Chapter 741: Hidden Ancient Path Heaven's Secret

Everyone said that the Golden Crow clan's most glorious era had arrived. With ten exceptional prodigies in their lineage, the world believed their dominion was inevitable.

However, a tragic saga forged in blood and bones shattered this perception. All ten princes of the Golden Crow lineage perished, and even the mightiest, Lu Ya, met his end, bringing a sorrowful close to their aspirations.

This outcome chilled the hearts of all cultivators across the land. Such a feat, this decimation leaving blood and bones scattered, was the work of a single individual.

Ye Fan alone killed all ten Golden Crow princes. Such a glorious achievement would likely be recounted for many years and might even become a legend in the future.

From shooting down Golden Crows with a bent bow and battling divine scions, to clashing with a Great Completion King whose projection appeared from beyond the heavens—one by one, these astonishing battles made Ye Fan's name quickly spread across the land.

In these times, when Saints were absent and Great Completion Divine Kings were nowhere to be seen, the glorious achievements of such a young powerhouse naturally shook the world.

Across the major continents today, no one was unaware of Ye Fan's name. During this period, he had become the focal point of public discussion.

However, the past of this astonishing rising star was a blank slate, impossible to trace, as if he had appeared out of thin air.

The battle at Yuanxu shocked the world!

Ye Fan's rise was astonishingly swift and formidable. Everyone agreed he was someone determined to attain the Dao, and that the Ziwei Ancient Star Domain would know no peace in the future.

Yin Tiande alone was already a terrifying presence. Fourteen years ago, his ruthless progression had silenced the patriarchs of all sects across the land, forging a terrifying legend.

Now, with the emergence of Ye Fan, their future would undoubtedly be a fierce battle between dragons and tigers. Even the Immortal Three Slaying the Dao realm would likely not stop them, and blood was bound to bloom on the path to the Dao, unavoidable.

On the path to becoming a Great Emperor, talented individuals often withered and heroes frequently perished. White bones lay everywhere, and bloodshed was accompanied by sorrowful songs.

This was a path built with blood and bones!

One who had not undergone deadly trials, become accustomed to death, or known much suffering and calamity, would find it difficult to see the end of the Emperor's path. This was a path that led through piles of corpses.

The Great Emperors of ancient times, whose names shone with boundless radiance and were revered by countless beings, had also fought their way through, baptized in the blood of various kings and advancing over their bones.

“I dare say, Yin Tiande will surely fight Ye Fan, and it won't be long from now!”

“For two heaven-defying kings to be born in the same era is truly a tragedy. Even without Yin Tianzhi's death, one of them would still have to fall.”

People were discussing it heatedly, everyone across the land was talking about it, believing that the two would produce the most brilliant clash of this era!

Everyone believed that Ye Fan would definitely find a way to swiftly break through the insurmountable barrier of "Immortal Three Slaying the Dao" in the shortest possible time.

Otherwise, how could he contend with Yin Tiande in the future? It was not just about who could attain the Dao, but also a matter of life and death; the loser would have no path to survival.

How powerful was Yin Tiande? Even Ye Fan couldn't help but wonder. His battles with various divine scions had shaken the current era, yet they still couldn't change people's perception.

Across this land, everyone believed Yin Tiande was terrifying to the extreme; he had always been so, and remained so, never changing.

“Undoubtedly, he is the foremost talent of his generation, who has suppressed even the older generation, leaving them breathless. Fourteen years ago, he already had one foot in the third layer of the Immortal Terrace.”

“He has an extremely profound understanding of the Dao. Even before reaching the level of a King, he once discussed the Dao with the Golden Crow King in an ancient cave for seven days.”

This was the most simple and direct information given by Li Tian and Yan Yixi, which made Ye Fan frown deeply. From every perspective, Yin Tiande seemed like the protagonist of this world, the destined future Emperor of this ancient star.

“To be honest,” even the unruly Li Tian uttered, “one can only retreat from him now and not contend head-on; otherwise, it would simply be courting death.”

He had personally witnessed Ye Fan's current battle prowess, yet he still spoke this way, which was enough to show how terrifying Yin Tiande was.

It should be noted that Li Tian and Yan Yixi were powerhouses on par with the Lunar Divine Scion and Lu Ya, among the most formidable individuals of the younger generation.

Currently, Yin Tiande was riding an ox westward, advancing along an ancient path, with purple energy surging for eight thousand miles before disappearing into the west.

