Chapter 921: The Path to the Forbidden Zone of Life
The Void Mirror, the Devouring Demon Jar, and the Dragon-Pattern Blackgold Cauldron—three Imperial weapons clashed in battle. The sky shattered and the earth cracked. Countless people lay prostrate on the ground, trembling in fear, unable to move a single muscle. Most of this small world had been destroyed, now connected to the outside. If this continued, the supreme ancestral temple of the number one divine dynasty of ancient times would be reduced to ashes.
A dragon's roar shook the heavens. Tens of thousands of enormous black dragons soared into the air, their tails all within the Dragon-Pattern Blackgold Cauldron, their heads facing the sky. Each dragon stretched tens of thousands of zhang in length, terrifying and boundless, as thick as mountain ranges. Every scale, forged from black gold, was as large as a door panel, gleaming with metallic luster.
The Dragon-Pattern Blackgold Cauldron rose and fell. Tens of thousands of black true dragons leaped at the cauldron's mouth, emitting ten thousand strands of immortal light. A hazy expanse formed there, the massive dragon bodies terrifying and without limit.
The Void Mirror released astonishing beams of light. No one could look directly at it. The rays it shot out were countless times more blazing than the sun. Strands of immortal sword light hummed and rang out, slaying everything, hacking into the endless black dragons with earth-shaking sounds.
This was the might of an Extreme Dao. The Dragon-Pattern Blackgold Cauldron contended against the Void Mirror. Both were priceless immortal treasures. Fortunately, they did not strike the ground, or the earth would have been utterly destroyed.
Ye Fan arrived, and the Devouring Demon Jar also joined the attack. The jar's mouth spat out billions of rays of multicolored light, a brilliant spectacle. Clouds steamed and mists swirled. In a daze, a peerless beauty appeared, hazy and unreal.
The Dragon-Pattern Blackgold Cauldron shook violently. Tens of thousands of black dragons roared in unison. Within the cauldron's mouth, an immortal fetus faintly appeared, emitting boundless light, as if about to ascend with rosy clouds, resisting the Devouring Demon Jar.
"Boom!"
This final small world trembled violently. Aside from the ancestral temple and the Five-Colored Altar on the ground, everything else was destroyed, reduced to powder, completely merging with the great world.
Cataclysmic destruction!
"Hum—"
The Dragon-Pattern Blackgold Cauldron emitted a Dao hum, letting down thousands upon thousands of strands of black light. All the great dragons submerged into the cauldron. The immortal fetus also retracted, transforming into an eternal beam of immortal light that tore through the void and fled.
Yao Guang's people had all escaped. If they continued fighting like this, they would surely face a great calamity. The clash of weapons from ancient Great Emperors was the most heart-stopping.
A Human Clan Great Emperor wielding an Imperial weapon could slice down stars, their power peerless. Even when driven by their descendants, they could leave an entire ancient star scarred and devoid of life.
Everyone let out a long breath. What had just happened was a world-ending crisis. Even the four great divine dynasties of the Central Province were terrified, fearing the spread of Imperial might.
The blue sea undulated, and a bright moon hung high—this was the "Sea Rising, Moon Ascending" divine phenomenon. Ji Haoyue glanced this way, put away the Void Mirror, and descended to the ground.
Ye Fan nodded in thanks and retreated to the Five-Colored Altar. The great powers without Imperial weapons all fell back, not daring to contend with them. The Celestial Prince and the others had also disappeared somewhere, no longer appearing.
"Why is it incomplete?" Ye Fan was stunned. There was truly no way. How could they cross the stars with a broken Five-Colored Altar?
"There's a teleportation array here. Someone seems to have entered it just now." Ji Ziyue's beautiful eyes glanced toward the upper part of the mountain.
The Five-Colored Altar was built against the mountain. Not far away was a stone platform, bearing the mottled marks of time. There were also many man-made carvings, profound and indecipherable.
