Chapter 372: Cut Out the Goddess

Ye Fan arrived before the immortal tomb and silently observed it. After careful sensing, a silver light flashed with a swish, and he was about to wield his spiritual blade, bringing it down.

Suddenly, an immense sense of crisis arose within him. A bone-chilling aura enveloped his entire body, and he swiftly retreated with the immortal tomb as if struck by lightning.

However, nothing appeared where he had been. No danger descended, nor were there any abnormal manifestations. It was quiet as usual.

"What's wrong, Little Yezi?" Li Heishui secretly transmitted his voice, showing a look of tension.

"Nothing!" Ye Fan shook his head, standing in place, ready to cut the stone again.

Purple light flickered in Ye Fan's eyes, and his Source Heaven Divine Sense again produced a warning. He felt the threat of death once more, which startled him.

He lightly shifted his steps, moving gracefully like an exiled immortal, flashing to the side. What was going on? His mind was filled with suspicion and uncertainty.

Were those old geezers trying to kill him? But he hadn't sensed any dragon qi surging or earth vein fluctuations, nor any discernible flaws.

"What are you doing? Dancing with the immortal tomb? How ridiculous!" a young disciple from an ancient Source Arts family sneered.

"Why aren't you cutting the stone quickly? Just dawdling like this, dancing with the tomb. Is it very interesting?" another disciple from a Source Arts family laughed loudly, openly mocking him.

"Shut your two rags of mouths, don't spew filth indiscriminately!" Li Heishui retorted, his words equally irritating.

"You don't know what you're talking about, wandering around with a stone tomb. Who can you blame!?"

Ye Fan ignored them. He fixed his gaze on the immortal tomb, pondering deeply. Could there be something inside, emitting a terrifying killing intent that triggered his warning?

The thought sent a shiver down his spine. This was an extremely serious implication: could there be a living creature in the immortal tomb?

And had it awakened, fully revived?! If so, there would likely be a tragedy with rivers of blood, and he would be the first to suffer.

Was it really that serious? Ye Fan placed the immortal tomb on the ground. Using his Source Heaven Divine Sense, he carefully examined it. To his surprise, no killing intent emanated from within, and instead, threads of sacred aura circulated.

Just then, a cloud drifted by, casting a shadow as it blocked the sun. He suddenly became alert, realizing something.

Ye Fan looked up and across. Nangong Qi and the other four old men stood with their hands behind their backs, smiling motionlessly, staring at him.

"How vicious!" Ye Fan's face darkened instantly.

The opponents had attacked him several times, clearly aiming to kill him outright. He had only passively defended himself a few times, yet they had escalated their actions.

If he hadn't studied the Source Heaven Book, possessing profound knowledge of Source Arts and many ancient secret techniques, and if he hadn't had that flash of insight, he probably wouldn't have known how he was harmed even upon death.

Nangong Qi and the others weren't using dragon qi or earth veins. They were killing with "momentum," an unparalleled secret technique in Source Arts that slays people invisibly.

Their positions were carefully chosen to seal the "Heavenly Momentum" and "Earthly Momentum" of the Tianzihao Stone Garden. With its numerous rare stones, this place naturally possessed a powerful momentum no weaker than a natural dragon vein.

The four were using an ancient Source Art method to guide the "great momentum" of the dragon veins. They prepared to launch a lightning-fast strike, planning to unknowingly turn him into a bloody pulp.

Ye Fan was truly enraged. These individuals possessed profound Source Art skills, knowing even such secret techniques, yet their attacks were too insidious, repeatedly trying to harm him in secret.

"Are you going to do this or not? If you don't cut the immortal tomb, just concede!"

The young disciples of the ancient Source Arts families sneered, all with mocking expressions, staring at Ye Fan.

"You keep walking around but never dare to cut open the ancient tomb. Don't you think that's ridiculous?"

"Your old men want to kill me, so how do you expect me to cut?" Ye Fan stated directly, revealing the reason in front of everyone.

Furthermore, he suddenly took a step, quickly moving to several key positions in the stone garden, continuously stirring the great momentum of the dragon veins.

Nangong Qi and the others' expressions immediately changed. The four old men quickly left their original positions, simultaneously shouting to their disciples nearby, "Retreat!"

