Yuancheng is small and old. It is more like a slightly larger town than a small city. No one can remember exactly when it was built. The reddish-brown city is full of traces of the passage of time and has many cracks.
Ye Fan walked in the city and felt the accumulation of time and the antiquity of time gone by. The stone slabs on the streets were dented by the steps, and there were monks coming and going.
"This little brother, you are new to Origin City. Do you want to purchase Origin Stones? Come into our Shixuan and have a look. I guarantee you will find the strange stones you like."
"Do you, the little Taoist Master, need any good materials brought from the edge of the ancient Taichu mine? They are genuine, so you might as well come in and take a look."
There are many shops on both sides of the street, selling various source stones, and they warmly greet the monks coming and going.
Ye Fan did not dare to look down upon these people. Even though the shop was small, they all had backgrounds and were inextricably linked to major holy places.
He walked into a stone restaurant and chatted with the owner. The price of stone here was ridiculously expensive.
The Shizhai is not big, just a room, facing the street. There is only a rosewood frame in the store, with only a dozen stones placed on it.
Ye Fan was stunned. These stones were ten times more valuable than the same weight.
“This is too expensive!”
"These are not ordinary stones, they are treasures to be sent to the Holy City, contaminated with the immortal energy of Taichu." The shop owner introduced.
It was so expensive, and the bet was no longer on the source, but on the more precious thing sealed in the stone. After Ye Fan understood the "Yuan Tian Shu", his eyesight was extraordinary, he only chose a piece of material, and then stopped taking action.
Gambling on stones here is not worth the loss. Things more precious than the source are hard to come by. How could he see it casually? The reason why he took action was just to establish friendship with the shop owner.
"Brother, is there any way? I want to go to the Taichu Ancient Mine for a visit." He wanted to go to the Taichu Ancient Mine, but he ran into trouble.
The mining areas outside the Taichu Ancient Mine have been divided up by major holy places. Other places are fine, but the area close to the forbidden land of life is difficult for outsiders to pass.
Ye Fan is not a descendant of the Holy Land. If there is no other way, he will not be able to pass through those areas as a casual cultivator.
"Little brother, you must never go to that place. Even the great saints can't make waves after entering." The master of Shizhai advised.
Ye Fan smiled and said: "I'm not going to die, I just want to see it from a distance. I've heard about Taichu's name for a long time, but I can't see it. It's really a pity."
The shop owner smiled and said: "I completely understand. There are often young people like you who want to watch from a distance, but in the end they always lose control of themselves. If they are summoned by the devil and go into the depths of the restricted area, many people will disappear every year."
"So, is there a way to go to Taichu?" Ye Fan's eyes lit up.
"Little Taoist Priest, I advise you not to take risks. Curiosity can really kill people." The owner of Shi Zhai kindly advised.
"Please help me, brother, I know the importance." Ye Fan insisted on going.
"In that case, you go find a man named Lao Daobaozi, but the price is expensive and very deceptive." The shop owner provided Ye Fan with such information.
Afterwards, he walked around a lot in this stone city and learned why this old swordsman was.
This is an old local snake, of course not a gangster among mortals, but a hotshot among monks. He has a wide network of contacts in this area and takes on various businesses, such as escorting Origin Stones, etc., and even assassinations.
Lao Daobaozi lives in Nancheng District, but there are only five low-rise blue-tiled houses, which look dilapidated.
He doesn't have the demeanor of a local coward at all, he looks like a dutiful old farmer, with wrinkles on his face and rough calluses on his hands. He squats on the ground and smokes a dry pipe, showing no depth of cultivation.
"It's really evil. Every year, people go to die by themselves..." Lao Daobaozi muttered in an inaudible voice, then raised his head and glanced at Ye Fan, and said: "Wait a few days, gather a group of people before going
."
"Dad, are these all your business?" Ye Fan noticed that there were many notices posted on one wall.
