Endless mountains and ravines, thick with miasma, ancient vines and giant trees covering the mountainous terrain — a scene of primeval chaos. Yet it was silent to the extreme, not a single sound to be heard, utterly desolate.
A massive coffin lay sprawled across the land, ancient and weathered, its entire body made of stone without a single seam, towering a thousand zhang high, dwarfing the many peaks around it.
Without looking closely, who would think it a coffin — it looked exactly like a stone ridge, not a blade of grass growing on it, possessing an innate aura of the Great Dao that inspired genuine awe.
“The Void Emperor, who suppressed the chaos of darkness and fought against nearly all seven Forbidden Zones of Life, is buried inside?” Pang Bo said in a low voice.
“The coffin of an ancient Emperor — truly extraordinary. Just standing here, one can feel something strange.” The Twelve Saints sighed one after another as well.
There was no oppressive or trembling aura. The stone coffin was so massive, yet no terrifying fluctuations leaked from it — only a sense of the extraordinary.
They had not recklessly rushed in upon arriving, not only because this ancient coffin was mysterious, but more importantly because this place was a forbidden ground — one could enter but never leave.
Ye Fan, Pang Bo, and the others had cultivated the Heavenly Eye. Standing far away, their sight stretched a thousand li, yet they still could not fully see through to the deepest parts hidden in the mist — it always felt as though there was a layer of gauze in the way.
Even the Origin Eye, extraordinary as it was, was blocked, unable to fully perceive what lay within. There was an ancient, unknown killing intent there that could not be broken even now.
“If the Ji siblings are truly inside, that could be troublesome. This place is so strange — I hope nothing dangerous happens.” Pang Bo said.
Ye Fan said, “As long as they don’t leave the ancient coffin, no matter how terrifying this forbidden ground is, it won’t be a problem. It can’t do anything to them.”
This was a fact — even in death, an ancient Emperor was not something later generations could defile. The corpse they left behind possessed immeasurable power.
A so-called forbidden ground was a place where even Saints who entered would perish — an eternal burial ground for mountains and rivers since ancient times. Though this place had ancient forests and wild woods, and even Medicine Kings, not a single spirit beast roamed here.
“Something’s not right. Look at how these peaks release purple mist under the daylight sun — clearly a sign of auspicious radiance, a great omen. How could this be called a forbidden ground?” Long Ma said, puzzled.
“Let me take a look.” Ye Fan had everyone retreat. Radiant treasure-light flowed over his body as he unleashed Origin Techniques, patterns of energy appearing beneath his feet as he surveyed the mountains and rivers.
“Huh, something’s wrong. Retreat now!” Ye Fan started. In the instant they fled, a mysterious force spread outward — sacred and pure, almost divine, shimmering with radiant light.
It wasn’t killing intent — it was more like the gates of an immortal sect thrown wide open, welcoming honored guests into the mountain. It felt deeply strange.
“This doesn’t match what the locals told us. This is clearly a pure land — how could it be called a forbidden ground?” The Twelve Saints exchanged glances, not sensing a trace of killing intent.
Ye Fan frowned too, staring at the mountains and rivers again and again, still keeping everyone waiting outside as he alone stepped forward, advancing into the unknown.
A moment later, the vast power surged again — the countless mountains and ravines resonated together, radiating auspicious light, each peak roaring like a treasure, filling the sky with propitious energy.
Innate divine essence surged like water, every peak trembling, sacred beyond measure, rosy light dancing across the heavens — nothing like the legends described.
“Why is this happening? Are the locals lying to us? It’s impossible — could everyone we’ve met be deceiving us?” Outside, Pang Bo and the Twelve Saints refused to believe it.
Ye Fan stopped, doubt in his heart, but growing even more wary. Standing at the edge of the forbidden ground, he sent his voice transmission inward, calling out toward the stone coffin: “Ziyue, Brother Haoyue, are you there?”
His voice was like heavenly thunder, shaking even the void, carrying for thousands of li, the entire mountain range resonating and echoing his words over and over.
Yet the auspicious light grew even more intense, as though an immortal grotto-heaven had opened, waiting for a fated one to venture deep inside and claim their own fortune.
Ye Fan decisively retreated. Though the auspicious glow washed over him, he still felt something was off — an indescribable feeling.
“Crack!”
Every great peak split open. Tens of thousands of mountains roared, cracking and crackling, fissures appearing across every mountain body — and inside them was crimson liquid.
“Blood — it’s scarlet blood!”
Ye Fan and the others were shaken. How much blood would it take to fill so many mountains? How could it have formed? It raised deep suspicion.
“These mountains are alive — they’re all moving!” the Black Bear Saint said in a low voice.
The mountain bodies writhed like serpents, slithering like coiling dragons. Though split open with blood seeping out, they continued moving all the same — deeply unsettling.
“Could these really be living creatures? Look, inside the mountain bodies there are giant white bones, like the mountain’s skeleton, stained with streaks of blood.” Everyone gasped in shock.
What was this thing? How could it be so strange?
Crawling mountains, slithering forward like coiling serpents, their surfaces cracked, blood inside, and massive bones running through them — these bones were what supported the mountain bodies.
Each bone was enormous, the largest reaching several hundred zhang, even over a thousand zhang, while the smallest was no bigger than a palm, possessing a strange, otherworldly luster of life.
The mountains were alive — what kind of creature was this? Was this why the place was called a forbidden ground — because these things devoured any living being who entered?
Suddenly, a strange fragrance drifted over, making one’s body feel light and healthy, as if about to float away — an intoxicating aroma with a peculiar, enchanting power.
