Chapter 582: Divine Thought
"What is that thing?" Ye Fan hadn't been looking in that direction and turned around to ask upon hearing this, not knowing what they had seen.
"I've walked through underground ancient tombs for over twenty years, and this is the first time I've seen something like this..." Duan De's lips turned white. For someone like him to feel fear showed just how serious the problem was.
"Could it be the 'Divine Thought' spoken of by the ancients?" Old Blind Man's expression changed, his face becoming extremely solemn.
"It's most likely that thing." Duan De stared at the corner of that cliff face, looking as if he were facing a great enemy.
Divine Thought—a vague and ethereal legend. There were few records in ancient texts because people seriously doubted its authenticity. Only a few ancient sects had scattered mentions.
"With just a brief glance, how can you be certain?" Old Blind Man asked.
"This place is most likely the burial ground of an ancient Great Emperor. Naturally, I came well prepared. Look at the reaction of this divine rat." Duan De took a small iron cage from his sleeve.
A small rat shimmering with multicolored light was rolling its eyes, convulsing continuously. Nine small beams of light shot out from the top of its skull—extremely eerie.
"The ultimate number, nine thoughts manifesting simultaneously. It's most likely... Divine Thought!" Old Blind Man was startled.
"You understand these things too?" Fatty Duan was somewhat surprised.
"I'm skilled in divination and hexagrams, so I naturally know a bit about ancient burial studies. This underground ancient tomb really is a place for burying immortals!" Old Blind Man's expression was grave as he looked around.
"Retreat, or continue forward?" Duan De asked.
"We've already entered. Is there a way back?" Old Blind Man was uncertain.
"What exactly is Divine Thought?" Dongfang Ye asked.
"The undying lingering thoughts born after ancient deities die..." Old Blind Man spoke slowly.
"Do deities really exist in this world?" The Barbarian was shocked. In his primitive tribe, he had only believed in his own strength and had never heard of such things.
"Whether deities exist or not—even the ancient Great Emperors couldn't say for certain. There's no evidence, and it's not recognized or affirmed by the world, so few ancient texts record it."
Divine Thought—a terrifying existence born from the undying remnant thoughts of deceased deities. It resembles a human in form, and its strength is unmatched.
However, the truly terrifying aspect is that Divine Thought is a demon—slaughtering living beings, destroying everything, extremely brutal and extreme, nearly impossible to oppose.
Legend has it that its formation represents the manifestation of the evil side of a deity during life, released only after death, forming a powerful thought force that becomes a human-shaped devil.
"Did deities truly exist in this world?" Ye Fan muttered to himself. This riddle had stumped countless cultivators throughout history. Even the Monkey's father, the Battle Saint Emperor, couldn't answer it.
"Whether deities exist is hard to say. But that person who flashed by just now—this spirit rat detected an ultimate divine thought wave." Duan De said in a deep voice.
Burial studies—a profound and extensive esoteric art. Duan De had studied it for many years, entering various ancient tombs and plundering the graves of many legendary invincible kings.
For example, the Feather Transformation King from fifteen thousand years ago—his Nine Divine Weapons that dominated the world were thus brought back to light. And the Heavenly Demon Lamp from thirty thousand years ago also shone once more.
Duan De was a master-level figure in burial studies. Naturally, he had many heaven-defying methods. The ultimate divine thought wave was created specifically to verify Divine Thought.
"I thought it was just nonsense written in the Burial Scripture, but I never expected it to be real. Today, I've seen Divine Thought with my own eyes." Duan De muttered to himself.
Several people arrived at the cliff. The figure was long gone, leaving only a few corpses on the ground. There were no wounds on their bodies, but their eyes were wide open—they had died with lingering grievances.
"Scared to death!" Old Blind Man frowned. After careful examination, he found that their divine thoughts had all shattered, as if from extreme terror.
Divine Thought... a devil here! Thinking about this, no one could remain calm. Who knew when they might see it with their own eyes?
Ahead, the sound of battle shook the heavens. Another cave dwelling had been discovered. Many people rushed over to fight over it, including some Supreme Elders from Holy Lands, engaged in fierce combat.
"Valuable cave dwellings are appearing one after another. Soon, Saint Lord-rank figures will have to make their moves."
After advancing over ten li, a huge cliff stood before them. Its surface was covered with blurry imprints—birds, beasts, fish, insects, everything imaginable—along with many ancient patterns that couldn't be deciphered.
This place attracted many cultivators, including several Half-Step Great Powers standing at the very front, staring without blinking.
"This is most likely an Enlightenment Diagram. Let's take a look too." Dongfang Ye was a martial arts fanatic. As soon as he saw the mysterious diagram, he couldn't move and stood there observing.
"This is a Heavenly Dao Natural Diagram, containing the true meaning of the Great Dao. But I'm afraid even a Saint Lord couldn't comprehend it." Jue Youqing, who had been silent for a long time, spoke. His white robes were divine, and his voice carried magnetism, like a Bodhisattva walking among mortals.
Ye Fan looked carefully and was shocked. The patterns carved on this cliff originated from the same source as a scroll of natural ancient scripture that Rain Butterfly Princess had given him.
That handwritten manuscript, along with these cliff carvings—they should be the work of one person. There were no profound secret techniques, no specific methods, just an exposition of the natural Dao.
"Can't comprehend it." Everyone shook their heads. It was too profound and ethereal. As long as one had human emotions and desires, it was impossible to follow its teachings—detached from the world, without desires or thoughts.
