Shrouded Sky

Chapter 174 - Onwards To The Northern Region

Ye Fan clearly heard the crack of his own bones breaking. His body was nearly deformed, suffering unimaginably severe injuries. He fell into a mountain ravine with a plop, slipping into a semi-conscious state, his mind clouded and disoriented.

The ravine’s streams, waterfalls, and springs merged into a river that meandered through the beautiful mountains. Ye Fan floated along with the current, drifting ever farther. The river wasn’t particularly turbulent, and by midday, it had flowed onto a vast plain, merging into a broad, surging river.

Ye Fan awoke occasionally, but he had no strength left. He floated in the vast river, aware that at least a dozen bones in his body were broken.

Despite having a body as strong as a divine artifact, he was still this gravely injured, proof of how terrifying the force he had faced had been.

He drifted for three full days before his mind began to clear. He grimaced, his whole body throbbed in pain.

By now, the river had calmed. Not far away, there was a dock where many ships were moored, and a city stood on the riverbank.

Thud.

Ye Fan was pushed by the current into the dock, crashing into one of the ships. He was immediately spotted.

“Damn it! Talk about bad luck, getting hit by a dead man. Nothing good’s coming this year,” someone on the boat cursed.

“He’s not dead. Still breathing, it seems.”

“Bring him up and have a look.”

Someone jumped into the water, and with several hands helping, they hauled Ye Fan onto the ship.

“Could he be some powerful cultivator who was badly injured and ended up in the river?” the captain said warily.

He reached toward Ye Fan’s Oceanic Wheel and quickly stood up, cursing, “Worthless. No godpower at all.”

Others gathered around, scrutinizing Ye Fan and commenting loudly.

“Face is disfigured, mouth crooked, eyes slanted, one leg longer than the other, what a freak.”

“This ugly bastard is gripping a woman’s inner garment and won’t let go. Was he trying to die for love?”

“Well, the bra is kinda pretty. Too bad it’s wasted in his hands.”

“Hey, Li Laosan, don’t tell me you actually want it? If that’s his taste, the woman can’t be much better. Bet you’ll have nightmares.”

The dockworkers all jabbered at once, trading jests.

Ye Fan quickly understood, his body had been shattered when the void collapsed. His skeleton was deformed. If he wanted to recover, he would need to reset his bones. At the moment, he probably did look like a total freak.

“What do we do with him? Looks like he might survive.”

“Leave him here on the dock, let fate decide. That’s good karma for us.”

The captain circled Ye Fan and muttered, “No free rescues. Isn’t the Happy Gang in the city recruiting people? Sell him to them, we’ll consider it helping him find work.”

“What’s the Happy Gang want so many people for?” someone asked.

“I heard they’re hiring on behalf of a big power, sending people north to dig for divine source.”

“The Northern Region?! A mortal could walk ten lifetimes and never get there! How are they going?”

“Cultivators use celestial methods, crossing the void is nothing for them. We can’t go, but it’s not hard for them.”

Ye Fan had thought of getting up and leaving, but hearing that, he changed his mind and stayed put.

“Hey freak, you okay?” the captain asked, squatting down.

“I’ll be fine in a few days,” Ye Fan replied, playing along.

Hearing this, the captain nodded, pleased. “Get him something to eat, then take him to the Happy Gang.”

The Happy Gang was a minor sect, even weaker than Desolate Spirit Grotto-Heaven, but within this city, it was a local powerhouse.

This region bordered the Radiant Light Sacred Ground. All the sects here were vassals to it. The Happy Gang was at the very bottom of this hierarchy.

“Why send us this cripple? We need strong labor, not some disabled wreck,” a Happy Gang member grumbled after seeing Ye Fan.

“He’s strong, not disabled. Have him lift a rock and see for yourself,” the captain said with a smile.

Ye Fan obligingly picked up a large stone, carried it a few steps, and dropped it. That was enough for them to keep him.

Five days later, the Happy Gang sent him and hundreds of others to a sect called Jade Void Sect.

“Check carefully, don’t let any cultivators sneak in. We need miners, not passengers crossing the void. No mistakes!” a Jade Void Sect elder warned.

Jade Void Sect was a subordinate sect to the Radiant Light Sacred Ground.

An old man with a jade needle examined them one by one, shooting beams of light toward their Oceanic Wheel.

“Good. No godpower,” he said, nodding.

But it didn’t end there. Over a dozen elders came forward and checked them all again and again, ten rounds of scrutiny in total, before letting the group pass. They were selecting people for Radiant Light Sacred Ground, so they couldn’t afford mistakes.

Over those days, Ye Fan learned a lot.

The emergence of supreme divine source in the Northern Region had shocked the Eastern Wilderness. Many superpowers had descended to stake claims and support their representatives in opening new mines.

Since ancient times, the sacred grounds and ancient desolate clans had already established mines in the Northern Region.

Now, with unrest in the Primordial Mine, and other sites yielding divine source, they were taking it even more seriously.

Divine source was incredibly mysterious, formed before the Desolate Era, possibly tracing back to the creation of the world. It lay buried deep underground.

