Shrouded Sky

Chapter 229 - Grand Emperor's Weapon Refining Ground

The moon was stained with blood and imprinted into the earth. This place was known as the Crimson Moon Hollow, a deadly land of ultimate yin and softness. Entering or exiting it was perilous, and anyone who did had to carefully avoid its influence. It was an extraordinarily terrifying cursed ground.

On the other side, the black sun had fallen and sunk below a ridge, known as Sunfall Ridge, a land of ultimate yang and hardness that could incinerate everything. Even overlords would have to retreat, one of the few deadliest places in the world.

Seeing either of these two places would be enough to shake the world. That they appeared together made this one of the most terrifying demonic lands in all of history. There had only ever been three such instances, nearly impossible to overcome.

And yet Grand Emperor Eternal Universe chose such a place to forge a Paragon Artifact, an act so unimaginable that anyone hearing it for the first time would be left speechless in shock.

"Was that emperor really that powerful?" Ye Fan stared in disbelief.

This was the Primordial Mine, and here, the Crimson Moon Hollow and Sunfall Ridge were paired together, creating a force more terrifying than either alone. The feat of forging weapons here was staggering.

"Of course he was powerful. How many emperors have there been since ancient times? The founder of the Jiang Clan, Grand Emperor Eternal Universe, shook the ages. He represents the human race's pinnacle of the Zenith Dao.”

Ye Fan drifted into a daze. This was truly a legendary figure. To come to the Primordial Mine to refine a weapon, it defied comprehension.

For countless ages, even the most powerful lords and monarchs had entered but never returned. Even the Eastern Wilderness’s God Kings couldn’t extend their lives here.

Yet this emperor treated the Forbidden Burial Ground as a forge. What kind of boldness was that? Time had flowed like water since, and one could no longer meet such a peerless being.

“Why did he choose this place to refine a Paragon Artifact?”

Old Blade answered, “Grand Emperor Eternal Universe’s cultivation stood above all others. The entire Eastern Wilderness was under his shadow. Naturally, he would choose the best place to refine his weapon. The Primordial Mine couldn’t harm him.”

“As long as he didn’t step into the ancient mine itself, the rest of the zone couldn’t endanger him. Legend says he had a great fortune, he obtained a Phoenix God-Bone. To refine a Paragon Artifact, he needed a special place. Sunfall Ridge was the only choice,” Li Desheng said with a look of admiration.

“Phoenix God-Bone?” Ye Fan was stunned.

According to legend, a pure-blooded True Phoenix was on par with an immortal, something that didn’t exist in the current world. Yet Grand Emperor Eternal Universe had obtained such a thing?

“That’s just a rumor. There’s no such thing as a True Phoenix in this world,” the Jade Pool Saintess said, shaking her head. “What he got was Phoenix-Blood Red-Gold, a divine material nearly as valuable as a Phoenix God-Bone.”

“Phoenix-Blood Red-Gold exists, though True Phoenixes do not,” the Radiant Light Saint confirmed.

Phoenix-Blood Red-Gold was unimaginably rare, appearing perhaps once in a thousand generations. It gleamed crimson like phoenix blood, beautiful to the extreme, and carried natural phoenix markings.

Such a divine material was priceless. In the hands of an emperor, it would surely become a Paragon Artifact.

Sunfall Ridge, according to legend, formed when a Sun God fell to the earth. It was a land of ultimate yang, able to burn away all things.

Phoenix-Blood Red-Gold was similarly of pure yang and blazing heat, nearly indestructible. Sunfall Ridge was the only suitable place to forge it into a supreme weapon.

“By the heavens! What does Phoenix-Blood Red-Gold look like? Have any of you seen it?” Ye Fan asked Yao Xi and the Jade Pool Saintess.

The two beauties looked at each other. That material was so rare it might only appear once in hundreds of thousands of years. Who could possibly have seen it? If it were common, the Eastern Wilderness would have far more Paragon Artifacts.

Even emperors could only forge one Paragon Artifact in their lifetimes, not just because it was hard, but because the required divine materials were nearly impossible to find.

“Only direct descendants of the Jiang Clan have ever seen it. And it’s been four or five thousand years since that weapon was last seen,” the Radiant Light Saint said.

“Grand Emperor Eternal Universe was terrifying…” Ye Fan couldn’t help but sigh.

For him to forge a weapon in a place combining Crimson Moon Hollow and Sunfall Ridge, what kind of boldness was that?

Clearly, Sunfall Ridge's yang energy had been exhausted, used to temper the Phoenix-Blood Red-Gold into a weapon.

“What a figure Grand Emperor Eternal Universe must have been… If I had that kind of power…” Ye Fan trailed off in thought.

“What would you do, Daoist, if you had that kind of divine power?” Yao Xi asked with twinkling eyes.

“Naturally… I’d found an eternal empire.”

He almost slipped up, what he really meant was that he’d visit every sacred ground, borrow their ancient scriptures, and test their Paragon Artifacts firsthand.