Gah! The mocking expression on the face of a Source Art disciple, who was sneering at Ye Fan, suddenly froze. His internal organs were crushed into a bloody pulp by the great momentum of the dragon veins in that area. Although his external body remained intact, his life force was completely extinguished, and he fell stiffly to the ground.

An uproar spread both inside and outside the stone garden. Source Arts, capable of killing invisibly, sent shivers down their spines. It was truly terrifying!

"You're not the only ones who know the ancient secret techniques of Source Arts; I know them too. If you want to kill, I'll play along!" Ye Fan said, completely fearless, facing Nangong Qi and the others. "Do you want to continue? I'll see this through to the end. I also have powerful killing techniques I haven't used yet!"

The onlookers all retreated. The clash between Source Art Grandmasters was so terrifying that it could claim lives without warning.

People finally understood why, in the past, when the Source Heaven Master roamed the world, even the great Holy Lords were helpless against him. Even without understanding orthodox cultivation methods, they still possessed astonishing abilities.

The few surviving disciples of the ancient Source Arts family, their faces pale, all retreated.

Nangong Qi and the others' faces were grim and their expressions cold. They said nothing.

"You four old geezers ganging up on Gu Feng, have you no shame?!" Li Heishui roared.

"It's fine, let them use whatever means they have; I'll meet them!" Ye Fan was very calm, looking around disdainfully, proudly facing the four Source Art Grandmasters.

Everyone was astonished; the young Source Art Grandmaster had subdued the people from the Source Arts families. Everyone was stunned.

Ye Fan did not continue cutting the immortal tomb. Instead, he began setting up in the Jade Bamboo Forest. He said, "For everyone's safety, I should isolate a pure land here."

Source Art duels involved life and death. The disciples of the ancient families had long boasted that they would crush Ye Fan in the duel. Only now did everyone believe that these were not just taunts or provocations, but genuine threats.

At this moment, the Ji Family's powerful figure, Xu Tianxiong, and the Great Xia Imperial Uncle had finished carving array patterns, placing the blood sacrifice altar in the center.

"You can cut this stone now," the old Taoist priest Chilong gestured to Nangong Qi.

"Alright, I'll cut the stone first then," Nangong Qi stepped forward. However, he didn't approach closely; instead, he prepared to strike from a distance.

The four Grandmasters made their move. They had already observed that there was a goddess inside. He certainly didn't want to be miserably killed after awakening her.

"Are these array patterns reliable?" Some older figures felt uneasy in their hearts. If an ancient king were to emerge, it could very likely lead to mountains of corpses and rivers of blood, with millions slain.

"Other array patterns might not suffice, but this one is enough. These are the divine patterns and laws of the Divine City's Heavenly Prison, capable of restraining any master," an elder from a Holy Land said.

The Divine City, coexisting with the world, could be traced back to the earliest human era; no one knew its true origin.

Its Heavenly Prison was unimaginable. Even peak masters, once trapped inside, would find it hard to escape. Therefore, the three Holy Lord-level figures were not overly worried.

Nangong Qi swung his blade from a distance. A silver light, like a bolt of silk, coiled and danced, extremely agile, resembling a true dragon in motion.

And at that very moment, a strong aura burst forth. Even those unfamiliar with Source Arts felt a tremor and sensed a suppressive power.

"The aura of the Primordial Era!"

Any cultivator with knowledge of Source Stones knew this was the unique, intense aura of the Primordial Era, many times stronger than what they had encountered before.

People even suspected that this stone originated from the Primordial Ancient Mine!

Stone fragments rustled down. The terrifying aura grew increasingly intense. Many couldn't help but tremble, as if they were already inside the Primordial Life Forbidden Zone.

"It's just a stone, yet why does it bring such an intensely terrifying feeling?"

"Could it really be a blood stone that flowed out of the Primordial Ancient Mine?"

Many older figures questioned the people from Yaoguang Stone Workshop: how far was that divine temple from the Primordial Ancient Mine, and how did they transport the blood sacrifice altar out?

The Yaoguang people's faces were numb, and no one responded. They had cut six blood stones without gaining anything, and now this scrap piece was about to reveal a goddess, which was truly a blow to them.

