Ch. 107 - Climbing The Sacred Mountain

Nine sacred mountains stood tall and solemn, their peaks shrouded by ancient trees and strange, jagged rocks, truly a magnificent sight.

At the foot of the mountain, Ye Fan looked at Jiang Hanzhong and said, “I have only one condition, release all six of them.” As he spoke, he pointed at Liu Yiyi, Zhang Ziling, Lin Jia, and the others.

Liu Yiyi and Zhang Ziling looked anxious and worried, motioning for Ye Fan to escape quickly. But surrounded by soldiers, they didn’t dare speak aloud.

Zhou Yi, Lin Jia, and Wang Ziwen hadn’t expected that in such a dire moment, Ye Fan would think of helping them escape first. Even Li Xiaoman looked stunned, her gaze fixed on Ye Fan.

“They can’t help in any way right now. Staying would only mean death,” Ye Fan said, staring at Jiang Hanzhong. “You just want to use them to test the skeletal creatures on the mountain. There’s no need to sacrifice innocent people.”

“You are loyal and emotional, I’ll give you that. But you don’t have the right to bargain with us,” Jiang Hanzhong replied coldly, glancing dismissively at the others. He clearly had no intention of letting them go.

Not far away, Zhou Yi, Li Xiaoman, and the rest turned pale. They could easily guess the elder’s intentions, once they were no longer useful, he would kill them to tie up loose ends.

Ye Fan picked up a stone over ten kilograms in weight, weighed it in his hand, then hurled it with tremendous force toward the mountain. The stone drew a graceful arc, soaring from the mountain base and crashing into a pile of white bones.

“What are you doing?!” Ji Yunfeng, elder of the Ji Clan, shouted in fury, killing intent flashing in his eyes.

“Didn’t you all want to test the white skeletons on the sacred mountain? I’m saving you the trouble of using living people.”

Xu Daoling, elder of the Radiant Light Sacred Ground, immediately darkened his expression. “Who gave you permission to act on your own?!”

Jiang Hanzhong’s face turned grim as he raised a brocade box in his hand. A faint glow shimmered over it. It looked neither like wood nor jade, simple in appearance, ancient in aura, and without any frightening energy fluctuations, yet it radiated an intense sense of danger.

Ye Fan had an eerie feeling: it wasn’t a box, but a miniature world, capable of containing all creation.

Boom!

At that moment, the sacred mountain rumbled violently, as if a colossal being had been awakened. Stones tumbled, breaking countless trees.

“The skeletons are coming down the mountain!” many soldiers cried out in horror. The mountain was covered in a dense wave of bones crawling downward, not very fast, but the sight of so many white skeletons sent chills through the crowd.

“You’ve done it now!” Jiang Hanzhong roared, glaring murderously at Ye Fan.

“You would’ve had the same result sending others up there.”

“We need to make a decision now, do we still go for the sacred medicine?” Xu Daoling said, face grim.

Ji Yunfeng replied with a serious expression, “There’s no use hiding anything now. Bring out all our forbidden artifacts. Force a path forward. We must reach the top and retrieve the divine medicine.”

Jiang Hanzhong’s face was dark as he glared at Ye Fan. He held the brocade box and said, “This forbidden artifact allows my godpower to surge nine times, I can restore my cultivation and strike nine times.”

Ye Fan was shocked. He thought to himself how lucky he was that the elder hadn’t gone all out earlier, he would’ve died for sure.

The Ji Clan elder produced a fist-sized black stone, covered in countless mysterious carvings. It radiated a natural Dao aura. “A supreme elder of our Ji Clan personally refined this artifact. It’s imprinted with endless Dao Runes and can momentarily channel Heavenly Might. I can strike nine times.”

Ye Fan was inwardly stunned. These ancient clans had incredibly deep resources. They could use such artifacts to temporarily regain godpower even in a Forbidden Burial Ground.

