Shrouded Sky

Chapter 238 - Immortal Lord

Stone mountains stood tall, barren of vegetation. Sheer cliffs rose like blades into the sky, towering and interlinked like a staircase leading to the heavens.

There was not a single patch of soil or a blade of grass in this region, only vast stretches of rock. Many of the stones were shaped like crouching bulls or green bamboo shoots, each with a unique form, making for a spectacular sight.

Upon entering, Ye Fan felt a strange atmosphere, as if this place were a world beyond the world, some foreign realm frozen in time.

Every mountain seemed to hold a unique realm, every stone a unique scene. It was as if someone had carved a path of Dao through grand artistry, each peak and boulder catching his attention.

After walking into the area, Ye Fan noticed many carvings that had become weathered and vague from the elements, hard to make out clearly now.

Sadly, most of them were not cultivation techniques. Instead, they recorded ancient events, or detailed scenes with birds and beasts, exquisitely rendered and lifelike.

“Why would the Jade Pool’s fairies carve all this?” Ye Fan wondered as he studied them closely.

“These depict significant events in the history of the Jade Pool,” the black dog explained. “Unfortunately, their meanings have faded over time.”

A few dozen steps later, Ye Fan came to a cliff and froze. A carving on it was very unusual: two figures, and one of them wasn’t human.

It was a tall man, over two meters, with four pairs of divine wings and eight muscular arms, thick as dragons. A vertical eye sat in the middle of his forehead.

Opposite him stood a majestic, noble woman, elegant and awe-inspiring like a sovereign empress, radiating reverence.

“So it does record great events of the Jade Pool, an unknown being confronting a powerful Jade Pool cultivator,” Ye Fan remarked.

“More precisely, confronting a Sage Mother,” the black dog corrected.

Unfortunately, this was a stand-alone carving, there was no follow-up, no conclusion to the confrontation.

As they moved on, they found other images: welcoming a Demon Lord, the ascension of a new Sage Mother, all single-frame scenes, very concise, and not particularly revealing.

Eventually, in a stone forest, Ye Fan finally spotted a combat technique. On a boulder shaped like a crouching tiger was half of a carving, a figure standing with hands forming a seal.

Though incomplete, showing only half the body, it was incredibly profound. The hand seal was very familiar, upon careful study, Ye Fan realized it was the Mountain Seal.

This was the signature technique of the Fire Worship Sect, an extremely powerful art. He had already incorporated it into his War Paragon Art. He never expected to see it again here.

“It’s been deliberately erased…” Ye Fan frowned, sensing something wrong.

After so many years, could the Western Emperor Scripture really still exist? Maybe it had already been destroyed. He was growing skeptical of the black dog’s claims.

“Hurry up and take me to the Western Emperor Scripture!” Ye Fan urged.

“Aren’t we already looking? It might be hidden within one of these wall carvings,” the black dog replied.

“Don’t tell me you don’t know the exact location.”

“Bingo. I’m searching too,” the dog said, raising its head, calm and composed.

This dog really was unreliable. Ye Fan wanted to kick it, but in the end, he still had to rely on it.

“Are you even confident you’ll find it?”

“Most likely,” the dog replied vaguely.

Ye Fan took out his Bodhi Seed and held it in his palm, using it to sense the surroundings. He couldn’t rely on the dog alone, he had to search himself.

The black dog crept up with an innocent expression, then suddenly tried to bite his hand.

“Damn you! Sneak attack again?!” Ye Fan had been wary all along and quickly flew into the air.

“Don’t be so stingy, it’s just a nut. Smells good. I just wanted to taste the inside.” The dog failed to bite him but kept eyeing the Bodhi Seed hungrily.

“If you try that again, forget ever seeing that green jade tortoise again. Now go find the Western Emperor Scripture. If you can’t, stop trying to make deals with me,” Ye Fan said coldly.

The black dog tilted its head. “Hey kid, what kind of nut is that? Is it edible?”

“Stop playing dumb!”

“I saw a bald guy on it. Looks kinda familiar. Did you carve that?”

Ye Fan could tell this scheming dog was now coveting the Bodhi Seed. There was no way he’d let it have it.

“Who’s that bald guy? He looks extraordinary.”

“His name is Siddharta Gautama. Ever heard of him?” Ye Fan replied.

“What kind of name is that? That bald guy famous or something?” the dog snorted.

Ye Fan was speechless. A being as revered as the Buddha, insulted by a bald dog...

“Shut the hell up and find the Western Emperor Scripture already!”

“Hey, is that how you talk to me?” the black dog bared its teeth. “Disrespect me again, and forget about getting that human scripture. And if we do find the Western Emperor Scripture, I want that nut with the fat bald guy carved on it!”

Ye Fan ignored him and walked ahead, examining one carving after another. Occasionally, he found fragments of techniques and studied them carefully.

Half an hour later, he reached a towering cliff wall. This one was covered with carvings, over a hundred in total, far more than any he’d seen so far.

At first, he didn’t think much of it. The techniques were very basic, nothing profound. But by the time he reached the thirtieth or so, his expression changed.

The simple techniques gradually evolved, becoming extraordinary. One after another, they turned mundane into the miraculous.

