Shrouding the Heavens

Chapter 576: Chapter 580: Entering the Immortal Burial Ground

Xiao Mingyuan let out a tragic scream; his head, limbs, and torso instantly shattered, blood flowing, and in the end, not even a single bone remained. He had completely vanished from this world.

He never expected, even in death, that Ye Fan was so powerful and dangerous. After being ambushed in Lu City, Ye Fan had come straight to Qi Shi Mansion to kill him, swift and ruthless.

“Mingyuan!” the Xiao Family’s half-step sovereign cried out, helpless as he witnessed this scene. No matter how strong he was, he couldn’t bring a dead person back to life.

The next moment, his face turned livid, his expression ferocious, like a Fierce Beast ready to devour someone as he charged at Ye Fan. With a shake of his large hand, he summoned a Purple Copper Eight Diagram Furnace. It was a thousand zhang tall and so immense it seemed to collapse the sky itself.

BOOM!

The Purple Copper Eight Diagram Furnace was as massive as a mountain, towering into the sky and filling half of it. Flowing Purple Gold covered its surface, its metallic luster cold and severe, creating a pressure that suffocated people, nearly choking them.

“Brat, I’ll take your life!” Xiao Zhi, the Xiao Family’s half-step sovereign, roared with real anger. He had watched his nephew be shot dead, unable to intervene in time.

BOOM!

Endless flames burst forth. The Qi Mechanism emanating from the thousand-zhang-high Purple Gold Eight Diagram Furnace was like an abyssal ocean, boundless and immeasurable. It spewed forth a torrent of purple flames, engulfing half the sky.

Ye Fan did not linger to fight. This was a half-step sovereign, and their Realms differed vastly, separated by a Great Secret Realm. He didn’t want a fight to the death and used the “Word of Travel” technique to escape far away.

“Ye brat, where do you think you’re going!” Xiao Zhi shouted, pursuing relentlessly. But to his amazement, Ye Fan simply vanished over several mountain ridges with just a flicker. This left Xiao Zhi with a sense of powerlessness, unable to even catch the dust in Ye Fan’s wake.

「Eight days later.」

News arrived that the great disturbance of the strange and powerful beasts in the Immortal Mansion World had subsided and peace was restored, though it was unknown how many powerful cultivators would enter.

During these few days, the value of the Immortal Burial Map skyrocketed, reaching an all-time high price of 100,000 jin of Source per sheet at its peak. Ye Fan seized the opportunity to copy seven or eight sheets, selling each for 30,000 jin of Source.

Unfortunately, the Immortal Burial Map became overly widespread, with nearly everyone owning a copy in the end. No one was willing to be taken for a fool and pay high prices anymore, and this also signaled that the Immortal Mansion World was about to witness a rain of blood and a storm of gore.

In Central States, there were at least a dozen entrances leading to this Barbaric Ancient Space, and many major powers arrived, all seeking a piece of the pie.

Ye Fan arrived again on the Immortal Cliff of the neighboring territory, swapping essentials in this Free Marketplace, preparing them for use upon entering the Immortal Mansion World.

Soon, he was surprised to see Daoist Duan De and the barbarian coming together—a truly amusing sight.

Daoist Duan De greeted them with a smile, doing his best to befriend them, seemingly to discuss something. Meanwhile, Dongfang Ye was highly vigilant, mistakenly assuming their past robbery of the fat man had been uncovered.

“We had a misunderstanding earlier. I just wanted to see that Wolf Fang Club…” Daoist Duan De stammered, warmly taking Dongfang Ye’s hand.

Dongfang Ye wore a strange expression. Having personally stripped Daoist Duan De bare, seeing the fat man now made him feel uncomfortable. Yet, the latter seemed to be trying to win him over, apparently not realizing anything.

“What do you want?” the barbarian asked, waving his Wolf Fang Club.

Daoist Duan De lowered his stance, trying to recruit the barbarian to explore the Immortal Burial Ground with them. Dongfang Ye completely relaxed, realizing it had nothing to do with the previous incident.

Ye Fan watched from a distance, wanting to laugh. This fat man was looking for help and, of all people, he landed on the barbarian. It was truly comical.

“Is just me enough? How about I find some more people?” Dongfang Ye asked.

The fat man rubbed his hands, nodding. “That would be even better. We need strong people, but not those so-called half-step sovereigns. With them, it would be hard for us to take the lead.”

