Chapter 227: Divine Source Seals the Demon

"An ancient saint is buried within these mountains and rivers..." Ye Fan murmured to himself, believing this was the revelation from the stone pillar of the ancient pavilion.

Before this, he hadn't seen the ancient coffin in the pine forest, but he trusted its existence, certain that the Fourth Grandmaster wouldn't have carved haphazardly. According to his deduction, the "great burial tomb" vaguely mentioned on the stone pillar must be located deep within this mystical forest.

Ye Fan was profoundly shocked. What kind of being was buried here? With such extraordinary terrain, the person interred must have been absolutely exceptional.

The Fire Dragon Tomb was connected to the pine forest, pulling the coffin as if flying. This was strikingly similar to the Nine Dragons pulling a Coffin. Could there be some inexplicable connection, or why else would even the contours of the ancient coffins be so alike? The difference lay in the fact that the Nine Dragon Corpses were real, while here, it was merely a geographical formation, with only one Fire Dragon Tomb. Ye Fan believed that the two shared some kind of legacy or cultural intersection; otherwise, the ancient coffins wouldn't be so similar. He just didn't know which inherited from which.

Ye Fan's thoughts drifted endlessly. It took him a long while to snap back to reality. At present, such musings were useless. The priority was to escape the Primeval Forbidden Zone.

Regarding the Fire Dragon Tomb, the Dragon's Blood, and this pine forest, there were many runes on a stone slab, marked with Source Heaven Patterns. Ye Fan felt dizzy trying to decipher them. Without fully comprehending the *Source Heaven Book*, he couldn't grasp the Fourth Grandmaster's annotations or their meaning.

What surprised him most was that large sections of the carvings on the stone slab had been erased. The original engraving should have been much larger, encompassing a vaster terrain, but it had been destroyed. Ye Fan secretly lamented the loss. Those smoothed-out carvings likely depicted the various terrains of this region, serving as a map of the outer reaches of the Primeval Forbidden Zone. He believed there must be quite a few other treacherous spots similar to the Dragon's Blood. If the carving had been complete, he could have avoided these dangerous areas.

"The Primeval Forbidden Zone is simply too vast," Ye Fan mused. "The Fourth Grandmaster only managed to carve a portion, and even that was destroyed." Despite his regret, there was nothing he could do. The carvings were lost, leaving only stone fragments.

The extreme terrain, where extremes reverse, hinted at an unimaginable entity buried underground. This made Ye Fan's imagination run wild, and he wished he could dig down three hundred zhang to unearth it directly. He shook his head. Even Source Heaven Masters had no solution for this place. The old God King of the Eastern Wasteland had perished here. Ye Fan had no hope whatsoever.

"The Primeval Ancient Mines..." Ye Fan sighed. This wasn't just one secret place but a sprawling cluster of them. As for the innermost ancient mines, there was no need to consider them; even an old madman venturing there would likely never return. Even the outer areas of the Primeval Forbidden Zone were extremely perilous, a land of great misfortune and evil where countless people had died.

Ye Fan stood up and looked into the temple, where the view was blurred. This temple was many times larger than the others he had seen along the way. It was clearly a significant location, holding a special status in the past. But time had flowed like a shuttle, taking everything with it. Now, only ruin and desolation remained.

Ye Fan entered, holding the *Source Heaven Book*. He carefully surveyed the interior, his powerful divine consciousness manifesting to explore every inch of space. If any artifacts were found here, they would undoubtedly be extraordinary. Unfortunately, it was empty. Nothing remained. The floor was covered with a thick layer of stone fragments, and the central high platform was no different; apart from dust, there was nothing else.

"It's all gone, annihilated by time. Nothing remains," Ye Fan realized. The ancient temple hadn't collapsed because it was imbued with astonishing Dao patterns. As for the statues and other items inside, they had naturally decayed. Going back to the primordial era, a hundred thousand years was merely a unit, not a vast expanse. In such an immense stretch of time, even magical artifacts would have decayed. Unless they were ultimate Dao weapons forged by Great Emperors, indestructible and eternal, nothing else could have possibly survived.

