Chapter 70: Leaving

The unscrupulous Daoist sighed repeatedly. “I can never enter this Yin tomb again. Damn it…” He kept thinking about the green copper, and now that he had suddenly lost the chance, he was filled with immense regret and vexation.

The deadly trap within the cold pond had been activated, but there was no danger for those outside it.

Just then, five dazzling beams of light rapidly approached. The five prominent figures, alarmed, immediately rushed to the mountain ridge, exuding powerful pressure as they hovered in the air like deities.

Ye Fan tried to observe them, but found he couldn't see through the brilliant divine radiance. He could only make out five bright clusters of divine light, nothing else.

“The Demon Emperor’s Yin Tomb!” one of them gasped. His gaze was like a torch, and he instantly understood what lay beneath the cold pond.

“The active volcano is a Yang tomb, and the nether cold pond is a Yin tomb. One Yang and one Yin, maintaining the balance of Tai Chi, seizing the creation of heaven and earth, capable of endless transformations,” another prominent figure sighed deeply. “The Demon Emperor is indeed extraordinary. If not for this accidental discovery, it would be truly unimaginable that he established two tombs, one Yin and one Yang.”

“This is a big problem. The Yin tomb’s deadly trap has been activated, making it very difficult to enter!”

“The human race’s supreme treasure of the Eastern Wasteland is nowhere to be seen. The Desolate Pagoda is most likely in this Yin tomb!”

The prominent figures found it hard to stay calm, but they couldn’t think of a solution immediately and dared not easily enter the Demon Emperor’s Yin Tomb.

“It’s not entirely hopeless. Ten thousand years have passed, and even the most perfect arrangement will have a slight flaw. We can carefully sneak down, observe, and then decide.”

“Agreed!”

At this moment, all five clusters of light descended, and one of them instantly enveloped the unscrupulous Daoist.

“Earlier, I heard someone say they dared to slap even a Holy Land disciple to death. You must be extraordinary. Since you triggered this place, why don’t you come down with us?”

The unscrupulous Daoist’s face immediately turned green. He hastily replied, “Seniors, I was speaking nonsense. Please don’t take it seriously. This Yin tomb has activated its deadly trap, and with my cultivation, going down would mean certain death.”

“Indeed, you’re not simple, knowing about both Yang and Yin tombs. It seems you are truly extraordinary. Come down with us!”

“No, please, seniors, have mercy…” the unscrupulous Daoist wailed.

With a whoosh, five beams of light flashed. The five super-powerful figures, carrying the green-faced unscrupulous Daoist, instantly plunged into the bloody cold pond. The Daoist’s pig-like screams ceased abruptly.

As they entered, the cold pond began to boil, sending up a sky full of bloody light. The demon generals had already vanished inside earlier.

“It’s true that evil doers meet their match. Good luck, fatty!” Ye Fan stood up, patted his backside, and left the area. He knew he couldn’t stay there any longer.

A rumbling sound echoed. Bloody light shimmered, enveloping the entire primeval ruins. The area became eerie, sinister, and terrifying.

At that moment, everyone felt a sense of trepidation. Underneath the bloody cold pond, something earth-shattering seemed to be happening!

Ye Fan left the mountain ridge and retreated to a safe distance.

Currently, the surrounding mountains were etched with Dao patterns, sealing off this ancient land. Ye Fan couldn’t break through, so he could only wander among the hills. He was waiting for a chance to leave. Having obtained a golden page and, unexpectedly, a piece of mysterious green copper—a “bountiful harvest” that would drive all cultivators crazy—fleeing far away was his best option.

“I hope the restrictions break soon…”

Ye Fan’s cultivation was low, making him utterly incapable of competing with other cultivators for psychic weapons. Understanding his own limitations, he deliberately chose to travel through desolate areas.

Ye Fan opened a jade box, and a fragrant aroma immediately wafted out. The jade snake orchid was richly perfumed. At this moment, he felt compelled to act, wanting to seize the opportunity to search for spiritual herbs. Having already acquired a golden page, the complete “Wheel of Sea Scroll” would guide his path. If he could now find enough spiritual herbs, he would surely achieve something significant in a short time.

Ye Fan quickly set off into the deep mountains. Because of the emergence of the Demon Emperor’s tomb, most spiritual beasts had fled, with only a few hiding in caves, refusing to come out. At this moment, collecting spiritual herbs was infinitely easier than usual.

Earlier, when he came to the depths of the ruins, Ye Fan remembered passing a swamp where he had spotted a powerful exotic beast seemingly guarding something. He had bypassed it from a distance back then, but now he decided to go back and investigate.

Finding the mountainous area, Ye Fan quickly located the swamp. He faintly sensed waves of sinister aura and found numerous large scales, each the size of a palm, scattered among the marsh.

“It seems a big creature was hiding here earlier. Fortunately, it’s gone.”

Ye Fan searched carefully for a long time but found nothing. Finally, in the area where most scales had fallen, he noticed something unusual: an unknown plant that looked very ordinary. However, the exotic beast seemed to have carefully avoided it, never stepping on it.

