Shrouding the Heavens-Chapter 191 - 195 Ancient Creatures

This creature was covered with scales, shimmering with silver light, and lay motionless. It was over two meters long, its muscles taut and full of strength.

"It’s already dead." Ye Fan let out a sigh of relief.

He used the stone dagger to flip it over, allowing its face to turn upwards. It had a human-like appearance; if not for the fine scales, this creature could be considered a handsome man.

In the purple mountain, there was definitely not just one of these creatures. The invisible malice gathering around him indicated that at least one more was still alive.

Ye Fan discovered a broken stone tablet pressed under the silver creature. He pieced the fragments together, only managing to read, "Those who move it will die," while the rest was indecipherable.

A sense of foreboding arose in him. *These were human writings. Could these Ancient creatures have died because they moved something? Could it be this Source before him?*

Upon closer inspection, it could be seen that the six-armed creature had indeed struggled to retreat from the Sources, eventually meeting its demise.

"The Sources can be lethal..."

Source Qi flowed peacefully through the area. Ye Fan stood up and examined the massive Sources before him, which stood two meters high and likely weighed several thousand pounds.

Though this Source was resplendent, it was indeed not Divine Sources, but rather a high-purity Treasure Source. Yet, such a substantial volume was extremely rare.

"*Something’s not right; the stone clothes I’m wearing are radiating strange light...*" As he approached the Sources, the Armor on him and other pieces of his gear all began to flash continuously.

Ye Fan walked around the Sources and discovered numerous cracks within, from which emanated tiny spots of brilliance, very mysterious, like little stars.

"*Inside, there are fragments of Divine Sources...*" Ye Fan raised the stone dagger close, and in an instant, it burst forth with resplendent radiance, like a rare treasure knife.

"*Indeed, someone sealed fragments of Divine Sources within this massive Source.*" He was astonished and carefully examined the woman inside the Source.

She was serene, as if in an eternal slumber.

Ye Fan sighed. *This must be a corpse, long devoid of life. Though lifelike, it could not hide the truth of life having departed.*

The woman was exceedingly beautiful, with a beauty that could shame the moon and flowers, but sadly, it was all in the past, as time had taken everything away.

Suddenly, Ye Fan spotted a jade pendant, also sealed within the Source, half-hidden in the folds of her skirt and easily overlooked.

"*Could these Ancient creatures... also enjoy such jade ornaments?*" He frowned, strongly suspecting that this might be human.

Suddenly, a cold shiver ran down Ye Fan’s spine as he noticed something else within the Sources: among the scattered fragments of Divine Sources, there were strands of red hair.

"*Red hair...*" He shuddered.

On the night when the Zhang family’s founder disappeared, a red-haired whirlwind swept across the blood-colored earth, and mysterious creatures howled throughout the night, refusing to leave.

"*The child accompanying the Heavenly Source Master was scared into a stupor; at that time, he saw one of the founder’s hands covered in red hair...*"

Thinking of this, Ye Fan shivered. While entering the purple mountain, he had seen carvings left by powerful individuals; there weren’t many women’s names among them.

"*Could this be the corpse of the Yaochi Saintess, Yang Yi, from ten thousand years ago?*"

Ye Fan did not act recklessly. He retreated a few steps, carefully searching the ancient mine for additional clues.

Soon, he found some inscriptions on the mine wall: Zhang Jiye’s tribute.

"A thousand years ago, a predecessor of the Zhang family visited here!" Ye Fan’s heart lit up; *he felt as if he was approaching the Heavenly Source Book.*

All the Ancient creatures had perished here. Ye Fan did not touch the Source, and many thoughts stirred in his mind.

"*The fate of the Heavenly Source Master...*" Thinking of this, he felt a chill run down his spine.

"*If I become a Heavenly Source Master, will misfortune follow in my later years?*" Ye Fan walked a long way, shadowed by this ominous thought.

The demonic call fluctuated in intensity as Ye Fan advanced over a li from inside the purple mountain, making a significant discovery: he saw a broken stone pendant indistinguishable from the one he carried.

Simultaneously, light streamed around Ye Fan, the stone dagger glowed brilliantly, and the star plate shone. freewēbnoveℓ.com

Silently, a troop marched out of an abandoned mine, neat and orderly, without the slightest disarray.

These were ghostly men and horses, icy and chilling, as if they had emerged from the Netherworld.

"*So many of these things have formed...*"

They quickly encircled him like phantoms, trapping him silently. All of them had ghastly pale faces, devoid of blood and life fluctuations. Only a strange energy ebbed and flowed within them.

Since understanding cultivation, Ye Fan had pondered the so-called "ghosts." He believed them to be a temporary formation of "field energy" after a person’s death, which would naturally dissipate over time.

"*Hundreds of thousands of years ago, too many people died here; these things probably abound...*" Ye Fan wasn’t worried. He wasn’t afraid of them as long as they weren’t Ancient creatures; everything else would be manageable.

PUFF!

He swung the stone dagger, swiftly dispersing the encircling ghostly men and horses. The stone skin of Divine Sources indeed naturally restrained evil.

Suddenly, a piercing scream echoed, extraordinarily chilling in the desolate interior of the purple mountain, sending shivers down anyone’s spine.

Not far away, a shadow charged forward ghost-like; it was a disheveled woman in white attire, aiming straight for Ye Fan.

CLANG!

The woman knocked the stone dagger aside with immense force.

"*She is...*" He was shocked to find that the woman’s ghostly form was solid, almost like a real entity.

"*How can the purple mountain have all sorts of things in it...*" This woman, nourished by the Yin energy within the purple mountain, had gained considerable power.

FWOOSH!

