The God of Heavens

Chapter 185 The Old Land of Yaochi
Eastern Wasteland, Northern Territory.

The moonlight, as red as blood, spilled across the vast reddish-brown land of the Northern Region. Two figures moved through the mining area surrounding the Primordial Ancient Mine, their footsteps rustling softly as they stepped over the cracked soil.

"Speaking of which, instead of accompanying Fairy Yao Xi in Yao Guang Palace, why did you suddenly remember the old Yao Chi place?"

Ye Fan kicked aside the pebbles at his feet and asked, half-jokingly. In his eyes, this place was practically a barren wasteland; apart from a few stone carvings of the Western Emperor Scripture, there was practically nothing else.

"I want to refine a batch of pills, but I'm still missing something." Lin Yu looked around. Under the moonlight, the red earth stretched as far as the eye could see, without end, empty and vast. Not to mention mountains, even large rocks were hard to find.

Ye Fan raised an eyebrow: "You can also refine pills?" His tone was full of surprise.

In his mind, it was better to just swallow any rare and precious materials directly; the delicate work of alchemy was simply not in line with the local style.

Lin Yu chuckled, the moonlight casting varying shades of shadow on his sharply defined profile: "The Eight Views Palace has received Laozi's inheritance, so we've been free lately, so we're just testing the waters with a couple of furnaces."

The two continued walking forward. The surroundings became increasingly desolate, with not even a sparse patch of weeds in sight, only an endless expanse of reddish-brown soil, which looked like a congealed sea of ​​blood under the moonlight.

"Speaking of which," Ye Fan suddenly stopped and squinted at the horizon, "what kind of pill are you trying to refine? Why do you have to come to this godforsaken place to find materials?"

"You'll see when we get there." Lin Yu saw several white figures on the horizon, flickering and ethereal like immortals, drifting away.

"Is this the celestial being descending from the Jade Pool?" Lin Yu gazed at the ethereal white figure on the horizon.

“That’s right, we’ll be there soon.” Ye Fan walked ahead with practiced ease, his steps light and quick. “I’ve been to this place several times before.”

The two continued on their way and soon arrived at a seemingly ordinary red clay slope. Ye Fan suddenly stopped, his right palm flashing with golden light, and slammed it down onto the ground.

"boom!"

Red sand flew up, and a deep pit appeared in the ground. Several huge rocks were exposed, gleaming with a cold, hard luster in the moonlight.

After clearing away the surface sand and gravel, an ancient jade well suddenly appeared. The wellhead was made of jade and weighed down by a large stone. As soon as the stone was lifted, starlight and moonlight poured down like water into the well.

This well seems to be absorbing the essence of heaven and earth, continuously replenishing the divine energy of the ancient Jade Pool.

"Is this the well that leads to the Jade Pool?" Lin Yu reached out and touched the edge of the well, feeling the biting cold.

“That’s right, let’s go down!” Ye Fan grinned, and with a burst of strength, slowly moved the boulder sealing the well. A dark, bottomless hole was revealed.

The two leaped in, the wind whistling past their ears. The ancient well was astonishingly deep; they didn't know how many feet they had descended to reach the bottom. At the bottom, there was no pool of water as they had expected, only damp, rotten mud, exuding a putrid smell.

At the bottom of the well lies a dried-up underground river, its course stretching into the distance, shrouded in darkness. In the occasional puddles, a few blind fish swim slowly, the only signs of life in this desolate world.

"You were able to find such a passage? Was it a hole that the Black Emperor drilled out before?" Lin Yu joked, a cluster of divine fire igniting at his fingertips, illuminating the dark riverbed.

"Haha, that's what I thought too!" Ye Fan laughed in response, his laughter echoing through the enclosed riverbed. For a moment, this gloomy underground world was filled with a joyful atmosphere.

The two walked along the dark riverbed, the soil beneath their feet gradually drying. After traveling about thirty or forty miles, the terrain began to rise, and the light from the sealed rock walls became faint and broken.

"We're almost at the exit," Ye Fan whispered. Ahead, a sliver of sunlight pierced through the dark passage, making it exceptionally bright.

Emerging from the riverbed, a breathtaking view unfolded before them—a vast, dried-up lake, its bottom connected to the riverbed by cracks. The moment they stepped out, a rich spiritual energy enveloped them, like a spring breeze caressing their faces, making every pore on their body open up.

"The spiritual energy here..." Lin Yu took a deep breath and felt his divine power become more active.

"When I came here, it was just like this. Although the ancient site of Yaochi was very desolate, the spiritual energy was very strong, many times stronger than outside."

