Chapter 586: Immortal?

The strong cultivators from Central Province were dominant, but some also came from the Western Desert and Southern Ridge. Each ascended the ten-thousand-zhang jade platform using their own methods; all of them were major figures.

At this moment, Ye Fan and his companions seemed quite conspicuous, as they could by no means be considered strong cultivators, yet they had ascended using a broken bowl.

"This bowl is quite good," Xiao Yunsheng said sinisterly, reaching out a large hand to snatch the bowl, intending to take it.

The platform exerted immense pressure. If the broken bowl were taken, Ye Fan and his companions would instantly turn to dust, their bodies and souls utterly destroyed.

Xiao Yunsheng and his group had over a dozen forbidden artifacts floating above their heads. Combined, these artifacts blocked the heavenly might, making him fearless at this moment.

Ye Fan swept his right hand upwards, and the Human Emperor Seal naturally emerged, shaking like ten thousand mountains. It pierced forward, resisting the boundless magical energy, and struck the large hand.

"Boom!" A violent tremor erupted, and both individuals reeled back simultaneously. Everyone was astonished; Ye Fan's physical strength exceeded their expectations.

On this ten-thousand-zhang jade platform, everyone's magical energy was sealed, making physical strength an absolute advantage.

"Everyone," Xiao Yunsheng said, his gaze sinister as he stared at the broken bowl, "this is truly a treasure. Perhaps it contains the imprinted laws of a Saint."

As soon as he uttered these words, everyone turned their gaze towards them. Ye Fan and his companions instantly became the focus of all eyes, and many revealed expressions of surprise.

Undoubtedly, this was extremely disadvantageous for Ye Fan and his group. If a chaotic battle were to erupt soon, many would likely target them to seize the bowl.

Once they lost the protection of the broken bowl, they would instantly perish on this high platform, their bodies and souls utterly destroyed. Xiao Yunsheng intended to use others to put them to death.

Ye Fan, Dongfang Ye, and their companions grew furious. Staring at the others, they longed to shatter the forbidden artifacts above their heads, making them experience that sensation first.

Unfortunately, Xiao Yunsheng and the old sect master of the Yin-Yang Sect had several mighty figures gathered around them. If it came to a real fight, Ye Fan's group was simply too weak.

"Before this bowl is lost, I will surely kill you," Ye Fan stated calmly, staring at Xiao Yunsheng.

He had only recently entered the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm and was no match for these individuals. However, the unique nature of this place gave him the leverage to speak such words.

Threatening a mighty figure in this manner struck many as absurd, yet it also filled them with a sense of dread. If they were to be slain by him, it would truly be an unjust demise.

Xiao Yunsheng smirked coldly. There was nothing more to say for now; once they descended from this ten-thousand-zhang jade platform, he would eliminate Ye Fan with swift, decisive measures.

At this point, everyone's gaze refocused on the coffin. This was the true object of their contention, a supreme immortal treasure.

"Why can't I move that coffin?" Duan De asked anxiously. He walked on the jade platform, holding up the broken bowl, having already set up his coffin-locking spell, but it had no effect whatsoever.

"This is the ancient coffin of a deity; how could mortal power shake it?" the Old Blind Man said. "Your tomb-raiding techniques are utterly useless here. Don't waste your energy."

The ancient coffin floated in the void, old and worn. Thousands of lifelike true dragons and divine phoenixes, formed from immortal energy, circled around it.

"Hiss..." Everyone drew a sharp breath.

Upon closer inspection, they realized that the ancient coffin possessed abundant vitality, a vigorous life force far exceeding their own essential energy.

"What's going on? Is the ancient deity not dead yet?"

The coffin continued to drift unsteadily. When it descended, everyone noticed something unusual: a tender sprout had grown on its lid.

"It's not that the deity isn't dead; it's that the coffin wood hasn't withered."

A branch over a meter long, vibrant green and dripping with life, had grown from the coffin lid. It had several leaves, and it was from these that the vigorous essential energy emanated.

How was this possible? This coffin should be millions of years old. After such an immense span of time, how could it still sprout new growth?

"This... this is a coffin carved from a divine tree!" the Demon Lord of Southern Ridge revealed the secret.

At this moment, everyone was deeply moved and shaken. Divine trees and immortal medicines were incredibly rare, almost extinct since the Primordial Era.

Yet someone had carved a coffin from an immortal tree. To them, this was an extravagant waste, an absolute squandering of a heavenly treasure.

"I understand now," a mighty figure said with a shudder, recalling ancient legends. "The deity was unwilling to die and sought eternal life."

At this moment, everyone was shaken, recalling some hidden secrets.

Legend had it that heavenly gods who used immortal wood for their coffins could remain imperishable for eternity and might one day be resurrected.

In this world, only immortal medicines and immortal trees could endure forever, untouched by the ravages of time. A coffin carved from immortal wood would naturally retain some of these characteristics.

Rare ancient texts contained scattered records stating that deities, seeking immortality, would find an immortal tree to be buried within before their demise.

But how many immortal trees could there be in the world? Only one or two deities had ever managed to do such a thing, as it was practically impossible.

Of course, no one believed such records. From ancient times to the present, only legends spoke of deities descending to the mortal realm, and the belief that no immortals existed had long become the consensus among most people.

However, seeing a coffin carved from an immortal tree today, everyone was deeply shaken!

Undoubtedly, this was groundbreaking, proving that the records in certain rare ancient texts might be true. In the distant past, even before the Primordial Era, perhaps immortals truly existed.

"This is... the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree!"

Finally, someone recognized the material of the coffin. The tender branch had several leaves, each as crystal clear as agate, with distinct colors and shapes.

