Chapter 614: Again Seeing the Heaven-Devouring Demonic Skill

The Divine Conversion Art is a mysterious and formidable secret technique that can transform a disloyal person into a devout protector of the sect. Its power is truly astonishing.

It's important to understand that this isn't mind control; rather, it works from the very core of a person's heart, leading to a natural and genuine conversion, not a forceful takeover of their will.

Though the Qinmen sect is small, with only just over a hundred members, it is unfathomably profound. This instilled a sense of awe in Ye Fan, especially since even King Biluo had been converted – a truly significant event.

According to the old man, King Biluo was certainly not the only master on the main peak to have undergone conversion. Over the past thirty years, there must have been other remarkable individuals as well.

Indeed, those capable of finding this place for the Nine Secrets must be extraordinary individuals, and the most exceptional among them are undoubtedly outstanding talents, far surpassing their peers.

After parting ways with the old man, Ye Fan's mind raced with many thoughts. The Qinmen sect was full of oddities and should not be underestimated. If even he, a Sacred Body, were to be converted, it would be a major problem.

At the same time, a sense of unease settled in his heart. The Divine Conversion Art was created by the Southern Ridge Heavenly Emperor, who was suspected to be another incarnation of the Ruthless Emperor. This was not good news.

Hua Yunfei was likely within the Qinmen sect, and this secret art would undoubtedly hold a fatal temptation for him. If he acquired it, it would significantly boost his power, as it originated from the same lineage.

“I still need to enter the inner sect, otherwise, I won't be able to obtain the Nine Secrets. But I must guard against being converted,” Ye Fan mused, having formulated a strategy.

“For now, I should focus on increasing my strength. Also, entering the inner sect won't be easy, so I'll use this time to search for Dragon Marrow,” he decided.

The night wind blew, making the expanse of low hills hazy under the sparse stars. Trees swayed gently, and the roars of wild beasts echoed from deep within the mountains.

A crescent moon hung in the sky, its light limited. The forest floor was dim as Ye Fan walked alone at midnight, observing the mountain terrain in search of Dragon Marrow.

In the distance, a pine forest was remarkably quiet. A clear spring gurgled forth, night birds chirped softly, and the fragrance of plants permeated the air.

Suddenly, his expression changed, and he stopped. He saw a beautiful woman sitting on a bluestone, palms and soles facing upwards, enveloped by a halo of pure white light.

Though the stars and moon were dim, considerable starlight and moonlight flowed into the depths of the pine forest, converging on her body, making her appear white and ethereal.

“Li Xiaoman...?” Ye Fan exclaimed in surprise.

The cultivation technique she practiced was undoubtedly extraordinary. Three hundred and sixty-five golden vortices appeared around her, incredibly radiant, gathering essence from all directions and absorbing the vital energy of the sun and moon.

“The stars of the heavens… Is she aligning her body with the three hundred and sixty-five main stars?” Ye Fan wondered, filled with uncertainty and astonishment. He had never heard of or seen such a profound technique.

He activated his Origin Heaven Divine Eye, observing carefully, determined to see clearly.

Suddenly, his heart trembled. Within each of the three hundred and sixty-five golden vortices sat a golden figure, like a deity.

The essence of plants from all directions, the Dragon Qi of the earth, and the vitality of stars and moon all converged like water, flowing into the three hundred and sixty-five golden vortices to forge those golden figures.

Ye Fan wanted to see more clearly, but the figures in the golden vortices were too indistinct. They had no specific features, but he could feel a sense of majesty and loftiness, an aura of divinity.

“What a powerful and wondrous technique! Her body corresponds to the main stars of the heavens, forging a deity in each golden vortex. What incredible divine abilities would she possess when she reaches the pinnacle of this cultivation?”

Ye Fan pondered, quite astonished, and eventually realized that the three hundred and sixty-five golden figures were, in fact, one single deity, distributed across different parts of her body.

“To forge a... peerless deity, how truly profound!”

Suddenly, his body trembled as he saw an even stranger sight: an ancient drawing appeared behind Li Xiaoman, depicting a golden deity standing on an ancient battlefield, looking down upon all other gods.