Thump! A large piece of stone skin fell to the ground, revealing that one-third of the blood sacrifice altar had been cut open. Unbeknownst to them, an incredibly chilling killing intent permeated from the stone.

The creature contained within did not resemble a goddess. Instead, it seemed like an unparalleled demon, making people tremble involuntarily. Many with weaker cultivation felt their hearts pound with fear.

"Step back. It's best not to watch this kind of spectacle!"

Many people felt fear in their hearts. They chose to retreat far, and some even directly left the stone garden, not daring to stay any longer.

"This is no ordinary treasure; if an ancient king were to emerge, it would cause millions of casualties and rivers of blood at every turn. Protecting one's life is most important."

Some people were very cautious, suppressing their curiosity and impulse, and truly left.

However, the vast majority of people did not leave. They wanted to witness the miracle with their own eyes, trusting in the Divine City's Heavenly Prison and the capabilities of the Holy Lord-level figures.

Bang! Another large piece of stone skin fell to the ground. Bone-chilling killing intent surged out, making people shiver from head to toe, their hearts turning cold. They couldn't help but tremble.

At this point, even Nangong Qi felt a sense of hesitation in his blade stroke. He too felt fear, as the killing intent had seeped into his very bones.

This time, his blade stroke was unsteady. He cut off a thick layer of outer stone skin, and a heaven-shaking killing intent burst forth, sending Nangong Qi stumbling back, nearly falling to the ground.

Outside the field, many people's calves cramped, and many with weaker cultivation stood unsteadily, collapsing to the ground.

No one mocked, because everyone was enveloped by the killing intent, their bodies radiating coldness. Even their hairs stood on end.

It wasn't Nangong Qi striking the stone; rather, the blood sacrifice altar itself crumbled, and an insane, tsunami-like killing intent surged out, making heaven and earth tremble!

"A rust-speckled spearhead!"

"A battle spear from the Primordial Era!"

Immense suppression weighed down, and many people were trembling, extremely nervous, backing away. Some even collapsed to the ground, covered in goosebumps.

Inside the stone was a spearhead, crimson as blood, covered in rust. It was almost decayed, yet it was incredibly chilling, possessing a heaven-shaking killing intent!

The aura that made people tremble, the source of everyone's fear, originated from it. The blood-stained spearhead represented destruction and death!

It was not sharp, nor did it possess any luster; the passage of time had almost eroded it. Yet, its killing intent remained undiminished.

Its form was on the verge of decay, but its endless, chilling killing intent never faded, containing an aura that made heaven and earth tremble.

"This is an unparalleled fierce weapon. It must have slain unimaginable beings!"

Several Holy Lord-level figures spoke, their expressions grave.

"This spear must have pierced the bodies of peerless figures. A blood-stained fierce weapon, it retains the supreme, chilling killing intent of that shocking strike from ancient times!"

Will the goddess within the stone emerge wielding this unparalleled fierce weapon?

At the thought of this question, many people began to tremble, and endless fear enveloped their hearts. They retreated, shaking.

Nangong Qi calmed his mind, and it was a long time before he stepped forward again. However, it was clear that the silver blade he conjured was trembling.

Thwack! Suddenly, as the gleaming silver blade approached the spearhead, it shattered inch by inch, turning into dust. The heaven-shaking killing intent had crushed it.

The almost decaying spearhead, what kind of existence's blood had it been steeped in? Countless years had passed, yet it still possessed such bone-chilling killing intent.

"I'll do it," the Ji Family's powerful figure stepped forward. He held another silver blade, carving from a distance, as stone powder rustled down.

He did not touch the crimson battle spear, staying far from that area. He intended to cut out the other parts of the goddess, not wanting this unparalleled fierce weapon to emerge prematurely.

The stone skin continuously peeled off. A sacred aura permeated the air, and a gentle radiance burst forth, emanating an extremely divine and peaceful power.

"What kind of source is this? So silvery bright, like starlight, or moonlight?" Some older figures were astonished.

"It's cut open! A goddess, it really contains a goddess!" Many people were shocked.

"An ancient king! It must be an ancient king!" The Supreme Elders of the Holy Lands were all shocked.

"Let's see what you'll bet with now!" The disciples of the Source Arts families were both fearful and excited, staring coldly at Ye Fan and Li Heishui.