Chapter 427: Re-entering the Bronze Giant Coffin

Chapter 431: Re-entering the Bronze Coffin

The nine sacred mountains stood tall and majestic, covered in ancient trees that reached the sky and bizarre, towering rocks, truly a magnificent sight. They were not exceptionally tall, but their immense presence exerted endless pressure, as if the nine heavens and ten earths lay before him.

When Ye Fan arrived at the foot of the mountains, his body was withered, and he was barely able to stand. Looking up, a chill ran through him; the cold gaze and the terrifying figures made him feel as though he had fallen into an ice pit. On the high mountains, several figures stood side by side. Some had hair as white as snow, others had hair like a black waterfall. As the mountain wind blew, their hair danced wildly. Their eyes were cold, gazing down with no emotional fluctuations, utterly indifferent.

What was this place? The Ancient Forbidden Land! No flesh-and-blood creature could long survive here. Even the divine robes of ancient sages could not withstand the erosion and would automatically fly away, unwilling to venture deeper. No one could stay here permanently. From ancient times until now, countless supreme masters had been buried here. Even flourishing Holy Lands that entered were annihilated, turning into ashes.

Ye Fan’s heart sank. He knew these could not be ordinary people; they were terrifying and mysterious Desolate Slaves, peerless heroes from bygone eras. Silently, a woman appeared beside the figures. She had bright eyes and white teeth, a slender neck, and was as exquisitely beautiful as a lotus emerging from water. Dressed in white, she fluttered in the mountain wind, appearing like a celestial fairy from Guanghan Palace riding the wind, ethereal and flawless, truly a figure from a painting.

"Saintess Tianxuan!" Ye Fan’s heart tightened. He had encountered this woman once before and nearly died. She was the most beautiful woman in the Eastern Wasteland six thousand years ago, and also a fellow disciple of the Old Madman. Five figures stood side by side, each possessing an extraordinary aura. Only those of astonishing talent could become Desolate Slaves. They were not from the same era, but all must have once been unmatched in the world. Perhaps some of them could be found in ancient records, very likely once supreme figures who shook the world and commanded the winds and clouds across the continent.

"Is Heaven trying to destroy me?!" Ye Fan sighed. He had exhausted every means to finally approach the sacred mountains, only to encounter these astonishing Desolate Slaves. How could he possibly contend with them? Legend had it that Desolate Slaves rarely appeared; sometimes, they wouldn't climb out of the abyss for hundreds of years. Yet now, five of them had appeared at once. A sense of powerlessness washed over Ye Fan. This was his third visit to the Ancient Forbidden Land, and he had encountered peerless Desolate Slaves twice. This was truly an overwhelming run of bad luck.

At this moment, he was terribly aged. Although his stone cloak and Sky-Covering Treasure Robe were not shattered, they could no longer withstand the erosion of time. The Qilin seed had long since withered. Ye Fan had extracted endless life essence from it to sustain himself and prevent death, but he knew it couldn't last much longer. The divine medicine seed and his physical body were his greatest trump cards. He had barely managed to rush towards the sacred mountain, but now such an unforeseen turn of events had occurred.

"Whoosh!" A figure, not touching the ground, floated down from the sacred mountain like a ghost, heading straight for Ye Fan. All the hairs on his body stood on end as a terrifying aura enveloped him.

"Buzz!" At the critical moment, the Golden Blood Qi of the Sacred Body surged, boiling with infinite potential despite his aged flesh, as if inherently resistant to the power of the Desolate. Ye Fan forced himself to rally his spirits and rushed towards another sacred mountain with astonishing speed. He did not choose to leave, for in his current state, he would likely die of old age and turn to dust before he could even escape the forbidden land.

This was a middle-aged man with hair as white as snow, majestic and valiant, possessing an air of peerless dominance that suggested he must have been a world-shaking figure in his prime. He blocked Ye Fan's path almost in the blink of an eye, yet he did not make a move, instead staring intently at Ye Fan's Sea of Rundown. Ye Fan’s heart pounded violently, as if he were being targeted by an ancient desolate beast. His blood and qi felt as though they were about to be evaporated, and his body seemed on the verge of cracking open.

