From beginning to end, the various patriarchs had said almost nothing at all — maintaining an expression of utter calm throughout. It was only some of the Supreme Elders who had been speaking up all along.

The elderly men of Wanchu smiled coldly and ordered Ye Fan to enter the underground palace first and lead the way, their expressions those of people who had seen through his intentions long ago.

The Supreme Elders of Zifu came to his side and, in what amounted to an escort by force, demanded he take the first step down to investigate the situation.

“I have already brought you all to this place. If you wish to see the immortality medicine, go down yourselves. What kind of courage do you have, coming all the way here and not even daring to do that much?” Ye Fan refused and advanced no further.

“That will not do. You must lead us all the way to the very end!”

“Not until we see the True Dragon medicine can you prove your innocence!”

Cruel smiles appeared at the corners of their mouths. They had absolutely no intention of letting him leave — they would make him lead the way from the front, no matter what.

These people were all deeply cautious. They believed that with Ye Fan accompanying them, he would not dare to pull any tricks.

To the side, the various patriarchs did not say a word. They had no intention of descending whatsoever, seemingly indifferent to the entire affair, as they carefully observed the great snowy mountain.

“Young man, you should just come along with us,” one of the powerful lords finally said — a statement that brooked no refusal.

“You have no other choice. Either you come along, or you die!” The voice from the shadows was blunt and direct — a naked threat, though the speaker could not be identified.

Ye Fan’s heart grew ice cold. These ancient undying ones were more ruthless and vicious than each other. Even now, they were still keeping him under surveillance — some of them even wanted him dead.

If he went deep into the underground palace, anything could happen. All it would take was a single incident, a single reason or pretext, and he could be silently eliminated.

They could even manufacture an accident, ensuring he never walked out of the underground palace again.

Ye Fan was without fear. He had long known that something like this would come to pass, and the killing intent within his own heart had grown considerably stronger.

“Very well!” He nodded, leading the way into the underground palace, with the Great Black Dog and the Battle Saint Ape by his side.

“Wait.” The Queen Mother of the West spoke. Her hair was jet black and thick, pinned with a nine-phoenix hairpin. Her face was beautiful, her bearing dignified and holy, with a quality of serene auspiciousness.

“Ye Fan has already brought everyone to this place. He has done what was required of him. If you still do not believe him, you are welcome to descend and investigate for yourselves.”

“Queen Mother, your reasoning is flawed. His innocence has not yet been proven — he must lead the way to confirm it,” one of the powerful lords refuted her.

Others spoke up one after another. In the end, all the major patriarchs expressed their willingness to descend together and observe the immortality medicine. The other extraordinary individuals shared the same sentiment.

The Queen Mother of the West kept Ye Fan at her side and did not have him walk at the very front. The group descended deep beneath the earth.

“This is a core underground palace of an ancient sacred ground!” Many people were greatly astonished upon entering.

The underground palace was vast and seemingly boundless, suffused with a sense of great age — as though draped in a layer of dust. The stone chambers, stone halls, and everything else bore the deep marks of time and the passage of years.

Deep within the underground palace, dragon qi surged torrentially — like rivers coursing through the earth. To be bathed in it was to feel every pore in one’s body open and ease.

“This is truly a sacred land!”

An elder imperial uncle of the Great Xia of the Central Continent was so excited he nearly cried out. Their inherited text, the Supreme Emperor Scripture, contained a sacred combat method known as the Imperial Path Dragon Qi — requiring the refinement of one’s body through endless dragon veins.

For those who cultivated the Supreme Emperor Scripture, this was a place where one could soar to the heavens like a true dragon — beyond noble and precious.

“There is a peerless divine treasury here, containing large quantities of divine source!” Several individuals from the ancient lineage of source arts were also present. Ouyang Ye made this judgment.

“Whoosh!”

Everyone erupted in astonishment. This truly was a divine treasury — no wonder Ye Fan had been so reluctant to bring them here. On every face appeared a peculiar expression.

“I am saying this for the last time. I will not repeat myself: this place harbors great and terrible danger!” Ye Fan warned.

“Do not worry. No matter what happens, you will bear no responsibility. That was made perfectly clear from the beginning.” Someone laughed coldly.

“Young man, stop blocking the path and pointing us in every other direction. Just tell us the way.” Another person’s voice was laden with killing intent.

The underground palace was enormous and dim. After traveling several tens of li, they arrived at the edge of a sheer cliff.

A massive abyss stretched out before them, its depths as black as ink — like a bottomless pit that seemed capable of swallowing one’s very mind and soul, drawing a person endlessly downward into oblivion.

