The Immortal Ascension Pool and the Eternal Dragon Lair appeared side by side, not far from each other — a fact that astonished everyone present. Two sacred places that the world had long yearned for were located in the very same spot.
“No wonder they always appeared in succession. It turns out they are both within the Land of Immortal Ascension — this is nearly the legendary dual cave of Yin and Yang!”
Not only Ye Fan, who had made a deep study of the Source Arts — even the others could perceive something extraordinary. This was a naturally formed sacred ground of Yin and Yang.
The Immortal Ascension Pool sat atop a great mountain’s summit — vast and open, with visible stretches of water, radiant with flowing light and shimmering with brilliant hues, suffused with the glow of rosy clouds surging forth. The yang energy there was immensely heavy, washing over everything like a celestial fire.
On the other side, that great mountain with the ancient cave at its base exhaled and drew in dragon qi. Though sacred, a current of supreme yin energy flowed through it.
“The Eternal Dragon Lair of the Qinling Mountains is moving!”
Everyone was astonished. The great mountain where the dragon lair resided was not stationary — it was shifting at a pace invisible to ordinary eyes, in a most peculiar manner.
“We actually found the Immortal Ascension Pool, and witnessed the first ancient lair of the Qinling Mountains. This is almost beyond belief!” The feeling was so surreal that it nearly took their breath away — this was a heaven-sent fortune of staggering magnitude.
At this moment, Ye Fan’s brow furrowed. Though the distance was only a dozen or so li away, every step forward would be fraught with lethal danger — approaching it would be far from easy.
“This is hard to cross — like a Heaven’s Gorge. It is a deadly path that cannot be surpassed.” He gave each of them a grave warning: do not act recklessly, do not advance.
Though the Land of Immortal Ascension had weakened without limit, this final stretch of road was utterly terrifying — harder than ascending to the heavens itself. It was called “Crossing the Heaven’s Gorge.”
“A hundred li of deadly passes. Ninety li of immortal ascension road. Ten li of Heaven’s Gorge — and even saints cannot cross those final ten li!”
“Is it really that serious?” The others all felt a chill. Every single step was equivalent to charging through a death gate.
“More serious than I’ve described. The Heaven’s Gorge can also be called the Immortal-Barred Passage — it is something human power can barely overcome, and is one of the most terrifying terrains in the entire world.” Ye Fan said gravely.
He had not anticipated that this final ten li would be so absolutely unconquerable — an “Immortal-Barred Passage.” Such terrain had never been seen across all of history and the present day, yet here and now, it had appeared.
“What do we do?” They had arrived at the most ancient dragon lair in the Central Continent, yet could not approach it — everyone was deeply unwilling to accept this.
Ye Fan said: “For now, the only choice is to wait patiently. The Immortal Ascension Pool and the ancient lair have not yet truly descended into the world. Given a few more days, the ‘Immortal-Barred Passage’ will most likely become crossable.”
The ninety li of immortal ascension road, in normal times, was an absolute death trap — even a Sacred Sovereign would meet their end there. It could cut off all the heroes of the world.
Now, it was only because the Immortal Ascension Pool had descended of its own accord and manifested in the mortal world that all the dangers had been infinitely reduced — nearly eliminated — allowing them to reach this point.
The final ten li of “Heaven’s Gorge” had not been weakened. Even if a perfected king-realm cultivator came, any single step forward would be a dead end.
A dozen or so silver-winged yakshas flew past, crying out shrilly before disappearing at the horizon. On the other side, several ancient corpses sat on rocky ledges, exhaling and absorbing the last light of the setting sun — strangely, uncannily, beyond all words.
“This place is truly ominous. It’s incomparably sacred, and yet it’s filled with so many death spirits.”
Across the land, the evening light stained all things crimson. From time to time, human-shaped creatures appeared — but they were absolutely not human. Many of them exuded an aura of cold death.
“The Qinling Mountains have many ancient tombs beneath the earth. Some of the remote-era corpses have extraordinary origins. A few of them have gained spiritual awareness — finding their way to a place like this is not surprising at all.”
“In that case, the Eternal Dragon Lair truly has a creature entombed within it. After so many years of being nourished, who could possibly deal with it?”
Suddenly, a great commotion broke out at the horizon. Silver-winged yakshas, flying vengeful ghosts, and the like all recoiled in terror — like a stampede of ten thousand beasts fleeing before a king.
“Something’s wrong — like a beast king emerging, sending every creature into flight.”
