“And me, and me — I want to go too!” Little bald-headed Hua Hua blinked his great eyes, thrusting one small, soft arm into the air as he jumped up and down — being no taller than the others’ thighs, he was terrified of being overlooked.
The entire group was left speechless. Who would dare enter the primordial ancient mine? Even the Victorious Fighting Buddha himself was in all likelihood going in at the risk of his life — that was a life forbidden zone.
Ye Tong quickly stepped forward and hauled him away.
“Senior Brother, let go of me! I want to brave the primordial ancient mine and become a great hero who stands tall and unyielding!” Little bald-headed Hua Hua declared with chest puffed out and chin lifted high.
“Come back when you stop wetting the bed.” Ye Tong replied.
The whole group erupted in laughter, and everyone piled on to tease him.
Little bald-head immediately flushed red with mortification. He was not exactly very young anymore, yet now and then he still wet the bed — it was the single most embarrassing thing he never wanted brought up.
“Senior Brother, I’ll fight you to the death!” Little bald-head bared his teeth and brandished his fists.
“Imperial Brother, is this really true?” Ji Zi frowned. He too was in the Village of Celestial Beings — and if the supreme evolutionary fluid could be completed, he was set to be among the first to consume it, for with his level of natural talent, his battle power would soar to meet the challenges of the days ahead.
The Holy Prince gave a solemn nod, though a trace of worry flickered in his eyes.
The primordial ancient mine — what sort of place was that? All who entered, perished. Since ancient times, who had ever dared to trespass there? It was a forbidden ground revered by all under heaven!
“My uncle’s remaining lifespan is not much. He says he wants to make use of the time he still has to accomplish something.”
When the others heard the monkey’s low, subdued words, every heart clenched with a cold presentiment — surely the Victorious Fighting Buddha was not about to fall.
Divine medicines such as the King of Medicinal Herbs, divine marrow, and immortality-restoring remedies could extend one’s life if taken once — but by the second or third time, they yielded little effect. In all things, repetition diminished returns.
In the primordial age, the Old Sage Emperor’s might had shaken heaven and earth, and all four seas had bowed before him. Beyond the divine medicine of the peach, he had naturally also obtained other immortal treasures, some of which he had bestowed upon his own younger brother.
Some of the life-extending medicines had already been used by the Victorious Fighting Buddha, and so even if a few rare items could now be sought out, it would be very difficult for them to add meaningful years to his life any longer.
“My uncle emerged from the divine spring more than two thousand years ago. And what makes it even more frightening is that the cultivation technique our clan practices is fierce and domineering in the extreme — it consumes the vital essence of one’s life force the most severely of all, and it represents a matter of life or death.” The Holy Prince said with quiet sorrow.
In his father’s time, the old man had only lived through a single lifetime. His cultivation had encountered a problem — their clan’s profound arts shook the nine heavens, but they were far too fierce and ferocious. While devastating to enemies, they were also a great drain upon oneself.
“That my uncle, at his age, practicing such a cultivation technique, could still reach this point — that already counts as something of a miracle.”
Everyone nodded. After all, this was the younger brother of the Victorious Fighting Sage Emperor — and one had to keep in mind that the Old Sage Emperor himself had already fallen!
Though the Victorious Fighting Buddha was the old emperor’s youngest brother, born thousands of years after him, time spared no one — and by now, he too had walked through an immeasurably long span of years.
“Ahem. I am being perfectly serious about wanting to accompany the Victorious Fighting Buddha into the primordial ancient mine. Think about it — I, Duan De, have robbed my way through ancient tombs from all eras, roaming unimpeded beneath the earth, unstoppable wherever I go. I genuinely want to see what places still remain in this world that are worth my time to enter or leave.” The Taoist priest said.
The whole group rolled their eyes in contempt.
The old assassins from the Village of Celestial Beings in particular couldn’t stand the sight of him — more than a few of them would have gladly run him through with a sword.
“I wish to clarify: the ancient tombs within the village were not robbed by me — it was that little rascal Hua Hua.” Duan De said, looking rather guilty.
“Nonsense! It had absolutely nothing to do with me!” Hua Hua cried out in protest, while simultaneously letting his big eyes drift over and fix upon the treasure sitting in the Taoist’s palm.
“Dong—”
The bell waves spread out like ripples across the Northern Wilderness, drifting far and wide. The Victorious Fighting Buddha had arrived. A pillar of Buddhist light transformed into a golden arch bridge, cutting across the land from the far western reaches all the way to where they stood.
