The Ancient Fortress was silent, carved with the scars of the ages, exuding an aura of vastness and majesty. At the same time, it carried a hint of eeriness.
"That's the fortress! According to my calculations, this is the place where the Nine-Life Immortal Coffin is most likely to emerge!" Not far away, Yang Song, the Heavenly Calculator, was surrounded by a large crowd. After performing some divinations, his eyes fixed on the fortress as he spoke.
Hearing this, everyone's spirits lifted. For the sake of the Nine-Life Immortal Coffin, they had endured countless dangers along the way, only barely managing to reach this place. Now they had finally found the right spot!
"Master Yang, are you saying the Nine-Life Immortal Coffin might be inside this fortress?" a gaunt elder asked. This elder was the Grand Elder of the Cangyan Sacred Sect.
"Yes, most likely it's inside. However, this fortress is not simple. Forcing our way in will be extremely dangerous," Yang Song surveyed the fortress and nodded.
"We have strength in numbers. We can charge in together. Besides, we went through so much trouble to get here, we can't possibly give up. Even if this fortress is filled with danger, we must go in and take a look," a blue-robed man wreathed in sword radiance said.
"Correct! No matter what, we must go in and take a look!" The other experts nodded in agreement.
Everyone shared the same thought: they would not rest easy unless they explored the fortress for the Nine-Life Immortal Coffin.
"Well then, let me divine a bit first, then find a good opportunity for us all to charge in together," Yang Song listened to everyone's words and nodded.
He then began his divination.
"Young Master Su! So you are unharmed, and even arrived here ahead of us! Excellent!" Not long after Ye Yunfei arrived, Lü Yugang brought the Four Directions Trading House party as well. Spotting Ye Yunfei from afar, he called out.
Back in the Cangmang Sea, Ye Yunfei had suddenly jumped into the water and disappeared. Lü Yugang had been somewhat worried. Now, seeing Ye Yunfei completely unharmed, he was finally at ease.
"Young Master Su, I'm so glad you're safe and sound!" Lü Dandan was also extremely excited.
"Chief Manager, it seems your Four Directions Trading House party suffered few losses," Ye Yunfei glanced over the Trading House group and, finding no casualties, smiled.
"Along the way, we were fortunate to have Master Ba's divinations, allowing our party to avert misfortune while pursuing good fortune, avoiding many dangers. Add to that everyone's concerted efforts, so we escaped unscathed," Lü Yugang replied.
"Young Master Su, who are they?" Lü Yugang brought the Trading House party to Ye Yunfei's side and then examined the Mermaid Clan members, a puzzled expression on his face.
"Young Master Su, these seem to be sea beasts. How did you end up with them?" Lü Yugang sent a mental message to Ye Yunfei.
"Chief Manager, rest assured. They are allies," Ye Yunfei smiled in reply.
Ye Yunfei then briefly introduced Lü Yugang and the Old Clan Leader to each other, allowing them to become acquainted.
"Young Master Su's actions are truly beyond anyone's expectations—he actually befriended sea beasts from the Cangmang Sea!" Lü Yugang and the other experts of the Four Directions Trading House inwardly marveled. They naturally guessed that these sea beasts before them must be from the Cangmang Sea!
"Hmph! I never expected you lot to survive and reach this place!" A cold snort came from a distance. They saw the Zhao Family Patriarch, Feng Wei, along with seven black-robed figures, bringing a group of Zhao Family members surging forth.
It seemed the Zhao Family had suffered minimal losses along the way, as their party had many experts, and their overall strength was quite formidable.
"All of you aren't dead yet, so how could anything happen to us?" Lü Yugang replied coldly.
"Young Master Su, Chief Manager, you've arrived as well," a voice rang out. Heavenly Thunder Zen Master and Heavenly Slaughter Zen Master brought a party from Great Thunderclap Monastery.
Next, members of various factions arrived one after another.
"Su Fei! You led my Beast Taming Sect members into a dangerous area, causing heavy casualties! You deserve death!" A loud roar sounded.
The Sect Leader of the Beast Taming Sect then arrived with a team of followers, glaring furiously at Ye Yunfei.
