Chapter 949: Fire Cremation Immortal

Novel: Chapter 949: The Immortal Cremation

When Qin unified the six states, it also unified the written language, leading to the near extinction of the scripts from the six states. The script found here was a form of Greater Seal Script, resembling both oracle bone script and bronzeware inscriptions.

Ye Fan did not hesitate, striding inside. He had just seen several people enter before him, not because he feared their strength, but because he was concerned they might act rashly and destroy valuable artifacts.

"Clang!" A blinding sword light pierced the darkness of the ancient tomb, illuminating a large void. It shot towards Ye Fan like a long rainbow; someone was attacking him.

It was the same everywhere: where there are people, there are rivalries. The cultivators who entered this Warring States period tomb were naturally here for ancient techniques and divine artifacts, making everyone a competitor.

"Clang!" Ye Fan flicked his finger. A sharp sword, gleaming like autumn water, instantly shattered into a dozen pieces, falling to the ground like fragments of glass, shimmering. With a wave of his hand, a figure in front of him was sent flying sideways, bones cracking, flesh mangled, leaving an imprint on the tomb wall.

Ye Fan did not stop. Having slain even kings of the Dao Severing Realm, he paid no mind to the life or death of someone in the Life Spring Realm. He had a strong feeling that this ancient tomb was extraordinary.

Waves of ethereal music, not from the heavens, but from deep underground, like a haunting melody from the Nine Netherworlds, echoed, startling and captivating.

After proceeding for some distance, a staircase of white jade appeared, leading deep into the underground palace. Mortals could never afford such a material.

Who would pave a path with jade? Each cut piece would fetch an astronomical price at auction, yet here, there were vast quantities, leading underground.

The earlier arrivals had already descended, eager to reach the main chamber. It was now clear this was a burial site for Qi Refiners, and everyone desired to obtain pre-Qin artifacts.

The term "pre-Qin" refers to the mysterious period before the Qin Dynasty, encompassing the Warring States, Spring and Autumn, Shang, and Western Zhou dynasties, tracing back to the dawn of human civilization.

"Zheng! Zheng!..." Waves of sword hums emanated. A stone wall blocked the path ahead, covered in sword marks. Clanging sounds resonated, as if peerless masters were dueling, echoing from ancient times.

"A sword-grinding stone!" Ye Fan was surprised. He had heard of stones used by supreme experts to sharpen their swords, where the sword intent was so deeply integrated that the hum could still be heard tens of thousands of years later. For many, such a stone was an invaluable treasure.

Four individuals stood by the sword-grinding stone, seemingly comprehending something. When Ye Fan approached, he found all of them bleeding from their mouths and noses, their seven orifices ruptured, having died unnatural deaths.

These cultivators were all at the Divine Bridge Realm, none having broken through to the second Secret Realm of the human body. They couldn't even withstand the sound of the ancient sword-grinding stone and had perished here.

This was the sorrow of the Dharma-ending Age. In the present era, merely being able to cultivate was considered extraordinary talent, yet they couldn't even endure a single grinding stone from ancient times, which was truly lamentable.

Ye Fan pondered for a moment, then, with fingers like a sword, he dug out the stone, partially sealed it, and handed it to Little Pine. Little Pine put it into its bell, made of Grand Luo Silver Essence and a small stone Buddha, to study later.

The ethereal music continued, lingering and growing clearer, entering his ears and cleansing the soul, both startling and providing a sense of comfort.

Ye Fan descended the steps, feeling a chill as he trod on the white jade staircase. This jade was unusual, containing a trace of Lunar Yin energy.

He had come this time to protect Yang Xiao, so naturally he had to eliminate all dangers. He circulated the Lunar Yin True Scripture, refining away all traces of the chilling energy.

Soon after, he entered a vast underground palace. He felt a cold wind on his face, and as he looked up, he saw a creature with demonic wings diving headfirst towards him, aiming for his crown.