"How extravagant!"

While exclaiming in surprise, everyone also breathed a sigh of relief. The Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree was still alive, located within Undying Mountain, and had not gone extinct.

It was conceivable that in an era predating the Primordial Age, someone had cut down an immortal tree to carve a coffin for themselves, yet left behind its divine roots.

After countless ages, the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree had recovered, and this coffin had not decayed, still retaining a wisp of life force.

"Even this coffin is a treasure!"

People pondered this. If this coffin were dismantled, it would not only be a divine material for crafting artifacts but also a priceless treasure for cultivating enlightenment.

This ancient coffin was exceedingly luxurious. Throughout history, perhaps only one or two deities had done something so extraordinary; others wouldn't even dare to conceive of it.

"Whoosh!"

Someone made a move. A wisp of misty light shot out, aiming to strike first and pull the coffin down.

"Oh?" People were surprised. There was no terrifying aura as imagined, nor any destructive fluctuations descending. This seemed illogical.

The ancient coffin, carved from the immortal tree, descended steadily onto the jade platform, appearing sacred, serene, and utterly peaceful.

"No, this immense pressure and terrifying aura aren't emanating from it," someone realized. "Could there be something else here?"

The platform was vast, enveloped in immortal mist and chaotic energy. People, prejudiced by their initial assumptions, hadn't bothered searching elsewhere.

Just then, a divine monk from the Western Desert, with his keen spiritual insight, focused on a misty area and intoned, "Amitābha."

"A corpse!"

To their horror, people discovered the source of the terror had nothing to do with the coffin carved from immortal wood; it was on the other side.

There, five-colored radiance flowed around a block of solid ice that had existed for an unknown number of ages. Inside, an ancient corpse was sealed.

This ice was peculiar. Although it emanated cold, it wasn't bone-chilling. It shimmered with five different colors and emitted astonishing vitality and vigor.

However, this tranquil aura was completely dispersed by the corpse within the ice. It seemed to stand at the pinnacle of eternity, gazing proudly across all of history and the future, with everything prostrating at its feet.

"Is this an immortal corpse?" Everyone was stunned. They didn't rush for the coffin but stared intently at the corpse.

The supreme heavenly might that emanated from the ten-thousand-zhang jade platform and spread across the surroundings originated from him; he was the source of all power.

At the same time, people noticed a subtle anomaly: the shape of the solid ice block was very similar to that of the ancient coffin, as if it had originally been placed inside it.

A thought sparked in everyone's minds: it couldn't just be a block of ice. Perhaps it truly had been inside the coffin originally. They quickly considered this possibility.

The ice was shrouded in mist. Everyone, protected by various peerless forbidden artifacts hovering above their heads, advanced against immense pressure to examine the deceased deity.

"It's not a complete body; there's no flesh or bone!"

Everyone was dumbfounded. As they drew closer and finally saw the figure within the five-colored divine ice clearly, they all showed bewildered expressions of shock and disbelief.

It wasn't a complete corpse, but merely a human skin, stained with five-colored blood, from which terrifying fluctuations emanated.

It had long purple hair, smooth skin that still gleamed with a precious luster. A split ran down its spine, indicating that the flesh and bones inside had been peeled out from there. The blood stains were dreamlike, completely unlike human blood, shimmering in five splendid colors.

"Is this a deity from before the Primordial Era? Where did its flesh and bones go? Why is only the outer layer of skin left?"

"In ancient times... did immortals exist? Is this proof?"

Everyone gathered closely, utterly shaken.

Regardless of whether it was a deity, this skin was priceless, comparable to an Emperor's sacred artifact, because the fluctuations it emitted were too terrifying.

However, no one dared to act rashly. This immortal skin's aura was almost on par with a revived ultimate weapon, crushing people to the point of collapse.

Even with various divine artifacts protecting them, they felt as if they couldn't endure much longer.

"Is this truly immortal skin?"

"Could it be the skin of an ultimate Great Emperor?"

"Oh, there's a line of ancient text here!"

Suddenly, someone exclaimed in surprise. On the other side of the solid ice, they discovered a line of text, written with powerful, calligraphic strokes like iron hooks and silver lines, as if the very laws of heaven and earth were embedded there.

At that moment, everyone's expressions were incredibly vivid. The words profoundly impacted their thoughts. The general meaning was that a latecomer wished to borrow the ancient coffin for a sleep, to bury themselves, and begged for forgiveness for the imposition.

"Borrowing even a coffin..." Many were left speechless. To borrow a coffin from a deity—could it be another deity?

"No, that's wrong! These are ancient human characters. Before the Primordial Era, only divine script existed. This couldn't be that script!" someone exclaimed.

Everyone snapped back to reality. They had been too absorbed just now and had forgotten this enormous anomaly.

"A human mighty figure borrowed a deity's coffin to fall into slumber, burying themselves. Could this be an ancient Great Emperor?"

Everyone's hairs stood on end, and their minds became intensely focused as they collectively looked toward the ancient coffin. Someone was peacefully sleeping within...

"These characters are like the Heavenly Dao itself, and dimly, there's a trace of familiarity. Where have I seen them before?"

"Indeed, they seem familiar, as if they've certainly circulated in the world before, perhaps seen only in a fleeting glance."

Everyone's hearts trembled. Who exactly was this?

They did not immediately make a move on the five-colored divine ice. Instead, they returned to the coffin carved from the immortal tree, preparing to open it and take a look first.

"Here... the mark of the latecomer!" Everyone was startled when they saw some blurred symbols, which indicated the person's identity.