Chapter 1253: Forbidden Zone

The mountains trembled, startling all the beasts, which turned into a torrent fleeing through the mountain range. Flocks of birds spread their wings and soared into the distant sky. They were terrified by the aura Ye Fan emitted, most of them collapsing onto the ground and trembling incessantly.

A moment later, Ye Fan regained his composure, his vital energy contained, his mind and body feeling ethereal as he strolled through the mountains.

He recognized the "Great Dao of Nature" and the "Marvelous Scripture of Dao Construction" as an unparalleled legacy, even though it was not his own path.

Ye Fan found it difficult to fully embrace this path, but he deeply understood it was an epic immortal text for Dao construction, offering countless insights.

To complete the trial and forge his own path, he diligently comprehended it for three days and three nights before finally getting up and leaving.

The thirty-sixth zone was already deserted; the middle-aged Taoist nun and twenty-two others, a total of twenty-three people, had been wiped out by Ye Fan. No outsiders had since set foot there.

The thirty-seventh zone was also quiet; with the defeat of Mountain Lord Junwei and his four companions, no other contenders appeared. Ye Fan roamed between the two zones, finding no opponents.

"A 50,000-year-old 'Little King'!" the Dragon Horse exclaimed, extremely satisfied as it bit off half a stalk, as if it were just cabbage. If others had seen it, they would have been heartbroken and cursed its wastefulness.

Many things on Saintfall Island were ancient, but those reaching tens of thousands of years were rare, as a group of people passed through every ten thousand years.

In the following days, Ye Fan began to cross realms; his figure appeared in both the five left and five right realms. He was laden with shackles weighing millions of pounds, as if forged from blood-god iron, gleaming astonishingly.

Finally, he set his sights on the central forbidden area and advanced with the Dragon Horse, where sacred beasts roared and blood-red light soared into the sky.

Saintfall Island has fifty zones in total. The first forty-nine zones are trial grounds, while the last is unique, located at the island's center and connected to every other zone. The Grand Commander had warned trial participants not to approach this area, stating it was unnecessary and they only needed to comprehend what was in the first forty-nine zones.

Legend has it that the central area is a forbidden zone where even ancient saints would likely perish; it has always been a burial ground for powerful individuals.

Ye Fan and the Dragon Horse advanced, encountering no danger along the way until they neared the area and sensed an ominous aura.

Black clouds surged, and a massive mountain ahead soared into the sky, as if piercing the cosmos. Terrifying, pterosaur-like creatures could be seen flapping their wings.

Yet that was merely a fierce bird, capable of tearing apart many trial participants, but not at the top of the food chain. Faced with powerful auras, it trembled.

What exactly was in the central forbidden zone that attracted a group of powerful beings to inhabit it, refusing to leave? There had to be some secret.

Ye Fan eventually entered and immediately felt an unspeakable murderous intent, as if emanating from eons ago.

The Dragon Horse followed behind, feeling a bit uneasy, as it soon discovered a sacred beast watching them from a distant ancient forest.

They had only just entered and already seen a sacred beast; heaven knew how terrifying the most powerful beings here truly were.

*Clatter, clatter.*

The Dragon Horse stepped on a skull as large as a stone mill. It appeared to be hundreds of thousands of years old, yet it still hadn't completely decayed.

"A sacred bone, and it doesn't belong to a human," the Dragon Horse muttered to itself. "A fierce battle must have taken place here in the past!"

"This mountain is a bit strange," Ye Fan said, surprised and uncertain.

There was a mountain ahead, not very tall, but a considerably grim aura emanated from it. The vegetation on it was sparse, consisting entirely of ancient yin wood.

It had very little soil, its entire body was greyish-white and looked very steep. When touched, it emitted crisp sounds.

"No, this is a tooth, not a mountain peak!" Ye Fan finally realized. This "short mountain" was hundreds of feet tall and made of tooth material.

This was simply astounding. How enormous must the creature have been, for a single tooth to be comparable to a mountain sitting here? How massive would its main body be?