Everyone was stunned. The ancient clans felt their hearts lurch with dread — that display of might sent chills deep into their bones, and every one of them trembled involuntarily.
Not even the primordial royal clans were an exception. In the battle of old, the Victorious Fighting Buddha had proven his invincible might, and even the great royal clans had not dared to provoke him since.
“Has he broken through again? A single golden arch bridge spanning across the land, compressing ten million miles into a single zhang — this is a means that transcends the mortal and enters the divine realm!”
“Worthy indeed of the sacred ape who, since the primordial age, has been praised as possessing the bones of a divine being and the skin of an immortal. It appears his realm has deepened further. Let us pray he has not yet crossed that threshold.”
Among the primordial royal clans, many harbored a deep fear of him — and the last thing any of them wished to see was that he still had a long span of years ahead of him. That would be like having a great mountain pressing down upon their hearts without end.
A handful of Great Sages, and the elder patriarchs of the primordial royal clans, understood that the ferociously domineering nature of this lineage’s cultivation technique was a grave problem. His years of sitting in meditation at Mount Sumeru had been spent seeking methods from the Buddhist path to dissolve and regulate this vexing affliction.
The golden arch bridge radiated waves of immortal brilliance, and a multitude of people came forward to pay their respects. The old sage ape inspired wariness in everyone — whether out of genuine reverence or false pretense, at the very least they all bowed before him on the surface.
The Holy Prince came forward, while figures such as the Black Emperor and Duan De could only conceal themselves in the shadows. Showing themselves would only invite hatred — the Great Black Dog had made enemies of far too many ancient clans, and more than a few would have gladly eaten it alive.
As for Duan De, he was no better off. He had long since extended his “business” into the mausoleums of the ancient clans, and by now there was no telling how many ancient kings had their thoughts fixed on him.
The golden arch bridge slowly faded. The Victorious Fighting Buddha took one step and descended onto the great earth of the Northern Wilderness. He gazed far into the distance at a stretch of desolate broken mountains and let out a long sigh.
That had once been the homeland of the Victorious Fighting Sage Ape’s lineage, destroyed in the primordial age when his elder brother had entered sitting meditation. It was now a ruined and shapeless wasteland — yet even so, no one dared to defile it.
Even now, with only two members remaining in this lineage, they could still intimidate all under heaven. As long as the old monkey still drew breath, this was a supreme clan capable of standing against all the great royal clans combined.
“Uncle!” The Holy Prince stepped forward to greet him.
The Victorious Fighting Buddha gave a nod. Behind him followed several golden-bodied arhats and guardian vajras, among them one with an extraordinary natural constitution — tall and powerfully built, with golden hair draped over his shoulders, like a great golden-maned ape in human form.
Some onlookers muttered inwardly that this surely couldn’t be offspring the Victorious Fighting Buddha had left behind somewhere in the Western Desert.
Of course, a closer look was enough to rule that out entirely. This was a pure-blooded human being — simply one with a uniquely extraordinary natural constitution. He was a guardian vajra of the Buddhist teachings, his power transcending the ordinary.
Ye Fan’s gaze came to a halt. This was Kai De, who along with himself and Pang Bo had entered this world together — and who had later been taken away by the holy Buddhist monk to Mount Sumeru.
Kai De was Li Xiaoman’s classmate. So many years had passed, and now they had met again — yet things and people alike had changed. Ye Fan felt a quiet melancholy in his heart. Time had changed so much. Li Xiaoman had been cast down into the ancient wilderness abyss by his own hand. Barring some miracle, she had long since turned to dust.
Many from the ancient clans appeared, showing boundless reverence toward the Victorious Fighting Buddha, not daring to show the faintest hint of disrespect. For all his Buddhist radiance and compassionate, benevolent demeanor, once this old sage ape flew into a rage, it would be nothing short of a flood that would drown the heavens.
Many were now speculating on how much longer the old monkey could live. More than a few harbored an anxious dread — that before this fearsome Victorious Fighting combatant passed into meditation, he would surely sweep away every obstacle from his nephew’s path, lest anyone try to cause harm. If that came to pass, it would certainly bring a catastrophe — very likely washing the earth in torrents of blood, with many great clans and powerful cultivators vanishing from the world entirely.
All those who had ever been on bad terms with this lineage had been living in fear during this period, hoping desperately for the old sage ape to sit in meditation, while simultaneously dreading that he might first slaughter his way across the land with an iron hand.
