Chapter 1434: Entering the Dead End

The rare Divine Demon Liquid was clear and sparkling, rolling down from the cracked mountain like colorful dewdrops. It gathered together before disappearing into the deepest part of the forbidden zone.

All the Great Sages coveted it, as did the elders from the Divine Realm. Everyone desired to obtain it, employing various methods to try and acquire it.

In fact, the elders had a chance to obtain it. By jointly activating the Killing Array Diagram, they descended among the mountain peaks, able to approach the Divine Demon Liquid.

However, things were not as simple as imagined. The ancient coffin emitted ripples of Dao that intimidated the Divine Diagram. The Emperor's Corpse would not allow ultimate artifacts to approach it; this was a form of self-preservation.

On one side was the corpse of an ancient Great Emperor, and on the other, the weapon of an ancient Great Emperor. When the two encountered each other, neither would yield, making it impossible for them to coexist.

The elders grew anxious. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that could not be missed. They exerted all their strength to push forward, but ultimately failed. The huge stone coffin rumbled, and its Dao ripples collided with the array diagram, forcing them to retreat immediately.

"What a pity, what a shame..." everyone lamented.

The Divine Demon Liquid was unstoppable, entirely vanishing into the depths of the forbidden zone. The Sages speculated that someone might be inside, their eyes flashing with light as they each pondered this possibility.

Without a doubt, this forbidden zone was the current battleground. Both the powerful beings from the Divine Realm and the Great Sages from beyond wished to enter. Besides the stone coffin, the Divine Demon Liquid also became a primary target.

"The Divine Realm is currently vulnerable," the Dragon Horse whispered. "Can we find a way to break in?" After days of observation, it had gained a good understanding of both the forbidden zone and the Divine Realm.

It knew that Ye Fan possessed a powerful weapon – also a coffin. If used effectively, it might be able to breach the Divine Realm, allowing them to enter and seize the Ancient Tree of Life.

"Yes," Pang Bo said, also tempted. "Ye Zi has the Nine-Layered Coffin from the Mythological Era; perhaps we really can succeed."

Back when they breached the ancestral land of the Feathered Divine Dynasty, Ye Fan had obtained a palm-sized small coffin, also a Nine-Layered Coffin. Legend had it that this coffin contained a buried god.

The Holy Prince had mentioned that it had appeared in the Primordial Era, almost leading to the extinction of a major ancient clan, before being re-buried in the Nine Heavens!

Ye Fan took out the small coffin. It was ancient and unadorned, revealing nothing special to the eye. He rubbed it with his hand. The Killing Saint Qiluo had once advised him to discard it or bury it in space, but he had kept it with him, disregarding the warning.

At this moment, the Golden Lion, Nine-tailed Crocodile Dragon, Black Bear Saint, and others were stirred, their eyes burning with fervor. Now might indeed be an excellent time to breach the Divine Realm.

"What's buried in this small coffin might not be a Great Emperor," Ye Fan said. "It's hard to say if it can suppress the cursed Divine Realm."

The Dragon Horse was almost stamping its hooves. "How will we know if we don't try?" it said. "Today, we'll go all out! We'll raid the Divine Realm before those Great Sages do."

"Don't rush," Ye Fan said. "Currently, the Divine Realm and the Sages from beyond are in a standoff, and this balance won't be easily broken. We'll have opportunities to act at any time. I still feel there's great danger here; it's better to observe for a while."

He didn't make this judgment without reason. Within the Ancient Mythological Domain, leaves from the Ancient Tree of Life had once drifted down onto a reef island, feeding ancient beasts in the starfield.

This method was horrifying. The idea of nurturing ancient beasts across an entire starfield always instilled a sense of unease.

Now, they had seen the Ancient Tree of Life rooted in the Divine Realm. This must have been the work of its inhabitants, yet there was still no information about it.

Ye Fan felt that the Divine Realm might hold other secrets that had not yet been revealed.

