Chapter 965: Following the Map
The Central Province was home to countless famous mountains and great rivers—the winding Yellow River, the majestic Kunlun Mountains, the towering Taihang Mountains, all vast and magnificent, inspiring awe at nature’s wondrous power, as if carved by divine craftsmanship.
Yet at this moment, Ye Fan and the others felt a chill run down their spines. All of this might have been artificially arranged by ancient people. What a tremendous undertaking, vast and unfathomable!
They had stumbled upon a taboo, something beyond human power at play, a terror that spanned the ages. Every ancient dragon mountain was like a piece on a chessboard.
Ye Fan was shaken. In the Big Dipper Star Domain, one could find such dragon mountains, but not many, and it was rare to see over a dozen clustered together, let alone ninety-nine intertwined. This was truly the extreme.
“Even traveling across many ancient stars, it’s hard to see such a sight. Ninety-nine dragon mountains coiling and interweaving—it’s like something out of a fairy tale!”
This was a myth, a shattered myth, deliberately concealed, forbidden from pursuit, for reasons unknown.
Old Crane and the Third Valley Master carefully pondered the words of the Yellow River Dragon and the Dark Turtle, feeling an ever-deepening chill. The matters involved were truly beyond their ability to probe.
If it were true, even if their ancestors came, they might be crushed by a finger, for it was too horrifying.
“Do not speak of it, do not investigate it, or disaster will surely strike. Even the ancient sages dared not touch it.” These words, passed down from the ancestors of the Yellow River Dragon and the Dark Turtle, carried a grave warning that sent chills through one’s bones.
“From ancient times to the present, after so many years, is it still taboo? The essence of heaven and earth has dried up. After such a long era, the beings involved might have died, or perhaps they have already left,” the Third Valley Master said, trying to comfort himself.
Ye Fan took out the bone fragment from the Red Pine Fire Burial Cave and carved out the stone diagrams from the Lushan Underground Palace and the Primordial Dragon Cave, studying them carefully.
“No, the fragmentary map of the immortal ascension opportunity doesn’t show ninety-nine ancient dragon mountains. There’s no necessary connection,” he muttered, bewildered. Had they taken the wrong direction entirely, stumbling into forbidden territory?
He combined the nine ancient jade fragments and examined them repeatedly. Indeed, they seemed unrelated to the immortal ascension opportunity map.
What was going on? Ye Fan was confused. Had Red Pine’s investigation into the Shu region nothing to do with this? Was it another secret?
“Did you notice what the old dragon and the Dark Turtle said? Long before ancient times, the ninety-nine dragon mountains had already been separated. For later generations, it’s impossible to verify,” Old Crane said.
The nine ancient jade fragments were carved in ancient times, after the dragon mountains had been split. This meant everything had already happened and could not be changed. So what was the point of carving these bird-script jade fragments?
“Perhaps we got the whole direction wrong. We ourselves stepped into forbidden territory. Do these nine jade fragments point to something else?” the Third Valley Master asked.
“Which sect in the present age is the oldest? Let’s see if we can find information about the ninety-nine dragon mountains and the ancient forbidden secrets,” Ye Fan said. Since they had already uncovered some clues, he couldn’t just let it go.
Now was the Dharma-Ending Age. All great cultivators had left Earth. This might be the best opportunity. No one in the present age could stop him.
“The oldest ancient sect… probably dates back a million years,” the First Valley Master said.
Ye Fan was stunned. That was still the age of ape-men. Had someone already founded a sect? That seemed too absurd.
“We’ve actually excavated ruins of primitive ancient sects. The era of eating raw meat and drinking blood was vastly different from now. There were also mysterious traditions, but they’ve long since passed,” Old Crane said.
“Actually, if you want to investigate, you could go straight to the Shu Mountain Sword Immortal Sect. After all, it’s the legacy left by Red Pine. Perhaps it holds some great secret unknown to the world,” the Third Valley Master suggested.
“Right, we should visit the Immortal Sword Sect and get to the bottom of this,” Ye Fan nodded.
So-called Shu Mountain referred to the mountain ranges around the Emei region. They returned to Sichuan and bypassed the formations, entering a primeval area that the mortal world would never know.
In Shu Mountain, the Immortal Sword Sect was immensely powerful, surpassing many ancient sects and rivaling the Demon Clan’s sacred land, Ten Thousand Demon Valley. Its legacy shook the world, and no one dared provoke it.
Years ago, Old Crane had accidentally entered Shu Mountain and found great fortune inside a mountain belly, inheriting part of the Sword Immortal legacy, which dramatically boosted his strength.
“Red Pine’s legacy is now incomplete. The Immortal Sword Sect is far weaker than in ancient times,” the First Valley Master explained. In fact, most sects were in the same situation, having lost many scriptures.
This time, Old Crane truly understood how terrifying Ye Fan was. Ye Fan told them to wait there, then turned into a wisp of smoke and vanished among several sword peaks.
“Forcibly entering the Shu Mountain Sword Sect—how deep must his cultivation be? At least a great cultivator at the Immortal Platform stage! And this place is covered in countless sword formations!” the First Valley Master exclaimed.
The Third Valley Master was somewhat more composed, having witnessed Ye Fan entering the Immortal Sword Heavenly Pool and facing thousands of sword beams alone, so he had some immunity.
Ye Fan entered the Ancestral Hall and saw a stone statue with an immortal air. He bowed respectfully. He had observed Red Pine’s Dao and grasped a true essence, gaining immense benefits, and held him in reverence.
He searched for secret scriptures, examining ancient Daoist texts, paying special attention to various notes and records, reading carefully to find any trace of clues.
