Chapter 519: The Extraordinary Scholars Mansion Extends an Invitation
The Immortal Pool overflowed with spiritual energy, with fragrant orchids and ganoderma nearby, the pure scent of dragon grass, glistening clams and ginseng, and millennia-old spiritual herbs everywhere. Rare birds and strange beasts shaped like three-legged Golden Crows, Divine Phoenixes, and Qilins roamed about, making it seem like a mythical world.
The nine-orifice strange stone trembled lightly, its radiance blazing brightly, connecting like strands of silk to Little Nannan's tender arm, with essence flowing and completely penetrating into her.
Several Supreme Elders of Yao Chi were greatly alarmed and wanted to stop it, but they were all pushed back by a patch of colorful light, unable to approach, each one anxious and uneasy.
"Hurry and stop her, don't let the Stone King be harmed!"
They shouted and acted together, their palms and fingers shimmering with myriad colors, sending out beams of jade light, trying to pull Little Nannan away and resolve the crisis for the Stone King.
"Nannan, how are you?" Ye Fan asked with concern, quickly stepping forward. When he touched the colorful light, he too was pushed back and couldn't get close.
"It bit me," the little one said very aggrievedly, pouting her small lips, her eyes clear and bright, her eyelashes trembling slightly.
"Did it hurt you? Are you injured anywhere?" Li Heishui also asked with concern.
The nine-orifice Stone King flowed with light and color, trembling continuously, its essence gushing out and surging into the little girl's arm, coating her in a layer of brilliant radiance, making her look like a glowing porcelain doll.
"My palm hurts a little. It bit me and won't let go." Little Nannan looked very innocent, wrinkling her delicate little nose.
"As long as you're not hurt, that's what matters. Nothing must happen to you," Wu Zhongtian said.
The people of Yao Chi were completely speechless, a hint of indignation in their hearts. At this moment, the Stone King was dispersing its essence, and these fellows were still worried about this little child.
"Do you have a way to make her let go?" one Supreme Elder spoke up.
"Little sister, can you move away from the strange stone? Hurry back, or there might be danger, you know." The Holy Maiden of Yao Chi crouched down, patiently talking to Little Nannan.
"Sooner or later, it'll be a big disaster. It's better to just let her drain it dry!" The Big Black Dog bared its teeth, looking excited. It wished Little Nannan would suck all the essence out of the Stone King.
"Dead dog, don't talk nonsense." Ye Fan shot it a glare, then also told Little Nannan to step back. Otherwise, they probably wouldn't be able to leave Yao Chi.
"Nannan wants to step back too, but it's biting my palm," Little Nannan pouted, trying to pull back with force, but her little hand was stuck to it.
"What can be done about this?" The people of Yao Chi were anxious. Someone suggested going to invite the Western Queen Mother, or even drawing out a wisp of Extreme Dao Sacred Might.
When the Big Black Dog heard about using the Extreme Imperial Weapon, it shuddered, jumped up, and claimed to have a solution. It went forward to instruct Little Nannan.
"Close your eyes, and in your mind, imagine that you are a deity, omnipotent, floating in the air..."
"Are you stalling for time?" The Holy Maiden of Yao Chi was very clever, looking at the Big Black Dog with dissatisfaction, a wisp of divine light shooting from her eyes.
"No, I'm using a mental guidance technique to help her relax. Otherwise, even if the Western Queen Mother came, she couldn't separate them." The Big Black Dog spoke with great conviction, then continued its instructions.
"You are a deity, overlooking the ancient earth, with magnificent mountains and rivers, all things newly born, everything beneath your feet. You fly towards the Immortal Domain..."
The Big Black Dog muttered on and on, like an old shaman, droning endlessly without stopping.
The women of Yao Chi, though known for their good temper, were all covered in black lines of frustration, wanting to stomp their lotus feet on its big black face a few times.
"What are you talking about?!" One Supreme Elder couldn't stand it anymore and prepared to activate the Great Dao inherent in Yao Chi, drawing out a wisp of Extreme Dao Sacred Might.
"Swish!"
But at that moment, Little Nannan's hand let go. She floated up, slowly moving away from the nine-orifice strange stone, no longer absorbing its essence.
The little girl was very serious, meticulous, doing everything exactly as Black Emperor had said. With her eyes closed, she slowly imagined those scenes, her whole body flowing with colorful light, like a little fairy.
