“Nannan, what did the person you saw look like?” Ye Fan crouched down and asked softly.

Xiao Nannan appeared to be only about three years old. Her pupils were like black gemstones — bright, dark, and pure, without a single impurity. She tilted her little head and thought carefully, then said: “Nannan rubbed her eyes and he was gone — I didn’t see him clearly.”

This was an extremely grave matter. If there truly were humanoid beings moving about, without question they would all be in tremendous danger — if they were noticed, surviving would be nearly impossible.

This was one of the Seven Forbidden Zones of Life — the Undying Mountain, whose name had been passed down through ten thousand ages. The Sacred Physique of Great Completion and the Great Emperors of antiquity had combined the effort of two lifetimes to fight their way inside, yet had no way to flatten it entirely. That said enough.

“Be careful not to step on those inscriptions — otherwise there’s no telling where you’ll be transported,” the Great Black Dog warned.

This short black mountain had ancient carvings on some of its rocks — mysterious and profound beyond comprehension, like an invisible great net sealing this entire place.

“Which Great Emperor fought his way in, in those days?” Pang Bo asked.

“The Void Emperor,” the Great Black Dog answered.

There were very few legends in the world concerning the Void Emperor. None of them had expected this Great Emperor to have been so aggressively formidable — to have actually fought his way into the Undying Mountain, accomplishing this monumental feat, and resolved the great calamity facing the human clans. Several of them had no words.

“Every Great Emperor of antiquity was a supreme hero without equal. Through endless ages, among hundreds of billions of sentient beings, only one such being is born. Even if a certain Great Emperor’s legends are few, that person cannot be measured by ordinary reckoning,” the Black Emperor said.

Everyone deeply agreed. Every Great Emperor was the sole protagonist of their era. If one were to trace the full arc of each one’s life, every single person among them had lived a legend without end.

“Let’s go down the mountain. We absolutely must find a way to escape from here,” the Great Black Dog said, moving to the front to lead the way, using its incomparably masterful understanding of spatial runes to feel out and navigate the path.

To have personally entered the legendary Forbidden Zone of Life — every single person found it impossible to relax. All of them wore heavy hearts. This was no game — life and death were at stake.

“Why did the ancient Great Emperor leave behind so many array runes here?” Tu Fei asked.

“According to legend, the battle in those days was extremely arduous. The Void Emperor required endless arrays to assist him before he could seize the initiative. Without them, the outcome might have been entirely different.”

“What manner of existence is within the Undying Mountain?!” Everyone’s hearts trembled.

“Unknown. The ultimate decisive battle never came. The two sides faced each other in standoff for a very long time, and then each withdrew.”

“No final decisive battle?” Several of them were greatly surprised.

“It is said that when the Dark Age descended, the Void Emperor slew an existence no weaker than himself — one that had walked out from the Undying Mountain. Yet clearly that was not the sole supreme existence within. The Void Emperor entered the Undying Mountain resolved to die and take everything down with him — yet for reasons unknown, the final battle ultimately never happened,” the Great Black Dog recounted this piece of secret history.

After this, however, the Void Emperor returned to the Ji Family and was never again seen in this world. No one knew what had happened. Many harbored the suspicion that something inauspicious had befallen him.

“The Ji Family has certain divine king ancient tombs, yet no one knows where the Void Emperor’s tomb is. Was he truly buried within his own clan?” Li Heishui wondered, wanting to determine how the Void Emperor had died and what had happened to him.

“The Void Emperor attained the Dao through the boundless void. Legend has it he buried himself within the infinite void — no one can find it, not even the Ji Family.”

“The dust-sealed past, the endless sweep of history — how many secrets does it conceal?” Ye Fan sighed with feeling.

The Eternal Emperor, on account of the Primordial Ancient Mine, had gone far away, never to return to the Eastern Wastelands. The Void Emperor, following the Undying Mountain campaign, had never appeared in the world again — believed to have met with something inauspicious.

Each of the several Great Emperors must have known what lay within the Seven Forbidden Zones of Life. Perhaps they individually could have battled the existences within — yet in the end they were too few, with no one to stand alongside them as equals.