"Pfft!" Ye Fan pointed a finger, a sword wave shot out, and blood splattered as the creature was instantly reduced to a bloody mist. It was a bat, over two meters long, resembling a demon.

"What a huge bat. This underground world is sealed, so how did it survive? Is there another exit to the outside?" Ye Fan wasn't bothered; such minor details didn't require much thought.

After walking a few meters, he found two corpses, lying in pools of blood, their skulls cracked open. They had died gruesome deaths, clearly killed not long ago.

This ancient tomb, without even special traps, had already claimed the lives of six later cultivators. Their deaths were truly in vain.

Ye Fan reached the end of this level of the palace, where more white jade steps appeared, continuing deeper underground, as if approaching a legendary immortal's dwelling step by step—a massive undertaking.

During this process, he repeatedly unleashed sword waves, slaying dozens of bats, each two to three meters long, monstrous in appearance, like ghouls. He incinerated them all to ash after their deaths; otherwise, it would have been chaos for any archeologists who might later descend.

As Ye Fan delved deeper, the ethereal music grew louder. Ahead, a row of ancient chimes resonated by themselves, vibrating without being struck.

He spread his palm, and tendrils of colorful light shot out, flying towards the chimes, fixing them in place so they no longer sounded.

These chimes were ancient but perfectly preserved, without any damage. Ye Fan examined them closely and found that they were crafted by cultivators through countless refinements. However, there were no Dao patterns inside, only something akin to vital essence. He surmised that the tomb's owner must have loved musical instruments, and the chiming was likely an unconscious manifestation of their imprint after the tomb was exposed to light again.

With Ye Fan having silenced the chimes, the imprint finally dissipated completely. Since they were not magic artifacts, their spiritual resonance could not last indefinitely.

He continued forward, venturing deeper. Suddenly, he felt a chilling murderous aura. Streaks of sword light, like bolts of silk, slashed horizontally and vertically, with flying swords of gold, crimson, purple, and blue tearing through the air.

Peerless killing intent! Even from a distance, before he drew near, goosebumps rose on Ye Fan's skin. This was an incredibly powerful flying sword, almost more than even he could bear.

"Whose tomb is this? It must belong to an ancient sage!"

Among them, a crimson sword, only palm-sized, shone the brightest, swirling and dancing within the underground chamber. Other purple, blue, and golden flying swords accompanied it, splitting the void.

"No, these aren't actual flying swords, but rather sword intent. How powerful, how terrifying!" Ye Fan exclaimed.

If ancient sages' weapons were flying here, he likely wouldn't be able to approach. The mere sword intent was terrifying enough, making one's skin feel as if it would crack like jade, as if it could cleave the very sky.

Three cultivators of the Dao Palace Secret Realm lay on the ground, without a single wound on their bodies. They had not been struck by the flying swords but had died because the sword intent had permeated their bodies. All the cultivators who had entered and reached this point had perished.

Ye Fan sighed softly. These few were considered masters in the current world, yet they had died so pointlessly, likely without even knowing how they were wounded.

How could an ordinary person enter the tomb of an ancient sage? Even a single wisp of their lingering killing intent would be enough to slay any supreme master of the present age.

This was a stone chamber for sword practice. Seven palm-length sword sheaths hung on the walls. They were not elaborately made, just simple animal hides, so tattered they were almost turning to dust.

Judging by the layout, this ancient sage was very simple, leaving no traps whatsoever. Aside from the Lunar Yin energy seeping from the stone door, there were no inherent dangers.

"Where are the seven sacred swords?" Ye Fan searched. He circulated his cultivation, intending to retrieve the seven sword sheaths.

"Pfft!" However, with the slightest movement, all seven animal hide sheaths turned to dust. It wasn't due to their age, but because they contained a powerful sword intent that their material could not withstand.

After the sheaths were destroyed, the seven streaks of sword light that had been slashing horizontally and vertically in the stone chamber also vanished, dissipating into the void, their endless killing intent turning to naught.

