Shrouding the Heavens

Chapter 228: Chapter 233: The Great Emperor’s Sacrificial Weapon Ground

CLANG!

The Fire God Furnace’s flames surged skyward, emitting CLANG! CLANG! sounds. It resembled a burning, crystalline Divine Mountain, unbearably hot, its structure repeatedly deforming.

The unknown creature’s strength was astonishing. It hammered the Fire Furnace into a wild distortion, emitting a thunderous roar and bulging with numerous protrusions.

The Fire God Furnace, over a hundred meters tall, burned fiercely, painting half the sky crimson red. It shook violently and seemed as if it could be overturned at any moment.

The noise was incessant. The Fire Furnace body was sometimes mashed into a deflated plum and at other times shaped into a broken teacup, bizarrely distorted.

Such power was chilling. Even cultivators from the third secret realm couldn’t withstand it; it was truly an earth-shattering force!

The Fire God Furnace was like a lump of clay, molded into any shape at will, yet it remained unbroken.

"Taoist, what kind of furnace is this? It seems to have the power of immortality," Yao Xi couldn’t help but ask.

This battered Fire Furnace was incredibly sturdy. Bent and misshapen beyond recognition, it seemed absurd, yet it didn’t shatter, filling people with wonder.

Ye Fan smiled awkwardly and said, "I picked it up while traveling the world."

The Yaochi Saintess pondered, looking at the deformed Fire God Furnace. "It resembles a replica of the Taiyang God Furnace," she said, "but lacks the power."

"Is this broken Fire Furnace from an exalted source?" Li Desheng was tongue-tied.

"Its power isn’t on par with the replica of the Taiyang God Furnace, but its sturdiness far exceeds it. It’s utterly unbreakable!" muttered Old Knife Handle.

The Flickering Light Saint Heir stood on the furnace lid like an Immortal King. Myriad rays of Holy Light radiated from him, with him as the center of eternal brightness, thoroughly suppressing the Fire Furnace below. The unknown creature within roared in terror, unable to escape.

"Let’s all join forces and quickly refine this brute. This place isn’t suited for lingering," suggested Old Knife Handle.

Five people simultaneously struck, assisting the Flickering Light Saint Heir. Strands of divine energy rushed toward the Fire Furnace, making it glimmer brightly.

Though it constantly deformed and its power was not terribly strong, it absorbed all six people’s divine energy without any signs of bursting.

AWOOO...

The despairing howl grew weaker. The copper cauldron’s brilliance flashed; the sun emblem and several blurred Divine Bird marks on the furnace body dazzled with spectacular light.

"Oh, the pattern on the furnace has vanished!" Li Desheng exclaimed.

On the Fire God Furnace, the sun and several Divine Birds’ rays intensified and then vanished completely.

"This broken Fire Furnace truly is remarkable," Old Knife Handle muttered. "The sun and Divine Bird imprint entered the furnace, joining in refining the demon."

Everyone sensed the Fire Furnace’s temperature soaring dramatically. Their divine energy was like rivers entering the sea, absorbed into the Fire Furnace, which gleamed tremendously.

The unknown creature’s cries grew weaker, ultimately fading completely into silence, never making another sound. Meanwhile, the Fire Furnace also quieted down, and the blurred patterns on its body reappeared.

At this moment, the copper cauldron resembled a multi-headed gourd, fantastically shaped. The lid was deformed and sealed shut, difficult to open. Ye Fan took a long time to unlock it.

The Fire Furnace flipped over, and black ash scattered out. The powerful unknown creature had been refined to ash, astonishing those present.

"This thing certainly needs significant repairs, huh?" Li Desheng wanted to laugh; the Fire Furnace’s appearance was too peculiar.

With a wave of his hand, Ye Fan condensed the Fire Furnace to an inch tall, appearing in his palm. Though it looked like a rotten plum, it was still crystal clear.

"Taoist, could you part with this Fire Furnace? I’d exchange a precious treasure for it," the Flickering Light Saint Heir said with a gentle smile, landing on the ground.