“Hey, Brother Ye, you’re here too!” Dongfang Ye’s sharp eyes spotted Ye Fan, and he waved him over.

“Who’s this?” Daoist Duan De squinted at Ye Fan.

“He’s Ye Zhetian. He defeated many disciples of Qi Shi Mansion. Yan Yunluan even struck himself silly because of him and is now half-dead.”

“Are you the one who specializes in eating spiritual beasts?” Daoist Duan De clutched the small iron cage he was carrying, which held a glowing mouse.

Ye Fan really wanted to kick him twice. This damn fatty was truly awful! Did he really think Ye Fan would eat this spiritual mouse?

“Don’t stare! This divine mouse can’t be eaten; it’s very useful for exploring the Immortal Burial Ground!” Daoist Duan De warned him.

This bastard is definitely doing it on purpose, deliberately provoking me, Ye Fan cursed internally. He shot Daoist Duan De a glare and said, “Rest assured, I’d rather eat you than it.”

“Our manpower is still a bit thin. We should get a few more strong individuals, preferably all at the Demon Level,” the fat man said.

「That very day.」

They set out, as there really was no time to delay. All the major powers had already ventured in; being even a step late might mean missing out on even the scraps.

This time, Ye Fan entered the Immortal Mansion World from the Qi Shi Mansion’s entrance. With Daoist Duan De and the barbarian providing cover, they avoided any inspections.

This Barbaric Ancient World was primitive, with Spiritual Qi far denser than the outside world. Birds and beasts abounded, most being ancient strange species, all exceptionally powerful.

Presently, all major powers had an agreement, strictly forbidding the slaughter of Auspicious Beasts for refining medicine. Anyone daring to violate this would face severe punishment to prevent another beastly uproar.

“Shall we head to the Immortal Burial Ground, or seek the whereabouts of that centipede?” the barbarian asked.

Not all cultivators were rushing toward the ancient Great Emperor’s cave mansion. Too many people were gathered there, and with erupting, it was likely that only the major powers would gain anything in the end.

“That centipede isn’t easy to handle,” Daoist Duan De shook his head. “The Ancient Mirror on its forehead is undoubtedly a Saint’s Weapon from ancient times. Even a group of top-tier experts might not be able to suppress it.”

ROAR…

In the distance, a Flood Dragon soared, several hundred zhang long. It then coiled around a mountain peak and roared, shredding the mountain—an intimidating display of power, with shattered rocks flying through the air.

Screams came from that direction; many cultivators had met untimely deaths. Clearly, this was a powerful beast king, at least a half-step sovereign-level creature.

“Damn it, this path is impassable! Are these strange and powerful beasts guarding the Immortal Burial Ground?”

They were still far from their destination, but along the way, they had already encountered numerous strange and powerful beasts blocking their path, seemingly unwilling to let human cultivators approach that area.

Deep within the Immortal Mansion World lay what was suspected to be the resting place of a Great Emperor. Ordinary cultivators simply couldn’t reach it due to the rampant strange and powerful beasts and the treacherous journey.

“Some speculate that this Barbaric Ancient World spans around eighty thousand miles and contains many life-threatening dangers that are best avoided.”

The Immortal Burial Ground was about thirty thousand miles from the Qi Shi Mansion’s exit. Although still far from the deepest part of the world, it was quite dangerous, surrounded by swamps, large lakes, cliffs, and Abysses.

With each step forward, there could be life-or-death calamities. Many Primordial Strange Species dwelled within, all immensely powerful and terrifying.

“It’s said that deeper within the Barbaric Ancient World lies an Ancient Battlefield. Some have heard battle cries. Perhaps there might even be traces of the human race deep inside.”

The barbarian suggested that if they found nothing at the Immortal Burial Ground, they should venture deeper into the world’s depths for a look.

“Better be careful. The Immortal Burial Map doesn’t even show the terrain of the deepest areas, which means no one has dared to venture there yet,” Daoist Duan De said cautiously.

Along the way, they constantly detoured, encountering many strange and powerful beasts blocking their path. They wished to avoid conflict, but they saw numerous human corpses and much blood along the road.

Of course, there were also many remains of ferocious beasts, and they even found the white bones of several beast kings, which were quite terrifying.

Soon after, they neared their destination. The number of cultivators they encountered suddenly increased; there was almost no one below the Dragon Transformation Secret Realm, as ordinary people simply could not reach this place.

