Chapter 358: Ancient Royal Clan

Ye Fan walked around the abyss, carving on its surface. He formed Source Heaven patterns, combining earth observation and aura reading techniques to deduce everything within the Myriad Dragon Nest. The Female Saint Lord was inside the ice palace and had not been destroyed, which gave him a glimmer of hope. He therefore wanted to deduce what exactly lay beneath.

After an unknown amount of time, he finally stood up, mentally exhausted. Unbeknownst to him, he had circled the abyss completely.

"How is it?" the big black dog asked impatiently.

The Myriad Dragon Nest was a place of extreme peril, yet it also contained immeasurable divine treasures. If they could enter, they might find great fortune.

"From above the abyss, I can only get a general idea; it's difficult to understand anything in detail," Ye Fan replied.

"So what now? Do we leave, or do we risk going down?" Pang Bo asked.

Ye Fan said, "We can go down a ways and see. My deductions show that the empty abyss itself is harmless; the true danger lies within the Dragon Nest."

"Kid, you'd better be careful, or else we'll be jumping straight into a demon pit," the big black dog bared its teeth.

Tu Fei supported exploring further, saying, "It's definitely worth a try. The ancient Holy Land, the Underworld Divine Palace, must have obtained a mysterious inheritance down there. Perhaps we can gain something too."

Ultimately, they all agreed and prepared to descend and explore.

Not long after the battle at the Immortal Palace, where the big black dog's golden bell appeared, it gained the ability to fly. Now, it didn't need anyone's help. To be safe, they prepared a Profound Jade Platform, ready to teleport through space and escape if necessary.

Dragon Qi surged like a tide, creating significant resistance as they descended. They dared not go too deep all at once, so they lowered themselves slowly, bit by bit. The deeper they went, the darker it became, until finally, they couldn't see their own hands. Fortunately, their divine senses were powerful enough to perceive their surroundings.

"This abyss was excavated by someone!"

On the abyss walls, there were clear traces of cutting tools. Seeing this, they were all astonished. Who would dare to excavate the Myriad Dragon Nest? It was clear that the Myriad Dragon Nest, originally hidden underground, had been unearthed and revealed to the world this way.

Halfway down, they encountered the ice palace again; it shimmered translucently. Periodically, the ice palace would surge upwards on a tide of Dragon Qi, bobbing up and down. The woman in the ice palace was crystalline all over, with lustrous black hair, and appeared profoundly serene. She was a peerless beauty, captivating enough to topple cities, making it hard to imagine her as a Female Saint Lord.

"This Emperor thought I saw her eyelashes flutter!" The big black dog shivered, backing away.

"Stop scaring people, you damned dog!" Tu Fei retorted.

Seventy to eighty thousand years had passed; they didn't believe she was still alive. Even an ancient Great Emperor couldn't possess such a long lifespan. The ice palace floated upwards, while they continued their descent towards the Myriad Dragon Nest. Opportunity and danger coexisted, and they wanted to take a gamble.

One thousand meters, two thousand meters, three thousand meters…

They were a little unnerved. They had descended a full four thousand meters and still hadn't reached the bottom. It seemed endless, as if it led to the netherworld. Ye Fan had to stop and continue his deductions using Source Heaven patterns. One wrong step could lead to a life-or-death calamity.

After a long time, he let out a sigh of relief. The results showed no danger, and they could continue their descent.

Five thousand meters, six thousand meters…

They continued descending until over nine thousand meters, finally sensing the bottom of the abyss, still several hundred meters below the ground level.

"Damn it, this might really be a sinkhole, ten thousand meters deep!" the big black dog muttered.

"Everyone be careful," Ye Fan warned. They were nearing the bottom of the abyss, not far from the Dragon Nest, and there might be danger.

As they approached the bottom of the abyss, they felt tremors in their hearts. They had truly arrived in a dragon's pool and a tiger's den. Finally, they landed on the ground. An ancient and desolate aura washed over them, as if they had returned to the Primordial Era.