The others also calmed down upon hearing this, realizing there must be some unknown secret within.

Pang Bo frowned. "Perhaps ancestors from countless ages ago set up an array," he suggested. "Once leaves from the Ancient Tree of Life fall, they might be transmitted into the Ancient Mythological Domain through that array. I believe the current powerful figures of the Divine Realm might not be aware of their ancestors' arrangements."

While this wasn't impossible, for safety's sake, Ye Fan and the others decided it was best to observe quietly; the time for direct engagement had not yet arrived.

Indeed, less than half a month later, an event confirmed some of their conjectures: the Divine Realm was unfathomable!

Just recently, a Great Sage launched a thunderous strike, wielding a legendary Primordial Ancestral Artifact to blast into the Divine Realm, almost causing it to disintegrate and crumble.

It was a great shock, to say the least. No one had expected a Great Sage from beyond to enter with such a powerful ancestral artifact. While the precise power of such ancient artifacts was hard to gauge and certainly inferior to Imperial Artifacts, some individual ones were terrifyingly formidable.

Generally speaking, these ancient artifacts were often the strongest divine objects of a clan, passed down since ancient times, and were indestructible treasures!

This Great Sage was exceptionally patient, having lain dormant for so many years without ever revealing his artifact. At a crucial moment, he alone went to attack the Divine Realm from behind, aiming to secure victory in a single strike.

Unfortunately, at the last moment, his efforts failed. He had cracked the Divine Realm's most ancient mountain, but unexpectedly, at that critical juncture, the mountain split open, unleashing four streaks of murderous sword energy that instantly shattered the ancestral artifact.

This Great Sage also met a tragic end, his body and spirit utterly destroyed!

Once the news broke, the world was shaken. The Divine Realm possessed such terrifying divine artifacts, a fact even its own inhabitants were unaware of, which was truly astounding.

"He went too far, daring to destroy that mountain," many people said, shaking their heads. "One must know that in the eyes of the Divine Realm's people, its status is equivalent to Mount Meru in Buddhism."

This incident served as a wake-up call for everyone. The Divine Realm was far more profound than people imagined, and it was hard to say what backup plans its ancient ancestors had laid down.

All cultivators within the Divine Realm were invigorated. They searched within the most ancient divine mountain but found no supreme killing swords. There was only a section of Dao patterns that seemed to activate at crucial moments, connecting to another domain and capable of borrowing sword power.

The Divine Realm was no longer a sealed fortress. Such news could not be hidden and quickly spread to the outside world, prompting deep contemplation among all.

"It's connected to the Ancient Celestial Venerable's Fountain of Life," the Great Sages from beyond immediately judged, "and can borrow the killing power of the four swords there."

This was quite tricky. To breach the Divine Realm, an Imperial Artifact was necessary, and the attack had to be launched when the Spirit Treasure Celestial Venerable's Killing Array Diagram had left the Divine Realm; otherwise, it truly could not be fully suppressed.

"Creating a prison, yet allowing self-preservation," someone mused. "Could it be that the Spirit Treasure Celestial Venerable orchestrated all of this, both restricting the Divine Realm and enabling its defense?"

"How did the Divine Realm come to be?" another asked. "Legend says that during a battle in the Mythological Era, some remnants of gods and devils were imprisoned here. This place was cursed and became a cage."

"It's good that they aren't true killing swords," someone remarked. "There should be a way to break them."

Ye Fan and the others felt a chill in their hearts. Their patience at the crucial moment had indeed been the right choice; otherwise, they would have been the ones testing the waters and might have suffered heavy casualties.

With such an event occurring in the Divine Realm, several elders returned, wielding the Killing Array Diagram. They hoped to use the Divine Diagram to trigger the killing swords and summon their true forms, but unfortunately, they failed. The array patterns showed no reaction at all.

On this day, the forbidden zone underwent a drastic change. All the Great Sages seized this rare opportunity, moving together and launching the most terrifying offensive. They broke through the Divine Demon Mountain Range and charged inside.

