Shrouded Sky

Chapter 192 - Ancient Creature

The vast hall, spanning hundreds of meters like a plaza, was dimly lit. A lone skeleton lay quietly, its skull pierced by a shocking finger hole. Nearby, on the purple stone floor, tattered fragments of stone clothing, made from the same Godsource skin as Ye Fan’s, were scattered, barely recognizable.

“Zhang Jiye!” Ye Fan strode forward, confirming the fragments matched his stone clothing’s material.

The skeleton bore multiple fractures, a testament to severe injuries. That Zhang Jiye had reached this far spoke to his remarkable resilience. Beside the skeleton lay a silver book, crafted from metal, about a hundred pages thick and surprisingly heavy.

Three ancient characters were etched on it: Celestial Source Tome.

The bold, vigorous strokes resembled three crouching dragons.

“It’s really the Celestial Source Tome!” Ye Fan’s heart raced. He had entered Purple Mountain for this very book, nearly giving up, only to find it at this critical moment. In the Northern Region, excessive source mining over millennia had nearly depleted the veins, making sources increasingly precious.

Ye Fan’s unique physique required vast amounts of source. Previously, this was nearly impossible, but with the Celestial Source Tome, becoming a Celestial Source Master could yield not just abundant sources but even divine ones.

“Haha…” He couldn’t help but laugh aloud.

Each step of his cultivation demanded ten times the source of others. The first stage of the Dao Palace alone was beyond what a small sect could provide, and the astronomical amounts needed later could be suffocating.

“Now there’s a solution…” Ye Fan opened the book, silver light spilling out, sparkling like diamonds.

It was indeed a treasure. Beyond its contents, the material itself was rare, nearly indestructible, akin to the golden pages of the Dao Scripture.

“This is a secret treasure, no wonder it could breach Purple Mountain even with low cultivation,” he mused.

The ancient characters gleamed like stars, making the silver book irresistible. The opening clarified that it wasn’t just a guide for finding sources but a treatise on heaven, earth, and humanity, approaching the Dao through sources, aiming for unity with heaven.

Gaze upward at the celestial patterns, downward at the earthly laws, observe the markings of birds and beasts, and the suitability of the land… Inner vitality arises, outer energy takes form, harmonizing within and without… Energy rides the wind and scatters, but halts at water; the ancients gathered it to prevent dispersion, guiding it to rest…

Ye Fan flipped through, finding such profound records. It was a vast, intricate study. As he continued, the silver pages glowed, his expression growing serious. The book’s techniques neared the Dao itself. While not a cultivation method, it touched on Daoist principles, covering terrain analysis, geological structures, celestial changes, yin-yang and the five elements, and even human-celestial resonance, profound and difficult to grasp.

“The heavens align with the stars, the earth with maps, born of heaven and earth, stabilized by divination…” Ye Fan paused, overwhelmed by the complexity. “No wonder only five Celestial Source Masters emerged in history. Even with this wondrous book, only the Zhang Clan’s founder mastered it.”

Becoming a Celestial Source Master was daunting. The hundred-page Celestial Source Tome was intricate, requiring immense effort to comprehend, far from an overnight task. As he reached the latter half, his shock grew, techniques to move mountains and seas, sense constellations, and unite with heaven.

“No wonder Celestial Source Masters could rival sacred ground powerhouses,” he marveled.

On the final pages, he noticed smaller text beneath each line, in a different script, clearly added later.

In the valley’s center, there is no valley; formless, shadowless, without opposition or violation, residing humbly, unmoving, maintaining stillness without decay, the valley forms without revealing its shape…

This was a cultivation method, not part of the Celestial Source Tome. It was the Five God-Spirits Technique, a Dao Palace heart method for nurturing life, a secret for longevity.

Ye Fan recalled Wu Qingfeng’s words: beyond the Other Shore, many cultivated for long life. The Dao Palace nurtured five god-spirits, the foundation for extending life and cultivating Dao power.

“This is a life-nurturing technique…” The few pages were general but sufficient for longevity. The more he read, the more engrossed he became.

“This is a Dao Palace cultivation method, incomplete but highly summarized and profound. Practicing it could yield extraordinary results…” Its depth rivaled the Dao Scripture, clearly a supreme scripture.

A vague thought struck him, could this be a fragment of Jade Pool’s heart method? It seemed plausible. The Jade Pool Saintess was the confidante of the Celestial Source Master Zhang Lin, entering Demon Mountain to find him despite the risks, suggesting a deep bond. “Perhaps she gave him part of the heart method to extend his life…”

The silver book was indeed a treasure. Ye Fan stored it in his body, where it floated alongside the golden Dao Scripture pages, one gold, one silver, gleaming strikingly. He dug a pit, buried Zhang Jiye’s remains, erected a simple monument, and bowed deeply.

“Rest in peace here.”

The vast hall was empty. Ye Fan searched but found no trace of the Paragon Artifact, the High Heaven Bell.

“The Grand Emperor’s weapon isn’t so easily found. It might be suppressing something here,” he shook his head, abandoning the search. Having obtained the Celestial Source Tome, he had no further desires and planned to leave. But leaving the hall meant facing those ancient creatures again; the way back was cut off.

“What now?” Ye Fan frowned. Purple Mountain was no safe place, and lingering could lead to unpredictable dangers.

Even the mighty Eastern Wilderness God King was trapped here for four thousand years, on the verge of turning to dust. Without an escape, Ye Fan wouldn’t last years. He summoned his cauldron, letting it hover above, its mysterious Motherly Energy protecting him, and cautiously left the hall.

