Chapter 1293: 阴云

Chapter 1294: Gathering Clouds

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Chapter 1294: Gathering Clouds

This was a heart-shaped seed, dull and lusterless, entirely yellowish-brown. Though it possessed no divine radiance, a powerful life force emanated from it.

"What is this?" the Dragon Horse asked, gazing at it longingly.

The Nine-tailed Crocodilian Dragon was so distraught it felt like crying. This seed was absolutely extraordinary; it suspected it was the product of a divine medicine's nirvana. It had been within its reach, but now it seemed as distant as the ends of the earth.

"Why does this look like the seed of an immortal medicine?" the Dragon Horse wondered, its large eyes swiveling incessantly. Then, it suddenly poked its head out and bit down with a crunch.

Crunch! The Nine-tailed Crocodilian Dragon winced, as if its own teeth hurt, and looked at the Dragon Horse with a sympathetic expression. Finger-like indentations appeared on the Dragon Horse's large teeth, which nearly broke off.

"This lord is in agony!" the Dragon Horse grimaced. It had quietly tried to swallow the suspected immortal medicine's seed, but it couldn't snatch it away after biting Ye Fan's finger, and instead nearly broke its own teeth.

"Actually, that's mine," the Nine-tailed Crocodilian Dragon said, swallowing hard.

Ye Fan turned the seed over and over in his hand. He felt a vigorous life force from it, and indeed, the aura of an immortal medicine, which made him feel as if he were dreaming.

He found it hard to believe. How could the Demon Emperor have left behind a divine medicine?

"It looks like a peach pit... no, more accurately, the kernel inside the pit," Ye Fan murmured to himself. Then, he carefully sensed and confirmed it, a strange light appearing in his eyes. He now knew what it was; it truly was related to an immortal medicine.

He activated his divine power, and from his palm, countless rays of radiant light streamed forth, entering the seed. In an instant, the yellowish-brown seed emitted threads of immortal glow, shining brilliantly. Ye Fan sensed a familiar aura, similar to the ancient Flat Peach tree he had seen at Jade Lake. He said, "The Demon Emperor once consumed the Flat Peach Immortal Medicine."

The true Flat Peach Immortal Medicine was located within the forbidden zone, the Divine Ruins. The ancient tree at Jade Lake was grown from a seed it had produced. No matter how meticulously Jade Lake had nurtured it, using endless amounts of earth milk and divine liquid, it could never compare to the true Flat Peach immortal medicine, possessing only a fraction of its medicinal properties.

"This is the seed of a true Flat Peach divine medicine," the Dragon Horse exclaimed, unable to sit still. "Even if the pulp and essence were consumed by the Demon Emperor, the remaining kernel is still extraordinary!"

The Nine-tailed Crocodilian Dragon also felt a restless itch in its heart and became even more agitated, filled with immense regret. It had occupied this cave dwelling for years, yet had missed a supreme treasure.

Ordinary almonds and peach kernels, for example, need to be processed before consumption. For such a heaven-defying seed, no one knew how to cleanse it of its harmful substances.

"How about you try it?" Ye Fan asked, glancing at the Dragon Horse and explaining the risks involved.

The Dragon Horse vigorously shook its head. "Are you kidding? Using me as a test subject for medicine? If it goes wrong, I might turn into dust! It's true that this seed contains immortal essence, but one needs to survive consumption first."

"This shriveled-up seed? This lord isn't interested," the Dragon Horse prompted, hoping to make the Nine-tailed Crocodilian Dragon test the medicine. "How about you let the Crocodilian Dragon try it?"

"You almost broke your fangs; weren't you eager to swallow it?" the Nine-tailed Crocodilian Dragon said, putting on a guileless expression and magnanimously offering to let the Dragon Horse have it. "I won't contend with you for it."

The Dragon Horse cast a sidelong glance, suppressing the urge to kick it.

