Shrouding the Heavens

Chapter 425: Chapter 430: Secrets and Entering the Forbidden Land

The northern region is abundant with Sources, and terrifying creatures that have slumbered since ancient times reside there, making it a land of intrigue throughout history.

The Great Primordial Mine traverses eternal ages. It left shadows in the dark era, the Ancient Desolation catastrophe, and great calamities for the human race, and is steeped in endless legends.

Since humanity began, countless heroic lords entered it in their twilight years, but sadly, none returned, and no tales of their emergence have ever been heard.

A month after Ye Fan’s departure, the northern region delivered earth-shattering news. Various Sacred Lands explored an ancient Divine Temple in the Taichu Forbidden Area but returned with heavy casualties.

The world was astounded; no one expected the Sacred Lands would dare enter the Taichu Forbidden Area, engaging in a bloody battle with unknown creatures within an Ancient Divine Temple.

The Sacred Lands were as silent as a tomb prior, without a hint of their preparations leaking, only for their failed venture to reveal their endeavors.

The populace was shaken; the Sacred Lands’ bold entry into the Taichu Forbidden Area was too abrupt, suggesting they discovered a monumental secret to warrant such a risk!

The earth echoed with noise and speculation as people found this event bore signs long before.

A year ago, enchanting music emanated from the Taichu Forbidden Area, and a peerlessly graceful woman was seen, stirring the northern region and spreading through many great sects.

From then on, disturbances from all over the world gathered in the northern region, with both the younger generation and supreme Sect Hierarchs heading northward.

Ye Fan remembered clearly when the Green Flood Dragon King came to the southern region to invite the Peacock King north; all Saint Heirs and Sacred Ladies also made their way north around that time.

So that’s how it is!

He suddenly understood that an incredible discovery must have taken place in the Taichu Forbidden Area, something that deeply unsettled the Sacred Lands, compelling them to spend a year in preparation.

Piecing these events together, it explained all the turmoil in the northern region over the past year, with diverse figures appearing as if it were the world’s center.

Within the Taichu Forbidden Area, an astonishing ancient temple had appeared, and from it, the melodious voice of a divine Goddess emanated. Yet, the Sacred Lands ultimately retreated without obtaining everything.

However, they certainly must have gained considerably, having prepared for over a year.

As Ye Fan found Ye Huiling, another shocking piece of news emerged, again from the northern region!

The Ancient Heaven-devouring Demon Vessel, rumored for months, had finally been unearthed. The discovery resulted in a blood-drenched chasm, with numerous masters dead or wounded.

The sacred weapon of an ancient Great Emperor captivated everyone’s hearts, and this revelation caused another global upheaval!

People couldn’t help but wonder about the coincidence: just as the Sacred Lands retreated from the Taichu Forbidden Area, the lid of the Heaven-devouring Demon Jar appeared.

Soon, definite news arrived. Many Grand Elders from the Sacred Lands were dead or injured, and the younger generation was nearly annihilated.

Rumors had long indicated that to breach the fierce one’s Dao Field required the combined efforts of those with physiques like the Heavenly Demon Body, divine body, and sacred body, among others, to conduct a sacred ritual with their blood.

And indeed, it came true. Various kings gathered, using their blood to open the Dao Field of the first fierce one of ancient times, only to encounter merciless slaughter.

The cache location of the Great Emperor’s sacred weapons bore formidable Array Patterns, capable of destroying anything, penetrating the heavens and earth, and sweeping away all before them.

No one would have survived if not for two crucial actions: the Green Flood Dragon King wielding the Green Emperor’s Holy Weapon, and Flickering Light Sacred Master, the seventh great robber, using the Demon Jar to forge a difficult path.

The world was shocked. The first fierce one of ancient times was truly ruthless—merciless towards himself and even more so towards any who dared offend, nearly obliterating all the young elites of the Eastern Wastelands.

The Ji Family Divine King Body, Yan Ruyu, the Jiang Family Divine King Body, the Heavenly Demon Body, the Innate Dao Embryo, Xia Jiuyou, and the Flickering Light Saint Heir were all grievously injured, almost fading to nothingness.

Too ruthless! Forging himself into a weapon and showing no mercy to descendants. Truly, the foremost untouchable figure of ancient times!

He created the Immortal Heavenly Technique, birthing a Divine Embryo from his aging body by refining his own old physique. Legend says he was likely the longest-lived among ancient Great Emperors.

When Ye Fan heard the news, his first thought was of a conspiracy!

For the Black Emperor, wise in ancient and modern affairs, had made various judgments and spoken of many hidden secrets to him.

