Shrouded Sky

Chapter 142 - Secret

At this moment, the sky was dark, with stars scattered across it. In the valley, a towering sacrificial altar made entirely of black jade stood solemnly, its surface broad and expansive.

The old madman used his fingers like blades, carving with intense focus. Stone chips flew in all directions as he engraved complex Dao Runes, densely packed, deeply etched, and utterly inscrutable.

The full moon hung high, casting its cold, silvery light down. At the domain gate, only the faint rustling of wind could be heard. The black jade glowed faintly, revealing mysterious engraved Runes.

Ye Fan watched from the side, trying to comprehend the process. But the attempt left him dizzy, it was filled with endless spatial imprints that could easily make someone lose themselves.

“Senior, where are you going?” Ye Fan asked, sensing the danger of blindly following.Boom!

The sacrificial altar shook. The black jade radiated dazzling light. The Dao Runes were completed and fully formed. The old madman stood tall at the center of the altar. He gave no reply, leaving Ye Fan hesitant, should he follow?

“Senior, I want to travel with you,” Ye Fan said again. A peerless figure like this was a living scripture. Being guided by such a person would guarantee meteoric progress in cultivation.

But the old man suddenly went mad again, crying and laughing erratically, ignoring Ye Fan completely.

“To hell with it!” Ye Fan made up his mind to follow. He had planned to leave the Supreme Mystery Sect anyway, it was no longer safe. If captured and taken back to the Ji Clan, the consequences would be dire.

He leaped onto the altar, standing beside the old madman.

At that instant, the altar began to draw energy. The "source" buried beneath the ground lit up, flowing like waves into the altar.

The translucent black jade pulsed with light. The Dao Runes carved by the old madman seemed to come alive, trembling and glowing with sentience.

The void twisted and collapsed. A dark, gaping portal appeared, the domain gate had successfully opened, though no one knew where it led.

The crazed old man stepped into it. Ye Fan followed closely, entering a void of silence and darkness. Nothing could be sensed inside, eternal blackness and boundless stillness. The domain gate slowly closed, and the entire altar began drawing limitless source energy.

Suddenly, the old man cried out. He clutched his head as the "Immortal" character on his forehead shone brilliantly, releasing a mysterious energy that wrapped around him.

It was a terrifying force, the void began to destabilize and fracture. In that eternal darkness, strange lights flickered.

The old madman fell back, unconscious, floating in place. Threads of light flowed from the glowing "Immortal" character on his forehead, encasing him like a cocoon.

Ye Fan was shocked. What kind of transformation had the old madman undergone to fracture space like this? They were supposed to traverse the void, but this instability could spell disaster.

"This is bad! How did things go so wrong?!" Ye Fan's face turned pale. Any mishap while crossing the void could mean certain death.

Crack... crack...

The void traversal had failed. Massive cracks formed, and collapse was imminent.

Ye Fan frantically activated the mystical techniques from the Dao Scripture, trying to mobilize the Mothery Energy of All Things. Without divine force to resist the void’s collapse, he would be obliterated.

It was a long and grueling ordeal, pure torment for Ye Fan. The void didn’t shatter immediately.

Finally, a strand of motherly energy began to flow inside his body, thick and misty, emanating a heavy presence.

“I can’t mobilize all the motherly energy...” Ye Fan grasped the cocoon-wrapped madman. Perhaps only this body could withstand the destructive forces of the collapsing void.

Crack... crack...

Eventually, the eternal darkness reached its limit and shattered with a silent explosion.

The void fragmented completely, obliteration beyond sound or shape.

True power is formless, true sound is silent.

Destructive force shattered everything. At this moment, the old madman’s formidable strength was fully revealed. The cocoon radiated strange light, forming a shield that stabilized the surrounding space.

Boom! Boom!

Both the madman and Ye Fan were flung from the void, re-emerging in the real world, not far from the Supreme Mystery Sect, just dozens of miles away. They crashed into a remote mountain range.

Behind them, a deafening roar erupted. Blinding light soared skyward, the black jade altar had exploded.

Boom!

A powerful energy wave surged outward. Radiant light outshone the stars, it was as if ten suns had risen, illuminating the world.

Ye Fan shuddered in fear. Traversing the void was far too dangerous. That energy could have annihilated him many times over. He was lucky to have been thrown free.

