Chapter 564: Attaining the Dao in the Immortal Mansion
"Grawu…"
A bird cry shook the mountains, and a golden figure streaked across the sky, smashing a distant mountain peak, grabbing a twenty-meter-long ancient elephant, and flying back to land on a cliff.
There was a large bird's nest there, over ten zhang in size, filling the entire cliff. It was built entirely from purple maple wood, giving off a faint maple fragrance, with a ghostly purple glow.
A massive Lightning King Bird, majestic and powerful, its body flowing with golden light, dazzling and brilliant, was tearing apart the twenty-meter ancient elephant, blood dripping everywhere.
Large chunks of flesh were ripped off as it fed its young. The little Lightning Kings were already nearly ten meters long, with electric arcs flowing and golden light flickering.
That cliff had long been stained dark red, soaked through with blood, looking like it had been that way for years.
Ye Fan clicked his tongue. This was truly a primitive world. The scenes he saw were terrifying. This kind of Lightning King Bird had long gone extinct in reality, with only a few descendants remaining, but in this world, they still existed.
Such a strange bird, even if a Holy Land's Supreme Elder saw it, they would probably take a detour and wouldn't dare provoke it.
The reason Ye Fan stopped was because he noticed some carvings on the cliff face. Although very ancient, they were still faintly visible. He wanted to examine them thoroughly.
"A sword technique!"
He was very surprised. This was a fragmentary sword technique. It seemed that an expert had once gone into seclusion here and carved some momentary insights. Although messy, it still offered infinite inspiration.
"This bird's nest is blocking a large part of it."
Ye Fan felt some regret. The nest built from purple maple wood filled the cliff, looking like it had been there for many years. The cliff face was covered in bloodstains, all splattered from the Lightning King's feeding.
"Could there still be people in this world?" he muttered to himself.
Ye Fan waited in the distance for a long time. Only after the Lightning King had flown far away did he approach the cliff face and carefully study the stone carvings. They were the handwriting of a powerful expert, all ancient techniques.
The cliff was dim, the smell of blood strong. In the nest, lightning flickered, and the few young birds were very alert, constantly chirping at him.
Ye Fan ignored them. He had been attracted the moment he arrived. These insights left behind during enlightenment were extremely valuable for someone trying to break through a realm.
The fragmentary sword technique was profound, but he didn't focus on it much. Instead, he concentrated on experiencing those insights. His mind became empty and ethereal, and he felt a tendency to merge with the Dao realm.
"Grawu…"
A little Lightning King cried out, opening its mouth to spit out a lightning bolt as thick as a water vat, containing the power of the Five Elements Thunder Tribulation. It startled Ye Fan, and he dodged to the side.
These were just young birds, yet they could unleash a trace of heavenly tribulation's might. It was unexpected. Without thinking much, he continued to circle the solitary cliff and observe.
Finally, he even lifted the ten-zhang bird's nest to see the carvings on the top of the cliff. He studied them carefully, gaining many insights.
"This is truly a treasure land. If I could find more such seclusion sites, I might immediately break through into the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm."
Ye Fan was already at the Great Perfection of the Four Extremes. Entering the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm could happen at any moment. What he lacked now was just an opportunity.
He didn't stay long, because the Lightning King could return at any time. After memorizing those insights, he flew to a distant mountain peak, sat down, and silently absorbed them.
"There's a nest ahead, shining with golden light. It's definitely a top-tier strange bird. Let's go take a look. Maybe we can catch a young one and bring it back to tame."
"That's… a legendary Lightning King. This is a primeval ferocious bird that can fight a Flood Dragon King!"
A group of young people flew over, their eyes shining with curiosity. They flew toward the ancient nest on the stone cliff. Each of them was very powerful, all elites from the Five Great Domains, each with their own legends.
"There's also a sword technique! An expert once went into seclusion here!"
They discovered the stone carvings and showed surprise. They quickly flew forward and began to study them seriously, each one very focused.