Ye Fan shook his head. Given the Fire Furnace’s indestructibility and ability to self-repair, he couldn’t exchange it. He needed to find time to understand it.

Old Knife Handle advised, "We should hurry and leave. The refined creature is likely just a pawn, probably a soldier of some terrifying entity."

"Most likely. The surrounding area is far from peaceful," the Yaochi Saintess nodded.

The beings residing in the Taichu Forbidden Area are exceedingly terrifying. Encountering them means almost certain death. Although this creature was powerful, it was far from the stuff of legendary tales.

Ye Fan pondered; this underground realm might indeed harbor sleeping Ancient Royal Families, with this creature merely a Guardian.

"Quick, let’s go!"

The six people fled like the wind, daring not to delay a moment.

Normally, a weak Guardian would protect the slumbering realm. Once the strong awaken or disturb the Royal Families, even if the various Peacock Kings came, they would likely meet their end.

By now, it was past midnight. The group had ventured merely a few miles when they heard a low roar behind them, accompanied by a strong surge of baleful air.

They were startled. Indeed, a more formidable creature had awakened. Yet, they were somewhat reassured, for it hadn’t immediately pursued them.

"Oh, what’s that ahead?"

At the horizon’s end were shadowy, indistinct forms; a massive black silhouette blocked their path.

"Ruins, a vast expanse of debris!"

This was a very wide ruin, gloom-laden, with broken walls and crumbling remnants stretching before them.

"Let’s go around."

The group wished to avoid any mishap. If something were disturbed, it would be boundless trouble.

The six chose the barren red land to the right, seeking to bypass the ruins.

Suddenly, a chilling surge of baleful air rushed in, sending shivers down their spines, their hairs standing on end.

"That thing followed us down!" Li Desheng’s hair stood on end, his face pale.

Turning around, they saw a shaggy black figure a mile away, similar in height to an ordinary person, with gray hair trailing to the ground, obscuring its true form.

An entity covered in eerie hair!

Its empty eyes devoured the moonlight. Thin strands of moonshine pierced through the gray hair hanging to the ground, entering its hollow pupils.

"What... is this thing?"

Heavy breathing, clear from a mile away, corresponded with the recent low roars; it was the same creature.

"Hurry, let’s go!"

This creature was many times more powerful than the one from not long ago, making everyone feel a chill down their spine, completely devoid of the will to fight.

Now, the only option was to flee. There was no way to defeat it; charging forward was undoubtedly suicide.

A violent surge of baleful air charged forward, sharp as a blade, causing everyone’s skin to break out in goosebumps.

The six people dashed forward, their feet barely touching the ground, appearing as six fleeting shadows under the moonlit night.

The unknown creature let out a low roar and chased after them. However, puzzlingly, it only advanced hundreds of yards before stopping.

"Why did it stop?" Everyone was puzzled.

"Wait, stop quickly!" Ye Fan’s heart sank, halting them.

He felt very uneasy; although the path ahead was clear, it gave him an ominous feeling.

Behind them, the terrifying creature with gray hair trailing on the ground and chilling baleful air stared at them for a moment before turning around and disappearing into the darkness.

"It actually left, didn’t chase us. Why is that?" Li Desheng was confused.

Ye Fan’s expression was serious. Using the Observing the Situation Technique from the Heavenly Source Book, he surveyed the area.

"Master Ye, what did you discern?" Li Desheng had immense faith in Ye Fan’s expertise in this domain.

"I also feel something is off." Yao Xi frowned.

"There is indeed something strange, an extremely dangerous Qi Mechanism of supreme Yin and softness." The Flickering Light Saint Heir’s spiritual perception was very keen; he instinctively sensed the crisis.

"Everyone, we’ve run into big trouble!" At this moment, Ye Fan’s color changed. His heart chilled, never expecting to encounter such an Earth Formation.

"Aren’t we about to leave the Taichu Forbidden Area? Could it be another danger?" Li Desheng inquired.

"Yes, and it’s quite terrifying. This is a very rare Earth Formation." Ye Fan pointed forward, saying, "You should carefully observe; you will definitely sense the Variation."

"A blood moon!" the Yaochi Saintess exclaimed.