"I am a duty-bound person and will not kill people. These are power of attorneys. I am just an intermediary liaison. Those who want to take over the work will come to me to take over the task." The old knife clicked on the dry pipe and said:
"If you want to take the job, I can also contact you. As for the reward, I will give you 20%."
Ye Fan browsed casually, and his eyebrows suddenly jumped. Some of these tasks actually involved him.
He picked up a golden piece of paper with his face clearly drawn on it. Just providing clues would earn him a hundred catties of source, killing him would earn him five hundred catties, and capturing him alive would earn him a thousand catties.
This is really a high price to pay, and no expense is spared in order to catch him out.
The employer did not hide his identity and clearly wrote one big character——Ji.
You celestial being!
Although Ye Fan was mentally prepared, some troubles still arose and he fled to the North Territory. The Ji family still didn't want to let him go and issued a murder order.
Yaoguang's people knew that he had arrived in the Northern Territory, and it was impossible for the Ji family to not get the news.
"I seem to have seen this killing order in other cities." Ye Fan tried.
The old knifeman exhaled a puff of smoke and said: "If you offend the wrong people, this child won't live long. There are many people from the younger generation of the Ji family, and there are also some young people in Yaoguang who are with them."
Ye Fan casually checked other commissioned tasks, and finally saw a few more about him——Ye arrest order.
Not only were there the signatures of several great masters of the younger generation of the Ji family, there was also a murder order issued by the disciples of the Yaoguang Holy Land.
Ye Fan learned the Great Void Technique and burned the elders of the Ji family to death. It was no surprise that the family would not let him go. Why did Yao Guang's stranger disciple behave like this? He suddenly thought of Yao Xi. This was probably her instruction.
"Kill me... I want to see how you can catch me out." Ye Fan sneered in his heart. If he hadn't practiced the "Book of Origin" to change his own aura, he would have been caught sooner or later.
"I would like to meet the masters of the younger generation." Ye Fan's strength has been growing recently, and he is quite interested. He wants to find some people to try the sword.
He didn't believe that everyone was like Ji Haoyue and the Holy Son of Yaoguang. If they were young monks from the second or third level of the Dao Palace Secret Realm, he thought he could kill them.
"How strong is this Ye Fan, and why are they so mobilized?" Ye Fan asked casually.
"It is said that I was a monk in the Lunhai Secret Realm more than half a year ago. I don't think there will be many changes in such a short period of time." The old knife blew out a smoke ring, stared at him with muddy old eyes, and said: "Are you interested in taking over?
, I will only provide one and a half percent of the bounty for this mission, and the rest will be yours."
"Okay, Pindao took the call. Please tell me the details."
Half a quarter of an hour later, Ye Fan left Nancheng District.
"How's it going? Have you reached an agreement with the Taoist priest? You won't be beaten by that old guy, right?" When passing by the stone restaurant, the shop owner asked enthusiastically.
"Take me fifty pounds and set off in two days." Ye Fan replied.
"Although it's expensive, it's not too brutal." The owner of Shi Zhai said: "Buy a stone coat from me. It's an old stone skin peeled off from the treasure source. It has the effect of warding off evil spirits.
."
The wild beasts roared, and a group of people rushed into Source City. They were a group of young people, all in their twenties, with extraordinary mounts, three feet above the ground, and rushed past the street.
Ye Fan touched his chin. He was still thinking about it just now. He didn't want to see the Ji family members soon. Of course, he wouldn't take the initiative to cause trouble.
Two days later, Ye Fan came to Lao Daobaozi's dilapidated house in Nancheng District. There were already more than a dozen people waiting there, most of them young people.
"It's been half a month, and the number of people has finally been gathered." The old swordman held a dry pipe in his mouth and said: "First of all, I am only responsible for guiding the way, and I am responsible for my own life and death. If you are really summoned into the old mine, it has nothing to do with me."
These people already understood the rules, and no one said anything else, just urging them to get on their way.
"Why bother? What's so good about an ancient mine? Many people are killed in it every year." Old Dao Daozi muttered.
Some people didn't like to hear it and said, "Old man, can you say something festive, as if we are going to die."