Xu Daoling held a palm-sized jade leaf, glowing with a vibrant green. It was inscribed with countless intricate Runes, flowing naturally like the veins of a living leaf. “This was personally refined by a supreme elder of our Radiant Light Sacred Ground for harvesting divine medicine in the forbidden land. It grants me three strikes.”

Jiang Hanzhong sneered, “Impossible. The Radiant Light Sacred Ground is no weaker than our ancient clans. Why would you bring a defective artifact for such a critical mission?”

Ji Yunfeng also spoke coldly, “Brother Xu, there's no need to hold back anymore.”

“I may only have three strikes, but this jade leaf contains the godpower of one of our supreme elders, it can be unleashed twice.”

The two other elders gasped. That jade leaf was no ordinary item, it was a true treasure.

After a short discussion, the three elders agreed. Ye Fan overheard it all. He now understood that “forbidden artifacts” were specially crafted treasures for navigating the forbidden grounds. These sacred grounds and ancient clans had terrifying power and ancient secrets.

He couldn’t help but ask, “Why don’t you just prepare more of those artifacts?”

“What does a mortal like you know!” Jiang Hanzhong snapped. He was already on the verge of killing Ye Fan for his reckless actions that triggered the skeletal stampede.

Xu Daoling cast him a glance. “Crafting just one of these takes rare materials and resources. We could’ve made a supreme weapon with the same effort.”

“There’s no time to waste, advance now!” Ji Yunfeng urged.

Ye Fan was forced to the front. The three elders followed closely, behind them were the cultivators and Li Xiaoman’s group.

The sacred mountain was lush and beautiful, but no one cared. Their lives were on the line, and everyone was tense.

Halfway up the mountain, still far from the summit, a strange, demonic aura emerged. All the wild beasts started roaring.

“I… I’m aging!” a soldier shouted.

In an instant, many people began to look older, like ten years had passed in seconds. Some had gray temples. “If we go any further, we’ll die!” someone cried. Many began to waver.

“Don’t panic!” Jiang Hanzhong barked. “If we succeed, you’ll all gain incredible fortune!”

Ye Fan remained unchanged. The three elders were also unaffected, their forbidden artifacts protected them. Likewise, Zhou Yi, Liu Yiyi, Wang Ziwen, and Li Xiaoman in the back showed no changes.

“Why are they unaffected?” Jiang Hanzhong was shocked.

Ye Fan instantly understood. They had all appeared at the summit before, yet only began aging after leaving the forbidden zone.

“Could it be related to the Nine Dragons pulling the coffin?”

Below, Zhou Yi and Wang Ziwen were whispering.

“Maybe the aura from the nine dragon corpses or the bronze coffin is protecting us. We did see that chained creature roaring in the dead of night…”

One of the youngest soldiers couldn’t bear the loss of his youth and cried out, “Elder, we can’t keep going!”

“Useless fool!” Jiang Hanzhong shouted, impaling him with his spear and sending his body flying. Blood sprayed. The rest fell silent in fear.

Through the foliage, the summit was now faintly visible. At that moment, the skeletons reached them.

“Use the artifacts now, Elder, or we won’t survive!” the others cried. They had aged several more years. Even the wild beasts were weakening.

A wave of white bone surged down. The eerie wind brought screams.

A terrifying scene unfolded, many soldiers’ flesh withered, and some instantly aged twenty years. The area was filled with old, white-haired people.

“I’ll go first!” Ji Yunfeng said, taking out the black stone. As it activated, beams of light erupted.

Boom!

A massive wave of energy surged from Ji Yunfeng, it was like a boundless sea. This was his true power.

Ye Fan felt dwarfed, like a leaf before an ocean. If they had met in normal conditions, he would’ve been obliterated instantly.

A god treasure, the Heaven-Net Umbrella, emerged from Ji Yunfeng’s body, unleashing a storm that turned rocks and trees to dust. The wall of skeletons disintegrated instantly.

“Charge forward!” Ji Yunfeng shouted. He led the way, clearing a hundred-meter path. The wind blew the bones away like dust.