"Is this an ancient scripture created for immortals? How could flesh-and-blood humans cultivate it? If one could truly master it, they would become grass, trees, or rocks, devoid of human emotions." Even the Half-Step Great Power said this before turning and leaving.
"Bang!"
Suddenly, a heavy artifact pierced through the void, appearing abruptly and striking Ye Fan's back with tremendous force, sending him flying three hundred zhang to crash into the cliff.
The rock wall instantly cracked open, forming a human-shaped hole. Ye Fan was blasted deep into the cliff, showing just how immense the force was.
"Bang!"
The stone wall split open, and Ye Fan rushed out, a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth. He was burning with rage—someone had ambushed him with a force weighing over ten thousand jun!
If it had been any other cultivator, that blow would have utterly destroyed both body and soul, leaving not even bone fragments behind. Even for him, his blood surged and he spat out a mouthful of blood.
Not far away, a black stone seal was floating up and down. Clearly, it had struck Ye Fan's back, causing him minor injuries.
"Clang!"
A silver war spear, as thin as a chopstick, appeared abruptly again, aimed at his crown chakra—extremely vicious.
This time, Ye Fan was prepared. He shifted his position, dodging to the side. The chopstick-long spear was like a silver lightning bolt, easily traveling through the void with tremendous power.
"This is a slaughter forbidden artifact—it can even pierce a Great Power!" Old Blind Man muttered, somewhat surprised.
The black stone seal and the silver little spear were both forbidden artifacts. They had limited uses but immense power. Otherwise, how could they have injured Ye Fan's physical body?
In the distance, a group of people stood dumbfounded, unable to speak for a long time. They had used forbidden artifacts, originally expecting a single blow to kill Ye Fan, utterly destroying his body and soul. They never expected he only spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Even a Great Power would have been pierced through just now. What background does he have, to withstand such a blow?!"
"Is he blood brothers with that Barbarian? Are they biological siblings? How is his physical body so monstrous?!"
They controlled the black stone seal and the chopstick-long silver spear, attacking continuously, trying to finish off Ye Fan. Two of them even flew over, rapidly closing in.
"Ye, you little brat, pay with your life!" This person was Xiao Zhi, a Half-Step Great Power of the Xiao Clan. Not long ago, Ye Fan had thrown him across countless mountain ranges, unable to catch up.
"Ye Zhetian, return my brother's life!" The other man, about forty years old and also quite strong at the Ninth Transformation of Dragon Transformation, was Xiao Mingyuan's elder brother.
"Chi, chi"...
Other members of the Xiao Clan threw down a field of array flags, trying to trap Ye Fan. But it was useless—the local formations were disabled, and those below Great Power level couldn't fly.
"Surround him! Don't let him escape!"
Members of the Xiao Clan rushed forward. There were even two more Half-Step Great Powers, blocking several escape routes, sneering as they advanced.
"You little bastard, you're arrogant! Daring to act wild in our Xiao Clan territory, even killing Mingyuan! Today, I'll flay you alive!"
"Killing him is too merciful. Extract his soul, seal it in a bronze lamp, and burn it for a hundred years. Let him suffer torment!"
A group encircled them, including three Half-Step Great Powers. The rest were also experts at the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm. All of them activated their weapons, attacking Ye Fan, each radiating murderous intent.
"Rustle"
Old Blind Man cast a divination with a tortoise shell on the ground and shouted to Ye Fan: "Go east! The gate of life is wide open. There must be a way out."
"Life-and-death battles, and you're still doing divination?" Dongfang Ye glared at him, then hefted his Wolf Fang Great Club and said, "Brother Ye, I'll help you."
"Buzz!"
He swung his Wolf Fang Great Club, instantly smashing an expert at the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm into meat paste without any suspense, even reducing his ancient treasure to powder.
"Members of the Xiao Clan, you brought this on yourselves!" Ye Fan had been ambushed and suffered minor injuries. Though not serious, he was still furious.
He directly tore up a hundred-zhang-tall cliff, stunning everyone in the distance, their jaws dropping.
"Monstrous! Is he human? Such strength!"
"Boom!"
Ye Fan hurled it, instantly smashing several Dragon Transformation Secret Realm experts into meat paste beneath it. Then he tore up another hundred-zhang cliff and threw it at a Half-Step Great Power.
"Bang!"
The Half-Step Great Power activated an ancient treasure, shattering the cliff. Dust rose to the sky. When he looked again, Ye Fan had already drawn his bow and was plucking the string repeatedly.
"Twang!"
Members of the Xiao Clan screamed continuously, pierced through one after another, their bodies shattering, flesh and bone fragments flying everywhere.
"Die!"
The three Half-Step Great Powers were furious. They transformed into three beams of light and charged forward. Their great hands spanned the sky as they activated thousand-zhang-tall purple-gold Eight Trigrams Furnaces and other treasures, attacking Ye Fan together.
"This way!" Duan De shouted from afar, leading the way.
Dongfang Ye swung his Wolf Fang Great Club, smashing four or five people to death. Jue Youqing also acted, using Buddhist light to help Ye Fan block some attackers.
Only Old Blind Man performed a divination on the spot with his tortoise shell, saying: "Go east, then south. An extremely auspicious sign—the ancient emperor's cave dwelling will appear."
"Want to run? Today, you have no way to heaven and no door to earth! Ye Zhetian, I'll make lanterns out of you!" Xiao Mingyuan's elder brother followed the three Half-Step Great Powers in pursuit, his voice filled with venom.
"Divine Thought... I saw him again!" Duan De shuddered, his lips turning blue.