Shrouding the Heavens

Chapter 451: Chapter 456: Outer Domain Descended Divine Object

The Eastern Wastelands, true to its name, was vast and boundless, featuring an endless, uninhabited Great Wilderness. Some of its Primitive Territories had never been trodden by anyone since ancient times.

“A deviation of 6,000,000 li! You dead dog, you must have done it on purpose!” Tu Fei shouted.

They had crossed the void, heading towards the Undying Mountain in the Central Eastern Desolate, only to deviate a full 6,000,000 li, ending up in a vast Great Wilderness devoid of people.

If not for discovering half a stone stele on a great mountain, they wouldn’t have even known where they were. These were the remnants of a once-thriving Great Sect that had perished years ago.

“It must have been deliberate! How could there be a deviation of 6,000,000 li? Even carving Dao Glyphs and opening a Domain Gate with your eyes closed wouldn’t be this outrageous!” Li Heishui cursed as well.

“Ahem, everyone makes mistakes; horses stumble. It was just a coincidence.” The Black Emperor coughed dryly, hiding its guilty conscience.

“The doggy is so cute, even more muddle-headed than me!” The pitiful little girl, as exquisite as a jade carving and full of sympathy, was the only one who still believed the Black Emperor.

Awkward. That was the Black Emperor’s expression. It wanted to bang its head against the stone stele. Though thick-skinned, it couldn’t stand being called “cute.” If anyone else had said it, the dog would have bared its teeth long ago.

“Our ‘cute’ Black Emperor, shouldn’t you think of something? We won’t actually have to fly 6,000,000 li, will we?” Ye Fan laughed.

“WOOF!”

“Doggy, don’t bite people, okay?” The pitiful little girl, not even as tall as the Black Emperor’s leg, gently patted it as she looked up with her small face.

“We’re not really going to the Undying Mountain. It’s just for show, to make the world think you’re off to find some divine medicine to prolong your life,” the Black Emperor mumbled.

“Still, we have to make a round trip, at least put on a show,” Ye Fan said. This time, his main goal was to go to the Holy Cliff to find the third of the nine secret arts.

“I’m telling you, it’s best not to approach the Undying Mountain lightly. That place is terrifying. The Undying Mountain was a major source of the terrible turmoil that occurred during the Dark Era,” the Black Emperor cautioned.

The Great Success Holy Body had once used Supreme Great Magical Power to carve off a cliff face from the Undying Mountain. During his prime, nothing untoward happened. However, in his later years, the Holy Cliff was stained with his blood for unknown reasons. Some speculate this was closely related to the Undying Mountain.

“Let’s first take a good look around the Central Territory. This is the fount of many ancient inheritances and is said to be the Origin Land of the Eastern Wastelands human race. It holds many secrets.”

The Central Territory, the core area of the Eastern Wastelands, was an eternal Pure Land. Numerous Great Sects had established their foundations here, and it flourished much more than the southern and northern regions.

The Purple Mansion, Wind Clan, Dao Yi, and Wanchu Sacred Lands were all located here. It was a land of hidden dragons and dormant Immortal Phoenixes, gathering the endless spiritual essence of the Eastern Wastelands, never fading through the ages, and flourishing to this day.

In addition, over ten thousand ancient demon clan inheritances were spread across the Central Territory, all founded by demon clan titans who had survived the great war of the Dark Era hundreds of thousands of years ago.

These lineages, passed down from ancient times, belonged to the demon clan. However, their members were born in human form. It could be said that All were naturally and incomparably powerful, forming various ancient demon clan noble families.

As soon as Ye Fan and his group appeared in the Central Territory, they were discovered. Many people’s eyes held peculiar glimmers as they began to whisper among themselves.

News of the sacred body killing the sacred lady of a supreme Great Sect from the Central States had spread throughout the Eastern Wastelands. Everyone knew about it. Now, everyone also knew that his life was short, and in these last days, he was not to be provoked.

The Yin Yang Sect was furious, but this time they were clearly in the wrong. Their abduction of talented young children had antagonized all the sects in the Eastern Wastelands and drawn pressure from several Sacred Lands, forcing them to eventually leave the Eastern Wastelands.

Of course, before they left, they still attempted to cross the void and enter the Ancient Desolation Forbidden Land to pick divine medicine. However, those who entered vanished like stones sinking into the sea, without a trace or sound.

Ye Fan and company entered an Ancient City named Wangkong, one of the ten great Ancient Cities in the Central Territory. The Black Emperor, like an old horse knowing the way, headed straight for a high platform within the city.

