# Chapter 905: Eternal Life Without Death
Duan De's words were chilling. How could a vast divine dynasty willingly abandon its rule and watch its millions of miles of rivers and mountains vanish into smoke? It defied logic.
"Don't disbelieve me. What are mortal affairs worth? If their plan succeeded, they might have led the entire sect to ascend to immortality!" The unscrupulous Taoist's words were shocking.
According to what he had seen, the stone carvings in that great tomb were obscure, but the final outcome could still be understood—it foretold eventual feather transformation and ascension to immortality!
"I think you're even less reliable than Black Emperor. Drawing such a conclusion from a single ancient tomb is hard to believe." Ye Fan shook his head.
"How am I unreliable?" The big black dog was indignant nearby.
"I'm not saying it's definitely true either, just providing a line of thought." Duan De said, very efficiently preparing his materials. If they weren't real people, then they must be ghost soldiers.
They knew the true test had arrived. This ancestral temple had thirty-six layers in total. The earlier ones were manageable, without certain death situations. But the last six layers were hard to predict—there was no guarantee calamities wouldn't appear. Otherwise, the four great divine dynasties and Yaoguang wouldn't have stopped here.
"Let's look more carefully." The old blind man was very composed.
Behind that stone gate lay an incomprehensible world. In the pitch-black rainy night, blood-colored lightning occasionally streaked across the sky. On the ground, squad after squad of soldiers wearing ancient armor walked through muddy roads, the black iron halberds and war swords in their hands possessing a demonic quality.
"That's right, those are the ancient battle robes of the Feather Transformation Divine Dynasty." The old blind man also nodded.
When lightning flashed, illuminating those armors and weapons, the special patterns on the cold battle robes were even faintly visible. Not many could wear such armor—only those who had rendered great merit could receive such rewards. It was a symbol of honor, status, and strength.
Heavenly Soldier Armor—a very imposing name, and it also demonstrated the boldness of the Feather Transformation Divine Dynasty at that time, their desire to unify heaven and earth and establish an immortal divine court.
Even if they ruled over Central Province or unified the Five Domains, that was merely mortal glory. Their highest hope was feather transformation and ascension to immortality, and they had been tirelessly working toward that goal.
"I'm starting to believe it. What the tomb robber said might be true." Qi Luo said, staring fixedly at those heavenly soldiers in the rain.
At the same time, Ye Fan and the others each activated their techniques and sensed that those were beings of flesh and blood, not ghosts or specters. This made them shiver involuntarily.
What did the Feather Transformation Divine Dynasty want to do? The world said they had been destroyed, but what they saw was somewhat bizarre—their heavenly soldiers still existed in the world, guarding this highest sacred temple.
"Let's go, look elsewhere."
They left this place and entered other temple small worlds. Each layer here had many halls, almost all connected to the next layer. After visiting several places, what they saw was the same—the thirty-first layer indeed had living "heavenly soldiers."
Moreover, in front of each stone gate, cultivators had stopped, gathering in large numbers, not daring to enter rashly.
No one wanted to stop here, all afraid of being beaten to the prize. The records at the very center of the ancestral temple were of great importance—perhaps containing the Feather Transformation Immortal Scripture, perhaps the secrets of crossing star domains, perhaps the Great Emperor's exclusive sacred object, Immortal Tear Green Gold.
Finally, a squad of ancient clan members moved first. They naturally felt a sense of superiority over humans, formed during the primeval era. No matter how bizarre the Feather Transformation Divine Dynasty's ancestral temple was, they weren't afraid, urgently wanting to obtain the eternally ancient Green Cauldron.
"Boom"
The rain poured down. A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky. People saw that squad of ancient clan members had been discovered, engaging in battle with a squad of heavenly soldiers, shouting continuously.
Everyone was shocked to discover that not a single heavenly soldier spoke. Their techniques were superb, their momentum like a rainbow. On the contrary, the ancient clan showed signs of being overwhelmed, shouting incessantly.