Searching the empty hall, Ye Fan found a piece of heavily rusted iron in a pile of ash. "Even divine iron has corroded away..." he muttered. The iron piece was white, with numerous cracks and rust marks on its surface. It had long lost its spiritual essence and value.

He had seen this type of divine iron before. In the eighth layer of the Fire Domain, the Raven Daoist used this jade-like divine iron as material when refining weapons. It was said to be incredibly rare, hardly ever seen. The weapon of the Shaking Light Holy Lord also contained this divine iron; only powerful individuals could find some, ordinary people could never obtain it.

"This must have been a large piece, but time has corroded it down to just this tiny fragment..." Ye Fan believed that such a magnificent ancient temple must have been a significant site in the past. The presence of divine iron alone suggested that many precious items should have been left behind. Unfortunately, they had all been damaged by time.

Indeed, as he expected, he found fragments of various precious metals in the ashes: Purple Thorn Divine Copper, Great Luo Silver Essence, and Immortal Tear Green Gold. Ye Fan felt immense regret. These were all top-tier divine materials, the preferred choice for forging ultimate Dao weapons, but their essence had completely drained away, rendering them almost useless. Especially the piece of Immortal Tear Green Gold, which was still about the size of a fist. Its surface was dotted with tear-like marks, rumored to be the tears of immortals. Alas, the green gold was no longer as radiant as jade, having long become dull and lusterless.

"What a pity. Were such materials common in the primordial era? Nowadays, you couldn't gather much even if you searched the entire Eastern Wasteland." To let them decay in the dust was an extreme and luxurious waste. Ye Fan found dozens of pieces, but not a single usable one. "It's a shame. Even the various Holy Lords would be heartbroken to see this..."

Ye Fan thoroughly searched the hall, but found nothing useful. Divine materials were indeed present, but all had decayed. Finally, beneath the central divine platform of the main hall, he sensed an object. Pushing aside the thick layers of ash and the dust of history, he brought it back into the light of day.

Ye Fan was initially excited, but upon seeing the object, his mouth twitched. He had expected a complete magical artifact, even if its essence had drained, hoping to see unseen or unheard-of Dao patterns. However, this object had no Dao patterns whatsoever. It was merely a jade trinket, entirely green and about the size of a walnut. It was a green jade turtle. It was exquisitely lifelike, almost identical to a real turtle. Held in the hand, it felt warm and smooth—a fine piece of jade.

"That's not right. Even the Great Luo Silver Essence was ruined, and the Immortal Tear Green Gold was destroyed. How could this jade turtle have survived?" Ye Fan found it unusual. He turned it over and over, observing it. It was a Xuanwu turtle, with a long neck resembling a snake or a dragon, and a shell like a bagua. The jade itself was dull in color, its essence completely lost. Although green, it had long lost its spiritual energy.

This object was definitely not an ultimate Dao weapon; it was far from it. Ye Fan couldn't even detect the presence of Dao patterns on its surface, and he couldn't understand why it had survived. His fingers tightened on the jade, attempting to crush it, yet it remained unharmed. This moved him. The green jade turtle was definitely not ordinary; its hardness was beyond imagination. He had to take it seriously and extended his powerful divine consciousness to sense it.

"What is this? It seems to have something inside..." Ye Fan was surprised to find an object sealed within the green jade, which he could faintly sense. With all the divine materials decaying around him, could he have finally found a treasure? He examined it closely, but couldn't comprehend it. This green jade turtle was clearly not a weapon, yet it hadn't been destroyed by time. "Buried in the dust beneath the central divine platform of the ancient temple, does it have some unique origin?" Ye Fan toyed with it, unable to figure it out.

He passed through the magnificent ancient temple and arrived at the back, where the pine forest was eerily quiet. Throughout the forest, hundreds of Source Heaven Patterns flickered, responding to the mysterious book in his hand.