Ye Fan secretly lamented the loss. It was a pity these seven sheaths had self-destructed; otherwise, they would have been priceless treasures. The terrifying sword intent within them could likely have revealed the tomb owner's supreme sword mastery.

He thought about it and then felt relieved. The scriptures he had already acquired were not few. Even the Primordial Sages on the Ancient Planet Yinghuo had warned him that continuing to accumulate more might lead to great trouble.

Passing through this stone chamber, he entered a place of raging flames. A sea of fire blocked his path, with a terrifyingly high temperature. It was actually Solar Essence Fire.

Through the flames, he could see an ancient coffin entwined by an old vine, buried in the deepest part of the tomb, making the entire area glow with brilliant light.

A Cremation Coffin! Such legendary coffins were always associated with figures of immense origin. Ordinary individuals could not set them up, as they required solar essence and a fire vine cultivated with the blood essence of a sage.

The ancient vine looked thousands of years old. Its roots resembled a coiling dragon, and its leaves, like red gold, shimmered brilliantly, exceptionally dazzling in the firelight.

Rooted in the Solar Essence Fire, it absorbed the fire essence for nourishment and growth, making it a near-mythical spiritual vine, a treasure for refining artifacts and forging weapons.

Seeds of fire vines were extremely rare, especially those that could take root in Solar Essence Fire; they were as rare as phoenix feathers or qilin horns, making them favorites of ancient sages.

Why choose this type of cremation? A precise explanation states that a sage, knowing their death was imminent, would use the extreme Yang essence of a fire vine to sustain their last trace of Yang energy, hoping for resurrection. Thus, Cremation Coffins were truly extraordinary!

An expanse of Solar Fire Essence, a fire vine, an ancient coffin, and an ancient sage.

Ye Fan was deeply shocked to see such a sight. Could this ancient sage truly resurrect? Could this be an astonishing figure renowned in history?

Little Pine was very nervous, its purple fur shimmering. Its large, black gemstone-like eyes blinked gently as it obediently followed Ye Fan, not daring to step forward.

"This ancient sage did not set up traps in the tomb to kill trespassers, which suggests a kind heart. There shouldn't be too many dangers here."

Ye Fan cultivated the Solar True Scripture and did not fear the Solar True Fire. He stepped into the blazing firelight and carefully examined the coffin.

This flame was extremely terrifying. Under normal circumstances, even Dao Severing Kings could not approach it; touching it would undoubtedly turn them to ash. The firelight was alarming.

The fire vine was thick, its every leaf ringing like metal when touched, as if cast from phoenix blood-red gold. The thick vine, like a coiling dragon, entwined the ancient coffin, suspending it in mid-air.

A coffin, bearing death, was inherently an inauspicious object. Yet here, accompanied by the red-gold fire vine, it was brimming with vitality.

Ye Fan silently sensed the energy, then sighed softly. The person in the coffin had indeed died, unable to sustain their last wisp of Yang energy with the extreme Yang fire essence, and had not revived.

Afterwards, he noticed a stele next to the coffin. It was cast from bronze, extremely heavy and thick, and bore ancient characters in bronzeware script.

Since his return, Ye Fan had been diligently improving himself, studying the Huangting Classic, reciting the Nanhua Classic, visiting various archives, reading rare books, consulting authorities, and learning various ancient scripts like oracle bone script.

He recognized some of the ancient characters on it, and at that moment, his heart trembled violently, waves of shock surging through him. This was indeed a famous figure from ancient times!

Chisongzi, recorded in the Daoist canon *Daozang* and *Biographies of Immortals*, was said to be an ancient immortal. Furthermore, other ancient texts also mention him, with *Huainanzi: Qi Su* being the earliest, providing verifiable traces.

Such an ancient tomb, its origin could only be described as terrifying. Ye Fan was utterly shocked; through his Heavenly Eye, he saw something extraordinary within the coffin.