The bottom of the abyss wasn't extremely dark; there were scattered fragments of divine source shimmering with light. However, the abyss was too vast to be fully illuminated, remaining somewhat dim. Looking around, it was a vast expanse, not at all like an underground space, but rather like an ancient battlefield.

"What's that?"

Ahead, there seemed to be ancient structures, dilapidated and unrecognizable. They quickly moved forward, astonished to find buildings outside the Myriad Dragon Nest, which was beyond their expectations.

"It looks like an altar. Could it be a place of sacrifice?"

"It's almost completely collapsed, abandoned for countless ages."

Even before getting close, they could tell it was an ancient altar. It was difficult to estimate its age; it was etched with the marks of countless years, and even the stones were nearly crumbling.

"That's..." Ye Fan's pupils sharply contracted.

"How is this possible?!" Pang Bo exclaimed in a hushed voice.

The moment they got closer, both were utterly shocked, their faces etched with disbelief. From the outer perimeter of the altar, nothing was apparent, but once they climbed onto the collapsed stone platform and reached the top, their hearts pounded uncontrollably. At the very top was a five-colored altar, constructed from five different colored ancient stones. It emanated an aura of immense age, and though it was nearly collapsed, its original form was still discernible.

Ye Fan and Pang Bo were overcome with an unprecedented excitement. They practically leaned over it, touching it repeatedly with their hands, muttering incessantly.

It was too similar!

If they weren't at the bottom of the abyss, they would have truly believed they were back at the summit of Mount Tai, at the moment the nine dragons pulled the coffin. This five-colored altar was almost identical to the one on Mount Tai. There was little difference in style and form, and even the materials were similar.

"The way back..."

"We can definitely go back in the future!"

Ye Fan and Pang Bo murmured to themselves repeatedly, unable to calm down, stroking the ancient stone platform with their hands.

"What's wrong with you two?" Tu Fei asked.

"Could they be possessed by ancient creatures?" the big black dog retreated a few steps.

After a long time, Ye Fan and Pang Bo finally calmed down slightly. For them, this altar represented a path of hope; with the various connections between Earth and this world, they firmly believed they could return.

"Have you ever seen an altar like this before?" Ye Fan asked.

Tu Fei shook his head, stating he had never heard of it, and it wasn't even recorded in ancient texts.

"Great Emperor Array Patterns!"

The big black dog shrieked, its large face almost pressed to the ground. It was its turn to get excited, nearly howling with joy. Tu Fei was startled by it and quickly began to observe as well. The words "Great Emperor" were too enticing; no one could remain calm.

"This must have been laid by a Great Emperor!"

The big black dog was almost trembling, its bell-like eyes fixed on the ground, where several strange runes lay, their meaning inscrutable. It rubbed those patterns with its large paw, saying, "If I could decipher even one or two tenths of this, it would benefit me for a lifetime."

Ye Fan's heart stirred. He asked, "Can you repair the five-colored altar, and can you tell what its function is?"

"Unless a Great Emperor revives, there's no way to repair it. I can't even understand a single one of these patterns," the Black Emperor shook its head, carefully tracing the runes.

Ye Fan and Pang Bo sighed. They meticulously searched the dilapidated altar but found nothing. Only the big black dog, as if it had discovered a world-shaking divine treasure, grinned from ear to ear, giggling incessantly.

After lingering there for a long time, Ye Fan and the others finally left, heading towards the Myriad Dragon Nest ahead. Dragon Qi there flowed like a surging river, and nine enormous dragons coiled, as if alive.

Ahead, nine large holes were lined up in a row, shimmering with light. Surging Dragon Qi erupted from within them. Ye Fan observed the terrain and the Dragon Qi, continuously carving on the ground, using Source Heaven patterns for his deductions. Finally, he led the way forward.

There were nine Dragon Caves in total, interconnected and all leading to the Myriad Dragon Nest. After they entered, they were bathed in Dragon Qi, their pores opened, and their entire bodies felt comfortable.

"Wait a minute, could it be *that* place?" The big black dog began to look suspicious, showing a startled expression.

"Quick, tell us what's going on!" Tu Fei urged.

"Damn it, nine Dragon Caves! I know what this place is!" The big black dog seemed to have suddenly understood.

