The mountain range loomed vast and dark, its mighty body entirely black. Topping the hills were more than a dozen ancient tombs, neighboring one another, burying the ancient deities of ages past.
“Are they all dead?” Xiao Tian whispered.
“Two remained alive until modern times, but ultimately could not endure. They passed away years ago, leaving behind only their remains. They were buried here. You might have met them had you arrived earlier,” the elder said with a grin stretching across his face.
His hair was completely white, his skin darkened and withered. Half his teeth were missing. His gray robe radiated an aura of antiquity, as though it had withstood the test of countless ages.
Shi Hao dared not underestimate him, keeping himself keenly alert. He understood that this elder was no ordinary figure. Carelessness could lead to disaster right here.
“Are you one of the ancient gods?” he asked calmly.
“How could that be? Who could survive such an unfathomably long time? If I were indeed one, I would already be laying dormant within these burial hills,” the elder denied with a shake of his head.
Xia Youyu refused to believe. Relying on her powerful spiritual senses, she felt certain the elder’s cultivation realm was far beyond hers, though his vital force and spiritual aura had dissipated, explaining the absence of a formidable pressure.
Xiao Tian, Zhou Yuhao, and others felt similarly, their hearts unsettled in the elder’s presence.
“His lifespan surpasses even mine—he’s a true ancient fiend,” Xuan Gui spoke, rising on two legs beside them, his posture seemingly weighed down by a great burden.
At these words, everyone’s apprehension deepened, growing further convinced of the elder’s exceptional nature.
With a greenwood staff in hand, the elder chuckled softly. “Three great calamities have passed, and there is still an indestructible being traversing the heavens, hunting those who have ignited divine flames. If I were extraordinary, could I still remain alive today?”
“You’re too modest,” Shi Hao replied. “Precisely because you endured, you deserve the titles of mighty and fearsome.”
“Huh? You’re really that powerful?” Xuan Gui, ever cowardly by nature, sprang behind Shi Hao’s back at once, falling silent in an instant.
The others, too, felt a chill in their hearts and bore heavy thoughts.
“Young friend, your insight is sharp. I merely wished to stay out of sight and mind. Since you’ve seen through me, I shan’t hide anymore. Indeed, I was once an extraordinary cultivator, having ignited the divine flame.”
“Igniting the divine flame?” Yan Xin exclaimed in shock. This elder was truly remarkable indeed. By his own words, he had ascended to the divine realm. Could it be he was actually a god from ancient times?
Smiling gently, the elder explained, “False gods abound in this world. Not every claim holds truth. Back then, I gained my cultivation fortune through ingenuity, nothing more.”
He candidly recounted his descent from a formidable being of Nan Yun Divine Mountain. Though not among the ancient gods, he nearly matched them, living across countless ages until this present era—his physical body now withered and his divine flame extinguished.
He bore no hostility, speaking openly and freely.
“Once divinity is attained, can the divine flame still fade?” Xiao Tian questioned, echoing the thoughts of many others.
“Certainly,” the elder sighed. “As time passes, one’s constitution weakens, and everything declines—blood, energy, and even the divine flame dry up.”
He gave the example of the ancient vine from the Heaven-Mending Pavilion. Once immensely powerful, brimming with divine might, time had not spared it. Its vitality faded, its leaves yellowed and withering. Its once mighty power had greatly diminished; its divine flame burned feebly, barely as strong as a newly ignited one.
At such a stage, it would struggle to hold an edge even against a Venerable One.
“My apologies for my earlier disrespect, but to stand in the presence of a true deity who has safely endured three great calamities and evaded the destruction wrought by immortal beings is truly impressive,” Shi Hao remarked.
“What am I now but a faded deity whose divine flame has gone out?” The elder shook his head with a bitter smile.
He did not hide further. During the cataclysmic calamity, he still had years left in life and deliberately extinguished his divine flame, returning to mundanity, his cultivation dropping to that of a royal-level cultivator.
Astonished, the group admired his boldness. Without such a choice, he could not have avoided annihilation—neither captured nor killed.
Every cultivator aspires to ascend the ranks, yet he dared to abandon advancement, intentionally degrading his own power.
“Senior, have you now recovered to the Venerable One realm? Perhaps you may yet reignite your divine flame for an even greater ascent,” Shi Hao suggested.