Barely stepping out, piercing cries echoed. Seven or eight ancient creatures appeared, each grotesque, some bird-like, others crocodile-like, a few nearly human, roaring and charging, shaking the mines.

The six-armed creature wasn’t the strongest; another, more terrifying, strode forward, collapsing the void with each step, like an emperor. Resembling a human man but with three heads and nine arms, clad in armor, its purple hair danced, slicing the void.

“This isn’t the Godsource creature, yet it’s already so powerful!” Ye Fan was stunned, unable to fathom its terror. In the mortal world, few human powerhouses could suppress it. Without hesitation, he dove into his cauldron and fled.

A chilling snort followed. The purple-haired man, like a descending deity, landed outside the hall, his eyes deep as oceans, soul-captivating. His three heads and nine arms moved, unleashing suffocating waves, collapsing nearby mines silently. Other creatures trembled, some kneeling.

Undoubtedly, he was a high-ranking ancient being. The void around him cracked as his nine hands reached into the hall, like an immovable god king, locking everything. Ye Fan felt his cauldron retreating, nearly pulled out by the terrifying pressure threatening to shatter his soul.

Inside the cauldron, he shouted, channeling the Dao Scripture and unleashing the Nine Secrets, his body surging with godpower like a war god, resisting the cauldron’s retreat.

Clang.

A melodious bell rang. The purple-haired man grunted, glanced unwillingly into the hall, then vanished in a step. The oppressive aura receded like a tide, and the other creatures disappeared.

Ye Fan’s heart raced. The purple-haired man was terrifying, his divine might world-shaking. Released, he’d cause endless chaos.

“Three heads, nine arms… like some deities…” he mused, but escape was paramount.

“The bell, this hall…”

He realized the hall might be the Grand Emperor’s Paragon Artifact, the massive bell from a hundred thousand years ago.

“It’s too big to take…” He tried, but it was like an ant shaking a tree, bound by powerful restrictions. Though the Emperor was gone, the bell retained immense power, as if divine energy still flowed.

“You… why wander recklessly…” Jiang Taixu’s weak voice came, barely audible.

“Senior, you’re alright! That’s great!” Ye Fan rejoiced at the transmission.

“They’ve… awakened. You… can’t leave,” Jiang Taixu said, his divine sense weaker, yet his ability to find Ye Fan in Purple Mountain showed his terror.

“Senior, we can escape together. I have divine springwater to restore your power.”

“If you’d come ten years earlier, I might’ve had a chance,” Jiang Taixu said intermittently, claiming he was beyond saving, even with sacred fruit, as he couldn’t receive it. Worse, Ye Fan learned that Purple Mountain was a dead zone, once entered, escape was nearly impossible. The Grand Emperor’s methods had made it a sealed realm.

“One of the Nine Secrets… I’ve passed it on… it won’t die with me…” Jiang Taixu whispered.

Ye Fan understood. This supreme technique, known only to him and not part of the Jiang Clan’s scriptures, was his wish to pass on.

“Senior, if I escape, I’ll inform the Jiang family to rescue you!”

“No!” Jiang Taixu urged urgently. “I’m fading. Don’t let them die here. Keep this place… secret.”

“What even is this place?” Ye Fan asked, but Jiang Taixu fell silent.

The mysteries were dense. Ancient creatures occupied the nine dragon veins guarding Purple Mountain, each with a Godsource. What was Purple Mountain before the Desolate Era? What did the Grand Emperor do here a hundred thousand years ago? Ye Fan sighed, realizing only mastering the Celestial Source Tome could reveal the truth. With the way back blocked, he gritted his teeth and ventured deeper.

Soon after leaving the hall, the demonic summoning overwhelmed him, nearly lifting him off the ground.

“No wonder the God King is trapped. This demonic force…” His body trembled, soul straining to break free, beyond his control.

The force likely came from the nine Godsources’ creatures. Unable to resist, he retreated, then noticed a massive stone book ten miles away, standing over a dozen meters long and one to two meters thick. His imperial jade pendant, obtained from Big Beard Chen, glowed brilliantly.

“This is…” Enduring the soul-shattering danger, Ye Fan approached, leaving deep footprints and sweating profusely, his bones nearly cracking.

The ten-mile trek took three hours, his ears ringing, mind hazy from the demonic summoning. Nearing the stone book, the force weakened, clearing his mind.

“Hiss!” Behind the book, lush vines grew, their greenery emitting the demonic force.

“A few more miles, and I’ll reach Purple Mountain’s center!” he muttered.

His imperial jade glowed brighter, and the stone book radiated soft light. Blowing away the dust of ages, Ye Fan saw three large characters: The Beginningless Scripture!

“This is…” His heart shook. A scripture named with “Scripture” was likely a supreme text, possibly left by the Grand Emperor from a hundred thousand years ago.

The Eastern Wilderness had few ancient scriptures, and an undiscovered one thrilled him.

“Why won’t it open?!” He tried to turn the pages, but the stone book, like the root of heaven and earth, wouldn’t budge. Despite using the jade pendant, it only glowed hazily, unyielding.

“The jade is incomplete…?” Ye Fan sighed, filled with regret. A complete jade might have unlocked this world-shaking scripture.

“The Beginningless Scripture, its name alone stirs my heart, but I can’t obtain it…” He sat on the stone book, trying futilely.