Chapter 630: Crossing the Celestial Gorge

Chapter 634: Crossing the Heavenly Chasm

The Pool of Immortality and the Ancient Dragon Lair existed side-by-side, not far from each other. This surprised everyone, as two legendary pure lands, long sought after by the world, were found in the same location.

"No wonder they always appeared one after another," someone exclaimed. "They're both within the Land of Ascension – this is almost like the mythical Yin-Yang duality formation!"

Not only Ye Fan, who was proficient in Source Arts, but also the others recognized its unique nature; it was a naturally formed divine land embodying Yin and Yang.

The Pool of Immortality was located at the summit of a massive mountain. The area was vast, with visible pools of water shimmering with iridescent light and overflowing with vibrant multicolored mist. A potent yang energy billowed forth, enveloping them like celestial fire.

On the other side, at the base of another great mountain, an ancient cave breathed out dragon energy. Although sacred, it exuded a profound Yin force.

"The ancient great dragon of the Qinling Mountains is moving!"

They were astonished. The great mountain where the dragon lair was located was not static; it was shifting at a speed imperceptible to ordinary people, which was extraordinary.

"We actually found the Pool of Immortality and even saw the first ancient lair of the Qinling Mountains like this – it's truly unbelievable!" They all felt a sense of unreality, a monumental immortal destiny that was almost suffocating.

At this point, Ye Fan frowned. Although they were only a dozen li away, every step forward was fraught with deadly peril, making it not so easy to approach.

"It's difficult to cross the Heavenly Chasm; this is an insurmountable dead end," he solemnly warned everyone, urging them not to act rashly and absolutely not to proceed.

Although the Land of Ascension had been infinitely weakened, this final stretch of the journey was still terrifying, as difficult as ascending to the heavens, and was known as the "Crossing the Heavenly Chasm."

"One hundred li of death traps, ninety li of immortal path, and ten li to cross the Heavenly Chasm. Even Saints would find it hard to pass through these last ten li!"

"Is it that serious?" The others felt a chill. Every step forward was equivalent to braving a death trap.

"It's even more serious than I described," Ye Fan said gravely. "The Crossing the Heavenly Chasm can also be called the 'Impassable by Immortals.' Mortals can barely get through it; it's one of the most terrifying terrains in the world!"

He hadn't expected the final ten li to be so defying of natural law, truly "Impassable by Immortals." Such terrain was unseen throughout history, yet it appeared here and now.

"What do we do?" Although they had reached the most ancient dragon lair in Central Plains, they couldn't approach it, which left them quite unwilling.

Ye Fan said, "For now, we can only wait patiently. The Pool of Immortality and the ancient lair haven't fully manifested yet. After some time, the 'Impassable by Immortals' section will likely become passable."

The ninety li of the immortal path was originally a perilous zone. In normal times, it would be impossible to traverse; even Saint Lords would meet their demise there, capable of blocking all heroes under heaven.

Now, only because the Pool of Immortality had spontaneously manifested in the world, all dangers had been infinitely weakened, almost eliminated, allowing them to reach this point.

However, the final ten li of the 'Crossing the Heavenly Chasm' had not been weakened. Even a Great Accomplishment King would face certain death by taking just one step forward.

Over a dozen silver-winged Yasha flew past, emitting piercing cries before disappearing over the horizon. On the other side, several ancient corpses on the mountain rocks seemed to be absorbing the twilight glow, an indescribably eerie sight.

"This place is truly sinister," someone remarked. "Even though it's incredibly sacred, why are there so many death spirits?"

On the ground, the twilight glow painted everything red. Humanoid creatures occasionally appeared, but they were definitely not human; many were lifeless and inert.

"The Qinling Mountains have many ancient tombs beneath them," Ye Fan explained. "Some ancient corpses have astonishing origins, and it's not surprising for some of them to become spiritual and arrive here."

"In that case, something truly was buried in the ancient dragon lair, nourished for so many years. Who could possibly deal with it?"

Suddenly, there was a commotion on the horizon. Silver-winged Yasha, flying specters, and others all retreated in fright, as if a stampede of beasts were fleeing.