Where the heavenly soldiers' black war swords pointed, the various magical treasures of this squad of ancient creatures couldn't block them, being sliced into pieces. Black sword light crisscrossed, truly like heavenly soldiers descending to the mortal world. Soon, ancient clan members were split in two.
Blood-colored lightning danced, rain poured down like a deluge, figures becoming somewhat blurry. But people could still see that this squad of ancient creatures was finished. Although they killed a few heavenly soldiers, in the end, they were annihilated.
Outside the stone gate, everyone drew in cold air. That squad of ancient clan members wasn't weak, yet they were eliminated so quickly.
"How can there still be living people? Could the troops of the Feather Transformation Divine Dynasty be immortal, sealed in this temple, living on until now?" Many people were uncertain and uneasy. This ancient temple exceeded their imagination.
Heavenly soldiers—each had rendered great merit, possessed extraordinary skills, and superb techniques. Otherwise, how could they be granted that title? They were absolutely people born for battle.
"This is troublesome. Hard to break through." Some people's hearts trembled, hesitating to advance.
"These heavenly soldiers are all Great Powers. Just how powerful was the Feather Transformation Divine Dynasty back then?" Someone asked in uncertainty.
"I think there shouldn't be too many heavenly soldiers, probably only a dozen or so squads. With so many of us, we can break through." Most people naturally wouldn't give up.
At this moment, someone else moved, pushing open a stone gate and slipping in lightly, then directly using earth escape technique to sink into the ground.
"Ah..."
However, a scream soon came. A soldier wearing armor thrust a black war spear into the ground, impaling a person and lifting him up—it was the cultivator who had just entered.
"Pfft"
He shook with force, and that person instantly burst into four or five pieces, dying a violent death.
"Eh"
Qi Luo's eyes were like torches, looking toward a stone gate not far away. It opened by itself without anyone visible—clearly a powerful expert had entered, moving so fast no one saw.
"It's an old assassin king from the Hell Divine Dynasty!" Qi Luo squinted, a killing weapon flashing briefly in his brow.
"That means we can enter. As long as one's skills are sufficient, even those heavenly soldiers can't detect us."
"Something's not right. This is only the thirty-first layer. I think even if overly powerful figures are discovered, they'll be let through. There should be even stronger guardians ahead."
They whispered among themselves and began preparing to move, because others were also starting to act, each choosing stone gates and identifying their breakthrough direction.
"Ziyue, you can stop here. Go back." Ye Fan turned to face Ji Ziyue. Going further might truly lead to dangerous places, and he didn't want her to take risks.
"No, I want to personally see you ascend the Five-Colored Altar." Ji Ziyue said stubbornly, tears glistening in her eyes.
"Don't worry, with me here, no one can harm her." Qi Luo spoke.
"That's right, let's go together to the Five-Colored Altar to see you off. I can guarantee her safety." The monkey also spoke.
Duan De and Black Emperor were even more boisterous, claiming they could kill eight hundred or a thousand without issue. The barbarian also chimed in agreement. Seeing this, Ye Fan said no more.
The old blind man spoke, "The danger ahead is increasing. Let each of you light a soul lamp with me. If we get separated, we can know if something has happened."
More and more people rushed into the thirty-first layer small world. Screams rang out from time to time, clearly many had fallen. Those heavenly soldiers cooperated seamlessly, mastering a powerful ancient battle formation.
"Let's go!"
Finally, Ye Fan and the others pushed open the enormous stone gate and also entered this mysterious small world. The rain was still heavy, the ground muddy. Ancient trees lay ahead, but no buildings were visible. A squad of heavenly soldiers immediately discovered them and charged over.
Ye Fan and the monkey led the way. Both were incredibly brave, their bodies radiating boundless golden blood energy, dyeing the pitch-black rainy night golden yellow, a brilliant sight.
"Bang"
The battle began directly. Ye Fan's fists carried enormous golden lightning bolts, as if connected to the thunder in the sky. His fist force was vast and boundless, sending a heavenly soldier flying with blood spraying.