From the horizon came a thunderous boom. A tall old man appeared — his hair like dry yellow grass — walking step by step toward them.
He was well over two and a half meters, towering far above an ordinary person, his frame massive and his strength immense. Every step he took made the earth tremble.
“This person’s physical body is almost beyond terrifying. How heavy must he be — moving like an entire mountain walking toward us?”
As he drew near, this old man with scorched yellow hair and eyes like golden orbs pressed upon them like a wall of mountain — an overwhelming weight that left everyone struggling to breathe.
“This is a supreme ancient Emperor-Sovereign of the Nine Li!” Everyone was startled.
He had long since passed from the world. The Emperor-Sovereign divine robe he wore had rotted away, though faint traces of the Nine Li Divine Dynasty’s markings could still be made out — dilapidated beyond measure.
“That is a King-Sovereign divine robe — ranked alongside King-Sovereign holy weapons — and it has completely rotted. How vast an age has this thing existed?” Wu Zhongtian’s pupils contracted sharply.
“At least forty thousand years or more. Otherwise, a King-Sovereign divine robe could not have decayed to this state.” Ji Haoyue said.
Everyone was on guard, though the one comforting thing was that this ancient corpse appeared to have only recently awakened to awareness. Its eyes were still somewhat glassy, its movements not yet fully fluid.
“His physical body is immensely powerful, but his capabilities are limited — he should be manageable.” Ye Fan inwardly felt fortunate. If this had been the golden-bodied old monk from that previous encounter, everyone present would likely have died.
“He’s coming at us!”
The imposing ancient Emperor-Sovereign — golden pupils carrying a layer of death qi — bore down on them in great strides, reaching out one enormous hand to seize them.
“Hsss!”
Ji Haoyue flicked his fingers. A string of five-colored blood droplets flew forth, striking the red-furred creature’s body. This was Divine King blood — imbued with a divine spiritual force capable of countering evil.
Yet the blood force was powerful but struck the ancient Emperor-Sovereign’s body with only dull thuds — unable to penetrate. It could not harm him, and was of no use.
“Terrible — this person in life must have been of inconceivable strength. He was a King Physique. Though he never reached full mastery, the divine blood is useless against him — for he himself possessed it!” Ji Haoyue said in alarm.
“What?!” Everyone was shocked. This was actually an ancient King Physique. The news was truly staggering.
Fortunately, this malevolent spirit had only recently awakened. It knew only how to absorb the essence of the sun and moon, and possessed as yet no fearsome techniques — its only strength being its extremely tough physical body.
Bang!
Wu Zhongtian, Li Heishui, and the others made their move simultaneously. Every kind of treasured artifact was brought to bear — yet none of it could move this supreme ancient Emperor-Sovereign in the slightest. Everything was repelled.
“A king-realm cultivator’s remains are this hard!”
Everyone present made their move. Several artifacts shattered, yet the King Physique did not suffer a single scratch — as indestructible as a body that defied all destruction.
“Let me!” Pang Bo stepped forward. He brought out several stone nails and drove them forward with a series of sharp sounds, instantly piercing through the ancient corpse. King-level blood — whose spiritual nature had not yet faded — came surging out.
Bang!
In the end, the ancient Emperor-Sovereign’s corpse toppled. Everyone felt relief that it had never fully awakened — still dazed and sluggish. If it had achieved true consciousness, everyone present would have been in grave danger.
“How extraordinary and mysterious those stone nails are!” Ji Haoyue was deeply astonished.
Those stone nails had a remarkable origin. They were the nails from the coffin crafted from the Enlightenment Ancient Tree — which Ye Fan had given to Pang Bo, who treasured them greatly.
Though they were merely coffin nails, this was an object tempered by a being whom the ten thousand clans of ancient antiquity had revered as transcending divinity itself. Within them resided an inconceivable power.
“The Undying Heavenly Emperor — truly of unimaginable strength. Even the nails of his coffin are this terrifying…”
In the half-month that followed, Ye Fan circled the Immortal Ascension Pool and the Dragon Lair and studied every detail carefully — drawing more Source Heavenly patterns than he could count.
He deduced through Source Arts, carving the earth so densely that it looked like an endless field of stars.
“I calculate that in another dozen or so days, this place will fully manifest in the mortal world — and the ‘Immortal-Barred Passage’ will become crossable.”
“Wonderful — in half a month, we’ll have a great harvest!”
