Shrouded Sky

Chapter 232 - Aiming For The Scripture

Not long after safely arriving in Source City, Old Blade silently disappeared without a trace and was never seen again.

Li Desheng did not leave. The people from the Radiant Light Sacred Ground tried their best to keep him, and the women of the Jade Pool also extended invitations. The Lunar Sight could hardly be cultivated, it was an innate gift, extremely rare in the world. It allowed one to see things that ordinary people could not, and all the great powers were eager to win him over.

In the afternoon, Ye Fan took a short nap, then walked out of the house. At the same time, Li Desheng also opened his door. The two of them were staying in the same quiet courtyard.

In the yard, there was a cluster of artificial mountains, with spring water gurgling down from it. Beside it stood a grape trellis, covered with clusters of amethyst-like fruits. The green leaves cast a cool shade all over the ground.

Beneath the trellis was a stone table and stone stools for resting and enjoying the shade. Fragrant tea gave off a faint aroma. The two sat under the grapevine canopy, chatting casually.

"Daoist, your source techniques are truly extraordinary. Such methods are astounding, you can venture into any forbidden ground in the world," said Li Desheng with admiration on his face.

"Come on, this time was just luck. The Primordial Mine spells death for anyone other than Grand Emperors who enter it by mistake," Ye Fan replied truthfully. If the fourth-generation patriarch hadn’t carved out a path through the pine forest, and if Grand Emperor Eternal Universe hadn't broken through the Sunfall Ridge, they would have died for sure.

There must be other unseen demonic lands within. If they ventured in again and ended up in an unknown and unfamiliar region, their fate would be grim. Not to mention the truly ancient mines.

"Daoist, how did you cultivate your source techniques?" Li Desheng asked with great envy.

"You're interested in that too?" Ye Fan smiled, the corners of his mouth curving up slightly.

Li Desheng nodded. "I really admire it. If I could learn even a little, I'd do anything."

"That's nothing. I’ll teach you a couple of moves in the future."

"You’ll really teach me?"

"You have a rare natural gift. The Lunar Sight is almost unheard of. Searching for source veins and locking onto dragon veins usually happens underground, it really needs a power like yours."

"Daoist, please take me as your disciple!" Li Desheng said, a little excited.

"Forget about taking disciples. We’ve been through hardship together. Teaching you a few techniques is no big deal. Which sect are you from?" Ye Fan asked, sipping his tea.

The Lunar Sight was naturally suited for this line of work. In the future, when Ye Fan searched for source veins and dragon veins, someone like this would be a huge help.

Li Desheng wanted to learn source techniques, and Ye Fan wanted free labor. The more they talked, the more they hit it off.

"When everything here is settled, I’ll come find you when I’m free!" Ye Fan finally stood up with a smile.

The people from the Jade Pool were resting here and had no plans to leave yet, they intended to return to the outskirts of the Primordial Mine.

Ye Fan learned that the Jade Pool had found an abandoned mine on the edge of the zone and extracted some strange materials. They planned to continue their work.

By evening, Ye Fan met the Jade Pool Saintess and learned more details.

"Fairy, why are you mining that abandoned mine? What’s special about those stones?"

"Daoist, since you’re skilled in source techniques, you must have heard of suppression techniques for source energy," the Jade Pool Saintess replied. Standing beside the artificial mountain, bathed in the glow of the setting sun, her whole figure seemed covered in a holy golden-red radiance.

"Of course I've heard of it. Are you trying to seal some source stones?" Ye Fan’s heart stirred.

The extracted source stones weren’t necessarily cut open immediately. Some sects stored them, but as time passed, once removed from the source vein, the stone skin would begin to shed.

At that point, most people would strip the stone skin and take the source directly. However, in special cases, they didn’t want the source inside to be exposed and tried to reseal it, these were naturally extraordinary sources.

From past experience, the oldest stone skins from the Primordial Mine were the best materials for resealing sources.

"What kind of source needs to be resealed? Suppression techniques are rarely used." Ye Fan was puzzled.

If the stone skin was going to shed, they could just extract the source. Why reseal it?

"These are stones left behind by the ancients and are extremely important. They must not be cut open lightly. We’ve invited all the rare talents in source techniques from across the world to help find a safe way to seal them," the Jade Pool Saintess explained, mist swirling around her as she stood by the artificial mountain like an orchid in a secluded valley.

"Suppression techniques don’t work?" Ye Fan was surprised.

The Jade Pool Saintess gently shook her head. Her voice was like celestial music. "They only work temporarily."

"What kind of source is this, that even suppression techniques can't contain it? This is way too strange." Suddenly, Ye Fan recalled the nine pieces of stone Jade Pool had displayed. One of them, when closely examined, felt like a sea of blood. Another held a demonic force.

His heart trembled. Those were just two of the pieces, likely the most ordinary among them. What about the core ones?

He suspected that those stones had a terrifying origin. Even going to the Jade Pool Sacred Ground might not be entirely safe.

"The abandoned mine in the Primordial Mine holds the oldest stone skins. They should work as sealing materials. How can they not?" He looked at the Jade Pool Saintess with confusion.

"They’re ineffective. We transported many strange stone materials from the outskirts of the Primordial Zone, but none worked," she replied.