The Black Emperor spent a full half hour leading everyone down from the short black mountain. Several times they nearly stepped onto array inscriptions by mistake — narrowly escaping each time.

Everyone furrowed their brows. This approach simply wouldn’t work. Some of the array inscriptions had long since faded from sight, yet their effects still persisted. Triggering one at random would transport them to another region entirely, and life and death would be uncertain.

Ye Fan wanted to tuck Xiao Nannan into the Jade Pure Vial — unwilling to let her remain outside, fearing some accident might befall her. But the Great Black Dog objected strenuously: “Don’t. Let the little darling stay outside. She definitely won’t come to any harm, and whether we make it out of here alive may depend entirely on her.”

“What are you saying? Xiao Nannan doesn’t even know who she is — what use could she possibly be?” Tu Fei asked skeptically.

“Just trust me — no more questions,” the Great Black Dog absolutely refused to say anything more, as though it harbored some fear it dared not speak aloud.

“Be careful — that lake ahead is very dangerous. Everyone just saw it — there are unknown creatures in the water, and even cultivators at the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm were erased with ease. Let’s go around it,” Pang Bo warned.

The Great Black Dog was extremely cautious, giving the lake an enormous berth from far away, terrified of inviting calamity. Yet the more it worried, the more things went wrong — within five hundred meters of setting out, it finally stepped on one of the strange array inscriptions.

A flash of light, and the group vanished on the spot, disappearing into thin air.

“Whoosh!”

When the void twisted and they appeared once more within the black mountain range, they were already far from where they had been — deeper inside, having emerged within the black mountains.

“If this keeps happening, we’re going to end up at the very center of the Undying Mountain range.”

Suddenly, a rustling sound came from below a stone cliff not far away. Some unknown creature was moving among the undergrowth, passing through a stretch of forest and drawing close.

“Terrible — we’ve finally encountered a living thing!” All of them changed expression.

The footsteps drew nearer and nearer. Through the trees one could see a humanoid creature moving swiftly in and out of sight — moving like a streak of light, closing in.

“How is it not stepping on any array inscriptions? This is bad — we’re in serious danger!”

This was the first living being they had encountered within the Undying Mountain range. When they saw its true form, they were all greatly startled, their unease deepening still further.

It was a Stone Person!

That’s right — it was not a creature of flesh and blood, but a body of stone. It stood two meters tall, powerfully built and robust.

Yet it was not intact. The upper portion of its head had been cleaved away, leaving only one eye. The left half of its body was riddled with many holes — as though someone had pierced through it with sharp implements.

Even so, it still filled everyone with dread. This was a Nine-Aperture Stone Person, born of heaven and earth — a being with the potential to grow into a sacred spirit!

Its single eye shot forth a cold and faint light, staring fixedly at the Dragon-Patterned Black Gold Sacred Spirit Sword in Ye Fan’s hand, unblinking, as though sensing some specific aura. An expression of frenzied murderous intent appeared on its face.

“It’s over — retribution has come. You cut down a Nine-Aperture Stone Person before, and its kin have sensed it,” the Great Black Dog’s face immediately fell.

“Let’s fight it — this Stone Person is damaged and has never developed flesh and blood. Clearly it was severed prematurely and came into the world early, forever losing the chance to become a sacred spirit. We may well be able to kill it!” Pang Bo said.

The Great Black Dog’s face turned green. “It is true that it came into the world a million years prematurely, and can never become a sacred spirit now — but it’s also not something we can deal with. It’s already a half-step great power-level existence.”

This was a stone embryo gestated by heaven and earth, nurtured for several million years, absorbing the essence of the sun and moon — capable of growing into a sacred spirit comparable to an ancient Great Emperor. Yet tragically it had come into the world at least a million years too early.

Now, its single eye was filled with hatred. Step by step it closed in, intent on taking Ye Fan’s life — to avenge its kin.

“Half a step to the great power level… we truly have no chance at all!” Ye Fan sighed.

Yet he would absolutely not simply sit and wait for death. He drove the Indestructible Battling Sacred Method to its utmost, triggered the “All” character secret successfully, and was about to strike.