Ye Fan was the first to leap onto the lake shore and look around. In the distance was a desolate scene, devoid of life, eerily silent.

Strangely, several oases were scattered throughout this dead land. The two passed through a forest of withered trees, and suddenly the view opened up before them: a clear blue lake like a jewel embedded in the ground, ancient trees reaching for the sky, vines coiling like dragons, and exotic flowers and herbs blooming in abundance, teeming with life.

"The alternation of life and death."

Lin Yu gazed thoughtfully at this strange sight. One moment he was in a desolate wasteland, and the next, as he rounded a mountain ridge, he saw cascading waterfalls and flowing springs, with palaces appearing and disappearing amidst the swirling mist, like a fairyland.

Ye Fan explained, "According to the Black Emperor, this was caused by the events of that year."

Lin Yu nodded. Back then, the Western Empress's husband was cursed by the underworld, and his later years were filled with misfortune. The air here was filled with an eerie atmosphere. If it weren't for the Great Emperor Wushi coming to clean it up once, this place would probably still be uninhabitable to this day.

The two continued deeper into the wilderness, where most of the land remained desolate and barren, with only a few scattered spots still retaining their former splendor.

After crossing several barren mountains, collapsed pavilions and towers appeared ahead. Although dilapidated, the exquisite carvings remained, and the remaining Daoist patterns still hinted at the former glory of Yaochi.

"We're almost there," Ye Fan said, pointing to the increasingly dense fog ahead.

As they passed through the last patch of dead trees, the sight before them took their breath away; all was quiet, and the vegetation was withered.

Vast palaces, resembling celestial palaces, stand either atop mountain peaks or nestled before dried-up waterfalls…

"Let's go check out the core area." Ye Fan led the way forward. As they went deeper, the fog became increasingly ethereal, and the surroundings were so quiet that they could hear their own heartbeats.

After passing several mountain ranges, life suddenly appeared before us. Waterfalls cascaded down like a silver river, and amidst the mist, well-preserved palaces shimmered with magnificent light in the sunlight, making it feel as if we had truly stepped into a fairyland.

"This is the true essence of Yaochi," Ye Fan said softly, his eyes gazing at the incredible spectacle.

"Let's go to the sacred lake of Yaochi," Lin Yu said. Ahead, spiritual energy swirled and auspicious colors flowed, revealing a lake shrouded in mist.

"Don't go! The sacred lake is full of zongzi!" Ye Fan shouted, stopping them.

Lin Yu ignored him and walked straight ahead to the central area.

At the heart of Yaochi lies a celestial lake, its surface shimmering with auspicious light and enveloped in misty haze, a place that seems to have become a celestial realm. Rare flowers and exotic plants flourish along its shores, their delicate fragrance filling the air, intoxicating the senses and making one feel as if they have stumbled upon a paradise on earth, a celestial realm.

"Pfft!"

Lin Yu leaped into the lake, splashing water everywhere. He stretched out his arms and swam towards the center of the lake.

Under the dim underwater light, several blurry figures slowly emerged. They were dressed in linen clothes, their long hair flowing like seaweed, their bodies suspended stiffly in the water, their pale skin appearing particularly eerie against the dark depths.

"It's unbearable to look at." Lin Yu curled his lip and continued to descend, avoiding the corpses.

Ye Fan, squatting by the lake, exclaimed helplessly, "I told you long ago, the water is full of zombies! If this pool weren't filled with corpses, I would have drained all the water long ago."

Lin Yu surfaced from the water, shaking his wet black hair: "You didn't think I came here specifically to collect this corpse water, did you?"

Ye Fan's expression changed drastically upon hearing this: "Wait...you wouldn't actually be..."

In the past, the Jade Pool's immortal waters were renowned throughout the Northern Region, brimming with spiritual energy and capable of condensing rare source stones. Mortals who drank from it could prolong their lives, while cultivators could improve their physical constitution.

Legend has it that the fairy of Yaochi possessed ethereal beauty and extraordinary grace, all thanks to the nourishment of this water. Moreover, this water is a sacred ingredient for alchemy, and various Daoist sects spare no expense in acquiring it when refining divine elixirs.

“That’s right.” Lin Yu gave Ye Fan an approving look, and a jade bottle had appeared in his hand without him noticing, which he was greedily drawing water from the pool.

"Ugh—" Ye Fan gagged. "You dare to eat this water-refined pill?"

Lin Yu shook his head: "I'm not eating it for myself. If you don't tell me and I don't tell you, who will know?"

