Shrouding the Heavens-Chapter 190: After Modification - 194 A Woman in the Source

Chapter 190: After Modification: Chapter 194 A Woman in the Source

For a full half-month, Divine King Jiang Taixu made no sound, as if he had been petrified within the rock wall.

Ye Fan had already comprehended the Starting Move thoroughly, feeling it growing increasingly profound. Its Attack Power was so strong that it left him astonished time and again.

He faintly felt that if it were a complete mysterious art, its power would surpass that of the Great Void Handprint. This was a supreme attack skill, the Fighting Saint Technique.

「On the seventeenth day」Divine King Jiang Taixu awoke. He emitted a weak voice, saying, "You... have you comprehended...?"

"Senior, you’re finally awake." Ye Fan breathed a sigh of relief. The other’s state was very poor; he could fall into Silence at any time. Ye Fan said, "I’ve already achieved initial mastery."

"Attack..." Jiang Taixu wanted to see the results.

Ye Fan did not hold back. His body moved with the wondrous art as he executed the Starting Move. At this moment, an immense battle intent involuntarily surged within him, making him want to pierce the firmament.

All of this was due to this supreme secret art, which transformed one’s very aura, as if possessed by a god of battle. Terrifying Combat Power surged forth like a tidal wave.

"Very... good..." Jiang Taixu, seeing Ye Fan execute the move yet managing to restrain the terrifying power of this attack secret art, expressed his satisfaction with these two words.

"Senior, how can I help you?" *He felt that the other must have taught him this mysterious art for a reason.*

Jiang Taixu seemed to say with regret, "You... are too weak..."

Ye Fan said nothing more, quietly waiting for the other to speak.

SWOOSH!

A withered figure appeared once more on the rough rock wall. Its ribs jutted out, legs as thin as kindling, gaunt and bony, without a trace of flesh.

The shadow continuously struck various poses while a mantra was transmitted into Ye Fan’s mind. The movements were so fast they were dizzying.

Even though there was no fluctuation of divine energy, Ye Fan felt a terrifying pressure. Jiang Taixu indeed seemed like a god. Even though it was just a shadow moving, countless halos appeared on the stone wall, enveloping him.

At this moment, everything else was ignored. Even the demonic summoning from deep within the Purple Mountain seemed to suddenly weaken to an extreme degree.

Jiang Taixu’s shadow, cast on the stone wall, exuded an air of unrivaled dominance, a sense of being supreme in Heaven and Earth. The battle intent it emanated made one tremble; it was the very embodiment of a Fighting Saint.

For the first time, Ye Fan was so astonished, completely awed by this mysterious art. If not for his sufficiently strong divine sense, if not for the Bodhi seed in his hand, it would have been impossible to grasp it fully.

This supreme secret art was extremely complex; its attack skills changed endlessly. Every inch of flesh and blood became the most powerful weapon.

「Finally」 Jiang Taixu’s movements slowed. The complex changes suddenly simplified. Myriad transformations returned to one; the Great Dao is simple. The attack was concentrated into a single technique!

The body, like withered firewood, transformed complexity into simplicity. The whole person seemed to embody the Dao becoming One, ancient and unchanging, frozen in place.

*"This is terrifying! Without emitting divine energy, just its form is unbearable. It truly is the Fighting Saint Technique. Such an attack skill would be hard-pressed to find anywhere in Heaven and Earth!"*

*"This supreme secret technique actually has only one form: returning to one essence, yet capable of manifesting countless methods..."* Ye Fan thought, holding the Bodhi seed.

BOOM!

As if hearing Ye Fan’s thoughts, the rough stone wall shook, and the shadow fixed upon it suddenly collapsed.

Ye Fan silently recited the mantra of this secret art in his mind. Overall, it was not long but exceedingly esoteric. Scenes unfolded before his eyes; every move Jiang Taixu made replayed in his heart.

*"The supreme secret art of attack..."* Ye Fan began to form seals with his body, undergoing endless changes, initially mimicking Jiang Taixu. Eventually, he gradually grasped the foundation, only manifesting that unified, original state.

Once its Divine Marrow was grasped, its form naturally appeared, capable of transforming into myriad variations. Mastering the fundamentals allowed all other bodily stances to manifest.

Ye Fan was in a wondrous state, immersed for a full ten days, his body moving as if in a dream or illusion.

He was forming seals with his entire body, not merely hand seals. Every inch of his flesh was part of the Dao seal. His whole person was like the Great Void, resembling the very image of the Dao, attempting to manifest the formless Great Dao with tangible power.

「Ultimately」 a timeless, unchanging figure emerged in his mind as his heart thundered. All transformations returned to one, forming a single, unique bodily stance!

One bodily stance encapsulated the entirety of this mysterious art; this was the Fighting Saint Technique!

Only then did Ye Fan fully awaken. He suddenly understood: this secret art specialized purely in attack and slaughter, disregarding all else, possessing an unparalleled Power of Attack.

It wasn’t that he had completely mastered this secret art, but rather that he understood its essence, knew how to cultivate it, and how to advance.

A Divine King personally demonstrating it for him was of immense help. It allowed him to see the origin of the secret art, grasp its essence, and firmly imprint the stance of returning to one.

Sooner or later, he would be able to master it completely and derive his own methods of attack.

The Nine Secret Arts: mysterious and powerful, each one capable of shaking Heaven and Earth and making ghosts and gods weep.

The secret art obtained at Taixuan Sect’s Zhuo Peak could multiply Combat Power by several to ten times. It was a peerless strange technique; if unleashed, any opponent would tremble.