Dragon qi erupted and surged in great waves. Occasionally, tiny particles of divine source drifted upward — a sight that left everyone dumbfounded, filled with mystery and strangeness!

“What lies below is an ancient lair abandoned by a Primordial True Dragon!” Ouyang Ye cried out in alarm.

Everyone was greatly startled upon hearing those words. They all turned to look at him at once, waiting silently for him to continue.

Ye Fan’s heart tightened inwardly. With a source arts master of near-divine level accompanying them, matters might be complicated.

“This is a sacred burial ground — it must be a dragon lair of the Primordials. There will likely be immortal treasures within!” Ouyang Ye was so excited that every wrinkle on his wizened face spread open. His gaunt body was trembling.

Ye Fan relaxed. Though the other’s source arts were profound, how could his knowledge compare to that of a Heavenly Source Master? He had only glimpsed the tip of the iceberg.

The Ten-Thousand Dragon Lair — only the Heavenly Source Tome recorded it. There was no known method to break through its defenses. It stood as one of the most terrifying forbidden grounds in all the world.

If he truly understood what this place was, he would certainly not speak of immortal treasures — he would turn and flee immediately, for even Heavenly Source Masters had been helpless here.

“A sacred burial ground!” The crowd of elders drew sharp breaths. Then many of them — their eyes blazing like the midday sun — stared forward as though they had just caught sight of a supremely beautiful figure.

Ye Fan was mildly surprised. The terrible aura below the massive abyss was faint, not nearly as strong as it had been in the past.

Previously, they had witnessed an ice palace rising and sinking, within which rested a woman as still and white as snow. Now, she had not appeared within the depths of the abyss.

The entire group was in a state of agitation, sensing the presence of both dragon qi and divine source. One after another, they prepared to leap down.

“Old Ouyang will lead the way,” Ouyang Ye declared with confidence.

At that point, with the Queen Mother of the West there to shield him, the powerful lords were not overbearing and no longer insisted that Ye Fan go down.

The several major patriarchs remained motionless — not one of them descended, including the divine monk of the Western Desert, the War King of the Southern Ridge’s War God Sanctum, and the others.

The Supreme Elders of each sect moved first and leaped down. Beyond them, some powerful wandering cultivators and a number of peculiar figures also descended — something that left Ye Fan quite disappointed.

These major figures had kept their composure throughout. From beginning to end, they had said very little, letting others speak and act on their behalf. If the immortality medicine did not appear, they likely would not make their move.

“Damn it, kid, you should be satisfied. Do you truly want to completely annihilate all the major patriarchs? The Eastern Wastelands — and the entire world — would be thrown into chaos!” The Great Black Dog bared its teeth.

Ye Fan finally allowed a radiant smile to spread across his face. He rubbed his chin and said nothing, feeling that this was good enough.

At the very least, all those who had been coercing him had jumped down. Among them were not only half-step Great Capabilities but also a few actual Great Capabilities. If they were all wiped out below, those powerful lords would probably be on the verge of tears.

Time passed by little by little. After waiting for a long while, not a single sound emerged from below. Ye Fan grew suspicious — why was this place of terrible danger so utterly peaceful?

A quarter of an hour later, someone came rushing up. They were extremely agitated as they reported to the various patriarchs.

“Below truly is an ancient Primordial dragon lair — a sacred burial ground. And there is also an ancient five-colored sacrificial altar.”

“What?!”

At this, even the patriarchs and the supreme masters of the great sects could no longer remain still. Not one of them was calm. Even the divine monk from the Western Desert began reciting prayers.

“Based on an initial assessment, there is a peerless divine treasury. We have detected the presence of a True Dragon divine medicine — but a stone door seals the ancient cave of the dragon lair. We cannot get through it.”

Over a dozen people flew back up, one after another reporting the situation. Every single one of them was in a state of excitement beyond all measure.

“A sacred burial ground!”

“Immortal treasures that only exist in mythology!”

At this point, no one could remain composed. There was not only an immortality medicine — this might also be an ancient lair where a dragon was entombed. Who could remain indifferent?

Above the abyss, the various patriarchs and supreme masters all flickered and vanished, rushing down. Even they could no longer hold themselves back.

“Kid, you’ve gone too far with this one!” The Great Black Dog was stunned. If all of these people died, the impact would be enormous.

“Could it be that the Primordial Royal Clan used a stone door to seal the Ten-Thousand Dragon Lair? If that is the case, and they break through the stone door…” A cold shiver ran through Ye Fan.

