Shrouding the Heavens

Wang Shu shook his head. “I don’t know. I only heard Fifth Grandpa Zhang say one line of drunken words that it was an ancient Great Emperor. He didn’t say a name.”

“I heard my grandpa say…” the dumb youth suddenly mysteriously whispered, “that the reason the Zhang family is living here is in order to guard that purple mountain.”

“Your grandpa said this?” Ye Fan was startled.

“My grandfather heard some seniors say that, but there was no detailed explanation.” He then thought a bit and said, “I think he also once said that a thousand years ago, the reason the Zhang family lost the Heavenly Source Book was also due to that purple mountain.”

“The Heavenly Source Book is linked to the purple mountain?” Ye Fan couldn’t stay calm, and he really wanted to study that book.

How many ancient Great Emperors had there been? The peak weapons they refined were almost gone nowadays. The might of those weapons could make one invincible, and sacred lands would treat them as precious treasures to be guarded with their lives.

If he had a peak weapon, he could become invincible. If he could continue supplying it with enough divine energy, it would be difficult for him to find an opponent within the Eastern Wastelands.

The accomplishments of the ancient Great Emperors was something later people were unable to surpass. There was speculation that the Eastern Wastelands’ ancient scriptures were all personally created by Great Emperors.

When Ye Fan thought of this, how could he possibly remain calm?

The ancient Great Emperors refined peak weapons and created the ancient scriptures, each of which was an invaluable treasure of the Eastern Wastelands.

If that purple mountain has a link to a Great Emperor, if I could find his cultivation method, that would be equivalent to obtaining a complete ancient scripture!

Ye Fan trusted that those who could become Great Emperors definitely had peak cultivation methods.

If I could then find a peak weapon… Just thinking about it excited him!

However, he quickly regained his calm. Fifth Grandpa Zhang had already emphasized that it was an inauspicious land. Trying to gain something from that place might be even more difficult than ascending to the heavens.

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Ye Fan once more left the stone village. Half an hour later, he once more appeared in front of that huge purple mountain and circled around it.

“Just what is in here?” No matter how he looked, he couldn’t find anything special. Even by probing with his divine sense, he was unable to find anything.

“Just what did that Great Emperor leave behind? What’s the relationship to him?” What he wanted most was for there to be an ancient scripture that was unknown to the outside world. That was what he absolutely needed the most right now.

However, he could only wish for it. The might of the ancient Great Emperors was something people nowadays couldn’t even imagine. Even if something was left here, it didn’t mean he could obtain it.

Ye Fan once more ascended to the peak of the purple mountain. Just at this time, his expression immediately turned stiff with disbelief. He couldn’t believe his own eyes.

Yesterday he had used the golden tome to hack apart a large hole here. But now, the peak was unmarked, and everything was as it was in the beginning.

“What’s going on? Yesterday, I clearly…” Ye Fan felt his spirit turn cold.

Inauspicious land… these words appeared in his mind and he quickly flew away from the peak.

“How could this happen? It can recover on its own?” Ye Fan couldn’t remain calm.

“Or does that mean… yesterday, I was caught in an illusion and didn’t actually slash through the peak? Are there some invisible Dao Glyphs?”

Ye Fan thought it over, and decided to situate himself further away while using the golden tome to slash at the peak.

Golden light lingered as stones were sent flying. A huge hole appeared on the mountain peak and he collected a giant fragment of purple stone that had been sent flying. Feeling it, he knew that it definitely wasn’t an illusion.

He then cut off a small piece and flew into the distance, quietly watching the purple mountain.

Ye Fan was very patient. He waited as the whole day passed and a sky of stars appeared above him. The purple mountain was still as towering and majestic as ever without any change.

He wasn’t rushed, instead just motionlessly standing in the sky as his divine perception swept out and carefully kept observation.

There was no way he wouldn’t treat this land with importance when it had something to do with an ancient Great Emperor. He placed great hope on what was inside.

Around midnight, Ye Fan noticed that the mountain peak’s hole had silently changed and slowly recovered to its original state.

