Shrouded Sky

Chapter 223 - Primordial Divine Pull

The sky was like ink, starless and moonless, as though the world had fallen into eternal darkness. The area around the Primordial Mine was utterly desolate.

An indescribable oppression, endless fear, and a suffocating sense of dread overwhelmed them. It felt like massive black mountains were pressing down on their hearts.

“What’s going on?” All four were shocked, feeling the weight in their chests but clueless as to what had just happened.

“What’s happening at the Primordial Mine? Are we going to die here?!” Chen Huaiyuan asked, trembling.

Li Desheng was also shaking, his left eye glowing faintly with the eerie light of his Lunar Sight, fully open and gazing toward the mine.

“What do you see?” Ye Fan urged.

“What’s going on over there?” Old Blade asked anxiously.

“I… I can’t see anything… It’s completely black, like it’s swallowing everything. My eye-” Li Desheng suddenly cried out and collapsed backward. Blood trickled from the corner of his eye.

The others rushed to help him.

“What happened to you?” Ye Fan asked.

The corner of Li Desheng’s left eye had burst open, and blood was leaking from the sclera. His Lunar Sight was swollen and empty, though the pupil remained intact.

“It hurts like hell!” he wailed, crying and snotting as he channeled godpower to soothe the wound. It took a long while to recover.

“What did you see?” Old Blade pressed him.

“A black hole, a massive black hole, like it could devour people…” Li Desheng was terrified. Even his Lunar Sight had nearly been destroyed.

After a short while, the moonlight and starlight suddenly returned to the sky, abrupt and startling.

The soft glow hung like mist and smoke, appearing sacred and serene. It swept away the dread and silence from before.

The blood-colored earth appeared pale now. Gravel, rocks, and low hills were draped in a veil of moonlight, like a subtle landscape painting.

“That scared the hell out of me. What just happened?” Chen Huaiyuan patted his chest. With light restored, it felt like the darkness had never occurred. Yet the starry river in the sky still flowed toward the ancient mine.

The massive devouring black hole had vanished, as if it was an illusion.

“It really feels like it was just a hallucination…” Ye Fan murmured.

But it wasn’t long before a muffled buzz echoed again, all the sacred light was sucked away once more.

The land fell into darkness. They couldn’t even see each other’s faces. The area near the mine was especially black, like an abyss deeper than anywhere else.

“It’s dark again?” Chen asked nervously.

“It’s close to midnight now,” Old Blade said grimly. “According to legend, this is the time the Primordial Mine devours the essence of heaven and earth, consuming everything!”

“We have to leave now, or we might never get out!”

“Go!” Ye Fan ordered, his voice low. He had roughly figured out how this place worked and began retreating with the others.

Of course, “retreat” here meant constantly changing directions, zigzagging rather than moving in a straight line.

Ye Fan kept calculating his path, referencing the Celestial Source Tome. Even his footsteps were carefully measured. The three behind him followed exactly in his tracks.

It was a winding and complex route, three steps forward, two back, constantly veering left and right.

Occasionally, Ye Fan would pause, do calculations on the ground, estimate the surrounding terrain, and then pick the best direction to go.

“Digging Master, you have to get us out of here,” Chen Huaiyuan muttered. “I’ve always admired people like you. I even studied a bit of this field, though only the basics…”

“Shut it, don’t distract him,” Old Blade grumbled and pushed him aside, afraid of disturbing Ye Fan.

Half a quarter-hour later, Ye Fan led them back to their starting point, still around 80–90 miles from the mine.

Throughout the process, a constant rumbling could be heard behind them, a giant black hole seemed to inhale the very essence of the world, like a primeval beast opening its jaws to devour the sky.

Ye Fan was affected several times. Whenever the world turned pitch black, he had to stop and carefully recalculate.

Walk-stop-walk, after what felt like a thousand miles of circling, they finally broke free from the strange region and appeared 150 miles away.

“We’re out!” The four of them exhaled deeply. Ye Fan, utterly exhausted, collapsed to the ground. The constant calculations had worn him out.

He pulled out his Jade Purification Vase, pouring in what little divine springwater was left, finally feeling some recovery.

Without the Celestial Source Tome, Ye Fan was sure they would’ve been trapped inside forever, it would’ve been nearly impossible to escape.

“Digging Master, I swear I’ll build you a longevity shrine when I get back!” Chen Huaiyuan said gratefully.

“Don’t celebrate yet. We’ve only just gotten away from the mine. We’re still in the Forbidden Burial Ground. There are deadly places like Dragonblood Spill still ahead,” Old Blade warned coldly.

Ye Fan sighed too. The Forbidden Burial Ground was deadly. Formations like Flame Dragon Grave and Dragonblood Spill weren’t unique, they could still stumble into danger at any moment.

