Chapter 867: Feathered Immortal Valley

Auspicious lights dotted the valley, clouds and mist swirled, and radiant multi-colored clouds diffused everywhere. Various spiritual birds fluttered nearby. It looked like a serene and beautiful painting from every angle, so how could there be any murderous intent here?

The feathers of the Lightning Phoenix-Crow were stained with blood and passed from hand to hand. After sniffing them carefully, everyone showed a hint of solemnity.

"No need to pass it around," the Black Dog said. "I've already detected it. The orchid scent on the tail feather comes from inside the valley. I can even pinpoint which specific flower it's from." This was its specialty; a dog's nose was the most sensitive.

"Whoosh!" A snow-white spiritual fox ran out. It had no mixed-colored fur and was spotlessly clean, its large, ruby-like eyes shimmering. It glanced back at them a few times, then vanished in a flash, rushing deep into the valley, showing great spirituality.

"Is there really murderous intent?" Li Tian asked, full of doubt. "But there are many spiritual creatures in the valley; why are they unharmed?"

A snow-white old turtle, as large as a pot lid, peeked around and slowly crawled into view within the valley. The most peculiar thing was a fist-sized white baby turtle clinging to its back.

Li Heishui picked up a stone and threw it forward. With a "whoosh," the white-shelled turtle furiously kicked its four legs and vanished in a puff of smoke. The creatures here were all very spiritual; it could be said this was a miraculous land, showing no hint of danger.

"Be careful," Ye Fan whispered. "Ever since we arrived in this vast wilderness, I've felt something isn't right, like a ghost lingering in the deep mountains." He activated his Origin Heaven Eye and surveyed the surroundings, but found nothing.

"Then let's call Lin Jia out," Pang Bo said.

"No need to call," Ye Fan said gravely. "If my premonition comes true, it's hard to say if Lin Jia is still alive." He then had the Black Dog set up a corner of a killing formation, ready to deal with any assault.

"Since we're here, whether it's a dragon's pool or a tiger's den, we have to find out what's going on," the Monkey said.

Ye Fan nodded. Having come this far, there was no turning back empty-handed. He and the Monkey acted separately, walking far around the Feathered Immortal Valley, trying to observe it thoroughly. However, they were stunned. This place was actually a small world, a realm unto itself, and only the valley offered entry.

"The true body cannot enter, nor can the primordial spirit," Li Tian said. "Otherwise, if we perish, the trouble will be immense. Let's send a wisp of a clone to investigate."

"Damage to an external clone also greatly harms the main body; don't try it lightly," Ji Ziyue said, stopping Ye Fan.

"It's fine, I have a technique that allows me to enter the valley without harm," the Monkey said. He plucked four golden monkey hairs from his body, and four faint lights shot from his glabella, merging into them. The monkey hairs grew large in the wind, transforming into four Fighting Saint Apes, identical to the Monkey, their fiery eyes and thunderous mouths baring fangs at the others.

"Is there really such a marvelous technique?" Pang Bo asked excitedly, rubbing his hands together as he moved closer to befriend the Monkey, indicating his strong desire to learn it.

"This is the art of transforming one into a myriad," the Monkey explained. Ye Fan and Pang Bo listened carefully; they had long yearned for this marvelous technique and never expected to learn it today.

"Damn it, I don't have that many hairs," Pang Bo said in pain. After learning, he pulled out a handful of his own body hairs, wincing in agony.

Ye Fan plucked four strands of hair. The golden figure within his Platform of Immortality took a step out from his glabella and blew a puff of golden light, instantly transforming into four other versions of himself.

"It's easy to learn at first; manifesting a few versions of yourself isn't difficult," the Monkey said, "but transforming into a myriad is truly difficult, and don't expect much combat power from them."

The destruction of these hairs wouldn't harm the main body, and their abilities naturally wouldn't be very strong. However, the Monkey said this was a terrifying forbidden technique. When the Fighting Saint Emperor employed it, he could transform one into a myriad, and each clone possessed incomparable combat power, capable of instantly slaughtering all living beings in the world and destroying an entire ancient planet.

