Chapter 976: Transforming Ancient Artifacts

This powerful expert, a protector of the Primordial Dragon Cave who had been missing for over a hundred years, was from the Jurchen tribe. His attire and other details clearly revealed his identity, and he exuded an innate wildness.

Clenching his teeth, he wore a robe woven from celestial python scales, and his hair was bound to resemble a black snake. Although terrified of Ye Fan, he refused to passively await his death and instead sought to counterattack.

With a "Pfft," he spat out a stream of primordial blood essence, which transformed into a celestial serpent blood sword. It shot towards Ye Fan's glabella, but it was clearly futile. Ye Fan merely flicked a finger, and the primordial essence instantly vanished into smoke, completely evaporating and turning to ash, utterly insignificant.

This man was from the Jin Dynasty, having made significant contributions during their conquest of the Northern Song Dynasty. Having cultivated for over a thousand years, his spiritual attainment was profound, making him a supreme master in this era.

Back then, the spiritual energy of the world was not as scarce as it is now. He frequently entered and exited the Changbai Mountains, and over the years, he had unearthed many spiritual ginseng roots, which greatly benefited his cultivation. Consequently, he broke through to the Immortal Platform realm.

Although his skull had been shattered and blood flowed profusely, individuals at this level of cultivation possessed immense vitality. As long as their spirit remained, they were incredibly difficult to kill.

"Rumble." The void trembled as the dazzling sacred arrow flew over again, relentless and unyielding. Emitting a blazing, powerful light, it tore through the sky, shattered the mountains below, and pointed directly at Ye Fan's glabella.

This arrow's divine power was virtually unmatched, unstoppable by anyone in the world. It contained an inexplicable Dao power capable of shattering all, identical in quality to the sacred arrows used by the ancient archer, Da Yi.

Ye Fan leaned back, his feet moving swiftly. With the "Movement" secret art activated, his body moved like a dream and as fast as lightning. As long as he remained vigilant, he could evade the arrow for a short time.

"Let's meet our end in the Nine Netherworld together!" roared the Jin Dynasty expert, his eyes bloodshot, his body cracking and burning. He lunged at Ye Fan, intent on embracing him and perishing together in a mutual destruction.

"Pfft." There was no suspense. The golden blood energy emanating from Ye Fan's body was even more impregnable than a divine protective garment, making it impossible to breach. When the expert crashed into him, his body shattered, dissolving into a bloody mist.

Ye Fan reached out, seizing the expert's divine consciousness imprint. He sought a method to counter the arrow; otherwise, the ancient great deity's Sun-Shooting Sacred Treasure would be extremely troublesome and difficult to withstand for long.

From a distance, the blazing light shot forth again, even more powerfully this time. Half the sky collapsed, utterly shattered!

This might was truly terrifying, beyond human resistance. Even ordinary Dao-Slaying Kings would surely be defeated, forced to resolve it with their cultivation, as their physical bodies could not withstand a direct impact.

Ye Fan quickly found the method to counter it. Without time to thoroughly examine the man's primordial spirit, he simply raised his hand and destroyed it, knowing that the sacred arrow would only cease its attack once its master was dead.

As expected, the blazing light instantly dimmed, and the arrow fell to the ground. All the terrifying aura that had filled the sky vanished, and peace was restored.

It was a black arrow, seemingly unremarkable, its material unknown. It felt incredibly heavy in hand, likely weighing tens of thousands of jin, and had crushed the large stones on the ground beneath it.

"What a terrifying arrow," Ye Fan mused, "how was it forged?" This was undoubtedly a divine artifact, capable of harming even his physical body. Its destructive power was astonishing, certainly qualifying it as a sacred weapon.

A quick glance at the Jin man's primordial spirit revealed that he had sacrificed his divine consciousness to this artifact. Thus, as long as he lived, the sacred arrow would fight on his behalf, inflicting damage upon enemies.

"The two protectors of the Primordial Dragon Cave were gone for over a hundred years, never showing themselves. Now that they've returned, they must have encountered an extraordinary fortune," Ye Fan murmured to himself.

The Nine Dragons Sacred Bronze Seal, with its revived weapon spirit capable of autonomously slaying enemies, was already terrifying. But the appearance of this Sun-Shooting Divine Treasure truly defied all reason.

The black arrow's shaft was not particularly smooth, resembling polished stone. It appeared ancient and unextraordinary, without any remarkable features, yet Ye Fan found it pleasing to the eye, embodying the principle of "great perfection appearing incomplete."

It was difficult to ascertain the exact grade of this magical artifact, but its immense power was beyond doubt. A single shot could cause mountains and rivers to lose their vibrancy, and the heavens and earth to crumble, such was its awe-inspiring might.

