Chapter 691: A Living Ancient Star
Dust flew everywhere, violent sounds echoed, and a fierce earthquake shook the ground as the nine dragon corpses pulling the coffin descended from the sky, crashing down onto an ancient star.
Ye Fan was sent flying like a withered leaf in a violent wind, tumbling for who knew how many li. He collided with countless rocks, relying on his sturdy physical body to avoid being smashed into a pulp.
The nine dragon corpses and the bronze coffin had descended from the dark universe onto this ancient star, shrouded in mystery with no clues to follow. Lately, he had been in seclusion, lost in a state of self-forgetfulness.
"Where is this place?"
As the dust billowed high into the sky, Ye Fan finally steadied himself, unharmed by the rapid descent.
On the ground, a massive crater had formed, with the nine dragon corpses and the bronze coffin lying inside. They were undamaged, but the impact had caved in the earth, creating numerous huge cracks.
"We've landed!"
Was this the final destination? Ye Fan's heart stirred, filled with confusion and longing. He desperately wanted to know what kind of ancient star this was.
"Air!"
Suddenly, he keenly noticed this issue and couldn't help but take a breath, but it made him feel dizzy.
"Poison!"
Even he felt a slight dizziness, which showed just how toxic the air on this ancient star was—completely unbreathable for a human body.
"Is this a dead star?" Ye Fan muttered to himself.
When the dust settled, everything nearby became clear. The nine dragon corpses and the bronze coffin lay motionless, having landed—or rather, run aground—no longer moving forward.
This was a mountainous region, barren and lifeless, with no signs of life. Ye Fan felt a wave of disappointment, having hoped to find a place teeming with life.
"Eh..."
Suddenly, his eyes froze in shock. Not far away, he spotted a massive claw print imprinted on a stone mountain, nearly splitting the peak in half.
"What kind of creature is this? One claw could uproot a mountain!"
Ye Fan was quite astonished. On such a desolate planet, which seemed devoid of life, how could such a claw print exist, and so terrifyingly large?
He immediately became cautious. This ancient star might not be as simple as it seemed; otherwise, the Nine Dragons Coffin wouldn't have landed here for no reason.
Of course, he grew even more curious. What route were the dragon corpses and the coffin following? How did they navigate? What force guided them? Where were they heading? What was the ultimate destination? And what would happen in the end?
Mysteries—everything was a mystery. He found it hard to guess or understand, with no idea what the endpoint would be. Perhaps this journey aboard the coffin would unveil some hidden secrets and reveal the place it was meant to reach.
Ye Fan flew into the sky, gazing into the distance to carefully observe this world. He muttered to himself, "Who is clearing the path through the cold universe, guiding us to where?"
Suddenly, Ye Fan froze. He spotted a golden hue on the horizon, like vegetation—lush and abundant, but strangely colored.
"This is..." A planet full of poison, yet showing signs of life, surprised him. He glanced back at the ancient coffin and quickly flew forward.
After traveling for dozens of li, Ye Fan left this barren land and discovered life ahead—a dazzling expanse of gold.
He was stunned. This was a forest of golden trees, incredibly radiant. Of course, they weren't made of gold but were living things.
He plucked a leaf, and golden liquid dripped from it. He put it in his mouth—it was slightly bitter, with a faint fragrance and a trace of essence flowing through it.
"A strange place—a living ancient star, a source of unique life!" Ye Fan entered the forest, heading toward the center.
It was a stunning ancient forest, every tree golden, completely different from the vegetation he had seen before.
"Snap!"
Suddenly, a massive golden flower on the oldest tree burst open. Its stamen shot out like a tongue, wrapping around Ye Fan and pulling him into the flower.
Then it quickly closed, golden light blazing. Ye Fan's divine power began to flow outward, absorbed by the giant flower, which tried to drain his essence and refine him.
"Break!"
Ye Fan tensed up and shook himself violently. The flower and the ancient tree shattered together, scattering like golden fragments. A great deal of essence burst forth.
He took a deep breath, refining it into his body. Then, with a soft "ding," a crystal fell to the ground, about the size of a pigeon egg.
This was a crystal within the ancient tree, golden and dazzling, filled with a primal power. Ye Fan held it in his hand, examining it closely. It felt sacred, even making his fingers glow translucent.
He marveled. What kind of ancient star was this, producing such trees, so different from the life forms of another world?
In the entire forest, only this one old tree was special; the others were normal and didn't drain his power. He also noticed that the old tree's roots were connected to every other tree, drawing their essence.
"A tree spirit? Is it an old demon, or just a unique life form?"
Ye Fan left this golden ancient land, realizing that the old tree had been a ruler, with all the golden trees supplying it essence. Now, he had destroyed it.
As he moved on, he found no animals—complete silence, not even the wind. The stillness was suffocating.
"What kind of ancient star is this?"
Far ahead, a blinding purple light surged like a tidal wave.
Ye Fan pressed forward and soon arrived. This was a wondrous forest—leaves, flowers, and roots were all purple, emitting a hazy, rosy glow.
"This world is truly strange. Not a single green tree—all look carved from gems—yet they live."
This time, Ye Fan was cautious. At the center stood an ancient tree, clearly a ruler. As he approached, the forest erupted with purple light, forming a massive heavenly sword in the sky that slashed down!
In an instant, the ground split open, rocks flew, and a huge crack several zhang wide stretched for miles. The sword's power was astonishing.
"What?!"
Ye Fan was shocked. He had thought it was just a strange forest, different from life forms in another world.
But now, it had condensed into a giant purple sword, leaving him baffled and intrigued. What kind of world was this?
"Clang!"
Ye Fan didn't underestimate it. He swung the God-Slaying Whip, striking hard against the purple heavenly sword. His body shook violently, and he was pushed back over a dozen steps, but he held firm.
The sword's power was immense, leaving cracked footprints on the ground that spread in all directions.
The purple sword shattered, dissolving into light, and most of the forest withered away. The central ancient tree directly crumbled.
"Ding!"
A soft sound rang out as a chicken-egg-sized purple crystal flew out, tracing a beautiful arc in the air, radiating strong divine power.
Ye Fan caught it in his hand and muttered, "What is this? Why does every strange tree have one?"
He now had two crystals in his palm but had no idea what they were or what they were for. They seemed usable as source blocks to absorb essence.
But when he tried, he found it difficult—they were tightly sealed, extremely hard, and hard to crush.
Ye Fan continued onward, determined to understand this world. He needed to go far enough.
"Rumble!"
A sound like a tsunami erupted ahead, with red light shooting into the sky like a massive fire cloud, roaring loudly.
Ye Fan approached and saw the scene: a forest of blood-red ancient trees, with endless rosy clouds swirling.
These red trees were especially tall, many dozens of meters high. The central tree king was hundreds of meters tall, like a small mountain, carved from red coral—gorgeous and beautiful, blood-red with crystal leaves.
But it was also extremely dangerous. As soon as Ye Fan neared, the entire forest turned into a sea of blood, and red clouds flooded the sky and earth.
"Boom!"
A thousand-zhang-tall red cauldron manifested, formed entirely from red clouds, descending from the sky with an overwhelming force.
Sky-shattering and earth-splitting!
The red cauldron was ancient in shape, with three legs and two ears, a round body—almost identical to Ye Fan's cauldron, even down to the patterns.
"Characteristics of ancient China!" Ye Fan was stunned.
He quickly struck back. This attack was too powerful. With his greatly improved cultivation, he still felt threatened—it had the divine energy of a top Saint Lord's desperate strike!
"Boom!"
Ye Fan didn't waste divine essence. He directly unleashed the Black Gourd, and nine-colored flames surged, instantly engulfing the ancient cauldron.
"Crack!"
The divine flames raged, shattering the giant cauldron. The red forest ahead withered on a large scale, and the tree king exploded like fireworks.
A palm-sized red crystal flew out, its divine energy strong, like a divine star crossing the sky.
Ye Fan grabbed it firmly and stored it away.
Thus, he journeyed on, encountering ancient forests from time to time. He found five colors of ancient trees, all gleaming, each with a tree king containing a crystal.
In this way, he traveled over a thousand li, discovering dozens of forests. The most terrifying one made his heart tremble—a tree with black light shooting into the sky, its black light forming a demon-like body. With one roar, a mountain range collapsed.
But it too fell to the Black Gourd, and a foot-square black crystal fell from the tree.
This world had five-colored ancient trees. Ye Fan suspected they were related to the Five Elements, like the legendary Five Elements True Wood. But his knowledge was limited, as ancient records were scarce.
However, he knew that Five Elements True Wood was incredibly precious and extremely hard to cultivate, rarely seen in the world.
He never expected to find so many on this ancient star, growing so lushly.
Two days later, Ye Fan arrived at an ancient land and found traces of biological activity, not left long ago. This shocked him greatly.
He followed a stone forest, gradually approaching a giant mountain. When he reached an open area, he was utterly astonished.
"Ding!"
At the top of the giant mountain, which was very broad, an old man was stacking pieces of five-colored crystals together, building a small altar.
"A Five-Colored Altar!"
Ye Fan's mind shook. There was a person here, building a Five-Colored Altar. Seeing this suddenly hit him hard!
In an instant, he understood: the crystals from the five-colored trees were the materials for building Five-Colored Altars.
A tree capable of a strike comparable to a top Saint Lord produced only a palm-sized crystal, with most being pigeon-egg-sized. How many tree kings would it take to build an altar?
He thought of the Five-Colored Altar on Mount Tai and the one in the Ancient Forbidden Land. How powerful would the five-colored tree kings need to be?
After all, those massive five-colored stones could weigh a thousand jin or even ten thousand jin!
"So that's where the stones for the Five-Colored Altar come from?!" Ye Fan was filled with shock. They were crystals from divine trees.
Ahead, the old man had only one arm, dressed in green robes, building an ancient altar alone. It felt incredibly eerie.