Chapter 692: The Unyielding Obsession of the Ancient Era
On such an ancient star, aside from the five-colored ancient trees, there was nothing else, and it was difficult to see a single living creature.
Now, suddenly seeing a five-colored altar and a one-armed old man in blue robes, the impact on Ye Fan was immense.
The five-colored altar was not very large, because the crystals within it were too small, making it impossible to have the thousand-jin giant stones like those on the Ancient Yinghuo Star or in the Ancient Forbidden Land.
It was hard to imagine how ancient a tree king would need to be to produce such crystals, likely requiring a Sage to fell them, or even a Quasi-Emperor to personally exert himself.
The old man in blue robes was tall and slender, with a gaunt and clear appearance, looking like an immortal being with no trace of worldly smoke, possessing a very ancient and natural feel.
Why was there such an old man, alone here? What level of cultivation had he reached, that he could actually build such an altar platform!
To think, Black Emperor had once said that only a Great Emperor could inscribe the array patterns of a five-colored altar; no one else had the slightest possibility, and they couldn't even understand them.
Just how powerful was this person, building an altar platform alone? It filled his heart with shock and awe—could this be a Great Emperor?
This absurd thought surged into his mind, making him feel very frightened. Ancient Great Emperors had always existed only in legends; one could not see the real person, so how could he encounter one?
"It shouldn't be a Great Emperor; otherwise, how could he have a broken arm? Figures like that have long since defied the heavens. Not just a broken limb, but even if their body were shattered to dust and their divine sense extinguished, they could repair it."
He speculated secretly, not approaching, only observing from afar, afraid of disturbing him.
The five-colored altar was small, no more than three meters long, but it consumed a great many five-colored crystals, most of which were no larger than pigeon eggs. Stacked up like this, the number of tree kings that had been cut down was incalculable.
"Such a small five-colored altar might only be for crossing over a single person. Is he about to leave, and where will he go?"
In the pitch-black and deep universe, it was truly not easy to find a living ancient star and see a person. Ye Fan found it hard to calm down.
He was very far from the five-colored altar and kept retreating, because he didn't know the depth of the one-armed old man's cultivation and feared being sensed by him.
However, even though he restrained his aura, the old man still looked over. His eyes were dim and lifeless, his expression blank.
Ye Fan's body stiffened, and he stopped in his tracks. Then, after a moment's hesitation, he strode forward. Since he had already come here, if the other party wanted to harm him based on his cultivation level, he probably couldn't escape anyway.
Even now, he was still muttering to himself: was the other party a Great Emperor? Because Black Emperor's words were too deeply impressed on him—only an ancient emperor could build a five-colored altar.
"Return to my homeland, cannot be buried in a foreign land…"
When he climbed the giant mountain and arrived before the five-colored altar, he heard this voice, echoing continuously like a curse.
Ye Fan was astonished. The old man's mouth hadn't opened, but the sound was clearly ringing out in this place, as if coming from ancient times.
"Senior…" Ye Fan called out, but the other party didn't even look at him, continuously adjusting the altar platform.
"Return to my homeland, cannot be buried in a foreign land…"
This phrase was unceasing, like a spell, echoing beside the altar, as if it would never stop.
Gradually, Ye Fan sensed something was wrong. Not only this sound, but even the old man himself had issues; this didn't seem like a real person.
"Deity Thought!"
Suddenly, he was terrified, and all the hairs on his body stood on end. He felt a special aura, belonging to that kind of evil spirit.
Ye Fan stumbled backward. There was absolutely no mistake—this was a supreme Deity Thought. Its fluctuations and divine power were very similar to the one he had seen before in the Immortal Mansion World.
The former was born from the evil thoughts of the Immortal Emperor after his death. What existence had this old man in blue robes been before his death, to give rise to this?
"How could there be a Deity Thought on this ancient star?" Ye Fan felt cold from head to toe. Now, he had no Extreme Imperial Weapon to suppress the evil spirit; how could he fight it?