How powerful was this person, really? Even though Ye Fan was in a terrible state, his flesh withered and his body decaying, he was still a Sacred Body, yet he felt such overwhelming pressure! The white-haired man stepped forward, steady and firm. Each step seemed capable of cracking mountains and shattering the earth. Ye Fan watched as his Sky-Covering Treasure Robe directly cracked, and his stone cloak pulverized. Unparalleled terror! This middle-aged man, grand and imposing, seemed capable of dominating heaven and earth. He advanced calmly, like a colossal mountain pressing down on Ye Fan, threatening to crush him.

Ye Fan let out a loud shout, and golden blood energy burst forth, swirling around him. The boundless potential of the Undying Sacred Body surged, resisting the calamity. At the same time, he assumed a solemn posture and chanted a strange scripture that echoed throughout heaven and earth like descending thunder, rattling ancient trees and scattering leaves. He vibrated with the Sacred Body's golden blood energy. This was his last, most powerful trump card he could actively use: the ancient scripture of several hundred characters from the bronze ancient coffin. From the past until now, he had never understood it. When he roared it out now, it did not transform into sound, but merely a kind of fluctuation. This scripture did not exist in the world; neither writing it down nor chanting it could manifest it, making it impossible for outsiders to comprehend.

Suddenly, from the mountainside not far away, the same scripture resonated, even louder than his, overwhelming heaven and earth, as if expounding the ultimate truths of the Great Dao. The celestial sound was like thunder, yet only Ye Fan could hear it clearly. It was identical to his own scripture, transforming into a divine power whose meaning others could not grasp. Ye Fan disregarded everything else and charged straight towards the mountainside. He didn't care if the white-haired man followed; only the ancient coffin existed in his mind. At this point, his consciousness was becoming blurry, and he felt like he could collapse at any moment, unable to pay attention to anything else.

In the ancient forest on the mountainside, a massive bronze ancient coffin lay silently, exuding an aura of antiquity and showing the passage of immense time, as if connected to primeval eras. The bronze coffin was tilted on its side, its lid resting nearby. Ye Fan staggered forward and, upon reaching it, immediately stumbled inside, unable to support himself any longer.

"Am I going to die? No, I absolutely cannot die!" He clutched the Qilin divine medicine seed to his chest. The last trace of blood qi seeped out, drawing life essence into his body. He gritted his teeth, refusing to lose consciousness. However, his condition was truly too dire. Even with an iron will, he could not endure. The Great Dao's wounds fractured and rapidly expanded, nearly causing his immediate demise. Ye Fan finally fainted. The cracks in the Great Dao deepened, and his mind and body could no longer bear the burden. He collapsed within the ancient coffin. After more than five years, almost six years, he re-entered the bronze coffin. Everything, including his arrival in this world, originated from it, and now he had returned. The bronze coffin, which had traversed star regions, its origin and destination unknown, was full of too many secrets.

After an unknown period, Ye Fan slowly awoke. The celestial sound of the Great Dao had long ceased, and there was profound tranquility, not a single sound. There was no power of the Desolate within the coffin. Time could no longer continue to strip away his life. Ye Fan knew he had gambled correctly; the ancient scripture of several hundred characters had resonated with the ancient coffin. Before entering the Ancient Forbidden Land, he had made various conjectures: since even the Desolate dreaded the ancient coffin and pushed it out of the abyss, it must be impervious to that aura. At that critical moment between life and death, his choice was correct. His resonance with the ancient coffin's celestial sound allowed him to enter this place, saving him from disaster.

Although time no longer eroded him, his condition was extremely dire. The Great Dao's wounds had worsened, and his life essence was almost torn in half. Furthermore, his body was aged, his flesh withered, and he was nearly at the end of his lifespan, ready to reach his life's end at any moment. If not for the Qilin divine medicine seed in his possession, he would have already turned into withered bones. The purple Qilin, smaller than a baby's fist, was dull and nearly shriveled. This was an extravagant squandering, drawing life from an immortal medicine seed to resist time. It was likely that he was the only one in the world who had ever done such a thing. Even peerless emperors wearing the divine robes of ancient sages could not approach the sacred mountains. Although Ye Fan's physical body was unparalleled, without this seed, it would have been nearly impossible for him to reach this point and survive until now. This was the rarest sacred object in the world!

