Chapter 924: Arrival at the Ancient Mars Star

Shrouding the Heavens, Chapter 926: Arrival on Ancient Planet Yinghuo

The cold universe was silent and boundless, stretching into an endless darkness. Along the desolate ancient starry road, starlight occasionally flickered, only to vanish in an instant. Such was Ye Fan's journey.

He had left the Beidou Starfield far behind, traveling in eternal silence. He embarked on this solitary journey, uncertain of what lay ahead.

Yet, in the final moments, the scene had been so startling: Pang Bo and Li Xiaoman had become strangers, as if he had never truly known them. Sometimes, it was perhaps better not to know anything at all.

Li Xiaoman's resolute leap, his reflection mirrored in her eyes as she plunged into the Ancient Desolate Abyss, kept replaying in his mind. And why had Pang Bo gone so far away?

Ye Fan silently took out his cauldron, using it to shield himself. On this ancient and eerie path, one could never know what might happen.

Starlight flickered, transmitted through spatial nodes. The desolate universe held too many secrets. No one now could say why the ancients had forged such a path, or where its beginning and end lay.

“Goodbye, Beidou!” Ye Fan let out a final sigh and began his long, solitary journey. He didn't know if he could return to Earth this time; another accident might mean getting lost forever in the depths of the dark cosmos.

Humanity was truly insignificant. An individual was as tiny as a speck of dust compared to an ancient planet, and an ancient planet was less than a speck in the vast expanse of the universe.

Starfields were too vast, distances too immense. Even the smallest galaxy was measured in tens of billions of kilometers, let alone enormous starfields and the "other shore" he sought in his heart.

In the boundless darkness and chilling cold of the universe, humans were negligible. Flying by one's own power, a person could not even traverse a small galaxy in an entire lifetime, let alone cross countless enormous starfields.

Perhaps, throughout history, only the Great Emperors of old could truly journey across the universe alone. Besides them, who else possessed such immense power?

Even ancient saints likely needed to rely on the five-colored altars and the ancient starry road, for how else could they cross so many ancient and infinitely distant starfields?

Setting off alone, Ye Fan felt a sense of unreality. Everything he had experienced felt like a dream. Now, he was finally on his way home, embarking on his return journey.

Everything in the Beidou Starfield, especially the events just before his departure, he wished to forget forever. But how could he?

“No matter how strange Pang Bo’s condition was, I never felt any malice from him. We shared life and death, standing by each other through thick and thin.”

“Li Xiaoman… Why was she so pitiful? Why did it have to end like this?”

A pang of pain shot through Ye Fan's heart; he felt deeply distressed. Everything had happened, everything was left behind in Beidou, becoming the past, becoming memories. Only emptiness and sorrow remained in his heart.

“Alligator Ancestor!” Finally, Ye Fan couldn't help but roar, wishing he could devour its flesh and drink its blood. Many things were related to that ancient demonic saint.

So many years had passed. What chaos and bloodshed had that ancient alligator caused since escaping from beneath the Great Thunderclap Temple? And where was it now?

A crash! On the ancient starry road, a spatial node trembled, as if an ancient planet had been destroyed, sending a brilliant light wave reaching this very spot.

Ye Fan's thoughts were pulled back. Staring at the spatial node that flashed and vanished, he saw a magnificent burst of fireworks blossoming.

It was a meteor, colliding with a deep blue star. Both met their end simultaneously. What an enormous fluctuation!

If such a collision had happened in Beidou, countless beings would have surely perished; perhaps only ancient saints could have survived.

“In the cosmos, humanity is truly insignificant.”

Billions of starfields, an boundless universe—who could say how many life-bearing planets there truly were? Even the once-prosperous and mighty Feathered Divine Dynasty had only managed to explore four.

This was destined to be a monotonous journey, accompanied by solitude, advancing through darkness. Prolonged travel would surely bring a profound sense of desolation.

Fortunately, this time was not like the last aimless drift. Now on the ancient starry road, he covered hundreds of millions of miles in an instant, traversing the cosmos.

Suddenly, the ancient starry road violently shook. Ye Fan struggled to maintain his balance, and the cauldron hovering above his head rumbled.

This is bad!

Ye Fan recalled the Black Emperor's warning: if the five-colored altar at this end was damaged, the consequences would be dire, making it impossible to arrive at the original coordinate planet. Instead, he would be sent to the closest ancient planet with an intact five-colored altar. This situation was likely occurring now; the space-time tunnel was twisting and might collapse.

The ancient, crude cauldron expanded, releasing streams of primordial qi that enveloped Ye Fan, keeping him safe and sound.

The space-time tunnel flickered unsteadily, space violently twisted, and a severe upheaval occurred. The ancient starry road seemed on the verge of breaking apart, or perhaps exploding.

This was a very bad omen, threatening instant annihilation. Traversing the cosmos was perilous even for saints, let alone anyone else!

Ye Fan's only reliance was his firm belief that the Primordial Qi Cauldron was sturdy enough to protect him, even if the ancient starry road shattered, leaving him unharmed.

Boom! Amidst the violent roar, eighteen spatial nodes shattered consecutively. Ye Fan endured an extremely perilous process, but the ancient starry road finally stabilized.

“Can I not return to Earth?” A very bad feeling arose in Ye Fan's heart.

It was clear he had deviated from his original course; the ancient starry road had reversed. He couldn't possibly land on Earth now, and a shadow fell over his heart.

He was finally close to Earth, but the original five-colored altar was gone, making landing impossible. He couldn't help but clench his fists.

Everything calmed down again, but almost instantly, a faint light appeared ahead. Ye Fan knew he was nearing his destination; the ancient starry road had reached its end.

Thud! A violent impact resounded. The Primordial Qi Cauldron touched the ground, followed by a dizzying sensation. Ye Fan landed on the ground, falling onto a smooth five-colored altar.