"Well, I wish us a safe journey!" Lao Daobaozi said no more. He never left others behind for this task, and was always responsible for himself.
When he walked out of Source City, Ye Fan saw the young people from the Ji family again. They were in a hurry, driving wild beasts and galloping away.
Even though those alien beasts did not touch the ground, the strong wind still stirred up a lot of dust, making those who wanted to enter the ancient mines of Taichu glare at them angrily.
"There is nothing to be arrogant about. Do you really think this city is your palace?"
"Shh, keep your voice down, do you know who those people are? They are members of the Ji family, and they will cause serious disaster."
Several people in the team that rushed out turned around and glared a few times. One of them showed a sneer and said: "Trouble comes from your mouth, so keep your mouth shut." They did not stop and flew away.
"It's... so arrogant. How amazing is the ancient family?!" Some people were dissatisfied, but they only dared to mutter in a low voice after those people left.
As expected, Lao Daobaozi has been walking on this road for decades, and he actually avoided the entrance area of the Holy Land and followed the secret road around.
After ten days of walking and stopping, everyone walked through a large no-man's land and the vast Gobi Desert. The old sword brought everyone to the outskirts of the Taichu Ancient Mine.
Less than a thousand miles away from the so-called edge of the beginning, they arrived outside the legendary restricted area of life.
"We can only go forward eight hundred miles, otherwise we will be in danger. You must control yourselves and don't make mistakes, let alone say nonsense." Lao Dao Baozi solemnly warned.
There is nothing here. The earth is as red as blood. It has been like this since ancient times. Desolation is the eternal theme.
Gravel is everywhere, and the occasional rocky mountains are as red as blood and as silent as tombstones.
"This place is so desolate, you can't even see ghosts." Someone sighed.
"As for this, there is nothing, what are you afraid of by saying a few words casually?" A young man was very dissatisfied, thinking that he was being too cautious.
The old knife handle kept muttering, not knowing what he was saying, and at the same time he bowed to the front again and again, then turned back and glared at him, shouting: "If you want to die, leave by yourself, don't follow us, since I
As a leader, you must listen to me in everything."
"Boss, you are going too far. We have already paid you, how can you have such an attitude?" The young man was unconvinced and asked coldly.
"I can return the source to you, and then you can leave on your own." Lao Daobaozi responded calmly.
"Forget it, let's calm down. We're almost at the location anyway, so don't say a few words." Someone next to me advised.
Lao Daobaozi said coldly: "I am doing it for your own good. If you talk nonsense in this area, people will die."
"Is it that serious?" The people around him didn't quite believe it.
The old knifeman snorted coldly and said: "Three years ago, because there was one person in the team who had no taboo, it caused a big disaster. In the end, only me and two others survived among the more than 20 people."
"It's so scary. What happened? Everyone else... died?" A few people were timid and asked cautiously.
"No one knew what happened. At that time, everyone was blind and could not sense anything. They only heard screams. When they regained their senses again, there were only more than 20 pools of blood on the ground." The old knife handle was calm.
Tao Lai.
The vast land is vast, empty and red for thousands of miles, with no end as far as the eye can see, and occasionally dust is rolled up.
Everyone looked at each other with doubts.
The young man just now obviously didn't believe it and sneered: "We are all monks, how can we still be afraid of monsters and ghosts? I believe that as long as we don't enter the restricted area of life, nothing bad will happen outside."
"Snapped"
Lao Dao threw a bag of sources on the ground and said: "You can go, the sources returned to you can no longer be with us."
"Okay, why don't I stop talking?" The young man felt a little frightened when he saw Lao Daojun's face sinking and being so serious.
"Remember, no one is allowed to talk nonsense!" Lao Daobaozi solemnly warned with a gloomy face.
The group of people flew at low altitude and headed deeper into the land.
After walking less than a hundred miles, I saw some stone pillars one after another, some of them extremely thick. I don’t know how many years have passed, but they are still standing on the ground.
