Chapter 696: 少年老疯子

Tianyuan is an ancient city with a very long history, existing for countless ages. No one knows when it originated.

Outside the city, in this barren land, there are endless secrets. Legend has it that the Ancient Emperor Taiyin once resided here, leaving behind countless legends.

Stone mountains tower, devoid of any vegetation. The land is scorched, as if it had endured the fiercest True Sun Fire. The red earth had melted and crystallized into glittering substances.

"Legend says the Ancient Emperor Taiyin cultivated here, didn't he? He practiced the Taiyin True Scripture, which is utterly soft and yin. How could he have caused such a scene?" someone quietly asked.

"What do you know? Extreme Taiyin can give birth to Yang. When it reaches its limit, it transforms. Otherwise, how could he have achieved the supreme Dao Fruit of an Ancient Emperor? This is a manifestation of ultimate perfection!" another person said.

Ye Fan wanted to rush forward, but the Old Madman was already gone. His movements were too fast; he vanished with each step, entering the depths of this ancient land.

"Don't push! Why are you trying to go inside? This is a living ancient Saint! Do you wish to provoke him? Do not approach his forbidden ground."

"This ancient Saint has a strange temper. He dislikes being disturbed and never accepts people's homage. It's better to avoid him and not bring trouble upon yourselves."

Some people warned, saying that several sect leaders had gone to pay respects in recent days, but they were met with indifference, utterly unmoved, as if out of sync with the entire world.

"Senior!"

Finally, Ye Fan saw the Old Madman again. He saw him emerge from a grotto, standing atop a mountain peak in a single step.

"Old Madman, big brother!" he called out again.

People next to him stared at him as if they had seen a ghost. Who dared to address a Saint in such a manner? It was truly astounding. He must be an ancient from a long-past era.

"Who is he, daring to call out like that? Is he tired of living? Even several patriarchs pay their respects as juniors, yet he dares to speak like this?!"

"Who are you, to be so disrespectful to a Saint?"

However, to everyone's astonishment, the disheveled, strange man in the distance suddenly looked over, his gaze piercing through his wild hair, fixed on Ye Fan.

Almost instantly, Ye Fan was lifted into the air, against his will, appearing on the stone mountain. This left many people wide-eyed and astonished.

"Greetings, Senior!" Ye Fan was very excited. He had never imagined seeing the Old Madman in the Ziwei Ancient Starfield. Was this the power of a Saint, capable of traversing the dark cosmos?

"Why are you here?" the Old Madman uttered in a low voice. This was the first time he had actively spoken to Ye Fan.

Unable to calm his heart, Ye Fan sent out a divine thought, presenting everything he had experienced, seeking the Old Madman's help to cross the starfield together.

"Archaic Forbidden Land!" Two terrifying beams of light shot from the Old Madman's eyes, incredibly brilliant, piercing the sky like two divine lamps.

For a full quarter of an hour, he remained motionless, gazing at the Big Dipper. His emotions surged intensely, unable to settle.

Ye Fan knew that he had a sorrowful past there; all his fellow disciples had perished, and now only he remained, alone and half-mad.

When the divine thought sent by Ye Fan showed the encounter with the purple-bronze warship in the dark cosmos, the Old Madman's expression instantly changed. Divine light blazed in his eyes, and he said, "A ship full of Primordial Ancestor Kings?!"

Ye Fan's heart felt a chill. He felt the supreme might of a Saint for the first time. A powerful battle intent soared into the sky, threatening to tear apart the universe and pierce through the cosmos.

He truly had the illusion that the Old Madman had become a deity, intending to single-handedly charge into the starry sky to slay those Primordial Ancestor Kings.

"If these people don't die, humanity will face a great catastrophe. Their revival requires an endless source of life; even millions of corpses won't be enough." The Old Madman spoke these words in a very cold and chilling tone.

"What?" Ye Fan was startled, wanting to ask more, but the Old Madman became as placid as an ancient well again, no longer saying anything, like a piece of decaying wood.

Finally, he gritted his teeth and revealed that he came from the other side of the starry sky, a place called Earth. The Old Madman could travel the cosmos; if he could take him home, just the thought of it made his blood boil.

The Old Madman remained silent for a long time. Only after a considerable while did he say, "Difficult, difficult, difficult. Without cosmic coordinates, there is simply no way to reach the place you speak of. One could easily get lost in the desolate cosmos and perish."

Hearing this, Ye Fan felt as if cold water had been poured over him. Whether it was Mars or ancient Earth, they all had their precise locations, but how would he know them? He certainly couldn't pinpoint the so-called coordinates.

Suddenly, the Old Madman's eyes blazed, shooting out two dazzling divine lights that instantly pierced into the starry sky, gazing at the Big Dipper. Then his body began to fade.

"You... something is about to happen to me!" he said in a low voice.

Ye Fan's heart skipped a beat. What change was about to happen to the Old Madman? Was his condition very poor? What was going to happen?

The next moment, he was sent flying, away from the barren land, falling into the crowd, far from the scene.

The Old Madman waved his hand, and an unknown number of array patterns appeared out of thin air, instantly engulfing this place, as a vast light barrier enveloped the scorched earth.

This was an extremely complex and profound ancient array, with killing intent at every step, completely sealing off the area!

Ye Fan vaguely recognized that it contained a corner of the Killing Array of Emperor Wushi, which the Black Emperor had shown, and a corner of the divine patterns of Emperor Void. These two combined, along with other vast and intricate Dao patterns, were densely packed.