“You have come—” Shencan Princess appeared, her expression soft and serene. Light purple hair half-concealed her immortal features, and about her there was a radiant, tranquil serenity utterly unlike the forceful bearing she had shown in the past.
She presented to the Victorious Fighting Buddha an ancient, unadorned token. The patterns upon it were dim and without luster, looking plain and simple in every way.
“What? That is — the ancient emperor token left behind by that ancient emperor of Shencan Ridge!”
Several of the primordial great powers exclaimed in shock. Even the elder patriarchs of the great royal clans narrowed their eyes at the sight of it. This was an object of immense significance — something never revealed on an ordinary day!
“I once heard that the Celestial Prince, bearing the Undying Emperor’s Token, made his way to the primordial ancient mine — though whether he actually entered, no one knows. And now the ancient emperor token of Shencan Ridge has emerged as well. Could this mean—”
The crowd was awash with conjecture. Every last one of them felt their scalps crawl, sensing that something momentous was about to unfold.
The ancient emperor token of Shencan Ridge had been cast from some unknown metal. It was a deep, muted purple throughout. Even after hundreds of millions of years, aside from its faded luster, it bore not a single crack or chip — the ages themselves could not erode it.
“Our lineage also has one.” The Victorious Fighting Buddha shook his head.
“Two tokens are better than one!” The Shencan Princess would hear no argument, pressing the dark purple metal ancient token firmly into his hand.
On this journey into the primordial ancient mine, the road ahead was impossible to foresee. The Shencan Princess had not offered the ancient emperor’s immortal garment, for anyone thinking of causing trouble there would only be walking to their death — what one could rely upon was solely the ancient tokens left by forebears.
“If something happens to me, look after them.” The Victorious Fighting Buddha transmitted his words in secret, sweeping a glance over the Holy Prince, then looking over the several arhats and guardian vajras — this was his final wish.
Mist gathered in the Shencan Princess’s eyes. She dearly wished to stop him, but she knew the old sage ape’s disposition all too well. Once he had truly made up his mind, there was simply no dissuading him.
“The younger brother of the Victorious Fighting Sage Emperor is going to enter the primordial ancient mine!?”
The news spread through the Northern Wilderness like an explosion, sweeping across the Eastern Desolation. There was no concealing it — far too many eyes were watching the old Victorious Buddha’s every move.
Moreover, those watching were not of low status. Among them were no small number of Great Sages! Even in ordinary times, gazes had always been trained upon Mount Sumeru, and the moment he descended the mountain, word would spread immediately.
This also revealed, from one angle, the profound terror that many great clans harbored toward him — their deep fear of being massacred by the Victorious Fighting Sage Ape before he passed into meditation!
The Victorious Fighting Buddha was going to enter the primordial ancient mine — what on earth did he intend to do? It was like a mighty gale sweeping across the land, setting the nerves of every powerful cultivator in the world on edge.
“Could he be going in to search for a way to extend his life?”
“Or is he seeking to use this immortal sacred mine to break through his current realm and take that most critical of steps?”
The elder patriarchs of the great primordial royal clans were each rocked by towering waves within their hearts. They gathered to deliberate at length — and not one of them could remain calm!
All eyes in the world were watching. The gaze of every direction was fixed upon this development, and the attention of all under heaven converged once again upon the life forbidden zone in the northern reaches of the Eastern Desolation, sending shock waves roiling in all directions.
“A hundred myriad autumns building the path to immortality and the Dao; stars fall and the moon withers as the heart fills with sorrow. A single slumber of ten thousand ages and emperors crumble; the celestial court has collapsed — where now to roam—”
Outside the border of the primordial forbidden zone, Duan De walked along singing, keeping pace with the Victorious Fighting Buddha as they advanced together, drawing a flicker of an intrigued expression even from the old sage ape.
And Ye Fan, the Holy Prince, the Shencan Princess, and the others wore equally peculiar expressions. This Taoist Duan was actually serious about going in — his nerve was something that strained the limits of belief.
“Duan De, may your journey go well. If you fall in glorious battle, I will burn a few sheets of paper for you every year.” The Black Emperor called out.
Little bald-headed Hua Hua shouted: “Uncle Duan De! Uncle Black Emperor says you haven’t left us the treasure you’ve accumulated over your entire life yet!”
“Damn it, you little rascal whose every instinct tends toward evil — why say it so directly? I was still working out how to bring it up tactfully!” The Black Emperor gave him a smack.