"Please don't wither and die..." Ye Fan felt a pang of guilt. Immortal medicine was unique in the world; if it died, it could never reappear. The world was silent. He looked outside but saw no sign of the white-haired man or the other figures. "Does this ancient coffin truly restrain them?" Although he had not died, Ye Fan’s lifespan was depleted. He was merely clinging to life with the Qilin seed, and the terrifying Great Dao wounds could claim his life at any moment.

"I'm trapped here. How can I reach the mountaintop?" He felt he lacked the strength to ascend. As soon as he left the bronze coffin, he would be unable to resist the aura of the Desolate. "No, I must go up! There's no time to delay, or I will surely die here!" Ye Fan's heart was filled with anxiety. If he had sufficient divine power, he could carry the bronze coffin up, resisting the erosion of time, but now he could barely walk. "What should I do? The Qilin seed is shriveled, and it's hard to extract any more life essence. How can I get up there?" Ye Fan had never felt so helpless. Death was so close; perhaps he would pass away before nightfall. With his life force depleted, he could not continue to live.

Ye Fan struggled to stand and looked out. In the ancient forest, nine massive dragon corpses, like an iron Great Wall, lay uncorrupted, gleaming with dark light and brimming with a sense of power that made one tremble involuntarily. "Are these true dragons?!" His voice trembled. The nine corpses looked identical to true dragons, their majesty like that of heaven. However, having experienced too much, he was now skeptical of the existence of celestial spirits. "Perhaps they are merely flood dragons that evolved to the extreme."

Gritting his teeth, Ye Fan clutched the Qilin seed and quickly rushed out, heading towards the massive, gleaming dragon corpses. He intended to drink dragon blood to extend his life. "Clang!" Sparks flew. Ye Fan’s fingers felt as if they were striking divine iron forged a thousand times; he couldn't cut it open at all. His injuries were too severe. Even after hacking at it several times, he couldn't budge a single dragon scale. The terrifying wounds of the Great Dao made it almost impossible for him to stand. He tried everything but couldn't break open the dragon corpses. His body became even more aged, and he nearly fell backward to the ground. Ye Fan used his last ounce of strength to force himself back into the bronze coffin, where he collapsed, unable to move again.

"Am I really going to die?" Ye Fan felt somber. Far from his homeland, having come to the other side of the starry sky, to die in a place unknown to anyone, without family or friends knowing—this was too desolate. "If I die like this, who will shed a single tear for me..." He couldn't even send out a message. Ten or a hundred years later, only a skeleton would remain here. If a person of astonishing talent could somehow arrive, they would only sigh.

Ye Fan truly did not want to die like this. He murmured to himself, "What other trump cards do I have that I can actively use?" He searched his entire body: the Golden Dao Scripture, the silver Origin Heaven Book, the Bodhi seed... Of his numerous treasures, none, except for the shriveled Qilin seed, could save his life at this moment.

"Clink!" Suddenly, a crisp sound echoed, and a small, translucent stone dropped to the ground. It was no bigger than a finger joint, flowing with seven-colored light, very crystalline and beautiful. "Little Nannan..." Seeing this small stone, Ye Fan immediately thought of the enigmatic and endearing little girl. His heart stirred. He placed the seven-colored stone in his palm, intending to draw essence from it as if it were a divine medicine. With a "whoosh," a stream of seven-colored light entered his body.

"This is..." Ye Fan was astonished. He felt entirely comfortable, and a considerable amount of strength returned to him. He could hardly believe it. What kind of stone was this, to possess such pure life essence? He continued to absorb, and stream after stream of seven-colored light surged into his body. Ye Fan finally sat up, having recovered some strength. He gazed incredulously at the small stone. It was not an immortal medicine, yet it possessed potent life essence. "Nannan..." Ye Fan hadn't expected that at this critical moment, the small stone Nannan had given him would save his life. Otherwise, he wouldn't even have the strength to stand up.