Chapter 376: Cutting Out a Divine Maiden
Ye Fan arrived before the Immortal Tomb, silently observing and carefully sensing. With a flash, he revealed a silver blade and prepared to swing it down.
Suddenly, an immense sense of crisis arose in his heart. A hair-raising aura enveloped his entire body. He retreated like lightning, carrying the Immortal Tomb with him.
But nothing appeared at the original spot. No danger descended, no anomaly manifested. Everything remained calm as usual.
"What's wrong, Little Leaf?" Li Heishui transmitted a message secretly, his expression tense.
"Nothing!" Ye Fan shook his head, standing in place, ready to resume cutting the stone.
"Buzz—"
Ye Fan's eyes flickered with purple light. The Source Heaven Divine Sense once again issued a warning. He felt the threat of death approaching once more, sending chills down his spine.
He shifted his steps lightly, moving like a banished immortal, dodging to the side. What was going on? Doubt and unease filled his heart.
Could it be that those old fellows wanted to kill him? But he didn't sense any dragon qi surging toward him, nor any earth vein fluctuations. There were no flaws to be found.
"What are you doing, dancing with the Immortal Tomb? How ridiculous!" a young disciple from the Ancient Source Art Aristocratic Clan mocked.
"If you're not going to cut the stone, dawdling like this and dancing with a tomb, is that supposed to be interesting?" another disciple from the Source Art Aristocratic Clan laughed, openly ridiculing him.
"Keep those two rags of yours shut tight and don't spit out filth!" Li Heishui retorted, his words equally grating.
"You... you're the ones being absurd, carrying a stone tomb around and wandering. Who's to blame!?"
Ye Fan ignored them. He fixed his gaze on the Immortal Tomb, pondering seriously. Could it be that something inside had leaked out a terrifying killing intent, triggering his warning?
At this thought, he shuddered violently. This was an extremely serious consequence. Could there be a living creature inside the Immortal Tomb?
Moreover, had it awakened and fully revived?! If so, it would likely lead to a river of blood and a mountain of corpses, and he would be the first to bear the brunt.
Was it really that serious? Ye Fan placed the Immortal Tomb on the ground and carefully examined it with his Source Heaven Divine Sense. To his surprise, no killing intent leaked from within, and instead, a faint sacred aura flowed out.
Just then, a cloud drifted by, blocking the sun and casting a shadow. He suddenly became alert, realizing something.
Ye Fan looked up toward the opposite side. Nangong Qi and the other three old men stood with their hands behind their backs, smiling, motionless, staring at him.
"Too vicious!" Ye Fan's expression darkened, turning grim.
The other side had made several attempts on his life, clearly intent on wiping him out completely. He had only defended himself passively a few times, yet they had only escalated their attacks.
If he hadn't studied the Source Heaven Scroll, mastered Source Arts, and understood many ancient secret techniques—and if that flash of insight hadn't come to him—he might have died without ever knowing how.
Nangong Qi and the others weren't using dragon qi or earth veins. They were killing through momentum—a peerless secret technique in Source Arts, killing without a trace.
Their positioning was very deliberate, sealing the "Heavenly Momentum" and "Earthly Momentum" of the Heaven-Tier Stone Garden. With so many extraordinary stones here, it was naturally no weaker than the grand momentum of innate dragon veins.
The four of them were using ancient Source Art methods to guide the "grand momentum" of the dragon veins, preparing to launch a thunderous strike, turning him into pus and blood without him even noticing.
Ye Fan was truly enraged. These men had profound Source Art skills, even knowing such secret techniques, yet their methods were so venomous, repeatedly trying to harm him.
"Can you do it or not? If you're not cutting the Immortal Tomb, just admit defeat!"
The young disciples of the Ancient Source Art Aristocratic Clan sneered, all wearing mocking expressions as they stared at Ye Fan.
"Walking back and forth, never daring to cut open the ancient tomb. Don't you find it ridiculous?"
"Your old men want to kill me. How do you expect me to cut it?" Ye Fan stated directly, revealing the reason in front of everyone.
Moreover, he suddenly stepped forward, quickly moving to several key positions in the stone garden, continuously stirring up the grand momentum of the dragon veins.
