Chapter 619: Snatching Food from the Tiger’s Mouth
A silver disk hung high in the sky, its bright moonlight spilling across the ground. In the Qinling Mountains, the several great creatures had ceased their fierce battle.
A small silver waterfall cascaded in the distance, appearing exceptionally beautiful under the night moon. It was far away, its sound not loud, lending a serene and lovely feeling.
The thirty-zhang-long Night Sky Wolf, its entire body covered in flashing cyan feathers, was indistinguishable from a cyan-gold roc except for its ferocious wolf head with gleaming white fangs, as it landed on a cliff.
The hundred-zhang-tall silver giant ape, like a mountain, breathed in the essence of heaven and earth. Each breath was like the surging of tides, its silver fur shimmering with light.
The dilapidated bronze chariot flew into the air, hovering motionless, shrouded in moonlight, a thin mist rising from it.
In the distance, a low hiss sounded as a colorful giant spider crawled over. It was four or five zhang tall, its body like carved five-colored jade, sparkling and translucent.
It went without saying that this was an exotic insect king. If it bit someone, even a Saint Lord wouldn't survive and would die instantly.
From another direction, a skin-and-bones old monk walked over under the moonlight. His entire body was golden, as if cast from gold, clearly having cultivated the Arhat Golden Body to an extremely high realm. He wore a tattered kasaya that was nearly falling apart.
This old monk had no trace of life. He had cultivated the Buddha's Sixteen-Foot Golden Body, his whole body flashing with golden light, but he had actually passed away many years ago. Now, he was merely an ancient corpse.
However, he had become sentient, becoming a corpse cultivator. It was obvious that such an existence wouldn't live long; one day, he would die by heavenly punishment.
In the distance, all the mountains were shaking.
On the distant peak where the silver waterfall hung, dragon qi permeated the air. A beam of azure light shot out, connecting with the starlight and moonlight, like a great dragon soaring.
"I understand now. The ancestral root of the Qinling Mountains is alive and can move around. Today, a dragon child leaped underground. These five giants have clearly seen this scene before."
Several powerful creatures charged forward together, instantly arriving before the main peak. Each extended a large claw and struck down.
"Boom!"
This towering mountain split apart and collapsed to the ground. If they hadn't been controlling their strength, nothing would have remained; the mountain would have turned to ash.
At the bottom of the mountain was a dragon cave. Azure light shot into the sky like a haze of smoke, dragon qi overflowing, filling the air with fragrance.
"Just as I thought, a moving dragon vein. Today, it burst out of the earth to absorb the power of the stars and moon!" Ye Fan muttered to himself.
"Bang," "Bang"...
The five giants clashed. Within a radius of over ten li, all the mountain peaks were like paper, reduced to dust under their power. Not a single mountain remained standing.
Ye Fan was horrified. These creatures were even more terrifying than he had imagined. The area became a sea of divine light, engulfing everything.
He activated his Source Heaven Divine Eye and, through the five-colored divine light, looked into the dragon cave. Green light flickered, and beside it formed a green stone basin containing six drops of divine liquid. They were as green as agate, their fragrance assailing the nostrils.
Each drop was as big as a lychee, without a trace of impurity. Their green color captivated the mind, and they even emitted a sound like crashing waves.
"Top-grade dragon marrow, even higher quality than the purple dragon marrow I've seen before!"
The fragrance was intense, seeping into one's bones. The underground dragon child had long since fled, leaving only these few drops of green treasure marrow, which turned the sky a shimmering green.
"This is truly a treasure. These six drops of divine liquid are worth the previous thirty-six drops!"
Ye Fan's heart stirred greatly, divine light blazing in his eyes. The five giants were locked in battle. Whenever someone tried to grab the jade basin, they would be attacked by the others.
They were mutually restraining each other, none able to get close. They fought on the sidelines, battling endlessly over the green marrow, being very careful not to attack the jade basin.
Ye Fan hesitated no longer. He activated his Source Art to merge with the earth's veins, concealing his aura, and submerged into the ground. Using the Stride Art at extreme speed, he approached the dragon cave.
This was the means of a Source Heavenly Master. Traveling through the earth's dragon veins, as long as no living creatures blocked him, it was like entering an unguarded territory. He moved at an inconceivable speed, riding the dragon qi.
Ye Fan suppressed all his aura, appearing beneath the dragon cave. Then, he suddenly leaped up, extending a golden hand to snatch the six drops of divine liquid.
"Roar!"
The five giants were enraged. They had never imagined someone would snatch food from the tiger's mouth, daring to seize the exotic marrow from their hands. All of them unleashed boundless dharma power and struck down.
Ye Fan moved at extreme speed, fleeing like a beam of light through the earth's veins. If he were caught now, he would surely die without a burial place. None of the five giants were easy to deal with.
A hair-raising long howl came from afar. The Purple Jade King, a treasure that even ancient sages would cherish, pursued at extreme speed. The one-chi-tall purple figure was dazzling, its howl collapsing countless earth veins.
"Boom"
It opened its mouth and spat out a beam of purple jade divine light. This was the innate essence it had birthed, the most terrifying thing. It severed eighty-one earth veins, charging dozens of li, almost catching up to Ye Fan.
"So sinister!"
Ye Fan's expression changed. He pushed the Stride Art to its limit, turning into a fleeting light, using Source Art to clear the way as he traveled through the earth's veins.
"Bang"
A wisp of innate purple qi erupted within the earth's veins, like the opening of heaven and earth. It collapsed dozens of mountains on the surface, let alone the underground world.
"Pfft"
Ye Fan spat out a mouthful of golden blood. Even his powerful physical body was injured. His whole body shook violently, his blood and qi churning. Anyone else would have been utterly destroyed.