On the ancient battlefield, a golden light flowed. Many corpses lay fallen, their blood appearing in five different colors, clearly not belonging to ordinary mortals and incredibly mysterious.

Ye Fan was greatly shocked. Among the corpses were golden-bodied Arhats, and upon closer inspection, even seven-colored Bodhisattvas, all lying dead on the ground.

“What a powerful deity, treading upon the five-colored blood of Bodhisattvas and Arhats...”

The mountains trembled slightly. Throughout the vast landscape, the endless essence contained within the earth's veins erupted, converging on Li Xiaoman's body, entering the three hundred and sixty-five golden vortices to forge that golden deity.

During this process, Li Xiaoman's body continuously shimmered with divine light, her crystal-clear, jade-like flesh being repeatedly tempered and uniting with the three hundred and sixty-five deities.

When her eyes opened and closed, they revealed faint golden glints, indescribably eerie, like an ancient demon god — beautiful yet wild and alluring.

The essence of the sun and moon from the heavens, and the spiritual energy from the earth's ancestral roots, transformed into rivers flowing into her body. The speed at which she absorbed vital energy was astonishing.

This place was over a thousand miles from the Qinmen sect, so there was no concern about being detected. She sat there motionless, cultivating this Heavenly Art, which was nowhere to be found in ancient texts.

“Where did she learn this?”

Suddenly, Li Xiaoman's body trembled, her long hair fluttering. Above her head, a black treasure vase appeared, initially indistinct, then gradually solidifying.

“This is…!” Ye Fan's eyes sharpened instantly.

Strands of dark light seeped from Li Xiaoman's crown, forming a treasure vase above her head. The dark light flickered, imbued with Dao essence, appearing ancient and natural.

The vase was simple in design, like a vessel of the Great Dao itself, seemingly capable of suppressing all heavens and myriad realms, profound and unfathomable.

It was too familiar. This Great Dao Vase was almost identical to the Sky-Swallowing Demonic Jar. Li Xiaoman had forged the vase body with her own essence, cultivating it to this level.

The Black Emperor had once said that upon reaching a certain level of comprehension in the Sky-Swallowing Demonic Art, one could choose to forge a Great Dao Vase. This was a vessel of the 'Dao,' through which immeasurable magical power could be gathered in the future.

The dark light flowed as the treasure vase was forged, floating above her head. The three hundred and sixty-five golden vortices trembled, then completely vanished, leaving only the treasure vase to cultivate with her.

“She also cultivates the Sky-Swallowing Demonic Art…!” Ye Fan's gaze was sharp, but he made no move.

Undoubtedly, Li Xiaoman practiced two Heavenly Arts. The first was impossible to deduce, but the latter demonic art was easily identifiable, with the Great Dao Vase floating, possessing the power to suppress the heavens.

“Boom!”

The mountains and forests trembled in unison, and the sky hummed softly. The cultivation method created by the Heavenly Emperor was infinitely profound; the Great Dao descended, and streaks of laws appeared, intertwining with the treasure vase.

Furthermore, all beings and myriad things in the heavens were affected. Wisps of divine power gathered from all directions, even more intensely than what the three hundred and sixty-five golden vortices had drawn.

“Whoosh!”

Suddenly, Li Xiaoman's eyes snapped open, revealing a pale golden hue, and she looked towards Ye Fan like two flashes of lightning.

Her skin was like jade, exquisitely beautiful and ethereal, mysterious yet strange, like a beautiful demon god reborn. She seemed to have sensed something.

Ye Fan used his Origin Technique to merge with the mountains and earth veins, leaving no human aura. Then, employing the Line Secret, he vanished into thin air, moving far away.

“She only appears to be in the Dao Palace Secret Realm, but how can she possess such acute spiritual perception?!”

Ye Fan was greatly surprised. There was something strange about Li Xiaoman; it was one thing for her to have cultivated two Heavenly Arts, but she could also detect someone secretly observing her.

“Yiyi once said that Li Xiaoman also entered the Immortal Palace outside the Ancient Forbidden Zone. Could she have obtained a great fortune there?”