Feeling suspicious, he squatted down and dug into the soil towards the roots. He dug over a meter deep but still found nothing unusual.

Just as Ye Fan was about to give up, a tiny golden glint suddenly caught his eye. Beneath the soil, at the very end of the plant’s main root, was a golden tuber, about the size of a longan, shimmering brightly.

“What is this…”

Ye Fan was greatly surprised. He suddenly recalled a record he had seen in the Spiritual Void Cavern while browsing ancient medicinal texts. It stated that when some ancient trees, having gained sentience, failed their tribulations, they wouldn’t necessarily be completely annihilated. Instead, they would often leave behind a bit of life essence, which would attach to the roots of other plants and might regenerate in the future.

“Could this be a trace of essence left by an old treant?” Ye Fan looked at the golden tuber with delight and then placed it into a jade box.

Afterward, he proceeded to the next location and soon arrived before a stone mountain. At its base was a massive black hole, from which a faint, lingering fragrance emanated.

Ye Fan’s face lit up with joy, and he quickly walked inside.

Suddenly, a low growl echoed from deep within the stone cave, accompanied by waves of terrifying, ominous energy.

Ye Fan’s body stiffened instantly. He hastily retreated, fleeing as fast as he could.

A series of rumbling sounds followed as a savage beast emerged halfway from the stone cave, growling continuously. It resembled a jackal but was completely hairless, covered instead with sharp, poisonous, pitch-black quills, making it look quite terrifying.

It was seven or eight meters long and exuded an extremely heavy, bloody, ominous aura. As it growled, dark light continuously flickered across its body, like black flames burning.

Hidden in the distance, Ye Fan knew at a glance that he couldn’t provoke this savage beast. It was much more powerful than the Jade-Horned Serpent, and its aura was incredibly daunting.

“All other exotic beasts fled, but it dared to stay. It must be extraordinary!”

Ultimately, Ye Fan gained nothing here and began searching elsewhere. Two hours later, he found three more spiritual herbs, though none were particularly rare or as valuable as the golden tuber.

Boom! Just then, the cold pond erupted with a sky-high surge of bloody light, and several figures shot up, engaging in fierce combat.

Surprisingly, there was a monster, completely black, resembling a lion, but upon closer inspection, it wasn’t. It looked exactly like the mythical *hou*, and it was fighting one of the prominent figures without being at a disadvantage.

“Unbelievable! The Demon Emperor’s mount was frozen here, its body preserved, transforming into a spiritual corpse, and now it guards the tomb!” The prominent figures in the sky surrounded the monster, intending to destroy it.

“A descendant of the legendary *hou* is indeed extraordinary. It only followed the Demon Emperor for a short time, yet it transformed to such an incredible level.”

The black *hou* beast charged back and forth, showing no signs of defeat, and several times it nearly surged back into the cold pond.

A rumbling sound. The cold pond seemed to be boiling, as demon generals’ corpses continuously surged out, controlled by the *hou*, attacking the figures in the sky.

“Even if we destroy this *hou* corpse, we won’t be able to break the Dao patterns set by the Demon Emperor and truly enter the Yin tomb…”

From a distance, Ye Fan was astonished. The Yin tomb seemed to harbor many strange things, as so many monsters were now rushing out.

Clang, clang, clang! Suddenly, clanging sounds erupted from all directions of the ruins. Initially, they resembled the vibration of metal and stone, then swelled like a tsunami, vast and surging with roars. Following this, divine lights shot up from all sides, and endless divine radiance engulfed the entire area.

The Dao patterns set by the five prominent figures had been forcibly broken!

Everyone was greatly astonished! People knew that more supreme powerhouses had arrived, and not just one. They had shattered the Dao patterns laid by the five prominent figures and disintegrated the not-so-perfect Heavenly Momentum.

Then, streaks of divine rainbows rushed in, and countless cultivators arrived, their numbers swelling several times over. The prominent figures who had acted in the shadows did not show themselves, but they had evidently already entered the ruins.

In the primeval ruins, with the cold pond as its center, bloody mist drifted, becoming increasingly eerie. Countless monsters poured out, and cultivators gathered in ever-greater numbers. No one left; more sects were arriving.

With the surrounding restrictions broken, Ye Fan was overjoyed; he could finally leave.

At this moment, his golden Sea of Bitterness contained the green copper, which was both an immense blessing and an boundless calamity. If discovered, he would instantly fall from heaven to hell. He decided to immediately get away from these ruins.

“Let them fight until the heavens crumble and the earth splits, and ghosts wail. It’s no longer my concern.”

Ye Fan quickly departed. Just as he was about to exit the ruins, he glanced back and said, “I’ll go my own way. Let others search for the supreme treasures.”

If the unscrupulous Daoist knew the truth and heard his words at that moment, he would surely cough up blood in anger and would undoubtedly skin him alive.

Of course, if other cultivators knew the situation, it might be even worse.