Ye Fan's four clones entered the valley, proceeding in different directions. His main body had a complete grasp of what was ahead. At that moment, his true body felt as if it had entered the valley, split into four parts—a strange sensation.

He mainly focused on the clone that walked along the central path into the depths of the valley. Ancient trees swayed, spiritual energy permeated the air, and ancient medicinal herbs grew everywhere. As it walked along the bluestone path, it felt like entering an otherworldly paradise.

After traveling several miles, a thatched hut appeared ahead. It was harmonious and serene, with a gurgling spiritual spring and clear water flowing under a small stone arch bridge, creating a very picturesque scene.

He quickened his pace towards the thatched hut. However, just then, a pain shot through his glabella, his vision went black, and he lost consciousness, unaware of what had happened.

Outside the valley, Ye Fan's main body trembled. He opened his eyes and said, "It's terrifying. My clone, though it didn't have much combat power, was highly spiritual. Yet, it felt nothing and perished right in the midst of a peaceful scene."

Everyone trembled. If Ye Fan's true body had gone in, he would likely have met a grim end by now. The fact that he couldn't even detect how he was killed spoke volumes about the horror.

The Black Dog immediately set up a corner of Wushi's Killing Formation, protecting the group within, and vigilantly observed the movements in all directions.

Ye Fan closed his eyes, sensing wisps of heavenly secrets transmitted from his second clone. Traveling with it, he arrived before a jade bamboo forest.

Each bamboo stalk seemed carved from suet jade, warm and glistening white, every segment translucent, its leaves shimmering with white light. The bamboo grove wasn't very large, but the spiritual energy was much denser.

This was clearly an exotic precious bamboo, just like the Kylin Orchid Tree. It offered immense benefits to cultivators, exuding a milky white vital essence that made one feel completely at ease.

In the bamboo grove, there was a stone platform and several stone stools. Ye Fan's clone instantly stiffened. Because on the stone platform lay a mobile phone. If he wasn't mistaken, it should be Lin Jia's. Some dried bamboo leaves lay on it, indicating it hadn't been touched for a very long time.

With a "thump," he felt his skull being ripped open, a trickle of blood flowing down and filling his eyes. All light faded, and endless darkness engulfed him.

"Is this what death feels like?" Outside the valley, Ye Fan's main body opened its eyes. His second clone had died mysteriously, without even seeing what the enemy looked like. It was truly terrifying to the extreme.

Everyone felt a chill from head to toe. What kind of existence was this? Ye Fan's spiritual senses were incredibly keen, yet his clone was killed on the spot without even seeing what it was.

Then, Ye Fan's body trembled again. He said, "The third clone has also died."

Finally, he violently trembled, and two blazing beams of light, tens of feet long, shot from his eyes. His last clone had died, but before its demise, it saw a black demonic shadow extend a hand to cover its face, crushing its entire head.

"It took four deaths just to see a blurry black shadow. This is no Feathered Immortal Valley; it's clearly a devil's valley of death," Li Tian said. There was an immense crisis within the valley. If Ye Fan and the others had rashly entered earlier, they would most likely have been instantly killed, with no chance of survival.

"No wonder even the Lightning Phoenix-Crow, a king, couldn't escape death," Ji Ziyue whispered. She ran her hand over the golden egg, from which wisps of Dao patterns fluctuated.

"Ye Zi, are you sure that's Lin Jia's handwriting?" Pang Bo asked. "This hardly seemed like an old friend's invitation; it was clearly a death trap."

Moreover, the setup was very natural. A message from years ago, a few words as a clue, leading people to seek it out themselves—as long as one entered the valley, death was certain!

Ye Fan muttered to himself, "For so many years, a ghost has been secretly observing my every move. A trap laid years ago, leading me to my death, not intentionally designed but carelessly left as a message. I wonder how many more murderous traps await me in the future, waiting for me to trigger them myself."

"What's there to fear? No matter how strong he is, can he be stronger than a Saint? This Emperor will open the path with a corner of Wushi's Killing Formation, and with a corner of Void Emperor's chess-board teleportation array ready for escape, I don't believe he can do anything to us," the Black Dog said proudly. It decided to enter the Feathered Immortal Valley and test it out, to see what kind of formidable being resided there.