These mountain peaks were not destroyed; instead, like living earth dragons, they moved away in all directions, opening up many paths for the intruders. The crowd surged forward.

"Mount Meru contained in a mustard seed..." someone muttered. "The ancient coffin is visible but unreachable..."

All the Great Sages were startled. The depths of the forbidden zone contained unfathomable spatial laws; the vast void was condensed into one. This restricted area looked very strange; once one stepped inside, it was as if they were on a vast continent.

People saw the stone coffin, but it remained elusive. Every step they took could lead them into a cosmic void; this place was exceedingly strange!

Ye Fan's heart tightened. "This is undoubtedly the Ancient Coffin of the Void Emperor," he said. "This is his Dao law: refining the cosmic void. Even a tiny space can become as vast as the sea, let alone a place that is already so immense."

The elders of the Divine Realm fought their way back, but it was too late. All the Great Sages had already penetrated deep inside, their target the ancient coffin. They had dispersed, moving among the unique Dao patterns of the Nine-Layered Coffin.

Even when activating the Killing Array Diagram, the elders found it difficult to succeed. They had no choice but to penetrate deeper into this vast continent, entering in person to search and fight.

"This is truly a good place," Sang Gu laughed loudly. "If one day my divine might covers the world, I will surely establish this as the most sacred ancestral land of my Primordial Divine Demon lineage." He then vanished in a flash, entering the depths of the ancient continent, clearly seeking the Divine Demon orthodox lineage.

Soon after, the Earth Corpse appeared from another direction. He gritted his teeth and leaped into a large fissure where blood gurgled, a veritable cultivation treasure for his Corpse Demon Dao.

"My Dao, my law," the Devouring Beast muttered, grimly scanning its surroundings. "Devour everything here, and perhaps I will become a true god!" It then vanished in a flash, entering the depths of the ancient land.

Ye Fan, Pang Bo, and others also entered. For twenty years, they had been unable to enter, but now, with the combined efforts of the Great Sages, the forbidden zone had finally been breached, allowing them to step inside for the first time.

This place was very vast, with an extremely complex and unfathomable terrain. These conditions were entirely caused by the interplay of the stone coffin and the ancient runes of the Divine Demon Burial Ground.

After delving deeper, they discovered many anomalies, including traces of long-term habitation. They even found a golden feather, left by the same divine bird they had seen twenty years ago.

For seven or eight days straight, all the powerful figures proceeded cautiously, exploring individually, and no incidents occurred.

The terrain here was very complex, and no one dared to be careless, as a slight mistake could lead to getting lost. Ye Fan pondered for a long time and gradually understood the Dao of this place. This was because he had obtained the Void Emperor's chessboard teleportation array, whose intricate interwoven patterns contained profound secrets.

Half a month later, Ye Fan could lead Pang Bo, the Dragon Horse, and others in rapid strides, venturing deeper without fear of encountering Qi Tian or other formidable beings, whom they could now easily avoid.

"Boom!"

The sound of surging water reached them. After venturing hundreds of miles deeper, they saw a magnificent silver waterfall cascading down from a thousand-zhang cliff. The area below was filled with mist, and the sound of the water was like thunder.

There, a figure stood with their back to them, practicing punches. Each punch resonated with the rumbling sound of the Great Dao. Above their head, a bright moon hung high, dazzling and brilliant like a divine disc.

This was a valiant man, immersed in comprehending the Dao and pondering his own techniques, completely lost in a state of self-forgetfulness.

"Brother Haoyue!" Pang Bo was stunned for a moment, then his face lit up with wild joy. He couldn't believe he had actually seen Ji Haoyue. Although the figure had his back to them, Pang Bo was certain of his identity.

"Wait!" Ye Fan pulled him back. "Ji Haoyue should be in this forbidden zone, but this isn't his true body."

"What are you saying?" Pang Bo asked, startled.