He calmed his mind and studied them silently for an hour. Only after reaching the end did he sigh, “The Jade Pool truly deserves its title as a sacred ground. These were likely for junior disciples to study, yet they contain deep meaning.”

These weren’t secret arts, just widely known techniques. But strung together and refined, they became astonishingly powerful.

“A hundred simple techniques, fused into one, can create incredible power. Fascinating!”

He pondered for a long time, then moved on, and discovered another set of over a hundred carvings.

By the end, he was stunned.

There were more than 500 carvings in total, all forming a sequence.

“This is…”

He was shocked, this was the framework of a supreme secret technique, starting from simplicity and evolving to complexity. He immediately grasped the truth.

It was an attempt to reconstruct the War Paragon Art, one of the Nine Secrets!

A peerless Jade Pool cultivator had started with the basics and tried to evolve them into the legendary War Paragon Art.

From mundane to miraculous, attempting to recreate one of the Nine Secrets, it had to be someone incredibly talented.

But ultimately, she had failed. She hadn’t fully deduced the War Paragon Art.

Still, such brilliance was rare in history. She had reached a stage many could only dream of, using fragments of legends and evolving them into a powerful framework.

“To piece together scattered lore into something this advanced, truly astonishing,” Ye Fan praised.

But the War Paragon Art was infinitely complex, transforming endlessly. Without possessing the Nine Secret Imprints, no one could fully master it.

Its true essence was to begin with unity, evolve into complexity, then return to unity again, the ultimate simplicity.

Ye Fan stood in silence, deeply contemplating. Although it wasn’t the right path, it gave him tremendous inspiration, he now understood the War Paragon Art more clearly.

No matter how gifted you were, without the Nine Secret Imprints, you couldn’t recreate this ultimate art.

He stood thinking for a long while, realizing he could elevate his current power even more, this had been an unexpected harvest.

By now, night had fallen. Ye Fan kept studying carvings by moonlight. By midnight, he had viewed most of the mountains’ carvings, but still hadn’t found the Western Emperor Scripture.

“There’s no profound art here. At most, some common techniques. Were you lying to me?” Ye Fan asked, glaring at the black dog.

“I told you, even if we find the Western Emperor Scripture, it might not be recognizable. It takes time to understand,” the dog replied.

Under the sparse moonlight, Ye Fan kept walking. He had searched nearly all the cliffs, but still nothing.

“Found it! Over here!” the black dog suddenly shouted. In the quiet night, his voice echoed across the mountains.

With a few quick leaps, Ye Fan arrived. The mountain ahead was imposing, but the surface was completely bare.

“Where is it?”

“This mountain itself contains part of the scripture. Whether you can obtain it depends on your fortune,” the black dog said proudly.

“Don’t give me that. You just randomly picked a rock and said it’s the Western Emperor Scripture. How am I supposed to believe that?” Ye Fan questioned.

“That depends on your insight,” the dog replied evasively.

“Stop dodging!”

The black dog grew impatient. “There is scripture here. I personally heard someone say so long ago.”

“What did you hear exactly?”

“They said: A stone mountain with a carving of the sun holds part of the scripture. Another with a carved ancient tree holds more…”

According to the dog, the Western Emperor Scripture was created gradually, carved into various cliffs as the Western Emperor meditated.

This cliff did have a vague carving of the sun, about the size of a palm. Even with careful scrutiny, it looked like a natural formation.

“This faint ring is supposed to be the Western Emperor Scripture? Are you joking?”

“That’s not my problem. It’s up to you to comprehend it,” the black dog said, tilting its head.

Damn mutt! Ye Fan wanted to beat him up, but knew it was useless. He flew up the cliff and studied the sun carving.

He touched the imprint with one hand and held the Bodhi Seed in the other. He entered a meditative state, but sensed nothing unusual.

“Black Emperor, you’re lying! There’s no scripture here!”

“There is, but you need incredible perception to unlock it. Whether you succeed is your own business,” the black dog said, sounding a little uncertain.

Ye Fan stood on the cliff, holding the Bodhi Seed, heart calm and mind empty, trying to comprehend. But everything remained still, he sensed nothing.

“How many Grand Emperors have there been through history? The scriptures they left aren’t easy to grasp…” the black dog muttered below. “I found the Western Emperor Scripture, it’s up to you now. But you must give me that jade tortoise!”

The Celestial Source Tome contained part of the Western Emperor Scripture, specifically the “Dao Palace Scroll.” Ye Fan quietly activated it, pressing the Bodhi Seed against the sun engraving.

BOOM!

Suddenly, radiant light erupted. The cliff blazed with power, the stone mountain seemed to awaken.

A blazing sun emerged, engulfing Ye Fan.

The entire mountain turned red-hot. Flames roared skyward, painting the sky crimson. A massive sun hung in the air, majestic and boundless. Ye Fan stood within it, his form solemn and radiant.

“Damn it… he actually activated it?! I thought it required not just perception, but also Jade Pool’s scripture key… Damn! That little punk actually obtained the Western Emperor Scripture! Argh, I’ve been robbed!” the black dog cursed, as if it had swallowed a dead rat.