Fortunately, after taking this blow, the wisp of innate purple qi didn't pursue further, having been shaken off some distance. Otherwise, his life would have been in danger. The opponent was simply too powerful.
"Eh, not good!"
The old monk also pursued, a giant Buddha manifesting before him, ten times faster than the monk himself, rapidly closing in.
"Hum"
The golden Buddha opened its large hand and struck down a Buddha hand seal. The earth veins continuously collapsed, unstoppable. The surface undulated like a raging sea, all the mountains destroyed. Nothing could block it.
The Buddha hand fell but didn't hit squarely. It only grazed Ye Fan, sending him flying sideways. He coughed up blood heavily, his five organs injured, his bones nearly broken.
He was greatly alarmed. This Buddha was absurdly powerful. If a Great Power had taken that blow just now, their physical body would have definitely shattered!
"How terrifying was this old monk's cultivation in life?!"
Ye Fan dared not stop. This was the first time recently he had felt the threat of death. The two giants behind were too powerful to contend with.
Suddenly, purple light surged. The wisp of innate purple qi charged again. The Stone Man wasn't that fast, but the innate origin purple qi it spat out possessed extreme speed.
"Pfft"
Ye Fan was only grazed by the tail end of the purple qi, not hit squarely, yet he coughed up blood uncontrollably, his left shoulder bone cracking.
His heart shook. No wonder ancient sages used such divine objects to refine weapons. The innate purple qi it contained was too powerful. Even a Saint Lord would have been pulverized by now!
"Amitabha!"
A Buddhist chant came. The golden Buddha had caught up again, moving ten times faster than the old monk. The Buddha hand seal struck down once more.
"Bang"
Ye Fan was sent flying by the golden light, cracks appearing in his spine and fractures elsewhere. This was a combination of laws and force, manifesting the phantom of Amitabha, one of Buddhism's strongest demon-subduing divine abilities.
Ye Fan had snatched food from the tiger's mouth and paid a heavy price. These two divine beings were unimaginably powerful. His body felt like it was splitting apart, but he gritted his teeth and sped up.
After taking several more blows, he finally shook off the golden Amitabha and the wisp of innate purple qi half an hour later, fleeing thousands of li before stopping.
"Even the Purple Jade King, which would move an ancient sage, I've encountered. Too terrifying. I'll come back for you later!"
"Damn it, even the phantom of Amitabha was summoned. What identity did that dead monk have in life?!"
Ye Fan cursed incessantly. His Sacred Body had nearly been shattered, and he didn't know how many bones were broken. This was the most severe injury he had suffered since starting his journey.
At this moment, he had lost half his life. If not for his incredibly solid physical body, he would have already turned into a puddle of mud.
Such attack power was enough to turn over a dozen Saint Lords' bodies to dust. Only he could tough it out.
This was the price of snatching food from the tiger's mouth. Ye Fan had nearly been killed by the two giants. He immediately swallowed several mouthfuls of divine spring water and then activated the Nirvana Sutra that An Miaoyi had taught him.
Endless golden blood qi burned, his bones crackling. It lasted a full hour before he opened his eyes. The bones had reconnected, the cracks disappearing.
In the small cauldron made of suet jade, six drops of dragon marrow rolled around, each as big as a dragon's eye. They emitted sounds like crashing waves, turning half the sky a shimmering green.
"This treasure marrow is extraordinary. One drop is worth six of the previous ones. It's a rare top-grade item. This injury was worth it. I can enter the fifth transformation of the Dragon Transformation Realm!"
Ye Fan was delighted. Although he had narrowly escaped death, nearly being killed by those two giants, the harvest was immense. These few drops of exotic treasure marrow were invaluable.
Soon after, he returned to the Eastern Branch of the Qin Sect. He quietly recuperated for a few days, restoring his body to its peak state, then left again.
This time, he began seclusion. He had to keep breaking through. Seeing Li Xiaoman's cultivation scene had put pressure on him. Hua Yunfei would surely be even more terrifying.
In the past few months, he had been comprehending the Dao. Now, with the dragon marrow's help, everything went smoothly. The fragments of Dao laws contained in the six drops of dragon marrow were indeed six or seven times more abundant than before.
Half a month later, Ye Fan emerged from seclusion and set off. He traveled a full hundred thousand li before stopping. He observed the area quietly for two days, and seeing no anomalies, began his tribulation.
This heavenly tribulation was vast, but it couldn't trouble Ye Fan. He tempered the Primordial Qi Cauldron, purified the golden figure formed from his sea of consciousness, and tempered his physical body. After several hours, he smoothly entered the fifth transformation of the Dragon Transformation Realm.
"Powerful strength. I've taken another big step forward!"
Ye Fan's whole body was wreathed in divine light, every inch of his flesh shimmering with crystalline brilliance, containing infinite terrifying divine power.
He flew deeper into the Qinling Mountains, observing the terrain. He believed there must be dreamlike divine marrow comparable to the Immortality Pill.
Two days later, Ye Fan heard thunder. The sound was immense, shaking the mountains, coming from afar.
"No dark clouds, the sky is clear as washed... This is someone undergoing a tribulation!"
His heart stirred. There weren't many in the current era who could undergo a tribulation. He flew forward quickly, a faint sense of anticipation rising within him.
A vast lake appeared among the mountains. Ye Fan saw an ancient stele there, inscribed with three characters: Immortal Transformation Pool.
"The place where the Green Emperor was born?!"
The Immortal Transformation Pool was a legend. Many claimed it might not exist. He didn't know if he had seen the real one.
"Who is undergoing a tribulation in the Immortal Transformation Pool?!"