Chapter 765: Luring the Enemy into the Southern Ridge
Deep in the mountains, apes howled and tigers roared, strange beasts roamed freely, and all kinds of fierce birds circled overhead. Some were like azure dragons but born with feathered wings, others resembled divine phoenixes yet covered in red scales—a scene straight from a prehistoric era.
This was the dwelling place of the barbarian tribes, hidden deep within a great mountain range of the Southern Ridge. The various creatures they faced were all extremely terrifying and powerful, and it was precisely this that had tempered their entire clan into warriors capable of battle.
"So fragrant..."
Li Tian sniffed the air. On the fire pit was a roasted Peng bird, its golden feathers stripped away yet still over twenty meters long—it had been hunted by Dongfang Ye.
Now it had been divided into hundreds of portions. Many children and elders gathered together, sitting around different fires to enjoy the Peng meat.
The golden divine feathers shimmered with radiance, containing a fearsome power that testified to how mighty this bird had been in life, but now it had become a meal on a plate.
Oil dripped down, landing on the fire with a sizzling sound. The fragrant roasted meat was especially enticing. After being seasoned with salt and various spices, it turned golden and glistening, the aroma growing even richer.
Some barbarian elders opened several jars of aged wine. The smell of Peng meat mingled with the wine, making one's mouth water.
Ye Fan sat together with some barbarian elders, discussing the great matter of launching an expedition into the Northern Plains. The conversation went smoothly as they ate large chunks of meat and drank wine from large bowls.
Occasionally, when a barbarian elder grew excited from drinking, he would tear meat from the roasting rack with one hand while waving a large wolf-fang club with the other, shouting about crushing all the blind little rats of the Wang Clan and smashing the eggs of those bastard offspring.
"I say, brother, you grew up eating this kind of wild game? This is better than being an immortal!" Li Tian tore off a large piece of golden, glistening Peng meat, took a big gulp of old wine, and nearly floated away from sheer bliss.
"This kind of Peng meat isn't eaten often. You have no idea how hard it is to hunt. Although it's a strange bird that hasn't taken the path of transformation, it's comparable to a Great Power. We rarely provoke it," Dongfang Man said.
"This Peng meat is truly exquisite. I'm tempted to just stay in your tribe and never leave," Li Tian said, wiping his mouth.
In the distance, the Fifth Uncle Ancestor of the ancient village was competing in drinking with a group of old men from the tribe. Hearing this, he laughed and said, "Man'er started craving Peng meat when he was little. When he was five, he climbed a cliff to steal Peng bird eggs and almost got trapped in the nest by an adult Peng. Luckily, we were following behind him."
"What a happy childhood. Stealing from a Peng nest at such a young age—that's really an extraordinary experience," Li Tian said enviously, finding it incredibly fierce.
"My brother liked catching flood dragons. There used to be many deep pools around here. He started lurking around them when he was very young, and by the time he was in his teens, he often dove into the pools to capture flood dragons," Dongfang Man said.
"What kind of people are these? Stealing from Peng nests, catching wild dragons in deep pools—it feels as easy as catching sparrows or scooping up loaches. Your childhood was way too abnormal," Li Tian had to admit.
"Ooh ooh ooh..."
Not far away, a group of wild children around eight or nine years old came whooshing in, swinging from one cliff to another on vines, more agile than apes.
"Peng meat to eat! Oh, and flood dragon meat too! This is great!" The children flew like the wind, climbing rocks and leaping through trees, quickly arriving before them.
"Oooowoo..." A great roar shook the mountains. A massive creature crossed the sky, casting a huge shadow on the ground.
It was a terrifying existence like an azure dragon, but born with a pair of wings covered in dense scales, each wing large enough to cover a mountain.
"What kind of monster is that? Too terrifying!" Li Tian nearly dropped the jar of old wine in his hand.
"Such a terrifying aura. How many people in this world could stand against this creature?" Even Yan Yixi felt a chill of fear.
Even Ye Fan changed color, staring blankly at the sky. Although this place was like a prehistoric era with all kinds of ancient strange birds and beasts, this one was too powerful, making even him feel uneasy.
"Don't worry. That's a guardian beast of our barbarian tribe, raised by the previous old chieftain himself."
Although it wasn't a true azure dragon, it flowed with azure dragon blood. Now three thousand nine hundred years old, its roar could shake ten thousand mountains, its terror boundless.
Time was merciless. That old chieftain had passed away two thousand years ago, but this strange beast still lived, its blood and qi flourishing with no signs of aging.
"This is truly a real guardian god, a living legend. Damn, if that grandson Yin Tiande dares to chase us here, we'll unleash this azure dragon to bite him to death!" Li Tian said.
He began looking around, wanting to see if there were any other strange beasts. This ancient tribe was truly mysterious, possessing such a terrifying guardian god. If they brought it to the Northern Plains, it would sweep through everything.
Dongfang Man smiled honestly and said, "Are you looking for guardian beasts? There's another one over there." He pointed to a pond ahead, where a large, pitch-black stone sat, several zhang long.
At that moment, several barbarian strongmen were carrying a large iron basin over, filled with plenty of roasted Peng meat, its fragrance wafting through the air.
"A Black Tortoise!" Ye Fan was astonished. This was a terrifying dark turtle, born with a dragon's head, carrying a black shell. Smelling the meat, it slowly poked out its head and began to nibble.
"Such a huge turtle—truly rare. Is it really a guardian god? An ordinary demon turtle that's lived for a thousand years could also be this big. Doesn't seem quite right," Li Tian said suspiciously, then lowered his voice: "This thing, so big, full of essence—would eating it be very nourishing?"