"What did you remember?" Ye Fan asked.

"Years ago, the Great Emperor Wushi visited a Dragon Nurturing Land—it must be this place!" the Black Emperor stated with absolute certainty.

"How do you know about Great Emperor Wushi?" Tu Fei asked suspiciously.

"This Emperor read about it in an ancient text," the big black dog said casually, glancing at him. It continued, "This place is comparable to the terrain where nine dragons guard a pearl, but Great Emperor Wushi ultimately chose Purple Mountain."

Purple Mountain, where nine great dragons guarded a pearl, contained the inheritance of Great Emperor Wushi, and even his Emperor Armament was sealed there.

Tu Fei was shocked, saying, "No way! Is the Myriad Dragon Nest second only to Purple Mountain? Doesn't that mean none of the Holy Lands of the Eastern Wasteland or the Hundred Schools of the Central Plains can breach it?"

"Great Emperor Wushi came to the Myriad Dragon Nest, and many of these traces were created by him..." Ye Fan found it hard to stay calm.

Unconsciously, they walked a certain distance forward, no longer speaking aloud but communicating via divine sense.

"What's that smell? Why is it so fragrant?" The big black dog sniffed.

They followed the Dragon Qi for over ten miles, arriving at a place riddled with stone caves, resembling a beehive. They were immediately stunned. The nine largest Dragon Caves all led forward to a gigantic nest. From a distance, it glowed with brilliant divine light, clearly containing world-shaking divine sources.

Undoubtedly, that was the Myriad Dragon Nest!

They were still several miles away, but they dared not proceed. They vaguely saw blocks of divine source floating within the Myriad Dragon Nest, and it seemed that creatures were sealed inside!

"Damn it, we've encountered big ones! They're definitely ancient royal creatures. They sure know how to pick a spot—right inside the Myriad Dragon Nest!" the big black dog gritted its teeth.

All of them were dumbfounded. The power and terror of ancient creatures were deeply ingrained in their minds, let alone their royalty, which was simply incomparable.

"What a pity! We've come all this way, clearly seeing large blocks of divine source, yet we can only stop here," Pang Bo felt immense regret.

"I really can't accept this!" Ye Fan desperately needed sources. He vaguely saw peerless divine sources within the Myriad Dragon Nest but couldn't obtain them.

"The ancient royal creatures are probably still alive. The inheritance of the Underworld Divine Palace Holy Land from back then might have been granted by them. Perhaps we can communicate with them..." Tu Fei suggested.

"Don't even think about it!" the big black dog shook its head.

According to its speculation, the so-called Underworld Divine Palace Holy Land must have been established by people with ancient creature blood flowing in their veins, for the purpose of guarding this place.

"So, the Jiang Family's invincible Divine King was eliminating threats to humanity?" They murmured in astonishment. The destruction of a Holy Land could have such a hidden reason.

"Let's get out of here quickly. If even one ancient royal creature emerges, the land will be piled with corpses and rivers of blood. We can't resist them at all." The big black dog was the first to back out, because the more it understood, the more it realized the horror.

"One day, if I achieve Great Accomplishment of the Holy Body, I will definitely come here again!" Ye Fan murmured to himself.

"The fragrance is getting stronger." Even Tu Fei, with his least sensitive nose, felt a wave of intoxication.

"This is..." The big black dog, which had been ready to flee, became agitated. "It must be an ancient divine medicine, a world-shaking rarity many times more precious than divine source!"

In this world, it was almost impossible to find a rarity comparable to an ancient divine medicine. A single divine medicine could allow even a supreme expert with depleted lifespan to regain vitality, let alone its effects on others. It was a priceless treasure. Even in the Primordial Era, only a few could be found, and in the current age, they were completely extinct.

Ye Fan activated his Source Heaven Divine Sense, and two purple beams shot from his eyes as he looked forward, searching for the ancient divine medicine.

"It really is an ancient divine medicine!" His mind trembled as he discovered a sacred item.

Right outside the Myriad Dragon Nest, the Dragon Qi surging from all the Dragon Caves had to pass through that spot, converging the essence of myriad dragons! Divine light gleamed in the eyes of Pang Bo, Tu Fei, and the big black dog; they too had finally spotted the sacred item.

