Shrouding the Heavens-Chapter 189 - 193: The Divine King Imparts the Teachings

Taixu refers to the image of the Dao, vast yet tranquil, and also broadly signifies the Great Dao. To dare use these two characters as a name shows great boldness; if coupled with corresponding strength, it would indeed make one awe-struck.

Divine King Jiang Taixu—these five words were like thunder streaking across the sky, shaking the soul and leaving Ye Fan dumbfounded.

He truly found it hard to believe that there were living cultivators here, and moreover, a Divine King who had achieved Great Success!

*"Four thousand years..."* He thought of the engravings outside, presumably left around four thousand years ago.

According to Ancient Books, after a Divine King achieves Great Success, they can live for thousands of years. Their life force is extremely enduring, making it very hard for them to die naturally.

*"Indeed, that’s it..."* Ye Fan quickly understood. This was a Divine King who had achieved Great Success, truly capable of enduring four thousand years.

Once the divine body matures, it can live through vast ages, enough to protect a family for millennia and allow it to reach an extreme pinnacle of prosperity.

*"I’ve encountered a Divine King from the Eastern Wastelands..."* Ye Fan was incredibly shocked, for this was truly a peerless figure.

If the Jiang Family knew that a clansman was here—a Divine King who had achieved Great Success—they would probably go mad. They would use all their power to rescue him.

*"This is really hard to believe..."*

From another perspective, it indicated how terrifying the purple mountain was; a Divine King from the Eastern Wastelands was trapped here, struggling for so long without escape.

"You... come over here..." The aged voice was extraordinarily weak, as if he were about to run out of breath at any moment.

Ye Fan sought the direction, following the winding and twisting rock cave. He took a dozen steps forward before stopping and saying, "Senior, where are you?"

"I’m ahead," Divine King Jiang Taixu responded weakly.

"Is there anything I can do to help you?" Ye Fan stood still, using divine scan to communicate within the rock cave.

However, in the depths of the cave mansion, all was quiet. A long time passed without any response.

"Senior, what’s wrong with you?"

Only after half an hour did the weak voice return, saying, "I... am exhausted... I cannot always communicate by sound."

Even a powerful Divine King, trapped for four thousand years, found it hard to hold on. If it had been any other cultivator, they would probably have long returned to dust, having decayed for thousands of years.

"Your... realm... is..." Divine King Jiang Taixu inquired.

"Paramita." Ye Fan pondered slightly and answered truthfully.

"You... emulate ancient Saints... cultivating a Single Secret Realm?" the Eastern Wastelands Divine King pursued the question.

"Junior has only been practicing for four years and is unaware of how to cultivate a Single Secret Realm. I am currently just at the normal Paramita."

A heavy sigh came, seemingly filled with utter despair, as if it had drained all of the Divine King’s power. He remained silent for a long time, without any words.

"Are you alright, Senior?" Ye Fan inquired.

Another half hour passed, and the other seemed to have gathered enough strength. Very disappointed, his voice desolate and sounding lifeless, he said, "You... are too weak..."

Ye Fan had no way to respond. How could he compare to a Divine King who had achieved Great Success? Throughout history, probably few could hold their heads high in such a comparison.

"With such a weak cultivation base... how did you get in here?" Divine King Jiang Taixu was very confused.

"Junior wore special stone clothes and luckily managed to walk in."

"A thousand years ago... the same as that person..."

"Senior, have you seen that person? Where did they go?" Ye Fan asked. He had come for the Heavenly Source Book and had intended to give up, but at this moment, he was filled with hope again.

"Died in... the depths of Demon Mountain." Jiang Taixu’s words were intermittent, making it hard to properly converse with him, with long pauses between each sentence.

"Can I reach there?" Ye Fan pursued the question.

"Don’t know." The Eastern Wastelands Divine King was unwilling to say more. Each sentence seemingly burned up part of his energy, and each response was the briefest possible.

Throughout this process, Ye Fan appeared calm, but internally, he was full of turmoil.

The Heavenly Source Book was indeed a treasured secret manual. Yet, the Jiang Family’s Divine King in front of him was like a living ancient scripture, possessing all manner of supreme secret techniques.

*"It took four years... to reach Paramita... not slow, not fast..."* Divine King Jiang Taixu spoke to himself.

Ye Fan’s heart stirred, and he said, "In fact, if I could cultivate the most powerful nine secret arts, the time could be greatly shortened."

The weakened Divine King did not respond, seemingly having fallen into slumber, with no further sound.

On this occasion, it wasn’t until a full three hours later that Jiang Taixu spoke again, saying, "Come forward... let me teach you..."

These six words seemed to exhaust his last strength. After speaking, he fell silent again. Under normal circumstances, no one could endure this; it would be very easy to lose patience when it took such a long time for him to utter a single sentence.

However, Ye Fan remained very calm, patiently waiting. He hesitated slightly before taking a large step forward.

The purple rocks shimmered with a hazy glow. The interior of the purple mountain was not dark, nor could it be considered bright. At most, it was just dim and hazy.

The ground was pitted and very uneven. Ye Fan followed the winding passage from one abandoned cave into another ancient mine.

On the rock walls of the ancient mine, many fossilized bones of ancient creatures flickered in and out of view—an astonishing sight. Yes, many fossils from before the Ancient era were fused with the purple mountain.