"Something's not right. It's like the king of beasts has appeared, startling all the other creatures."

On the horizon, a loud thud resonated as a tall old man appeared. His scorched-yellow hair resembled wild grass, and he walked step by step.

He was over two and a half meters tall, much taller than an average person. His physique was imposing, and he possessed immense strength; with every step he took, the ground trembled.

"This person's physical body is almost terrifying. How incredibly heavy is he? It's like a mountain is moving!"

As he drew closer, the old man with scorched-yellow hair and eyes like golden pearls approached, his presence as suffocating as a moving mountain.

"This is an ancient super-emperor from the Jiuli Dynasty!" Everyone was astonished.

This person had long since passed away. The divine imperial robe he wore had decayed, yet the faint insignia of the Jiuli Divine Dynasty was still discernible, albeit in a dilapidated state.

"This is a divine robe on par with a king's divine weapon, yet it has rotted away. How many years has it existed?" Wu Zhongtian's pupils contracted.

"At least forty thousand years, otherwise a king's divine robe couldn't possibly have decayed to this extent," Ji Haoyue said.

Everyone felt wary, but the only reassuring thing was that this ancient corpse seemed to have only recently gained sentience; its eyes were still somewhat dull and not very agile.

"His physical body is strong, but he doesn't have many techniques. We should be able to handle him," Ye Fan thought, secretly relieved. If they had encountered the golden-bodied old monk from last time, everyone present would likely have died.

"He's coming for us!"

The majestic ancient emperor, his golden eyes shrouded in a pall of death, strode closer, extending a large hand to grasp forward.

*Whoosh*

Ji Haoyue flicked his finger, sending out a string of five-colored blood beads that struck the red-haired creature. This was divine king's blood, containing spiritual power capable of dispelling evil.

However, the powerful divine blood, despite hitting the ancient emperor with thudding sounds, simply failed to penetrate or harm him; it was useless.

"This is bad," Ji Haoyue exclaimed. "This person was incredibly powerful in life, a King Body! Even though he didn't cultivate to Great Accomplishment, divine blood is useless against him because he possesses it himself!"

"What?!" Everyone was astonished. This was an ancient King Body—the news was truly shocking.

Fortunately, this malevolent spirit had only recently awakened its intelligence; it only knew how to absorb the essence of the sun and moon and possessed no terrifying techniques, merely an indestructible corpse.

*Thud*

Wu Zhongtian, Li Heishui, and the others attacked, unleashing various magical treasures, but none could budge the super ancient emperor; all their attacks were repelled.

"A King's remains are this durable!"

Everyone present attacked one after another, shattering several magical artifacts, yet failing to harm the King Body in the slightest; it was as if he possessed an indestructible Vajra body.

"Let me!" Pang Bo stepped forward, conjuring several stone nails. With a *pupu* sound, they instantly pierced the ancient corpse, and royal blood, still retaining its spiritual essence, gushed out.

*Thud*

Finally, the ancient emperor's corpse collapsed. Everyone was relieved that he hadn't fully gained sentience and remained muddled; otherwise, their lives would have been in danger.

"What powerful and mysterious stone nails!" Ji Haoyue was greatly astonished.

These stone nails had a significant origin; they were nails from the coffin made of the Ancient Enlightenment Tree. Ye Fan had given them to Pang Bo, who treasured them.

Although they were merely coffin nails, they had been refined by a being revered by the ancient myriad races as transcending deities, imbuing them with incredible power.

"The Undying Emperor—it's truly unimaginable how powerful he was, if even the nails from his coffin are this terrifying..."

Over the next half-month, Ye Fan meticulously observed the Pool of Immortality and the dragon lair, sketching countless Source Heaven patterns.

Using Source Arts for divination, he densely carved Source Heaven patterns on the ground ten li away, countless as the stars.

"I estimate that in about ten more days, this place will fully manifest in the world, and the 'Impassable by Immortals' section will become passable."

"Excellent! In another half-month, we'll have a great harvest!"

"Be extremely careful," Ye Fan solemnly warned. "Even if this place manifests spontaneously, there are only eight paths of life, branching out in eight directions."