He also found the pills refined by the divine spring in front of him creepy, so he decided to give them to someone else.

After saying that, Lin Yu threw the Heavenly Pure Fire into the Jade Purification Bottle. The water shimmered and shone with a glassy light, and all impurities were completely melted away under the scorching divine power.

"Now, this is the purest Jade Pool Immortal Water." Lin Yu shook the crystal-clear liquid in the bottle and revealed a satisfied smile.

Ye Fan stared in disbelief at this move, and after a long while, he managed to stammer out, "You're ruthless."

"Let's go, let's continue."

With splashing water, Lin Yu sank straight into the water, followed closely by Ye Fan. The two of them dived more than a hundred meters before slowly approaching the bottom of the lake.

The lakebed was densely packed with the corpses of young women, hundreds of them piled up in layers, filling the center of the lake.

The female corpses' arms and legs still retained a faint glow, but their bodies were stiff and lifeless. Their hair was disheveled, their faces pale, and they wore white linen clothes bearing the mark of the Jade Pool. Their hair was messy and danced like snakes, making them a chilling sight at the bottom of the dark lake.

The fairy pool was devoid of fish and grass, utterly lifeless. A dozen or so female corpses floated on the water, their presence, though not voluntary, still sending chills down one's spine.

"Don't touch these wax corpses," Ye Fan warned.

Lin Yu nodded. Once the waxy coating on the female corpses was shattered, they would turn into a pool of liquid and spread in the lake, which was extremely disgusting.

"Om-"

The dark golden gates of hell slowly unfolded behind Lin Yu, forming a massive vortex. The female corpses suspended in the water were all sucked into it, transforming into pure Yin energy.

Several ancient stone slabs were exposed at the bottom of the lake. Lin Yu waved his hand and lifted them up, revealing a deep spring. The dark entrance seemed to lead to the deepest hell.

"Can we not go in?"

"Be brave, that's the best thing. Just follow me." Lin Yu turned back to Ye Fan and gestured before diving into the spring first.

Ye Fan took a deep breath, and a golden halo appeared around his body, which followed closely behind.

The spring flows swiftly, yet the water is exceptionally pure, containing a rich essence, and one can even feel the divine essence flowing through it.

The two traversed a narrow passage for thousands of feet, until suddenly the view opened up, revealing a huge underground lake.

The water here was even more crystal clear, its essence almost solidified, yet many more corpses still floated in it. What was chilling was that the aura emanating from these female corpses was no weaker than that of cultivators from the Dao Palace Secret Realm.

"What exactly happened at Yaochi back then?" Ye Fan frowned as he watched Lin Yu open the Gates of Hell once again and collect all the corpses.

Continuing their descent, the female corpses of the Four Extremes Secret Realm appeared in the third underground lake. They were encased in a special waxy substance, their faces lifelike. Lin Yu remained expressionless, his dark golden vortex swirling, refining and absorbing all the Yin energy.

With each subsequent level, from the fourth to the fifth, the female corpse's cultivation level increased. By the sixth level, the corpses of powerful beings, even those at the level of Dao-Slaying Kings, appeared, silently floating in water rich in divine essence, as if recounting the earth-shattering events of that time.

"This is practically a direct path to the Netherworld!" Ye Fan exclaimed in amazement, watching Lin Yu wave his hand and refine the king-level female corpse without any resistance.

A dark golden vortex swirled in Lin Yu's palm, emanating a chilling aura. He turned to Ye Fan and said, "Stay close to me; the yin energy below will be even stronger."

The two continued their descent; the water pressure was now immense enough to crush the bodies of ordinary cultivators. In the seventh level of the lake, many corpses remained, including, as expected, a sacred corpse, its very aura extremely terrifying.

Lin Yu's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and the Gates of Hell operated at full power, refining these corpses one by one. The rich divine essence in the water almost condensed into liquid, each drop priceless.

Upon reaching the eighth level, eight or nine ancient corpses floated silently in the dark water, each radiating a terrifying holy aura.

Among them were even several Great Saints, wearing jade crowns and star-studded veils; even after many years of death, their skin remained as white and lustrous as jade. Scattered around them were numerous fragments of divine essence, gleaming with a cold, eerie light in the dim water.

"This is part of Yaochi's past heritage?!" Ye Fan's pupils shrank, and his voice trembled slightly.

Ancient Dao patterns remained on those shattered pieces of divine source, indicating that these saints were originally the foundational power sealed away until now, but for some unknown reason, their divine source shattered, and they all perished here.

(End of this chapter)