Every inch of her skin shimmered with radiance, sparkling like seven-colored crystal, flawless and pure. A sacred aura was spreading, purifying people's hearts.
"It actually works?" The Big Black Dog muttered.
Hearing this, everyone wanted to stomp on it, especially the graceful fairies of Yao Chi, who glared at it angrily.
"What I mean is, this ancient guidance technique—this Emperor has never tried it before. I never thought it would actually be useful." The Big Black Dog quickly explained, afraid of angering these fairies.
"Whoosh!"
The nine-orifice Stone King broke free, like a startled old rabbit. With a whoosh, it turned into a beam of divine light and plunged into the Immortal Pool, refusing to come out again.
"It's really become a spirit! It can run on its own!" Liu Kou exclaimed.
Any Stone King could fly through the sky and burrow into the earth, having long possessed its own spiritual consciousness, more terrifying than many powerful cultivators, let alone this nine-orifice strange stone that was about to give birth to a Sacred Spirit.
"Swish!"
Little Nannan was meticulous, still earnestly comprehending those scenes, and suddenly shot up into the sky, emitting endless rosy clouds.
"Rising with radiance to ascend!" the Big Black Dog exclaimed in surprise.
Everyone was astonished, especially Ye Fan and Li Heishui. The little girl normally couldn't fly at all, but now she was not only floating but also breaking through the air. It was truly astonishing.
"It really looks like an immortal ascending..." The people of Yao Chi were all dazed.
At this moment, Little Nannan was enveloped in immortal light, like a daylight ascension, rising with radiance. She even opened up a passage, as if about to enter a mysterious world.
"Boom!"
Suddenly, a wisp of Extreme Dao Immortal Might descended, like nine layers of high heaven pressing down. Everyone was frozen in place, their hearts filled with terror.
"Aiya..."
Little Nannan cried out in alarm, falling down, no longer able to fly. Facing the towering height, her big eyes were filled with fear.
Ye Fan's whole body surged with golden blood energy. With difficulty, he summoned the Primordial Qi Cauldron, with tens of thousands of strands of Mother Qi hanging down, protecting him.
"Swish!"
It was as if he were carrying millions of great mountains, going against the heavens, struggling to fly into the air. He caught the falling Little Nannan and retreated.
That short distance had subjected him to an incomparably terrifying pressure. If not for his powerful physical body and the hanging Mother Qi, it would have been almost impossible to fly.
"The Western Emperor's Pagoda!"
Wu Zhongtian, Jiang Huairen, Liu Kou, and the others were all shocked. This must be the Extreme Dao Sacred Weapon forged from Immortal Tear Green Gold—the Western Emperor's Pagoda, also known as the Immortal Tear Pagoda!
This was a wisp of Extreme Dao Immortal Might, suppressing everything. No one could resist it, not even a Saint Lord-rank figure could contend with it.
There were only a few Ancient Great Emperors in history, and naturally only a few Extreme Dao Sacred Weapons. Yao Chi possessed one, forged by the Western Emperor from Immortal Tear Green Gold, renowned throughout the ages!
A Holy Land that had produced a Supreme Great Emperor, in a sense, had a much stronger foundation than other ancient inheritances. The Sacred Weapon left behind was enough to suppress everything!
Anyone entering such a Holy Land would be under the shadow of the Extreme Dao Sacred Weapon. Even a Peerless Expert would not dare to act recklessly, as it could not be broken through.
Ordinarily, without being activated, the Immortal Tear Pagoda had long been placed here, naturally forming a supreme Great Dao, suppressing the entire heaven and earth, as solid as gold.
Little Nannan had been blocked by the pressure of the Extreme Dao Sacred Weapon, unable to break through the void and leave, unable to force her way through.
"This child..."
While Ye Fan and the others were stunned by the terror of the Western Emperor's Pagoda, the several Supreme Elders of Yao Chi all fixed their gazes on Little Nannan, scrutinizing her closely.
"Nannan didn't mean to. That stone bit me..." The little one was a bit uneasy, speaking softly, thinking she had made a big mistake.
The nine-orifice Stone King had not been fundamentally harmed, which relieved the people of Yao Chi. They were inwardly shocked by Little Nannan's identity and origin. Clearly, she was no ordinary child.
The Monkey, with his fiery golden eyes, stared at the little one for a long time but couldn't see through her. He muttered, "Strange. A deity?!"