“We better get moving. We can’t linger here,” Old Blade warned seriously.

The six of them skirted the Crimson Moon Hollow and cautiously advanced near Sunfall Ridge, praying nothing disastrous would happen. If it did, no one could save them.

The moonlight was cold, stretching their shadows long. Li Desheng’s Lunar Sight emitted a ghostly glow as he nervously scanned their surroundings, feeling as though something was watching them.

“Stop scaring us! You’re giving everyone anxiety,” Old Blade scolded.

“No really, I feel like a pair of eyes is watching us from the darkness. But I can’t catch even a glimpse,” Li Desheng said, visibly uneasy.

“Don’t overthink it. As long as nothing appears, we’ll treat it as nothing,” the Radiant Light Saint said calmly.

The six advanced slowly, observing everything. In this land of intertwined sun and moon, one wrong step could cost them their lives.

“Why is the moon so bright tonight? It’s not even a full moon,” Old Blade muttered, spitting out his pipe smoke.

“It is strange. The moonlight is like water, silver covering everything,” Yao Xi agreed.

Ye Fan suddenly froze. He looked up and said, “No, it’s not the moonlight. The problem is the Crimson Moon Hollow!”

“What did you notice, Daoist?” the Jade Pool Saintess asked softly.

“It’s not the moon that’s changed, it’s that the Crimson Moon Hollow is reacting to something.”

Ye Fan frowned, looking toward the blood-red moon embedded in the earth.

Yao Xi was puzzled. “But the Crimson Moon Hollow looks the same. How is it the problem?”

“We need to move further away. If it comes to it, we’ll enter Sunfall Ridge. It’s low on yang energy anyway. This Hollow… feels really wrong,” Ye Fan said gravely and moved toward the ruins.

The others figured Ye Fan had learned advanced source arts or inherited secrets from an ancient Celestial Source Master, so they followed without hesitation.

Before long, they heard the sound of gravel shifting. The Crimson Moon Hollow glowed eerily red, sending out crimson ripples like tidal waves, sweeping up sand and wind.

“This is… the Crimson Moon Tide!” Ye Fan’s face changed dramatically.

He shot away like a ghost, rushing toward Sunfall Ridge.

The others activated their movement arts and dashed toward the ruins.

Li Desheng was the slowest. The blood tide rolled over him in an instant. He screamed in terror, “NO!”

The tide looked gentle but radiated a horrifying aura. Li Desheng’s face went deathly pale. He gritted his teeth and sacrificed a god-spirit from his Dao Palace to block the tide.

SWISH!

Without a sound, the spirit dissolved into a puddle of blood. Li Desheng crashed to the ground inside the ruins, his face white as snow. He had barely survived by reacting fast and sacrificing his spirit.

“This…”

Ye Fan’s expression was grim. “This is the Crimson Moon Tide. It erupts from the Hollow and dissolves everything, softness that overcomes all.”

The blood moon was clearly visible. Etched into the earth, it drew in moonlight from the sky. Crimson ripples rolled through space like liquid.

“We should thank Grand Emperor Eternal Universe. If he hadn’t drained the Sunfall Ridge’s yang energy, the yin-yang combination would’ve killed us instantly,” Ye Fan said from within the ruins.

“What might lie beneath the Crimson Hollow and Sunfall Ridge…” Old Blade muttered.

“Don’t jinx it, old man. Every time you speak, things go bad!” Li Desheng snapped, on the verge of tears.

The six pressed forward with only one thought: escape the Primordial Mine, and hope Grand Emperor Eternal Universe had thoroughly dealt with Sunfall Ridge.

The ruins were ancient and decayed. Crumbled walls and broken pillars turned to dust with a touch.

Up ahead was a calm clearing. A blurry black sun imprint could be faintly seen on the ground, smaller than the Crimson Hollow, but still lingering even after tens of thousands of years.

To their surprise, beside the black sun stood an ancient structure, still intact and uncollapsed. A plaque read:

“Eternal Universe.”

“This was where Grand Emperor Eternal Universe forged his Paragon Artifact,” they all gasped and stared.

This wasn’t a prehistoric ruin, it was Grand Emperor Eternal Universe’s own structure. Legend said he spent years refining his weapon here in seclusion.

Though dusty, the building still stood firm, with lingering Dao Runes flowing.

What grand ambition! While others feared the Forbidden Burial Ground, where even monarchs perished, he secluded himself here for years.

The group said nothing but made the same decision, approach the building. Perhaps something extraordinary was left behind.

The structure was built from massive source stones, majestic and towering, giving off a sense of unreachable divinity, this was Eternal Universe’s Dao.

“So many bones…” They were shocked.

The building had hidden them from view earlier. Now, as they approached, they saw a mountain of bones behind the structure.

Even after tens of thousands of years, these bones still sparkled faintly. There were over a hundred, mostly humanoid, but clearly not human.

