A fragment of corroded copper — thin as paper, mottled with green rust, engraved densely with tiny characters, emanating a mysterious qi like the traces of the Dao itself.
Duan De’s eyes instantly went wide, shooting out two terrifying beams of light. Like a ravenous wolf, he lunged forward and made a grab for the corroded copper.
Boom!
Ye Fan and the Barbarian moved almost simultaneously. At such close range, all three made physical contact, the impact producing a thunderous crash and sending the crow’s nest shaking violently.
Duan De let out a muffled grunt and staggered backward, both hands streaming blood. The webbing between thumb and forefinger on both hands had been split open, bright red blood welling up and flowing freely.
In this world, there were few who could match Ye Fan and the Barbarian in physical body. In such a confrontation, even a Sovereign Master of the divine dynasty arriving would come out worse for wear.
That Duan De’s hands were merely bleeding — and had not been reduced to pulp — was itself testament to his formidable power. His physical body was exceedingly solid.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Dongfang Ye glared at Duan De with wide eyes, and at this moment, he passed the corroded copper into Ye Fan’s hands.
“I only wanted to look at it.” Duan De, heedless of his injuries, was in a state of indescribable excitement, and still pressed forward recklessly.
His eyes, unwavering, were fixed upon the corroded copper fragment. His pupils ran deep, as though he wished to see straight through the green copper with a single gaze, nearly submerging his entire mind and spirit into it.
Perhaps others did not know, but Ye Fan understood clearly what was happening. Years ago, before the Demon Emperor’s tomb in the Eastern Wilderness, the world’s supreme treasure — a green copper block — had emerged. Unremarkable in appearance, Duan De had missed it and had suffered a wound to his heart ever since.
Now, with the Chubby Duan staring fixedly at the copper fragment, he was certainly thinking of much, and so he had seized it regardless, wanting to see for himself.
At the same time, Ye Fan’s heart also stirred. Could it be that this corroded copper was actually related to the green copper block within his body?
He held it in his hands and examined it carefully, while the Barbarian held the wolf fang club before him, watching Duan De with a ferocious glare, on strict guard.
“This is…” Ye Fan’s expression changed. Greatly startled, he stared at the dense tiny characters and furrowed his brow.
“What have you seen? Let me have a look!” Duan De’s breathing quickened.
“What does it say?” The Old Blind Man also pressed closer, very much eager, staring at this piece of green copper.
Jue Youqing also stepped forward, her beautiful eyes flowing with divine radiance, gazing at the ancient copper fragment covered in green rust, her face betraying puzzlement and bewilderment.
“I cannot read a single character.” Ye Fan said.
Everyone had been waiting for him to continue — no one had expected those words.
“Let me see.” The Old Blind Man and Duan De reached out at the same time. Dongfang Ye directly crossed his great club horizontally before them, blocking their way.
“Unless you are a creature of the Primordial Age, there is simply no possibility of recognizing these characters. This is the most ancient divine script.” Ye Fan shook his head.
By now, he had already determined that this copper fragment likely had no connection to the green copper within his body, as there had been no unusual resonance between them.
Moreover, he sensed from this piece of green copper a scorching heat like that of fire, carrying a nameless Dao resonance — entirely unlike that of the green copper within his body.
“This is…” At this point, Dongfang Ye no longer blocked them. The group examined it together, all staring at the copper fragment, looking at one another in speechless wonder.
This was divine script from the Primordial Age — a script once shared by all the ten thousand ancient clans, said to have been created by the gods of the time before the beginning. It was the most ancient of all writing, used universally across all races.
Duan De finally had the chance to touch the copper fragment and murmured, “It’s not green copper…”
He seemed somewhat distracted, and then his expression shifted to one of bitter grief. “Once, the world’s supreme treasure lay right before me, and I… damn it all… Sigh!”
“This chubby fellow has lost his mind!” The Barbarian curled his lip.
Ye Fan inwardly grumbled — this infuriating fatty had never let it go. It seemed that missing the green copper block back then had given him no small amount of trauma.
At this moment, the Old Blind Man’s eyes opened wide. Duan De had stopped grabbing for it, but now he himself wanted to make a move. Ye Fan vigilantly stepped back, refusing to let him examine it.
“I’m only looking — I won’t snatch it. Oh, and speaking of which, why do I find your face so familiar? You must be a customer of mine. I sold you a burial map once.”