At this moment, they finally understood why this place was called Saintfall Island. The battle from back then must have been world-shaking, resulting in the deaths of many saints.

"Another sacred beast!" the Dragon Horse warned softly.

A pangolin, lead-grey all over and only a dozen zhang long, pierced through a rocky mountain and disappeared ahead.

*Clang, clang, clang...*

Suddenly, Ye Fan and his companion were attacked. As they stepped into a swamp, streaks of sword light erupted—this was saint-level power. Withered bones floated in the mire.

Here, a network of divine chains of order intertwined, aiming to strangle Ye Fan and the Dragon Horse. Saintly might surged, and the power of laws permeated the area.

"This is a battlefield where powerful individuals died," the Dragon Horse said. "Their remaining laws have not dissipated even now. For later generations, it's a killing field, but for some powerful sacred beasts, it's a rare place for enlightenment."

Now, with Ye Fan's combat power soaring, it was naturally difficult to trap them. He suppressed all the laws, allowing the place to slowly calm down.

A water-dragon monster, refined from a flood dragon, had gnawed on the bones of ancient saints and possessed extraordinary divine abilities. It attacked Ye Fan and his companion. However, the Dragon Horse directly stomped it to death with one hoof, leaving a pool of dark blood and ending its life.

"The creatures here are very strange, not measured by cultivation realms," Ye Fan mused. "They even ate sacred bones and dared to attack us."

They became more cautious and continued their journey. After walking for a long time, they discovered an ancient cave at the foot of a rocky mountain, from which intensely hot flames gushed.

Ye Fan felt a jolt in his spirit, sensing a wave of despair. He stepped inside, then immediately recoiled, a cold sweat breaking out on him.

The power of Dao Transformation!

This fire cave was left behind by a powerful individual who underwent Dao transformation, and its Dao flames had not extinguished even now. He and the Dragon Horse had almost fallen into a place of eternal doom.

"Damn it..." the Dragon Horse cursed repeatedly. Just half a step more, and it would have been passively transformed into Dao. Fortunately, its cultivation was strong enough to overcome this tribulation.

"The central forbidden zone is full of dangers everywhere; one cannot be careless," Ye Fan remarked.

They encountered twenty-four dangers along the way and successfully overcame them all, arriving at the deepest part. There, blood energy shot up like sword light, piercing the sky and disappearing into the high heavens.

Furthermore, accompanied by clangorous sword cries, a strong murderous intent emerged, making one's soul tremble.

"A blood lake!"

Blood energy soared into the sky, and sword light clanged, all originating from a lake of blood. It was several miles in diameter and dazzlingly crimson.

"Ten-Zhang Blood Pool, Burial Ground of the Human Ancestor and Human Sect."

Beside the blood lake, there was a stone tablet. Half of it had long decayed under the erosion of time, but the ancient divine script on it could barely be deciphered.

"Ten-Zhang Blood Pool? Why do I see ten li?" the Dragon Horse wondered.

So many years had passed, and great changes had occurred; the ten-zhang blood pool had become a lake, yet the murderous aura within the blood had not dissipated. This showed how terrifying the murderous aura injected into this powerful individual by their enemy at the time of their demise truly was.

"There's a spiritual imprint here..." Ye Fan said, surprised.

"No wonder it's called the 'Ancient Trial Path of the Strongest'," the Dragon Horse sighed. "Every step is for tempering, to make later generations stronger."

This spiritual imprint conveyed a truth: that besides external enemies, one's self is the most powerful opponent.

There was a blood battlefield here, which could provide later participants with the conditions to fight against themselves, enabling them to better understand themselves and constantly transform.

"In this ancient battlefield, one can instantly create a duplicate of oneself," Ye Fan wondered. "What kind of heaven-defying method is this?"

The Dragon Horse couldn't help but exclaim in admiration; the person who created this ancient battlefield definitely had the power to seize creation itself. Anyone who entered could evolve a second self.

The blood battlefield was in the lake, with numerous blood-red fissures. Ye Fan and the Dragon Horse, without any hesitation, each entered one of the fissures.