The others did the same — pushing their combat power to its limit, prepared to fight to the death.

Yet the damaged Stone Person, walking forward, stopped at a distance of several dozen meters from them, halting in its advance. It fixed its gaze upon Xiao Nannan, who Ye Fan was shielding behind him, and its expression became one of uncertain agitation.

Ye Fan had long wanted to tuck Xiao Nannan into the Jade Pure Vial — not wanting her to remain outside. But the Great Black Dog had refused no matter what, saying she might be their only lifeline.

Now, something truly strange had happened. The Nine-Aperture Stone Person looked deeply unsettled. After locking its gaze onto Xiao Nannan, it began to back away continuously.

“What’s going on?” No one understood.

At first, Xiao Nannan was very frightened. She hid behind Ye Fan, peeking out with half her little face, looking on nervously with eyes full of unease.

“Quick — bring the little darling to the front!” the Great Black Dog urged.

Ye Fan picked Xiao Nannan up and reassured her: “Be good — don’t be afraid. It doesn’t dare to hurt us.”

The Nine-Aperture Stone Person grew even more unsettled, its gaze locked on Xiao Nannan. Its body could not help but tremble — and then it let out a strange cry, turned around, and fled at the utmost speed. In the blink of an eye it was gone, disappearing behind a black cliff.

Everyone looked at each other in astonishment, none of them having expected this outcome.

Only Xiao Nannan was not very happy about it. She blinked her large eyes, puckered her little lips, and said: “Is Nannan very scary? Why did it do that?”

Everyone burst out laughing — none of them could stop themselves from giving her a pat on the head, then affectionately flicking the tip of her delicate little upturned nose.

“It’s because you’re so adorable — even that Stone Person couldn’t bear to let it hurt us.”

“Who could say our little Nannan is not adorable?”

They laughed and spoke, yet their hearts were far from calm. Just what was Xiao Nannan’s identity? Even the Nine-Aperture Stone Person within the Undying Mountain had been frightened away — that was truly astonishing.

“Let’s move — hurry up and go!” The Great Black Dog led the way once more, yet before they had gone very far, it nearly stepped on another inscription again.

No one could really be blamed for this. It was impossible for anyone to avoid entirely — because the traces of the array inscriptions had faded, yet being Emperor-level inscriptions their effects remained. There was no way to detect all of them.

Even with Ye Fan opening his divine eyes, he simply could not see through them. The inscriptions carved by the ancient Great Emperor were mysterious beyond all comprehension — no one could grasp them all.

“Are we truly going to die in this place?” Li Heishui sighed.

“Disaster!” The Great Black Dog had stepped one foot forward when it cried out in alarm — thinking it had stepped wrong again. Fortunately, this time it was only a false alarm.

“Doggy, you’re so clumsy. Even Nannan has figured it out — these inscriptions are very clear. I already know how to walk through them,” Xiao Nannan suddenly said with complete innocence.

Normally, the Great Black Dog would have mocked anyone else who said such a thing — it might even have snapped at them with its dark mouth a few times. But hearing it from Xiao Nannan, it merely looked sheepish, without the slightest edge, and did not lash out.

“What — Nannan, you can see them clearly?” Ye Fan asked in astonishment.

“Yes.” Xiao Nannan nodded her head earnestly, like a little chick pecking at grain, and said: “I can see many inscriptions. Among them are black lines, wreathed in black mist, and golden lines flowing with radiance.”

“Those are the paths of death and paths of life!” The Great Black Dog leaped with a start. “You can actually see even these?”

“At first I couldn’t see anything at all. But after watching Doggy walk around the inscriptions for a while, I gradually started to see them all,” Xiao Nannan said in her childish voice, innocent and earnest.

“Where do the golden lines point?” the Great Black Dog asked impatiently.

“They wind and wind, like many little snakes crawling along, leading toward the depths of the mountains,” Xiao Nannan said.

“What?!” Everyone was startled.

“…Nannan, are you sure you’re not mistaken?” Tu Fei asked.

“No, the golden lines really do point toward the depths of the mountain range. Oh — they’re little dragons, not little snakes. Their dragon heads all face that direction,” Xiao Nannan corrected herself.

