The woman’s eyes were bright and her teeth white as jade, her neck slender and graceful. Like a lotus emerging from clear water, she was peerlessly beautiful and ethereal. She stood at the edge of a cliff — one half-step more and she would fall into an endless abyss below. Her white robes billowed in the wind, as though she were the Moon Goddess of legend, on the verge of riding the breeze into the heavens — transcendent and otherworldly.
Ye Fan tried to find a single flaw in her and could not. This woman was beautiful in a way that seemed entirely unreal, giving an impression of pure fantasy. She was as though gifted with the spiritual essence of heaven and earth itself — utterly untouched by the world’s mundane spirit, her flesh like ice and her bones like jade, approaching perfection.
Among all the women he had ever seen, if judged on looks alone, only one could compare to her — the perfect woman he had encountered before the Demon Emperor’s burial mound.
How could there be a woman of such transcendent beauty in a place like this? Ye Fan’s heart filled with foreboding and he stepped back several paces. He possessed the Desolate Holy Body, yet even his physical shell had aged — yet the woman ahead showed not the slightest change, utterly unaffected by the ancient forbidden zone’s influence. It was difficult to imagine what kind of being she truly was.
“What are you standing there for — go pick the divine medicine!” Jiang Hanzhong’s shout came from below. The three figures below could see Ye Fan at the edge of the summit, but could not see the woman near the cliff farther in.
On the cliff, the sinister aura churned and flowed. The woman who had stepped out of a painting moved with graceful, swaying steps, her lotus feet carrying her in a gentle, unhurried gait directly toward Ye Fan.
Not good! Ye Fan felt his body aging more rapidly — a mysterious aura struck him full in the face. He swiftly retreated back down the mountain.
This woman was no simple presence — to speak truthfully, she was utterly terrifying. She possessed the distinct power particular to what lay beneath the Ancient Abyss, making even Ye Fan feel nearly unable to bear it. If his golden Bitter Sea had not remained unfilled, its waves crashing high in full resistance, he would likely have aged completely to death and crumbled to ash already.
Could she be the legendary “Desolation”?! The thought struck Ye Fan with shock. He had long heard that beneath the Ancient Abyss dwelt something unknown — whether a living creature or some form of power, it was spoken of as “the Desolation.”
With this thought, Ye Fan swiftly fell back down the slope, intending to deliver this incomparably beautiful woman into the hands of Jiang Hanzhong and the others to deal with.
“Why have you retreated?” Jiang Hanzhong barked.
“Something’s wrong — there’s a woman here that wasn’t there before!” Ji Yunfeng’s expression changed suddenly. He was the first to spot the woman in white, and in that instant felt the pace of his own life force draining accelerate.
“That is…” The Yao Guang Sacred Ground elder Xu Daoling looked as though he had witnessed something beyond all comprehension. His expression filled with extreme shock, and he stumbled back several large steps, his face deathly pale and suffused with fear.
Seeing him react this way, Jiang Hanzhong and Ji Yunfeng were also startled, and quickly followed him back, asking: “What is it? What is that woman’s origin?”
“It defies belief — truly beyond all comprehension!” Xu Daoling’s face had gone white. “I have seen this woman’s portrait before.”
Ji Yunfeng said quietly: “Is her portrait somehow remarkable? Though she truly is of incomparable beauty — I have never in my life seen a woman this beautiful.”
“That portrait is an artifact from six thousand years ago!”
Upon hearing this, both Jiang Hanzhong and Ji Yunfeng sharply drew in their breath. A person from six thousand years ago — it was genuinely staggering. Even powerful clans such as theirs did not seem to have anyone living that long.
“She is not among the living.” Xu Daoling said this, his face a ghastly pale.
“What?!” Both Ji Yunfeng and Jiang Hanzhong went rigid, and in the same instant arrived at a shared realization.
“Six thousand years ago, she was known as the foremost sacred maiden of the Eastern Wasteland — flawless and unblemished. In the ancient records, several of the most celebrated, world-shaking figures of the Eastern Wasteland once followed at her side.”