Occasionally, you will see some huge foundations. Each of those stones is several meters long. The foundations are thick and wide, which is amazing.
"What kind of ruins is this? If it were a building, it would be too magnificent. Is it the residence of a giant?" Someone was surprised.
"Look, there are some patterns on this stone pillar, engraved with some strange creatures. They are really ferocious, more terrifying than the devil."
"Why are you talking nonsense again?!" The old man glared at the young man anxiously.
"Is this also a taboo?!" The young man was also a little angry.
"You have to know that when you come to this place, the Taichu Ancient Mine is more incredible than you imagined!" Lao Daobaozi angrily said, "Five years ago, I saw with my own eyes that more than thirty monks died in front of this ruins, stained with blood.
In the beginning."
"What's going on?" Others were shocked.
"I don't know, I just saw from a distance that those people were evaporated, their blood shot up into the sky, and their bodies turned into ashes." Lao Dao Baozi seemed to be frightened.
"Let's go, let's move on." Others felt a little uncomfortable.
The old swordsman snorted heavily and stayed away from the young man, as if he were avoiding a snake and a scorpion, not walking with him.
Seeing this, Ye Fan followed Lao Daobaozi and left that guy. He would rather believe it or not.
Everyone walked forward for hundreds of miles, and they were less than a hundred miles away from the so-called edge. Lao Daobaozi slowed down and said: "I suggest you not to go any further. Just fly high into the sky here and show your magical powers.
Just take a good look at it."
"Isn't there still more than a hundred miles left? It's still within a safe range. Why don't you move forward?"
"I'll walk a few dozen more miles, I won't see anything here."
"Okay." Lao Daobaozi responded.
After walking for another fifty miles and approaching the edge of Taichu, he refused to leave even though he said nothing.
"It won't be a problem to walk a few dozen miles. I also want to look for a few stones at the edge of the ancient Taichu mine. Maybe I'll be lucky and I'll find something big."
"What did you say?!" Lao Daobaozi's eyes were wide open, his beard and hair were spread out, and he looked like a lion.
"When you come here, don't you want to bring back a few stones? If you can cut something out, wouldn't it be of great benefit?" said the young man.
"You..." Lao Daobaozi didn't say anything, turned around and left.
"Master, don't go, we still need you to lead the way." Others advised.
"He will kill everyone." Lao Dao Baozi's expression was extremely gloomy.
"I'm just telling the truth. You are too cautious, old swordsman." The young man had been holding back a fire in his heart, and he couldn't help it at this moment.
I don't know when a strong wind started, dust filled the sky, and the sound of wind came from afar.
"Why is the wind blowing? The sun was shining just now."
"A little wind is nothing. We are all monks. Do we still care about a gust of wind?"
"Can you shut up?!" Lao Daobaozi glared at the young man and looked forward solemnly.
The sky was filled with red sand and dust, like a thin layer of blood mist, approaching from far away and shrouding everyone.
"Woooo..."
The sound of the wind was scary, like a ghost crying, and the dust filled the sky, getting louder and louder.
In the distant sky, large shadows were approaching quickly, swirling like dark clouds, coming from all directions.
The red sand grains were covered by the black whirlwind and dyed black, with shadows everywhere.
"What kind of ghost wind is this? Why does it come from all directions?" Everyone was surprised and uneasy.
"Woooo..."
The black whirlwind rolled up the sand in the sky, and in the blink of an eye, the ground was pitch black. The whirlwind had colors, creating large whirlpools.
"ah……"
A scream came, and the body of the young man who was always at odds with the old knife seemed to have been cut open by a sharp blade, leaving a large pool of blood on the ground, and his whole body was shattered in the black whirlwind.
Ye Fan's eyes stood up at that time. He felt the terrifying aura in those black whirlwinds, and used his spiritual mind to observe, but he saw nothing.
Each black whirlwind has a black hole in its center, as if it can swallow everything.
"ah……"
Another person was blown to pieces by the black wind, and he only had time to let out a scream.