“For bones to still shine after so long… the enemies he slew must’ve been terrifying. Grand Emperor Eternal Universe truly was one of humanity’s greatest.”

To think he killed so many fearsome beings alone, every one of them seemingly top-tier. The world would be shaken if word spread.

“He really came here and went on a slaughter. Only a Grand Emperor could dare do this!”

“All this, for the sake of refining one Paragon Artifact…” Old Blade sighed.

Grand Emperors were dazzling geniuses. They created ancient scriptures that built and flourished the sacred lands of today.

But even more importantly, each sought to leave behind a Paragon Artifact, a lasting extension of their life and divine might.

In some ways, Paragon Artifacts were more important than ancient scriptures!

“To refine the Phoenix-Blood Red-Gold, Grand Emperor Eternal Universe truly displayed the might of a supreme emperor,” the Radiant Light Saint said. His life goal was to become a Grand Emperor.

“What kind of weapon did it become?” Ye Fan asked, unfamiliar with Jiang Clan lore.

“The Sun God Furnace,” the Jade Pool Saintess replied.

“What?!” Ye Fan was shocked.

“You’re not thinking about your broken furnace, are you?” Old Blade teased, puffing on his pipe.

Ye Fan chuckled awkwardly and brought out his Departing Fire God Furnace, only an inch tall and still a bit deformed, looking like a crushed fruit.

Though it had recovered somewhat, it was still bumpy and hadn’t fully restored its shape.

“Don’t get your hopes up. The Jiang Clan’s Paragon Artifact wouldn’t be lying around. And other than being durable, your furnace has no special qualities,” Old Blade said.

“The Sun God Furnace hasn’t been seen in four or five thousand years, most people have forgotten what it even looks like,” the Radiant Light Saint added.

“How terrifying are Paragon Artifacts?” Ye Fan asked.

“Incomprehensibly terrifying. The more godpower the wielder has, the more power it unleashes. At its peak, it displays the supreme might of a Grand Emperor,” Old Blade answered.

They didn’t linger. As they spoke, they entered the old structure, hoping to find something left behind.

Ye Fan was stunned. Did this represent the strongest divine power of mankind? Something that could sweep the world, leaving no rival?

“Sadly, they require too much divine power. Most people can’t use them,” the Jade Pool Saintess said. “They were meant for ancient emperors.”

“If two equals fought and one wielded a Paragon Artifact, what would happen?”

The Radiant Light Saint smiled. “Take the Sun God Furnace, for example. Jiang Taixu, the God King, once fought a peerless opponent from the Heartlands. When he brought out the furnace, his opponent was reduced to dust.”

“That’s terrifying…” Li Desheng shivered.

“Forget emperors. Even Sacred Lords, if they wielded one, could annihilate other almighty figures,” the Saintess added.

“Unfortunately, your sacred grounds can’t use them, they’re all suppressing their so-called foundations,” Old Blade said.

“You know that?” The Radiant Light Saint’s eyes flashed with golden light.

Yao Xi changed the subject. “The Seventh Warlord, Heaven Massacre, and the Azure Flood Dragon King once summoned a Paragon Artifact together. They nearly killed all of Radiant Light’s elders, and that wasn’t even a complete weapon.”

Ye Fan had witnessed it: the Peacock Monarch fought off the Radiant Light Sacred Lord, while Heaven Massacre and the Azure Flood Dragon King brought out a clay jar, almost killing every ancient in Radiant Light Sacred Ground.

“That was the ancient Heaven-Devouring Vessel. Sadly, it lacked a lid, so its full power couldn’t be restored,” Old Blade said.

By now, they had entered the building. The great hall was tall and spacious, filled with a profound Dao presence.

The floor was covered in ash. Everyone spread out to search.

Ye Fan activated his source-viewing technique, an ancient art that could see through terrain and uncover hidden things.

Suddenly, his heart trembled. His eyes burned. He saw something dazzling, brighter than the sun, so radiant he couldn’t bear to look.

“Could it be a godsource?” he thought excitedly.

Next to some ashes, he picked up a black stone the size of a fist. Its divine light stung his eyes, making him tear up.

He quickly deactivated his source-viewing technique, afraid the object would blind him.

The stone looked ordinary. Without the technique, no one would have noticed it.

“This is like a miniature sun. Too bright! It must be godsource!”

Ye Fan reached to pick it up, but was shocked when he couldn’t lift it.

CLANG!

The black stone fell to the ground, shaking the entire hall.

Though only fist-sized, it weighed over ten thousand catties!

Everyone turned toward him. The black outer layer cracked and peeled away, and a blazing red light burst forth, blinding and magnificent.

“Phoenix-Blood Red-Gold!”

“Oh my god, it’s really Phoenix-Blood Red-Gold!”

Everyone shouted in astonishment.

Ye Fan grabbed the stone and stepped back. Inside the black skin wasn’t godsource, it was the once-in-a-thousand-lifetimes divine metal:

Phoenix-Blood Red-Gold!