Ye Fan rolled his eyes. “You old swindler — you said it was a one-of-a-kind copy, but you printed over a thousand. How many people have you cheated?!”
“Who’s cheating anyone? Genuine article, guaranteed — or how else would you have found this place?” The Old Blind Man haggled on, affecting the appearance of a man who was absolutely not a con artist.
Everyone fell silent. All the burial maps circulating in the world had been sold by him — one could say that everyone who had come here, save for a few major powers, was his customer.
Jue Youqing suddenly spoke: “Anything from before the Primordial Age that has survived intact to this day must have supreme divine markings engraved upon it. Otherwise, even the most peerless of rare treasures would have returned to dust and earth long ago.”
“This is Immortal Tear Green Gold!” Duan De came to a realization and extended his pair of chubby hands, wanting to grab for it again. The Old Blind Man was no exception.
Ye Fan was at a loss for words. These two were a match for the Dark Emperor — whenever a priceless treasure appeared, they both tried to rake it toward themselves.
“This is truly a piece of Immortal Tear Green Gold — the same divine material as the Immortal Tear Pagoda left behind by the Western Queen Mother, and it has supreme divine markings engraved upon it!”
They finally confirmed it. This corroded copper was extraordinary, and not nearly as shabby as it appeared on the surface.
“Damn it, what a wasteful fool — absolutely wasteful! Using Immortal Tear Green Gold to forge a single page of a book — how is anyone else supposed to feel? Even a Great Emperor might not be able to gather enough sacred objects to refine their own paramount sacred weapon!” Duan De cried out.
“Too extravagant. This is the legendary Immortal Tear Green Gold — in the present age, only Jade Pool possesses a single piece, which was forged into the Western Empress Pagoda. There is no other piece to be found anywhere.” The Old Blind Man also lamented with heartache.
Yet despite saying all of this, both of them continued pressing forward, silently committing the ancient divine characters on that page to memory.
There was no need to think further — everyone knew that whoever had dared to use Immortal Tear Green Gold as a writing surface to record these characters must have created something of incalculable worth. These words were absolutely extraordinary!
“Ow!”
“Damn it!”
Duan De and the Old Blind Man cursed simultaneously, feeling a sharp pain in their heads as they staggered backward, both their expressions turning to alarm.
“There are indeed supreme divine markings within this Immortal Tear Green Gold page. Committing these ancient characters to memory through divine sense is extremely difficult.” The two of them said this in unison.
Ye Fan stared at it for a long while but could not recognize a single character. Though he knew this was a page of immortal rarity, he could only stare blankly at something he could not read — there was simply nothing he could do.
“In the Western Desert, atop Mount Sumeru, there are those who can read the ancient divine script.” Jue Youqing spoke. She was serene and tranquil, her voice carrying a faint magnetism, pleasant and melodious to listen to.
Mount Sumeru — transcendent and apart from the world, unfathomably mysterious. Many believed that there might still be a living ancient Buddha there, and no one dared to trespass.
“When the opportunity arises, I will certainly go to Mount Sumeru to seek guidance.” Ye Fan said. For now, nothing could compel him to go there.
Even Shakyamuni had withdrawn from the Western Desert and become a figure of taboo. Ye Fan himself had also come from beyond the starry heavens — if the people of Mount Sumeru were to discover this, heaven only knew what would happen.
“Eventually, we’ll just abduct a Primordial creature and make them read it aloud.” Dongfang Ye said with unbridled boldness — treating the powerful ancient races as though they were mere chickens and ducks.
Ye Fan felt the green copper was far too rare to take shamelessly, and said, “This is too precious.”
“The sole sacred bone left behind when the ancient saint transformed into the Dao — forged through countless trials and tribulations, indestructible — one could say it concentrates the entirety of that saint’s mysteries, a supreme divine object without equal in the world. And yet you gave it to me without a moment’s hesitation. This piece of green copper — just take it.” Dongfang Ye said.
In the end, the two each kept their respective items, both satisfied and content, their hearts brimming with excitement.
“That wolf fang club will certainly one day be restored as a saint’s weapon — and it will surely be supremely powerful. After all, it has been fused with the full essence of a saint!” Duan De muttered.
“The Immortal Tear Green Gold page is full of uncertainty, but perhaps one day it will be possible to translate from it an immortal scripture!” The Old Blind Man cradled the divine egg and kept muttering to himself.