And this secret art passed down by Divine King Jiang possessed an extremely terrifying Attack Power, one that few secret arts could hope to surpass. Ye Fan believed even the Great Void Handprint could not compare to it.

*"If that’s the case, the Nine Secret Arts... what exactly is the ultimate combination they comprise? If one were to master them all, just how powerful would that be?"*

Ye Fan had been cultivating in the ancient mine for many days, but there was still no sign of Divine King Jiang Taixu awakening. His heart sank, a dreadful feeling that the Divine King might have truly exhausted his life force.

To endure for four thousand years—what did that even mean? On Paramita, two thousand years could trace back to the Qin and Han dynasties.

Four thousand years. Easy to say, but upon closer contemplation, it represented seas turning into mulberry fields, long eons passing, and who knew how many dynasties rising to glory and then falling to ruin upon the land.

Ye Fan had constantly been on guard against the Divine King; after all, he had faced too many dangers since arriving in this world. Now, with Divine King Jiang Taixu utterly silent, Ye Fan could only sigh and bow silently towards the rock wall.

He had no time to dally. The Purple Mountain was filled with unknowns, a place of great danger, unsuitable for lingering.

Ye Fan withdrew from the ancient mine into a vast cavern. He hesitated. *Should I just leave?* He was truly unwilling, as he had not obtained the Heavenly Source Book, which he desperately needed.

Deep within the Purple Mountain, the summoning force grew stronger, filling him with a profound sense of unease.

*"Why did the Great Emperor from over a hundred thousand years ago not vanquish them? What was he trying to do? Zhang Jiye called this place Emperor Mountain, while others referred to it as Demon Mountain—could there be other hidden truths?"*

After some deliberation, Ye Fan did not immediately retreat. According to Jiang Taixu, the real danger had not yet arrived. Perhaps he could advance a bit further. He decided to make one last attempt.

Advancing hundreds of meters deeper into the Purple Mountain, the stone clothes covering him began to emit faint streams of radiance. A thought flashed through his mind: *Could there be Divine Sources here?*

The cavern tunnel was deep, leading to a spacious ancient mine. Upon arriving there, his stone clothes glowed continuously, and both the stone dagger and stone star plate also emanated a strange light.

*"This is... such incredibly rich Source Qi!"* Ye Fan was astonished. *The depths of this ancient mine must contain a large amount of Source!*

The demonic summoning force originated from a different direction, not from this particular ancient mine. He confidently advanced.

「This time」 he proceeded for more than a kilometer before reaching the mine’s depths. Glimmers of light emanated from ahead, and a sacred aura wafted towards him.

Ye Fan was suddenly struck dumbfounded. He saw an extraordinarily beautiful woman, as pure as a lotus emerging from water, flawless and immaculate, with an ethereal, otherworldly beauty.

Ahead, there was a massive piece of Source, at least two meters high, with her sealed within it, shining brightly.

The woman’s beautiful eyes were closed, and she was perfectly still, like a sleeping beauty, an image of utmost serenity.

Ye Fan felt a chill crawl up his scalp. *To actually encounter a creature sealed within Source like this!* It truly unnerved him.

His first thought was to retreat, to leave this place quickly before the entity awakened.

*But why was there no sensation of dangerous fluctuations? The powerful demonic force stemmed from deeper within the Purple Mountain, not from here.*

Ye Fan adjusted his body to its optimal state, ready to summon the Origin Qi Cauldron at any moment. Two divine arts from the Nine Secret Arts were already circulating within him.

He looked at the jade-like body within the immense Source, his gaze first focusing on its delicate jade hands. He would never forget the stone carving he had seen in the mine passages.

Over a hundred thousand years ago, when that Great Emperor suppressed the ancient creatures, a delicate jade hand, exceptionally graceful, had once extended from that Divine Source.

*"So similar... this jade hand, each slender finger as crystalline and perfect as a young scallion..."* Ye Fan felt quite troubled.

*"Am I really so unlucky to encounter her right away...?"* Ye Fan slowly retreated. To say he wasn’t nervous would be a lie.

One had to understand that even the Great Emperor had to use a peak weapon to suppress that Divine Source. One could only imagine how terrifying the creature within must be.

Ye Fan backed away a dozen steps, but the immense Source remained silent, showing no reaction. The woman remained motionless.

*"That’s not right. Someone as powerful as her, how could there be no fluctuations at all?"* His heart was filled with bewilderment.

In the ancient mine, Source Qi surged, yet it was incredibly serene, without a trace of baleful air, much less any killing intent.

*"This doesn’t resemble an ancient creature. How can she be indistinguishable from a human?"* Ye Fan was shocked. The woman within the Source lacked any monstrous traits; she was a stunningly beautiful woman capable of toppling cities and nations.

*"Could it be that she was sealed to death by the Great Emperor over a hundred thousand years ago?"* By now, Ye Fan had lost all fear. Being so close to this immense Source, if the entity possessed any awareness, escape would be impossible.

If the entity was unconscious, then perhaps his great opportunity had arrived. Such a large piece of Source was absolutely priceless, a rarity in the world.

Ye Fan stopped retreating and instead walked forward, approaching to observe it carefully.

Colorful mist swirled, and Source Qi overflowed, shrouding the area around the massive Source block in a hazy mist. He murmured to himself, "This doesn’t look like the legendary Divine Source..."

CRACK!

His foot stepped on a Bone Blade. Ye Fan wasn’t surprised by this, but what truly made his expression change was the sight of a humanoid creature crouched beside the massive Source block.

*"Damn it, I’ve really hit the jackpot this time!"*

Ye Fan’s heart pounded violently. This was undoubtedly an ancient creature, its body covered in silver scales, with wings on its back, a horn on its brow, and six arms.