This place was remote and desolate, stretching as far as the eye could see with scattered boulders, broken mountain ranges, and overgrown weeds.
Unlike the renowned sacred mountains and rivers, there was no trace of spiritual beauty here, no overflowing essence of heaven and earth—only barrenness, with not a soul in sight for hundreds of thousands of miles.
Shi Hao knew this was likely the destination. With his keen intuition, he sensed the distinct auras of both the Supreme Yin and Supreme Yang.
“Is this it?” The golden lion, its mane shimmering like molten gold, widened its copper-bell eyes. Majestic and imposing, it looked as if forged from pure gold.
Carrying Shi Hao on its back, it strode forward into this desolate expanse of tangled weeds.
“Something’s off… it makes me uneasy.” At first, the golden lion paid it no mind, but as they ventured deeper, its golden fur bristled.
This place felt strange, unsettling.
Shi Hao also grew serious. Could there truly be a forbidden land of life here?
Broken mountains stretched endlessly, remnants of what must have once been towering and majestic peaks. Yet now, they lay shattered, devoid of divine trees or spiritual herbs—only weeds and vines remained.
The area was eerily silent—no beasts, no birds, not even insects.
After traveling thousands of miles deeper, they came upon charred black mountains, clearly distinct from the rest. The broken peaks appeared scorched, then rapidly cooled.
On the ground lay ashes, unchanged even after countless millennia.
The land, relatively open, was pitch-black—evidence of a great burning, as if a wasteland had been set ablaze, reducing the weeds to blackened remnants.
“Supreme Yang essence!”
Shi Hao sensed it—this area was saturated with dense Supreme Yang energy. The scorching here was undoubtedly caused by its power.
Moving forward, they encountered a different sensation—a bone-chilling cold, as if the abyss of hell had opened before them.
Ahead lay a vast, dried-up lake, shrouded in eerie black mist—Supreme Yin energy, unmistakable.
The golden lion, carrying Shi Hao, moved nimbly, enveloped in divine light to protect itself from any unforeseen danger.
Soon, the broken mountains gave way to an expansive ancient plain.
This area was different—no towering peaks, no ancient trees—just an endless stretch of land covered in thick black ashes, several feet deep. Who knew what had been burned here in the past?
The ashes seemed to bury countless secrets, stirring unease in those who beheld them.
*Clang!*
The golden lion accidentally kicked something metallic from the ashes—a golden bone, incredibly hard.
“A deity’s remains!” The lion shuddered, sensing the immense power the bone’s owner must have wielded in life, no weaker than itself.
“What is this…?” Even Shi Hao frowned. Dismounting, he walked through the ashen land, discovering more skeletal fragments.
The weakest among them belonged to beings at least at the Heavenly Deity realm.
“Don’t tell me this black ash is what remains after burning countless gods!” The golden lion trembled.
The expanse was vast, the ashes thick, enduring through the ages without being washed away by rain or floods—proof of their unnatural nature.
“Divine bone ash!” The lion’s expression darkened, realizing the truth—this was a graveyard of gods.
“Countless powerful beings, reduced to ashes…” Shi Hao was stunned. What kind of force could have orchestrated such destruction?
Using his powers, Shi Hao tried to scatter the black ash, only to find it unnaturally heavy, like grains of gold.
Amidst the ruins beneath the ashes, he discovered remnants of a grand, ancient structure. Now he was certain—this was the Cross of Yin and Yang, the former forbidden land of life.
A broken stone slab bore fragmented inscriptions, confirming his suspicions.
“A forbidden land of life, annihilated… Who could have done this?” Shi Hao stood frozen, shocked despite his earlier speculations.
Though he had guessed that the three thousand provinces no longer housed powerful forbidden lands, witnessing one’s destruction was still staggering.
What kind of battle had taken place here?
“Dig three thousand feet deep! No matter what, unearth this forbidden land!” Shi Hao commanded the fearless lion—a free laborer.
The golden lion’s eyelids twitched in anger, but it dared not disobey. It had grown accustomed to following orders, gritting its teeth as it complied.
The ashes, imbued with a sinister power, were cleared with great effort, revealing more clues.
Ruins of palaces and towers lay in heaps, their tiles nearly eroded—buried for who knew how long.
This forbidden land had vanished long ago.
Beyond that, there were medicinal fields and grand training grounds.
“Divine herb roots… but they’ve rotted!” The lion lamented upon uncovering the herb fields.
Dozens of divine herbs had once grown here, now reduced to decayed remnants—a tragic loss.
“Divine herbs are rare. Losing even one is a permanent loss. The battle here must have been brutal,” Shi Hao murmured in shock.
“I wonder if there were immortal herbs. Those cannot rot or perish—even buried for eons, they could still be revived,” the lion mused.
It held onto hope, knowing that even the deadliest formations couldn’t harm immortal herbs, blessed by the heavens to endure.
“Usually, a forbidden land would have at least one immortal herb,” the lion muttered, scanning the area intently.
But it found nothing—only ashes and deathly silence.
“Supreme Yin river!” The lion suddenly exclaimed.
While clearing the area, it uncovered a dried-up riverbed. As it dug deeper, thick Supreme Yin energy billowed forth.
Most would flee, but the lion stood its ground.
Soon, the riverbed revealed traces of black water—true Supreme Yin water.
Even Shi Hao joined in, discovering that this great river once spanned the ruins, now nearly dried up, with only faint traces remaining.
“Supreme Yang river!”
Not long after, they found another river, running perpendicular to the first, forming a cross.
They had found it—Shi Hao could hardly believe it!
The Cross of Yin and Yang—two great rivers, Supreme Yin and Supreme Yang, intersecting. This was the destination!
Standing at the near-dry confluence, Shi Hao scrutinized the area. Where was the path?
The intersection of Supreme Yin and Supreme Yang marked the heart of this ancient land. Could there be a way to the lower realm here?
Shi Hao and the lion searched tirelessly but found no trace of an ancient path.
“This place is extraordinary,” the lion mused after a long silence.
Shi Hao nearly slapped it. Of course it was—this was a former forbidden land!
“What I mean is, these rivers didn’t dry naturally. Something forced them,” the lion clarified.
Their investigation yielded no further clues.
“Supreme Yin and Supreme Yang—which is stronger? Yet here they meet, crossing paths,” Shi Hao murmured.
Finally, he began to channel the forces of Yin and Yang, his hands weaving intricate seals.
Whether it was the Kun Peng technique or the Thunder Emperor’s divine abilities, both contained the essence of Yin and Yang. Thus, he was no stranger to such power.
As he formed the seals, the heavens and earth resonated.
“Huh? This place truly is a natural land of Yin and Yang. My techniques seem to breathe life into it,” Shi Hao remarked in surprise.
But what followed stunned him even more.
As he pushed the Yin-Yang Dao to its limits, the earth trembled violently.
Both the Supreme Yin and Supreme Yang rivers reappeared—one pitch-black, exuding chilling darkness, the other radiant gold, blazing like the sun.
At their intersection, chaotic energy surged, terrifying in its intensity.
Yet Shi Hao’s shock only deepened.
“These… are projections? Manifestations of the true Supreme Yin and Supreme Yang rivers?” he gasped.
He realized that these were mere echoes, drawing upon the true rivers’ power. How terrifying must the originals be?
*Boom!*
The heavens shook as an overwhelming aura spread.
Shi Hao and the lion looked up—the void had split open, revealing two colossal rivers intersecting in the sky.
One was as dark as the abyss, the other as brilliant as the sun.
Beyond them, Shi Hao glimpsed ruined yet majestic palaces and halls, ancient beyond measure, hovering near the rivers.
“The true Supreme Yin and Supreme Yang rivers—they exist in the void, in the cosmos!” Shi Hao’s heart raced.
Yet he also grew wary. The true forbidden land might not be on the ground—but in the sky.
What lay below was merely a shadow, a superficial remnant.
*Rumble!*
Shi Hao soared into the heavens, his hope reignited.
There—amidst the celestial rivers—lay the path home, leading back to the lower realm!
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