What was a Deity Thought? Legend said it was the evil thought born after a deity's death, incredibly powerful, and almost no one could oppose it.
The legendary deities were already illusory enough, and now their evil thoughts could give birth to something—this boundless strangeness was hard to comprehend.
Ye Fan noticed the broken arm, which carried the aura of a heavenly tribulation. It was likely that the heavens above could not tolerate it and sent down a divine punishment to sever it, making it difficult to regenerate, as it was attached with opposing power.
"Who can bury me in my homeland?" Before the five-colored altar, the ancient voice continued, like an unyielding obsession.
Ye Fan stopped in his tracks. The Source Heaven Divine Eye shot out a beam of light, and he saw a shadowy figure, not a solid body standing ahead. The old man in blue robes was very unreal.
"Eh, this is…"
This Deity Thought was undergoing Dao Dissolution. What remained now was just a wisp of obsession, not a tangible, invincible divine spirit body. This made him both shocked and relieved.
"Just how many years have passed? A deity died on this ancient star, and after endless ages, a Deity Thought was born, but it too is about to be exhausted, almost dissipated."
Ye Fan shuddered. It was hard to imagine how many years ago a deity had descended here and was buried on this ancient star. Perhaps he could dig up a divine corpse!
This wisp of obsession posed little threat. Even the evil thoughts had dissipated, leaving only a persistence. It was still fiddling with the altar, repeatedly modifying it, but with little change.
"This altar platform was already completed long ago. It's just that the Deity Thought itself is failing, dissolving into the world. Without the main divine thought, it's now not even a ghost; it's just mechanically repeating everything from the past."
Standing here for a long time, Ye Fan finally understood all of this. And from the various ancient sounds, he obtained a startling secret: this deity came from the Ziwei Ancient Star Domain.
It was constantly fixated on returning to its homeland, to the legendary Ziwei Star Domain.
"In ancient Chinese myths and legends, the Ziwei Star is the Emperor Star, known as the Master of Fate…" Ye Fan pondered.
Taoist scriptures recorded that the Master of Ziwei governs the celestial meridians and terrestrial latitudes, leading the three realms of star gods and the various mountain gods. He is the sovereign of all phenomena, able to summon wind and rain, and command thunder, lightning, ghosts, and gods.
Ye Fan stood for a long time but found nothing else. Then, he moved swiftly across this ancient star, preparing to search for the divine corpse.
This planet was not very large, much smaller than the world of the Big Dipper Star Domain, and even smaller than a single oasis in the Northern Domain.
It didn't take Ye Fan long to explore it completely. Unfortunately, he never found the divine corpse. Only the lingering obsession of the Deity Thought remained—the old man in blue robes.
He spent a full month on this not-so-large asteroid, almost turning over the entire land, but still didn't find the corpse.
"It might not be a deity; it's more likely an emperor's corpse. But it certainly wouldn't decay. It might have already entered the universe…" Ye Fan sighed softly.
Perhaps, like Emperor Void, it had ultimately buried itself in the boundless starry sky. Along the way, a Deity Thought was born, and it entered this ancient star, wanting to return to its homeland, the Ziwei Star Domain.
Ye Fan returned to the dragon corpses and the bronze coffin, and again saw the claw marks that had almost torn apart the stone mountain. He carefully sensed them for a long time and confirmed they were made by the Deity Thought from back then.
"Am I trapped on this asteroid?" he muttered to himself.
In the following half year, he went every day to battle the ancient tree kings, seeking those divine crystals. Of course, it wasn't to build a five-colored altar, but to temper himself and engage in bitter cultivation.
This ancient star was very special, naturally suited for the growth of the Five Elements True Wood. Perhaps it was the last place in the universe where Five Elements True Wood existed.
Because, before the five-colored altar, that wisp of obsession had such vague meanings. The ancient sounds were hard to understand; though they were divine sense fluctuations, they weren't easy to discern.
