Shrouding the Heavens

Chapter 322 - 323 Chapter 328 Merak Red Dragon Calling for monthly tickets

323: Chapter 328: Merak Red Dragon (Calling for monthly tickets) 323: Chapter 328: Merak Red Dragon (Calling for monthly tickets) Chapter 328: Merak Red Dragon In the past, when the sacred body appeared, the world was awed.

Wherever it went, all heroes retreated, not daring to confront it.

Unfortunately, it had been too long since its decline.

Now, even a disciple of a minor sect would call this physique useless.

Time flowed, witnessing rises and falls in fortune.

The sacred body had faded among the common masses, unable to reclaim its unparalleled grace.

It was sinking into obscurity, inexorably.

Ye Fan wished to break the curse and change his current plight.

He eagerly yearned to grow stronger, especially after the secret of the Great Emperor Wushi was revealed, stirring his emotions.

The divine city was indeed too vast.

After so many days, Ye Fan had merely confined himself to a corner and hadn’t fully explored it.

Of course, this was mainly because he wanted to gamble on stones, not just visit casually.

Choosing one Stone Workshop meant staying for a long time.

Today, Li Heishui took Ye Fan a bit further.

This ancient street was quite broad, but not many pedestrians were there, making it exceptionally quiet.

On both sides of the road were ancient trees with towering branches.

The bark of their trunks was cracked, and it would take more than ten people with arms outstretched to encircle one.

They blocked out the sky, lending a touch of eeriness to the place.

After walking a little further ahead, Ye Fan noticed something was amiss.

There was a Stone Workshop on the side of the road, quite large in scale and occupying a wide area, yet it was extraordinarily deserted.

Wild grass grew rampant, and ancient trees had sprung up wildly, almost submerging the buildings.

It was evidently untended for years, nearly turning into a wasteland.

I’m stunned!

Ye Fan was astonished because he saw a rabbit—yes, a wild rabbit—jumping out from the wild grass and darting into the depths of the garden.

This was the divine city, where every inch of land was precious.

So why had such a vast palace garden become so desolate?

No one tended it, and it had turned into a bizarre place overrun by ancient vines and trees.

The appearance of wild rabbits was truly excessive.

Soon, Ye Fan also noticed two wild chickens, flapping their wings as they flew into the depths of the bushes.

He was quite speechless; this was too unusual.

“What kind of place is this, that within the divine city, someone would abandon such a treasure land?!” “This place…

is the Stone Workshop of the Celestial Jade Sacred Land,” Li Heishui said.

Ahead, beside the road, there was a gate as majestic as a city tower, obscured by ancient trees.

On it was a mottled copper plaque, carved with two ancient characters: Celestial Jade.

“That Sacred Land!” Ye Fan exclaimed.

He walked closer to examine it carefully, saying, “No wonder it’s like this.” He thought of the old madman.

During that Sacred Land’s peak, the entire sect had united its power to attack the Ancient Desolation Forbidden Land, resulting in near annihilation.

“Didn’t the other Sacred Lands have any thoughts?” Ye Fan asked.

In the distant past, there were more Sacred Lands than there are now, but today, many inheritances have been lost.

The treasures they left behind were divided by other Sacred Lands, which was one reason for the current growing strength of those Sacred Lands.

“Back then, only three or four people from the Celestial Jade Sacred Land managed to escape.

How could they possibly hold off all the eager Sacred Lands?

Many of the treasures they left behind were divided, including the vast divine sources mine outside the Taichu Forbidden Area.” “Why hasn’t this place been divided?” Ye Fan was puzzled.

“Naturally, there are some reasons…” Li Heishui explained.

The Celestial Jade Sacred Land was in the Central Territory of the Eastern Wastelands.

The three or four survivors who had escaped soon had their lifespans exhausted, perishing in both body and soul.

The various Sacred Lands wanted to divide Celestial Jade.

However, later, every full moon night, mysterious crying would emanate from the Celestial Jade Sacred Land.

Several Peacock Kings went to investigate it at night but found nothing.