“Could this be… to find life through embracing death?!” Pang Bo thought deeply.

The Great Black Dog nodded. “Correct. That may well be what the Void Emperor was thinking in those days. When he was left with no other option — resolved to die together with everything else — and he plunged into the heart of the Undying Mountain for the ultimate decisive battle, perhaps it was precisely this resolve of embracing certain death to find life that drove him forward!”

“Are we really supposed to keep going forward?” Li Heishui was deeply uncertain. “We’re not the Void Emperor. He could enter certain death and emerge with life — but we don’t possess that kind of heaven-defying combat power. How many throughout all history can compare to him?”

“At this point there truly is no other option. Based on what little darling has seen and my analysis, this entire region has been covered with terrible Great Emperor array inscriptions, and it is beyond us to retreat out of here,” the Great Black Dog pondered. “I believe the Void Emperor sealed off this entire region, dividing it into many different zones to prevent the mysterious beings within from walking out.”

The Great Black Dog carried Xiao Nannan on its back, letting her guide their path as they moved toward the depths of the Undying Mountain range. All along the way they sensed it — from time to time, creatures were watching them from concealment — and everyone felt the hair on their bodies stand on end.

“This route seems to be heading toward the direction where the ancient Enlightenment Tea Tree is,” everyone said in surprise.

Following Xiao Nannan’s guidance, the route seemed indeed to pass through that region — and it wasn’t that far away now.

After walking a further stretch, the ancient Enlightenment Tea Tree became faintly visible. Though many ancient trees blocked the view, its singular and unique aura could now be clearly sensed.

That place seemed to have the boundless Great Dao flowing through it, filled with a mysterious power. One’s heart instantly opened into a state of pure clarity — without cultivating at all, one felt as though one were on the verge of attaining a Dao epiphany.

“Worthy of the name passed down through ten thousand ages — the Undying Divine Tree. It can assist cultivators in attaining enlightenment — a supreme divine object without equal in the world!” The Great Black Dog became jubilant. “If by some fortune we don’t die, we might well receive a great windfall!” Its eyes began to glow green.

After advancing several more li, the ancient Enlightenment Tea Tree was now visible. Its appearance left everyone breathless with awe.

It was not very tall — only around three meters — but it was as strong and gnarled as an old dragon. Its bark was cracked and split, as though it had taken ten thousand ages to grow to what it was today.

It was utterly unique. Not a single leaf on the tree was alike. Every single leaf was distinct from all the others — each one crystalline and translucent, as though carved from jade.

Some leaves were shaped like small cauldrons, shrouded in mist. Some were like divine phoenixes, shimmering with rosy light. Some were like immortals seated in meditation — vivid and lifelike.

Some gleamed like yellow gold, blazing with brilliance. Some were like crimson jade, vividly brilliant. Every color imaginable was represented.

“One, two, three…” Xiao Nannan tilted her head back and began counting the leaves on the tree. The others too felt a stirring in their hearts — this ancient tree had very few leaves, just over a hundred. Yet it didn’t appear sparse, because every single leaf was unlike any other, drawing all attention away from the thought of how many there were.

“A total of one hundred and eight leaves — exactly as described in legend. Every year, without fail, not one more, not one fewer — always this exact number,” Tu Fei exclaimed, unable to stop himself from drooling.

At that moment, the sound of a distant bell rang out with unhurried softness — giving one the feeling of the Great Dao dissolving into emptiness, as though treading to the end of the immortal path. The ancient Great Emperor’s silhouette manifested again: Wushi — the Beginningless Emperor!

The black void fell silent, annihilating all things. It too appeared before the ancient Enlightenment Tea Tree — the Ruthless Emperor, standing in the darkness, had re-emerged.

Different from before — this time the two Great Emperors appeared together, and everyone involuntarily froze in place, their hearts shaking with terror.

“This… what has happened? Have the two Great Emperors actually met?”

“Impossible — the Great Emperors of antiquity never met one another. When one was born, the other had already died; when one died, the other had yet to be born. This must simply be their impressions meeting… but what has happened?” The Black Emperor’s uncertainty was absolute.