?
He sped away, turning into a wisp of smoke on the blood-colored earth, distancing himself from this deadly place.
Dozens of li meant nothing to him. He soon left it far behind.
Ahead, several figures stood in the moonlight, their bodies shrouded in a hazy glow. None were missing. Exactly six people.
Ye Fan had nearly met with disaster, yet these six were safe and sound, waiting here leisurely. What a contrast in experiences. But he had nothing to complain about; after all, he had gained the Source Art inheritance.
“Hey, little brother, you really have guts. You told us to run fast, but you yourself charged into the pine forest like you didn’t care about your life.”
“Yeah, Daoist. We all thought you were sacrificing yourself for us, to let us escape.”
Li Desheng and Chen Huaiyuan were surprised to see him return alive and spoke thus.
The corner of Ye Fan’s mouth twitched. There was really no way to explain it. When the Grandmaster summons, can one not go?
“Daoist, is there some malevolent object on you?” the Holy Maiden of Yao Chi asked in surprise. Her body was wreathed in mist, hiding her true features, but one could perceive her seriousness and solemnity.
“Nothing.” Ye Fan was puzzled and looked at her.
“No, there must be a malevolent object. The secret treasure on my body has sensed it. Extremely dangerous.” The Holy Maiden of Yao Chi’s voice was like heavenly music, but she asked very solemnly, “Did you obtain some artifact from the Primordial Forbidden Zone?”
Ye Fan’s heart tightened. He immediately thought of the green jade dark turtle. Other than that, he had obtained nothing else.
With a flash of light, Ye Fan took out the dark turtle and held it in his palm. Under the moonlight, it had a certain crystalline luster.
When the Holy Maiden of Yao Chi saw it, she quickly stepped back a few paces. Her beautiful eyes sparkled. “What a terrifying aura! This is a great malevolent object!”
The Holy Son Yao Guang and Yao Xi also retreated. They trusted the Holy Maiden of Yao Chi’s judgment.
“I think I’ve heard of something like this…” Old Dao Handle showed a grave expression.
“This is a piece of Divine Source,” the Holy Maiden of Yao Chi made this judgment.
“What? This is Divine Source?!” Ye Fan was quite surprised. Then he immediately shook his head. He had been studying the *Source Heaven Scripture* for a while now. How could he not distinguish the characteristics of Divine Source?
“This is already dried-up Divine Source. Its essence has been drained. It’s just an empty shell,” the Holy Maiden of Yao Chi explained. “Someone used unparalleled magical power to refine it into an empty form. Inside, it seals something terrifying…”
“That’s right, I know it. There is indeed such a saying.” Old Dao Handle nodded. “An empty shell of Divine Source is the best material for sealing a peerless malevolent being.”
“You mean… this dark turtle in my hand seals something extremely terrifying inside?” Ye Fan stared blankly, feeling like he was holding a hot potato.
“Where did you get it?” Old Dao Handle asked, also stepping back a few paces, seemingly very wary of the dark turtle.
Ye Fan found it hard to calm down. This dark turtle, no bigger than a baby’s fist, actually sealed something unimaginably terrifying. It was completely unexpected.
He didn’t dare reveal the origin of this object. If he told them he took it from the ashes beneath the divine platform of a magnificent ancient temple, these people would probably be even more shocked.
“I picked this up in the pine forest. How many years do you think it has existed? Is the thing sealed inside already turned to ashes?”
Just then, Li Desheng cried out. A trickle of blood oozed from his left eye. Trembling, he pointed at the dark turtle. “There’s demonic power inside!”
His left eye was a natural Yin Nether Eye, occasionally able to pierce the Yin Nether and see special things. When he said this, everyone became tense.
Ye Fan almost threw it away. This was too unbelievable. How many years had passed? What could live for such a long time? It was too unreal.
“What did you see?” the others asked Li Desheng.
“I can’t see clearly. It’s too hazy, but it’s very terrifying. My Yin Nether Eye was injured.” Li Desheng shook his head.
“Everyone, do you think this is realistic?” Ye Fan shook his head. “An empty Divine Source shell found in the Primordial Forbidden Zone. Even if it was left here by the Human Clan, it’s probably been thousands of years. What thing sealed for so long could still be alive? Do you really think it’s an Eastern Wasteland Divine King, capable of being immortal for four thousand years?”
“It’s okay. Let’s take a closer look in a moment.” The Holy Son Yao Guang’s body shone with brilliant light, auspicious colors flowing. A beam of holy light shot out and entered Li Desheng’s left eye.
In an instant, his Yin Nether Eye healed and stopped bleeding. This made everyone present’s hearts tighten. This holy light, which was immune to all spells, was indeed powerful.
Ye Fan also wanted to get to the bottom of it. He didn’t want to carry a malevolent object on him. If it ended up harming him, it would be like lifting a rock to drop on his own foot.
Li Desheng’s Yin Nether Eye was pitch black. A faint gloomy light shot out, once again gazing at the green, oily dark turtle.
At the same time, the Holy Son Yao Guang enveloped him with holy light to prevent him from being injured again and interrupting the process.
Li Desheng’s Yin Nether Eye flashed one last time, and the gloomy light disappeared. In that short moment, even with the Holy Son Yao Guang’s help, he still shed more than a dozen drops of blood.
“What did you see?” Ye Fan pressed.
“I saw a blurry corpse… already rotten, shrouded in black mist. There’s a demonic power vibrating!” Li Desheng’s face was deathly pale, as if he had been frightened.
Ye Fan felt it was really bad luck. He had finally obtained an artifact from an ancient temple, and it contained a sealed corpse. The corner of his mouth twitched.
At this moment, the Holy Maiden of Yao Chi, Yao Xi, and the Holy Son Yao Guang all changed color. Even Old Dao Handle was startled.
“This seal must never be opened. Otherwise, the demonic energy alone would be enough to kill everyone in a small city.”
“Is it that terrifying?” Ye Fan asked.
“Of course! A creature sealed in an empty Divine Source shell must be a peerless expert. Even if dead, the demonic energy hasn’t dissipated. Once it bursts out, it will be devastating.”
“I advise the Daoist to throw it away quickly. Otherwise, if the shell breaks, the first one hurt will be the Daoist himself.”
“Indeed.” Ye Fan stroked his chin, thinking as he spoke. Throwing it away was impossible. This was practically a deterrent artifact, worth treasuring!
If he were ever pursued in the future, whether it was a Supreme Elder of Yaoguang or a Supreme Elder of the Ji Family, he would just throw this at them. If he could take half a life from such a big shot, it would all be worth it.
Furthermore, since things sealed in empty Divine Source shells were generally peerless figures, they might also carry great artifacts and treasures on them.
The seven set off again. This time, they made a wide detour around the pine forest, heading towards the edge of the blood-colored plain. They felt they were truly about to leave the Primordial Forbidden Zone.
Suddenly, the sound of light footsteps came. Everyone turned their heads.
Under the moonlit night, a young child with soft, flowing hair came bouncing and skipping. He looked only four or five years old, with a chubby, fair, and clean face. Very cute.
This couldn’t be a human child, because he had a pair of pure white wings on his back, and his eyes held double pupils.
“A living being!” Old Dao Handle changed color. The Holy Maiden of Yao Chi, the Holy Son Yao Guang, and Yao Xi were also shocked, unable to remain calm.
Since ancient times, very few people had seen living creatures in the Primordial Ancient Mine. Those who saw them were sure to die.
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