Then, shortly afterward, these cries also emerged from this largest Stone Workshop within the divine city during full moons, the sound deeply sorrowful.

Strong individuals from various Sacred Lands came to probe but didn’t even see a ghostly shadow, eventually refraining from touching this place.

In the following years, every thousand years, the sorrowful cries would resound once during the deep night, effectively deterring all Sacred Lands.

To this day, no one dared touch this place.

“Oh, the door is open,” Ye Fan said, surprised.

“After so many years, only one elderly guardian remained, a descendant of the loyal old servant from those days.

However, their line was close to extinction, as the current caretaker had no offspring.” “Can we go inside and take a look?” “You may enter, but the stone materials have long been taken away by the major Sacred Lands, leaving nothing truly valuable.” “Can one also gamble on stones here?” Ye Fan was a bit surprised.

“The old servant guarding this place also needed to survive.

He merely watched over this old dwelling.

If someone wanted to buy stone materials, he naturally sold them.” Back then, the major Sacred Lands had first taken away many precious stone materials.

The sorrowful cries only began later.

Although no one occupied this place, the Sacred Lands certainly wouldn’t return the Source materials either.

Dilapidated stone steps and collapsed palace buildings were all covered by vegetation.

An elderly, stooped old man with blurry eyes sat on a bluestone.

He appeared aged, with little lifespan left, nearly at the end of his days.

Gazing at the desolate garden overgrown with wild grass, his eyes filled with nostalgia and sadness.

Seeing this, Ye Fan couldn’t help but sigh.

This was a loyal family, guarding this hopeless and futureless yard for generations.

The old man seemed somewhat stiff.

He slowly turned his head, his face full of wrinkles and his old eyes cloudy.

“Young men, are you here to buy stone materials?” What a heart-wrenching old man.

What is he waiting here for?

Ye Fan wondered what kind of power or belief was sustaining the elderly guardian.

“Yes, I’ll buy!

I want to buy a lot of stones!” Ye Fan nodded and placed a substantial amount of Source in front of the old man.

“You don’t need so much; there aren’t any valuable stones here…” The old man’s rough hands trembled as he pushed the Source back a bit.

“Besides,” he added, “you haven’t picked your stones yet.” “I’m going to choose now,” Ye Fan replied.

“Search carefully; perhaps you might find one or two treasures.

Occasionally, legendary figures come here to hunt for treasures.” The old man, his eyes listless, gazed sadly at the dilapidated garden.

“Just now, another person came in and went deep inside to search.

Maybe he’s such a figure.” Li Heishui chuckled and joked, “Perhaps we’ll be lucky enough to really encounter a legendary sovereign.” Suddenly, Ye Fan’s expression froze, and his heart pounded.

He had indeed seen a terrifying figure!

In the depths of the wild grass, an old Daoist dressed in a worn, ancient Daoist robe, his body withered, was squatting on the ground examining stones.

It turned out to be—the Merak Red Dragon Daoist.

Luckily, Ye Fan’s Qi Cultivation Technique was sufficient; otherwise, any ordinary person would have cried out in shock.

He instantly calmed his emotions, his pulse showing no signs of disruption.

This was the sworn elder brother of the Peacock King, a super terrifying presence that made all Peacock Kings fear and dread.

Ye Fan never imagined he would encounter him here.

He couldn’t help but glance at the old man and Li Heishui.

He truly didn’t know whether to call them jinxes or masters of the Great Prophecy Technique, for they had indeed pointed out a super terrifying figure.

The Merak Red Dragon Daoist glanced in their direction, looked at the old man and Li Heishui, but didn’t say much.

Months ago, the Merak Red Dragon Daoist had selected a pile of Stone Tools in the stone village, but Ye Fan had ended up taking them all, even uprooting the foundations of the villagers’ homes, leaving not even a speck of dust for him.

Ye Fan could imagine the Merak Red Dragon Daoist’s expression when he returned that day.

He dared not show any flaw, knowing full well that if the Daoist knew he had done it, he would likely suffer harsh retribution.