Ye Fan extracted a five-colored flame from the cauldron and sent it flying. It instantly elicited her wretched scream, turning her to ashes on the spot.

With large strides, he walked forward into the abandoned mine. A biting cold surged from within; it was an ice cellar, filled with solid ice everywhere.

"*Senior Zhang Jiye, could you have perished here?*"

Shortly after entering, Ye Fan felt his scalp tingle. This mine shaft connected to a Yin vein, and at its deepest point, he saw countless ghostly men and horses wriggling incessantly.

There were no skeletal remains, indicating Zhang Jiye hadn’t died there. Ye Fan immediately summoned the cauldron, unleashing the five-colored mist flames to burn all the ghostly men and horses to nothing.

These shadowy creatures clearly hadn’t fully matured; their formation time was limited. Yet, he felt uneasy. Hundreds of thousands of years ago, many people had died here. Deep inside the purple mountain, there were likely shadowy beings that had been forming for many years.

With such thoughts, he sensed that things might not bode well. Beyond Ancient creatures, there might be other ghostly entities.

Ye Fan pressed forward another li or so, seeing a shattered stone dagger and a crushed star plate.

"*Senior Zhang Jiye, your cultivation base isn’t high—how did you make it this far...*" he groaned inwardly.

Suddenly, the green lotus in Ye Fan’s Wheel and Sea trembled, erecting a cyan light screen around his body.

"*What’s here?*" He sensed something behind him and whirled around.

In an ancient mine dozens of meters away, a giant creature was staring at him coldly.

Its lower body was serpentine, as thick as a water tank and stretching tens of meters long. Its upper body resembled a human’s, covered in half-foot-long black fur, with long arms and black-haired palms.

"Can you... understand me?" Ye Fan remained vigilant.

BOOM!

The unknown creature suddenly lunged, its hands like pincers locking onto Ye Fan’s throat. Its power, surprisingly immense, felt like a mountain crushing down on him.

Ye Fan dodged to the side and struck with the stone dagger. Sparks flew as if he had struck iron.

In the distance, a furious wind surged, and a piercing scream rang out.

A monstrous bird charged forth. It was featherless and covered in scales. Its massive body prevented it from unfurling its wings to fly, forcing it to scuttle along the ground.

Its colossal body, over ten meters long, stormed through the rock tunnels, leaving a rumbling echo.

"Damn, an Ancient creature!"

Ye Fan had seen this creature’s fossil in the mine. It didn’t attack the serpentine monster, but both charged at him together.

"*I’ve really stirred them up!*"

The powerful killing intent surged like waves, relentlessly pursuing him; the ferocity of that force was terrifying.

"*Fortunately... it’s not purely humanoid.*"

Ye Fan sensed their murderous intent. Through it, he understood a fact: awakened Ancient creatures couldn’t survive long. If not in the Source, they quickly decayed.

Once the Source split, even hiding back inside would be futile.

"*It seems only creatures sealed unintentionally during the Source’s initial formation could have survived until now...*"

These two monsters resembled malevolent deities, overflowing with killing intent, eager to instantly kill Ye Fan.

However, the narrow tunnels inside the purple mountain greatly hindered their movement and slowed their speed.

BOOM!

A tidal wave of power struck Ye Fan, strong enough to shatter mountains and rivers.

When he observed the creature behind him, his expression shifted. A six-armed humanoid had appeared. It was the entity that had been manifesting the intangible malevolence at his side, its body flickering with silver light, ablaze like a flame.

Ye Fan had no choice but to summon the cauldron, withdraw inside it, and rush forward.

BANG!

The immense force was unparalleled. It sent the Origin Qi Cauldron flying, piercing through dozens of ancient mines as cave walls crumbled like tofu.

ROAR...

The haunting screams echoed, raising goosebumps on Ye Fan’s skin even though he was inside the cauldron.

The creature was incredibly fierce. Its terrifying strike had been truly unstoppable. Without the Origin Qi Cauldron, he would have been crushed to dust.

"*I’ve finally witnessed the horror of Ancient creatures...*" Ye Fan drove the cauldron onward.

He found himself nearing the purple mountain’s center, where the demonic call intensified dramatically.

BANG!

The silver creature caught up and struck from afar. The Origin Qi Cauldron hummed and trembled, crashing through dozens more ancient mines.

At this juncture, it wasn’t quiet inside the purple mountain; other shrieks erupted, even more terrifying than the six-armed being.

Even hidden within the cauldron, Ye Fan’s soul felt like it was shattering, shaking him to the core.

"*How can it be this powerful...*"

Meanwhile, from the depths of the purple mountain, the demonic call intensified tenfold. Ye Fan, even inside the cauldron, couldn’t help but want to rush in that direction.

"How can this be!"

A stifling aura permeated the air. The summoning force magnified severalfold, and now Ye Fan found it unstoppable. He couldn’t control his body, feeling drawn to the call.

DONG!

Suddenly, a distant bell sounded, like a Divine Sound from the heavens, quelling the agitated purple mountain instantly.

"*Hundreds of thousands of years ago, when the Great Emperor suppressed the creatures in the Supreme Divine Source, the peak weapon he wielded was a Big Bell, as tall as the heavens...*"

Ye Fan moved toward the bell sound, surging forward like lightning. The Ancient creatures behind him halted abruptly, not pursuing.

SWOOSH!

Ye Fan rushed into a vast cavernous dwelling, like a grand hall, expansively broad; the bell sound had disappeared here.

On closer examination, it was indeed a spacious grand hall, outrageously large, akin to an open plaza.

"*A skeleton...*" He first spotted a human skeleton. Beside it lay a roll of Silver Book, shimmering with a cold, faint light.