Nangong Qi and the others immediately changed color. The four old men swiftly left their original positions, simultaneously shouting to the nearby disciples: "Retreat!"
"Pfft!"
A Source Art disciple who had been sneering at Ye Fan suddenly froze. His internal organs had been turned into pus and blood by the dragon vein momentum of this place. Though his external body was unharmed, his life force was already gone, and he fell straight to the ground.
"Whoa!"
The stone garden erupted in commotion, both inside and out. Source Arts killing without a trace made their hearts race with fear—so terrifying!
"You're not the only ones who know ancient Source Art secret techniques. I know them too. If you want to kill, I'll play along!" Ye Fan showed no fear, facing Nangong Qi and the others. "Want to continue? I'm game. I still have life-slaying grand arts I haven't used yet!"
The onlookers all retreated. A duel between Source Art grandmasters was this terrifying, taking lives without anyone noticing.
People finally understood why, in the past, when the Origin Heavenly Master roamed the world, even the great Saint Lords could do nothing against him. Even without orthodox cultivation methods, he still possessed earth-shattering means.
"You..." The surviving disciples of the Ancient Source Art Aristocratic Clan, their faces pale, all retreated.
Nangong Qi and the others looked grim, their expressions cold, saying nothing.
"Four old bastards teaming up against Gu Feng, have you no shame?!" Li Heishui shouted angrily.
"It's fine. Let them use whatever means they have. I'll take them on!" Ye Fan was very calm, looking around with pride, dominating the four Source Art grandmasters.
The crowd was astonished. The young Source Art grandmaster had subdued the people of the Source Art Aristocratic Clan. Everyone was stunned.
Ye Fan didn't continue cutting the Immortal Tomb. Instead, he began setting up formations in the jade bamboo grove, saying, "For everyone's safety, I'll isolate a pure zone."
Source Art duels involved life and death. The disciples of the Aristocratic Clan had long declared they would trample Ye Fan in the duel. Only now did the crowd believe it wasn't just provocation or taunting—it was real.
At this moment, the Great Power of the Ji Family, Xu Tianxiong, and the Great Xia Imperial Uncle had finished carving the array patterns, placing the blood sacrifice altar in the center.
"You may cut this stone now." Red Dragon Daoist gestured to Nangong Qi.
"Very well, I'll cut the stone first." Nangong Qi stepped forward, but didn't approach closely, preparing to wield the blade from a distance.
The four grandmasters had already observed and determined there was a divine maiden inside. He didn't want to awaken her and be killed in the process.
"Is this array pattern reliable?" an elder asked uneasily. If a Primeval Royal Clan emerged, it could mean mountains of corpses and rivers of blood, with millions dead.
"Other array patterns might not work, but this one is sufficient. It's the dao pattern law of the Divine City's heavenly prison, capable of restraining any expert." a Supreme Elder from a Holy Land said.
The Divine City had existed since ancient times, traceable back to the earliest human era. No one knew its true origin.
Its heavenly prison was unimaginable. Even top-tier experts would find it hard to escape once trapped. Hence, the three Saint Lord-rank figures weren't too worried.
"Crack!"
Nangong Qi swung his blade from a distance. The silver light was like a flowing ribbon, dancing in the air with great agility, like a true dragon in motion.
At that moment, a thick aura burst forth. Even those who didn't understand Source Arts felt a tremor, sensing a pressure.
"The aura of Tai Chu!"
Anyone familiar with source stones knew this was the unique, intense aura of Tai Chu, many times stronger than what they had seen before.
People even suspected this stone came from the Primordial Ancient Mine!
Stone chips fell with a rustling sound. The terrifying aura grew stronger and stronger. Many couldn't help trembling, as if they had already stepped into the Primordial Forbidden Zone of Life.
"How can just a stone bring such a strong, terrifying feeling?"
"Could it really be a blood stone from the Primordial Ancient Mine?"
Many elders questioned the people of Yaoguang Stone Workshop, asking how far the temple was from the Primordial Ancient Mine and how they had transported the blood sacrifice altar.
The Yaoguang people remained expressionless, offering no response. They had cut six blood stones and gotten nothing. Now, this scrap piece was about to yield a divine maiden—it was truly disheartening.
"Thud!"