"A blood-stained crescent moon, supreme Yin and softness!" Yao Xi, with her stunningly beautiful face, displayed a look of shock.

"What does this mean?" Old Knife Handle asked.

"This is the legendary Red Blood Cave. Underground is the Demon Land of supreme Yin and softness," Ye Fan answered.

Ahead, all was quiet. If not observed closely, one would sense nothing. But if they calmed their minds and carefully sensed, they would soon discover a Variation.

On the ground, a blood moon resonated with the bright moon in the sky, drawing down clear radiance, yet it transformed into red upon entering the earth.

It was a blood-stained crescent moon, emanating an aura of supreme Yin and softness. The more one observed it, the more chilling it became.

"What is beneath...?" Li Desheng asked tremblingly.

Ye Fan did not answer. This was the notorious "Red Moon Cave," extremely terrifying. What lay beneath was indistinct.

"On the ground is the blood moon; underground is the divine cave. This is Demon Land!"

The Red Blood Cave, in the Heavenly Source Book, took up several pages to describe, being one of the most terrifying Desolate Lands.

"I figured it out. The terrifying creature behind us retreated because it was scared off by the Red Moon Cave," Old Knife Handle said solemnly.

Now, everyone realized they faced major trouble. The danger of the creature from earlier was personally experienced; it was completely unassailable.

The chilling tremors, thinking back, still made them a bit cold, yet it had been frightened away by the Red Moon Cave.

The Blood-stained Crescent Moon, imprinted on the ground, was shocking to behold!

"Taoist, how can we escape this predicament?" Li Desheng placed all his hope on Ye Fan.

"We can only go around. The only fortunate thing is that we have not yet entered that blood moon."

The blood moon spanned several miles. Where they currently stood was between the ruins and the blood moon, not within.

"Retreat is impossible; that creature is behind us. We can only slightly approach the ruins, then move forward," the Flickering Light Saint Heir advised.

"Don’t act rashly yet. Let me observe the ruins further." Ye Fan examined the ruins.

Unexpectedly encountering the Red Moon Cave made his Heart Spirit uneasy. To be leaving the Taichu Forbidden Area and encounter such a terrifying Desolate Land gave him a sense of abnormality and a bad premonition.

"This..." Ye Fan’s expression changed. The more he looked at the ruins, the more horrified he became; the bad premonition came true.

Sunfall Ridge!

Sunfall Ridge is as famous as the Red Moon Cave. They occasionally coexist, and when they do, it becomes extremely terrifying. Such occurrences are rarely seen in history, no more than three locations.

"Taoist, what do you see?"

"Something isn’t right!" Ye Fan exclaimed. "Sunfall Ridge shouldn’t have such strong Yang Qi; it’s contrary to expectations."

"I sense it. A black scorching sun, supreme Yang and hardness, yet it cannot overcome the Red Moon Cave’s supreme Yin," the Flickering Light Saint Heir interjected.

"Indeed, faintly there is a black sun, imprinted within the ruins," the Yaochi Saintess frowned.

Yao Xi sensed the black sun’s presence and asked, "What is this Earth Formation?"

"This is the legendary Sunfall Ridge, as famous as Red Moon Cave. When paired, it’s said that even gods and buddhas cannot prevail against it," Ye Fan answered, then added, "But something isn’t right; the aura of supreme Yang and hardness is somewhat insufficient."

"What, this is Sunfall Ridge?"

"This place actually exists!"

"This... could it be where Great Emperor Hengyu refined weapons?!"

The Flickering Light Saint Heir, Yao Xi, and the Yaochi Saintess all exclaimed.

Old Knife Handle also reacted, his face full of shock. "Is this where the Jiang Family’s Great Emperor refined peak weapons?!"

"The awe-inspiring, world-renowned Great Emperor Hengyu lived in the Ancient Desolation era. It must have been over one hundred thousand years ago," Li Desheng also expressed shock.

Ye Fan, hearing these words, was very surprised. A Great Emperor once entered the Taichu Forbidden Land, using the terrifying "Sunfall Ridge" to refine peak weapons. It was unbelievably frightening.