Green jade mountain grapes, golden essence fruits, fire phoenix fruits red as carnelian — cluster after cluster, orb after orb, fruit after fruit hung from jade-green branches.
A gentle breeze drifted by, carrying waves of enticing fragrance that intoxicated the senses. Ahead lay a lake of crystalline clarity, and nearby the earth was covered with spiritual trees, the air fragrant with the scent of spiritual medicines.
This was a land of purity, saturated everywhere with the essence of heaven and earth. Many of the precious medicines here were of considerable age, and the atmosphere was serene and tranquil.
Yet living beings were scarcely to be found. Ye Fan had arrived in this strange world half an hour ago, and had yet to encounter a single competitor.
They had set out from the first checkpoint of the Human Race, the five-colored altar having transported them to this vibrant and teeming world, where rare and precious natural treasures were strewn across the ground.
“Something’s off. I thought we’d be bathed in blood and beset by enemies on all sides — how is it we haven’t seen so much as a single feather?” Long Ma was suspicious.
He grabbed a cluster of golden fruits with one bite, letting fragrant juice spray in all directions as he began eating heartily, having detected not the slightest trace of danger.
Was this an ancient life-bearing star? Ye Fan did not know. He attempted to rise into the sky, but the moment he reached mid-air, a force of oppression descended upon him — even someone as powerful as he could not break free of the constraint.
This ancient land held sealing formations of unparalleled strength, specifically designed to hold back sage-kings. One could only imagine what situation the trial participants would find themselves in — the overwhelming majority would almost certainly be unable to soar into the high sky.
Finding no adversaries and no powerful living beings to speak of, Ye Fan and Long Ma advanced cautiously, one step at a time, searching for a way forward.
According to what the Escorting Envoy had said, this place was the bridge connecting them to the next sacred city of the Human Race further along. The only way to reach it was to fight through.
There were no birds, no insects — only dense and flourishing vegetation. It resembled an untouched primordial ancient star awaiting exploration: an ideal paradise to many.
“Something isn’t right. It’s impossible for there to be no living creatures here. We’ve most likely wandered into some kind of special location.” Ye Fan murmured to himself.
Long Ma startled, then said: “Back in my days, no living creature dared approach within a hundred li of my Fire Dragon Cave.”
“That being so, some powerful entity may have settled here, and we’ve walked into its territory.” Ye Fan’s heart gave a start.
The two of them immediately became cautious, advancing through the lush and verdant ancient land for more than six hundred li — when suddenly they heard a strange sound.
They hid to the side, and to their astonishment, they saw a radiant and gleaming carriage passing through the air — dazzling to the eye.
What puzzled them was that the carriage was not large — barely over a foot in height, crafted from fine jade, with even the horses that pulled it made of the same material.
“What kind of treasure is this?” Long Ma was eager, wanting to intercept it — for he sensed a quality of sacred power emanating from it.
He suspected this could not be a real carriage in the conventional sense, but rather a kind of spiritual artifact. Otherwise it was simply too small — passing through the air like a shooting star, its radiance brilliant and resplendent.
“Something’s off. These horses are running — this is no inanimate object.” Ye Fan was surprised, and then suddenly opened his Heavenly Eye wide.
Sacred beings!
His shock was great. As the carriage drew near from a distance, he could see it for what it was: a stone horse, with a stone figure seated within the carriage. Both were translucent and crystalline throughout, radiating powerful sacred might — absorbing and exhaling the essence of heaven and earth.
When Long Ma heard this, his scalp immediately prickled with alarm. If they were sacred beings, how fearsome would they be? These were creatures that could stand as enemies to the great emperors of antiquity.
A grave expression settled over Ye Fan’s face. The space between his brows glowed with a faint light, as threads of divine markings emerged, helping him sense the strange carriage ahead.
“These are not sacred beings — not stone-born creatures. They are merely divine jade that has attained spiritual awareness, taking the form of human and horse.” His concern eased.
Long Ma let out a long breath. If they had truly been facing a sacred being, forget the two of them — even if every powerhouse on the entire ancient road of the starry sky attacked together, they would all be wiped out. It could not be stopped.
“At last, a living thing.” Long Ma wanted to charge over and intercept it, to get to the bottom of the matter.
But before he could act, a dignified voice issued from within the carriage: “Who has trespassed into the forbidden grounds of the medicine garden?”
Boom!
In an instant, a vast expanse of green radiance came crashing down like an ocean wave — sacred power surging. A sage was among them.