He and Li Heishui nonchalantly searched for stones beneath an Ancient Tree, showing no peculiar expressions.

In no time, the Merak Red Dragon Daoist selected a dozen broken stones, which showed no particular features.

He piled them before the old man, ready to pay with Source.

Suddenly, the Merak Red Dragon Daoist seemed to sense something.

A terrifying aura surged from him, and he instantly vanished from the spot, as though chasing after something.

“Why did he leave…” The old man was puzzled.

Then, he turned to Ye Fan and Li Heishui and said, “Why don’t you save yourselves the trouble and buy these stones?

They’ve all been carefully selected.” Ye Fan hesitated.

Should I clean him out again?

Take everything the Merak Red Dragon Daoist had chosen?

Buy them!

If that old Daoist doesn’t return, it’ll be my great luck.

If he does come back, I’ll sell him a favor.

Ye Fan made this decision privately and walked over.

“Let’s just cut them open here,” Li Heishui said, not particularly concerned, as he was unaware of the Merak Red Dragon Daoist’s identity.

“Wait a bit longer,” Ye Fan said, wary of the Merak Red Dragon Daoist’s return.

However, after waiting a full quarter of an hour, the Daoist did not return.

Mentally exclaiming at his good fortune, Ye Fan began cutting the stones.

He consecutively stripped open thirteen stones, finding nothing inside; they were all empty.

The fifteenth stone was only as large as a fist.

As soon as Ye Fan cut it open, a fragrance wafted out, resembling orchid and musk, permeating deeply, intoxicating to the very bones.

He was stunned.

This scent was too familiar; he had recently cut something similar from the Stone Tools left by the Heavenly Source Master, which had poisoned the greedy Black Emperor until it was half-dead.

Why is the Merak Red Dragon Daoist’s insight so keen?

Could it be that he also understands the most profound Source Techniques?!

While Ye Fan’s heart pounded with shock, he was also filled with endless questions.

Of course, his current main concern was trouble.

I’ve cut out this kind of thing again.

It won’t be wasted again, will it?

“You’ve cut out a treasure!” Li Heishui shouted excitedly.

Such a strong aroma emanating from the stone surely meant it was a rare find, seldom seen in the world.

Even the old man nearby, whose murky eyes had been dull, now showed a look of surprise.

Ye Fan peeled off the stone skin, revealing a pink fruit, only half the size of a fist.

It was exactly like the one before, just half as large.

WHOOSH!

Suddenly, with a flash of light, the Merak Red Dragon Daoist silently reappeared on the spot.

He looked astonished and angry as he said, “Why did you touch my stone materials?” Ye Fan didn’t immediately reply.

He wanted to sell the Merak Red Dragon Daoist a significant favor and absolutely could not let the Daoist blame him.

“You left and didn’t return, so I took the initiative to sell them to these young men,” the old man, whose life was like a flickering candle in the wind, answered at that moment.

The Merak Red Dragon Daoist was somewhat surprised and couldn’t help but look at the old man a couple more times.

“We’ve already bought them.

If you want them, bring enough Source to buy them back,” Li Heishui said.

Although he could see that the Merak Red Dragon Daoist was extremely powerful, he would never have imagined that the man was terrifying enough to be the Peacock King’s elder sworn brother.

“Stop saying such useless things!

Quickly bring Jade to seal it!

Otherwise, even conservatively estimated, an item worth more than one hundred thousand jin of Source will be spoiled!” The Merak Red Dragon Daoist was extremely anxious, sweat beading on his forehead.

He searched his entire body but couldn’t find any Jade.

“More than one hundred thousand jin of Source?!” Li Heishui nearly bit his tongue off.

Damn that Black Emperor!

At this moment, Ye Fan felt an urge to curse, and his mouth nearly twitched.

Damn it, that greedy dead dog bit off something worth more than two hundred thousand jin of Source!

And in the end, it had been totally useless, only serving to poison itself until it was frothing at the mouth, half-dead, and convulsing for half a month.