“You must be careful. Even with this place manifesting of its own accord, there are only eight safe paths, one in each direction.” Ye Fan gave a grave reminder.
After so many days of calculation, Ye Fan’s heart had been in constant alarm. Those final ten li held world-ending lethal traps — any Emperor-Sovereign who entered would be dissolved into blood and pus.
“Memorize all of this carefully!” He drew a map on the ground, marking the eight paths that led to the central immortal pool and Dragon Lair.
Over the next dozen or so days, Ye Fan exhausted his mental strength, laying down endless Source Heavenly patterns that encompassed the entire terrain of this region.
“When this place truly manifests in the world, other powerful cultivators will certainly enter as well. All we can do is seize a head start.”
With only eight safe paths, and exactly eight of them in the group, they decided that each person would take one path — to claim the initiative ahead of those who would come after, competing for heaven’s fortune with those who followed.
“Sure enough — people are coming!”
Time passed swiftly. The mist across the ninety li of immortal ascension road dispersed entirely, and someone discovered this place. The news spread immediately.
Two more days passed, and then the final ten li of Heaven’s Gorge underwent a change — the lethal energy diminished, and passage became possible.
“Don’t move yet — wait half a day more!” Ye Fan held everyone back.
By this point, others had arrived at the location. Several rushed forward — and without even a sound of warning, they were dissolved completely on the spot.
“Move!”
Ye Fan judged the timing to be right. The eight of them set out at once, each choosing one of the safe paths and advancing with speed.
Every step each of them took had been carefully considered. Ye Fan had deduced and rehearsed these paths an untold number of times beforehand — every landing point was already memorized in detail.
“Oh no—”
On one path, Ji Ziyue cried out in alarm. On the adjacent path, Ji Haoyue tensed — then let out a long breath. It turned out the Ji Family Clan Head had arrived and followed his sister’s footsteps onto the path.
“Retreat immediately. Do not come in here — it is far too dangerous.” The Ji Family Clan Head said, pressing a fingertip to Ji Ziyue’s brow and imprinting a map of the path within.
“That old fox — he must have been here for a while already!” Ye Fan murmured to himself from another path.
“Clan Head, take me in with you.” Ji Ziyue pouted, tugging at the Clan Head’s sleeve and refusing to let go.
“Many people will die here today. Go back at once.” The Ji Family Clan Head swept his wide sleeves and flung her outward, landing her safely on a secure foothold.
Ji Ziyue wrinkled her delicate nose, turned on her heel, and ran — emerging from the path and heading toward the one Ye Fan was on, following him in.
In the distance, the masters of the Jiang Family, Yao Guang, and the Wind Clan’s great sacred grounds all appeared, bringing a considerable number of powerful cultivators with them. Among them was Ouyang Ye — someone who had come infinitely close to the realm of a Source Land Master.
On the other side, the hundred sects and schools of the Central Continent, the four Undying Divine Dynasties, and various sect leaders all materialized. Beside them, several dragon-vein geomancers followed in attendance.
The world was not without its remarkable individuals. After their own deductions, they had traced Ye Fan’s eight paths and followed in behind him — and many powerful cultivators entered.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
Kasaya robes billowed. A group of elderly monks appeared. Several among them had multiple rings of Buddha-light appearing behind their heads — sacred halos encircling their bodies, an expression of sorrowful compassion on their faces, exuding the air of utterly supreme masters.
On the eastern path, a young man appeared, riding a golden ancient war chariot — heroic and imposing, black hair falling over his shoulders. Wang Teng had arrived.
He had cultivated the Martial Way Heavenly Eye. The pitch-black pupils of his eyes shot forth two beams of light. He locked his gaze on Jiang Huairen’s back, his entire body blazing with radiance as he charged in pursuit.
Bang!
The golden ancient war chariot grazed Jiang Huairen’s skull, nearly sending his hair flying in all directions, nearly drawing a loud outburst from him — yet seeing it was the Northern Emperor, he had no choice but to swallow his anger for now.
“You bastard, Wang Teng — do you really think you’re the Emperor of Heaven? You just wait and see.”
Atop the golden war chariot, Wang Chong stood beside his elder brother, glancing back with a cold, contemptuous sneer. “Once we’re inside, if I see any of you lot, get as far away from me as possible. That person who made trouble for us back in Qin City was definitely Ye Fan. Now that my brother has come in his true form — he’d better wash his neck and wait to be slaughtered.”