"As expected of the Primeval Immortal Mansion. Even a desolate cliff has a profound scripture. If we go further, we'll definitely gain even more."
These people were memorizing and imprinting the ancient techniques, wanting to go back and study them thoroughly.
"There are four little Lightning Kings. Let's catch them first and discuss how to divide them later." Someone made this suggestion.
The others nodded in agreement and prepared to act together. But at that moment, a long cry came from the distant sky. Golden light illuminated half the sky, dazzlingly bright. A giant bird flew back.
A golden lightning bolt, as thick as a mountain range, terrifyingly large, struck directly. It was extremely fast, leaving no time to react.
"Ah…"
A young disciple from the Extraordinary Scholars Mansion cried out and instantly turned to ashes, leaving nothing behind.
Ye Fan was shocked. This lightning was comparable to heavenly tribulation. No wonder once this bird matured, it became a terrifying strange bird that could suppress the Supreme Elders of the Holy Lands.
"Crack"
Another mountain-range-like bolt flew over. That's right, the lightning was so huge, no different from a mountain range in scale, filling the void and destroying everything.
"Ah…"
Another scream. A beautiful woman couldn't escape either and was instantly obliterated in both body and soul.
The others fled quickly, but how could they outrun the Lightning King? It was not only a thunderbird but also possessed speed close to lightning itself.
"Swish"
Someone activated a Dark Jade Platform, teleporting through the void and escaping the scene. Three others fled in different directions.
The Lightning King pursued relentlessly, turning into blazing golden divine fire. The sky itself was scorched by the lightning strikes.
Shouts came from the distant sky. Several old men flew over on swords and fought the Lightning King, but they were at a disadvantage and showed signs of being defeated. They fought while retreating, their bodies charred black by the lightning.
"Even a Half-Step Great Power can't handle it!" Ye Fan was shocked. Then, he turned and left, disappearing into the depths of the mountain range to seek other opportunities.
"Roar…" A tiger's roar shook the sky. A flock of geese in the air were shaken down, crying out in sorrow.
Ye Fan was surprised. He was now a hundred li away and saw a black tiger. Its body was pitch black like ink, over ten zhang long. It roared to the sky, and the mountain beneath its feet cracked.
"Primeval Divine Tiger, capable of fighting a Great Power!"
After looking carefully, his heart tightened. This was a primeval mutant beast that had cultivated for over two thousand years. Its qi and blood were exceptionally strong. Standing there, its terrifying pressure made all the beasts within dozens of li kneel to the ground.
It was definitely comparable to a generation of Demon Kings, but it hadn't taken human form. This was a primeval barbaric beast king. No one wanted to face it.
"Roar…"
It opened its bloody mouth and shot out a black light several li long, landing in a deep pool on another mountain. It immediately dragged out a flood dragon over thirty zhang long.
As soon as the flood dragon left the pool, lightning flashed, thunder roared, a great wind howled, and sand and stones flew. It was clearly a beast king, very extraordinary.
"This flood dragon is so powerful. Someone at the Ninth Transformation of Dragon Transformation absolutely couldn't get close. They'd die for sure!" Ye Fan was alarmed. That was a deep-cultivated strange beast.
However, what surprised him was that the black divine tiger opened its mouth and sucked. From several li away, it pulled the flood dragon right in front of it and swallowed it in one gulp.
"Boom"
The primeval mutant divine tiger used too much force. It even sucked over the mountain peak where the deep pool was located and swallowed half of it in one bite.
"This black divine tiger… is too powerful. Even if a Saint Lord came, they might not be able to capture it. It's hard to say who would live and who would die!"
Ye Fan quietly retreated. He didn't want to provoke such a powerful mutant king. This was a primitive world, and he had seen many strange beasts that should have gone extinct long ago, all primeval kings.
He hadn't retreated far when he was attracted by a mountain peak. It was barren of grass, like a huge piece of black jade, dry and clean.
