Chapter 361: Peerless Ten Thousand Dragon Nest
The old ape stood tall and majestic, its snow-white fur gleaming as it sat in meditation with closed eyes, sealed within mysterious ice. It looked lifelike, as if harmonizing with the Dao, as though it still possessed life.
In years past, this ancient ape had strode arrogantly through the world, looking down on all under heaven, able to contend with Holy Lands. Yet in the end, it sat withered within mysterious ice, ultimately unable to escape death, passing away quietly.
The ancient well sealed by mysterious ice was bottomless, strands of dragon qi continuously seeping out. The group pondered for a moment, hesitating whether to move the ice.
Ye Fan said, "We can't enter from here. The old ape sealed this place. Given its heaven-defying abilities in the past, it likely left behind countermeasures."
The big black dog had the most authority on this matter. Its attainment in dao patterns was extremely profound. After careful observation, it frowned and said, "There are too many restrictions. Breaking them would be extremely troublesome."
The group decisively retreated. They had no time to break through. The snow apes would return soon, and if they got trapped here, they would surely alert the Ice Snow Palace.
Sure enough, not long after they withdrew, several hundred snow apes howled as they returned, leaping from one mountain peak to another. Their bodies were agile and incredibly strong—they were natural demon beasts.
"All six Source Dragon Fruits have been picked. What a pity!" The big black dog was deeply regretful.
In the snow valley, the six emerald-green plants had all withered, their spiritual essence completely drained, shattering in the cold wind.
"The dragon qi from underground has been seeping out, nourishing this Source Dragon Grass. If we dig deeper from here, we should be able to enter the dragon vein," Ye Fan said.
The group immediately set to work, breaking open an ice path and delving downward. But after descending only a few dozen meters, they were stunned.
There were dao patterns underground. Everything deep within the earth's strata was completely sealed, impossible to open, incredibly sturdy.
Ye Fan was astonished. "Someone discovered the dragon vein long ago and sealed it underground. There must be something extraordinary here."
"These dao patterns have existed for tens of thousands of years, extremely profound. Even this emperor finds it very difficult to break them," the big black dog, an expert in this field, judged.
"I understand—this must be the ruins left by that ancient Holy Land from the past!" Tu Fei exclaimed, both surprised and delighted.
"Does that mean a great opportunity might be waiting for us?" Pang Bo laughed out loud.
"It really could be a fleeting chance." Ye Fan used his Source Art to deduce that some change had occurred underground, causing the dragon qi to overflow.
This terrain was called True Dragon Nirvana, involving yin and yang as well as life and death. Once the dragon qi converged internally, it would be extremely difficult to fix it in place again.
After careful thought, Ye Fan said, "The dragon vein is undergoing nirvana. This might not happen even once in tens of thousands of years, and it should complete within a few days."
Hearing these words, the big black dog perked up like it had been injected with stimulant. "Let this emperor try to see if it can be broken."
After a day and a night, it was exhausted like a dead dog, lying on the ground, sticking out its tongue and panting. It tossed a Divine Source bean into its mouth before becoming lively again.
"This is definitely the dao pattern formation of an ancient Holy Land. Under normal circumstances, it's almost impossible to break. But since it's been so many years, flaws have finally appeared. We should be able to enter."
Hearing this conclusion, the group's spirits lifted. This was very likely the underground palace left by that Holy Land from seventy or eighty thousand years ago.
The so-called flaw was where the dragon qi overflowed, where the dao patterns were damaged. The big black dog focused intently, walking at the front, continuously carving and rewriting the patterns.
It took an entire day before they penetrated deep into the earth's strata and fell into a vast underground palace.
"The dragon vein was sealed underground by someone. It seems someone recognized it long ago!"
This was a massive project, requiring endless manpower, extremely vast, stretching beyond sight.
The grand underground palace exuded an ancient air, as if draped in a layer of dust. Stone chambers, stone halls—everything bore the marks of time.
But the underground wasn't too dim. A few peculiar stones emitted light, allowing them to see everything clearly.
Additionally, dragon qi surged like rivers, rushing underground. Bathing in it made one feel refreshed and clear-minded.
"The aura of Divine Source!"
Ye Fan's expression shifted. Within the surging dragon qi, the essence of Divine Source overflowed in all directions. Clearly, there was peerless Source treasure hidden deep within the underground palace.
"We haven't stumbled into the Divine Treasury of an ancient Holy Land, have we?" Pang Bo was also surprised.
"Damn it, that dead dog wants to hog everything again. Don't run!" Tu Fei shouted.
The big black dog, without a word, had already bolted away, as fast as a black bolt of lightning, nearly disappearing in the blink of an eye.
"This dead dog is good in every way except for being too greedy. It snatches treasures the moment it sees them." The three gave chase without pause.
The vast underground palace seemed endless, deathly silent, without a single sound.
None of them stopped. They headed straight for the source of the dragon qi. The Divine Source aura was also in that direction. The further they rushed, the more they could feel the most primal essence.
"This underground palace is too enormous!"
They had charged dozens of li without reaching their destination. The ancient underground palace seemed to have no end.
"I feel something's not quite right. Was this really built by that Holy Land?" Pang Bo was suspicious.
Passing through one stone palace after another, they finally neared the source of the dragon qi. The big black dog was the first to stop.
Ahead, there was no path. A massive abyss lay before them, and the underground palace behind seemed to stand on the edge of a cliff.
Such a huge abyss left them dumbfounded. Below was pitch black, impossible to see anything, giving an eerie feeling.
The endless dragon qi and Divine Source aura surged up from the great abyss, filled with mystery and strangeness.