Every day, he spent a certain amount of time watching the old man in blue robes repair the five-colored altar. It was just a repetitive task, with no real improvement to speak of.
It was merely the last bit of attachment of a ghost about to dissipate. It no longer knew who it was or that Ye Fan had arrived.
Finally, Ye Fan made up his mind to risk leaving this ancient star and heading elsewhere!
Because this ancient star was too strange. It was naturally suited for the growth of Five Elements True Wood, draining all the power of the Great Dao for its own use, making it very difficult for cultivators to comprehend the Dao here.
In the end, Ye Fan decided to abandon the nine dragon corpses and the bronze coffin and cross over alone, because the Nine Dragons Coffin was truly stranded and wouldn't move at all.
Using the five-colored altar built by the Deity Thought, he wanted to risk going to the Ziwei Ancient Star. Since there was no path ahead, he might as well take a gamble.
The five-colored altar was almost complete. Although it was small, it had a certain feasibility. If this Deity Thought hadn't undergone Dao Dissolution and lost its main divine thought, it would probably have crossed over long ago.
"Activate…"
As long as it could be activated, everything on the altar could be set in motion, meaning crossing over was possible.
Ye Fan had watched here for half a year and had already discovered some secrets. He injected a wisp of divine power into it, and the five-colored altar immediately burst with radiant light.
It was already in a semi-activated state; all it lacked was a trigger. He succeeded on his first try.
Without any hesitation, Ye Fan stepped up and stood in the center of the altar platform. A small Eight Trigrams Gate appeared, runes flickering, opening the Star Gate.
Returning to Earth was out of the question. What mattered now was entering a place of life. The Ziwei Ancient Star Domain was a very strong choice.
Suddenly, the originally unconscious old man in blue robes snapped his eyes wide open, shooting out two dazzling divine beams like torches, piercing into the clouds. He seemed to have temporarily regained consciousness.
The old man in blue robes reached out a large hand, instantly tearing open the earth, all the way to the core of this ancient star, and pulled out a sealed stone coffin.
Ye Fan's eyes went wide. The Deity Thought had a moment of resurgence, gaining a trace of self-awareness. Almost reverently, it lifted the ancient coffin, stepped onto the altar, and stood together with him.
"The deity's corpse!"
He didn't need to think to know that the stone coffin must contain the divine corpse. He had searched for it for a long time without finding it, but it turned out to be in the planet's core. How could an ordinary person have the great power to grab it in one go?!
"He and I are going to the Ziwei Ancient Star together?!" Ye Fan's hair stood on end. This was a Deity Thought, born from the evil thoughts of a deity—not a benevolent being.
"He's about to undergo Dao Dissolution. I hope he dissipates along the way." Ye Fan was certain that if the old man in blue robes disappeared, the divine corpse would inevitably fall into his hands!
With a loud crash, five-colored divine light shot into the sky. Ye Fan, the old man in blue robes, and the stone coffin containing the divine corpse instantly vanished into the Eight Trigrams Star Gate, disappearing in an instant.
"Return to my homeland, cannot be buried in a foreign land…" Within the Star Gate, only this phrase echoed.
Big Dipper Star Domain, Eastern Wasteland, Ji Family.
It was another late night. The stars shone brightly. Ji Ziyue gazed up at the starry sky, sitting for most of the night, and finally let out a soft sigh.
Several years had passed in the blink of an eye. She didn't know if the Nine Dragons Coffin had reached the other end of the starry sky. Every night, she looked up, reminiscing about the past, finding it hard to smile.
Northern Domain, Divine Spirit Valley, Ten Thousand Dragon Nest, and other important Primeval Royal Clans were also gazing at the starry sky, discussing a major matter.
"Are you sure they went to the Ziwei Ancient Star Domain back then?"
"We can activate the divine platform left by an ancient emperor from that time and try to summon them!"
"But doing that would cost too much!"