Chapter 590: An Immortal?
The Central Province experts were the majority, but there were also some from the Western Desert and Southern Ridge. Each had used their own methods to ascend the ten-thousand-zhang jade platform, and all were regional overlords.
At this moment, Ye Fan and his group appeared quite out of place. By no means could they be considered experts, yet they had managed to ascend using a broken bowl.
"That's a nice bowl." Xiao Yunsheng spoke with a sinister tone, reaching out a large hand to snatch the bowl away.
The pressure here was immense. If the broken bowl were taken, the group would instantly be reduced to dust, their forms and spirits utterly destroyed.
Above Xiao Yunsheng and his companions, over a dozen forbidden artifacts were combined, shielding them from the heavenly might. Thus, he acted with impunity.
Ye Fan's right hand traced an arc, then lifted lightly. The Human King Seal materialized naturally, as if ten thousand peaks were shaking together, stabbing forward to block the boundless dharma power and strike at that large hand.
"Boom!"
A violent tremor shook the area, and both figures retreated simultaneously. The crowd was astonished—Ye Fan's physical strength exceeded their expectations.
On this ten-thousand-zhang jade platform, everyone's dharma power was sealed. Physical strength held the absolute advantage.
"Everyone, this is truly a treasure. Perhaps it contains the imprinted laws of a sage." Xiao Yunsheng's gaze was sinister as he stared at the broken bowl.
At these words, everyone turned to look. Ye Fan and his group instantly became the focus of all eyes, and many revealed strange expressions.
Without a doubt, this was extremely disadvantageous for Ye Fan and his companions. If a melee broke out, many would likely target them to seize the bowl.
Once they lost the protection of the broken bowl, they would be instantly annihilated on this high platform. Xiao Yunsheng intended to use others' hands to kill them.
Ye Fan, Dongfang Ye, and the others were furious. They stared at those people, wanting to shatter the forbidden artifacts above their heads and make them taste that feeling first.
Unfortunately, Xiao Yunsheng and the old sect master of the Yin Yang Sect had gathered several great powers. If a fight truly broke out, their strength was far too meager.
"Before this bowl is lost, I will definitely kill you!" Ye Fan stared at Xiao Yunsheng and spoke calmly.
He had only recently entered the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm and was utterly insignificant before these people. However, this special location gave him the capital to say such things.
Threatening a great power like this struck many as absurd, yet it also sent a chill through their hearts. If they were killed by him, it would be a truly unjust death.
Xiao Yunsheng revealed a cold sneer. There was nothing more to say now. Once they left this ten-thousand-zhang jade platform, he would obliterate Ye Fan with lightning-fast methods.
At this moment, everyone's attention refocused on the coffin. That was the true focus of their contention—a supreme immortal treasure!
"Why can't I move that coffin!" Duan De was anxious. He held the broken bowl overhead and paced on the jade platform, having already laid down a coffin-locking technique, but it had no effect.
"This is a divine spirit's ancient coffin. How could mortal strength move it? Your grave-robbing arts are useless. Save your effort," the Old Blind Man said.
The coffin was ancient, floating and sinking in the void. True dragons and divine phoenixes formed from immortal qi, lifelike and numbering in the thousands, circled around it.
"Hiss..." The crowd drew in cold breaths.
Upon closer inspection, they discovered that the ancient coffin actually possessed vigorous life force, more abundant than the essence of the people present.
"What's going on? Could the ancient divine spirit still be alive?"
The coffin floated unsteadily. When it descended, everyone noticed an anomaly—a tender branch had grown on the coffin lid.
"It's not that the divine spirit is alive, but that the coffin wood hasn't withered!"
On the coffin board, a branch over a meter long had grown, verdant and dripping with life. Several leaves adorned it, and the vigorous essence was emanating from it.
How was this possible? This coffin should be over a million years old. How could it have sprouted after such a long time?
"This... is a coffin carved from a divine tree!" The demon lord of the Southern Ridge revealed the secret.
At this moment, not a single person remained unmoved. Their hearts were shaken. Divine trees and immortality pills were rare and sought after, nearly extinct since the ancient era.
Yet someone had carved a coffin from an immortal tree. In their eyes, this was an utter waste of heaven's gifts.
"I understand. The divine spirit was unwilling and sought eternal life!" Some great powers shuddered, recalling ancient legends.
In that instant, everyone was stirred. They thought of certain hidden secrets.
Legend had it that heavenly gods used immortal wood for coffins, allowing them to remain undecayed for eternity. Perhaps one day they would revive!
In this world, only immortality pills and immortal trees could endure through the ages, untouched by time. A coffin carved from immortal wood naturally retained some of those properties.
Rare ancient texts contained scattered records: deities, seeking immortality, would find an immortal tree before death and bury themselves within it.
But how many immortal trees existed in the world? Only one or two divine spirits had done such a thing, for it was simply impossible to accomplish.
Of course, such records were not believed. From ancient times to the present, there were only legends, no divine spirits descending to the mortal world. The theory of no immortals had long become the consensus of most.
Yet today, seeing a coffin carved from an immortal tree, everyone was shaken!
Without a doubt, this was subversive. It proved that certain unique ancient records might be true. In the boundless ages before the ancient era, immortals might have truly existed!
"This is... the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree!"
Finally, someone recognized the coffin's material. On the tender branch, several leaves were as crystalline as agate, each with different colors and shapes.