A large piece of stone skin fell. The blood sacrifice altar was a third cut through. Unnoticed, an extremely chilling killing intent seeped out from the stone.
The creature inside didn't seem like a divine maiden but rather a peerless demon, making people tremble involuntarily. Many with weaker cultivation felt their hearts pound with fear.
"Fall back! It's better not to watch such excitement!"
Many were terrified and chose to retreat far away. Some even left the stone garden directly, unwilling to stay any longer.
"This isn't a rare treasure. If a Primeval King emerges, it could mean millions dead and rivers of blood. Survival is the priority."
Some were very cautious, suppressing their curiosity and desire, and truly left.
However, the vast majority didn't leave, wanting to witness the miracle firsthand. They had confidence in the Divine City's heavenly prison and in the methods of the Saint Lord-rank figures.
"Bang!"
Another large piece of stone skin fell. Piercing killing intent surged out, chilling people from head to toe, making their hearts and gall bladders cold, trembling uncontrollably.
At this point, even Nangong Qi's blade movements became sluggish. He too felt fear—the killing intent had seeped into his very bones.
"Crack!"
This time, his blade was unsteady, cutting off a thick layer of stone skin. A heaven-shaking killing intent burst forth. Nangong Qi stumbled backward, nearly falling to the ground.
Outside the arena, many people's calves cramped. Numerous cultivators of weaker strength couldn't stand and collapsed to the ground.
No one laughed, because everyone was enveloped by the killing intent, shivering with cold, their hairs standing on end.
"Crack!"
It wasn't Nangong Qi cutting, but the blood sacrifice altar itself crumbling off a stone shard. The frenzied killing intent surged out like a tsunami, making heaven and earth tremble!
"A rusted spear tip!"
"An ancient war spear from before the ages!"
An overwhelming oppression filled the air. Many were trembling, extremely tense, retreating backward. Some even went limp, covered in goosebumps.
Inside the stone was a spear tip, blood-red like crimson, covered in rust, nearly decayed. Yet it was terrifyingly fierce, with a heaven-shaking killing intent!
The chilling aura, the source of everyone's fear, all stemmed from it. The blood-stained spear tip represented destruction and death!
It wasn't sharp, had no luster. Time had nearly worn it away, but its killing intent remained undiminished.
Its form was on the verge of decay, yet the endless, chilling killing intent never faded, containing an aura that made heaven and earth tremble.
"This is a peerless fierce weapon. It must have killed unimaginable beings!"
Several Saint Lord-rank figures spoke gravely, each voicing their thoughts.
"This spear must have pierced the bodies of world-shaking figures. The blood-stained fierce weapon has left behind the supreme, chilling killing intent of that heaven-striking strike!"
Would the divine maiden in the stone emerge wielding this peerless fierce weapon?
At this thought, many trembled. Boundless fear enveloped their hearts. People retreated, shaking.
Nangong Qi calmed his mind. It took a long time before he approached again, but it was clear that the silver blade he wielded was trembling.
"Pfft!"
Suddenly, the moment the gleaming silver blade neared the spear tip, it shattered inch by inch, turning to powder. The heaven-shaking killing intent ground it to dust.
What kind of being's blood had this nearly decayed spear tip been stained with? Countless ages had passed, yet it still held such a chilling killing intent.
"Let me do it." The Great Power of the Ji Family stepped forward. He picked up another silver blade, cutting from a distance. Stone powder fell with a rustling sound.
He didn't touch the blood-red war spear, staying far from that area, wanting to cut out the other parts of the divine maiden, not wanting this peerless fierce weapon to emerge too early.
"Crack!"
Stone skin kept falling. A sacred aura spread. Soft, radiant light surged out, emitting an extremely holy and peaceful power.
"What kind of source is this? Silvery and brilliant, like starlight or moonlight?" some elders exclaimed in surprise.
"It's been cut out—a divine maiden! There really is a divine maiden inside!" many were shocked.
"A Primeval King, definitely a Primeval King!" The Supreme Elders of the Holy Lands were all astonished.
"Let's see what you'll use to bet now!" The disciples of the Source Art Aristocratic Clan were both terrified and excited, sneering as they stared at Ye Fan and Li Heishui.