Ye Fan walked a thousand feet into the ancient mine, reaching the end. Ahead, a stretch of purple wall was incredibly smooth, like crystalline Jade, shining brightly enough to reflect his image.

This place was vast and empty, with nothing around. It was silent and soundless, with only him standing there alone.

"Senior, are you here?" Ye Fan explored, but found nothing.

In front, the purple Jade was bright and clean, clearly reflecting his figure. Yet in that instant, he felt a chill creeping up his spine.

In the purple Jade, not only was his figure displayed, but also another tall, ferocious figure. This figure had a single horn on its brow, six arms extending from beneath its shoulders, wings on its back, and its body was covered in fine scales.

Ye Fan felt a chill on his scalp, quickly dodging aside, then turned to look. However, there was nothing behind him, just empty space.

"Under normal circumstances... you won’t be able to see it..." The Divine King’s aged voice emanated from the rock wall.

Ye Fan turned to look at the purple Jade and found that the human-like creature appeared particularly eerie and terrifying, wide-mouthed with fangs, still standing behind him.

"Invisible malevolent thought... except through the Jade... cannot be reflected..." Jiang Taixu spoke with difficulty.

After a long time, he finally uttered dozens of words, giving Ye Fan a preliminary understanding.

This was an invisible malevolent thought, emanating from an ancient creature, capable of automatically locking onto a life form. The only fortunate thing was that this creature had not yet awoken.

Ye Fan felt a chill in his heart. He was not unfamiliar with such a creature, as he had seen its form in the stone carvings before entering the purple mountain: kneeling devoutly beside the Divine Sources, fierce and powerful against humans.

"Senior, where are you?"

"In the rock."

Beside the purple Jade at the end of the ancient mine was a rough rock wall, from which Jiang Taixu’s voice came.

"I’ll teach you a move. Let’s see how much insight you have..." The voice of the Eastern Wastelands Divine King grew weaker and weaker.

Ye Fan focused his mind, standing there for two full hours. Suddenly, a withered figure emerged from the rock wall. Yes, through the rough rocks, a shadow was cast, outlining a clear silhouette. All its bones were visible; it was not much better than a skeleton.

His long hair, even longer than his body, draped down the bony, emaciated frame. He merely posed in a strange stance, then fell backward.

Ye Fan was startled. The figure was not its true form but still allowed him to perceive a hint of Dao. At the same time, a very brief incantation entered his heart; it was extremely obscure and profound.

The withered figure within the rock wall had already disappeared. The area was left rough and uneven.

Ye Fan retreated several hundred feet and, holding a Bodhi seed, silently contemplated the strange posture, then earnestly studied and practiced it.

In just a moment, Ye Fan’s heart and mind were wholly absorbed. This was an extremely terrifying attack cultivation method, with immense power.

Not limited to fists or fingers, nor leg techniques, every part of the body could attack, and every inch of skin could unleash terrifying force.

*"What is this mysterious art?"* Ye Fan was shocked. This art was quite peculiar but extremely terrifying.

His physical body was already as firm as divine iron. If he were to practice this cultivation method, it would surely become even more fearsome. This type of attack suited him perfectly.

However, this seemed to be merely a Starting Move, not complete. Even so, Ye Fan had glimpsed its mysteries and knew its further development would certainly be earth-shattering.

*"The Starting Move alone is already this terrifying..."* Ye Fan was astonished, *feeling this must be a supreme secret technique.*

In the subsequent days, he diligently practiced, silently comprehending, and found it increasingly profound.

*"Is this a treasure secret art recorded in the Jiang Family’s ancient scriptures?"* Ye Fan thought, *this kind of secret art must have an extraordinary origin.*

He was seriously lacking in offensive means. Although he had cultivated three supreme secret arts—the heart technique inheritance, the old madman’s footwork, and the Great Void Art—none were known for offensive prowess. This new secret art perfectly filled his current shortcoming.

As for the Great Void Handprint, he had only obtained an incomplete form, unable to unleash its true power.

While pondering the Starting Move of this secret art, Ye Fan was startled to discover another secret art within him spontaneously began to operate.

*"This is..."* He was overjoyed.

The heart technique inheritance, obtained at Taixuan Sect’s Zhuo Peak, could multiply his Combat Power from several to tenfold, and it had now begun to operate on its own.

He suddenly realized that what Divine King Jiang Taixu taught him was not from the Jiang Family’s ancient scriptures, but was the heart technique inheritance!

It is said that when these nine secret arts are used together, they promote each other, becoming smoother, with significantly increased power.

*"He taught me the Starting Move. If I acquired the complete secret art, how strong would the Attack Power be?"*

The power of the nine secret arts was too great. It is said they are envied by the heavens. Endless ages ago, they were split up and lost across the world, never reunited, with some completely lost.

*"Divine King Jiang Taixu had mastered one of these secret arts, and it was an attack method..."* Ye Fan was extremely excited in his heart.

The incantation, though profound, was quite short. After holding the Bodhi seed and contemplating for seven days, Ye Fan had basically mastered the Starting Move.

However, the Eastern Wastelands Divine King seemed to have passed away in meditation, with no further sound or response to Ye Fan’s repeated attempts at communication.

In these past few days, Ye Fan felt a vague unease. The demonic call from the depths of the purple mountain grew stronger. His body felt as though it no longer belonged to him, yearning to respond to the call.