Chapter 269: Meeting Pang Bo
The Undying Hall, a name carrying the immortal meaning of eternal youth, was actually the famous "Yellow Springs Tomb" recorded in the Source Heaven Scroll.
Black Emperor was startled, saying, "Kid, you're not mistaken, are you?"
"I've seen the Dragon Fire Grave and personally visited the Dragon Blood Spill Ground. I wouldn't be mistaken about a Yellow Springs Tomb of the same rank." By now, Ye Fan's understanding of Source Art had reached a very high level.
The empty hall was utterly silent, with no sound at all, and no life fluctuations could be sensed.
"There's no danger. If it were truly a Yellow Springs Tomb, we'd be in big trouble by now." The big black dog was skeptical.
A Yellow Springs Tomb was an extremely perilous death ground. For an ancient sage to expend such effort carving a Source Mountain into a palace hall like this was truly a grand undertaking.
Ye Fan and Black Emperor returned to the first main hall, unwilling to act rashly; they needed to observe carefully.
"Dao patterns... I finally sense them! There are extremely powerful Dao patterns here, channeling some mysterious force for their own use, giving this place its ageless effect." The big black dog suddenly spoke.
"Where does that force originate?" Ye Fan asked.
Black Emperor closed its eyes, only opening them after a long time, saying, "Right in the center of this hall!"
Ye Fan steered the cauldron forward, arriving at the center of the ancient hall. The floor was covered with Source Stones, carved with various patterns of birds, fish, insects, and beasts.
Ye Fan stepped out of the cauldron and lifted a stone slab from the floor, revealing a pitch-black deep well before him.
"As expected... The ancient sages had such a grand vision, turning a death ground to their own use!"
"Where does this broken well lead?"
"Naturally, it connects to the Yellow Springs, drawing divine power for the Undying Hall's use."
Faintly, the sound of flowing water came from below, along with waves of netherworld energy rising up.
"What's so special about the Yellow Springs Tomb?" the big black dog asked.
"According to the records in the book, it's the water of the Nine Nether Yellow Springs, sealed within the Source Veins, containing something unimaginable born within." Ye Fan replied.
Suddenly, the yin energy below surged up like blades, and a faint glimmer of light rippled out, no longer completely dark.
Ye Fan quickly returned to the cauldron and peered down into the deep well.
The big black dog also stretched its neck, staring with its large, round eyes without stopping.
"Rustle, rustle"
The sound of water was like metal and stone, seeming very heavy, flowing with a clanging noise, as a hazy halo of light scattered outward.
"It really is the Yellow Springs!" the big black dog exclaimed.
Below, there was a water channel sealed within crystalline, transparent Source Veins. A yellow great river surged through, roaring like a yellow dragon.
"Legend says that when the Nine Nether Yellow Springs withdrew from the human world, some remnants were left underground. Could this be real?" the big black dog said in shock.
Ye Fan's expression was solemn as he stared at the Yellow Springs below without speaking. He didn't care much about these things—they were dead matter after all. What he cared about was what was born within the Yellow Springs.
"Swish"
Spiritual energy surged up like a dragon along the ancient well, making one feel as if bathed in a spring breeze.
"Damn, that's the aura of Divine Source!" the big black dog exclaimed. "Kid, think of something! There's Divine Source down there! Get it up here!"
"You think I don't want to? But do we have the strength for that? If we break the Source Veins, we'll both die here." Ye Fan said in a deep voice.
At that moment, a glimmer of light came from the surging Yellow Springs, and a long, strip-shaped Source Stone could be faintly seen drifting with the current.
"That looks like a stone coffin to me!" the big black dog said in surprise.
"That's Divine Source! There's something sealed inside!" Ye Fan's expression turned serious.
That long, strip-shaped Source Stone sank to the bottom of the Yellow Springs, hard to see clearly, before being swept away, rushing into the depths of the Source Veins, and the area below darkened.
"Divine Source! There's a piece of Divine Source beneath this Undying Hall!" the big black dog jumped and shouted in agitation.
Of course, their communication wasn't actual speech; they had been using divine sense transmission.
Ye Fan covered the stone slab, sealing the well mouth again, and muttered to himself, "The ancient sages were truly extraordinary figures, turning a death ground to their own use. The Yellow Springs Tomb has been sealed."
At the same time, he frowned. From this, he could deduce that a single piece of Divine Source wasn't worth ten million jin of Source. Otherwise, the remains of that Primordial Saint Body would have been taken and refined long ago, not left behind.
"The Dao Palace Secret Realm truly is an insurmountable chasm..."
Ye Fan and the big black dog advanced through four main halls. In the center of each hall was a well, reaching down to the Source Veins that sealed the Yellow Springs underground.
Beneath each well were complex Dao patterns carved, transforming the divine power of the death ground into life-extending force. This greatly interested the big black dog, but even after studying it for a long time, it couldn't understand.
"This is truly speechless. Underground is the Yellow Springs, above ground is the Undying Hall..." Ye Fan sighed.
What was originally a great death ground had been transformed by ancient sages using unfathomable, mysterious Dao patterns into a treasure land that could extend one's lifespan.
Life and death were so close, separated only by a single well.
After entering six halls in succession and finding six ancient wells, Ye Fan finally relaxed. The Yellow Springs Tomb was completely sealed. Even after such a long time, the Dao patterns hadn't failed.
Otherwise, if even a tiny crack appeared in the seal of such a death ground, he and the big black dog would surely die, with no chance of survival.