"A divine trace! This is an ancient teleportation array at the level of a Great Emperor. Where could it lead?" Big Black Dog exclaimed, its eyes burning with desire. With a whoosh, it dashed over.
It began rapidly copying the patterns. Such a thing was priceless to it. If it could truly comprehend it, it would benefit for life. This kind of formation was connected to the most primordial aspects of heaven and earth.
Fire Qilin Child and Huo Qizi also stepped forward, standing behind Ye Fan, Ji Ziyue, and the others. The other cultivators dared not approach, only watching with greedy eyes. Such an Emperor-level teleportation array likely led to an unimaginable place.
In front of the central ancestral temple, all the major powers were stirring. The immortal inheritances that controlled Imperial weapons looked this way. Some were approaching, realizing that this ancient teleportation array might be of even greater value, perhaps leading to the most core location of the Feather Transformation Divine Dynasty.
The atmosphere grew increasingly tense. All eyes were fixed on this spot from every direction. The aura of Primeval Imperial weapons filled the air, threatening to attack at any moment, brimming with killing intent.
"No, although that teleportation array is Emperor-level, it doesn't harmonize with this place. It looks like it was carved later, done hastily—just a small array platform."
"That's right. Though very ancient, it doesn't seem to have been carved by the Feather Transformation Divine Dynasty themselves. It looks more like the work of someone who cut off a section of the Five-Colored Altar."
There were master-level researchers of ancient formations here, no less skilled than Black Emperor. As soon as they observed and carefully compared, they saw through the mystery and reached this conclusion.
The killing intent receded. Both the weapons of the ancient Great Emperors and the artifacts of the Primeval Emperors stopped their fluctuations, no longer pressing forward. The atmosphere eased considerably.
Big Black Dog took out several pieces of Divine Source and embedded them into the grooves of the stone platform. The ancient teleportation array immediately lit up. Golden lines moved along the carved marks, finally interweaving to form a doorway.
Unlike other Dao patterns, these lines intertwined to create a real gateway. Its frame seemed forged from gold, shining brilliantly. Moreover, the scene on the other side of the door was clearly visible, as if stepping through would bring you directly to the destination, rather than crossing the void.
"That is…" Everyone was stunned. The first thing that came into view was a Five-Colored Altar, magnificent but incomplete.
It was naturally ancient and unadorned, bearing the vicissitudes of history—the accumulation of time. Every stone carried the imprint of an era, telling the eternal truth that nothing lasts forever.
"Why does it look familiar?" Someone showed a confused expression, unable to recall for a moment.
Ye Fan was instantly petrified, completely dumbfounded. Because he immediately knew what place this was—a place he had once risked his life to enter and leave!
Black Emperor embedded two more pieces of Divine Source into the grooves. The golden doorway enlarged, and the scene on the other side became even clearer. The crowd immediately let out a chorus of exclamations.
Many people now knew where this ancient teleportation array led. Above a pitch-black abyss, the Five-Colored Altar sat motionless, lifeless and dead.
Surrounding it were nine Sacred Mountains, their convergence forming the bottomless great abyss. It was dark and deep, making one's mind involuntarily want to sink into it.
"It's actually… the Ancient Forbidden Land!" People were shocked and horrified.
They could even see a half-man-high immortal divine tree and a spring of divine water on one of the Sacred Mountains, stirring their hearts.
"How could it lead there? Who cut off the Five-Colored Altar and sealed it at the entrance of the abyss?" People pondered, finding no answer.
This was a demonic land. Anyone who approached would face a life-and-death calamity. Especially the abyss below, which contained the "Ancient," an unknown and terrifying existence that could steal life and time.
"It truly is the Ancient Forbidden Land, beyond a doubt!"
Everyone found it unbelievable. This ancient teleportation array was too mysterious, actually leading to a Forbidden Zone of Life. And it was so peculiar, forming a golden door with everything on the other side clearly visible, reachable in a single step.