As Xu Daoling said this, Ji Yunfeng and Jiang Hanzhong gradually pieced together the identity of the woman at the summit, and both said in trembling unison: “Six thousand years ago — was she a member of that immortal sect sacred ground that reached the height of its power and was destroyed here?”
“Correct. She is the Sacred Maiden of Tianxuan from six thousand years ago!” As Xu Daoling said these words, he felt as though his head were about to burst. He could never have imagined that he would encounter a figure from the ancient records.
In its day, the sacred ground that had been destroyed here bore the name — Tianxuan — just like the Yao Guang Sacred Ground, named for one of the seven stars of the Northern Dipper.
“In my Yao Guang Sacred Ground, there was once a great figure who was heartbroken over her, and left behind her portrait. It has been preserved in our sect’s ancient vault.”
Ye Fan’s divine spring had not run dry, and his spiritual senses remained keen. He heard every word of their exchange with crystal clarity, and was shaken to the depths of his being. This perfect woman was actually the foremost sacred maiden of the ancient Eastern Wasteland — a daughter of that long-destroyed immortal sect — a fellow disciple of the Old Madman.
The Old Madman — muddled and vacant-eyed — had once gazed toward the ancient forbidden zone for an entire night without stopping. If he were to see the sacred maiden from his day with her form imperishable and looking just as alive as ever, one could only wonder what he would feel.
“Dead for six thousand years, and now she has appeared again — there is only one possibility. She may have become a Desolation Slave.” Jiang Hanzhong said this.
In that distant past, several world-dominating figures had, in their twilight years, ventured deep into the ancient forbidden zone and charged alone into the endless abyss — and every single one of them had ultimately become a “Desolation Slave.”
“None but the most transcendent figures can become Desolation Slaves. She may have been dead for six thousand years, but she is almost certainly still terrifyingly powerful.” Ji Yunfeng said gravely. “What do we do? Are we to turn back? I feel as though my life’s flame could be extinguished at any moment — the aura of Desolation on her is overwhelmingly dense.”
“I fear we may already be unable to leave!” Xu Daoling’s entire body broke out in a cold sweat.
The incomparably beautiful woman drifted downward like a ghost — silent and soundless — flowing past Ye Fan and flying toward the three of them.
Ye Fan cried out silently in dismay. He felt that there was a very real chance all of them would perish here. Looking back now, the first time they had appeared on the sacred mountain had truly been a stroke of sheer luck — not a single danger had befallen them, and they had picked the sacred medicine with ease.
I understand now. Everything that day was because the nine Dragon Corpses and the Ancient Bronze Coffin fell here from beyond the stars, overpowering what lay in the depths of the endless abyss — their aura of suppression had cowed the Desolation and its slaves into not daring to appear.
“We fight!” Jiang Hanzhong made his move, the brocade box in his grip. Light blazed from his entire body in ten thousand directions. A purple-copper mirror surged out from within his body — its back engraved with the Eight Trigrams, its face brilliant as a full moon, radiating brilliant splendor. A massive beam of light, thick as a house, shot toward the Sacred Maiden of Tianxuan in an instant.
The entire summit of the sacred mountain shook. The beam of light was like the Silver River pouring down from the ninth heaven, conveying an impression of boundless, terrifying crushing force.
Ye Fan’s heart was seized with dread. Jiang Hanzhong’s power was as deep as an abyss and as boundless as the sea — impossible to see the bottom of. No cultivator of his Life Spring Realm could even begin to conceive of it, let alone measure its depths. If a beam like that struck him, he would be reduced to ash in an instant.
This must surpass the Other Shore Realm… He understood that the human body held other secret realms beyond the “Wheel Sea.”
Hiss!
Something startling happened. That beam of light, before which sun, moon, and stars would have paled, dissolved into a wisp of smoke before the Sacred Maiden of Tianxuan — without harming her by so much as a hair.
Clang!
A metallic vibration rang out, and the purple-copper Eight Trigrams mirror tumbled to the ground. Jiang Hanzhong’s face went deathly pale, swaying on the verge of collapse — his divine power spring had once again run dry.
Whoosh!