Dongfang Man whispered, "Don't talk nonsense. This turtle came to our tribe over two thousand years ago looking exactly like this. The old chieftain at the time ordered us to treat it well and not neglect it."
"Why treat it like that?" Even Ye Fan was curious.
A barbarian elder said, "The old chieftain at the time said it closely resembled the legendary turtle, the one raised by a chieftain from long, long ago."
"No way, that's too eerie!" Yan Yixi was also moved.
"It's not certain. The old chieftain said it might be a descendant of that turtle, from the same clan. Either way, we're not to harm it, just treat it well."
Soon after, Ye Fan and the others heard a tiger's roar. Leaves flew wildly through the forest as a mountain-sized white tiger flashed by in the distance and vanished.
That was another guardian beast of the barbarian tribe, raised by a deceased senior hero. It had learned the breathing techniques of the Barbarian Martial Ancient Scripture and had lived for three thousand five hundred years.
Unfathomably deep—that was Ye Fan's direct impression. This ancient barbarian tribe was truly mysterious, so formidable. No wonder it was said that in ancient times, the entire Southern Ridge was their domain.
In the following days, Ye Fan continued to discuss matters with the barbarian elders. After all, attacking an ancient aristocratic clan was an enormous affair. At the slightest misstep, mountains of bones would pile up, and no one knew how many would die.
"Sacred Body, kneel and come to your death!"
On this day, in Phoenix City, one of the ten great cities of the Southern Ridge, someone appeared shouting this challenge, spreading it across the entire southern region.
"Has someone finally come?"
Ye Fan had declared that he would sit in the Southern Ridge, waiting for all the world's enemies to come, and take them all on at once. After many days, someone had finally come to fight.
"We're about to invade the Northern Plains. At this critical moment, you're going to meet them?" Yan Yixi asked.
"I want the whole world's attention to focus on the Southern Ridge, to make all my enemies deploy their forces here, sending experts to deal with me, while ignoring everything else," Ye Fan said.
On the verge of attacking the Northern Plains, he wanted to draw all his enemies' energy to the Southern Ridge. Then, together with the barbarian army, he would strike the Northern Plains with lightning speed.
"Tie up all the hostile enemies, make them station troops in the Southern Ridge and come up empty-handed, while we break free and attack the Wang Clan," Yan Yixi nodded.
"Sacred Body, kneel and come to your death!"
This was arrogance and ignorance taken to the extreme, as if reason had been lost. In the current world, without a Greatly Accomplished King appearing, no one could humiliate Ye Fan like this.
Who dared to shout such insults? Even Li Tian, that wicked man, turned unusually grim, vowing to help Ye Fan tear off this person's head and use it as a chamber pot.
The Southern Ridge was in an uproar. The world's eyes all focused on Phoenix City, wanting to know who dared to be so insane.
As expected, it was indeed someone from the Wang Clan of the Northern Plains. Wang Cheng Tian had arrived—a man not very old but who had long stood on the ninth small step of the second level of the Immortal Platform for many years, a terrifying figure.
He had someone shouting the challenge, eager to force Ye Fan to appear, capture him, strip his soul, and torture him to death with the cruelest methods.
Having a clan lord beheaded was a humiliation beyond words, a disgrace before the whole world. It was worse than slapping every member of the Wang Clan in the face.
Since ancient times, except for dark ages and sect-destroying calamities, no Sacred Lord had ever been slapped in the face and beaten to death on the ground.
"Sacred Body, kneel and come to your death!" Finally, Wang Cheng Tian himself shouted these words. He wanted to humiliate Ye Fan in the largest and most prosperous Phoenix City, forcing him to show himself.
He was emboldened because he had brought an ancient sacred weapon. Any opponent, even a King without a corresponding weapon, would die without a burial place.
"Ye, you won't come out? Then I'll tell you—when my clan hunted down your old friends, I struck them down, making them flee like homeless dogs. Today, I'll come to slay you." Even more excessive provocations came, Wang Cheng Tian's voice spreading through Phoenix City, insulting Ye Fan and his old friends. Countless major powers were watching.
"He dares to shout like that—he must have something to rely on," Yan Yixi said. They had already arrived in Phoenix City, guessing that the Wang Clan of the Northern Plains had likely brought an ancient saint-killing formation, or perhaps a sacred weapon.
"Go see him and give him a surprise." In Ye Fan's palm, the Divine Maiden Furnace was crystal clear, emitting an eerie luster.
Wang Cheng Tian himself was very cold, not a man of many words. He stood with his hands behind his back, confident. In his bosom was an ancient sacred weapon, ready to strike at any moment.
"I suddenly feel that killing you like this is too boring. Go to that ancient village. Aren't you trying to protect them? Today, I'll destroy them all before your eyes."
He gave Ye Fan no time to consider. Together with several others, he stepped onto an array platform, crossed through the void, and vanished from Phoenix City.
Ye Fan didn't hesitate. He, Yan Yixi, and Li Tian followed, also crossing through the void and disappearing. All three were eager—if they were lucky, they might harvest a sacred weapon.
Phoenix City fell into chaos. Countless people were watching, but both sides had left like this. People quickly built array platforms, all wanting to witness this extraordinary battle.
Wang Cheng Tian faced off against Ye Fan and the others, sneering, "Is it that mountain village in the ancient ridge ahead? I'll erase it!"
At that moment, he launched his attack. A purple-golden hammer rose into the air, transforming into a blazing bolt of lightning that struck toward Ye Fan, its power overwhelming!
"Boom"
All around, mountains collapsed. Divine power surged like an ocean. The distant ancient village turned to ash instantly!
Such was the might of a sacred weapon. Though it was incomplete, it was still terrifying beyond measure, like the arrival of doomsday.