Beneath peaceful moonlight, they moved slowly and carefully, wary of traps.

“What were the corpses like that you saw at the mine?” Ye Fan asked Li Desheng. “Were they human?”

“All humanoid. But I can’t say for sure if they were human corpses. My Lunar Sight could only make out vague outlines. Some were male, some female. They wore very ancient clothing,” Li said, still unsettled.

“Maybe some were fallen sect masters or imperial lords… or perhaps beings native to the mine,” Old Blade muttered.

“At least we didn’t see anything alive,” Ye Fan said with relief.

There were too many terrifying legends about the mine.

“Living entities, how many have ever seen one and survived?” Old Blade whispered.

“I wonder if those three godlike beings we saw earlier are still nearby…” Li Desheng asked quietly.

Strictly speaking, it was because those three figures appeared that they had to flee, and nearly got trapped in the mine.

“Let’s hope we never run into them again,” Chen Huaiyuan mumbled.

“You damn jinxes, shut up already!” Old Blade snapped, deeply superstitious.

“Damn!” Ye Fan suddenly looked up toward the horizon, heart sinking.

The jinx came true.

Though it was midnight, the world wasn’t completely dark. A pale moon still hung high, casting a hazy glow on the blood-red earth.

On the distant horizon, three figures appeared, looking directly at them. Each one was surrounded by a glowing halo, like divine beings.

The center figure was faint and illusory, almost unreal.

To the left, one radiated light like a blazing sun.

To the right, a woman in white robes and flowing dark hair shimmered like a moon goddess descending to the mortal world.

“Three forbidden beings…” someone muttered. “They really are trying to force us into the Primordial Mine!”

Chen Huaiyuan and Li Desheng, who had just calmed down, were now trembling again. They wanted to run, but their legs shook too much to move.

Ye Fan and Old Blade wanted to flee too, but behind them was the mine, they couldn’t turn back.

Then something shocking happened.

The three godlike beings suddenly turned and fled, like they had seen a ghost, as if running from a plague. They moved incredibly fast, vanishing in an instant.

Old Blade was dumbfounded.

Li Desheng and Chen Huaiyuan stammered.

“Did… did those godlike beings just run away from us?”

“Am I seeing this right…?”

Even from a distance, only silhouettes could be seen, but Ye Fan felt a strange familiarity. A thought flashed through his mind.

“You sons of bitches!” he shouted, suddenly sprinting after them.

“Did he just curse at the forbidden zone’s creatures?!” Chen Huaiyuan was shocked.

“He’s lost his mind! Digging Master has gone insane, he’s chasing the gods!” Li Desheng cried.

Old Blade stood stunned, then suddenly jumped up. “Chase them! Those aren’t divine beings, they’re people like us!”

“What?! They’re human?” Chen Huaiyuan was suddenly emboldened. “Those bastards made us almost die in that damn mine, and they’re human?!”

Li Desheng also swore. “Those motherf-! They nearly killed us, and they’re human too?!”

Thinking back, when they first encountered the trio, they had stood on higher ground. When they ran, they descended into lower terrain, losing sight of them. Now it was clear, the trio had fled too.

Ye Fan led the chase. Old Blade followed. Chen and Li were behind, relentlessly pursuing.

They didn’t shout or alert the targets, just silently chased.

Up ahead, the three moved swiftly but cautiously. They couldn’t go full speed, fearing they'd stumble into another deadly place, so they hadn’t shaken the pursuers yet.

Even with just vague outlines, Ye Fan could almost confirm it, the trio were the Jade Pool Saintess, Yao Xi, and the Radiant Light Saint.

He had heard they came to the mine’s edge to transport source stones, but he never expected they too would get lost here.

“They nearly got us killed. We have to scare them back,” Chen and Li said bitterly.

Ye Fan was already doing it, chasing them relentlessly.

Saints and holy heirs were usually calm and composed. But right now, they were in a panic, thinking Ye Fan and the others were forbidden beings.

“I think they’re human, not ancient creatures.”

“Yeah, their robes are flowing, the one in front looks like a Daoist… seems familiar too…”

“If they were monsters, they’d have caught us by now.”

The three finally stopped. Despite being elite cultivators, they weren’t overly panicked. They turned to assess the situation.

“Are those old acquaintances ahead?” Yao Xi asked as they halted.

Ye Fan caught up and called out, “Boundless Heavenly Lord! This is a misunderstanding!”

Soon, the two groups stood face-to-face under the soft moonlight.

The Radiant Light Saint shimmered with golden brilliance. Though not angry, he no longer wore his usual calm smile.

Yao Xi’s white robes outshone the snow. Her brows gently furrowed. “Daoist… I didn’t expect to meet you here. You really are the junior uncle of that scoundrel Daoist Duan.”