No one knew how powerful he would become after emulating the ancients and returning. Perhaps this would be a crucial journey of Dao transformation in his life.

“Ah... I'm a man, not a woman! If you don't believe me, I can show you,” an ear-piercing scream came. The snake demon boy from the Eight Sceneries Palace wailed miserably, as if he had been subjected to all kinds of torment.

Li Tian's old face turned dark. He went up and kicked him twice, cursing, “Damn, am I really that desperate? Can't I tell if it's male or female?”

The snake demon boy's small face turned deathly pale from fright, and he slumped to the ground. But then he gritted his teeth and adopted a look of readiness for death, as if to say, “Do whatever you want.”

“You snake demon, what kind of expression is that? If you look at me like that again, I'll smack you to death!” Li Tian said with a dark expression.

This was a low mountain, barren of vegetation, with only scattered rocks. The area was desolate. Ye Fan and his companions interrogated the snake demon boy, hoping to obtain information about the Eight Sceneries Palace.

Half an hour later, they left this low mountainous area. They severed a portion of the snake demon boy's primordial spirit, leaving him a way to survive.

The Eight Sceneries Palace was indeed not easy to enter. It required favorable celestial conditions; otherwise, an ancient formation guarding it would allow entry but no exit.

Furthermore, one first needed to enter the Grand Purity Sacred Realm, which made this step very uncertain. Yin Tiande had closed it after his departure, and according to the snake demon's memories, it could not be forced open.

“With the Goddess Furnace in hand, we can open the Grand Purity Sacred Realm,” Li Tian said. “But we have to wait until the night of the full moon. What a hassle, relying on celestial timing.” After discussing, Li Tian and the others decided to act in a few days.

The Goddess Furnace was infamous. The two master and apprentice brothers from the Human Desire Dao wanted to leave this ancient star and seek new development, so they decided to take all the various magic artifacts left in their sect's ancient caves.

In the following days, a world-shaking piece of news emerged: the Golden Crow King had emerged from seclusion and directly arrived in the Eastern Divine Continent, searching for Ye Fan's whereabouts.

He had come to rule the world!

This was everyone's first reaction upon hearing the news. This was a Great Completion King who, after years of secluded cultivation, had finally reappeared.

A few days prior, his projection had manifested from beyond the celestial domain. That was not his true body, yet it could strike from tens of thousands of miles away with awe-inspiring might.

That wisp of illusory body was truly far inferior to his true form, a difference as vast as clouds and mud. Now that the Golden Crow King's true body had appeared, who in the world could resist him?

He had come to kill Ye Fan and avenge his ten princes. It had been unknown how many years since such a Great Completion King had appeared, and the entire world was astonished.

“Ah, if things go smoothly, we'll be leaving this ancient star soon. I truly can't bear to part,” Li Tian said, his villainous expression tinged with sadness.

This was the ancient mountain where the Human Desire Dao was located. He and Yan Yixi had already emptied everything from several cave dwellings, with nothing left to take.

“Uncle, if you want to cry, just cry,” Tongtong said, hugging a fluffy white rabbit.

“Damn it, don't look down at your rabbit when you're talking to me!” Li Tian snapped.

Little Tongtong felt wronged and ran off with her fluffy white rabbit, no longer paying him any mind.

“What is it that you can't bear to part with?” Ye Fan asked with a smile.

“It's a waste that I bear the reputation of the world's number one philanderer,” Li Tian cursed, “but damn it, I'm still a pure virgin! I've never broken a single taboo!”

“Pfft!”

Ye Fan directly spat out a mouthful of tea. If Li Tian hadn't been protected by divine light, he would surely have been sprayed all over.

“Can you be any more shameless?”

“I knew you wouldn't believe me! Sigh, I’ve seen the ninth most beautiful woman of the human race bathing, seen the eighth beauty soaking in a spiritual spring, and even had the fortune of witnessing the fifth beauty undressing in her boudoir—but I truly did nothing! Yet I'm being chased across the continents with people trying to kick my ass! I… I'm wronged!”

Li Tian complained bitterly, then swore, “It's fine. Beidou Star Domain, here I come! Ancient beauties, divine maidens of all races, I am here! I will not let you down!”

Yan Yixi, in his flowing white robes, looked like a handsome man stepping out of a painting, with divine bones and jade-like features. His aura was completely different from his junior brother's villainous demeanor.