After so many days of calculations, Ye Fan's heart was pounding. These final ten li contained ultimate killing intent; any emperor who entered could be turned into a pool of gore.

"You must remember this carefully!" He drew a map on the ground, marking the eight routes leading to the central immortal pool and dragon lair.

Over the next dozen or so days, Ye Fan exhausted his mental energy, laying down endless Source Heaven patterns and incorporating the terrain of the entire area.

"Once it truly manifests, other powerful individuals will surely enter. We can only seize a head start."

There were only eight life paths to cross. Coincidentally, there were eight of them, so they decided each person would take one path, securing an advantage and competing with latecomers for the heavenly destiny.

"Sure enough, someone's here!"

Time passed quickly. The mist along the ninety li immortal path dispersed, and someone discovered the location. The news spread immediately.

Two more days passed, and a strange phenomenon occurred in the final ten li of the Heavenly Chasm: the killing intent weakened, allowing passage.

"Don't move rashly. Wait another half day!" Ye Fan stopped the others.

Other people had also arrived at this place. Many rushed forward, but they couldn't even let out a grunt; they were instantly incinerated on the spot.

"Let's go!"

Ye Fan calculated that the time was right. The eight individuals began to move, each choosing a path of life and advancing swiftly.

Every step they took was meticulous; they had practiced countless times beforehand and had thoroughly memorized every landing spot.

These ten li were unique; now there were only eight paths of life. No one dared to be careless, fearing they might take the wrong route.

"Oh dear!"

On one path, Ji Family's Little Moon let out a cry of surprise. In an adjacent area, Ji Haoyue was startled, then breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out to be the Ji Family's Saint Lord, who had caught up to his sister.

"Quickly retreat. Don't come in here; it's too dangerous," the Ji Family Saint Lord said, pointing a finger at Ji Ziyue's brow and extracting a route map.

"That old fox must have arrived much earlier!" Ye Fan muttered to himself on another path.

"Patriarch, take me in with you," Ji Ziyue pouted, shaking her patriarch's arm and refusing to let go.

"Many people will die here today; quickly retreat," the Ji Family Saint Lord said, with a sweep of his sleeve, he tossed her out to a safe landing spot.

Ji Ziyue wrinkled her delicate nose, then turned and ran. After getting out, she chased after Ye Fan's path and followed him in.

In the distance, the Lords of several great Holy Lands—the Jiang Family, Yaoguang, and Feng Clan—appeared, accompanied by numerous experts, including Ouyang Ye, who was infinitely close to the realm of a Source Earth Master.

On the other side, the various schools of thought from the Central Plains, the Four Immortal Divine Dynasties, and their respective Sect Masters appeared, accompanied by some Dragon-Seeking Earth Masters.

The world was not lacking in extraordinary individuals. After their own divinations, they followed the eight paths indicated by Ye Fan, and many powerful cultivators joined in.

*Swish, swish, swish*

With their kasayas rustling, a group of old monks appeared. Several of them had multiple layers of Buddha's light emanating from behind their heads, with divine halos surrounding their bodies. They wore expressions of sorrow and compassion, clearly indicating they were peerless masters.

On the path leading due east, a young man appeared, driving a golden ancient war chariot. He possessed a majestic and imposing bearing, with black hair cascading over his shoulders. Wang Teng had arrived.

He had cultivated the Martial Dao Celestial Eye, and two beams of light shot from his dark pupils, fixing on Jiang Huairen's back. Radiating immense brilliance, he gave chase.

*Thud*

The golden ancient war chariot brushed past Jiang Huairen's head, disheveling his hair. He nearly swore out loud, but seeing it was the Northern Emperor, he could only restrain himself for the time being.

"Damn it, Wang Teng! Do you really think you're the Heavenly Emperor? Just you wait."

On the golden ancient war chariot, Wang Chong stood beside his elder brother, glanced back, and sneered disdainfully, saying, "When you come in later, don't let me see any of you. Get as far away from us as possible. That kid who caused us trouble in Qin City before was definitely Ye Fan. Now that my elder brother's true body is here, tell him to clean his neck and wait to be slaughtered."