"Too extravagant!"
As the crowd exclaimed, they also breathed a sigh of relief. The Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree still lived today, within the Immortal Mountain, not extinct.
It could be imagined that in an age before the ancient era, someone had cut down an immortal tree to carve a coffin for themselves, but had left the divine root behind.
Over the long years, the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree had recovered, and this coffin wood had not decayed, still retaining a trace of vitality.
"Even this coffin is a treasure!"
People realized this. If dismantled, this coffin wood was not only a divine material for refining artifacts but also a gem for enlightenment and cultivation.
This ancient coffin was too luxurious. Throughout history, perhaps only one or two divine spirits had done such an outrageous thing. Others couldn't even dream of it.
"Swish!"
Someone made a move. A patch of misty light flew out, attempting to strike first and pull the coffin down.
"Eh!"
The crowd was surprised. There was no imagined terrifying aura, no destructive fluctuations rolling down. This was unusual.
The ancient coffin carved from the immortal tree descended steadily onto the jade platform, sacred and peaceful, incredibly serene.
"No, the immense pressure and the terrifying aura didn't come from it. Could there be something else?"
This platform was very vast, shrouded in immortal mist and chaotic qi. People had preconceived notions and hadn't searched elsewhere.
At this moment, a divine monk from the Western Desert, with eyes as sharp as torches, fixed his gaze on a hazy area and said, "Amitabha!"
"A corpse!"
People were horrified to discover the source of the terror. It had nothing to do with the coffin carved from immortal wood. It was on the other side.
There, five-colored light flowed. A block of ice had existed for who knows how many ages, sealing an ancient corpse within!
This ice was peculiar. Though cold, it wasn't bone-chilling. It emitted five-colored radiance and exuded astonishing vitality and life force.
Yet this peaceful aura was completely dispersed by the corpse within the ice. He seemed to stand at the pinnacle of eternity, overlooking past, present, and future. Everything prostrated itself at his feet!
"Is this an immortal corpse?!" Everyone was stunned. They didn't rush for the coffin but stared fixedly at this corpse.
On the ten-thousand-zhang jade platform, the supreme heavenly might radiating in all directions originated from him. He was the source of all power!
At the same time, people noticed a peculiarity. The shape of this block of ice closely resembled the ancient coffin, as if it had originally been placed inside.
Their hearts stirred. It made no sense for it to be just a block of ice. Perhaps it had truly been inside the coffin. Everyone quickly considered this possibility.
The ice was hazy. People used various supreme forbidden artifacts to protect themselves, suspending them overhead. Bearing the immense pressure, they moved forward to observe this departed divine spirit.
"It's not a complete body. There are no flesh or bones!"
The crowd was dumbfounded. When they finally got close and fully saw the figure within the five-colored divine ice, they revealed puzzled expressions of shock, filled with awe.
This was not a complete corpse, but only a human skin, stained with five-colored blood, emitting terrifying fluctuations.
"How can this be?!"
Purple hair, smooth skin gleaming with precious light, still lustrous. There was a split on the back, from which the flesh and bones had been extracted. The bloodstains were dreamlike, different from human blood, divided into five colors, brilliant and dazzling.
"Is this a divine spirit from before the ancient era? Where did its flesh and blood go? Why is only the outer layer of skin left?"
"In ancient times... there were immortals. Is this proof?!"
People gathered close, all shaken.
Whether it was a divine spirit or not, this skin was priceless, comparable to a great emperor's sacred relic, for its fluctuations were too terrifying.
Yet no one dared to act rashly. This immortal skin's aura was nearly comparable to a revived extreme imperial weapon, pressing down on people until they felt they would shatter.
Even with various divine objects protecting them, they couldn't hold on. They felt like they were about to collapse.
"Is this truly immortal skin?!"
"Could it be the skin of a supreme great emperor?"
"Eh, there's a line of ancient characters here!"
Suddenly, someone exclaimed in surprise. On the other side of the ice, they discovered a line of characters. The strokes were like iron hooks and silver scratches, vigorous and powerful, as if the great dao of heaven and earth was embedded there.
In that moment, everyone's expressions were extremely vivid. These characters were very shocking to their thoughts. The general meaning was that a later comer wished to borrow the ancient coffin for a sleep, to bury themselves, and begged forgiveness for the offense.
"Even borrowing a coffin..." Many were speechless. Borrowing a coffin from a divine spirit—could it be another deity?
"No, these are human ancient characters. Before the ancient era, divine script was used. It couldn't be this type of writing!" Someone shouted.
The crowd snapped back to reality. They had been too engrossed earlier, forgetting this huge anomaly.
"A human expert borrowed a divine spirit's coffin to sleep, burying themselves. Could this be an ancient great emperor?!"
Everyone's hair stood on end. Their spirits were highly concentrated as they all looked toward the ancient coffin. Someone was resting inside...
"These characters are like the heavenly dao. And there's a faint sense of familiarity. Where have I seen them before?"
"Yes, they seem familiar. They must have been passed down in the world. I've glimpsed them before!"
The crowd's hearts trembled. Who could this be?
They didn't immediately act against the five-colored divine ice. Instead, they returned to the coffin carved from the immortal tree, preparing to open it and take a look first.
"Here... the mark of the later comer!" People saw some blurry symbols and were all shocked. This represented that person's identity.