"This is..." Ye Fan's head spun, but he slowly discerned a clue. This was a profound and inscrutable Source Heaven Diagram, capable of settling dragon veins, locking divine sources, and altering the grand forces of mountains and rivers.

"Has the Fourth Grandmaster gone mad?" Ye Fan was astonished. This was a super "Heavenly Diagram" that should have been spread across tens of miles of mountains, yet it was concentrated within a hundred-zhang radius. Such density meant that if anything went wrong, the sky could collapse and the earth could tear apart. A terrifying Source Heaven Diagram like this, even a Source Heaven Master might only be able to lay it out a few times in their entire life.

"What was he doing?" After observing for a while, Ye Fan exclaimed, "He's borrowing power!" Undoubtedly, he was borrowing power from the terrain where extremes reverse! A flash of insight struck him. He remembered the carved map in front of the ancient temple. The ancient coffin marked in the pine forest seemed to be right here. "It must be buried underground in this forest!"

Ye Fan was instantly horrified. The Fourth Grandmaster had left carvings, sternly warning future generations not to disturb the underground forces of the pine forest, lest it bring fatal disaster. Yet, he himself was borrowing from these underground forces, which was incredibly risky. One wrong step could lead to utter destruction. This ominous place buried an ancient saint, making its power unpredictable. Ye Fan felt a recurring sense of dread. This was, after all, the true central area of the pine forest, where a great malevolent force was buried underground.

Within this hundred-zhang radius, there were exactly three hundred sixty-five Source Heaven Patterns. True dragons ascended to the sky, vermillion birds danced horizontally, and Xuanwu turtles rose like mountains... The patterns here were not simple runes; they all formed diagrams, combining together like a celestial painting or a cosmic phenomenon.

"Grandmaster must have gone all out... to protect himself and alter his late-life fate." Ye Fan dared not step inside. If he went deeper, he might never return in this lifetime. A hundred-zhang radius could stir up the killing intent of heaven and earth, allowing one to utilize the grand forces of this place for their own gain.

He stood outside the Source Heaven Diagram. The hundred-zhang radius was clearly visible, almost within reach. Upon closer inspection, on the ground lay a broken stone ruler and some fragmented stone clothing. Ye Fan's heart sank. The ruler was made from old divine source skin, named the Heaven Measuring Ruler, extremely precious and essential for exploring divine mines. As for the broken stone clothing, he was no stranger to it. He had worn something similar when exploring Purple Mountain, also made from old divine source skin, capable of isolating all auras.

"Red hair..." He saw several strands on the broken stone clothing. The Source Heaven Diagram had sealed this place, preserving everything from the past, preventing it from dissipating. Ye Fan's heart immediately grew cold. The Fourth Grandmaster had met with misfortune. He had ultimately failed to change his fate.

"Did the red hair grow on him, or..." He thought of Zhang's first ancestor. Regardless, something must have found its way here, leading to the disaster. What exactly was this thing? Could it be that even the "extremes reverse" terrain couldn't stop it? Could even the burial place of an ancient saint not deter it?

"If there are no bones, there will be misfortune," meaning failure. These were the words left by the Fourth Grandmaster. Ye Fan found a recumbent stone in the pine forest with many inscriptions on it. He sighed. The late years of a Source Heaven Master were truly terrifying. The Fourth Grandmaster had put in immense effort, hiding in the Primeval Forbidden Zone, yet still couldn't escape his fate. Even with the power of this place, he couldn't change anything. The most terrifying aspect was the psychological torment. One could imagine it must have been a hellish ordeal.

Ye Fan carefully read the inscriptions on the recumbent stone and found a way to escape, which somewhat surprised him. The surface of the pine forest was indeed sealed by the Fourth Grandmaster. However, anyone holding the *Source Heaven Book* would inevitably be drawn in. This was due to the Source Heaven Patterns laid out by the Fourth Grandmaster, intended to draw in future generations to receive his legacy and carry out the "sublimation" of his life's work.