"That's an ancient divine medicine nourished by the entire Myriad Dragon Nest!"

"Exactly, it grew by being moisturized by the Myriad Dragon Qi and absorbing the essence of divine sources!"

"In this current age, perhaps only a place like the Myriad Dragon Nest could nurture such a sacred item."

They found it difficult to move, deeply captivated, yearning to pluck it. However, the divine medicine was right in front of the Myriad Dragon Nest, too close to the ancient royal creatures. Approaching it would likely mean facing mortal danger.

"The ancient royal creatures are all dormant; maybe there's a chance to pick it," the big black dog's eyes gleamed with light, urging Ye Fan to go.

"Stop with your bad ideas, you damned dog! Why don't you go yourself?" Tu Fei chided.

"I'll go!" Ye Fan decided.

"Ye Zi, you don't need to push yourself so hard. This is too dangerous," Pang Bo tried to dissuade him.

Ye Fan shook his head, saying, "It's fine. The chances of success are high. If it doesn't work out, I'll just activate the Profound Jade Platform and teleport away immediately."

Pang Bo insisted on accompanying him, but Ye Fan firmly refused. Ultimately, he advanced alone, wanting to try and pluck it. Retreating like this without trying would be too regretful. Pang Bo, Tu Fei, and the big black dog watched from a distance, ready to respond at any moment.

Dragon Qi surged, impacting like a tide. Ye Fan concealed his life force, moving slowly like a withered log, while simultaneously protecting his body with the Myriad Manifestation Cauldron. One step, two steps... The distance was not short. He spent a long time, finally approaching the Myriad Dragon Nest.

The Dragon Nest was truly enormous. He could only see the tip of the iceberg through the Dragon Caves, but it was enough to shock him. He saw an ancient coffin floating amidst a pile of divine sources, making him feel suffocated in waves. His flesh and bones seemed on the verge of cracking open—this was a terrifyingly immense pressure! That pile of divine source fragments was about two to three square meters, enough to submerge the ancient coffin. He slightly turned, and saw another large block of divine source, nearly two meters long, so dazzling that it made one's eyes sting. Inside, a humanoid creature was sealed! They were definitely ancient royalty.

The Myriad Dragon Nest was truly immense. What he had seen was several miles away from the exit. It was fortunate this was the case, otherwise, he likely wouldn't have been able to take another step. And all of this was only a portion of what he saw. What else remained inside the Myriad Dragon Nest, he had no idea.

Finally, Ye Fan reached the exit of the Myriad Dragon Nest, approaching the ancient divine medicine. The Qi of Myriad Dragons flowed through this very spot; it was a sacred item nurtured by the entire Dragon Nest. Upon closer inspection, Ye Fan clearly saw its form: it was extraordinarily divine, unmistakably a peerless treasure of immeasurable value.

Enveloped by the Qi of Myriad Dragons, the divine medicine was dazzling, entirely golden, over a foot tall, and bore nine leaves. Each leaf resembled a golden cloud, beautiful, dazzling, and somewhat ethereal. At the apex of this ancient divine medicine, a golden fruit had formed. Its shape was very unique: a palm-sized golden miniature dragon, crystal clear, lifelike, and seemingly alive. And in the mouth of that golden miniature dragon, a golden pearl was held, shimmering with brilliant, radiant light.

The entire Myriad Dragon Nest had only nurtured this one sacred item; its value was unimaginable! An ancient divine medicine, this was likely the only one in the world that could be acquired! It was wreathed in the Qi of Myriad Dragons, simultaneously gleaming golden and crystalline. Its fragrance nearly made Ye Fan intoxicated on the spot, feeling as if he were floating in paradise. He even wondered if consuming this divine medicine would allow him to ascend to immortality in broad daylight.

Ye Fan wasted no time, quickly moving forward, preparing to pluck it. Suddenly, his fundamental spiritual sense pulsed intensely, as if he had fallen into hell! He felt an immense danger.

Should he continue? In that fleeting moment, he faced a difficult choice.