This was a secret treasure, which he carefully put away. Then, his powerful divine sense swept in all directions, knowing that there were two protectors of the Primordial Dragon Cave and thus, another one should be present.

"Brother Ye is truly a reincarnated god," sighed several sect masters within the area protected by the formation flags. For people of their era, Ye Fan's combat prowess and spiritual attainment were god-like, rendering him invincible.

The young prodigies, their eyes gleaming with extraordinary light and their hearts surging with emotion, yearned for such power, hoping that one day they too could effortlessly command the world.

Ye Fan descended back into the formation. Although he sensed killing intent and knew there were still others lurking, he showed no outward reaction.

"Congratulations, Master, on acquiring such a supreme treasure!" the Phoenix Heavenly Maiden said with a playful smile as she stepped forward to congratulate him. "That's the leftover material from Da Yi's forging of the Nine Sacred Arrows, a rare wonder of heaven and earth, the most renowned killing weapon of antiquity!" Among the group, she was the most vivacious. Though typically cold and arrogant, and never sparing her words, she always made exceptions for the sect masters and powerful cultivators like Ye Fan.

"This is truly unbelievable; this item has reappeared!" exclaimed the Kunlun Sect Master, startled and nearly dropping the dark arrow shaft as he took it. "The ancient sages searched the entire world for this when they departed, but never found it, leaving only regret. I never imagined it would weigh tens of thousands of jin!"

In ancient times, Da Yi's feat of shooting down the suns shocked the world and struck fear into countless saints. He shot down nine suns, one with each arrow.

Of course, to be precise, they were nine Golden Crows, all demon-saints of the saint level. That battle resounded through history, leaving behind countless indelible legends recorded in the annals of the cultivation world.

Even in the mortal realm, many legends existed, though the ancient heroes were often confused, leading to discrepancies and errors in their stories.

In ancient times, there were two individuals named Yi. One lived during the time of Emperor Yao and was known as Da Yi, while the other lived during the reign of Taikang of the Great Xia Dynasty and was known as Hou Yi.

Ancient texts like "Huainanzi, Benjingxun" recount that during Emperor Yao's reign, ten suns appeared simultaneously, scorching crops, killing vegetation, and leaving the populace without means to survive. It was Da Yi who shot down the ten suns, slew the monstrous beasts, cut down the giant snake in Dongting, and captured Fengxi in Sanglin, bringing great joy to the people.

Hou Yi, though a renowned archer during the Taikang period of the Xia Dynasty, was far inferior to Da Yi. He also attempted to overthrow the Xia Dynasty and was ultimately killed.

Da Yi's wife was Chang'e, the figure from legend.

However, those within the cultivation world knew well that Da Yi was the peerless expert who shot down the suns, a hero unmatched in his era.

"In ancient times, a secret was spread: a group of powerful experts from beyond this realm arrived and caused immense harm to the ancient inhabitants."

Sect Master Xuechen explained that the secret referred to the Ninety-Nine Dragon Mountains nurturing immortals, a matter that had alarmed saints from other realms, who then came to contend for it.

Among these incidents, the simultaneous appearance of ten suns was the most terrifying, all of them from the Golden Crow clan. Their arrival instantly brought widespread devastation, and their solar essence flames shook heaven and earth. Ultimately, Da Yi emerged, slaying nine of these saints, with only one escaping, thereby quelling the great disaster.

"It is said they came from an ancient star called Huosang," he continued. "Their father was a quasi-emperor, and regrettably, Da Yi ultimately suffered a grievous fate because of this."

Reflecting on these ancient events, even the sect masters were deeply moved. It was a glorious era, worthy of epic tales and tears, when peerless heroes emerged and numerous sages coexisted.

"During that period, great demons roared across the heavens and earth, capable of plucking stars and seizing the moon. Had it not been for the emergence of peerless human experts, the consequences would have been unthinkable..."

"Boom!" Suddenly, the ancient killing formation activated again. Magical artifacts flew through the sky, fiercely assaulting the formation flags, aiming to destroy them in a single decisive strike.

"All of you stay here and do not go out," Ye Fan instructed. "He won't be able to breach this formation immediately. I will go deal with him."

"Be careful!" Sect Master Xuechen warned. "Da Yi forged two black arrows from the leftover material of the sacred arrow; there must still be one more that hasn't appeared yet!"

Ye Fan nodded, simultaneously activating the "All" character secret art. His blood thundered and rumbled through his body, rapidly healing the wound that had pierced his right hand.