They waited outside the valley for a long time, but no terrifying existence emerged. They all exchanged glances and finally prepared to enter the valley.

The Goddess Furnace was held by Yan Yixi, ready to be unleashed at any moment to suppress powerful enemies. Above Ye Fan's head, eighty-one inch-long, pitch-black small flags floated, mysterious and unpredictable.

The Black Dog was drenched in sweat, having exhausted its efforts and drunk a lot of divine spring water before finally carving a complex and unpredictable formation on a jade tablet. It said, "This is a killing formation of an ancient Great Emperor; it will probably only last for half a day on this jade tablet. We must hurry."

They advanced several miles into the valley without encountering any danger. They reached the deepest part, where the thatched hut still seemed peaceful and beautiful, with its gurgling spiritual spring and pristine stone arch bridge—from any angle, it looked like a paradise.

"Boom!" Suddenly, the jade tablet on the Black Dog's back began to absorb and release the spiritual essence of heaven and earth, emitting thousands of strands of divine radiance. Murderous intent soared into the sky and swept outwards.

"Thump!" Above their heads, a bloody light exploded. No one knew what creature had perished, but it turned into a rain of blood, scattering red fur all over the ground.

"What a powerful existence! Not one of us sensed it," someone exclaimed. "It almost got close enough to rip off our skulls just now!"

"A King, and a Great Accomplished King at that!"

Their expressions all changed. What kind of place was this, to have such terrifying creatures?

"No, something's wrong. It had no life aura; otherwise, we couldn't have failed to sense it," someone said. "But why was there blood raining down?" They stood back to back, vigilant of their surroundings. If not for a corner of Wushi's Killing Formation, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

Crossing the stone arch bridge, Pang Bo forcibly pushed open the thatched hut. In that instant, an eerie wind howled and black mist surged. The peaceful valley was no longer calm; ear-piercing ghost cries resounded, and various divine laws and Dao light flew about, sweeping the area clean!

"Boom!" The jade tablet carved by the Black Dog interwove into "thousands of threads," transforming into divine chains, evolving into a "sea of Dao..." It swept horizontally in all directions, killing. Blood splattered, bloodied bone fragments flew everywhere, and figures of terrifying existences were all around.

"How is this possible? Where have we come to? How can there be such a group of people? What are they, and why are they all so powerful?!" Li Tian shouted.

If not for Wushi's Killing Formation, they would all be finished. Even if the Monkey had severed his Dao, it wouldn't be enough. Eerie winds howled, sand and stones flew, and over a hundred figures moved amidst the bloody storm.

"Thump!" This corner of Great Emperor Wushi's killing formation rotated, transforming the place into a Shura battlefield. A majestic demonic shadow was slain in the black eerie wind, and a dripping arm fell at their feet.

"What in the world is going on? Who are these people?" Pang Bo cried out. "How could such a powerful group of beings gather here? It defies all logic!"

"Boom!" The sky was pitch black. A vast and awe-inspiring building, covering the entire sky, suddenly appeared. Densely packed figures dropped from it, surrounding and attacking them.

"Dong!" Wushi's Killing Formation was peerless in the world; even incomplete, less than a tenth of its full power, it was still incomparable, dominating the strongest killing power in heaven and earth!

The jade tablet shot out a heaven-piercing divine light. It sliced off a corner of the building, which fell beside them, kicking up endless dust.

"What?" the Black Dog exclaimed, staring at the corner of the magnificent building that had fallen to the ground, crying out: "How is this the same as the South Heaven Gate I saw in the God's Ruins!"

There were several ancient characters carved on it, inscribed in primordial divine script. The Monkey had completely mastered them over the years, and unlike before, he read them out syllable by syllable: "South—Heaven—Gate!"

"Where... where have we come to? Does Feathered Immortal Valley have some connection to the Ancient Heavenly Court, which is passed down in old legends? Heavens, what kind of enemies have we encountered? Are we fighting against heavenly soldiers and generals?!"