"They charged in and sought death themselves. What does that have to do with me?" Ye Yunfei replied with a faint smile.
"You still dare quibble! Offer up your life!" The Beast Taming Sect Leader, enraged, strode towards Ye Yunfei.
It must be known, the people he had brought this time were all elite members of the Beast Taming Sect. Losing even one pained him greatly. Of those several dozen Beast Taming Sect members who charged into the Blood Demon Land, nearly half had perished, with only a small half managing to escape. Naturally, he had to settle this account on Ye Yunfei's head.
Heavenly Slaughter Zen Master took a step forward, his body erupting with rolling waves of Buddhist radiance, as if an arhat had descended to the mortal world—a power impossible to resist.
The Beast Taming Sect Leader saw this and hesitated. With Lü Yugang, Heavenly Thunder Zen Master, and Heavenly Slaughter Zen Master all beside Ye Yunfei now, it would be difficult for him to kill him.
"Look! The Primordial Heterogeneous Race has arrived!" Just then, someone suddenly exclaimed in a low, startled voice.
Everyone turned to look. A group of creatures with ferocious appearances and world-shaking baleful aura was heading towards the direction of the fortress. In moments, they arrived before it.
The crowd hastily retreated, leaving a large open space around those Primordial Heterogeneous Race beings.
Ye Yunfei swept a glance over them, finding a total of eleven Primordial Heterogeneous Race members! Though their numbers were few, each one's baleful aura was overwhelming, and the energy pressure they radiated made people's hearts tremble.
*Caw—*
A mournful, piercing cry came, making everyone's hearts skip a beat as an invisible chill crept over them.
Then, they saw a mass of gloomy clouds rolling in from the distance, vaguely revealing seven or eight eerie, malicious figures flying swiftly. In less than a breath's time, they landed near the fortress.
"Those look like the ghost monkeys from the Northern Cold Ancient Mining Zone!" a senior from a major faction narrowed his eyes, recognizing the origins of those figures.
The ghost monkeys from the Northern Cold Ancient Mining Zone!
Everyone gasped in shock. Some time ago, these ghost monkeys had caused havoc in the mining zones of various major factions, slaughtering many and spreading panic. No one expected they'd come here now.
"Truly unexpected, even these ghost monkeys are interested in the Nine-Life Immortal Coffin," many people secretly exchanged mental messages, discussing.
After that, more and more people continued to arrive. News of the Nine-Life Immortal Coffin had spread throughout the Eastern Barrens, attracting countless factions and experts who rushed over. It could be said that at least half of the top-tier experts and major factions of the Eastern Barrens had gathered here! Moreover, apart from those famous experts known to everyone, some unfamiliar yet terrifyingly powerful figures also made appearances, arriving near the fortress.
"It seems there are quite a few deep-seated, untapped talents still hidden in the Eastern Barrens," Ye Yunfei observed the unfamiliar experts, thinking to himself.
"May I ask if you, venerable senior, are Yue Yin Hermit?" suddenly, a middle-aged man hurried over to a white-haired elder leaning on a dragon-headed walking stick and respectfully asked.
This middle-aged man was an expert from the Eastern Barrens' Ji Family.
"You recognize me?" the white-haired elder swept a glance at the Ji Family expert.
"Senior had ties with our Ji Family ancestors. Our family still has a portrait of senior hanging in our halls, hence I recognized you," the Ji Family expert respectfully replied.
"So that's how it is," the white-haired elder nodded.
Yue Yin Hermit!
Upon learning the identity of this white-haired elder, all those around gasped in shock, utterly astonished. Yue Yin Hermit was a renowned powerhouse from ancient times in the Eastern Barrens, said to have dominated an entire era. No one expected him to have lived to the present day, and to have been drawn here by the Nine-Life Immortal Coffin as well.
*Rumble...*
Just then, sudden rumblings like thunder erupted from within the Ancient Fortress. A dazzling, radiant immortal light bloomed forth, dyeing this patch of heaven and earth a brilliant golden hue.
"Everyone, the Nine-Life Immortal Coffin is about to appear!" Yang Song roared.
Everyone's spirits tensed, their gazes fixed intently on the fortress.