Indeed, more precise news emerged; he found traces in the fierce one’s Dao Field, where those with the Heavenly Demon Body, divine body, Innate Dao Embryo, and others were trapped, their very essence nearly stripped away.

This is…

It matched the secrets the Black Emperor had shared. The first fierce one of ancient times, despite being of mortal flesh and blood, had suppressed all kings and eventually achieved the Supreme Emperor Road. Before creating the Immortal Heavenly Technique, he had created the Heaven-devouring Demon Technique.

At the inception of this technique, the entire world hunted him, for he could devour others’ essences. The fierce one survived nine lives of peril, facing even more enemies than the First Emperor Without Beginning.

These secrets had long vanished into the stream of history, known only to the Black Emperor; few in the world knew that the predecessor to the Immortal Heavenly Technique was the Heaven-devouring Demon Technique.

Could what the Black Emperor said be true? Did someone acquire the legacy of the first fierce one? Ye Fan shivered.

In the distant northern region, the Black Emperor growled in frustration, glaring at that Dao Field, nearly going berserk, almost biting Pang Bo, Tu Fei, and Li Heishui.

At the crucial moment, it was he who had halted Pang Bo and the others, preventing them from entering the fierce one’s Dao Field and thus avoiding a catastrophe of epic proportions.

Yet, the Black Emperor was utterly infuriated, discovering the Dao Field had already been visited, and the lid of the Heaven-devouring Demon Jar had assuredly been taken.

The final outcome confirmed its suspicion: calamity befell them. Numerous cultivators narrowly escaped, failing to acquire even half a piece of the Extreme Dao Holy Weapon, and nearly all perished.

Moreover, one person had remained remarkably composed and had not entered—the shameless Daoist Duan De. Upon arriving, he was initially startled, then merely squinted his eyes without taking a single step forward.

Upon learning all this, Ye Fan, recalling the hidden secrets the Black Emperor had shared, deduced that a deeply scheming and terrifying figure had orchestrated everything.

Acquiring the fierce one’s legacy, seeking to eliminate the divine body, the Heavenly Demon Body, and the Innate Dao Embryo all at once… who could it be?

Ye Fan thought of one person. If it were him, it would be insidiously terrifying—hidden in shadows yet full of lethal intent, sending shivers down his spine.

The two shocking pieces of news from the northern region subsided, and the curtain slowly descended. Supreme Sect Hierarchs, formidable experts from all paths, Saint Heirs, and others all withdrew, returning to various locales within the Eastern Wastelands.

Under the night moon, Ye Fan met Ye Huiling. All discussions went smoothly, and he borrowed the Heaven Covering Treasure Robe.

Under the water-like moonlight, the woman from the Central States was wise and ethereal, her skin like beautiful mutton-fat jade, her eyes lively. She candidly agreed that should Ye Fan succeed in ascending a sacred mountain and return with an Undying Divine Medicine, she would require one of its fruits.

Ye Fan readily agreed. If he were truly successful, he aimed to ascend several sacred mountains, as the nine Divine Roots all stemmed from a single main root.

“Please, Miss Ye, do me a favor. If I don’t return from this, please take someone away and take care of someone else for me.”

“Oh, who are these people?” Ye Huiling asked, surprised.

Ye Fan pointed to Zhang Wenchang in the small tavern and said, “Take him away from this place. Help him escape this environment.”

Then, he pointed towards the inn where, through the window lattice, one could see the pitiful little girl. She looked like a delicate porcelain doll, with long eyelashes, peacefully asleep.

“Alright, not a problem.”

「The next day.」 As the morning light rose, dew rolled on green leaves, shining with seven-colored splendor. Ye Fan then stepped into the eight hundred miles of Primitive Forest, heading towards the Ancient Desolation Forbidden Land.

「Half a month passed.」 The people of the Ancient Hua Dynasty and the Yin Yang Sect hadn’t left Yan’s capital, but no one was looking towards the Forbidden Land anymore.

On this journey, Ye Fan did not see anyone. Carefully avoiding areas where Supreme Strange Beasts might exist, he arrived at the edge of the Ancient Desolation Forbidden Land.

The vast forest was deathly quiet, without the slightest sound. There were no traces of birds or beasts, no sight of ants or insects, as if he had reached the world’s end.

BANG.

Ye Fan’s foot finally stepped into the Forbidden Land; immediately, he felt a terrifying aura invading him.

This was… the force of the Desolation!

The last time he approached the nine sacred mountains, it had felt like this. Now, just by stepping in, he suffered such an assault that it made him shiver.

In this critical moment, the stone clothes clung to him, and the Heaven Covering Treasure Robe enveloped him, guarding him firmly as he strode inside.