As for that stone he had collected, it had disappeared into nowhere.

“This huge mountain can grow on its own!” Ye Fan was incomparably shocked.

He didn’t continue studying it. The cold here was exceptionally chilling, and even with his physique he felt a bone-chilling cold.

Since the Zhang family was guarding this area, they must know some secrets. He didn’t want to act without careful planning, so he returned to the stone village, deciding to ask for more details tomorrow.

When Ye Fan returned to the village, he was surprised to see Fifth Grandpa Zhang waiting for him in his residence. He hadn’t slept and was very nervous.

“At least you returned. You should have gone to explore that huge purple mountain, right?”

Ye Fan nodded.

Fifth Grandpa Zhang jumped up and worriedly said, “You absolutely can’t go there! Didn’t I tell you that it was a terrible place?! If you go there, you’ll easily run into trouble.”

“Just what kind of existence is this purple mountain? What is its relation with the ancient Great Emperor?” Ye Fan had to know the answers to these questions.

“Fine, I’ll tell you everything. Otherwise you’ll definitely keep going.” He sighed and said, “Actually, I also only have a limited knowledge.”

“Just tell me what you know.”

“That huge purple mountain is something my Zhang family’s ancestors found. To be precise, it was that Heavenly Source Master. He told his descendents not to get close to that place and that we should pay our respects from a distance.”

That Heavenly Source Master solemnly warned his descendants that the purple mountain had a relationship to an ancient Great Emperor, and it absolutely could not be treated disrespectfully. By paying respects to it, it might benefit future generations.

“There’s something inside that absolutely can’t be provoked, otherwise a huge disaster will descend. This is what my ancestors repeatedly warned.” He sighed and said, “Unfortunately, a thousand years ago, one of them went against the ancestors’ warnings, deciding to walk into the purple mountain while holding the Heavenly Source Book.”

Ye Fan was even more moved, feeling that whatever was inside was most likely a peerless Divine Source or perhaps a peak weapon.

Fifth Grandpa Zhang saw through his thoughts and said, “That purple mountain definitely has treasures. It probably has even more than just one Divine Source, but you absolutely can’t place your intentions on it.”

“More than one Divine Source?!”

Each time a peerless Divine Source appeared it would shake the Eastern Wastelands. Each sacred land would pay a huge price to fight over it, and rivers of blood would flow.

For sacred lands to shed all pretenses of ambivalence, it could be imagined just how precious peerless Divine Sources were. How could Ye Fan not be shocked that the purple mountain held more than one piece?

“My ancestor was a Heavenly Source Master and had a great understanding of Sources that no one else could surpass. Based on the dragon veins of the land and borrowing the power of the stars, he was able to lock onto Divine Sources.” He then paused slightly and said, “He also once wanted to go to the purple mountain to get the Divine Sources, but in the end he still cowered back.”

“Why?”

Fifth Grandpa Zhang shook his head and said, “He had an idea to invite a Jade Lake fairy to help. But in the end he renounced the idea, not wanting to implicate the Jade Lake.”

“What?! Going into the mountain to take out the Divine Sources would implicate a Sacred Land?”

“His words were very vague, and I only got the impression that it would definitely bring trouble to the Jade Lake.”

Ye Fan felt this was a bit hard to believe. The Jade Lake Sacred Land was a power descended from before the Ancient Desolation. The one who had started the sect was a female Sacred Emperor who left behind a peak weapon and also an ancient scripture.

Over the countless years, as mountains turned to seas and seas turned to plains, as powers rose and fell, the Jade Lake never fell. It was always a supreme power. Yet a purple mountain was able to menace it?

“That purple mountain… has a living lifeform within it.” After Fifth Grandpa Zhang said this his face turned pale and he hurriedly faced the purple mountain and bowed. Only then did he once more continue, “That’s why I said you absolutely can’t go. You won’t obtain anything, and if you barge in, all that you’ll have done is risked your life for nothing.”

Ye Fan’s expression changed when he heard there was something alive in there. His chances truly were uncertain.

However, he still was unable to to get over that place. If there were peerless Divine Sources there with terrifying ancient lifeforms that were still alive, then fine, but what did that have to do with the Great Emperor? What did he leave behind?

“I also don’t know what the ancient Great Emperor left behind. My ancestors didn’t leave any information about it…”

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Over the next few days, Ye Fan requested Fifth Grandpa Zhang’s guidance on learning about how to find Sources. The Heavenly Source Book was a marvelous book, and even though only a small amount of its information had been passed on now, it was still very useful.

The stone village’s Wang Shu was very clever, and seeing Ye Fan continuously studying how to find Sources, he laughed and said, “Brother Ye, do you want to go stone gambling?”

“Stone gambling?” Ye Fan was very surprised because he had heard of this from the other side of the starry sky. There were bets often done using the jade quality inside unopened stones.

“Right, do you know of it?” asked Wang Shu.

“Well, tell me about it in detail.”

“It’s gambling on Source stones…” Wang Shu began to explain.

Ye Fan’s guess was pretty close.

Source veins produced very different stones that cultivators were unable to see through. No matter if it was divine perception or divine energy, they were unable to explore the insides. Only by actually opening it could they tell whether the inside had Sources.

Ye Fan naturally knew about that part, but he didn’t know that there was an extremely thriving stone gambling business based on it.

“In the past, our village was quite rich. In my grandfather’s time, they all went to experience the wider world and participated in stone gambling.” Wang Shu was very envious.

“No problem. Explain it to me in detail, and I’ll bring you to do it in the future,” said Ye Fan.

“It’s actually very simple. There aren’t many rules…” Wang Shu started to explain.

“I want to go too.” Tomfool was walking past and heard this. “But it’s really too far. The closest place is still hundreds of kilometers away. There’s a five hundred-kilometer oasis there that’s flourishing.”

“That’s an ordinary stone gambling place. I’ve heard the best one is tens of thousands of kilometers away, within the northern region’s most bustling sacred city.” Wang Shu had a yearning expression as he said, “Those sacred lands send half of the Great Primordial Mine’s peak Source stones to that place. It’s a paradise for stone gambling.”

“Each of the sacred lands…” Ye Fan was startled.

“Yes, the stone gambling that happens there is the most enjoyable. Even the Central States and the Western Desert’s experts are attracted over. It’s said those people are all legendary people among cultivators.” Wang Shu was still completely enraptured with the thought as he said, “Everything is done in the best possible manner, and even the young ladies that cut open the stones are peak fairies. The food and drink they offer are the best of this world, all made from the most precious beasts and immortal herbs. The fine wine has all been fermented for over a hundred years. To be able to go there to stone gamble would really be a dream…”

“Yeah, right!” Tomfool curled his lip and said, “That’s just what some roving cultivators said. You haven’t personally seen it, so who knows what’s true and what’s false.”

“It’s naturally true!” retorted Wang Shu. “Did you forget that Fifth Grandpa Zhang’s ancestor was a famous Heavenly Source Master who back in the day experienced all of this, and left behind many legends?”

“That’s true, I almost forgot that.” Tomfool felt a bit embarrassed and scratched his head. “Brother Ye, you’re studying the way to search for Sources. If you really are planning on going stone gambling, can you bring me too, so I can see the world?”

“Hearing you guys describe it like that, I actually do want to go and take a look. If I could make a sacred land gamble for broke, that would be nice,” Ye Fan said wickedly.

“What’s so great about those sacred lands?” Tomfool didn’t care about them. “My grandpa said the Zhang family’s ancestral Heavenly Source Master gambled all those sacred lands’ faces green.”

Hearing this, Ye Fan was even more amazed. “Wait, is that really true?”

“Of course it’s true,” Tomfool continued, “This is something all the seniors of our village know about. The Zhang Family’s Heavenly Source Master left behind all kinds of amazing stories.”

Wang Shu also added, “It’s all true. Fifth Grandpa Zhang’s ancestor managed to gamble Divine Sources from those sacred lands. How could their faces not turn green? They might even have even had thoughts about drowning themselves in the river.”

Ye Fan was speechless. What kind of observational skill was required to even manage to take Divine Sources? His gaze must have been amazing. Heavenly Source Masters truly were stunning.

“Back then, Fifth Grandpa Zhang’s ancestor didn’t just get one Divine Source. Those sacred lands all became infuriated in the end and they even had thoughts about stealing them back.” Tomfool’s face was filled with enchantment as he said this, as if he was the one who had done it.

“Heavenly Source Masters are this awesome…” Ye Fan couldn’t stay calm. If only he could study such a marvelous book, he could effortlessly cause the Flickering Light Sacred Land and the Ji Family to feel endless regret and suffering.

“Of course they’re amazing. You have to know, since ancient times, the northern region has only seen a scarce number of Heavenly Source Masters. By now, their inheritance has already been cut off and no more will ever appear.” Wang Shu mysteriously muttered, “Fifth Grandpa Zhang’s ancestor did some some extremely grand things back then…”

“What kind of grand things?” Ye Fan curiously asked.

Wang Shu quietly said, “Back when he was gambling, not only did he manage to turn all the sacred lands’ faces green, he even managed to gamble a Jade Lake fairy into his hands.”

Ye Fan spit out a mouthful of tea, saying, “This… it must be a rumor, right?”

“It’s true. Fifth Grandpa Zhang’s ancestor was too good at stone gambling, and by placing his aim at the Jade Lake’s Source stones, they gambled for seven days and seven nights, and in order to pay off the bet, the sacred lady actually bet herself, and in the end lost.”

At this time, Ye Fan’s heart was completely ablaze with excitement. “What happened in the end?”

“Ah, unfortunately the Zhang family’s Heavenly Source Master didn’t make it hard on them. He courteously let the Jade Lake’s sacred lady go, and from that point on, his relationship with the Jade Lake was no longer ordinary.” Wang Shu was filled with regret.

Ye Fan also sighed regretfully. That Heavenly Source Master definitely was an extraordinary person. Now he wished he could obtain the Heavenly Source Book even more.

I absolutely must think of a way to let that book reappear in the light of day!

Ye Fan knew from experience just how terrifying his Ancient Desolation Sacred Body was in terms of requiring resources. Every time he wished to increase his realm, he required ten times what it took for him to arrive at his current realm.

By his preliminary calculations, passing through the Paramita realm’s nine transformations and reaching the great circle of perfection would require over fifty kilograms of Sources.

And if he wanted to cultivate to the first level of the Dao Palace mystic realm, under this ten times calculation, he would require five hundred kilograms of Sources.

Even in the northern region, ordinary small sects would be unable to obtain that much.

As for cultivating to the second level of the Dao Palace mystic realm, the thought of it requiring another ten times the amount almost caused Ye Fan to faint. That was a completely terrifying amount!

He would be completely unable to support such an expenditure. It had surpassed reason, and under his calculations, maybe even sacred lands would spit blood at the thought of spending so much.

“I have to obtain the Heavenly Source Book!” Every time Ye Fan thought of his later cultivation his face would turn green.

Without the Heavenly Source Book, the bottomless pit that was his Ancient Desolation Sacred Body would never be satisfied. He had to become a Heavenly Source Master and instead of his face turning green, everyone else’s would when they saw how much he spent.

“Looks like no matter what, I must face the danger. No matter what’s inside the purple mountain, I have to figure out a way to get the Heavenly Source Book out of it.”

“Brother Ye, why is your face so green?” Tomfool asked simple-mindedly.

“Nonsense, how is my face green? If anyone’s faces are green, it’s the people of the sacred lands.”

“Brother Ye, do you really want to go stone gambling?” Wang Shu asked expectantly.

“Naturally I want to go. I’m preparing to gamble over the Jade Lake Sacred Lady. But I definitely won’t let her go, otherwise I’d be worse than a beast.”