Chapter 578: Divine Thoughts

"What is that?" Ye Fan asked, turning around without looking in that direction, unsure what they had seen.

"I've been exploring ancient underground tombs for over twenty years, and this is the first time I've seen anything like this..." Duan De's lips were pale, indicating the seriousness of the situation, as even he was genuinely afraid.

"Could it be the 'Divine Consciousness' mentioned in ancient legends?" The old blind man's expression changed, becoming extremely solemn.

"Most likely, that's it." Duan De stared at the corner of the cliff, as if facing a formidable enemy.

The Divine Consciousness was a vague and elusive legend, with few records in ancient texts, as its authenticity was widely doubted. Only a few ancient sects held fragmented information about it.

"How can you be sure from just a brief glimpse?" the old blind man asked.

"This is most likely the burial ground of an ancient Great Emperor, so I naturally came well-prepared. Look at the reaction of this divine rat." Duan De took out a small iron cage from his sleeve.

A small rat, glowing with colorful light, was rolling its eyes and convulsing. Nine small beams of light shot out from its skull, an extremely bizarre sight.

"The ultimate limit of numbers, nine thoughts appearing simultaneously... it must truly be the Divine Consciousness!" The old blind man exclaimed, startled.

"You understand these things too?" Duan De was somewhat surprised.

"I'm skilled in divination and naturally know something about ancient burial studies. This underground ancient tomb is truly a place where immortals are buried!" The old blind man said with a solemn expression, looking around.

"Should we retreat, or continue forward?" Duan De asked.

"We're already inside; is there still a way out?" The old blind man was uncertain and surprised.

"What exactly is Divine Consciousness?" Dongfang Ye asked.

"It is the undying divine remnant formed after ancient deities perish..." the old blind man slowly explained.

"Are there really deities in this world?" The barbarian was shocked. During his time in the primitive tribe, he had only believed in his own strength and had never heard of such things.

"Whether deities exist or not, even the Great Emperors of ancient times couldn't say for sure. There's no concrete evidence, and their existence isn't recognized or affirmed by the world, which is why ancient texts rarely mention them."

Divine Consciousness is a terrifying entity, born from the undying remnants of deities after their death. It resembles a human and possesses unparalleled power.

However, its true horror lies in the fact that Divine Consciousness is a demon, slaughtering living beings, destroying everything with extreme brutality and ferocity, making it almost impossible to resist.

Legend has it that its formation is a manifestation of the deity's evil side during life, released only after death, forming a powerful spiritual force that becomes a humanoid devil.

"Have deities truly existed in this world?" Ye Fan murmured to himself. This enigma had stumped countless cultivators throughout history, and even the Monkey's father, the Battle Saint Emperor, couldn't answer it.

"Whether there are gods or not is difficult to say.

"However, the moment that person flashed past, this spiritual rat emitted an ultimate divine thought wave," Duan De said in a deep voice.

Tombology, a profound and extensive branch of metaphysics, had been meticulously studied by Duan De for many years. He had entered numerous ancient tombs and plundered the graves of many legendary unbeatable kings.

For instance, the nine divine weapons of the Feathered King from fifteen thousand years ago, which had once dominated the world, were thus brought back to light. Furthermore, the Sky Demon Lamp from thirty thousand years ago also shone brightly once again.

Duan De was a master of tombology and naturally possessed many extraordinary methods. The ultimate divine thought wave was specifically created to verify the existence of Divine Consciousness.

"I thought it was just nonsense written in the 'Tomb Sutra,' but I never imagined it would be real. One day, I actually saw the Divine Consciousness with my own eyes," Duan De muttered.

The group arrived at the base of the mountain. The person was long gone, leaving behind only several corpses on the ground. They had no visible injuries on their bodies, but their eyes were wide open, indicating they had died with unclosed grievances.

"Scared to death!" The old swindler frowned. After a careful examination, he found that their spiritual consciousness had shattered, seemingly due to extreme terror.

Divine Consciousness... there's a demon here! The thought left no one feeling calm, knowing they might witness it firsthand at any moment.

Ahead, battle cries shook the heavens as another cave dwelling was discovered. Many rushed to contend for it, including some Grand Elders from sacred lands, engaging in fierce combat.

"Valuable cave dwellings are appearing one after another; soon, even Emperor-level figures will make their move."

After traveling for several miles, a massive cliff face stood before them. Its surface bore faint imprints of birds, beasts, fish, insects, and many ancient patterns whose meaning could not be discerned.

This spot attracted many cultivators, including several half-step Great Sages, who stood at the very front, staring intently.

"This is most likely an enlightenment diagram; we should take a look as well." Dongfang Ye was a martial arts fanatic, and upon seeing the profound diagram, he immediately stopped in his tracks, standing there to observe it.

"This is a Natural Heavenly Dao Diagram, containing the true essence of the Great Dao. However, even a Saint Lord might not be able to comprehend it," said Jue Youqing, who had been silent for a long time. Dressed in white like a deity, his voice was magnetic, resembling a Bodhisattva walking among mortals.

Ye Fan observed carefully, his heart startled. The patterns carved on this cliff face were from the same source as the ancient natural scripture Princess Yu Die had given him.

That manuscript, including these cliff carvings, must have been created by one person. It contained no profound secret techniques or specific methods, only expounded a natural way.

"Unfathomable," everyone shook their heads. It was too profound and elusive. All humans possessed emotions and desires; it was impossible to achieve the state of detached inaction, devoid of desires and thoughts, as described.

"Is this an ancient scripture meant for immortals? How could flesh-and-blood humans cultivate it? If one truly succeeded, they would become like grass and rocks, devoid of human emotions." Even the half-step Great Sages said this, then turned and departed.

"Bang!"

Suddenly, a heavy artifact pierced through the void and appeared abruptly, striking Ye Fan hard on the back. He was sent flying three hundred feet, slamming into the cliff face.

The rock face instantly cracked, forming a large human-shaped hole. Ye Fan was sent deep into the cliff, indicating the immense force of the blow.

"Thud!"

The stone wall split open, and Ye Fan burst out, a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth. He was enraged that someone had ambushed him with such immense power!

If it had been another cultivator, that single blow would have utterly destroyed their body and spirit, leaving no trace. Even Ye Fan felt his blood and Qi surge, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Not far away, a black stone seal floated in the air; it was clearly what had struck Ye Fan's back, causing him minor injuries.

"Clang!"

A slender silver spear, no longer than a chopstick, suddenly appeared and shot towards his skull with extreme malevolence.

This time, Ye Fan was prepared. He shifted his position and dodged aside. The chopstick-sized spear moved like a silver lightning bolt, capable of easily traversing the void with incredible power.

"That's a forbidden killing artifact; it can even pierce a Great Sage!" the old blind man muttered, somewhat surprised.

The black stone seal and the small silver spear were both forbidden artifacts, with limited uses but immense power, otherwise they couldn't have injured Ye Fan's physical body.

In the distance, a group of people were dumbfounded, speechless for a long time. They had used forbidden artifacts, believing that one hit would surely annihilate Ye Fan's body and spirit, but they never expected him to merely spit out a mouthful of blood.

"Even a Great Sage would have been pierced by that blow just now. What is his background that he could withstand such an attack?!"

"Is he and that barbarian from the same mother? Could they be brothers? How can his physical body be so abnormal!?"

Controlling the black stone seal and the chopstick-sized silver spear, they relentlessly attacked, aiming to eliminate Ye Fan. Two of them even flew forward, rapidly closing in.

"Ye brat, prepare to die!" This person was Xiao Zhi, a half-step Great Sage from the Xiao family, who had recently been flung away by Ye Fan over countless mountain ridges, unable to catch up.

"Ye, return my brother's life!" The other person, appearing to be in his forties, also had strong cultivation, at the ninth transformation of the Dragon Transmutation realm, and was Xiao Mingyuan's elder brother.

"Whoosh," "whoosh"...

Other members of the Xiao family threw down formation flags, intending to trap Ye Fan, but it was useless. The formations in this area were dysfunctional, and anyone below the Great Sage realm could not fly.

"Surround him! Don't let him escape!"

The Xiao family members rushed forward, surprisingly including two more half-step Great Sages, who blocked several escape routes, sneering as they pressed closer.

"You arrogant brat! How dare you act wild in my Xiao family's territory and even shoot down Mingyuan! Today, I'll skin you alive!"

"Killing him is too easy. Extract his divine soul, seal it in a bronze lamp, and burn it for a hundred years, only then will he have suffered enough!"

A group of people surrounded them, including three half-step Great Sages and other experts from the Dragon Transmutation realm. They all unleashed their weapons, striking at Ye Fan, with every one of them revealing their murderous intent.

"Rustle."

The old blind man performed a divination on the ground using turtle shells and shouted to Ye Fan, "Head east! The Gate of Life is wide open; there will definitely be a way out."

"Divination during a life-or-death battle?" Dongfang Ye glared at him, then hefted his wolf-tooth club and said, "Brother Ye, I'll help you."

"Buzz!"

He swung his wolf-tooth club, instantly smashing a powerful expert from the Dragon Transmutation realm into a bloody pulp without any suspense. Even their ancient treasure was reduced to dust.

"Xiao family members, you brought this upon yourselves!" Ye Fan, having just been ambushed and sustained minor injuries, though not serious, was still furious.

He directly pulled up a hundred-zhang-tall cliff, astonishing everyone in the distance, whose jaws dropped to the ground.

"That's insane! Is he even human, with such immense strength?!"

"Boom!"

Ye Fan raised his hand and hurled it, instantly smashing several powerful experts from the Dragon Transmutation realm into pulp, crushing them beneath. Then he pulled up another hundred-zhang cliff and threw it at a half-step Great Sage.

"Thud!"

The half-step Great Sage unleashed an ancient treasure, shattering the cliff and sending dust billowing into the sky. When he looked again, Ye Fan had already drawn his bow, repeatedly vibrating the bowstring.

"Whoosh!"

Members of the Xiao family screamed continuously, pierced repeatedly, their bodies shattering, blood and bone fragments splattering.

"Die!"

The three half-step Great Sages, enraged and astonished, transformed into three streaks of light and rushed forward. Their massive hands swept across the sky, unleashing thousand-zhang-tall purple bait bagua furnaces and other artifacts, all attacking Ye Fan together.

"This way!" Duan De shouted from a distance, leading the way.

Dongfang Ye swung his wolf-tooth club, consecutively smashing four or five people to death. Jue Youqing also took action, using Buddha light to help Ye Fan block some of the attackers.

Only the old blind man performed an impromptu divination with turtle shells, saying, "Head east, then south. It's an exceptionally auspicious sign; the ancient Emperor's cave dwelling will soon appear."

"Trying to escape? Today, you have no path to heaven and no door to earth! Ye, I will turn you into human lanterns!" Xiao Mingyuan's elder brother pursued them with the three half-step Great Sages, his voice filled with extreme malice.

"Divine Consciousness! I saw it again!" Duan De shuddered, his lips turning slightly blue.