The five of them departed the crow’s nest. Fearing they might run into the grown Golden Crow, they made a swift escape and reappeared amid another mountain range.
“Another puddle — divine source liquid!” Duan De cried out in amazement and lunged forward. One had to say, this irritating fatty had quite the remarkable fortune.
This time, he had discovered a puddle roughly one foot square, also formed from divine source liquid. Divine light shimmered brilliantly, casting the surrounding ancient trees in a vivid jade green glow.
“So much divine source liquid — enough to coat an entire layer over my body! I’d wager it could seal me away for eight or ten thousand years. If sold to one of those sacred grounds, it would absolutely fetch a supreme king’s divine weapon in exchange!”
The Old Blind Man’s eyes went red with envy. “Didn’t you say you know the art of burial sites? Hurry up and figure out where that divine spirit was buried, so we can dig up that coffin. If we let those Sovereign Masters, demon masters, and divine monks get there first again, we’ll come away with nothing.”
Duan De calmed himself, staring out across this small world with a distant expression. “Why does it feel to me like every single spot here would make a good burial site? This place truly lives up to its name as an immortal burial ground.”
This small world was not large, but if every mountain had to be excavated, it would exhaust anyone.
Ye Fan stepped forward and used the Source Heaven Divine Art — reading the terrain, seeking the dragon vein, locking the cosmic pivot, and perceiving the workings of heaven — attempting to locate the immortal burial site.
“This world-within-a-world is even more profound than the immortal reclining figure map from outside!” He furrowed his brow, fixed his gaze on a ridge among the mountains, and said, “Look at that — doesn’t it resemble a fallen immortal’s corpse?”
Everyone looked closely. The more they observed, the more uncannily similar it appeared. Lush shrubs, spiritual waterfalls cascading down like spilled blood — it looked exactly like an immortal lying prostrate in death, fallen among the mountains.
“The burial must be there!”
Ye Fan provided the grand terrain map, and Duan De quickly made his deductions. Next came the matter of how to locate the tomb chamber.
The five of them were invigorated. They called forth the Star River, which transformed into a rushing waterfall, leaping over the mountains and bringing them before this eerie mountain ridge, where they came to a halt.
“It looks as though a heavenly scar has been embedded here!” The Old Blind Man drew a sharp breath.
The shape of this mountain range was exceedingly strange — resembling a fallen immortal’s corpse, yet it pulsed with the qi of the Heavenly Dao. The moment one drew close, it was as though someone could be heard reciting an ancient scripture.
The great resonance of the Dao was vast and mysterious, as though falling from the nine heavens, drilling ceaselessly into one’s ears — yet not a single person could make out the words, which was deeply vexing.
“Truly a place of ineffable mystery.” Jue Youqing spoke, the Bodhi Branch in her hand flowing with green mist.
“While those Sovereign Masters, demon masters, and divine monks are still searching in other areas, let us hurry in and secure the immortal burial before they do.” Dongfang Ye urged them on.
Duan De circled around the mountain ridge once, then climbed atop a withered cliff and said, “This mountain absolutely cannot be approached by force — doing so will certainly bring lethal disaster. We must enter from here.”
On the withered cliff was an ancient cave — precisely the mouth of the immortal lying prostrate on the ground — leading down into the depths of the earth vein.
The moment they entered the cave, everyone’s expression changed. Their divine power was severely suppressed, and a supreme imposing pressure transmitted from deep within the earth vein, making them feel as though they might collapse to their knees at any moment.
“An aura on par with an ancient Great Emperor — similar to the sensation of a paramount sacred weapon reawakening!”
Ye Fan had experienced the great battle at the Northern Region’s Divine City. At that time, someone had attempted to slay Jiang Shenwang, and even paramount sacred weapons had been borrowed for the purpose. He had personally witnessed the awakening of two paramount weapons, which had nearly annihilated everything within countless tens of thousands of li.
“There must be an ancient divine spirit’s corpse here!” When it came to the study of burial sites, the Chubby Duan was a true authority, and he delivered this judgment with confidence.
“A divine spirit — all manner of signs suggest one truly may exist in this world. Are we about to witness it?” The Old Blind Man muttered.
The notion of a divine spirit had already appeared. If no divine being was buried here, it would simply be impossible to explain. Everyone was brimming with excitement — perhaps they were about to bear witness to a divine miracle!