Best Young Master
Chapter 1642 - 1512: Heavenly Slaughter Array
Looking far into the distance, the wilderness appeared vast and quiet, scattered with a few large boulders on an expansive plain.
"Where are we now?" Ye Fan and the others approached, asking Liu Da and his companions.
"I don’t know!"
Liu Da and his companions looked grim, then said, "Judging from the current situation, we might very well have already entered the Ancient Mine."
"What?"
"Impossible, right?"
Hu Fei and Wenren Jing turned pale instantly; being descendants of the Nine Great Bandits of the Northern Domain, they knew deeply how terrifying the Ancient Mine was, even their grandfathers dared not venture deep easily.
Only Shi Ye remained calm; coming from the Southern East Domain, he knew little about the horrors of the Ancient Mine, as they say, ignorance is fearless. However, he did not comment.
"Don’t worry, we haven’t fallen into that Demon Mine."
Liu Da and his companions’ face was full of wrinkles, pacing back and forth for a few steps, saying, "It is said that the Forbidden Zone of the Ancient Mine spans hundreds of miles, some say thousands. We are most likely within the Forbidden Zone."
"Where is this?"
Soon, one of the five who had fainted got up, shook off the dust on his body, and asked Liu Da and his companions.
Ye Fan noticed that this person was Huai Gu. Clearly, he had not sustained any injuries, hiding his vitality well, but Ye Fan, using his Martial Arts Heavenly Eye, saw through his concealed strength.
"How could this happen?" The remaining four also woke up, faces pale, each filled with infinite fear.
"Even the Saint Lords who enter here turn to dust, can we die here too?" The newly awakened person was full of despair.
"Not necessarily!"
Liu Da and his companions gazed toward the distant horizon, leisurely saying, "They headed for the Ancient Mine, naturally with no return. I’ve said, this area is vast, and we haven’t entered the central region; maybe there’s still a chance for survival."
Subsequently, Ye Fan and the others set off again, Liu Da and his companions, relying on their intuition, determined a direction and took the lead.
Though not truly standing before the Ancient Mine, everyone dared not fly, but instead walked on foot.
There are many legends about the Ancient Mine, one being that birds don’t cross its airspace. They’ve been in this area for a while, yet have never seen a bird fly overhead.
Legend has it that a powerful Forbidden exists over the Ancient Mine, daring any cultivator to soar, only to face destruction.
Though this is just a legend, none of them wanted to test whether it was true or false.
After traveling over a dozen miles, a dry riverbed stretched before them, extending for several miles.
Ye Fan frowned; such terrain shouldn’t appear in this place, an arid desert suddenly showing a dry riverbed, where did the water come from?
Moreover, there’s not a blade of grass here; if there were a river, there should at least be some vegetation, right? But there’s nothing, only a dry riverbed, conspicuously abrupt.
After careful observation, Ye Fan felt chills run down his spine, unexpectedly encountering such a terrain in this Forbidden Zone, completely matching the descriptions in the Dragon Seeking Formulas.
"Don’t get close!"
He saw a cultivator cautiously approaching the dry riverbed, wanting to stop him but it was already too late.
"Ah..." 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮
The person screamed in agony, seemingly ignited instantly, turning to ashes.
"How could this be?"
The others were horrified, retreating in haste, faces devoid of blood. That person only took a few more steps, yet suddenly became ashes; witnessing it was truly chilling.
"What’s going on?"
Liu Da and his companions’ expression changed suddenly; he had sensed danger beforehand but didn’t expect it to be so terrifying—it’s simply a death trap.
Ye Fan’s spine was constantly cold; this Forbidden Zone was too terrifying, far beyond imagination.
This is one of the death traps recorded in the Dragon Seeking Formulas, ranking in the top ten among Heavenly Slaughter Arrays, where Heaven and Earth come together, certainly harboring peerless treasures, but also stern warnings to avoid it, unless absolutely necessary, never approach, or face catastrophic disaster.
"What kind of place is this Ancient Mine, after all?"
Ye Fan’s heart was turbulent, brewing surging waves; having seen such terrain outside, it’s hard to imagine what kind of mountains and rivers surround that Ancient Mine.
At the same time, he admired the first Earth Master immensely; to tread on such death traps like solid ground, how profound must his mastery in Dragon Seeking Skill be?
"This is the terrain of the Heavenly Slaughter Array; it kills gods if they enter, kills buddhas if they enter; let’s avoid this dry riverbed." Ye Fan solemnly reminded everyone.
"Indeed, I also feel this resembles a death trap; whoever enters, no matter how strong, might die." Liu Da and his companions nodded, showing agreement seriously.
All nine agreed, bypassing the seemingly harmless dry riverbed from its downstream end.
Just as they were about to bypass it, Shi Ye kicked a stone, which fell onto the dry riverbed, instantly releasing a Sword Radiance from the riverbed, targeting Shi Ye’s forehead.
"Watch out!"