He vanished in a flash, charging into the ancient grand formation. His powerful divine sense spread out, seeking to locate the hidden individual.

The two ancient individuals from the Jin Dynasty must have acquired many ancient weapons. The one still alive surely possessed a secret treasure that concealed his form, otherwise he would have been found long ago.

Suddenly, the world turned upside down as the grand formation frantically began to disintegrate. It was a desperate attempt at mutual destruction, burning the ancient supreme formation to slay Ye Fan, no matter the cost!

"Rumble..." Dao flames surged, overwhelming everything as the ancient formation disintegrated, pulverizing all in its path. This place became a self-contained world; such self-destruction was akin to an apocalypse.

Ye Fan's eyes paused. He showed no fear, but he knew the others would certainly not be able to withstand this. A flash of light appeared between his brows, and an ancient, simple cauldron flew out, rapidly expanding to cover the heavens and earth, sheltering the others inside.

"Oh my god, what is this?" Zhan Yifan exclaimed. "Could it be the legendary Mother Qi of All Things, coeval with heaven and earth?"

"Is...is this real?" Even the usually aloof Long Xiaoque couldn't help but voice his astonishment.

The grand formation collapsed, mountains and rivers dissolving into light, evaporating into their most fundamental power. This energy merged with the ancient laws embedded within the formation and surged towards Ye Fan.

"I found you!" Ye Fan declared, opening his Heavenly Eye. Amidst the shattered grand formation, he saw through to its origin. Beams of light, stretching for dozens of li, shot from his eyes, fixing on the figure ahead.

This individual's attire was similar to that of the recently deceased, and he too exuded a wild aura. His cultivation was at the Immortal Platform realm, and he was currently drawing his bow, preparing to unleash an astonishing arrow.

This arrow, sharing the same origin as Da Yi's Sun-Shooting Sacred Arrow, howled through heaven and earth. Its black shaft tore open half the sky, obliterating everything in its path. Vast chaotic energy descended, crushing all, and the blazing beam of light engulfed everything.

Although this arrow's divine power shook the world, Ye Fan was prepared and did not suffer a major setback as he had the first time. Employing the "Movement" secret art, he swiftly dodged and pressed forward.

The protector of the Changbai Mountain Celestial Scale tribe, his eyes sinister, knew it was over. The ancient killing formation and the Nine Dragons Sacred Bronze Seal were already formidable enough, and the two sacred arrows were even more terrifying. Logically, killing Ye Fan should have been straightforward, yet they had still failed.

His opponent's speed was too great, allowing him to evade the sacred arrow. And as he himself was not a Dao-Slaying King, he could not resist with sheer force. Once Ye Fan closed the distance, his death was certain.

"Pfft." There was no suspense. Ye Fan rushed forward, raised his hand, and struck him into a cloud of blood mist, then seized his divine consciousness imprint.

This time, he began to carefully examine the imprint, not immediately allowing its sea of consciousness to dissipate. Naturally, throughout this process, he still had to exert himself to evade the pursuing divine arrow.

"So that's how it is," Ye Fan mused. The two had previously gone to sea in search of Penglai Immortal Island but had unexpectedly discovered an ancient underwater mansion along the way, where they obtained a great fortune. They had emerged after a century of secluded cultivation.

Ye Fan instantly understood everything. He then cleared the expert's sea of consciousness, and the black sacred arrow immediately fell to the ground, which he promptly collected.

After a long period, tranquility returned to the world. Over twenty ancient weapons lay on the ground; the rest had been destroyed in the recent upheaval, and the ancient grand formation had vanished.

Ye Fan released the others from the cauldron and told them to divide the ancient weapons, all of which had originated from that underwater mansion and were no ordinary items.

"Congratulations, Brother Ye, on acquiring two ancient great sacred artifacts," said Taoist Qiri. For them, these were supreme treasures.

Ye Fan held the two black sacred artifacts, heavy in his hands with their tens of thousands of jin weight. He planned to travel west in the future, and these two ancient, weighty artifacts might prove to be of great use.

He suspected that Western Daoist traditions likely bore traces of primeval creatures. He might encounter something significant during this westward journey, and these ancient, unadorned black arrows might well be stained with divine blood.

When he briefly mentioned a few things, his registered disciples immediately became restless, overcome with excitement.

"There's an old legend that Laozi traveled west to civilize the 'barbarians'," said one. "Now Master is also going west; is he going to civilize the ancients? I truly wish we could set off immediately..." Even the usually aloof Long Xiaoque couldn't contain his excitement.

"Will the black sacred arrows become tools for civilizing the ancients?" The others' hearts surged with even greater excitement, unable to control themselves.