“I knew this dead dog deliberately deviated from the Undying Mountain! Otherwise, how could it have missed by 6,000,000 li? It obviously wanted to enter Wangkong City,” Li Heishui said.

The Ancient City was vast. Its central area was not a square, but a huge, high platform. At this moment, the evening glow cascaded down, causing the entire platform to flicker with points of red radiance.

“Things remain, but people have changed…”

The Black Emperor gazed at this high platform, seemingly overcome with emotion, and said, “In years past, a certain Great Emperor often sat here, looking up at the boundless Starry Sky for an entire night. Yet, even the greatest of peerless figures cannot resist the erosion of time.”

The Beginningless Great Emperor!

Ye Fan didn’t need to think to know the dog was speaking of the Beginningless Great Emperor. His heart stirred. Is there something special about this Wangkong Platform? A Great Emperor sat here for so long; perhaps there’s something noteworthy about it.

“Don’t overthink it. That Great Emperor merely cultivated here for a period and left nothing behind,” the Black Emperor said, shaking its head.

“This stone is a treasure! It’s been hundreds of thousands of years, yet it’s still crystal clear. How come no one has moved such a flawless high platform?” Tu Fei, being a loudmouth, said whatever came to his mind.

Many passersby rolled their eyes at him, clearly displeased with his words.

“This stone is very special. At night, it channels starlight, nurturing the entire Ancient City and making this a place of spiritual beauty. No one dares to damage it,” an old man explained.

Ye Fan and his group were very conspicuous. The pitiful little girl sat on the Black Emperor’s back, looking like an adorable little spirit, drawing attention wherever they went.

Ye Fan hadn’t concealed his true appearance, and with a large black dog by his side, it was easy for people to guess their origins. They ascended to a restaurant right next to the Wangkong Platform.

“Isn’t that the sacred body? Why has he suddenly come to the Central Territory?”

“I heard long ago that his time is almost up. It’s rumored he’s come to the Undying Mountain in the Central Territory to seek a chance to survive.”

“He dares to enter that place? Everyone witnessed its terror during the incomparably chaotic Dark Era. Even old Sacred Masters were unwilling to enter the Undying Mountain in their later years.”

The restaurants in the central area of the Ancient City naturally had booming business. Many people were coming and going, and quite a few glanced their way.

Ye Fan and his companions chose a private room and opened the window, which offered a perfect view of the Wangkong Platform. By now, the sky had darkened. Scattered stars were visible, and one could see starlight flowing down, sprinkling into the city.

The Black Emperor stretched its neck to look outside, its attention fixed on the Wangkong Platform, as if it were waiting for something.

Meanwhile, Pang Bo and the others noticed that the crowd around the Wangkong Platform had grown considerably. The teahouses and restaurants were packed with people.

“What’s going on?” Li Heishui asked in surprise.

“Valued guests, this is the annual Wangkong Day. The starlight flows like water, creating a beautiful spectacle. The locals are used to it; those who come here to watch are usually outsiders who’ve heard of its fame. Weren’t you here specifically for this?”

Ye Fan and the others became even more convinced that the Black Emperor had done all this deliberately. It had come here to reminisce.

“HUM!”

When the sky had turned completely dark and the myriad stars emerged, vast swathes of starlight could be seen falling as lightly as snow-white clouds. It was an incredibly beautiful sight, and the entire Ancient City became suffused with a sacred aura.

The Wangkong Platform, in particular, glistened even more brilliantly, radiating an intoxicating splendor that seemed to channel the stars and moon, imbuing the city with a dense, spiritual aura.

“We see it year after year; I’m tired of it. It’s really nothing special, just starlight being drawn here. It’s not like it’s a true spectacle of flying Immortals or anything.”

“Those old coots insist that this is where an ancient Great Emperor gazed upon the starry sky, making it sound all mysterious and profound. Yet, they can’t even explain it themselves and still make us come try our luck year after year.”

…

This was a group of scions from noble families. They had also gone up to a restaurant and chosen a table by the window, adjacent to the one Ye Fan and his companions had selected, allowing them to see what was happening on their side.

“I just heard someone say the sacred body entered Wangkong City. It really is him,” someone whispered.

“Feng Lin, that’s your prospective brother-in-law. Aren’t you going to go over and say hello?” someone teased with a smile.

“If you keep spouting nonsense, I’ll get angry! I’ve told you before, he has no relationship whatsoever with my cousin. They were never even engaged,” Feng Lin said in a low, serious voice.

“It’s not that I want to criticize your cousin, but she’s truly too arrogant. That’s the sacred body, the one who broke the curse, yet she didn’t even give him a second glance. This is good, though; my elder brother has a chance now,” a young man chuckled lightly.