Ji Yunfeng acted, the black peculiar stone in his grip. The Heavenly Net Umbrella surged from within his body — blotting out the sky, pressing toward the woman in a torrent of fierce wind, plunging sun and moon into darkness.
Boom!
The woman extended a single finger and tapped lightly. The enormous umbrella filling the sky was pierced through on the spot, its radiance dimming as it fell. Ji Yunfeng’s face went bloodless white, and his stooped, aged body stumbled backward step after step before dropping to a seat on the ground.
“Brother Xu, use your restricted implement quickly! Isn’t there divine power of your Yao Guang Sacred Ground’s Supreme Elder sealed within it — usable twice? Surely it can stand against her?” Ji Yunfeng urged anxiously.
A palm-sized green leaf appeared in Xu Daoling’s hands — like green jade, glittering with a crystalline luster, covered all over in Dao patterns. He held it between both palms and at once, endless dazzling spiritual radiance burst forth, transforming into a sea of green light that submerged the entire summit in an instant. The Sacred Maiden of Tianxuan was engulfed within it.
This terrifying energy was boundless and immeasurable — as if every star in the heavens had transformed into green radiance and rained down, setting all of heaven and earth to trembling. It sustained for a full quarter of an hour before the green light gradually dispersed.
Not far away, Ye Fan drew a sharp, startled breath.
The Sacred Maiden of Tianxuan had not moved a single step. She stood there ahead, undisturbed — even her white robes had not stirred — terrifying to the point of being demonic.
The three elders, their faces drained of color, exchanged a glance — and without a word reached for their restricted implements simultaneously, unleashing their most powerful divine arts in unison. The place erupted in ten thousand rays of light, energy piercing the very sky, divine power flooding outward, completely submerging the Sacred Maiden of Tianxuan.
Yet when the divine arts were spent and the radiance faded, the Sacred Maiden of Tianxuan still stood there whole and unharmed — not a single blow had touched her.
Crack!
The restricted implements of both Ji Yunfeng and Xu Daoling had nearly shattered, no longer usable. Their faces had gone ashen, deep lines carved into their skin — they had aged by decades in a single moment, their life force nearly spent.
Jiang Hanzhong, too, was decrepit and haggard. The brocade box in his hand had developed nine cracks. In this moment he gritted his teeth. “There is no other option.”
The brocade box shattered. In his hand there appeared an ancient pagoda — no bigger than a palm, its appearance dull and unremarkable. Yet in that same instant, a terrifying crushing force shook loose from it, far more violent than every surge of energy released before it combined.
It was as though it were an entire realm unto itself — not a small pagoda — as if it could hold all things within it, mountains and rivers alike.
“This is…” Xu Daoling’s clouded old eyes flashed with two streaks of strange light, his voice trembling: “It is said the Jiang Family has long been working to replicate the greatest treasure of the Eastern Wasteland — the Desolation Pagoda. Are you telling me you succeeded?”
“How could we possibly have succeeded? The Desolation Pagoda is singular and exists as long as the world exists — it cannot be copied. This is merely one of the inferior replicas we produced.” Jiang Hanzhong made no motion whatsoever. The inferior Desolation Pagoda replica rose into the air on its own, swiftly enlarging, pressing down toward the Sacred Maiden of Tianxuan to suppress her.
“This…” Ji Yunfeng drew a sharp breath. “Even an inferior replica is this terrifying, and in an ancient forbidden zone it remains unsuppressed and acts of its own will. The true Desolation Pagoda is beyond imagination.”
Jiang Hanzhong shook his head. “A pity it holds only enough force for a single strike. I can only hope it will temporarily suppress her and buy us some time.”
The replica Desolation Pagoda descended in the blink of an eye, shaking heaven and earth. The pagoda’s body was ancient and unadorned, the Dao resonance flowing through it, concentrating the “Great Force of Heaven and Earth.”
The Sacred Maiden of Tianxuan fell back swiftly — not daring to meet it head-on — but the ancient pagoda followed her like a shadow, and in the end it suppressed her in one blow.
Boom! A thunderous crash rang out. The sacred mountain shook. The replica Desolation Pagoda swiftly shrank back to the size of a palm and fell to the ground.