“I survived only by consuming a Saint-grade medicinal herb, barely managing a return to the Venerable One realm,” the elder replied. “Rekindling the divine flame is impossible now—once extinguished, reigniting it tenfold becomes exponentially harder. Moreover, my blood and vitality are exhausted. In my state, I lack both the ability and time.”
“May I ask for your esteemed name, Senior?” Xia Youyu asked.
“Call me Nan Yun. Born here on this mountain and destined to perish here, I take the mountain as my name,” he sighed.
Expressions shifted among the group. Nan Yun Divine Mountain had been an ancient legend. He took its name as his own—was it out of nostalgia for fading glory, pride, or remembrance?
“Why did you wait here for me, Senior?” Shi Hao asked.
“I know your purpose, but that person has already perished.” The elder answered, producing a special crystal that recorded partial scenes from the great calamity of old.
The divine warriors of Nan Yun Mountain had once invaded the Heaven-Mending Pavilion, battling fiercely, before returning wounded. When the celestial calamity arrived, they couldn’t escape—it claimed them.
“To let the Heaven-Mending Pavilion’s grudge rest so easily feels too simple,” Shi Hao said grimly.
“This divine mountain is now home to the aged and frail. The domain of divine seclusion has grown silent, its glory long faded. Friend, look upon them—would you truly seek vengeance upon such folk?” The elder gestured, parting a veil of mist to reveal several distant mountains where life still stirred.
Shi Hao glanced and confirmed it true—the place had fallen into ruin, with no formidable experts remaining.
Additionally, the supreme experts who once acted had already perished in calamity. To vent vengeance now would feel unjust, as the elder explained it had not been the collective will of Nan Yun Mountain, but the action of one individual.
“Let’s go,” Shi Hao decided against further bloodshed.
Xiao Tian and others exhaled deeply, their spirits low. Though their enemy had been struck down by calamity, the sorrow remained. After all, no force could bring their fallen mentors back to life.
“I sense your armor bears the mark of the Indestructible Golden Body. I have here a Feng Pattern Stone. I shall gift it to you—it may serve your armor well.”
“Ah, this is…” Shi Hao was surprised, taking the stone and observing its crimson body, the size of a fist, with feather-like patterns resembling those of a phoenix.
Such stones were rare treasures across the celestial realms, immensely valuable. When fused into divine artifacts, they could undergo transformations, even attain rebirth akin to the mythical phoenix rising from the ashes—their power legendary.
In the Upper Realms, such stones were priceless, with centuries passing before even a single specimen might surface.
“Thank you, Senior!”
Thus, they departed with no confrontation ensuing as they expected—only a lingering melancholy. Despite obtaining a formidable treasure, Shi Hao still exhaled a sigh.
They swiftly made their way to Yi Mountain, another famed forbidden domain. Long ago, its cultivators had served as guardian spirits of the “Little Western Heaven.”
Alas, after the calamity, the land had grown barren with sparse vegetation and vast stretches of burnt wastelands, bearing silent witness to ancient, unimaginably fierce battles.
Life still lingered here, yet no Venerable One remained, nor anyone who had ignited their divine flame. All had been subdued amid the calamity, none escaping.
“What a pity,” Shi Hao murmured, gazing at the mountains in awe. Once, few could penetrate this sanctuary—fewer still as Venerable One-class beings.
Yet now, no land remained untrodden by his feet, no mystery unexplored.
“You should exclaim how lonely life is indeed, as snow upon desolation—doesn’t the lack of opposition now seem dull?” the War Goddess teased with a smile.
“Not in the least amusing,” Shi Hao replied with a shake of his head.
Even vengeance eluded him, for the mighty Yi Mountain had long since faded. That once-mighty being who struck his enemies had long vanished from the world.
Was there truly no powerful cultivators left in this land? Shi Hao pondered this, his pupils ablaze with divine radiance as he gazed toward the horizon, deep in thought for a long time.
“All your enemies have perished. Their demise spares us many troubles. It is not a bad outcome—it foretells the Heaven-Mending Pavilion’s resurgence. We shall rebuild stronger than before!” Xiao Tian declared.
“With Xiao Shi ruling the heavens, vanquishing foes, and we rebuilding the Heaven-Mending Pavilion, what is there not to be happy about?” Xia Youyu added with a smile.
Their words lifted many spirits, dispelling their earlier gloom.