The moment he landed, Ye Fan heard the shouts of humans and roars of beasts, a battle cry shaking the heavens. Looking out, he saw a vast battlefield in the distance, filled with clashing weapons, flashing blades and swords, and a murderous aura piercing the sky.

“Where is this place?” He was utterly astonished. Towering ancient trees surrounded him, teeming with life, and various fierce birds and beasts roamed about. It was as if he had arrived on a wild, primeval land.

The five-colored altar was situated on a majestic and towering mountain. On the battlefield, banners flapped, and powerful experts stood like a forest, each possessing astonishing divine abilities capable of moving mountains and filling seas!

Their mounts galloped across the void, fighting so fiercely that the sun and moon lost their luster, while magical artifacts flew everywhere in the sky. Many among them were Kings who had 'cut their path,' and it was highly probable that ancient saints were also present!

“This is...” Ye Fan watched all of this in disbelief.

“Roar…” Nine colossal azure dragons streaked across the sky, pulling an ancient war chariot into the battlefield. Ancient saintly might surged forth, like a cascading river.

“Is that... a Human Great Saint, or even a Quasi-Emperor?!” Ye Fan felt as if he were dreaming; all of this was simply too incredible.

On this divine mountain, ancient trees towered, and magnificent palaces stood in the distance. The battlefield was immense, and even legendary Supreme Great Saints were participating in the combat. How astonishing!

Suddenly, a giant stone not far from the five-colored altar startled him. Carved on it were two ancient characters, in bronze script: Yinghuo!

“What?! This is Ancient Planet Yinghuo. What era have I arrived in?!” Ye Fan was horrified. Yinghuo was Mars in later generations—a lifeless, barren world.

But what did he see now? It was teeming with life, ancient trees reached to the sky, savage beasts were countless, and the entire land was lush green.

“No, this isn't right!”

Ye Fan bit his tongue to calm himself. His mind had been in turmoil throughout the journey, constantly replaying the events of his departure, unable to focus. Now, he quickly activated his Source Heavenly Eye to see through the illusion.

The deafening battle cries faded, the sky-piercing murderous aura vanished, and the vibrant, lively land turned into desolate red earth. Even the divine mountain beneath his feet was now level with the ground.

A chilling sensation seeped into his body through the soles of his feet from the five-colored altar. It was this ancient altar that projected the events of a bygone era into his mind's sea.

“This is... Ancient Planet Yinghuo!”

Ye Fan rushed out from the five-colored altar and quickly ran towards a giant stone nearby. Turning it, he saw the bronze inscription carved on the other side: Yinghuo.

Yes, it was this ancient planet. The Nine Dragons Pulling Coffin had fallen here back then. He had seen this very stone more than twenty years ago. Here was the Great Thunderclap Temple, and... the lunatic!

Ye Fan had long anticipated that if he couldn't land on Earth, he would most likely fall onto Ancient Planet Yinghuo, as it possessed an intact five-colored altar.

“Was what I just saw real? In ancient times, this place was teeming with life, home to many powerful beings. In what era was it truly destroyed...?”

Ye Fan was filled with doubt and astonishment. He turned to look at the five-colored altar. Countless eons ago, it had rested on a majestic divine mountain. Now, everything had changed; this place had become a dead planet.

He recalled the reports he had seen before leaving Earth: that Mars once had floods, with small riverbeds on its surface, and possibly even large lakes and oceans.

“So it was true...” he murmured to himself.

This was an ancient life-bearing planet, but for some unknown reason, all its civilizations had vanished, and all its living beings had become extinct.

“Earth is very close to here. Are the history of civilization and living beings on Earth related to this place?”

External factors such as temperature and air were no longer issues for Ye Fan. In the past, he could drift alone in the cosmos for many years, so he was naturally unharmed here.

In the past, a light barrier several miles in circumference had protected this place, but now it had completely vanished. The last pure land had also become a dead zone.

After his initial surprise, a surge of anger quickly rose in Ye Fan's heart. He remembered the divine alligator, wishing he could dismember the Alligator Ancestor. Many things had originated because of it.

Many of his classmates were buried here, and Li Xiaoman's fate was so tragic. This place was one of hatred and sorrow!

“If I become a saint, I will surely slay you.”

Ye Fan didn't know where the Alligator Ancestor was now. Perhaps it had long since departed, or perhaps it was staring at him menacingly from nearby.

Since he had returned here, he had nothing to fear. The power of a demonic saint was unfathomable; if it were still on this ancient planet, it would have surely discovered him by now, rendering escape useless.

Ye Fan calmed his mind, then strode forward. He wanted to visit the ruins of the Great Thunderclap Temple to see what had become of it.

It was nighttime, with only faint starlight, and everything was dim.

More than twenty years had passed. The light barrier that had enveloped this area for miles had vanished, and dust had submerged the ruins of the heavenly palace. Ye Fan walked on foot, silently reciting the Scripture of Salvation, wishing for his classmates who died here long ago to be reborn, even though he didn't believe in reincarnation or rebirth. Still, it was all he could do.

“A true demonic land. Beneath the Great Thunderclap Temple are eighteen layers of hell. Have all the ancient powerhouses escaped?”

Closer now, Ye Fan finally arrived. The Great Thunderclap Temple ruins were surprisingly still there, not submerged by sand. Amidst the collapsed halls and rubble, there were even a few remnants of the Bodhi Sacred Tree's leaves!

“How is that possible?!”

Ye Fan stared, dumbfounded. Eighteen layers of hell lay beneath this foundation. Were they still there now?

Suddenly, a warning sign flashed in his mind. He whirled around and, in the gloom, saw a majestic figure standing directly behind him, with eyes as brilliant as divine lamps!