“Yes!” Xu Daoling burst out, shouting: “The Desolation Pagoda truly lives up to its name — even an inferior replica carries such terrifying suppressive force, and within the forbidden zone acts freely without restriction to subdue enemies. Truly remarkable!”
Ye Fan’s heart trembled with awe. The foundations of these ancient families were staggeringly deep — that they had replicated even an inferior version of the Desolation Pagoda and used it to suppress so terrifying an existence as a Desolation Slave left him utterly shaken.
“Quickly — we leave immediately. The Desolation Pagoda has only a single strike’s worth of force; it can suppress her for only a brief moment before it crumbles on its own.” Jiang Hanzhong shouted urgently.
“Truly just… an inferior replica.” Ji Yunfeng felt as though cold water had been poured over him.
“What are you still standing there for?! Go pick the divine medicine and then come down to meet us!” Xu Daoling roared at Ye Fan.
“To hell with you, old man — did you truly think you had me under your control?”
“You—” All three elders went rigid, not having expected the puppet brand to have had no effect at all.
Boom!
At that moment, the replica Desolation Pagoda suddenly shattered, and the Sacred Maiden of Tianxuan appeared on the spot, her presence subdued but intact.
“It’s over.” Jiang Hanzhong let out a bitter laugh.
In almost the same instant, his flesh withered and dried — and then dispersed into ash on the wind. In the next moment, both Ji Yunfeng and Xu Daoling simultaneously turned to dust as well — as though thousands upon thousands of years had passed through them in a breath.
In the same moment, at the foot of the sacred mountain, those aged mounted soldiers and the weakened beasts all had their flesh and blood wilt and dry — every one of them reduced to white bone.
Ye Fan’s spirit trembled. His body aged rapidly, the golden Bitter Sea surging with crashing waves — the divine spring flowing without cease, pouring out a steady stream of life essence — holding back the approach of death.
Is this ancient forbidden zone truly to be my grave? Ye Fan felt himself at his absolute limit of weakness. He burst forward up the sacred mountain at full speed — right now, only the sacred medicine and the divine spring could save him.
He had barely reached the summit when he found the Sacred Maiden of Tianxuan blocking his path. Her white robes swirled, her eyes clear as still water, her presence ethereal and luminous — as though there were life within her.
The ancient forbidden zone is truly this terrifying. The first time, we escaped with nothing but sheer luck… Ye Fan wanted to summon his own “Cauldron,” but found his divine power insufficient. In the end, gritting his teeth, he barely managed to bring forth the golden scripture. A flash of golden light cut toward the Sacred Maiden of Tianxuan.
Clang!
The Sacred Maiden of Tianxuan raised a finger and flicked it lightly, and the golden scripture tumbled to the ground. She was deeply drawn by the golden pages, and took it in hand.
Then the Sacred Maiden of Tianxuan drifted soundlessly to Ye Fan’s side, exuding an aura of piercing cold. She extended a slender, jade-like hand and reached toward Ye Fan’s Bitter Sea.
“You—” Ye Fan retreated, but could not evade at all. That crystalline hand — flawless and perfect, graceful and tender — sank into his body.
Ye Fan aged rapidly — in the blink of an eye, nothing but skin and bone, barely more than a skeleton. But at precisely that moment, the Sacred Maiden of Tianxuan let out a cry of extreme anguish. The green copper block at the base of Ye Fan’s Bitter Sea trembled ever so slightly — and she was struck as though by lightning, the golden scripture falling to the ground. She was blasted violently away and fell into the depths of the Ancient Abyss below.
“Even an inferior Desolation Pagoda replica could not suppress you — but my green copper block is its equal to the true Desolation Pagoda. So you thought you’d reach into it…” Ye Fan laughed bitterly. His life force was nearly spent, his flesh withered, and his wounds too drained to bleed — death was near. But he kept moving forward, swaying on unsteady legs, step by step.
In a haze of near-unconsciousness, he caught a fragrance — deep and refreshing, enough to saturate every fiber of his being. Several peculiar small trees grew ahead of him. He seemed to see a spring pool flowing and bubbling, and then — thud — he toppled headlong into it.