This place was very quiet, with no birds or beasts. It seemed like a forbidden zone of life. Other flying beasts and animals didn't dare approach. It looked like the dwelling place of a barbaric beast king.
"Could this be the lair of that divine tiger?"
Ye Fan approached. As soon as he neared the barren black jade mountain, he was startled. On it, like ghostly scribbles, were many ancient characters, carved with iron hooks and silver strokes.
"A divine treasury…" He immediately became excited. These were the carvings of a peerless expert, recording the deduction of some secret techniques.
Ye Fan studied them seriously and discovered three supreme hand seals. He was overjoyed. These were three very profound ancient secret techniques, hard to trace their original lineage.
Mountain-Embracing Seal, Human King Seal, and Heaven-Overturning Seal. This was a combination, with very imposing names. They represented the three seals of Heaven, Earth, and Man, extremely complex and unfathomable.
Among them, Ye Fan had learned the Mountain-Embracing Seal before, but compared to this one, it was really too crude. It could hardly be called a secret technique, far from reaching the perfect realm.
The Human King Seal and Heaven-Overturning Seal were also ancient secret techniques, connected to the Mountain-Embracing Seal, forming a whole. They were mysterious and profound, definitely rare sacred arts in the world.
The stone wall also had deductions of other secret techniques, all messy. Only these three were complete and the most profound, immediately capturing Ye Fan's mind.
He sat before the black cliff, motionless, focusing on comprehending. Using the Battle Saint Art, he silently evolved the three ancient techniques, turning them into his own unique supreme divine arts.
"Awroar…"
A tiger roar shook the mountains. The black primeval divine tiger stepped across the mountains, leaping from one peak to another like a dark cloud, bringing with it a devastating wind that blew away many millstone-sized rocks.
"So this is indeed the lair of that barbaric king!" Ye Fan was startled. He turned and left, using the Stride Art to disappear in an instant.
He sat on another mountain peak, silently comprehending the three ancient techniques. The Mountain-Embracing Seal, Human King Seal, and Heaven-Overturning Seal swirled in his mind as he quickly deduced them.
Not long after, seeing the divine tiger leave, Ye Fan returned to the black jade mountain. His fingers traced over the three sacred arts repeatedly, studying them over and over. Three imprints rushed into his heart.
This shocked him. He was glad he had come back to comprehend further. What was carved on the stone wall was only the form. The true spirit had turned into three imprints. Only now did he obtain the complete hand seals.
"Swish"
Stone powder flew, leaving three blank spaces. After the imprints rushed out, the three sacred arts automatically disappeared. The stone wall became smooth as a mirror, as if they had never existed.
Ye Fan was very excited. He had profound techniques but had always lacked secret arts. In battle, he often found himself at a disadvantage. With these three ancient seals in hand, he would be much more composed.
"Enlightenment Imprints!"
Ye Fan discovered precious carvings on the mountain top. They were left behind by a peerless expert during enlightenment. Although very fragmentary, they were extremely helpful to him. He imprinted them all in his heart.
For a full half month, he sat motionless on a mountain peak, comprehending the enlightenment traces he had obtained. Finally, he opened his eyes.
"Half-Step Dragon Transformation!"
Ye Fan was surprised to find that by observing someone else's enlightenment traces, he had one foot in the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm. He knew that if he saw more enlightenment insights, he would immediately enter the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm.
"What kind of place is this? Could many top experts have entered before? They left indelible traces on some ancient mountains!"
He began to think. He had only explored a small area of this Immortal Mansion and had already gained such great benefits. It showed how important this place was.
A place of immortal burial!
This thought arose in his mind. There were endless treasures here, but also great dangers. A single misstep could lead to death.
Ye Fan thought of the sounds he had heard in the desolate hut and locust forest. Were they traceable? He had personally heard the sounds of thousands of troops and horses in battle. In addition, he had also heard dragon roars, phoenix cries, qilin howls, and the name of the Immortal Emperor, a name that could crush even the ancient times.