Too ancient — even the mythic altar had weathered away, cracks and broken lines layered atop one another, leaving behind a mottled, time-worn ruin, nearly destroyed by the ages.
Ye Fan had already departed, yet the more than a dozen kinds of ancient blood still flowed, sending forth the most terrifying fluctuations across the Corpse-Prostration Chart, divine radiance like a sea, thunder and lightning crashing.
Strange phenomena erupted across this place. Within the Corpse-Prostration Chart lay god and demon after god and demon, forming the altar, and now the light blazed forth violently, blood rain poured down, and a yin wind howled with fury.
From this place came all manner of ghostly wails and divine howls, the Corpse-Prostration Chart turning as if a true kingdom of gods and demons had descended upon the world.
The ancient altar actively absorbed the dozen-plus strongest bloods of antiquity, and among the mythic ancients engraved upon it, some resonated with the ancient blood, growing extremely blazing, rumbling and shaking, as if about to be revived, about to walk out from the stone wall!
This was a strange omen, truly shocking to witness.
No one knew how much time passed before the place grew calm again, returning to the long-standing tranquility of ages past — cold, deserted, without a single sound remaining.
The universe stretched vast and boundless, dark and cold. Ye Fan and his companions pressed deep into an ancient domain, a place utterly lifeless, without the faintest trace of vital fluctuation, as though they had trespassed into an ancient forbidden zone of life that had lain desolate for endless ages.
It was too silent, beyond imagination! One could clearly hear the sound of one’s own blood striking against the vessel walls within the body, and the various organs pulsing, like drumbeats in the ear.
Ye Fan and the others stood within the darkness, all on guard. It was too dark — not even starlight could be seen, pitch black, unable to see one’s own hand before one’s face.
At this moment, only intuition could be relied upon; the eyes had lost their function. Wisps of golden divine radiance spread outward from Ye Fan’s body, probing in all directions.
Thud, thud…
A massive heartbeat sound came drifting over, as though some giant who had once split open the heavens lay fallen here, deep in slumber.
Pang Bo, Long Ma, and the others stood together, feeling this was beyond comprehension — that within this boundless darkness, such a rhythm should exist was truly uncanny.
Threads of golden light seeped from Ye Fan’s flesh, reaching toward the endless, distant depths of darkness — this was the manifestation of spiritual perception, reaching without limit.
Especially at his brow, a vertical eye appeared — the strongest Heavenly Eye that had emerged after the treasure within his body had opened — shooting out a blazing beam of light, gazing far across the universe.
“That is…”
Ye Fan’s expression changed at once. Ahead lay a colossal corpse, fully tens of thousands of zhang in length, and that thudding fluctuation originated from precisely that place.
“Too terrifying — could that be the sound of his heartbeat?” Once Pang Bo and the others adjusted, their spiritual perception spread nearly to its limit, searching in all directions, and they beheld this enormous ancient corpse.
He was so towering, truly shocking to behold. One had to understand this was no mere manifestation of Dharma image across heaven and earth, nor any illusion, but a true physical body.
This had been left behind who knew how many years ago. The entire corpse was ice-cold, drifting through the desolate universe, still emanating an aura that made one tremble.
“Impossible. Look at his attire — at the very least this is a being from before the Primordial Era. How could there still be the sound of a heartbeat?!” Even Long Ma felt uneasy, his heart pounding.
Splash!
Suddenly, a fluctuation that seemed to tear heaven and earth apart came sweeping in swiftly, turning this place extremely dangerous, like surging waves crashing against a shore, dragging that enormous corpse toward the darkest place.
Ye Fan and the others’ bodies also lost control, hurtling forward. There seemed to be a great maelstrom there, swallowing heaven and earth, seeking to draw in all matter.
They finally saw clearly — they stood at the edge of a colossal black hole, about to be pulled in. A scorching heat burned at their bodies, seeking to decompose and smelt them.
“Retreat now!”
Ye Fan took the lead, rushing toward the distance. Such a colossal black hole devoured all things, destroyed everything, and radiated the power of an ancient god or demon.