In the seventh main hall, Ye Fan and the big black dog vaguely made out what was in the Yellow Springs. It really was a stone coffin, connected to a piece of Divine Source.
"How can such a thing exist?"
"A stone coffin in the Yellow Springs..." Ye Fan was also greatly shocked. What kind of figure from the ancient races was this?
He only knew that some Divine Source blocks sealed ancient creatures, but this was the first time he'd seen one sealing a stone coffin.
"I think something's off. It's probably not some ancient creature!" The big black dog's eyes flickered with light, as if recalling something.
When they entered the eighth ancient hall, Ye Fan was somewhat disappointed, as he saw no stone carvings about cultivation.
"Did the ancient sages leave nothing behind?" he wondered.
This Undying Hall was clearly an important place, never falling, and was where that Saint Body had sat in meditation and passed away. Yet nothing had been left behind.
"There are secret techniques left here, but you can't get them. Even this emperor can only stare helplessly."
"What did you find?" Ye Fan asked.
"Naturally, Dao patterns. Ancient great powers comprehended the great Dao of heaven and earth and would inscribe it in the form of Dao patterns, rarely recording it in words." The big black dog said.
Ye Fan frowned. He couldn't yet study Dao patterns in depth, and even the big black dog with its profound mastery couldn't do anything about it. However, he wasn't discouraged, as he had already obtained the great Dao secret technique from those remains.
Only the last hall remained. He was about to meet Pang Bo, and Ye Fan deeply feared something might have happened to him.
Ye Fan and Black Emperor stayed inside the cauldron, slowly flying toward the ninth ancient hall. During this process, they noticed the spiritual energy becoming richer, and faint light could be seen ahead.
They were on high alert, as a great battle might erupt at any moment. Divine sense battles were the most dangerous; one slight misstep could lead to eternal damnation!
When they pushed open the heavy stone door and entered this hall, a bright light met their eyes, sweeping away the darkness.
"This..."
It didn't look like a hall at all. It was extremely spacious, larger than the first eight halls combined.
Here, vegetation was lush, colorful flowers bloomed everywhere, and various ancient trees stretched their branches, covered with vines.
A stream gurgled, cobblestones paved the ground, an ancient pavilion stood, and green pines stood tall.
It was more like a natural garden than a hall.
"This is a self-contained space!" the big black dog exclaimed.
Ancient sages could open up small worlds, so creating an even smaller space within a hall was no problem.
This was a world of light and vitality. Suddenly entering such a lush space from a pitch-black hall was deeply shocking, the contrast was too great.
Ye Fan scanned the area, searching for Pang Bo's figure, his powerful divine sense ready to strike out like a golden sword at any moment.
The cobblestone path led into the ancient forest, where vines hung everywhere, draping from trees to the ground, covered with small white flowers.
"Pang Bo!"
Ye Fan's eyes blazed with light as he looked into the forest.
Ahead, in the ancient forest, there was an altar hidden by the trees. A tall figure sat quietly in meditation on it, with many fallen leaves on his body, as if he hadn't moved for a long time.
His build was exceptionally strong, much more robust than an ordinary person. He was bare-chested, his bronze skin full of a healthy luster, and his thick black hair draped down to his waist.
It was Pang Bo. They had been separated less than a year after arriving in this world. Several years had passed, and only now were they reunited.
"Swish"
Pang Bo, sitting on the altar, suddenly opened his eyes. They were like two bolts of lightning, extremely sharp.
Seeing such a fierce gaze, Ye Fan's heart sank. This was definitely not Pang Bo. It gave him an extremely dangerous feeling.
Although the person before him had his friend's body, he was like a wild beast, exuding a terrifying aura.
"Attack!" Ye Fan shouted.
Black Emperor let out a great roar, like a savage dragon bellowing, shaking the entire space.
"Shing," "Shing," "Shing"...
Hundreds of large banners were thrown out, surrounding the forested area.
The banners fluttered, covering the sky and earth, sealing off the forest and the altar to prevent the opponent from escaping.
"Hmph!"
A heavy snort rang out. The strong figure on the altar had eyes as sharp as knives as he fixed his gaze on Ye Fan. "Have you come to return the Dao Scripture?"
"What have you done to Pang Bo?!" Ye Fan roared.
"I am Pang Bo. Aren't I doing well now?" The strong body on the altar remained motionless, sitting quietly in meditation, but his terrifying aura became even more oppressive.
"Kid, are you sure this is really a lonely ghost with its lifespan nearly exhausted? I feel like I'm facing a true dragon!" Black Emperor urgently transmitted.
At this moment, the bare-chested Pang Bo was indeed like a primordial ferocious beast, exuding a powerful sense of oppression.
"He's bluffing. He won't live much longer. Let's attack together and take him down!" Ye Fan made the first move. From the golden lake in his brow, a golden sword was born and slashed out in an instant.
"Clang!"
From Pang Bo's brow, a divine light also shot out, clashing with Ye Fan's golden sword. A burst of dazzling and terrifying radiance erupted, like two iron hammers colliding.
"Such powerful divine sense. In just a few years, you've achieved this much." This Pang Bo's eyes shimmered with divine light. "I've never forgotten your body. Today you've come to me willingly, so I'll take it all!"
"Roar..."
The big black dog roared like a savage dragon shaking mountains and rivers. It was hard to imagine what power was contained within its body, making this space tremble violently.
On its forehead, a crack opened, revealing a third vertical eye. A terrifying black light shot out, striking toward the figure on the altar!