Yet, he still felt something was amiss. Her first profound technique was too bizarre to cultivate, forming a deity within golden vortices that strode over the corpses of golden-bodied Arhats and Bodhisattvas. It was truly demonic and wild.

“What kind of encounter did she have? Her actual combat power is definitely far beyond the Dao Palace. What happened to her?”

Ye Fan made no move, unwilling to tip his hand. He wanted to draw out Hua Yunfei, who was hidden too deeply, with no clues about him so far.

The Qinling Mountains are rich in ancient tombs underground. Whenever mountain torrents erupt, one or two ancient coffins might be washed out from the mountains, which is no longer a rare sight locally.

Ye Fan continued his cultivation along the way, moving through the Soul-Calling Ridge mountains. He observed the terrain, searching for rare treasures and potent resources to aid his breakthroughs during enlightenment.

Over the past half-month, he had traveled over ten thousand miles. He had already discovered eight ancient coffins within the earth's veins, all containing the corpses of Saint-level masters, deceased for an unknown number of years, their weapons long since decayed.

The oldest one dated back eighteen thousand years, identified by clear inscriptions in the jade coffin as a former Emperor.

However, he hadn't found a single drop of unusual essence. He had ventured deep into countless mountains, observed Dragon Qi, but was consistently unable to acquire any potent resources.

“Within these million li of Qinling Mountains, an astonishing great dragon lies coiled, surely harboring unparalleled divine resources. It’s just that this region is simply too vast…”

Ye Fan frowned, standing in the sky, looking down upon the vast Qinling Mountains. A million li, boundless and immense—how could one see its end? Yet, he could clearly perceive the astonishing Dragon Qi congregating.

This energy was peculiar; only those who had inherited the Origin Heaven Master's lineage could see it. It was a single great dragon, stretching hundreds of thousands of li, truly too majestic.

“No wonder the Qinling Mountains are full of ancient tombs. This dragon is simply too massive, containing endless vitality and the mysteries of life and death. Someone must have glimpsed this secret in ancient times, which is why they all came here to be buried.”

The dragon vein was too immense, making it difficult to ascertain where the treasured resources it nurtured were located. Furthermore, numerous false dragons intertwined, making it hard to distinguish true from false.

“There must be dream-grade divine resources, comparable to immortal medicine, most likely already transformed into living beings,” Ye Fan surmised.

It was another quiet night, with a full moon high in the sky. The land was bathed in silver light, as if a thin mist hung over it.

Ye Fan had been searching for over half a month without success. Unknowingly, he had arrived deep within the Soul-Calling Ridge, already over ten thousand li away from the Qinmen sect.

“Awoo…!”

Suddenly, a sound like a bird's cry mixed with a wolf's howl echoed, making all the mountains tremble.

“Boom!” “Boom!”

In the distance, over a dozen mountains in succession were shattered by the roar. Dust and smoke filled the sky, obscuring the divine moon.

“What a powerful creature?!” Ye Fan's expression changed.

A strange bird, its body shimmering with green light like a green roc, but possessing a wolf's head, measured over thirty zhang long. The sound had come from it.

“An ancient variant—the Night Sky Wolf!”

“Roar…!”

Another great roar erupted, and a rumbling sound came from another mountain range. A silver giant ape, a hundred zhang tall, walked forth, trampling some of the low hills.

As soon as the two creatures met, they lunged at each other as if fueled by deep enmity. Green and silver lights erupted, shaking the area intensely, and flattening over a dozen nearby peaks.

Ye Fan was astonished. These were two exotic beast kings, immensely powerful; even a Saint Lord would find it difficult to subdue them.

“What are they fighting over?”

Bang!

In the distance, half of a majestic mountain collapsed, and a dilapidated bronze carriage rushed out, drawn by several ceramic horses, an extremely peculiar sight.

Behind it, an old man in an ancient dragon robe and a mottled dragon crown drove the carriage. His face was ashen gray, utterly lifeless.

“An ancient Emperor has become a Corpse King, serving as a driver…” Ye Fan was quite shocked.

Inside the dilapidated bronze carriage, there was a small figure, just over a foot tall, entirely purple and glowing, very peculiar.