That colossal corpse, tens of thousands of zhang long, sank soundlessly into the black hole, its posture unchanged from ancient times, as if still deep in slumber.
Thud, thud…
The terrifying heartbeat sound continued to ring out, leaving one bewildered — could it be that life truly remained?
“Rise!” At the final critical moment, Ye Fan and the others burst free from the black hole’s edge, reaching a sufficiently safe zone. He circulated the Word of Soldier mystic technique, binding that enormous corpse, hoping to bring it out along with them.
Unfortunately, they were ultimately a step too late. Most of it fell into the universe’s maelstrom, swallowed by boundless darkness, impossible to see — only a single arm flew free.
The colossal corpse had, in truth, long since been torn into pieces. In that distant past, before his death, he had forcibly bound the various severed portions of his torso back together.
Thud, thud…
“Perhaps it isn’t his heart. In a moment of daze I glimpsed a divine drum resonating on its own within his body,” Ye Fan explained.
Long Ma, the Golden Lion, the Nine-Tailed Crocodile Dragon, the Scorpion, the Black Bear Saint, and the others swarmed forward together, surrounding that arm several thousand zhang in length.
Back then, this ancient body had been dismembered by someone — a single sword strike had severed this very arm. The cut end was smooth and even, and even now, threads of sword-intent still burst forth from it.
This was shocking. At the very least, this had been a battle from before the Primordial Era, and even now the order of the Dao Laws had not yet fully dissipated — leaving people wide-eyed with astonishment.
This had been a Grand Sage — of what race, none could say — supremely powerful, one who might have back then glimpsed the threshold of the Quasi-Emperor rank. Otherwise the corpse could not have endured to this day.
So many long ages had passed, and yet the life essence within his body had not yet fully dissipated. Clearly this had been an extraordinary figure, one who had cultivated a secret method to fuse together his four dismembered limbs and torso, sealing the essence-blood within his body.
At the very least a million years had passed. Though much of its essence had leaked away, the essence-blood within remained stronger than that of most Saints, comparable to the peak of a Saint King.
“We’ve struck gold! An arm like this, its blood domineering beyond measure, its life essence at the peak of Saint King — more than enough for us to refine the ancient blood!”
Long Ma, the Black Bear Saint, and the others cried out, each one immensely excited.
The twelve Saints walked the same path, tempering their own essence-blood, some evolving toward the true dragon, others toward their own ancient ancestors — for them this was a blessing and a great opportunity.
Over the following months, tribulation lightning struck without cease. That colossal arm, several thousand zhang long, contained far too much essence-blood — speculated to perhaps belong to a divine or demonic mutant species.
The twelve Saints reaped enormous benefit from it!
This was merely an interlude. They had now formally entered the mythic ancient road, exploring within this desolate universe, seeking the Nine-Layered Coffin of the Mythic Era, searching for the Ancient Tree of Life.
But the universe was simply too vast. Searching as they were, they were like a few grains of dust drifting in a vast ocean — it was truly difficult to comb through the entire ancient domain.
Unless an ancient Great Emperor were to be reborn, any individual was simply too insignificant compared to a star region.
This was a desolate world. From beginning to end, let alone the Ancient Tree of Life — even the Mulberry Ancients, Earth Corpses, Saint Spirits, Gold-Devouring Beasts, and Divine Races were nowhere to be found. A great many cultivators had come pledging allegiance to them, and none of these, either, showed any trace.
Ye Fan grew somewhat uneasy, fearing something might go wrong. They had arrived in the mythic ancient domain for several months now, yet had not encountered so much as a single living creature.
“Eh, a colossal stele, towering into the universe — how could it be so enormous!”
On this day, they finally made a startling discovery. Ahead in the starry expanse stood a colossal stone stele, simply beyond description as magnificent — not ten zhang, not a hundred, not a thousand, but tens of thousands of li in height!
It rivaled an ancient star, even surpassing many planets in size, standing there like a boundary marker, magnificent yet primordial in simplicity.