Ye Fan silently bowed towards the depths of the pine forest. What a pity for such a remarkable individual, possessing world-shaking talent, who ultimately couldn't change his own fate. "I don't want to experience such torment in my later years..."

Half an hour later, Ye Fan followed the stone carvings left by the Fourth Grandmaster and successfully exited the pine forest without encountering any danger. Looking back, the moonlight was like water, and the pine forest was picturesque and serene. Ye Fan let out a soft sigh. The esteemed Fourth Grandmaster hadn't even left behind a corpse. What exactly had happened?

He soared away, transforming into a wisp of smoke over the blood-red earth, putting distance between himself and this treacherous place. Dozens of miles were nothing to him. Soon, the area was far behind.

Ahead, several figures stood under the moonlight, enveloped in a faint glow. There were six of them, not one less. Ye Fan had almost met with disaster, while these six individuals waited here safely and at ease. Their experiences were truly contrasting. Still, he had nothing to complain about, especially since he had gained the Source Arts legacy.

"Brother, you're incredibly brave," Li Desheng said. "You told us to run, but then you recklessly charged into the pine forest as if you had a death wish."

"Yes, Daoist," Chen Huaiyuan added. "We all thought you sacrificed yourself for us, to help us escape." Li Desheng and Chen Huaiyuan were surprised to see him return alive and spoke with evident astonishment.

Ye Fan's mouth twitched; he truly had no way to explain. When the Grandmaster called, how could he not go?

"Daoist, do you have some ominous object on you?" the Holy Maiden of Yaochi asked with alarm. Her body was shrouded in mist, obscuring her true face, but her earnestness and seriousness were palpable.

"No, nothing at all," Ye Fan replied, puzzled, looking towards her.

"No, that's not right. There must be something ominous. My secret treasure senses it; it's extremely dangerous," the Holy Maiden of Yaochi said, her voice like a celestial melody, asking very gravely, "Did you obtain any artifact from the Primeval Forbidden Zone?"

Ye Fan's heart tightened. He immediately thought of the green jade Xuanwu turtle. Other than that, he had obtained nothing else. With a flash of light, Ye Fan took out the Xuanwu turtle, holding it in his palm. Under the moonlight, it appeared somewhat lustrous.

Upon seeing it, the Holy Maiden of Yaochi quickly retreated a few steps, her beautiful eyes shining. She exclaimed, "What a terrifying aura! This is an extremely ominous item." The Shaking Light Holy Son and Yao Xi also backed away, trusting the Holy Maiden of Yaochi's judgment.

"I seem to have heard of something like this..." Old Blade revealed a solemn expression.

"This is a piece of divine source," the Holy Maiden of Yaochi concluded.

"What? This is a divine source?!" Ye Fan was greatly surprised, then immediately shook his head. He had been studying the *Source Heaven Book* for a while; how could he not recognize the characteristics of a divine source?

"This is a dried-up divine source, its essence drained, just an empty shell," the Holy Maiden of Yaochi explained. "Someone used immense power to refine it into an empty vessel, sealing something terrifying inside..."

"That's right, I remember now, there is indeed such a saying," Old Blade nodded. "An empty divine source shell is the best material for sealing world-shaking ominous creatures."

"You mean this Xuanwu turtle in my hand has something extremely terrifying sealed inside?" Ye Fan stared blankly, feeling like he was holding a hot potato.

"Where did you get it?" Old Blade asked, also taking a few steps back, seeming wary of the Xuanwu turtle.

Ye Fan's mind was anything but calm. This Xuanwu turtle, no bigger than a baby's fist, actually contained something unimaginably terrifying. It truly exceeded his expectations. He didn't want to reveal its origin. If he told them he had found it in the ashes beneath the divine platform of a magnificent ancient temple, they would probably be even more shocked.

"I picked it up in the pine forest. How old do you think it is? Has whatever was sealed inside already turned to dust?"

