Shrouding the Heavens

Chapter 127: Profound earth

“It isn’t a dead end, there is hope to become an immortal, continuing from the broken bridge, there must be secrets to immortality within there!”

However, she did not move forward but rather looked towards Ye Fan: “I’ll give you the chance to become immortal, go forth!” Was it an endless abyss before them or an opportunity?

Ye Fan could feel his entire body turn cold, he did not continue forward but rather moved further back: “The chance to be a future immortal, this chance I will give to you.”

Ji Ziyue also did not dare to advance forward as she took a few steps back, her heart was filled with trepidation, the road ahead could likely be an endless abyss. However, if one did not move forward, how would they escape? There was simply no way back. Suddenly, Ye Fan’s heart lurched as he felt a unique aura, like the fishy odor of lake water.

The bloody ‘Immortal’ character had split into two, forming the Door of Countless Truths. Not far away, primordial chaos was roiling, Yin and Yang interweaved but was clearly unstable, continually sinking as it descended.

“That is……” Ji Ziyue followed Ye Fan’s gaze as she swiftly noticed an abnormality: “That seems to be a path!”

Ye Fan walked steadily walked forward with Ji Ziyue following closely behind, various chimes began to sound out and the two began to feel dazed.

The aurichalcite within Ye Fan’s sea of bitterness seemed able to resist this as it gently trembled, clearing their consciousness allowing them to continue forward.

Beside the ‘Immortal’ character, below the roiling primordial chaos, there seemed to be a gap, the bronze wall had been forcefully broken through, a path had that had been forged by man could be seen within, heading in an unknown direction.

“Heavens, how strong does one have to be to forcefully pierce through the bronze wall, creating such a path?” Ji Ziyue was stunned.

The bronze palace of legends was solid without compare, like a prison formed within heaven and earth, simply impossible to destroy. Many experts of the Eastern Badlands had been trapped here but no one had made it out alive, they had all been confined to their deaths.

It is rumoured that the most successful exploration had resulted in the removal of a corpse, it was unknown whether this was true or not, however, this legend seemed like it was about to be broken!

The fishy stench of the lake water continued to assault their noses, Ye Fan and Ji Ziyue continued to swiftly advance, they followed the bumpy passageway for a full hour before suddenly emerging at the top of the bronze immortal palace.

“Heavens’ someone actually managed to pierce through the bronze immortal palace, managing to escape. What sort of peerless expert did this?!” Ji Ziyue’s beautiful eyes were filled with shock.

Ye Fan was also astounded, the reason why they could leave was entirely due to the aurichalcite, there was actually someone so frightening that he could use a single blow to pierce through the bronze palace, escaping from within!

“This person did not choose to enter the gateway of all mysteries, it seems he had the same idea as us, facing the deep pool to escape.”Ji Ziyue’s large eyes were sparkling with curiosity: “It’s simply too inconceivable, he was able to break through the bronze immortal palace of legends, if this were to spread, it would certainly shake up the entire Eastern Badlands!” Based on the bumpy traces, one could guess that countless years had already passed since.

There was someone who had managed to escape from here, thousands to tens of thousands of years ago but did not flaunt it, why did he choose to keep it a secret?

If this person still lived, what realm had he attained? Carefully thinking it through, Ye Fan and Ji Ziyue felt their hearts tremble, as various thoughts filled their minds.

Ye Fan released a curtain of light which enveloped Ji Ziyue within, standing in this enormous palace that was comparable to a city, with the water in the lake faintly undulating in the background. However, it did not pull him towards the bronze palace this time, the aurichalcite within his sea of bitterness was silent and motionless but it contained a strange prowess, causing the frightening fluctuations to no longer affect them. The two people had managed to unexpectedly escape from the bronze palace, this gave them a feeling of surreality.

Not long ago, the Gateway of all mysteries had showcased countless unique scenes, although it brought with it an enticement together with a frightening killing intent, the unique fluctuations were a form the true path for cultivators, the two people silently recalled the scenes as they imprinted them within their minds, this was their only harvest.

Based on his intuition, Ye Fan could tell that it should not be any inferior to the Dao Scripture, it was a pity that he had only recalled portions of it, even Ji Ziyue felt that it could compare with the ancient scriptures kept within the Ji Family.

They did not know what was behind the Gateway of all mysteries nor did they want to find out, coming out alive was already a heaven sent gift.