Long Ma cursed. This creature less than a foot in height was absurdly powerful — it launched an attack first and asked questions later.
Long Ma let out a roar that shattered the surrounding mountains, sending many ancient medicines disintegrating into ash. He reared up on his hooves and charged forward, intent on doing battle with the strange carriage.
“Outrageous! You dare to destroy my medicine garden — I will not spare you!” The owner of the carriage was furious. His entire body was emerald-green and crystalline, and with a clear cry he opened his mouth and expelled a swath of starry river purple sand — a supreme treasure used in the forging of artifacts by the most extraordinary figures.
The starry river purple sand transformed into a field of stars — each one ancient and vast, immeasurable in size — rapidly filling heaven and earth, transforming the space into a cosmos in its own right.
The verdant mountain ridges, the sweeping waterfalls, the crystalline lake — all vanished. All that remained were purple planets orbiting in every direction, enclosing Ye Fan and Long Ma within them.
“What in the blazes have we stumbled into — how are we already stirring up a powerful ancient sage the moment we arrive?” Long Ma muttered curses under his breath.
Ye Fan’s expression was grave. This was no ordinary sage — someone who could raise his hand and summon starry river purple sand was certainly a sovereign figure of great renown.
He held the dark-gold long spear, its black lance-tip flickering with cold and dim black light, and thrust forward — breaking through the technique directly with divine power.
Boom!
One of the stars exploded, purple energy steaming upward, making this man-made cosmic star river even more nebulous and indistinct.
“I have no desire to be your enemy, but if you do not relent, do not blame me for showing no mercy.” Ye Fan said in a calm, steady voice. Holding the heavy black long spear in both hands, he slowly began to swing it — as if he sought to wield the celestial framework itself. The entire purple star domain rumbled and shook.
“Trial participants again. How loathsome you humans are!” The voice of the carriage’s owner was indifferent, his mood foul.
Yet he did not continue his assault. He withdrew the starry river purple sand — the vast field of purple planets all vanished — and once more, towering mountain ranges and the like materialized.
“This is my medicine garden. You barged in without ceremony.”
Ye Fan and Long Ma were taken aback. The area through which they had traveled stretched several hundred li — and it was merely a single medicine garden? Truly vast beyond astonishment.
“In these past several decades, I have lost count of how many batches of trial participants I have seen. I am utterly sick of it.” The manner of the small jade figure within the carriage was thoroughly disagreeable.
Long Ma said: “I say, little sprite — why are you carrying such a massive grievance? We don’t even know what’s going on yet, and you already despise us this much.”
“Go to hell… #$%#$%!” The jade figure in the carriage erupted, unleashing a torrent of abuse, cursing Long Ma up one side and down the other.
“I have cultivated the Dao for thousands of years. And you — a mere broken horse — dare to call me a little sprite?!”
“You are both going to die. You have offended me, and I will never tell you how to reach the second checkpoint.”
Ye Fan was at a momentary loss as well. After quite a long interval, the hot-tempered little jade figure finally calmed down.
Long Ma hung his head in defeat — there was nothing to be done. It appeared this small figure was responsible for sending them on their way — he was a guide, one part of the trial.
“We were battling the powerful figures of the Human Race on the ancient road of the starry sky and were defeated, then imprisoned here. But we are no servants.”
So there was a hidden story. Regrettably, the Escorting Envoy of the first city of the Human Race was far too irresponsible — he had explained nothing at all, leaving them still confused even now.
“Can you tell us what we are meant to do here, and how to make our way to the next sacred city on the trial’s ancient road?” Ye Fan asked.
The small figure stepped out of the carriage, his mood thoroughly unpleasant. “That bastard in the first city of the Human Race is so obsessed with his cultivation he’s nearly lost his mind. He refuses to manage a single thing — and matters of this sort fall to me to explain.”
He raged about the Escorting Envoy in a string of curses, and finally said with ill-concealed irritation: “This is a blood-soaked killing ground. All who have walked the ancient road of cultivation are enemies to one another. You understand what needs to be done. Beyond that — seek out the elusive Source of the Dao wherever you can find it, and use it to strengthen yourself.”
The small figure formed from the divine jade of the Nine Heavens Azure Void was irritable and gave only a brief explanation without going into detail. Yet Ye Fan understood the broad outline of it — this was an exceptionally important place.
Killing in every direction, battling against competitors — that was not the core of it. The true objective was to strengthen oneself. There existed something called the Source of the Dao, and it seemed to have a profound influence on the future.