The ancient array sealed the sky and earth, suppressing himself and preventing him from escaping. This stunned everyone.

"What is he doing? Those look like parts of Emperor patterns! Does he intend to suppress himself to death?"

"What's wrong with this Saint? Why is he doing this to himself?"

Everyone was perplexed, their faces showing disbelief, as they looked inside.

"Roar..."

Just then, the Old Madman let out a great roar. His dense, ink-black hair instantly turned snow-white, swaying like wild grass. In a single breath, he aged several thousand years!

He was originally tall and robust, appearing as a middle-aged man. Now, he was incredibly decrepit, having lost countless years in an instant, utterly aged.

However, at this moment, he was terrifying. His gaunt head gazed at the sky, his eyes intimidating, as if he had become demonized. With his second great roar, this ancient land completely collapsed.

"Heavens! In the past, this was the cultivation ground of the Ancient Emperor Taiyin, enduring countless tribulations without decaying. Yet today, it was shattered by his roar!"

Everyone was horrified, their hair standing on end.

With the Old Madman's roar, all the stone mountains collapsed, and boulders tumbled. For an unknown radius of many miles, hundreds, even thousands, of large peaks fell into dust, erased forever.

"Pfft!"

Some people coughed up large mouthfuls of blood, falling into pools of blood on the spot. Even separated by two incomplete Emperor patterns and a vast, unfathomably profound ancient array, the sound still managed to pass through, and people couldn't bear it.

"The legends are indeed true! An ancient Saint's single strand of hair can slay thousands of troops, and a drop of their essence blood can kill a Saint Lord. What was said is not false!"

"If it weren't for the incomplete Great Emperor array patterns, everyone outside would have died, shattered by the roar, evaporated into bloody mist, not a single drop remaining!"

People's hearts trembled. A Saint's roar was terrifying to this extent. If he truly wanted to kill, who could stop him? There was an unbridgeable chasm between ordinary people and him. He stood high above, capable of looking down upon all beings.

The Old Madman let out another great roar. His white hair, like tangled grass, was in disarray. He had lost himself, and killing intent filled the air. Even with the great array blocking it, people's skin felt as if it would tear. One could imagine what it was like inside the array.

The cultivation ground of the Ancient Emperor Taiyin completely disintegrated. Nothing remained, only the array patterns shimmered, preventing the aura of this peerless god-devil from leaking out.

"What's happening? Why is this occurring? What's wrong with the Old Madman's body?!" Ye Fan was greatly alarmed and extremely worried.

The Ancient Emperor Taiyin, who achieved Dao during the Primordial Era, had divine writings recorded in ancient texts. His power was so immense that it was incomprehensible. He could pluck stars and seize the moon, slay gods and demons, with heaven-defying abilities!

He had been gone for so long, yet people were still filled with reverence, worshipping him as a deity. And now, such a Saint had come to his cultivation ground.

"Boom!"

With a mighty tremor, the Ancient Emperor Taiyin's place of Nirvana surged violently. A black moon, terrifying and eerie, appeared on the Old Madman's forehead.

"That's... Taiyin Saint Power!"

"This Saint is incredibly powerful! He has condensed a Taiyin imprint! Has he practiced the Taiyin True Scripture?!"

"Is he trying to walk the path of ancient Great Emperors, comprehending ancient scriptures like Taiyin and Sun?!"

People were shocked, discussing among themselves.

The Old Madman, however, became even crazier, completely demonized. The black moon on his forehead grew increasingly terrifying.

His roars grew louder. His disheveled white hair danced against the void. His body rapidly transformed, first appearing middle-aged, then turning into a youth.

"Boom!"

Finally, a seventeen or eighteen-year-old youth stepped out from his body, full of vigor, incredibly intimidating, and brimming with sharp energy.

Behind him, the old body remained inert and motionless, like a clay or wooden statue, heavy with the aura of twilight.

The youth's eyes were like two celestial swords, incredibly sharp, making it impossible to meet his gaze. This was an extremely powerful and terrifying youth.

"How could this be?!" Ye Fan was dumbfounded.

This was a youthful madman. With a turn, he opened his mouth and inhaled, swallowing the elderly madman. Then his body trembled violently, and he fully recovered.

Everyone was stunned. What kind of miraculous art was this? A black Taiyin moon imprinted on his forehead, rejuvenation, and then devouring his former self to erase the marks of time, appearing in the form of a youth.

Although the Old Madman's appearance had changed, his previous madness had not diminished. He was still in a demonized state, his eyes filled with endless killing intent!

With his final great roar, the leveled ground sank, forming a bottomless abyss. With a casual wave of his hand, he collected all the array patterns.

Afterwards, he drew patterns on the ground, laying out new Dao patterns. It seemed as if he was deducing something so intricate and profound that even a sect leader-level figure would feel dizzy and get a splitting headache.

"Dozens of Primordial Ancestor Kings, and you three Saints, including the Thousand-Handed Demon, have all come to the Ziwei Ancient Starfield. Do you intend to slaughter countless beings? I will kill you to achieve my Dao!"

As soon as the youthful Old Madman uttered these words, thunder rumbled across the heavens and earth, as if he had enraged the heavens.

He stood alone in the void, his black hair dancing wildly, his gaze as terrifying as knives, fixed on a certain direction.