Back in the Supreme Mystery Sect, all 108 main peaks were alerted. The light from the domain gate was like dozens of erupting volcanoes, everyone was shaken.

“The domain gate has been opened! Space has been pierced! The traversal failed!”

“Could a great figure of our sect have encountered an accident during the crossing?”

Elders soared into the sky, gazing toward the domain gate.

The sect master and many dignitaries were deeply shocked. That oceanic wave of energy made them feel uneasy.

“Who activated the domain gate?” asked a Grand Elder. “The void has collapsed. If someone was inside... they’re probably dead,” another murmured with suspicion.

Dozens of miles away, Ye Fan was filled with lingering dread. “If not for the motherly energy... if not for the madman’s cocoon, I’d be dead.”

Now they lay in the mountains. The madman was still cocooned, asleep and motionless.

“A figure of that level... not even the void’s collapse could harm him!” Ye Fan was awestruck. In fact, it was the madman’s presence that had shattered the void in the first place.

Ye Fan didn’t dare linger. Carrying the madman, he raced toward Dull Peak, not flying, but running through the forest.

At this moment, the sect was in chaos. Many powerhouses rushed toward the domain gate, leaving Dull Peak unnoticed.

Ye Fan brought the madman back to the broken temple where he lived.

Li Ruoyu appeared silently. “Was all that your doing?” His spiritual senses were unusually sharp and had detected the anomaly.

“It wasn’t me…” Ye Fan pointed at the madman.

Li Ruoyu scanned with divine sense, and was overwhelmed. His Dao heart faltered, and his body nearly tore apart. Natural Dao flow was obstructed, the cocoon felt like a demonic fetus, unsettling him deeply.

“This is…” He gasped and stepped back several paces.

Ye Fan didn’t hide anything. He revealed the madman’s identity and gave a brief account of what had just happened.

“Those who do not attain immortality go mad… A peerless master from six thousand years ago…” Li Ruoyu was visibly shaken.

Anyone would be, this madman had survived countless eras. He was a living scripture.

“A figure like this appearing on Dull Peak… will it bring fortune or disaster?” Li Ruoyu frowned.

Meanwhile, the sect master and several elders stood before the shattered black jade altar, silent and shaken.

“These Dao Runes are incredibly profound… even the sacred grounds’ domain gates may not compare. Who carved these?”

The elders guarding the site finally recovered and quickly explained what they had seen.

“It must be him!” The sect lord and elders were all stunned.

Soon after, they arrived at Dull Peak. Li Ruoyu invited them, this was too important to hide.

However, he didn’t mention Ye Fan. He claimed the madman had fallen from the void and landed there by chance.

In the days that followed, everything was calm. The sect suppressed the incident and kept it quiet.

The elders treated the madman like a sacred relic, guarding him closely, fearing any disturbance.

The madman remained in a strange cocooned state, radiating mysterious energy. One elder attempted to investigate but was struck down, coughing blood.

“Have you noticed? There’s something strange about Dull Peak, there must be a secret there…” Ji Ziyue whispered to Ye Fan.

He remained silent. Li Ruoyu had warned him to keep quiet, or he might be implicated.

“I just hope the old madman wakes soon... and nothing bad happens,” Ye Fan thought quietly.

In the following days, everything remained peaceful. Dull Peak gained new prominence, receiving many outstanding disciples. The once-desolate main hall was lively again.

Every day, disciples from other peaks came to visit. Ye Fan met many young cultivators. Ji Ziyue, in particular, was surrounded like a star among moons.

One day, disciples from Star Peak came with an invitation for Ji Ziyue and Ye Fan. Hearing this, Ye Fan frowned, but Ji Ziyue just smiled, it didn’t faze her.

That same day, Ji Ziyue whispered mysteriously to Ye Fan: “My grandfather is here.”

Ye Fan was startled. “The undead old fossil again?”

“How can you say that?!” Ji Ziyue glared with wide eyes.

“Uhh... Slip of the tongue… is he here to take you home?”

“No. The madman appeared on Dull Peak. The Supreme Mystery Sect thinks they can keep it secret, but my clan and the Radiant Light Sacred Ground know. Big things are coming.”

Ye Fan felt guilty. He couldn’t share much with her, yet she revealed everything she knew.

In the distant sky, a golden ancient war chariot rolled across the firmament, rumbling as it came. Covered in blade marks and arrow holes, it exuded a sense of ancient, eternal hardship.