A group of toads... no, a group of people continued on their way.
During their journey, they encountered several waves of demon beasts at the early Nascent Soul stage, but all of them were dealt with by Old Ancestor Yad.
There was no choice.
With divine weapons and sharp blades in hand, one was that formidable!
As for Ye Fan not making a move, they found it perfectly normal!
Great beings, how could they act so casually?
That would diminish their prestige!
Ye Fan naturally dissected the corpses of the demon beasts, extracting Nascent Soul stage demon cores.
By evening, they had collected dozens of early Nascent Soul stage demon cores!
Now armed with so many "bullets," Ye Fan's confidence was soaring to unprecedented heights!
In terms of raw attack power, he was now the strongest among the group!
The next day at noon, the group stopped somewhere in the demon beast forest.
Before them, a layer of faint purplish-black mist was floating.
The mist, about ten feet in circumference, simply hovered in mid-air.
At first glance, it resembled a standing disk of mist.
From above the mist, a sense of oppression and malevolence emanated.
It posed no direct threat, but it made them feel extremely uncomfortable!
After a few breaths.
A wisp of purplish-black gas drifted away, disappearing into the distance.
The next moment!
"Roar—!"
A beastly roar echoed from the direction the mist had vanished.
"Rumble—!"
Accompanied by the tremor of the ground, a swarm of demon beasts surged from the surroundings!
The lowest were at the first level of Nascent Soul, and the leading beast had reached the third level of Nascent Soul!
The fourth level of Nascent Soul!
Even with divine weapons in hand, Old Ancestor Yad's legs felt a little weak at this point...
Previously, relying on his Blazing Fire Sword, dealing with a second-level Nascent Soul beast had been his limit...
The demon beasts roared and snarled, charging towards the group!
At a distance of about twenty feet from the group, they suddenly stopped.
They all glanced at the floating purplish-black mist, a flicker of apprehension in their eyes.
Finally, they turned around and vanished into the distance.
"They're afraid of this thing?" Old Ancestor Yad exclaimed in surprise.
Judging from the situation just now, this object was very likely the source of the beast tide.
But why would those demon beasts be afraid of it...
What...
What exactly was it???
Upon seeing this thing, the summoned feeling in Ye Fan's heart reached its peak!
"I want to see..." Ye Fan immediately extended his hand towards the mist: "What exactly are you!"
Ye Fan's hand successfully penetrated the center of the mist disk.
As soon as they touched, the mist recoiled, parting to the sides!
The center was empty, leaving only a ring of condensed mist.
Through the ring, a path of ancient and weathered stone slabs appeared!
The stone path extended into the distance, eventually disappearing into the mist.
Upon seeing this scene, Ye Fan's mind was struck by a thunderous roar!
"Boom—!"
A voice emerged from his mind.
Enter!
Your answer lies within!
At the same time.
The stone that had been silently hovering above Ye Fan's spiritual sea began to move!
The stone vibrated for a moment, then extended hundreds of gray light lines!
These light lines instantly reached the vicinity of the spiritual sea's seal and vanished into it!
A large amount of spiritual energy was siphoned out and flowed into the stone.
Ye Fan's vision blurred, and he was back inside the stone's inner world.
Within the barrier, the white mist platform still stood silently.
Above the platform, the siphoned spiritual energy was floating.
Ye Fan immediately sat cross-legged in the air above the platform, absorbing it with concentration.
The barrier of the formation shimmered, and the mysterious talismans reappeared, swirling around Ye Fan.
One talisman broke away from the group and weaved through Ye Fan's body.
After an unknown period of time.
The talisman merged into Ye Fan's body and never emerged again!
This meant that the talisman had completely fused with Ye Fan's body!
Ye Fan slowly opened his eyes.
"The ninth one..."
Glancing at the distant Stairway to Heaven, Ye Fan silently thought of leaving.
His vision flickered, and Ye Fan returned to the demon beast forest.
As he reappeared, the group excitedly gathered around him.
"Senior, where were you just now?" Old Ancestor Yad quickly asked.
Ye Fan's heart stirred.
All this time, he had believed he had entered the stone's inner world in a spiritual body state.
However, judging from Old Ancestor Yad's words, he seemed to have been mistaken.
He had entered in his physical body!
This was quite bizarre!
The stone floated above his spiritual sea, so how could he have entered with his physical body?
Ye Fan quickly concealed this trace of doubt.
This involved his greatest secret, and there was nothing to discuss with these people.
"Nothing much," Ye Fan replied perfunctorily.
Seeing that Ye Fan seemed unwilling to speak, Old Ancestor Yad didn't press further.
The mist ring still floated there quietly, indicating that these people hadn't dared to enter on their own before.
"If anyone wants to know the secret behind the beast tide, then come with me."
With those words, Ye Fan flashed and stepped through.
The group exchanged glances and, bracing themselves, followed.
To be honest, they were reluctant to enter.
After all, the demon beasts created by this thing were already so ferocious; who knew what more terrifying things lay inside.
This beast tide had not only occurred at unusually short intervals but also the demon beasts' realms were becoming increasingly abnormal!
If the source of the beast tide wasn't dealt with, their lives would never be peaceful again...
Unless they completely left the Yad Empire.
But their roots were all here, and they couldn't just leave as they pleased...
After stepping through, the group instinctively looked back.
The mist ring had vanished!
Well then...
Their last retreat route was gone...
...
Walking on the stone path, the group's hearts were filled with trepidation.
Who knew what terrifying things they would encounter next, and whether they could survive and return was also an unknown.
Some people also suddenly reflected, when did they become so hesitant and fearful?
Seeking immortality and the Dao was an act against heaven.
If one constantly worried about life and death, how could they continue on their path?
Had the long period of comfortable life caused them to lose their original courage and ambition?
Earlier, they had been wondering why they were unable to break through.
Now it seemed, their state of mind still needed much tempering...
The ancient stone path seemed to have no end.
The group traveled for seven days and seven nights, yet still saw no end...
As they ventured deeper, the purplish-black mist surrounding them became denser.
After staying in this mist-shrouded environment for a long time, they began to lose their sense of time.
Everything was a hazy gray, making it impossible to distinguish between day and night.
At this moment, the group's hearts grew increasingly oppressed.
Various negative emotions began to be amplified...
Sensing that their state was not right, everyone was shocked!
I...
What is happening to me?
"This mist affects one's state of mind," Old Ancestor Yad warned. "Guard your spiritual platform; do not let it control you."
The group quickly complied, and they felt a little better.
As they spoke, a patch of light finally appeared ahead.
The long-suppressed spirits of the group finally found great relief!
After passing through the light, they discovered that they had been traveling through a cave.
Not far ahead was the main entrance of a grand temple.
The high walls on either side stretched out of sight.
The palace appeared to have existed for an untold age, bearing the marks of time everywhere.
At first glance, it looked like a dilapidated building.
Ye Fan led the way towards the temple gate.
The tightly shut gate had no plaque, so the name of the palace was unknown.
In front of the gate stood a solitary statue, about a person's height.
The statue appeared to be female, but her attire was of a type none of them had ever seen.
The statue was adorned with numerous beast teeth and other trinkets. Coupled with the unknown oil paint on her face, she gave the impression of a resident from a primitive tribe.
She gave off an aura as ancient as this vast palace.
The statue's head was tilted slightly upwards, as if gazing into the distance.
Most bizarrely, the pervasive mist could not approach within ten feet of the statue!
Ye Fan strode forward, gazing at the statue before him.
He couldn't be sure if it was an illusion, but he felt as though the statue had something to say to him.
Ye Fan slowly approached the statue, as if trying to hear what it wanted to say.
Suddenly!
"Crack crack crack..."
Cracks appeared on the surface of the statue, and then it began to peel away layer by layer!