Remember, this was the Central Province. One step from here could reach the Southern Domain of the Eastern Wasteland. The distance was immeasurable—ordinary people would have to walk for hundreds or thousands of lifetimes, and even cultivators flying would need over a decade.
Many people became impulsive. There was the Divine Silkworm Clan's Nine-Wonder Divine Medicine there, now split into nine plants. It was right before their eyes. If they rushed over, they might be able to dig up one or two.
"Boom!"
Almost instantly, the place erupted. Many could no longer restrain themselves, all wanting to rush over and pick the Immortal Divine Medicine. In the past, the various sects had expended endless effort without success, but now the opportunity was right in front of them.
The Ancient Clan, in particular, could not sit still. Especially the experts of the Divine Silkworm Clan, who immediately flew onto the altar, staring fixedly ahead.
Ye Fan and the others did not stop them, quietly watching the situation unfold. They knew well how terrifying that place was. Even if one could enter, reaching the divine medicine was not guaranteed.
"Swish—"
Someone couldn't hold back. Over twenty figures charged through the golden door, all of them experts. With one step, they all landed on the Five-Colored Altar.
The people here held their breath, watching closely. The twenty-plus people fell onto the Five-Colored Altar, their appearances rapidly aging. Everyone could clearly see their hair turning white and their skin wrinkling. This scene filled hearts with fear.
Someone leaped high, trying to rush from the Five-Colored Altar to the Sacred Mountain to pick the Immortal Divine Medicine. But what horrified everyone was that they had already lost all their magical power and Dao cultivation. They fell straight into the abyss, unable to fly at all.
"Ah…"
This was despair. They were trapped on the Five-Colored Altar. The suspended altar was directly above the abyss, still a great distance from the cliffs of the several Sacred Mountains. Having lost their Dao and power, unable to fly, how could their physical bodies leap that far?
Miserable cries came. Standing on the Five-Colored Altar, facing the abyss, the aura of the "Ancient" was strongest. They were rapidly decaying. Some were already skin and bones, with sunken eyes, white hair fallen out, looking like skeletons, terrifying beyond measure.
One or two among them understood formations. They took out array platforms, trying to teleport and escape, but it was useless. Within this Forbidden Zone of Life, Dao patterns were erased, unable to function.
The people on this side were chilled to the bone, secretly relieved they hadn't rushed through the golden door. Otherwise, they would have met the same fate, with almost no chance of survival.
In this Forbidden Zone of Life, divine patterns could not be carved, and teleportation was impossible. Only this special Emperor-level formation could enter, but for them, it was still a dead end.
"Ah…"
The people on the Five-Colored Altar screamed. Many sprinted, trying to leap across the void to reach the Sacred Mountain, but one by one, they fell into the abyss, their aged, heart-wrenching cries echoing.
A demonic land!
"So that's how it is. The Five-Colored Altar needs to be repaired. No wonder the Nine Dragons Coffin had an accident when it set sail back then—the altar was incomplete!" Ye Fan muttered to himself.
"Little Leaf, don't go. It's too dangerous." Ji Ziyue looked as if she was about to cry.
"There's no time. Perhaps soon the Five-Colored Altar will sink into the abyss. I can't wait any longer. Besides, time cannot take my lifespan. I have safely entered and left before." Ye Fan had made up his mind.
"Oh? Someone crossed over!" The crowd exclaimed in surprise.
Another person stepped into the teleportation array and fell onto the Five-Colored Altar. This was an Ancient Clan member with wings. He immediately flapped his wings and flew toward the Sacred Mountain.
"He… succeeded!"
Many clenched their fists. But what awaited him was a narrow escape from death. As soon as he hovered over the abyss, his wings shattered instantly. He staggered forward but ultimately collapsed on the cliff.
Although he failed, the Ancient Clan members with divine wings were all tempted, wanting to take the risk and gamble!
"We can't wait any longer. I need to set out. If they keep charging in like this, they might lure out the Ancient Slaves." Ye Fan muttered to himself.