Just then, Li Desheng cried out, a trickle of fresh blood oozing from his left eye. Trembling, he pointed at the Xuanwu turtle and declared, "There's demonic power inside!" His left eye was a natural Yin-Nether Eye, capable of occasionally piercing through the Netherworld and seeing unusual things. His pronouncement made everyone extremely tense.

Ye Fan almost dropped the turtle. This was too incredible. How many years had passed? What could survive for so long? It felt unreal.

"What did you see?" everyone pressed Li Desheng.

"I can't see clearly. It's too blurry, but it's very terrifying. My Yin-Nether Eye is injured," Li Desheng shook his head.

"Everyone, do you think this is realistic?" Ye Fan shook his head. "Even if the divine source empty shell found in the Primeval Forbidden Zone was left by humans, it would still be thousands of years old. What kind of being, sealed for so long, could still be alive? Do you really think it's like the God King of the Eastern Wasteland, who could remain uncorrupted for four thousand years?"

"Don't worry. We'll get a clear look in a moment." The Shaking Light Holy Son radiated brilliance, auspicious colors flowing around him. A stream of holy light shot forth, entering Li Desheng's left eye. In just an instant, his Yin-Nether Eye recovered and stopped bleeding. This made everyone present feel a chill, confirming the immense power of the Holy Light, which was impervious to all methods.

Ye Fan also wanted to get to the bottom of it. He certainly didn't want to carry an ominous object on him. If it backfired and harmed him, it would truly be shooting himself in the foot.

Li Desheng's Yin-Nether Eye, a dark abyss, emitted a faint ghostly glow as he once again looked at the green Xuanwu turtle. At the same time, the Shaking Light Holy Son enveloped him in holy light to prevent further injury and interruption. Li Desheng's Yin-Nether Eye flashed one last time, and the ghostly glow disappeared. In just a brief moment, even with the Shaking Light Holy Son's assistance, he still bled a dozen drops of blood.

"What did you see?" Ye Fan pressed.

"I saw a blurry, decaying corpse, shrouded in black mist. There was a vibration of demonic power!" Li Desheng's face was extremely pale, as if he had been greatly frightened.

Ye Fan felt incredibly unlucky. He had finally obtained an artifact from the ancient temple, only for it to contain a sealed corpse. His mouth twitched in dismay. At this, the Holy Maiden of Yaochi, Yao Xi, and the Shaking Light Holy Son all changed expressions. Even Old Blade was startled.

"This seal absolutely must not be opened! Otherwise, that demonic energy would be enough to wipe out everyone in a small city."

"Is it really that terrifying?" Ye Fan asked.

"Of course! Any creature sealed within a divine source empty shell must be an unparalleled expert. Even if it's dead, its demonic energy hasn't dissipated. If it breaks out, it will be devastating."

"I advise Daoist to discard it quickly. Otherwise, if it breaks open, Daoist himself will be the first to be harmed."

"Indeed," Ye Fan said, stroking his chin and pondering. Throwing it away was out of the question. This was almost a deterrent artifact, worth keeping! If he were ever pursued in the future, whether by a Grand Elder of Shaking Light or a Supreme Elder of the Ji Family, he would just throw it at them. If it could severely wound such a powerful figure, it would all be worth it. Moreover, since divine source empty shells usually sealed unparalleled figures, there might be great artifacts and treasures on their person.

The seven resumed their journey, this time making a wide detour around the pine forest and heading towards the edge of the blood-red plain. They felt they were truly about to leave the Primeval Forbidden Zone.

Suddenly, light footsteps approached, and everyone turned their heads simultaneously. Under the moonlit night, a child with soft, flowing hair came bouncing along. The child looked to be only four or five years old, chubby, fair-skinned, and very beautiful. This could not be a human child, for a pair of pure white wings grew from its back, and its eyes held double pupils.

"A living being!" Old Blade's expression changed. The Holy Maiden of Yaochi, the Shaking Light Holy Son, and Yao Xi were all startled, unable to remain calm. Since ancient times, very few people had ever seen a living creature in the Primeval Ancient Mines. Those who did were destined to die.