He was also swept along in the tide and brought down — only the Great Black Dog and the Monkey followed at his side. The place was too dangerously treacherous, and he had not permitted Li Heishui and the others to come.

“I can sense it — there is the aura of a Primordial King…” the Monkey said, his expression turning grave.

The abyss was over ten thousand meters deep. When they finally landed at the bottom, an ancient and desolate aura swept over them — as though they had been transported back to the Primordial Age.

The terrain was immeasurably vast, yet also dim. Gazing out in all directions, nothing but open, empty space met the eye. It did not feel like the bottom of the earth at all — it felt as though they had arrived on an ancient battlefield.

Many people stood before a crumbling five-colored sacrificial platform, studying it carefully. Meanwhile, even more people rushed toward the heart of the Ten-Thousand Dragon Lair, where dragon qi flowed like a great river — surging, churning, ceaseless and endless.

At the base of the ten-thousand-zhang cliffside, arranged side by side in a single row, were nine ancient caves. Their interiors were interconnected — these were the entrances to the ancient lair once occupied by Primordial True Dragons.

This place was comparable to the famed formation of Nine Dragons Embracing a Pearl. The Wushi Emperor had once visited this land, and ultimately chose Purple Mountain instead.

Purple Mountain — Nine Dragons Embracing a Pearl — was where the Wushi Emperor’s legacy was kept, along with his extreme-path sacred weapon sealed within.

Not even the Black Emperor knew why the Wushi Emperor had not chosen the Ten-Thousand Dragon Lair.

In the end, everyone entered the nine ancient caves. The interior resembled a honeycomb, with many caverns intersecting and connecting, leading deeper and deeper into the earth.

At the very end, a massive stone door blocked the way forward. Upon it were carved many ancient characters — utterly indecipherable, for they were not of the human written script.

One glance was enough to tell that this door was something extraordinary. The breath of the Great Dao drifted from it, especially from those ancient characters, which seemed to have been branded with a sacred weapon — as though they possessed a life of their own.

“Brother Ape, do you recognize these? What do they say?” Ye Fan asked.

The Monkey was deeply embarrassed. He scratched his head and said: “I was far too young then. I received only my clan’s imprinted inheritance — I had not yet learned to read.”

“You can’t even read a single word?!” The Great Black Dog bared its teeth and broke into a gleeful laugh.

The Monkey’s eyes went wide. It almost grabbed the dog by the legs and hoisted it upside down, its golden eyes flashing with crackling lightning.

“Boom!”

Someone began breaking down the door, trying to force it open. The noise was so great it was deafening!

“This is bad!” The Great Black Dog’s fur stood on end.

“Prepare the Void Emperor’s fragment of the array pattern!” Ye Fan transmitted his voice — it didn’t matter who received it at this point. Right now, only the Emperor’s array pattern could bring them away. Otherwise, they might find their escape route cut off.

“Boom!”

A supreme master of a great sect took action personally, sending the interior of the ancient cave into chaos as rocks crumbled and shattered — yet the stone door did not move a single inch.

And the ancient characters upon it seemed to awaken. Like small dragons crawling across the surface, they radiated an aura that had endured since time immemorial.

Before the stone door was a pit — the very spot where the True Dragon immortality medicine had once taken root. Ye Fan clearly remembered the scene from that day: within the Ten-Thousand Dragon Lair dwelt a supreme terrible danger.

“Boom!”

Many powerful lords combined their efforts to break through the seal, attempting to force open the stone door — yet still, it could not be moved. Not even so much as a tremor passed through it.

“Boy, come here. Tell us what exactly is going on here.” A Supreme Elder of Wanchu reached out a massive hand and grabbed toward him.

“You are looking for death!” The Monkey’s eyes snapped open. He moved to block the hand.

But the surrounding area was dense with powerful figures, all of whom had released their killing intent, and he felt an overwhelming pressure bearing down on him from all sides.

“Answer quickly — why can this door not be opened? Where has the True Dragon divine medicine gone?” A Supreme Elder of the Zifu Sacred Ground also demanded.

By now, they were filled with urgency. They had dropped all pretense. No more talk of the Ruthless One’s legacy — they were demanding the whereabouts of the immortality medicine, nakedly and without shame.

Ye Fan’s lips curved into a faint cold smile. “Old undying ones — your true nature is showing, isn’t it? Have you come here to verify matters, or to seize the divine medicine?!”

“You are asking for death…” Each of the Supreme Elders erupted in fury. With so many powerful lords gathered here, they had no fear of the Monkey making a move to intervene. Their killing intent was fully exposed.