The immortal divine essence was contained within the pulp. Compared to that, while the value of this seed was still astonishingly great, it wasn't entirely heaven-defying.

"Sigh, the Demon Emperor consumed the divine medicine and left only a pit. How insincere!" the Dragon Horse grumbled.

Ancient jade blocks had imprinted themselves into the minds of both the Dragon Horse and the Nine-tailed Crocodilian Dragon, granting them immense gains. Among these, the blood-changing secret technique was the most heaven-defying, allowing for transformation into a dragon. The nine ancient jades were the greatest harvest for the two holy beasts, and would influence their future cultivation paths.

Boom! In the distance, the sound of wind and thunder echoed, like divine drums beating, accompanied by a gust of yellow wind that was extremely ominous and heaven-defying.

"Hmm, what happened?" The Dragon Horse and the Nine-tailed Crocodilian Dragon rushed out of the cave dwelling together. Ye Fan also followed, looking into the distance. He saw many figures flying towards that direction. "A world-shaking magical artifact has appeared; let's go take a look too."

Powerful fluctuations were intensely strong, originating from thousands of miles away. A group of cultivators were fighting, and the battle was spreading further. "What happened?" "A stone boat fell from beyond this realm, amidst strong winds and thunder. Many people are chasing it."

Listening to the discussions among the people, Ye Fan felt something was amiss. He couldn't help but look up at the sky. Could a great battle have erupted in the starry sky? "Could it be that the Holy Spirit has led an army to attack?" Others also showed worried expressions.

Soon, news arrived: It was a stone boat from the depths of the starry sky, which, while approaching and spying on the human race's Tenth City, was struck down by the Guiding Emissary's sword and fell onto this ancient planet. As these hidden details spread, many trial-takers felt a surge of tension. A great battle truly might be imminent, and the secret rumors heard before might come true.

"Is there truly a Holy Spirit? This is terrifying. If it seeks to sever the human race's ancient road, its power must have reached an appalling level." This was an unsettling atmosphere!

Even the trial-takers who had embarked on the ancient starry road were fearless at heart, each one confident. However, the thought of facing a Holy Spirit whose realm was enough to bring despair made them all change their expressions.

Twenty thousand miles away, a Saint Beast King made a move, seizing the magical artifact from the starry sky—the stone boat. It left behind a fragmented corpse, which did not belong to this ancient planet.

A few days later, an uprising occurred in a mountain range a hundred thousand miles away. Ancient beasts battled fiercely, and saintly might permeated the air, turning that region into a river of blood. When the human trial-takers arrived, they discovered that several ancient beasts previously friendly to humans had perished, while several ambitious and human-hostile ancient beasts had risen to power.

This made people feel uneasy. Although there were conflicts among ancient beasts, such intense battles were rare. A large number of powerful individuals had died, and their blood had stained the land red.

"Could it be that forces from the outer starry sky are involved?" Sensitive individuals felt a growing unease.

If the previous incidents were just faint suspicions, then the next event could be described as an oppressive gloom, enveloping many people's hearts. In the western direction, a Saint Beast King who had ruled a region for thousands of years and attained enlightenment perished. The battle caused the heavens to crack and the earth to split, with ghosts wailing and gods howling.

A Saint Beast King, an absolute pinnacle expert on this ancient planet, was actually killed. It had some friendly relations with the Guiding Emissary in the Tenth City.

"I've already sensed something inauspicious..." "The Holy Spirit from the depths of the starry sky is coming. These are just the preliminary shadows."

An atmosphere of panic was spreading!

What kind of powerful existences had gathered in the starry sky, that they intended to sever the human race's ancient road? If this operation didn't commence, then so be it, but once it did, it would surely shake the heavens and earth.

In these few days, various secret rumors circulated. It was rumored that a great Holy Spirit had been born in the depths of the universe, whose blood qi could cleave the cosmos and whose gaze could shatter the sky, reaching an unsurpassed level of power. The Tenth City was merely a battlefield; he intended to sweep across the entire star domain.