Now, Ye Fan is also a little scared. He didn't expect that coming to Taichu would be so dangerous, and he would lose his life at every turn.
Now, the most important thing is to save his life. He sacrificed the mother energy of all things to make a cauldron, hid in it, and then used the Lihuo Divine Furnace to put the cauldron inside.
"Dangdangdang..."
The black whirlwind blew in, like a sharp sword slashing through the Lihuo furnace, making a loud noise.
Incomparably dazzling light shines out, the copper furnace is crystal clear, and the sun engraved on it shines with vigorous vitality and brilliance.
The sound of the phoenix moved the sky, and several vague divine birds flew around the stove. Flames soared and burned into a huge fire.
The black whirlwind whined and rolled past, smashing several people into pieces and turning into mist.
"When", "when"...
There was a loud noise that shook the sky, and Ye Fan felt like a huge palm was hitting the copper furnace violently, making him feel the terrifying power in the cauldron.
"Is this really a black whirlwind? How can it have such power?"
He was frightened and doubtful in his heart, but he did not dare to take risks. He could only hide inside and let the loud noise outside make his ears deafen.
In a daze, Ye Fan seemed to hear the sound of heavy breathing and the sound of a huge body stepping, and the earth seemed to be shaking gently.
"Is it a black whirlwind or is there something haunting?"
I don’t know how long it took, but the wind outside stopped, the world became calm, and no special noise could be heard.
Ye Fan put away the tripod made of the mother energy of all things. He didn't want others to see it, otherwise it would cause big trouble.
Then, he flew out of the Lihuo Divine Furnace and landed on the ground.
What surprised him deeply was that the copper furnace was not damaged. Although it was full of potholes, it was slowly recovering and seemed to be restored soon.
"There's something weird about this weapon..."
Ye Fan knows that this is definitely not the real Sun God Furnace. Even powerful weapons can kill people alive. It is countless times more terrifying than this, and it is impossible to make a dent.
"brush"
With a flash of light, Lihuo Divine Furnace was restored, possessing immortality, which shocked him deeply.
How could ordinary weapons have such magical performance? It was difficult for him to locate the level of this copper furnace.
The copper furnace turned into an inch high, like a five-colored crystal, and appeared in his palm. Ye Fan did not put it away, but held it in his palm, using it to defend himself, ready to sacrifice at any time.
In front of his eyes, the scenery changed drastically. He was blown by the black wind and he didn't know where he was. There were rocks and red sand everywhere.
Not far away, there stood a figure with an old sword holding a dry pipe silently, his brows furrowed.
In addition, there were seven people who fainted on the ground and were not strangled by the black whirlwind.
"What's going on? Where are we?" Ye Fan asked.
Looking far into the distance, the fields are empty and very quiet, like a bloody plain dotted with large rocks.
"I'm afraid we have entered the Taichu ancient mine." Lao Daobo blew out a heavy puff of smoke.
"Impossible!" Ye Fan was shocked.
"Don't worry, you didn't fall into that sacred mine." The old knife handlers squeezed together with wrinkles on their faces, walked back and forth a few steps, and said: "It is said that the restricted area where the ancient Taichu mine is located can be hundreds of miles in radius, and some say
Thousands of miles away, most of us are in the restricted area."
"How could this happen..." Ye Fan frowned.
The seven people who were unconscious on the ground woke up and turned around, their faces pale, and they were all filled with endless fear.
"Even the major holy lords can only return to the red earth when they come in. Aren't we going to die here?!" The people who had just woken up had despair on their faces.
"They went to the Taichu Ancient Mine, and naturally they never returned. As I said, this area is very large, and we haven't entered the central area. There may still be life." Lao Daobazi looked at the horizon in the distance.
"Really?"
"The chances are a bit slim, but there is still some hope. Similar things have happened before, and some people have made it out alive."
"What is that black whirlwind?" Ye Fan asked.
"I don't know either." Lao Daobaozi shook his head and said: "Some special winds often blow out of this restricted area, and the black whirlwind is already the mildest."