Upon it were ancient characters. Even after countless ages, they still carried a resonance of the Great Dao’s ancient charm, stirring something within all who beheld them.
This was a boundary stele, bearing a solemn warning upon it: ahead lay the Mythic Ancient Hunting Ground, home to numerous terrifying creatures. Crossing the boundary risked mortal calamity.
“What ancient primordial divine script — I understand now. To be precise, this should be the ancient script of the Mythic Era, called Divine Script for short,” Ye Fan murmured, staring at the ancient characters on the boundary stele.
They stepped into this ancient domain, and at once sensed an unusual atmosphere — no longer so desolate, but carrying faint threads of living fluctuation.
“Could it be… could there be a living ancient star here?” Pang Bo grew excited.
However, after advancing some distance further, their expressions abruptly changed. There truly was living fluctuation here, but it was no living star at all — it was severed arms, remnant limbs, and vast expanses of bloodstains.
A massacre had taken place here, with large numbers of cultivators annihilated, and not long ago — likely within the past half month.
“So many long ages have passed, and yet creatures still remain in the Mythic Hunting Ground. What manner of things are they — do they simply lurk in the starry void at all times?!” The Golden Lion felt puzzled.
“Be careful. This ancient hunting ground is truly uncanny. Powerful living beings dwell here — perhaps they have already sensed our arrival,” Ye Fan warned.
“It’s here — this thing has caught the scent of our blood!” the Black Bear Saint roared, warning the others.
Right in his direction, a beam of silver light came rushing in swiftly, like a python, yet also like a great white shark, tearing through the universe, leaving behind a trail of blazing white light as it charged forward.
It opened its bloody maw wide, revealing a mouthful of snow-white teeth, each like a razor-sharp blade, each over a meter long, chillingly cold.
This turned out to be a creature part fish, part python, its entire body covered in silver-white scales, gleaming with radiance, more than a dozen zhang in length, its bloody stench overwhelming.
Boom!
Pang Bo struck out, a single palm-strike shattering the creature, splattering flesh and blood everywhere. But he quickly paled — in the distance, dense and countless, silver light flashing, a whole swarm of terrifying fish-pythons came rushing in.
“This is truly bizarre — this is a starry void with no grass, no trees, so how could such a powerful swarm of creatures exist here? Truly worthy of being called the Mythic Ancient Hunting Ground!” Ye Fan frowned, an uneasy feeling stirring within him.
It was much like a school of piranhas — one alone meant nothing, but so many, given enough time, could absolutely pose a real threat.
“Let’s go!”
They fled the area, transforming into beams of light rushing into the distance, while behind them the silver scales blanketed the starry sky, blotting it out, pursuing them relentlessly.
Half a month later, Pang Bo, the Black Bear Saint, the Scorpion, and the others were cursing nonstop. Those silver creatures had truly been among the gentlest they’d encounter — deeper within the ancient hunting ground they had met far more terrifying creatures, forced to fight for their lives every single day.
In just half a month, their group had clashed with at least several dozen kinds of formidable ancient creatures — by comparison, those earlier silver fish were nothing at all.
“Careful, several crocodile-sharks have appeared!” Ye Fan warned.
Several colossal beasts appeared, each one hideous in appearance, their bodies covered densely in grim, blue-gold scaled armor, bloodlust surging to the heavens, possessing the bodies of crocodiles and the heads of sharks, scales packed densely, cold light flashing.
These particular ones were especially powerful, having reached the Saint King realm, and stood several minor realms above Ye Fan and his companions.
Ye Fan and the others felt no fear, but dared not grow careless either. In this place, bloodshed had to be avoided — killing even a single creature would inevitably draw countless ancient beasts through the scent of blood.
“That’s odd — this is a desiccated star region, with no living ancient star. How do the creatures here survive, where do they come from?” Pang Bo wondered, puzzled.
“Let’s leave this place first and discuss it later,” Ye Fan said. Within the Mythic Ancient Hunting Ground, the best choice was to avoid killing entirely — otherwise the ancient creatures drawn out would only grow ever more terrifying.
On one occasion, they had all sensed the aura of a Grand Sage — the “King” of this ancient domain. Should they truly collide with it, there would certainly be great trouble.
Rumble!
In the distance, several black creatures appeared, each fully two thousand zhang in length, shaped like orcas, yet clad in scales gleaming with an inky sheen, their killing intent even more intense.
“Damn it, have we entered some ocean region, or are we still in the universe?” Pang Bo cursed.
“Kill!…”
Eight or nine days later, they had pressed deeper still, frequently encountering ancient creatures, great battles never ceasing. And at this very moment, they heard battle cries shaking the heavens — they had discovered a large group of cultivators locked in fierce combat against various beasts.
“Ahh…”
“No!”
Splat!
Blood sprayed and splattered, screams echoing endlessly — this was a great melee, all manner of ancient beasts on the rampage.
An ancient Saint King with the body of a dragon and the head resembling a tiger shark, its entire body radiating an inky sheen, was bathing the region in blood, having slaughtered numerous powerful figures — the dead all cultivators who had entered the mythic ancient domain from the Golden City.
“The Blood Beast — this fellow has run into a ruthless opponent, being pursued by a Heavenly King-class fish-python!” Pang Bo laughed loudly.
In the distance, the Blood Beast, among the young supreme talents, had run into great trouble — pursued relentlessly by a silver fish-python at the peak of Saint King, nearly reaching Grand Accomplishment, fully five thousand zhang in length.
“The Earth Corpse is here too, blocked by a Dark Tortoise, unable to break free,” Ye Fan said, his gaze sharp.
A Black Tortoise, massive like a small mountain, bore groove after groove upon its black shell, resembling the Eight Trigrams, casting forth threads of divine radiance, its Dao cultivation unfathomably deep, nearly pinning the Earth Corpse in place.
The two clashed fiercely; even the Earth Corpse, powerful as it was, could only fight the Dark Tortoise to an even standoff, utterly unable to kill it.
“The Divine Race has arrived too!” Long Ma said, his gaze fixed on another direction.
There, Shen Lan glowed with light across her entire body, fighting bloody battles against numerous ancient beasts, corpses littering the ground beneath her feet, the tragic, beautiful blood-blossoms only setting off her transcendent bearing all the more, as though a goddess had descended into the mortal world.
Rumble!
Ye Fan and the others were also struck by the shockwaves — being so close to this battlefield, it was impossible to avoid becoming targets of the assault. A giant python, as thick as a mountain ridge, hissing softly as it spat its forked tongue, coiled around a colossal meteor, gazing down upon them, its aura terrifying — undoubtedly among the finest of Saint Kings.
“That’s odd — even granting this is the hunting ground of the mythic ancient domain, there shouldn’t be this many living creatures. Across these long ages, what have they survived on?”
“Humans — do you people also seek to reach the Mythic Far Shore?” the colossal python demanded, its voice stern and dignified.
“We don’t understand what you’re saying. We’re merely passing through — we have no wish to fight you,” Pang Bo bellowed loudly, unwilling to be dragged into a bloody battle.
“Something truly big has come — that’s a Grand Sage, surely the King of this ancient hunting ground!” Long Ma cried out, sensing a terrifying aura.
Earlier, they had very nearly collided with it, only narrowly avoiding it.
At this moment, directly ahead, the heavens split and the earth cracked. Countless ancient beasts retreated, clearing a path, and an ancient flood-dragon appeared — only a single zhang in length, yet possessing a terrifying dignity. It stood upon the head of a beast several thousand zhang long, emanating power that could overwhelm heaven itself.
“The Four Young Lords of the Golden Snake are in serious trouble now!” Pang Bo said.
The four young lords of the Golden Snake Clan were simply too powerful — they had slaughtered their way through, leaving a sea of blood and mountains of bone, and as a result had drawn the attention of the King of this ancient hunting ground!