To be fair, the Immortal Sword Sect was powerful. The techniques recorded there were indeed Red Pine’s true teachings, though some parts were missing, they were enough to elevate them above the mortal world.
Ye Fan used his powerful divine sense to search for half a day, then subdued a Supreme Protector of the sect and examined his sea of consciousness, finally gleaning a few clues.
Using his formidable abilities, he erased all traces of his intrusion, then silently opened a secret door and entered a dusty stone chamber. There were no ancient Daoist methods, no elixirs or sacred medicines—just a pile of miscellaneous items.
This was a secret chamber where Red Pine had once gone into seclusion. The sect had treated it as a forbidden area, sealed and guarded for generations, with only successive sect masters allowed entry.
This place had become the highest secret ground of the Immortal Sword Sect. There were many notes, most written by great cultivators of past generations, discussing many secrets.
The notes spanned a vast period, from ancient times to the present, left by sect masters of different eras. He studied them carefully and finally discovered some things he wanted to know.
The immortal ascension opportunity that Red Pine had pursued was indeed related to the ninety-nine ancient dragon mountains from before ancient times!
But he hadn’t come to the Shu region to directly seek the ninety-nine dragon mountains, because they had already been separated before his time. He was looking for an Earth Immortal, who had deeply grasped the secrets of the ninety-nine dragon mountains, hoping to find a breakthrough through him.
Ye Fan read on, his heart pounding as he finally learned some truths.
The ninety-nine ancient dragon mountains had nurtured the hope of immortality. Red Pine pursued it, the ancient Sacred Emperors pursued it, the ancestral Demon God of Ten Thousand Demon Valley pursued it, but ordinary ancient sages feared it like a snake or scorpion.
One suspected Earth Immortal had gained extraordinary insights. Rumors said he had hidden in the Shu region, so Red Pine came here, seeking the secret of immortality.
The hope of immortality nurtured by the ninety-nine ancient dragon mountains had been taken out. The Earth Immortal had come into slight contact with it, then retired to Shu, disappearing without a trace.
Ye Fan read every scroll. Many were records of Red Pine’s words and deeds, compiled from legends, which could restore some shocking truths through the fragments of his life.
The Earth Immortal had arranged ninety-nine small dragons for himself, imitating the ninety-nine great dragon mountains. All the secrets he knew were buried within them.
“So that’s it. The dragon mountains carved on the nine ancient jade fragments are not the original ninety-nine true dragon mountains, but his own burial site.”
Ye Fan left the Immortal Sword Sect and told Old Crane and the Third Valley Master what he had learned. After all, Ten Thousand Demon Valley had investigated for so many years and must have some intuition.
“We must find out!” the First Valley Master said. The ancestors of Ten Thousand Demon Valley had poured their hearts and souls into this, spending so much effort to reach this point. How could they stop now?
Although delving deeper might touch upon forbidden territory, they felt it necessary to first find the Earth Immortal before making the final decision.
“The Earth Immortal is dead. He probably didn’t obtain anything that could grant immortality, or he wouldn’t have died. Calling him an Earth Immortal is likely an exaggeration,” Ye Fan muttered to himself.
“Born not touching the ground, dead not entering the earth, an immortal fetus, never stained by dust throughout life.” This was the description of the Earth Immortal after all nine ancient jade fragments were assembled. With a little thought, one could understand that the Earth Immortal’s burial method involved being placed in a hanging coffin, not touching the ground, not entering the earth.
“No wonder Red Pine opened hanging coffins and searched for ancient burials. He already knew that Earth Immortal had retired to Sichuan and learned his burial method,” Old Crane said.
They had come full circle, realizing that the ninety-nine ancient dragon mountains were untouchable and had long been separated. All they could do was find the Earth Immortal’s coffin.
Now, their only advantage was that there were no longer any sages on Earth. They were among the strongest, so they didn’t have to worry about being stopped.
In the following period, they spent a great deal of time observing various mountains and rivers in the Shu region, carefully searching for clusters of small dragon mountains to locate the Earth Immortal’s burial site, but found nothing.
“Could it be that it’s not in Sichuan at all? Otherwise, with Red Pine’s heaven-and-earth-shaking, supreme abilities, why didn’t he find it?” Ye Fan wondered.
“Any mountain with great momentum, once it takes shape, will nurture divine beauty. After thousands of years, it will affect the surrounding mountain patterns. Perhaps we can use this as a starting point,” Old Crane said.
Since the Earth Immortal had imitated the ninety-nine ancient dragon mountains to arrange a group of small dragon mountains, even if it was hidden within an ancient formation, after so many years from ancient times to the present, it must have affected the surrounding mountains.
Ten Thousand Demon Valley mobilized all its resources, deploying massive manpower and exhausting the valley’s full strength to investigate, finally making a breakthrough discovery.
That very day, they set out, traveling without pause straight to the destination, then observing from afar.
The mountain was shaped like a coiled dragon leaping toward the sky, or a crouching tiger, majestic in momentum. Dragon and tiger vied for supremacy, neither yielding. Water wound around the peaks, with ninety-nine peaks and twenty-four cliffs. Though not dragon-shaped, it had that aura. The softness of water complemented the hardness of the dragon.
“An ancient great formation seals the secret area, and it has affected the surrounding landscape. The Earth Immortal’s burial site should be here!”
“This is the ancestral land of Daoism! We can’t disturb it recklessly. If they discover us, at least half the Daoist priests in the world will fight us to the death.”
It must be here. Ye Fan, relying on his Source Heaven divine art, sensed a certain aura. The uninhabited area sealed by the ancient formation was surely the place they sought.