It was almost impossible to detect due to a strange outer shell, known as stone skin. Even cultivators couldn’t see through it, only by mining could one confirm if there was source inside.

It was like jade mining: you couldn’t know what was inside until you cut it open.

Sometimes, opening source mines would unleash terrifying phenomena, ancient godbeasts awakening, or primordial ghosts leaking out. That’s why cultivators rarely mined themselves.

So these hired laborers, though aware of the dangers, were enticed by the promised gold.

Ye Fan’s Oceanic Wheel was sealed, his godpower depleted. Staying in the Southern Region was a dead end. He had to take a gamble, this was his chance to reach the Northern Region.

Currently, his body was badly deformed: even his cheekbones and jaw were misaligned, completely ruining his appearance. His left calf was broken into three pieces, leaving one leg shorter than the other. His body was twisted.

But Ye Fan’s vitality was so strong that within five or six days, the bones had already fused.

Yet without proper alignment, they healed crookedly, so now he truly looked like a monster. But that was intentional. He would wait until reaching the north to reset his bones. For now, this disguise was necessary.

After about eight days at Jade Void Sect, and extensive checks confirming no hidden threats, Ye Fan and others were sent to the Radiant Light Sacred Ground.

Even from afar, Jade Void Sect elders descended from the clouds to lead the hundreds of people on foot.

Ye Fan was astonished. Ahead, clouds swirled, and mountains floated in midair, not rooted to the earth.

Each one exuded primordial might, some surrounded by demonic clouds, others wrapped in rainbow light. They seemed as if they had existed since creation.

“A bunch of bumpkins, never seen anything before,” one young cultivator mocked, though he too was awed. “This is just a corner of Radiant Light Sacred Ground. Deeper inside are ancient temples and even a divine city that floats forever in the sky.”

The mortals gasped, some even fell to their knees, overwhelmed by the sight.

Soon, radiant light approached, it was the Radiant Light Sacred Ground's people.

A middle-aged man led the group, followed by several young men and women. They landed ahead.

Ye Fan was nervous, he had no way to survive in the south, so this was his gamble. Thankfully, no one in Radiant Light Sacred Ground, aside from the Saintess, knew him. He didn’t believe fate would toy with him that cruelly.

The Jade Void Sect elders bowed deeply in greeting. The middle-aged cultivator waved it off.

A brilliant light engulfed the crowd. Strange energy scanned them for a full quarter hour before fading.

“No issues. None of them have godpower,” the man said.

Ye Fan exhaled in relief, but also felt dread. The Immortal-Sealing Powder was terrifying. His power was so depleted even experts couldn’t detect it. Would he ever recover?

The middle-aged cultivator waved his sleeve, huge and shadowy, and gathered all the mortals into it. The mortals screamed, terrified by this magical act.

Soon, light returned. They found themselves on a massive floating island, shrouded in mist and clouds.

In the distance, mountains floated majestically, towering yet beautiful.

“So this is Radiant Light Sacred Ground. And this is only a corner,” Ye Fan marveled. “Too grand to compare with Supreme Mystery or any other sect.”

He longed to see the divine temples of the Desolate Era and the city that never falls. But he was just a mortal miner now, such things were out of reach.

Suddenly, Ye Fan’s eyes narrowed. A woman landed on the floating island, elegant and familiar.

She wore blue robes, fresh and pure, like a lotus in the morning dew or a snow lotus on a frozen peak.

“Weiwei!”

Ye Fan was stunned. An old acquaintance.

Weiwei came from Desolate Spirit Grotto-Heaven. She had once led Ye Fan and Pang Bo out of the ancient forbidden realm.

She was said to be a rare prodigy, and Desolate Spirit sent her to Radiant Light Sacred Ground to maximize her potential. He hadn’t expected to meet her here again.

Ye Fan turned slightly, not wanting her to recognize him.

“Senior Sister Yao Xi returned, she was badly hurt this time,” said a Radiant Light Sacred Ground disciple.

“She’s heading to the Northern Region soon,” Weiwei replied softly, her eyes briefly glancing at Ye Fan before she walked away.

Ahead, fog shrouded a grand celestial gate. All mortals had to pass through it for a final inspection.

Besides their group, thousands of others waited. One by one, people passed without incident, Ye Fan quietly sighed in relief.

“I have business in the Northern Region. I’ll take a group with me,” said an old man in green robes standing atop a jade platform.

He stood on a stage made entirely of dark jade, glowing with mystic light. Behind him were several young disciples.

“Farewell, Grand Elder!” Weiwei and others saluted below.

Whoosh!

With a sweep of his sleeve, the Grand Elder collected all several thousand mortals. The jade platform shone, opening a Domain Gate. He stepped through it, followed by the disciples.

Being taken by one of the Radiant Light Sacred Ground’s Grand Elder, Ye Fan finally sighed in relief.

At last, he was leaving the Southern Region, on his way to the Northern Region!

End of Book 1 of Shrouding The Heavens: Beyond The Starry Sky