Feng Lin said, “You’d better stop saying such things. It’s fortunate my cousin didn’t choose him. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have many days left to live; he’ll die soon. Even if he broke the curse, what use would it be then!”

Their voices were hushed, almost inaudible, but how could someone as powerful as Ye Fan and his companions fail to hear them?

“Now that we’re in the northern region, it seems we’ll likely have some dealings with the Wind Clan after all,” Pang Bo remarked with a chuckle.

“There’s no need for any complicated involvement. When the time comes, I’ll personally visit them and return the 3,000,000 jin of Source. That will settle matters,” Ye Fan said, smiling and shaking his head.

“It seems you can’t avoid involvement even if you want to. We just arrived and already overheard such talk. Speaking of which, the six-month deadline is almost here. If they see you still alive and kicking, I can’t imagine the looks on their faces. It’ll definitely be interesting, hehe,” Li Heishui laughed.

Suddenly, someone cried out in alarm. People from the teahouses and restaurants rushed out, all of them gazing up at the high heavens.

“A treasure!”

“A treasure from the Outer Heaven!”

“That’s right, it plummeted down from the Starry Sky!”

Many cried out in astonishment. They were all cultivators, their eyesight naturally exceptionally keen, and they had personally witnessed a luminous object plummeting from the Outer Heaven.

Wangkong Ancient City was thrown into an uproar. Everyone shot up into the sky, heading towards the heavens, wanting to contend for the treasure that had flown in from the Outer Domain.

Such legends were not unheard of from the distant past; occasionally, powerful divine objects would fall from the boundless Starry Sky.

For such a thing to happen on the annual Wangkong Night—no one could remain calm. Almost everyone surged into the high heavens, each making a move to seize the luminous object.

The Black Emperor’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. He muttered, “Damn it, it’s really related to the Outer Domain? Looks like I didn’t hear wrong back then!”

It was a gigantic luminous object, moving at extreme speed as it dived down like a silver streak. It resembled an immense disc and shone with a cold, metallic luster.

It appeared to be cast from Green Gold and was enveloped in a layer of pure white, radiant energy, making it look very mysterious.

“BOOM!”

Some cultivators had just rushed over when they were instantly turned into fly ash by a brilliant radiance shot out from it. That power was utterly terrifying; it could even annihilate space, striking mortal fear into onlookers.

“It’s truly a treasure! The light it emits is already so terrifying. We must seize it!”

The cultivators became even more frenzied, all of them surging upward. The weaker ones didn’t dare approach, while the powerful experts all stretched out great hands or deployed their spiritual treasures to claim the divine object.

“BOOM!”

However, this disc-shaped object was incomparably terrifying. The beams it shot out annihilated the void, causing many powerful cultivators’ bones to shatter and their flesh to disintegrate. They couldn’t withstand such an assault.

“HUM!”

A silver light flickered, and it descended onto the Wangkong Platform, glowing with an eerie radiance.

Others, not understanding the situation, still lunged forward, striving to seize it.

Ye Fan and Pang Bo looked at each other, speechless and astonished. They realized this divine object from the Outer Domain was a flying saucer!

To think we’d see something like this! If we seize it, maybe we can use it to return home!

The vast Universe, the boundless Starry Sky… they hide too many secrets! In this world where cultivators can fly through the heavens and tunnel through the earth, to think we’d witness another kind of civilization!

Ye Fan and Pang Bo felt a surge of excitement beyond compare. They both stood up, filled with curiosity about the owners of the flying saucer from the Outer Domain, and resolved to befriend them.

The following is not part of the billable word count.

I’ve always known that vying for the top spot in the monthly ticket rankings would make the review section very discordant. It’s been like this for several years; I’ve seen it scene by scene, and the arguments get very intense.

Our book’s review section used to be the most peaceful on Qidian. I didn’t think it would get so “lively” this time, but it seems I was wrong. As long as there’s competition, it definitely won’t quiet down, following in the footsteps of those other review sections. This really isn’t good.

Everyone, please don’t argue. Just read the book quietly and refrain from going to other books’ review sections to say things. That’s the greatest support you can give me.

The ranking doesn’t matter. I’ll write quietly, and you all can read happily. It would be best if we could return to how things were before. Please post more plot-related discussions in the review section.

Reading is mainly for relaxation; there’s no need to make yourselves unhappy. Chen Dong thanks everyone for your support, but please don’t fight or argue over rankings. That’s really not good at all. I won’t say any more. Thank you, everyone!