Ye Fan and the others walked out of the Immortal Pool, all letting out a long breath. Fortunately, the people of Yao Chi were calm and didn't make an issue of it.
"Sooner or later, Yao Chi will face a great disaster. That Stone King will likely cause rivers of blood to flow across the land. Once it comes into the world, it will be an existence comparable to an Ancient Great Emperor. Who can contend with it?" the Big Black Dog said solemnly.
"Anyway, it's none of our business. In five thousand years, our bones will have rotted away." Jiang Huairen didn't care.
Hearing these words, Ye Fan felt a particular sense of loss for the first time. In five thousand years, he would be in his prime, but without any accidents, the friends by his side would all have died.
A Saint Lord could only live for about two thousand years, but if he could achieve Great Accomplishment, he could live for ten thousand years. He would have to watch helplessly as Li Heishui, Tu Fei, and others died.
Yao Chi was very large, covering a vast area with various terrains. Passing through a stretch of spiritual mountains, they came to a swampy area ahead. Several golden lights were leaping in the mud pond, with a few old men watching.
"Dragon Loach!" The Big Black Dog was surprised, scurrying over excitedly. "This is a treasure for alchemy, many times more precious than tens of thousands of years of spiritual medicine. It's a priceless spiritual creature. Yao Chi actually has three of them!"
The Dragon Loach was only about a foot long, shaped like a dragon, but it was actually a kind of loach. Its whole body was golden, leaping in the mud, its spiritual energy soaring to the heavens. Every drop of its essence blood was priceless.
Beside the mud pond, the several old men all had extraordinary auras. Even the Monkey was a bit tense when he saw them, clearly regarding them as opponents for a life-and-death battle.
"One of them seems to be the Western Queen Mother!" Wu Zhongtian said softly, showing surprise.
One of the women looked about thirty-five or thirty-six years old, beautiful and dignified, with a serene expression. Her black hair danced lightly, with a red dot on her forehead, and her eyes were like water, making people feel close. She indeed had the charm of a generation's Queen Mother.
Beside her were three old men, each extraordinary. One wore a golden feathered robe, as if about to ascend and become an immortal. Another was dressed in purple, surrounded by purple mist, noble beyond words. The third was ethereal, like a wisp of mist, imprinted into the Great Dao of heaven and earth.
"Another Sacred Body has appeared. How rare." The old man in the golden feathered robe nodded.
"You are..." Ye Fan asked hesitantly.
"This is a senior and extraordinary person from the Central Province," the Western Queen Mother spoke, dignified and holy, her eyes ethereal and empty.
They were definitely great figures, Ye Fan and the others guessed. Otherwise, the Western Queen Mother of Yao Chi wouldn't have introduced them in such a prompting manner.
"Are you willing to go to the Central Province to cultivate?" the old man in the golden feathered robe asked calmly.
Ye Fan was taken aback, not knowing why he said that, completely puzzled.
"The Extraordinary Scholars Mansion is about to reopen. This is a rare opportunity," the Western Queen Mother of Yao Chi said with a smile beside him.
"The Extraordinary Scholars Mansion..." Ye Fan didn't understand. He really hadn't heard of it, after all, he wasn't from this world.
Beside him, Li Heishui and the others were shocked, their words stammering. "Once every ten thousand years... the Extraordinary Scholars Mansion is going to reopen again!?"
"After all these years, it's still going..." the Big Black Dog muttered in surprise.
"Only Saint Son-level figures can enter. It's a sacred ground for the growth of kings. It reopens once every ten thousand years. I never thought the time had come again!" Wu Zhongtian's eyes shone with divine radiance.
"I've heard that each time, the most outstanding young experts are selected from the Central Province, Northern Plains, Western Desert, Southern Ridge, and Eastern Wasteland. Is that true?" Jiang Huairen asked.
The old man in the golden feathered robe nodded. "Each Holy Land can send at most two people. The five regions—Central Province, Eastern Wasteland, Southern Ridge, and so on—are all the same. Only the most outstanding young experts are chosen."
"Kid, agree to them!" Black Emperor secretly transmitted a message.
"Why?" Ye Fan asked.
"The Extraordinary Scholars Mansion, reopening once every ten thousand years, might be related to the outer domains. Emperor Wu Shi once mentioned the words 'Ziwei.' Moreover, all the Holy Sons and Holy Maidens, as well as various King Bodies, will enter. Those ancient inheritances are all sending people. There are definitely enormous benefits. You must go!"