SWISH.

Upon entering, even though the supreme stone clothes shielded him, Ye Fan still shivered. His entire cultivation base was swept clean away; nothing remained.

In this Ancient Desolation Forbidden Land, he had become a mere mortal, unable to soar through the sky or tunnel through the earth. Yet, he did not suffer like others whose Wheel and Sea dried up, whose Dao Palace darkened, and whose Four Extremes were sealed. His divine energy was not lost, only locked within his body.

The sacred body was extremely powerful, with Golden Blood Qi boiling and ready to burst out at any moment. This was the core reason Ye Fan dared to enter the Forbidden Land.

Ye Fan took large strides forward, soon advancing over ten miles when he sensed an anomaly: the force of time was infiltrating through the stone clothes, thread by thread.

This isn’t good!

Fear gripped his heart, and his face changed color. This was only one-tenth of the journey, yet it was already this hazardous. No wonder even the peerless Emperors of the Central States would die with regret here.

SIZZLE.

Ye Fan activated the Source Heaven Patterns. Thousands upon thousands of Divine Symbols radiated with splendor, wrapping around him, while the Divine Light of the Heaven Covering Treasure Robe surged, enveloping him.

He looked up to the sky. There was no retreat left; otherwise, death within six months was certain. Yet, moving forward to traverse the Desolate Land, though like facing an abyss, might open the only path to life.

Inside the Forbidden Land, ancient trees, towering like mountains, pierced the sky. Their branches, resembling a giant’s palms, almost reached the height of the mountain ridges.

Old vines, each as thick as a water vat, snaked like True Dragons, winding from the mountain base to the summit, vigorous and powerful.

Along this way, Ye Fan saw countless spiritual medicines, all rare in the world—extremely ancient, supreme-grade medicines—but he had no time to harvest them.

Every second, he was squandering his life; stopping was not worth it. Only the Undying Divine Medicine mattered to him now.

After advancing thirty miles, the Heaven Covering Treasure Robe dimmed; its embedded Dao Glyphs had been severed!

The material of this robe was unknown. It was even harder than divine iron and had fallen from Outer Heaven. Forged into a treasure robe, it was unbreakable and isolated all Qi mechanisms, hence its name, Heaven Covering.

But now it couldn’t withstand the Desolation’s assault; the Dao Glyphs were obliterated, leaving only its resilient characteristic, devoid of Dao and Reason, or Techniques and Methods.

Ye Fan moved as if flying, rushing forward. Ahead lay the abyss, behind lay hell; there was no Pure Land. He could only save himself, carving out a path to survival.

POP.

The Resentful Heaven Patterns within the stone clothes started breaking, failing to sustain themselves. Thousands upon thousands shattered in the blink of an eye and would soon be completely gone.

Dao Scripture!

Ye Fan operated the Taoist Scripture Heart Method. Nine ancient characters emerged on the stone clothes to stabilize himself, striving for eternity against the force of time.

Truly deserving of being Innate Emperor’s Patterns, they blocked the invasion. He temporarily calmed down, no longer being deprived of life.

Yet, there were only nine ancient characters. Though he could inscribe them, he couldn’t decipher their meaning, so how could he comprehend the ultimate mystery?

Upon advancing sixty miles, the nine ancient characters slowly faded, being ground away along with the Source Heaven Patterns, about to vanish.

It’s merely sixty miles; this time it’s immeasurably more difficult! Ye Fan’s heart pounded vehemently. Continuing this way, death was inevitable; there was utterly no path to life. Ahead, the Desolation’s aura was sure to be even more intense.

He gritted his teeth and sped, rushing past peaks. By seventy miles, he had already aged considerably, and the nine ancient characters within the stone clothes, along with the Source Heaven Patterns, had completely disappeared.

Now, only the empty stone clothes and the Heaven Covering Treasure Robe remained, without Dao and Reason or Techniques and Methods to support him.

Ye Fan did not panic. He took out the Qilin Seed, held it in his hand, and absorbed its enormous Qi while sprinting. He was attempting to extend his life with the Undying Divine Medicine as he hit the final stretch.

Yet this last stretch was especially arduous. Despite the divine medicine prolonging his life, he continued to age, and even the injury to his Great Dao was worsening.

Finally, having rushed over a hundred miles, Ye Fan glimpsed the nine sacred mountains. Yet, he was eroded to the bone by time, his consciousness somewhat muddled.

He gritted his teeth and pressed on, finally reaching the mountain base, but his strength was nearly depleted.

At that same moment, he felt a creeping terror. On the sacred mountain, several figures stood side by side, looking down at him, their gaze icy cold, chilling him from head to toe!