With a flash of light, the umbrella returned to him. Ji Yunfeng trembled. His divine source was exhausted. The black stone now had a crack, one use spent, eight left.

“We must hurry!” Jiang Hanzhong and Xu Daoling shouted.

Suddenly, a commotion came from behind, Li Xiaoman, Zhou Yi, Wang Ziwen, and Lin Jia had taken the opportunity to flee downhill. Several aged soldiers tried to stop them but were too slow.

“Ye Fan!” Liu Yiyi and Zhang Ziling cried from the mountainside.

“Go! Don’t worry about me!” Ye Fan shouted down, furious when they hesitated.

Zhang Ziling clenched his teeth, turned, and pulled Liu Yiyi with him as they ran.

Several soldiers hurled their spears, barely missing them.

“I’ll go after them!” one soldier shouted, preparing to ride down.

“Forget it! Keep moving up! Don’t waste the power we’ve just spent!” Jiang Hanzhong roared. He glared at Ye Fan. “If you try to escape, I’ll turn you to ash.”

Li Xiaoman led the escape, followed closely by Zhou Yi, Wang Ziwen, and Lin Jia. Soon, they vanished into the forest. Zhang Ziling and Liu Yiyi followed. The six had finally escaped.

Ji Yunfeng sneered, “It won’t be that easy to live. Once they leave this Forbidden Burial Ground, they’ll age rapidly and turn to dust.”

Bones littered the mountainside. Countless skeletons clawed their way down. This time, it was Jiang Hanzhong’s turn.

He activated the brocade box, an immense power surged. It felt like mountains pressing down from above. Ye Fan felt frozen in fear.

To Ye Fan, someone like Jiang Hanzhong was like a god, unfathomable and invincible.

The three elders took turns using their forbidden artifacts, finally reaching within 200 meters of the summit.

But now, cries of pain rose from behind, many soldiers collapsed, aging to death as they neared the summit.

“We can’t hold on!”

Even the elders, though still holding artifacts, had aged significantly. Their bodies were hunched.

“We’ll all die if we go any further.”

“Retreat! Everyone fall back!” Xu Daoling ordered. The original plan was scrapped, the followers were now useless.

Jiang Hanzhong stared coldly at Ye Fan. He held up the brocade box, godlight surging. A massive power locked Ye Fan in place. Then he produced a sealed jade bottle, broke the seal, and a black light shot into Ye Fan’s body.

“A puppet mark?” Ji Yunfeng asked.

“That’s right. I don’t trust this kid. If he eats the sacred medicine or destroys it, we lose everything.” Jiang Hanzhong patted Ye Fan. “Now go.”

Then, turning to the others, he said, “Let’s back him fully. We must get that medicine.”

“Alright!” Xu Daoling nodded.

“We’ve got nine strikes left between us,” Ji Yunfeng said. “We’ll clear the last hundred meters. It’s dangerous, but we can do it.”

The closer they got to the summit, the more oppressive the baleful aura became. Though the bones were cleared, all three elders continued aging quickly. Even Ye Fan was no longer immune, he had aged from a youth to a young adult.

Then, hundreds of ancient words surged within Ye Fan’s mind, resonating like great bells. They shattered the invading black energy, completely dispelling the puppet mark. It hadn’t worked on him.

Cold sweat covered Ye Fan’s back. He had almost been ruined in the final moment. Jiang Hanzhong was insidious, striking without warning when Ye Fan had no strength to resist.

Now, he pretended to still be under control, listening to their commands. He walked steadily toward the summit.

“Take this,” Xu Daoling tossed him a pure jade bottle. “It can hold a mountain inside. Once you harvest the medicine, use it to collect the divine springwater.”

Only a few dozen meters remained. The three elders had cleared all the bones but dared go no further. They looked decrepit, too old and weak to continue.

Ye Fan could feel his life slipping away. As he reached the summit, his hair turned snow-white, and his body aged beyond recognition.

“There…” He suddenly froze.

At the summit stood a peerless woman, radiant beyond compare. At that moment, she slowly turned to look at him.

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