The big black dog had seen much in its time, but even it was stunned, its mouth hanging open, staring blankly.
Such a vast abyss, like a bottomless pit, seemed capable of devouring one's mind, drawing them into its depths.
"I feel a chill running down my spine. This place is filled with an evil, sinister power." Tu Fei shivered.
The abyss was extremely empty and silent, as if connected to the underworld, making their hearts tremble.
"I misjudged. This is far more terrifying than True Dragon Nirvana. This should be one of the most powerful terrains in the world!" Ye Fan was alarmed.
Hearing this, Pang Bo and Tu Fei felt their hearts pound. Even the big black dog, with its thick nerves, felt a bit creeped out, muttering, "What the hell is this place?"
"True Dragon Nirvana is just the surface, the terrain of the mountains and rivers close to the surface. There's something else hidden below—more than one dragon!"
Ye Fan also felt a chill. He had never imagined such a bizarre and terrifying terrain. He studied it seriously.
In the endless dark abyss, dragon qi surged like a tide, occasionally flashing with divine radiance as a few Divine Source particles shot up, crystal clear and sparkling.
"This is too absurd. Divine Source particles are rushing up. There must be more than one piece of peerless Divine Source!" Tu Fei said.
"Kid, have you figured it out yet? Can we go in? There must be peerless divine treasures below!" The big black dog couldn't sit still.
"This should be the legendary 'Ten Thousand Dragon Nest.' Unbelievable—how can such terrain actually exist?!" Ye Fan muttered to himself, his expression stiff, filled with shock.
When he had dismissed True Dragon Nirvana, he was already shocked, thinking he had missed other dragon veins. But after careful observation and true understanding, he was completely dumbfounded.
This was the legendary Ten Thousand Dragon Nest. In the Source Heaven Scripture, it was only recorded but had no method for breaking it. It was considered one of the most terrifying forbidden lands.
The so-called Ten Thousand Dragon Nest could give birth to dragon veins—not just one or two. According to the speculations of Origin Heavenly Masters, in the distant past, it might very well have been the true nest of a real dragon.
Heaven and earth intermingled, all things aligning with heavenly mysteries. The Ten Thousand Dragon Nest could even give birth to a true dragon.
Tu Fei, Pang Bo, and the big black dog were also stunned. Even an Origin Heavenly Master would be helpless against such terrain, so naturally, they could gain nothing.
"That's not right. Look at this underground palace—it's so vast, built atop the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest yet remaining intact, not destroyed. It shouldn't be a death ground," Pang Bo said.
"Could it be... the legend is true?" Tu Fei seemed to recall something, revealing an expression of disbelief.
"What legend?" Ye Fan asked.
"The ancient Holy Land was called the Nether God Palace. Legend has it that their inheritance didn't originate from humans."
"You're not saying it came from the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest, are you?" Pang Bo was shocked.
Tu Fei said, "It's not impossible. Some rumors say they obtained some mysterious ancient inheritance from underground."
"What is that?" The big black dog's eyes were sharp, and it couldn't help but take a few steps back.
In the endless abyss, in the deepest pitch-black darkness, a faint crystalline glimmer flickered, blurrily rising.
"Could some terrifying creature be about to emerge?" The group's expressions froze; none could remain calm.
Dragon qi surged, the aura of Divine Source rushed toward them, and the crystalline glimmer in the dark abyss became clearer, gradually rising.
"It's being pushed up by the dragon qi!"
"It's an ice palace!"
The dragon qi surged like a tide from the abyss, and an ice palace floated up and down, sparkling and crystalline.
It wasn't very large, about the size of a room. Calling it a palace was a stretch, but its shape was indeed that of a palace.
It was completely transparent, crystal clear, peculiar in the underground world, with spiritual essence seeping out.
"Nether God Palace!" The group was shocked. On the ice palace, they saw these three ancient characters, the same name as that ancient Holy Land from the past.
"Could it be that their inheritance truly came from the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest?!" None of them could remain calm.
"There's someone inside!" Pang Bo was startled, pulling Ye Fan back a few steps, his pupils contracting.
At that moment, Tu Fei and the big black dog also saw it. Inside the ice palace lay a person, formed like ice crystals, completely white, nearly transparent, matching the color of the ice palace.
She lay quietly inside, covered in white gauze, her form supremely beautiful—truly ice muscles and jade bones. Her jet-black hair was glossy and bright, covering most of her face, making it impossible to see her true features.
But without a doubt, she must have been a peerless beauty. She seemed to be sleeping, or perhaps a cold corpse.
"Could she still be alive?" The big black dog's eyes flickered.
Ye Fan and Pang Bo were also uncertain. This peerless beauty was lifelike, truly as if peacefully asleep, radiating a tranquil aura.
"She should have passed away, right? After all, it's been seventy or eighty thousand years," Tu Fei said, lost in thought.
"Do you know who she is?" Pang Bo asked.
"There's a rumor. The invincible Divine King of the Jiang Family, wielding an Extreme Imperial Weapon, swept away endless towering snowy mountains, turning the vast mountainous land into boundless plains. Only the female Sacred Lord of the Nether God Palace Holy Land escaped."
"This is the female Sacred Lord of that ancient Holy Land?!" Ye Fan and Pang Bo were both shocked.
"It should be her," Tu Fei nodded.
Just then, the dragon qi surged, and the Nether God Palace began to slowly sink, disappearing into the dark Ten Thousand Dragon Nest, rising and falling with the surging dragon qi.
Seeing this scene, Ye Fan's heart stirred. "We might be able to enter the Ten Thousand Dragon Nest!"