Duan De, known as the Shameless Daoist, was clearly who she meant. She was being tactful, but her tone had a hint of reproach.

“Boundless Heavenly Lord,” Ye Fan chanted, “It was truly a misunderstanding…”

The Jade Pool Saintess remained silent for a while, then asked, “Daoist, how did you end up here?”

“It’s a long story…”

Just then, Chen and Li arrived and immediately began scolding.

“Who the hell are you?! You nearly got us killed in the Primordial Mine!”

Their non-stop complaints left the three holy heirs speechless.

After hearing the full story, both sides realized it was a mutual misunderstanding.

Once the tension eased, Yao Xi teased, “You really are a match for that rogue Daoist. You recognized us but chased us anyway.”

The Radiant Light Saint added, “Brother, that joke was a bit too much.”

Even the Saintess of Jade Pool softly said, “Daoist, we almost ran into a death trap because of you…”

“All a misunderstanding,” Ye Fan said, changing the topic. “How did you three get lost here too?”

“We were at the edge of the Forbidden Burial Ground when a black wind blew in…”

Like Ye Fan’s group, they too were swept in by a strange black wind, many others died in the process.

After learning they were heirs of Sacred Grounds, Chen and Li quieted down. Old Blade had remained calm from the start.

After exchanging stories, all seven sighed. It had all started with that same black wind.

“Daoist, you’re something else… venturing this deep into the Primordial Mine just for a look,” the Saint remarked.

Now united, the three heirs were astonished at Ye Fan’s ability to survive the mine.

“I believe if we cross that blood-red plain ahead, we can leave the Forbidden Burial Ground,” Old Blade said.

Ye Fan and the others nodded, they had the same hunch.

After 60 miles of travel, they saw a pine forest ahead.

Moonlight filtering through pines, spring water flowing over stones, the scenery was unexpectedly peaceful.

Swaying pines, trickling streams, moonlight shimmering on water, it was serene and clean.

But how could a place like this exist within the dead zone of the Primordial Mine?

Everyone was puzzled and surprised.

“Something is glowing…” said the Saint, peering deep into the woods.

The group followed the stream and entered the forest, only to find a glowing object.

“It’s… a skeleton!” someone shouted.

Under an ancient pine tree lay a white skeleton, gleaming under the moonlight.

“This person must’ve been insanely powerful to have bones still shining after death.”

“There’s a jade pendant here,” Yao Xi said, picking up a dragon-shaped piece from the water.

“This is from a Grand Xia emperor!” the Saintess gasped.

Only emperors of Grand Xia had these, symbols of identity.

Everyone was shocked. A powerful ruler of an eternal dynasty had died here.

“It’s true… the mine really buries emperors and sages,” the Saint sighed.

He wondered: Would he die here too?

“There’s something dangerous here, we need to leave,” Yao Xi said, her face changing.

Everyone’s hearts turned cold. If even a Grand Xia emperor had fallen here, this peaceful forest was no sanctuary.

“Let’s go!” Ye Fan said, suddenly realizing something and turning to leave first.

The others now viewed him as a true “Digging Master.” His alarm made them nervous.

“Daoist, is something wrong with this place?” the Saintess asked gently.

“There shouldn’t be pine forests and springs here. This place should be barren. When something becomes too perfect, it backfires,” Ye Fan said quietly.

The Celestial Source Tome warned: “When things reach the extreme, they reverse, leave immediately.”

This warning was meant for Celestial Celestial Source Masters.

The latter chapters described such terrain, abnormal, unnatural topography that hid unimaginable dangers beneath.

Even a Celestial Celestial Source Master would flee from such ground.

Ye Fan’s heart was pounding, this was deadly ground, capable of killing even a Celestial Source Master. He had no way to guess what lay below.

“To actually see a ‘Reversal Terrain’… this type only appears in the deepest parts of the Celestial Source Tome…”

Even the Zhang Clan's ancestor wouldn’t dare probe it.

Cold sweat poured from Ye Fan’s back. He backed away slowly, his clothes soaked. The others followed suit, holding their breath.

Even as they left the forest, the spring still flowed peacefully. Nothing unusual happened.

But how could a place that killed an emperor not be dangerous? It was clearly blood-stained demonic land.

Still, after retreating several hundred meters, they saw nothing strange.

Then,

Ye Fan burst into motion, dashing away like a streak of light.

“Retreating slowly won’t work. Everyone, run for your lives! If we live, meet fifty miles ahead!”

To flee so urgently, even from someone who had survived the mine, it terrified the others.

In an instant, they all unleashed their full power, fleeing at top speed.

Ye Fan’s spine ran cold. The Forbidden Burial Ground was terrifying, its traps were everywhere.

He felt this place might be just as deadly as the mine itself.