"How could that be..." Ye Fan frowned. These stones were far beyond ordinary understanding.

"Many years ago, a senior left behind these stones and said that if they ever needed to be sealed again, perhaps only six ancient types of stone skins from within the Primordial Zone could do it. But so far, we’ve only found two."

"What?" Ye Fan was shocked. He thought of something, the legendary ‘Six Seals That Forbid Immortals.’ This was an ultimate source technique requiring six godsource stone skins. It bordered on the realm of Grand Dao itself. It could seal not only source energy but also mountains, lands, and even peerless immortals.

The Celestial Source Tome recorded the ‘Six Seals That Forbid Immortals,’ but only in a few vague lines that were extremely obscure and hard to understand. The Celestial Source Tome annotated that it was a theoretical technique and might not even be possible to execute.

"Fairy, may I ask where those stones came from?" Ye Fan asked, astonished and puzzled.

"It’s no secret. They were left behind by a peerless master of source techniques," the Jade Pool Saintess answered.

Ye Fan’s heart skipped a beat. One name immediately came to mind, Zhang Lin, the fifth-generation Celestial Source Master!

In those days, he had a special relationship with the Jade Pool. The Saintess of that time was his confidante. He was an honored guest, even rumored to be the honorary guardian outside the sect.

The Celestial Source Master represented the pinnacle of source techniques. The stones left behind by such a figure were unimaginable.

"There are seven stones in total. Three were left by that master..." the Jade Pool Saintess continued.

Indeed, they were left by the legendary Zhang Lin. Of the nine strange stones displayed by the Jade Pool, only one was a piece of skin shed from a single source stone.

Ye Fan frowned. The origin of those nine stones was staggering, it made his scalp tingle.

One of them, weighing a thousand kilos, was just the stone skin. It wasn’t even the main stone. How massive must the original have been?

He stayed silent, listening carefully. He would soon enter the Jade Pool, and he needed to understand all this.

Zhang Lin was a man of legends. He had traveled through countless ancient lands and explored many death zones.

He spent his life searching for sources and collected many stones. Three of them were too mysterious for him to determine the contents, even in his old age. He never cut them open and eventually entrusted them to the Jade Pool.

"Aren’t there seven stones total? What about the other four?" Ye Fan asked.

"The origins of the other four are mysterious. Each was found by different generations of Sage Mothers. They’re even older than the three, but unfortunately, no records were kept."

Zhang Lin was amazed by the four stones. Their skins had shed before, and someone had resealed them using a method similar to the ‘Six Seals That Forbid Immortals,’ though it couldn’t possibly have been the real thing.

"Besides the Celestial Source Master's line, is there someone else who mastered such profound source techniques?" Ye Fan was skeptical, but he didn’t voice it.

"Senior Zhang studied them for several months and praised them highly, saying that all paths lead to the same truth," said the Jade Pool Saintess.

The four stones were ancient, dug up tens of thousands of years ago, and had all been sealed. Later, they came into the possession of the Sage Mother of Jade Pool, according to the Zhang Clan’s founding patriarch.

"Those stones are likely extremely dangerous. If they were sealed with something like the Six Seals That Forbid Immortals, their origins must be terrifying. Keeping them all in the Jade Pool is practically like harboring a deadly zone!"

"They truly are frightening. If not for a Paragon Artifact suppressing them, we couldn’t rest easy," the Saintess replied.

"Why not just cut them open? What’s the point of keeping them?" Ye Fan asked. With the Jade Pool’s strength, opening them should be no problem.

"Because we haven’t found the right person yet. It’s a matter of fate..." the Saintess trailed off.

Ye Fan understood, Zhang Lin must have seen something and given guidance. He grew even more curious, wanting to see what made those ancient stones so extraordinary.

"If we find certain unique bloodlines and combine them with powerful source techniques, and if the Jade Pool produces the right person, the stones can be opened."

As he prepared to enter the Jade Pool, this information proved very useful to Ye Fan. Ultimately, the Saintess departed without mentioning the matter of the Phoenix-Blood Red-Gold.

Night fell. The courtyard was especially quiet and peaceful.

It was already evening, and Source City was ablaze with lights.

“Ah…” A scream suddenly rang out, so abruptly it was startling.

“Ah!”

“Ah!”...

The screams came one after another, fast and horrifying, like a demonic blade was cutting down people in a flash.

“What’s going on?” The courtyard was thrown into chaos.

People from the Sacred Grounds of Radiant Light and the Jade Pool were staying here. Who would dare to commit murder?

“Something’s wrong! The elders have been killed…”

Shouts and curses came from the Radiant Light Sacred Ground compound.

Initial reports said over a dozen people were already dead. Ye Fan was shocked. What was going on?

“Something’s off. Even if they’re not targeting the Jade Pool, this is very suspicious. Could it be for the Phoenix-Blood Red-Gold?” Ye Fan’s heart sank.

Like a ghost, he darted out of the courtyard and melted into the darkness.

Almost immediately, he saw a tall figure with floor-length gray hair silently enter his room.

“Unknown creature? That can’t be right…”

“Ah…” More screams echoed. Even disciples of the Jade Pool were being attacked.