Ye Fan carefully examined the surroundings, the lake water above them was covered by cloudy mist that was rather thin. This area of the bronze palace had been pierced causing even the clouds above it to be extremely thin.

“Maybe we can escape from here……”

He lifted Ji Ziyue as he broke through the water above them, he had merely risen into the sky when he felt that unbearable pressure press down once again, the large shadow above seemed to be a living creature that swam by.

This time, he did not back away but rather forcefully bore the pressure, pressing forward as golden lights shone from his body, piercing through the water into the distance.

The higher he went, the greater the pressure as Ye Fan gradually felt as though his body would disintegrate at any moment, he forced out his cauldron as he continued to forge a path onward.

Although this region was the thinnest, Ye Fan still felt that it was unbearable, at this moment, Ji Ziyue suddenly exclaimed: “It’s the dual qis of profound earth*!” Above them, the shadow that was heavy like a mountain and expansive like the clouds, it soon became the colours of black and yellow, misty and just wisps of it could seemingly crush an entire mountain ridge. It was massive and simply stifling.

T/L*: This is a tough one, it’s a descriptive word that goes with heaven and earth/world, also means black and yellow.

Ye Fan had not came into contact with it but was swiftly becoming unable to bear with it, that pressure was making him breathless. The stars were in disorder, yin & yang were in conflict, and the profound earth was overflowing. An ordinary person would feel that the profound earth was the primordial chaos in gaseous form.

However, a real cultivator would naturally not think in this way, the ‘black’ represented the spirit of the heavens, the ‘yellow’ represented the quintessence of the earth, together they formed the essence of the world.

“Heaven’s it’s really the dual qis of profound earth and there’s actually so much of it!” Ji Ziyue exclaimed in shock, her eyes seemed to shine brightly like stars: “This is the best sacred item for forging an artifact!”

She was currently being enveloped by the glow released from Ye Fan, she did not feel much pressure but Ye Fan was already covered in sweat and seemed like he could falter at any moment: “What are you shouting about!”

“What I’m saying is that this qi essence is the most difficult to acquire within the world, it is a sacred item for forging artifacts, how many powerful cultivators have bitterly searched their entire lives without finding a single trace. There’s actually so much of it here!” Ji Ziyue was extremely agitated, her face was red as he continued to shake Ye Fan’s shoulders: “Hurry, go retrieve it, if we use it to forge an artifact, we will definitely be able to coalesce dao and truth to form peak dao weapons.”

“You’re really an armchair expert…….” Ye Fan swayed, it was difficult to advance even a single step.

“Nameless, the beginning of the world, also know as the Dao. Named, the mother of all living things, also known as the world. The profound earth is the essence of the world, the qi gathered from the mother of all living things, a sacred item for forging anything with shape or form, extremely difficult to obtain!” Ji Ziyue was excited, her face was flushed and she seemed extremely sweet as she continued: “Normally, peerless experts would search endlessly without any results, there’s actually so much here, we have to take some back with us.”

Hearing these words, Ye Fan was indeed moved, if his cauldron was forged using the profound earth……. He could feel his heart beat faster, however, his strength was insufficient and had simply no way to obtain it, it was simply too difficult to advance a single step. Ji Ziyue continued to shake Ye Fan: “Quick, remove my restrictions, I have a way to acquire it.”

Ye Fan was naturally not going to release the restrictions just because of it, that would merely be finding trouble for himself, the power of this purple clothed lady was difficult to fully comprehend and he did not wish to be controlled by her.

“Just relax, I won’t act against you.” Ji Ziyue pulled his arm as she grit her pearly white teeth: “This is a heaven sent opportunity, if we don’t grab it, we will be punished by the heavens!”

Since the beginning of the world, it brimmed over with essence, also known as the profound earth, the amount now is simply pitiful, almost all of it had been used up, peerless experts loved to use it to forge precious artifacts.

Ye Fan also knew quite a bit but his understanding was far removed from that of the azure clothed lady, looking at her current expression, he found it difficult to remain calm as he contemplated how to acquire some of the profound earth.

However, according to legend, a wisp of profound earth qi was sufficient to crush an entire mountain range, he simply did not have sufficient strength to acquire it, if he forced his way up he would likely disintegrate, turning into bloody mist.

“Kaboom!”

