Ye Qiu caught the scent of blood and immediately halted. He looked ahead and saw a stone forest.
Within the stone forest stood giant boulders of bizarre shapes, each dozens of zhang tall, varied in form, and completely barren.
“The smell of blood is strong. It looks like a lot of people died up ahead,” Changmei Zhenren said.
“Let’s go in and see, but stay cautious,” Ye Qiu warned, then stepped into the stone forest.
Soon, he spotted the corpses.
The ground was littered with severed limbs and chunks of flesh, blood splashed everywhere in a gruesomely bloody scene.
From the clothing on the remains, he identified the dead as disciples of the Qingyun Sword Sect.
“Bloody hell, so many killed. Who did this?” Changmei Zhenren said. “And not a single complete body. That’s brutal.”
Ye Qiu crouched down, examined the remains closely for a moment, then said, “It was people from the Archaic Holy Land.”
Changmei Zhenren asked, “How do you know?”
Ye Qiu replied, “These remains carry traces of the Heaven and Earth Tyrant Fist. It has to be the Archaic Holy Land.”
“Also, the bodies were smashed apart with fists after death.”
“If I’m not mistaken, the Archaic Holy Land is doing this for revenge.”
“Don’t forget, most of the Archaic Holy Land disciples who were with Fang Tianming were cut to pieces by Chen Fan.”
Changmei Zhenren said, “Then everything is unfolding just as you predicted.”
Ye Qiu smiled and said, “This is only the beginning. Things will get more exciting from here.”
The two passed through the stone forest and continued onward.
Along the way, they encountered more scattered remains, all still disciples of the Qingyun Sword Sect.
Each time they found dismembered corpses, Ye Qiu stopped to examine them carefully.
He noticed that some remains bore not only the aura of the Heaven and Earth Tyrant Fist, but also other auras, and more than one kind.
This meant the Archaic Holy Land had joined forces with other powers against the Qingyun Sword Sect.
“I hope you don’t disappoint me. It would be best if you managed to kill Chen Tianming.”
“Chen Tianming, you need to be bold too. It would be ideal if you took down a peerless genius.”
Thinking of this, a smile curved Ye Qiu’s lips.
“Little brat, what are you grinning about?” Changmei Zhenren asked.
“Just thinking of something amusing,” Ye Qiu replied, then led Changmei Zhenren onward.
This time, they travelled several hundred li.
Of course, with their cultivation, had they not deliberately slowed their pace, they could have covered the distance in an instant.
The Funeral Dragon Nest was truly vast, containing not only rolling mountain ranges but also numerous rivers.
Each river surged powerfully, roaring as it rushed forward without pause.
Changmei Zhenren marvelled, “This place really is extraordinary.”
“Nonsense, this is the Funeral Dragon Nest,” Ye Qiu said. “The Dragon Emperor is buried here.”
“Little brat, what do you think the Dragon Emperor’s cultivation was in life?” Changmei Zhenren asked curiously. “Could he have been a Great Emperor?”
“Impossible,” Ye Qiu said. “Since the cultivation world began, there have only been a handful of Great Emperors, each one famed through the ages and known to all.”
“If the Dragon Emperor had been a Great Emperor, his name would long ago have resounded across the world.”
“Still, to be called Dragon Emperor, his strength must have been immense.”
At this point, Ye Qiu sighed and said, “Sometimes, I actually find immortal cultivation rather pointless.”
“Look at those unrivalled experts, look at those Great Emperors. Which one didn’t die in the end?”
“I truly don’t understand what they sought by cultivating for thousands or tens of thousands of years.”
“To pursue immortality, of course!” Changmei Zhenren said. “Anyway, I think it’s quite enjoyable. The longer you live, the more you get to eat.” Ye Qiu was left speechless.
The two pressed on. As they walked, Ye Qiu suddenly stopped again.
“What is it?”
Changmei Zhenren scanned the surroundings tensely, assuming danger.
“The little one is restless,” Ye Qiu said. He opened his Qiankun bag, and the medicinal marten shot out with a whoosh, landing on his shoulder. It stood upright, pointed a paw in one direction, and let out squeaking sounds.
Ye Qiu knew the little creature’s sense of smell was exceptionally keen, especially when it came to spiritual medicines, an innate sensitivity.
“Is there spiritual medicine in that direction?” Ye Qiu asked.
The little one shook its head.
“Then divine medicine?” Ye Qiu asked.
The little one nodded vigorously.
Changmei Zhenren grew excited and said, “Little brat, we agreed. Any divine medicine we find this time is mine. No snatching it from me.”
“Little one, lead us there quickly.”
Changmei Zhenren could barely contain his excitement.
Whoosh. The little one leapt from Ye Qiu’s shoulder, turned into a blur, and sped away.
Ye Qiu and Changmei Zhenren followed close behind.
After a while, the little one stopped at the foot of a mountain peak.
The peak rose several hundred zhang, shaped like a ferocious beast, entirely jet-black.
“Little brat, look up there,” Changmei Zhenren called, pointing toward the summit.
Ye Qiu looked up and saw a hazy mist covering the peak, within which divine light faintly shimmered and flowed.
Whoosh!
The little one swiftly scaled the mountain, moving with extraordinary agility, like a monkey.
“Let’s go,” Changmei Zhenren said, following.
“Slow down, both of you. There could be danger,” Ye Qiu called, then chased after them.
Soon, they reached the summit.
In an instant, a chill ran through their bodies, their hairs stood on end, and a powerful sense of unease gripped their hearts.
The little one crouched on the ground, its small eyes fixed sharply on the mist.
“Little brat, this place is no ordinary spot. I sense great danger,” Changmei Zhenren said gravely.
Ye Qiu surveyed the area and found the summit extremely spacious, larger than a dozen football fields, completely shrouded in thick mist.
The unease emanated from that mist.
Yet at its very centre, divine light flickered intermittently.
Clearly, treasure lay where the divine light shone.
“Old man, test it,” Ye Qiu said.
Changmei Zhenren pulled a copper coin from his sleeve, flicked it, and with a whoosh it flew toward the mist.
Unexpectedly, the moment it touched the mist, the coin silently crumbled into dust.
Changmei Zhenren and Ye Qiu exchanged a glance. He then retrieved a long sword from his spatial ring, a sharp weapon belonging to a Qingyun Sword Sect disciple.
Whoosh!
He threw the sword. The instant it contacted the mist, it too disintegrated into powder.
“Hm?”
Changmei Zhenren’s expression shifted slightly. “Little brat, this mist is no common thing. Entering it will be troublesome.”
Ye Qiu prepared to open his heavenly eye to investigate, when suddenly the little one began walking toward the mist.