All the mountain bodies trembled, light blazing from the cracked fissures. From the blood and bones seeped drops of a mysterious liquid, crystalline and translucent.
They slid down the mountainsides, falling toward the foot of the mountains, forming small, glimmering pools of crystal-clear water, many of them merging together.
No one needed to say it — everyone knew this was an extraordinary divine liquid, yet the process of its formation was so bizarre it left them astonished and bewildered.
“Collect it!” Long Ma growled lowly, brandishing a magic treasure and sending it into the myriad mountains, hoping to gather this mysterious liquid.
However, his magic treasure vanished like a stone sinking into the sea, never to return, falling directly onto the mountain body before being dissolved, swallowed by streams of auspicious light and absorbed into the mountain.
“It treated my magic treasure as nourishment. What exactly is this thing — could there really be creatures like earth dragons in this world?!”
Within the mountains, streams of light danced in all directions. That crystalline liquid was extremely scarce, exceedingly rare — it did not seep into the sand or soil, nor sink into cracks in the rock, but gathered entirely at the mountain roots, forming nothing more than small pools.
As for the massive stone coffin, it remained sprawled there, showing no change whatsoever.
“Someone’s coming.” the Blue Luan Saint said.
In the distance, dozens of figures flew over, each wrapped in divine radiance, men and women alike — some heroic and imposing, some sacred and serene, some beautiful as flowers, otherworldly and elegant.
Most were humanoid beings, though some had three heads and six arms, others a third vertical eye — each one had an extraordinary aura, inspiring wariness.
“It seems the Divine-Demon Liquid is about to form. It only surges once every ten thousand years — a rare opportunity. We mustn’t make any mistakes.”
These people were all powerful, yet none dared venture deep into the forbidden ground — they all watched quietly from outside, unaware that Ye Fan and the others were already hidden nearby.
“Quick, look — the Divine-Demon Liquid has already begun to form. After a while it will settle into treasure liquid. It’s harvested once every ten thousand years — this matters greatly. Everyone must patrol frequently these days, and there must be no mistakes.” a man said in a low voice.
Ye Fan and the others listened quietly nearby, nodding inwardly. This truly was a bizarre place, one that gave birth to Divine-Demon Liquid — something impossible to obtain without towering magical power and great ability.
“You and I are both acting on orders. If anything goes wrong, neither of us can bear the responsibility — the god will place blame. We must be careful.”
Pang Bo and the others grew more astonished the more they listened — every ten thousand years, some Divine-Demon Liquid would appear, and these people belonged to some great power specifically responsible for collecting the treasure liquid here.
“My lord, why does Divine-Demon Liquid form here — how exactly does it come about? Isn’t this a forbidden ground? Can we go in?”
Clearly, there was a new member among them, curious about this place, sincerely asking and inquiring.
“This is the battlefield of the gods, where their blood and bones lie buried. Now, aside from our god, no one can enter — one wrong move and both body and soul will be obliterated.” a handsome man warned. His strength was astonishing — a Sage King, possessing three heads and six arms, with thick black hair and a sharp, formidable presence.
This was the blood and bones of the gods, buried here, forming a forbidden ground of life. Within this flesh and blood lay immortal essence, something that made all who came after it burn with desire.
For some unknown reason, it had eventually formed something like an immortal cellar, or perhaps transformed into a peculiar living entity — the blood, flesh, and buried bones of the gods automatically giving rise to Divine-Demon Liquid, surging forth once every ten thousand years.
“These people are from the Divine Realm!” Through their conversation, Ye Fan’s group quickly gathered some information.
“My lord, several decades ago a massive coffin fell from the sky into this forbidden ground. Is there any explanation for that? To this day, no one has investigated it.” someone asked.
“Indeed, what ever became of it? The coffin fell from the heavens — some people saw from afar at the time that there were living beings atop the coffin. This is truly bizarre. I wonder if they’re still in this forbidden ground.”
“Some matters concern things too vast and too deep, not something you should ask about. It’s best not to.” the lord said coldly.
Finally, he murmured, “That is the Nine-Layer Ancient Coffin from the Age of Myth. It might belong to some elder of the god’s — so it’s best not to discuss it further.”
In hiding, Pang Bo and the others gasped. The Nine-Layer Coffin from the Age of Myth, buried in the Nine Heavens, containing a divinity inside — could its origin lie here?
Ye Fan speculated that the Void Emperor had merely obtained the Nine-Layer Coffin from the cosmos — who its true owner really was remained unknown.
And now, it seemed they might finally find the true owner!
“It looks like Ziyue and Brother Haoyue might still be deep within the forbidden ground, never having come out all these years. I wonder how they’ve been.” Ye Fan murmured to himself.
At that moment, a rumbling thunder came from the distant sky — a bronze war chariot cut across the heavens, splitting the long sky apart, rushing over here, radiating undying brilliance.
“The Divine Realm’s decree has arrived.” the ones who had come earlier exclaimed in alarm.
“The divine decree has arrived: the god, in recent contemplation, has sensed that spirits from beyond the realm are coming, threatening to disturb the peace of all directions. Thus the decree is proclaimed to all under heaven — every race shall together slay the evil spirits from beyond the realm and protect this shore.”
A figure stood atop the bronze war chariot, hazy and indistinct, delivering the decree — calling on all the heroes of the world to jointly resist the invaders from beyond the realm and slaughter them without mercy.
In hiding, Ye Fan, Pang Bo, Long Ma, and the others were all shaken.
“Big trouble. There’s going to be a bloodbath in this world. Any great Saint or Young Supreme who has descended to this shore will be in danger. That existence in the Divine Realm is about to unleash a great massacre.” Long Ma exclaimed in alarm.