The nine people set out on the road. Lao Daobaozi determined a direction based on his feeling and took the lead to move forward.
"Old man, you must be sure to look for the circuit, otherwise we may go directly into the Taichu ancient mine..." a survivor said tremblingly.
Lao Daobaozi said nothing and just led the way.
Although they were not actually standing in front of the Taichu Ancient Mine, they still did not dare to fly. There were various legends about the Taichu Mine. It was said that flying birds could not cross, but anyone who jumped into the sky would be destroyed physically and mentally.
After walking for more than ten miles, a huge ravine lay across the front, stretching for several miles.
Ye Fan frowned and observed carefully, feeling a chill running down his spine.
He did not expect that he would actually see this kind of landform, which was exactly the same as what was recorded in the "Yuan Tian Shu".
"Don't go down!" He saw a monk tentatively looking into the ravine and wanted to stop him, but it was already too late.
The monk standing on the edge of the ravine had his blood evaporated in just an instant, turning into a streak of red light and sinking into the rift valley, and his body was turned into ashes.
"How could this happen?!" The other policemen turned pale with fright and fell back one after another, with no blood on their faces.
That person just took a few steps further than them, and suddenly turned into ashes. Seeing it with your own eyes was mind-numbing.
Even the handle of the old sword changed color. He sensed the danger in advance, but he did not expect it to be so terrifying. This was simply a magical place.
There was always a chill on Ye Fan's back. This restricted area was so terrifying, completely beyond imagination.
Far away from the sacred mine and without entering the central area, he saw such a legendary landform, which made his skin crawl.
This huge ravine is long and vigorous. If you look closely, it looks like a prostrate dragon. It is so similar that it may seem real.
It seems as if a dragon really slept here, crushing the earth and forming such a large rift valley.
It is recorded in the "Yuan Tian Shu" that this is a place of great danger, and it is the legendary "Fire Dragon Grave", where dragons are buried.
Ye Fan once thought about those sentences carefully, and he didn't know whether it was to bury the real dragon or to bury the dragon's veins. He hadn't fully understood it yet. Those ancient texts were too difficult.
According to the "Book of Origin", there must be a divine source in the Fire Dragon Tomb, which is definitely a peerless treasure in the source. However, there are also stern warnings. If you encounter a Fire Dragon Tomb, you must avoid it, and you must not dig it out unless you have to.
There will be great disaster.
"What kind of place is the Taichu Ancient Mine?!" Ye Fan couldn't calm down in his heart, and a huge wave surged up. He saw such landforms outside, and it was really hard to imagine what kind of things would be around that ancient mine.
Mountain terrain.
"Let's go around and don't get close to the Great Rift Valley." He reminded solemnly.
"Yes, this is a desperate pit. I feel that many powerful monks will die if they go in." Lao Daobaozi nodded with a solemn expression in agreement.
The eight people unanimously agreed to go around the dragon's head. They walked for several miles and finally came to the dragon's head. It was really lifelike, really like a dragon corpse lying on the ground.
"Here..." Lao Daobaozi frowned, his natural spiritual sense making him tremble with fear.
"No, back up, get out of here quickly!" Ye Fan felt like his hair was standing on end.
In front of the dragon's head, there is a very small lake, only a dozen feet in diameter, bright red, and the water is like blood, which makes people feel heart-stopping.
Even ordinary people would be surprised when they see it. There is no grass growing in the deserted restricted area and there should be no water at all. How could there be such a lake?!
But when it fell into Ye Fan's eyes, it was even more extraordinary. He felt cold all over. The Fire Dragon Grave was already scary enough. If you add this blood lake, it would be the worst of the worst.
According to the "Book of Origin", this is "dragon's blood", which is rare in the world. It is buried with the source of the blood god. It is almost impossible to get, and you will die if you touch it.
"Fire Dragon Grave" and "Dragon Bloodshed" are such a combination of landforms. If it is touched, even the unparalleled God King of the Eastern Wasteland will not be able to escape.