“May it indeed be so,” Shi Hao murmured to himself. Without further complications, he would soon ascend the Celestial Road and depart this world below.
Their last stop: Xi Ling Beast Mountain.
If any place in the Huang Domain was known for its most oppressive yin energy, it would be none other than this.
This was a colossal necropolis known as “Xi Ling,” where no ordinary men or cultivators lay buried, but ancient divine beasts and celestial birds.
Over countless ages, the number of mighty divine beasts buried here was unfathomable, creating a grand cemetery sprawling for miles.
Its origins trace back to the Primordial Age, when the Kun Peng still soared the skies, ruling all under their shadow. The other Ten Ominous powers once walked its lands.
In those ancient days, titanic battles raged—some within the prison-worlds, others against invaders from the Upper Realms. Countless mighty beings perished and were buried here.
These beasts were gods—some even Divine Kings or Celestial Gods, their might inspiring fear. Their presence in this era would overwhelm any challenger.
Moreover, later generations of fallen divine beasts and celestial birds also chose this site for their eternal rest.
In time, the accumulated yin energy made this place akin to the Netherworld itself.
In ancient times, the beings who guarded the necropolis multiplied, their descendants growing into a powerful sect known as “Beast Mountain.”
Thus originated Xi Ling Beast Mountain.
The terrain grew distinct as they neared—a vast expanse of burial mounds stretching endlessly before them.
“I sense no yin energy at all,” Zhou Yuhao frowned.
The skies were clear, the sun shining warmly, with no sign of eerie coldness.
“This place is peculiar. Sometimes, it erupts with oppressive yin energy beyond imagination. Other times, the yang force here even surpasses that aboveground,” the War Goddess explained.
The landscape brimmed with lush vegetation—ancient trees rising skyward, their ages numbered in millennia, some even exceeding ten thousand years.
“It’s strange none of these trees have evolved into spirits,” Xia Youyu observed.
“There lies Beast Mountain!” Xiao Tian pointed ahead.
Beside Xi Ling rested a range of mountains radiating vibrant energy, suffused with violet qi like ascending dragons. It was clearly a sacred cultivation land.
“It’s said that near great desolations, one often finds holy sanctuaries—such mysteries of celestial energies remain unfathomable,” Yan Xin remarked.
Shi Hao and his companions ascended Beast Mountain, discovering only minor figures lingering. The cultivators here had fled upon hearing of the Tuoba clan’s fate.
“They escaped into Xi Ling!”
“We go in!”
At last, they stepped forth, entering the expanse of burial mounds.
A tremendous change erupted as they advanced over ten li into the territory—a transformation that shook their very souls.
“This is…” they gasped in shock.
The mounds vanished, revealing a wilderness teeming with countless divine beasts and celestial birds soaring through the skies.
“Roar!”
A violent wind surged as a golden-winged roc soared above, its wings vast as clouds covering the heavens, inscribed with countless divine glyphs, exuding terrifying might.
On the ground, a Pixiu beast surged forward in a torrent of blood light, leaping from hill to hill before launching itself skyward, attempting to strike down the golden-winged roc.
In another direction, a Black Zhen creature roared so powerfully that two of the three moons in the sky plummeted to the earth.
Even farther away, a thousand-armed divine being radiated brilliant light while seated beneath a cliff, feeding its flesh to a colossal white tiger of pure bloodline.
To the west, a Vermillion Ape wielded an iron rod, thrusting upward to shatter the sky, sending powerful deities crashing down.
“Illusions! This cannot be real!” Xiao Tian exclaimed.
Yet a fiery serpent slithered across the ground, its body colliding loudly with Xiao Tian and sending him flying, nearly leading to his demise.
Shi Hao was alarmed, gathering his companions beneath the shelter of his divine might to protect them all.
Xuan Gui trembled. “This… may not be illusion. Legends might have come true—this place may have evolved into a real world!”
“What?!” Even the War Goddess could not contain her voice amid the shock.
The place was terrifying—resembling the ancient Primordial World, where countless races thrived alongside gods, all competing with terrifying intensity.
“Ah!” Shi Hao suddenly gasped, feeling something vibrate on his person. He quickly extended his divine senses and was shocked.
It was two pieces of pale white remnants—glowing softly, as if calling out.
“The Primordial Divine Manual?!” Shi Hao’s body trembled.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage