The matters of the ancient past passed with the passage of time, and the dust of history was buried beneath the earth. This was the truest portrayal of the northern region.
As the years went by, the once vibrant earth became desolate, and the races of the past had become the smoke of history.
Now, there was only endless emptiness and desolation left in the northern region. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing in the boundless earth, only a drab reddish-brown.
Zhang Wuye's village was two hundred li away. At this speed, they would be able to rush back before sunset.
Ye Fan was also riding a horse beside Zhang Wuye, earnestly asking him about all kinds of secrets regarding the origin.
A thousand years ago, the Heavenly Book of Source had been lost, and many secret methods to search for the origin were lost. Zhang Wuye was very regretful, and he would sigh whenever he talked about this matter.
Ye Fan was also somewhat disappointed. That was definitely a wondrous book, and he really wanted to take a look at it. Searching for the origin of the dragon vein and determining the peerless divine source — such methods were universally shocking.
Once he grasped it, he would definitely become an honored guest of the holy land. This wondrous book possessed inestimable value.
The galloping horses left behind a dozen or so trails of smoke and dust.
After more than two hours, the horses' speed became slower and slower. They had only galloped for seventy to eighty li, and they were not fine steeds with ordinary stamina.
"Hyah!"
Suddenly, seven or eight horses appeared on the horizon. Their speed was extremely fast, like a whirlwind, stirring up smoke and dust into the sky. In the blink of an eye, they had arrived before them.
These people's mounts were not ordinary horses. All of them were tall and sturdy with shining scales. These were dragon-scaled horses. Their bodies were covered in green scales, and they could travel four to five thousand li in a day without tiredness.
"Not good, they're roving bandits!" The expression of the quick-witted youth named Wang Shu changed.
"All of you, stop!" A dark-skinned middle-aged man shouted.
The Eight-hide Dragon-scale Horses surrounded them, blocking Ye Fan and the others. The people on the horses shouted, "Hand over the Source Capital you've excavated, or this will be your burial ground."
Ye Fan had finally experienced the complexity of this chaotic land. In broad daylight, roving bandits ran amok, and people were killed and robbed at the slightest provocation.
"Sir, we didn't collect a single Source Grain today. We didn't gain anything," Wang Shu explained with a smile.
"Cut the crap. Source gatherers like you won't shed a tear until you see your coffin. Hurry up and hand it over, and we'll let you leave. Otherwise, this day next year will be the day of your death," the dark-skinned, middle-aged man in the center scolded.
"Sir, we really didn't find anything. If you don't believe me, you can search us all you want. We won't resist." Zhang Wuye cupped his hands.
Ye Fan patted Zhang Wuye's shoulder, telling him not to worry as he sized up these people.
"Old thing, stay on the side!" A bandit walked up, staring at Ye Fan, feeling that his body seemed to have an Origin aura.
"You still say you don't have any Source? This young man with soft skin and tender flesh must have a lot of Source on him." A bandit brandished his horsewhip, lashing it heavily at Ye Fan, cursing, "You still dare lie in front of us?!"
Bang!
Ye Fan gripped the horsewhip and said to Zhang Wuye and the others, "You guys go ahead and wait for me."
"Little brat, who do you think you are? A mere Source gatherer dares to act like this?" The bandit swept his gaze around and said, "Let's see who dares to leave. All of you, obediently wait here for me!"
Plop!
Ye Fan pulled him off the Dragon Scale Horse, but he didn't take his life. He had a lot of questions to ask these bandits.
Zhang Wuye and the others saw this and rushed into the distance without stopping.
The bandit leader, who plundered all day long, naturally saw that something was wrong. He directly abandoned the Dragon Scale Horse and soared into the sky, wanting to escape.
"Still want to leave?" Ye Fan flicked his fingers, and eight gusts of wind, like eight hammers, smashed into their bodies. The eight of them immediately fell to the ground.
The bandit leader was only a Life Spring Realm cultivator, so he couldn't withstand a single blow from Ye Fan. These people all paled, knowing that they had kicked an iron plate.
"Are you really bandits or not? The Source Qi on you doesn't even add up to half a catty." Ye Fan was quite dissatisfied. "Tell me in detail what groups of bandits there are in the vicinity."
Half a quarter of an hour later, Ye Fan led the eight Dragonscale Horses and caught up with Zhang Wuye's group. "Will bringing these Dragonscale Horses back cause you trouble?"
The dozen or so young men were very envious, but Zhang Wuye shook his head and said, "Let them run their own course. Only bandits can ride them. If we have these strange beasts in our village, they'll be too conspicuous."
"Bandits run amok. Do the sects here not care?" Ye Fan asked.
"How can they care? The bandits are like locusts. One batch leaves, another batch comes. There's no way to control them."
"It's about as long as they don't join in. I've heard that many sects support the bandits and secretly plunder."
Ye Fan further understood the chaos and bloodshed in the Northern Region. This was simply a paradise for evil.
"No wonder cultivators from other regions want to adventure in the Northern Region. This place is lawless. As long as you have the strength, you can be a local tyrant."
Ye Fan felt that this was very suitable for him. He didn't need to worry about Source Qi.
Before sunset, they finally covered more than two hundred kilometers.
In front of them, there was a stockade made of stones. There were only a few dozen households, and all of them added up to no more than two hundred people.
When they approached, Ye Fan found that the folk customs were indeed tough. All the villagers, regardless of gender or age, were holding sharp knives. When they saw that it was Zhang Wuye and the others who had returned, they heaved a sigh of relief and put down their sharp knives.
"Big Beard Chen is here again. He said that there are only five days left. If we don't hand over the Source Qi, he'll destroy our entire stockade."
The villagers frowned and sighed in despair.
"The other teams that went out also didn't gain anything and returned without accomplishing anything."
"We've harvested too much Source Qi these years. The Source Qi in the nearby area has dried up. How can we harvest it in a short time?"
Ye Fan settled down. There were many stone houses in the Northern Region, but his residence was clean and meticulously tidied up.
That night, Zhang Wuye and the others warmly entertained him. They specially slaughtered a sheep, and everyone sat around the fire. The whole sheep was roasted to a golden and glossy color. After it was taken down from the fire rack, everyone ate large pieces of meat and drank large bowls of wine.
Most of the men in the Northern Region were boorish and even had the air of bandits. Drinking was inevitable. Ye Fan ate to his heart's content. He had been constantly on the run these days, and this kind of feeling made him very relaxed.
During the feast, he asked Zhang Wuye about a few places and directions.
Zhang Wuye had someone bring over a cowhide map and pointed it out to him one by one. They were all within a radius of fifty kilometers. These were the strongholds he had learned from the mouths of several bandits.
Now, Ye Fan urgently needed Source Qi to increase his strength. On that very night, he took action and successively raided three strongholds of the bandits.
In the end, he was greatly disappointed. There were no more than a dozen bandits in each lair, and he only found a little more than one kilogram of Source Qi in three places.
"It's not enough for me. I need to find a great bandit to start with." Up until now, Ye Fan missed the Source Region of the Yaoguang Holy Land immensely. That place was truly a land of treasures. The areas outside were extremely barren and simply couldn't be compared to that place.
This stone stronghold was located in an oasis with a radius of more than ten kilometers. On the horizon was a lonely mountain that was thousands of meters high.
There was no soil or vegetation. It was completely a stone mountain.
Early in the morning, the sun shone down on the huge stone mountain, giving off an incomparably solemn feeling.
When Ye Fan walked out of the stone house, he just happened to see Zhang Wuye facing the morning glow and kowtowing to the mountain. This made him feel rather strange.
The youth called Dumbo explained in a simple and honest manner, "The first thing Zhang Wuye does when he gets up every day is to kowtow to that mountain."
Ye Fan's heart was moved. That mountain most likely wasn't simple. There might be some hidden secrets.
At this time, Zhang Wuye walked over. He didn't explain anything and only called him over to eat breakfast.
"Dumbo, let me ask you. What's so strange about that mountain?" Ye Fan asked when there was no one else around.
"I don't know. Zhang Wuye doesn't let us go near it. He says that it's an ominous place." Dumbo shook his head.
After breakfast, Ye Fan strode forward like a wisp of smoke. Before long, he had arrived in front of the mountain.
Its entire body was purplish-brown, as if it was polished from dark purplish gold. It was thick and heavy, reaching a height of four thousand meters. It was extremely steep and impossible for mortals to climb it.
Ye Fan was amazed to find that there were many knife marks and sword holes on its surface. They had almost been eroded and obliterated by the wind. Only by careful observation could he see them clearly.
He tried to scratch a finger on the stone wall and found that it was extremely hard, comparable to refined iron. This kind of purple rock was very special.
Ye Fan immediately sucked in a breath of cold air. Such a hard mountain had already been eroded to this state. Just when were the knife and axe marks left on its surface? Immeasurable!
He slowly rose into the air and became more and more surprised. Not only were there knife marks on the stone wall at the foot of the mountain, but there were also knife marks all over the mountain, up to the mountainside.
When he reached the mountainside, the purple mountain stood up and down like a giant sword piercing into the sky. It was a majestic sight.
Ye Fan was shocked to find that other than the marks left by various kinds of weapons, there were also many palm prints and finger holes. They were almost eroded and blurry, but still vaguely discernible.
"These must be the marks left by the primordial era. Otherwise, such a hard purple rock would not have nearly obliterated the marks."
After flying to the mountaintop, Ye Fan looked into the distance and found that there was a mountain ridge in every direction.
"There are nine mountain ridges in total. They are extremely far away on the horizon and are barely visible. This purple mountain seems to be in the center."
Ye Fan did not know much about mountains and rivers, so he could not find anything special about it. In the end, he only stared at this purple mountain.
The top of the mountain was bare and there was nothing. The morning sun shone down, making the whole mountain look even more majestic.
"There's nothing special about it. Could there be an origin inside?" Ye Fan took out the golden book and slashed at the open mountaintop.
The purple mountain was extremely hard, especially the mountaintop. However, it was still cut open by the golden book. Sparks flew in all directions and rocks pierced through the air. Not long after, a large hole appeared on the mountaintop.
Ye Fan frowned. He did not find anything out of the ordinary. This was not the kind of stone used to contain an origin, so it should not contain an origin.
In the end, he returned to the stone stronghold without accomplishing anything.
The next day, he woke up early and watched from afar. Sure enough, the first thing Zhang Wuye did after leaving the house was to worship the mountain.
During breakfast, he could not help but ask, "Old Master, is that mountain very special? Why do you worship it every day?"
Zhang Wuye's expression froze. He then sighed and said, "That is an ominous place. You must not go there. My ancestor once said that no one in the entire northern region can provoke it."
"Provoke …" Ye Fan was even more shocked. He asked, "What exactly is there on that purple mountain?"
"I don't know what it is either. I only know that it is an ominous place."
Ye Fan did not get anything out of him. He wandered around the stronghold and then found Dumbo. He asked him again, but he could not tell him anything either.
The quick-witted young man, Wang Shu, happened to pass by. He had a good impression of Ye Fan and knew that he stayed behind to help the village. He said, "I know a little. Zhang Wuye once cried bitterly when he was drunk. He said that it was an ominous place and that it had something to do with some ancient Great Emperor."
Ye Fan was shocked at that time. How many Great Emperors had appeared in the entire Eastern Barren since ancient times?!
Just a few of them, but they ruled over the world and shocked the ancients and contemporaries. Almost no one could surpass their achievements.
The terrifying supreme weapons of the Eastern Barren were all made by those few people. No one else could refine them.
At this moment, Ye Fan felt his blood boiling and almost shouted. Something to do with ancient Great Emperors? He immediately thought of many things.
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