Up above, compared to the other areas, the profound earth qi was extremely thin. At this moment, rumbling noises could be heard as a piercing light flowed from above.

Black represented the spirit of the heavens, yellow represented the quintessence of the earth, when fused together, they would not show off any brilliance. However at this moment, there an especially dazzling profound earth qi.

“Heavens, it’s the root of the profound earth, where all the essence lies!” Ji Ziyue was extremely agitated, her face was beet red as she panted while grabbing Ye Fan: “Quickly release me from my binding, that is the qi source essence of legends, it’s pure profound earth, tens of thousands of years might pass before someone encounters it, if we don’t acquire it, it would be punishable by heaven!”

At this moment, Ye Fan’s sea of bitterness trembled as the aurichalcite flew out, entering the profound earth as it sucked in the essence before descending once again.

Ji Ziyue was stunned and excited as she shouted: “Give some to me!” She was mistaken that Ye Fan had acted, acquiring it.

In reality, the aurichalcite was not within his control, Ye Fan swiftly sent his cauldron to meet the aurichalcite, attempting to extract the essence of the profound earth.

“Crack!”

The sound of cracking could be heard as the small cauldron was unable to withstand the pressure, immediately shattering as it mixed together with the essence of the profound earth.

The aurichalcite had only sucked a portion of the essence of the profound earth, it could be said that it was merely a smattering. The rest of the essence remained outside. The fragmented cauldron was on the top of the aurichalcite.

Ye Fan did not know whether to be happy or worried, the aurichalcite was simply too mysterious, it had managed to easily acquire some essence of profound earth but his cauldron which he had bitterly worked to forge had actually shattered, leaving a bitter aftertaste within his mouth.

“This is a good thing, the shattered cauldron has mixed with the profound earth , you can now forge it anew acquiring an artifact that many would lust for! By then don’t forget to divide a strand of profound earth essence to me, you definitely won’t be able to use all of it!” Ji Ziyue waved her fist, her eyes were twinkling as she loudly reminded, seeming to almost bite Ye Fan’s ear.

The aurichalcite flew over, Ye Fan’s heart was filled with trepidation, a strand of profound earth could crush an entire mountain range, this profound earth essence was definitely much heavier, if it entered his sea of bitterness, he was worried that he would instantly disintegrate.

However, there was simply no way to dodge as the aurichalcite flashed, entering his spring of life in the blink of an eye as everything became calm, nothing untoward occurred allowing him to finally calm down.

At this moment, the area above them was rumbling, profound earth essence had been taken away as the clouds parted, the area above actually became clear revealing a gap.

This was a rare chance as Ye Fan lifted the purple clothed lady, rushing forward like a bolt of lightning as he left the bottom of the lake.

“So much profound earth qi yet we are unable to bring it along with us, I really regret……” Ji Ziyue indignantly cried, sounding like a miser.

“Hua la la” Waves churned as Ye Fan rushed out from the water, finally taking in a deep breath.

This was a large lake, ripples could be seen in the jade coloured expanse that stretched as far as the eye could see. It was misty on the surface of the lake, making this all seem like a large piece of natural gem stone. The immortal qi lingered about, further adorning this boundless expanse.

Ye Fan had flown for half an hour before reaching the shore, what appeared before them was endless amounts of ancient trees, lush and vibrant.

“We’ve finally escaped…….” The two had finally escaped from the jaws of death. By the short, ancient trees reached to the sky, lush greenery surrounded them as Ye Fan’s mind completely calmed down.

Ji Ziyue’s large eyes gently fluttered as a light circulated, her nose was scrunched as her pearly white teeth appeared with her adorable dimples: “Hey hey hey, we’ve been through life and death together, we can be considered best buddies, why aren’t you letting me go? We should share our joys and woes, quickly hand me a portion of the profound earth essence.”

She did not treat herself as an outsider, moving and mischievous as she smiled, stretching her delicate jade hands forward as she swayed before Ye Fan.

“True, we should indeed share our joys and woes.” Ye Fan had a faint smile as he patted the area beside him, indicating for her to sit down: “Write the ancient scripture of your Ji Family for me.”

“What?!” Ji Ziyue’s watery large eyes stared at him: “You’re being a bandit!”

“That’s right, I’m planning to steal today.” Ye Fan had a vibrant smile as he continued: “Also, I’m planning to steal everything, hand over your treasures and also the ancient scripture……”