“The Source of the Dao is vanishingly rare across countless ages. You have come too late. Over these past several decades, someone has already succeeded in claiming part of it — and once they undergo their tribulation and achieve fusion with it, they will likely be invincible under the heavens.”
Ye Fan and Long Ma were shaken. The more they heard, the more they grasped the importance of the Source of the Dao — it was truly something to inspire dread.
It seemed to be connected to crossing heavenly tribulations — a supreme immortal object for enhancing one’s potential and cultivation. As for its precise effects, only by obtaining it could one truly know.
“Go then. The Source of the Dao is of utmost importance. You may begin fighting now. The larger the territory you hold, the greater your chance of finding it.”
“We need to claim territory?” Ye Fan was puzzled.
The small figure formed from the Nine Heavens Azure Void divine jade waved his hand impatiently, gesturing for them to leave quickly. He said there were at least dozens of battlefields outside, and that once they had fought through them, they would understand.
“The Source of the Dao is vanishingly rare across countless ages — you are unlikely to obtain it. As for this thing… even the most inferior quality of it is enough to allow a person to attain the position of Heavenly King in the future.”
The emerald small figure spoke one last disdainful sentence, then set off on his way. Imprisoned here and made to serve the Human Race — it filled him with deep resentment.
“Damn it, I want to eat that Escorting Envoy alive. Something this important and he didn’t say a word,” Long Ma was nearly beside himself.
“I suspect that throughout all of history, only a handful of people have ever obtained the Source of the Dao. Otherwise, why would he not mention it?” Ye Fan reflected, then said.
“Even so, we can’t give up. Let’s go look at once — I never imagined this would be such a heaven-defying place, with a transcendent immortal object like this.” Long Ma was already unable to sit still.
They shot out like a bolt of lightning toward the distance. Half an hour later they broke out of that mountain range and arrived at an open expanse of land.
“Kill—!”
“Boom!”
What they saw with their own eyes shook them. It resembled an ancient battlefield of gods and demons from the earliest ages — battle cries filled every direction, powerful artifacts flew through the air, enormous banners flapped and cracked, savage beasts thundered in their charge, trampling the sky to pieces.
A mass of flowing light came crashing down — an enormous meteorite — which nearly flattened Long Ma on the spot. The earth shook and rumbled as a massive crater was blasted into existence.
“What in damnation — what place have we landed in?!” Long Ma was jumping with fury.
The moment they arrived they were already under attack. This place seemed to have few unskilled fighters — artifacts and divine light flew in every direction, every strike enough to level mountains and drain rivers.
“You must be trial participants of the Human Race. This place may contain the Source of the Dao — help our Nine Heavens Kingdom claim this territory, and when the time comes we will split it equally.”
A small figure radiating purple light all over came flying toward them, barely a foot in height — this was a life-form born from the Purple Flame Divine Jade of the Nine Heavens divine jade lineage.
Ye Fan found the whole thing uncanny. He had just encountered a creature born from the Azure Void Divine Jade of the Nine Heavens lineage, and now here was another one.
This one, however, was only a half-sage — far less powerful than the previous entity — but these were all divine materials, and they had all attained spiritual awareness.
From the tone of its words, the living beings born from the Nine Heavens Divine Jade had formed a kingdom here. It was truly beyond comprehension.
“Our adversaries are the Spirit Kingdom. There are also the Demon Kingdom, the Divine Kingdom, and other powers. If you join us, we will share the Source of the Dao — far fairer than those greedy forces.”
“We are not yet clear on the situation,” Ye Fan said.
“The opportunity is rare. It is said that throughout all of history, only thirty kinds of Source of the Dao have ever come into being — though some say forty-nine kinds. Most have already been claimed by the people of antiquity, and what remains is scarce and rare.”
Several small figures born from divine jade surrounded them, trying to persuade him to join. Just a short while ago, a powerful individual had sensed traces of the Source of the Dao beneath this battlefield — and so the great battle had erupted.
The reason these non-human races were willing to endure imprisonment here was also because they hoped to obtain the legendary Source of the Dao. Over the years, they had often cooperated with Human Race trial participants.
“Over these past several decades, transcendent trial participants have succeeded in obtaining the Source of the Dao — an event rare in all of history! It signals that one has received the approval of heaven and earth, and that they may one day attain the Dao through it. If you fail to obtain it, you will have absolutely no hope of contending with them on the road ahead.”