Trial-takers were improving their strength. The Guiding Emissaries were also taking action, seeking aid from deeper within the ancient road, and at the same time consulting with the Saint Beast Kings and others on this life planet.

However, some subsequent events made people feel an even more severe crisis. Some ancient beasts had moved out and began to mercilessly slaughter human trial-takers. People believed that external forces had infiltrated and allied with some ancient beasts, bringing the clouds of a world-shaking war closer and closer.

Many people grew anxious. Many cultivators, having reached this point, already understood that becoming a Daoist master was hopeless; their only hope was to become Saint Kings or similar. Now, with these new developments, some people wished they could immediately return to their homelands.

Dark clouds loomed, and bad news kept coming.

A few days later, among the trial-takers, a powerful individual of considerable background and astonishing cultivation, who had once withstood dozens of moves from the Great Demon God, was killed. Blood rain stained that mountain range red. Although this person had made no progress since that battle years ago and had remained here, no longer journeying forth, people believed that as long as he overcame the psychological barrier within him, his strength would rapidly advance. A powerful prospect had died just like that. A saint who could have contended with the Great Demon God from two decades ago was slaughtered, naturally causing a huge uproar.

Many felt imperiled, because in these few days, strong trial-takers had successively met with accidents and died unnatural deaths. This was too abnormal. Many cultivators returned to the Tenth City, awaiting the arrival of a storm.

Four days later, even more astonishing news arrived: A human ancient pass deep within the ancient starry road was attacked and shattered. Everyone in the entire holy city perished, even the Guiding Emissary died in battle. This was horrifying and shocked everyone. That section of the ancient starry road was broken, unable to connect to the path ahead or the path behind.

This news swept through like a hurricane, causing widespread panic. The ominous clouds of impending war were so oppressive that people could barely breathe, and it was more terrifying than imagined.

"The ancient starry road has been broken; can we still continue? Most likely, there's no path forward anymore." "What kind of Holy Spirit is this, after all, that it intends to strike at the human race's entire ancient road?!"

Many cultivators retreated to the Tenth City, all showing worried expressions, unsure of what they would face next. There were also many who did not return, fearing that the Tenth City would suffer the same fate, being directly targeted and crushed.

Two days later, another piece of news, of unknown veracity, arrived. It was rumored that another section of the ancient starry road had been broken, and that part of the starry sky was stained red with blood.

A pall of gloom settled over everyone's hearts. Could this path still be traversed? This was something rarely seen since ancient times. Did this mean that their group of trial-takers would have no chance to advance? Or did it mean that the ancient starry road had reached its final era and might be severed forever?

In this suffocating atmosphere, Ye Fan's heart also felt heavy. But worry was useless. At this moment, improving his strength was paramount, as there was no telling how many would perish in this dangerous situation.

"This Flat Peach seed cannot be consumed," Ye Fan murmured to himself. "The immortal divine essence and Dao fragments contained within are naturally beyond reach. However, I can refine the powerful life force from it."

Both he, the Dragon Horse, and the Nine-tailed Crocodilian Dragon felt it was a great pity, as immortal divinity and Dao fragments were the most precious aspects of an immortal medicine.

The Flat Peach seed's life force was immensely powerful, rarely seen in the world! Ye Fan needed opposing forces to break through his cultivation bottleneck. Now that he had the power of life, he naturally needed the power of death.

The Dragon Horse had serious doubts, not quite believing in the heavenly art he had created. It warned him several times not to act recklessly.

Eventually, the Nine-tailed Crocodilian Dragon thought of a place, believing it contained immense death qi, which might aid his cultivation. It offered to lead the way.

"You don't need to worry," Ye Fan said, confident in the path he had forged. "With two opposing forces, I will be able to break through and become powerful."

Now the entire ancient road was shrouded in ill omens, and he needed to improve his strength as much as possible.

Chapter 1294: Gathering Clouds