"Pfft"
The monkey was even more direct, swinging his great iron staff, smashing a heavenly soldier's right arm into meat paste, unstoppable.
"They're really alive!" Black Emperor bit onto a person's arm, biting hard, stripping off their armor for careful inspection, barking, "Speak! What's going on? What's your origin?"
"Bang"
He was too careless. Every heavenly soldier was a Great Power. An iron spear thrust at him, nearly piercing his chin. Fortunately, he had thick skin, but he still got a black eye from a punch.
This squad of heavenly soldiers was very decisive, leaving behind a few corpses and quickly retreating, disappearing into the rain without entangling with them.
"Hurry and leave!" Qi Luo shouted.
They couldn't stay long in this place. If a few more squads of heavenly soldiers came, it would be troublesome. They didn't believe there were only a few squads—there were likely even more powerful figures.
Not long after they left, a powerful aura erupted in that area. A figure rode blood-colored lightning, holding a black broadsword, his divine might astonishing the world.
"That's a Heavenly General!" Ji Ziyue exclaimed softly, identifying him by his armor. It was said that those who could earn the title of Heavenly General must be Dao Cutters who had rendered meritorious service.
"This king is quite extraordinary, almost a Greatly Accomplished King. Don't provoke him." Qi Luo muttered to himself.
They didn't stop, quickly disappearing into the rain, transforming into bolts of lightning as they rushed into the depths. Clearly, this was a vast region, full of hills covered in trees, with no ancient buildings in sight.
Along the way, they saw more heavenly soldiers, avoided several squads, forcefully killed seven or eight, and charged forward until they saw a glowing hall in the rain.
However, it was at this moment that their hearts all trembled. The smell of blood was pungent ahead. Corpses lay everywhere—most of those who had entered earlier were dead, with several hundred having lost their lives.
The earth trembled. Ahead was a pitch-black mass, like a steel flood sweeping across in all directions, the ground shaking!
Black Emperor's fur stood on end, his hair bristling. "Damn, this is a phalanx, a full five hundred heavenly soldiers! Am I crazy, or is this world crazy? A single sect produced five hundred Great Powers!"
They were all stunned. Indeed, there were five hundred of them, each with the strength of a Great Power, wearing ancient armor, holding black war swords and iron halberds. The aura they emitted made heaven and earth tremble.
"Over there... there's more!" Even Duan De's hair stood on end.
On the other side, there was another phalanx of five hundred, advancing step by step. The momentum they unleashed was like mountains collapsing and seas roaring, slaughtering the cultivators who had just entered!
"This must be an illusion! It can't be real! Even at the Feather Transformation Divine Dynasty's peak, they couldn't have had a thousand Great Powers!" The old blind man said.
This defied common sense, completely incomprehensible. Over two hundred thousand years had passed. Even if the Feather Transformation Divine Dynasty truly existed in the world in some bizarre way, living in seclusion in one corner, how could they have produced so many experts?
"A terrifying aura is in the mountain forest over there. Don't force our way through. Let's circle around and take a look." Qi Luo was most sensitive to killing intent, pointing into the distance at a pitch-black, sinister forest.
When Ye Fan and the others stealthily approached, they immediately felt uncomfortable. Ahead of this mountainous area, a force like heaven and earth splitting apart surged, pressing down on them until they could barely breathe. This world seemed about to collapse, with an incomparably powerful aura!
Finally, they stood on a hill and looked down. All were horrified, cold air rising from their bodies.
Ahead lay a cemetery. Most of the tombstones had fallen. Rain poured down. Many ancient graves had split open, with skeletons crawling out, then rapidly growing flesh and blood.
"Heavens, what am I seeing? This should be the cemetery of successive generations of heavenly soldiers. They... how are they resurrecting? Could it be that the Feather Transformation Divine Dynasty truly abandoned its rule willingly, carrying out some heaven-defying undertaking, and has now discovered the secret of becoming immortal, achieving eternal life without death, able to... bring the dead back to life and regenerate flesh from bones?!"