“Rumble…”

Just then, the massive stone door — which had not budged a single inch even under the full combined force of the various patriarchs — suddenly swung open. A supreme and terrifying aura surged outward with overwhelming force!

“Aaah…”

One massive hand reached out, tore the head of a Supreme Elder of Wanchu clean from his shoulders while he was still alive, and sent scraps of flesh and fresh blood spraying in all directions. A single harrowing scream rang out.

“Splat!”

Another massive hand drove directly through the chest and abdomen of a Supreme Elder of the Zifu Sacred Ground, reaching inside and tearing out his internal organs in one fistful.

Blood gushed and poured. The viscera, multicolored and glistening, spilled across the ground — a sight grotesque and terrifying beyond words.

All of this happened far too fast — beyond what anyone could have imagined!

Two terrifying creatures, like demons crawled out of the depths of hell itself, radiated a peerless killing intent. Standing before the massive stone door, they slaughtered without mercy.

“Splat!”

The Supreme Elder of the Zifu Sacred Ground who had just been berating Ye Fan moments before was seized in one creature’s hand and torn alive into two halves.

A rain of blood fell, drenching the people nearby. The sight was horrifying beyond all description.

“Splat!”

The Supreme Elder of Wanchu who had just been reaching out to seize Ye Fan let out a wretched scream. His skull was struck and burst open like ten thousand peach blossoms in bloom — red blood and white brain matter spraying in every direction.

“Primordial beings! The True Demon Domain!” someone cried out in alarm.

Two terrifying beings — the lower halves of their bodies those of great serpents, seven or eight meters in length, the upper halves human in form but with three heads and six arms — unleashed the True Demon Domain. Every Supreme Elder within range of the stone door was frozen in place. Not one of them could escape. Every single one was cleaved to death.

Everyone’s scalp turned numb. A premonition of disaster descended — it seemed as though they had thrown open the gates of hell and released the most dreadful fiends imaginable.

This was the sleeping ground of Primordial beings. If a Primordial King were to emerge, it would be a catastrophe of heaven-overturning proportions!

Everyone fell back rapidly. Many locked their gaze upon Ye Fan, wishing they could wring the life out of him with their bare hands. They felt this boy had done something utterly unconscionable.

“You were all incapable of opening the stone door — how was I to know what lay on the other side?” Ye Fan appeared entirely innocent.

Everyone was so furious they had no words — yet none could spare the attention to argue with him, for a terrifying killing intent was already bearing down upon them.

“Roar…”

A blazing divine light appeared, cutting off their retreat. A golden being emerged — half human, half demon.

This creature was even more powerful, supremely terrifying — yet while the crowd cried out in distress, they also felt a measure of relief. At the very least, it was not fully humanoid.

Were a fully human-form Primordial being to appear, all of them would most likely perish here to the last!

“Kill!”

Everyone attacked at once. The many powerful lords struck with full force together — yet the Primordial beings appeared in the most uncanny fashion, materializing out of thin air one after another, until over a dozen had appeared.

“Roar…”

At the same moment, a dreadful roar erupted from deep within the Ten-Thousand Dragon Lair. People stared in horror at what they saw inside — their bodies turning ice cold without exception.

Enormous chunks of divine source drifted and floated there — almost three meters in length. These were priceless immortal treasures the likes of which no one had ever seen. Divine source of such size — sealed within were humanoid beings!

And there was not just one such massive chunk of divine source. The Ten-Thousand Dragon Lair was vast, filled with a primordial, ancient aura. Divine radiance was inexhaustible. Other divine source blocks were present as well.

“Flash!”

Divine light blazed like lightning bolts. Out of thin air, over twenty more Primordial beings appeared, cutting off every avenue of escape. The situation was desperate beyond measure.

“That is…” In that moment, every single person trembled. It was as though the end of days had arrived — for what they now saw within the Ten-Thousand Dragon Lair was something else entirely.

An ancient coffin drifted amid the heaps of divine source, filling all who saw it with a suffocating sense of breathlessness. Flesh, blood, and bone all seemed on the verge of shattering — a pressure of absolute terror.

The pile of divine source fragments was two or three cubic meters in volume, enough to bury the ancient coffin entirely. Terrible. Uncanny.

And at this moment, they finally saw it — the True Dragon immortality medicine, its roots planted in the scattered divine source fragments before the ancient coffin. Coiled there amid ten thousand currents of dragon qi, the entire plant shimmered brilliantly, less than a foot in height, crouching like a dragon in repose.

“Primordial races do not inter themselves in coffins…” the Monkey said in shock, deeply puzzled.

“What — you are saying it does not belong to the Primordial races?!” Ye Fan was stunned.