“It truly is the Heaven-Reaching Land!”

Up ahead, steep cliffs stood densely, vast and endless. They radiated an auspicious glow. Orchids grew there, Dragon Grass was rooted in rock crevices, and a purple mist lingered in the air.

“We can’t fly anymore after entering this place!”

They were surprised to discover that while their divine energy still existed, there was no way to fly. Other cultivators were the same, all progressing on foot.

“Could it be that a Great Emperor’s Holy Weapon is truly suppressing this place?” Duan De, for once, showed a serious expression, a mix of surprise and excitement.

That Heaven-Reaching Land was surrounded by various complex terrains, including Abysses, giant lakes, and swamps.

AAAH… A scream echoed from far away. Five Grand Elders from an Ancient Sacred Land had been swallowed whole by a giant Mystic Turtle while crossing a large lake, and the beast had then sunk to the bottom.

“Heavens, that giant turtle is as large as a small mountain! How many years has it been cultivating?!” people exclaimed, a wave of horror washing over them.

Elsewhere, some people attempted to climb along the abyss cliffs to get closer to the Immortal Burial Ground. However, a giant, scaled bird several hundred zhang long surged out from the cliffs. It spat out a beam of light and sucked seventy to eighty people into its mouth.

“A fierce bird comparable to a Saint Master Level expert!”

Many people hesitated. Some attempted to carve Array Patterns to cross over but found them equally ineffective, completely futile.

“Perhaps there truly is a Great Emperor’s Holy Weapon suppressing this place…” Many elder figures were stirred with excitement.

Even if this place was a mountain of knives and a cauldron of boiling oil, having reached this conclusion, people were no longer afraid. Many plunged forward, advancing wave upon wave.

“Someone went in!”

Finally, a Saint Master Level figure made a move. They killed a beast king and successfully reached that land suffused with Spiritual Qi, entering the Pure Land.

“We’ll take the swamp route.” Daoist Duan De considered for a long time before choosing this direction, and the three of them started forward.

CROAK!

A frog’s croak sounded. A giant toad a hundred zhang high leapt from the mud, swallowing over a hundred people ahead in one gulp, devouring them completely.

“A Saint Master Level giant toad! This creature is also a Primordial Strange Species. It has nine golden lines on its back and can shoot nine Divine Arrows that can even pierce sovereigns!” the barbarian exclaimed in shock.

“No worries, we’ll slowly detour through the swamp,” Daoist Duan De said.

They detoured for over ten li. Suddenly, the marsh up ahead rapidly parted, and a gruesome baleful air surged skyward, revealing a giant dorsal fin, sharp as a blade.

“What kind of creature is this?!”

AAAH… Screams echoed as six Grand Elders from a supreme Great Sect in Central States were all slashed apart by that dorsal fin!

Its speed was too fast; those people couldn’t evade it. The dorsal fin, over ten zhang long, flashed with a dark light. It was indestructible and enveloped in a mist of blood.

BOOM!

When it leapt high, Ye Fan and the others finally saw its appearance. It was a giant crocodile, but it had a dorsal fin and other draconic features. It was over two hundred zhang long.

“Heavens, it’s a Primordial Strange Species—a Fish-Dragon-Crocodile!” Dongfang Ye exclaimed in shock.

He had grown up in a Barbaric Tribe and had seen some strange species. Although they were not as powerful as this Saint Master Level creature, they were still very frightening, so he recognized it instantly.

“Ever thus, from antiquity to this day…”

Suddenly, ethereal sounds drifted from afar, accompanied by Buddha Light. A pure and transcendent woman sat cross-legged on a lotus platform. She was extraordinarily beautiful and dignified, continuously reciting ancient scriptures.

Her body exuded a gentle Buddha Power, purifying the surrounding swamp. Originally, there were many exotic bugs there, each the size of a thumb, capable of piercing gold and splitting stone, but they were all stopped outside the Buddha Light.

“Eh, isn’t this the legendary Western Desert woman rumored to be able to attain the Bodhisattva Way?” Daoist Duan De said in astonishment.

Meanwhile, Ye Fan’s eyes were focused on another person beside the lotus platform—a very untidy old man who was waving towards them, shouting, “Let’s go together! We’ll join hands to retrieve the Great Emperor’s Holy Weapon!” It was precisely the old blind man who had sold them the Immortal Burial Map.