“Junior brother, how should we deal with this jade talisman?” After tidying up the ancient cave, a jade talisman caught his attention. He solemnly held it in his palm.

“A Heavenly Mystery Talisman!” Li Tian exclaimed in surprise, “Where did you find this?”

“In the incense ashes before the Ancestral Master's altar.”

“Those damned old bastards!” Li Tian cursed their ancestors. “How could they carelessly discard such an important talisman? Isn't this screwing over their descendants?”

“Is this talisman very special?” Ye Fan asked.

“Of course, this is a sacred talisman of the Heavenly Mystery Sect,” Li Tian explained excitedly. “It is only given out when a great favor is owed. Holding it allows one to ask that reclusive ancient sect to calculate good or bad fortune, and anything else one wishes to know. And there are four chances in total.”

The Heavenly Mystery Sect possessed unfathomable abilities. They could deduce fate and make various, highly accurate predictions.

However, precisely because they could glimpse heavenly secrets, they were subjected to the jealousy of heaven. Therefore, despite possessing astonishing divine arts, they struggled to prosper. Each generation had only a few disciples, making them one of the reclusive ancient sects.

“We're leaving soon, so we must make good use of these four opportunities. Let me think about what to ask the Heavenly Mystery Elder to predict,” Li Tian muttered. “Should I ask if I have a fate with Yi Qingwu? Damn it, no need, she's probably already been claimed by some oaf.”

“What nonsense are you spouting?!” Ye Fan really wanted to kick him twice. This scoundrel truly deserved to remain a pure virgin for life; his words were too offensive.

“I mean,” Li Tian explained, “the world's number one beauty is going with us to attack the Eight Sceneries Palace on the night of the full moon anyway, so there's no need to calculate her fate.”

“We're leaving soon,” Yan Yixi said, “so this Heavenly Mystery Talisman must be used wisely.”

“That's right, we're leaving soon,” Li Tian sighed deeply. “All beauties will be no different from skeletons, but I really can't accept that!”

“Think carefully, is there anything else you want to calculate?” Ye Fan said.

They pondered together and eventually thought of many things, such as Great Emperor's divine treasures and immortal medicines, but felt they were somewhat unrealistic.

“Never mind, let's just ask about the path ahead.”

“There's also one more thing: what secret lies within the half-page ancient scripture from the Ancient Longevity Daoist Temple on the Underworld Ridge, and the half-page ancient scripture from the Human King Hall?”

Legend had it that if the two were combined, they would form a complete and flawless divine ancient scripture. This had been a topic of fervent discussion and commotion for several years, with talks of the two sects jointly studying it, but it had never materialized.

Taiyuan, located in the western part of the Divine Continent, was where the reclusive ancient Heavenly Mystery Sect remained in seclusion, never leaving their mountain gate. Their presence was rarely seen in the world.

Especially in the last two millennia, they had become even more low-key. They never made predictions or deduced heavenly secrets, leading people to almost believe their lineage had been cut off.

“First, ask about the path ahead. Then, ask about the divine ancient scripture. I'm extremely curious about it…”

Li Tian, Yan Yixi, and Ye Fan arrived at Taiyuan. It was a deep valley leading underground, where the sun was almost never seen.

“Even if they are plagued by heaven's jealousy,” Li Tian clicked his tongue in wonder, “they wouldn't need to hide in a place like this, would they?”

As soon as they approached Taiyuan, they were stopped by someone. A Daoist boy ran over and handed them a brocade box, saying, “The Heavenly Mystery Elder knows why you have come. Everything is within this brocade box.”

“He knows why we've come?!” Even Ye Fan was greatly surprised.

The young Daoist boy looked mournful and said, “The Ancestral Master will pass away within three days. Every generation's Heavenly Mystery Elder almost achieves spiritual communion before death and can see the distant future, so he naturally foresaw your arrival.”

“What?! The Heavenly Mystery Elder is passing away?!” The group was shaken. They bowed deeply towards Taiyuan.

Inside the brocade box were two folded, yellowed papers. The first paper had the words “Beyond Domain” written on it. When unfolded, it also only contained two words: “Feasible.”

“What?! He really knew we wanted to leave this ancient star?!” The three couldn't help but be astonished. This ancient sect truly possessed unfathomable arts.

On the second yellowed paper were the four characters for “Divine Ancient Scripture.” They were somewhat excited and unfolded this paper!