Shortly after Ye Fan entered, an earth-shattering duel began. The blood fissure closed, becoming a sealed world. This battle was world-shaking, but unfortunately, no one could witness it.

Three days later, Ye Fan emerged covered in golden blood, having suffered almost devastating injuries. Even with the "Zhè" character secret art, a supreme immortal healing technique, his state was still dire.

The reason was simple: he fought against himself without holding back. The secret arts he knew, his opponent also knew; his combat techniques, his opponent was perfectly clear about!

This was the most brutal battle in Ye Fan's life, unmatched by any other. They were evenly matched, fighting to the point of madness.

When Ye Fan emerged, the Dragon Horse was vomiting. It was covered in blood, almost a pile of rotten mud, with its white bones exposed.

"I've never hated myself as much as I do today," the Dragon Horse groaned. "Why are you so hard to beat? Why can't you be killed? My true body almost gave up in there."

The Dragon Horse cursed repeatedly, swearing and vomiting; it seemed that during its battle with itself, it had truly fought to the point of madness.

"I've found a way to improve my cultivation," Ye Fan said, dragging his exhausted and injured body. "From now on, my illusory self from the 'One Qi Transforms into Three Pure Ones' will be my sworn enemy!"

"Don't, it's fine here," the Dragon Horse warned. "But truly fighting like that in reality could get you killed by yourself!"

In this place, even if one's true body perishes, it can still be revived in the end. This was the wonder of the blood battlefield.

Unfortunately, everyone only had one chance and could not engage in a second duel.

Ye Fan and the Dragon Horse retreated, returning to the thirty-sixth zone to begin healing. The Dragon Horse vomited for two days before slowly regaining its composure.

"Do you think there are others also dueling with themselves?" the Dragon Horse asked.

"That's inevitable; others must have entered," Ye Fan replied.

"I hope they feel like vomiting every time they see themselves!" the Dragon Horse cursed maliciously.

*Dong...*

On the twelfth day, a bell chime resonated throughout Saintfall Island. Time was up, and all trial participants had to leave the area, otherwise, they would be sealed there.

Ye Fan changed out of his torn battle robes, washed off the bloodstains in a lake, put on a brand-new battle robe, and rode the Dragon Horse out.

At this moment, his spirit, energy, and essence all reached an astonishing realm. His vital energy was like a vast ocean, his divine consciousness condensed like immortal light, and his entire being was like a divine fetus reborn.

Figures were at all the exits; powerful individuals from various star domains, either heavily injured or radiant with vitality, emerged from the trial grounds.

"Tuoba Yu from the Ancient Human King Star Domain has emerged," people exclaimed. "As expected, he exudes confidence and is a hero of his generation!"

Many people who saw this richly dressed young man felt he had undergone a baptism, and his entire being possessed an indescribable aura.

"Amitabha!"

A Buddhist chant was heard as the Ascetic Monk Kutu from the Amitabha Ancient Star Domain also emerged, the birthmark on his face, resembling a knife scar, actually emanating Buddhist light.

Next, Yu Xian from the Feathered Ascension Ancient Star Domain appeared, with a sweet smile and a graceful figure, captivating many onlookers.

The formidable Ou Ye Mo and the mysterious Mu Guanghan also emerged one after another, without any surprises.

"Why has no one emerged from the thirty-sixth and thirty-seventh zones yet?"

"Hmm, that Taoist nun went with over twenty people to kill the cultivator named Ye Fan," someone mused. "Did they not find him, and are now blocking him at the exit?"

"Very likely," another replied. "With so many people attacking, even a seed-level expert wouldn't have an easy time. One person fighting so many alone is almost a certain death situation."

"Mountain Lord Junwei and four powerful cultivators entered the thirty-seventh zone," someone else said. "Why haven't they emerged? Did he cross realms to assist?"

"It's said that Mountain Lord Junwei is a seed-level expert with world-shaking divine might," another chimed in. "If he assisted, it would practically be a massacre."

Everyone waited, looking toward the thirty-sixth zone. Even individuals like Kutu, Ou Ye Mo, Yu Xian, and Mu Guanghan were paying attention.