Ye Fan let out a loud roar, his feet blurred as he used the Chasing Star Step to stand firmly in front of Shi Ye. A flash of light emanated from his chest as he placed the Heart Protecting Armor, made from ancient shield fragments, in front of his brow.
Simultaneously, he used another piece of Ancient Shield Fragment obtained from the Immortal Mansion Ruins to shield himself, a double-layered safeguard.
If it weren’t for Huai Gu being present, he would have directly used the Emperor Weapon. He strongly suspected that this young man named Huai Gu could very well be the Emperor’s son of the Gu Family.
"Clang!"
A loud metallic clash echoed, and Ye Fan felt as if he’d been struck violently by a Saint Lord Level strong individual. His entire body collided with Shi Ye’s, and the two of them flew backwards in the air, tumbling to the ground like rolling gourds.
"Chu Fan..."
"Brother Chu..."
Hu Fei and Wenren Jing shouted in surprise and hurriedly rushed over to help both of them up.
At the moment, Ye Fan was using the alias Chu Fan, partly to commemorate his master Chu Xuanji on Earth, and partly to avoid unnecessary trouble with a fake name.
"Ye... Brother Chu Fan, thank you. I owe you one this time; otherwise, I would’ve lost my life here."
Shi Ye, in his excitement, almost let the truth slip, but Hu Fei, quick-witted, pinched a soft spot at his waist, bringing him back to his senses.
"Think nothing of it, we’re brothers. No need for thanks."
Ye Fan coughed up a mouthful of blood, but the Pure Yang Qi inside him rumbled, and his injuries healed instantly.
In that brief moment, a gray mist rose from the dry riverbed and rapidly spread towards everyone.
"Not good!"
Liu Da and his companions’ faces turned ashen, and their natural spiritual sense made their hearts pound with fear.
"Retreat quickly, leave here at once!"
Ye Fan’s hair stood on end as he led Hu Fei and the other three to quickly retreat to a distance.
Given past experiences, coupled with the eerie gray mist appearing out of nowhere on this dried riverbed, everyone was fearful, fleeing rapidly, lest they be overtaken by the mist and perish.
After retreating several hundred meters, the nine turned to look back, increasingly alarmed as they saw the gray mist covering an area more than a hundred meters beyond the riverbed, seemingly continuing to spread.
"What on earth is going on?"
One person’s face was pale as he asked in a trembling voice, completely shocked by the previous scene.
The power of that sword radiance was tremendously overwhelming. If not for Ye Fan’s two pieces of Ancient Shield Fragments shielding them from the killing intent, even someone with his Treasure Body would have been split in two by the sword radiance.
"Heavenly Slaughter Array, no living being should approach. Gods enter and gods are slain, Buddhas enter and Buddhas perish. This is a Killing Array naturally formed by heaven and earth. Once triggered, not even heroes can escape, and will surely die in grievance," Ye Fan explained.
Just as he finished speaking, Ye Fan’s keen spiritual sense suddenly perceived immense danger, and without a word, he fled to a greater distance.
Shi Ye and Hu Fei, having received Ye Fan’s warning, nearly simultaneously escaped to a further distance, with Liu Da and his companions closely following in Ye Fan’s footsteps.
The others hurriedly gave chase. However, among the surviving nine, whose strengths varied, the weakest trailed a full mile behind, letting out a heart-wrenching scream.
The eight others looked back to see him fly backwards, pulled directly into the gray mist by a mysterious force.
The eight watched as he rapidly dissolved within the gray mist, like a candle softening from scorching flames.
The rest, terrified out of their wits, dared not fly and instead sprinted away, chasing after Ye Ye Fan, Hu Fei, and the others disappearing on the horizon.
After fleeing more than a dozen miles, Ye Fan and his group of four finally stopped. Hu Fei, Wenren Jing, and Shi Ye were all pale-faced, drenched in cold sweat, not from exhaustion but from sheer terror.
Once they caught their breath, the rest gradually caught up, all similarly sweating bullets, except Liu Da and his companions who remained comparatively calm.
"Damned place, it’s far too sinister. Given the chance, I’d never come back to this ghostly place. No amount of Spirit Stones could tempt me." A young cultivator said, on the verge of tears.
The others deeply shared this sentiment, all looking pallid and full of regret.
"This Forbidden Zone is exceptionally unusual. Even at such a distance from the Ancient Mine, we encounter such a Demon Land. If we had recklessly pressed on, we would likely have perished there," Huai Gu said with a gloomy look, not expecting the Ancient Mine area to be so malevolent.
"It’s a Heavenly Slaughter Array formed by nature. Even if a Saint Lord Level strong individual came, it would be useless. Enter, and one’s death is inevitable!"
Liu Da and his companions said with solemn expressions.
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PS: Apologies for the delay in updates yesterday, and again today for mistakenly publishing a duplicate Chapter, causing some brothers to spend extra cents. To make up for the blunder, I’ve added an extra Chapter.
Lastly, with the new month, I humbly ask for a monthly ticket vote, thank you~
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