“Is this where you hid your treasures?”
At Xuanlong Daozhang’s guidance, Ye Yunfei had entered a desolate stretch of ruins. As far as the eye could see were broken walls and shattered pillars, collapsed mountain ridges, and bare, withered trees. The scene was bleak and desolate, exuding a sense of profound loneliness and an intangible aura of ominousness.
At the center of these ruins lay two ponds—one white and one black. From a distance, their stark contrast appeared extremely bizarre.
“Correct. I once hid a portion of my assets here,” Xuanlong Daozhang replied.
“This is clearly the Desolate Sect Ancient Lands, a rather mysterious place within the Tianxiong Domain. Why would you hide your belongings here? Could it be that you encountered some crisis back then, choosing to bury yourself alive not due to old age and weakness?” Ye Yunfei asked.
Legend spoke of the Desolate Sect Ancient Lands as the former headquarters of a major power known as the Desolate Sect from ancient times—once a superpower that shook the Feixian Continent. However, it had gradually declined and vanished into the dust of history, leaving this place a ruin.
The most mysterious aspect of the Desolate Sect Ancient Lands were precisely these two distinct black and white ponds, known as the Yin-Yang Pools. It was said that not even a Half-Emperor expert could dive to the bottom of these pools, for terrifying pressure existed within their depths.
“Kid, you’re sharp. You guessed it immediately. Correct, the reason I buried myself alive back then wasn’t due to failing health from age, but because I provoked an extremely terrifying existence. Chased by that horror, finding no escape through the heavens or earth, I had no choice but to bury myself within that volcanic crater, severing my own vitality and masking my aura to escape calamity. During the chase, I temporarily divided and hid the possessions on me in several different locations,” Xuanlong Daozhang sighed.
“You were the Tianxiong Domain’s number one expert. What kind of terrifying existence could chase you, leaving you with no escape?” Ye Yunfei asked curiously.
“An old fellow from the War God Temple,” Xuanlong Daozhang said.
“No wonder. While you were the Tianxiong Domain’s number one, you couldn’t afford to provoke the War God Temple,” Ye Yunfei smiled.
The War God Temple was a superpower of the Feixian Continent, on par with the Heavenly God Palace. It was said the temple boasted at least five or six Half-Emperors. Back then, Xuanlong Daozhang had merely been a Heaven Realm expert; provoking the War God Temple naturally wouldn’t end well.
“I’m curious why you went and provoked the War God Temple in the first place,” Ye Yunfei asked.
“The reason is quite simple. Once, I sneaked into the War God Temple wanting to obtain a stalk of Nine-Aperture Jade Ganoderma, but was discovered and consequently hunted,” Xuanlong Daozhang replied.
“I’ve heard the War God Temple only possesses two stalks of Nine-Aperture Jade Ganoderma—treasures used by several ancient elders who haven’t fully died off yet to prolong their lives. You actually dared to sneak in and steal it? How bold! No wonder the War God Temple hunted you,” Ye Yunfei said, somewhat speechless.
Many across the Feixian Continent knew that within the War God Temple resided several ancient ancestors who had lived for vast eons, clinging to a thread of life precisely because the temple possessed two stalks of Nine-Aperture Jade Ganoderma capable of forcibly extending life.
“Alright, stop prying into my affairs. I hid some things in that Yin Pool. Go down and fetch them,” Xuanlong Daozhang said.
Ye Yunfei moved, arriving beside the black pond.
“Go on. Dive to roughly a depth of two thousand meters. On a section of the well wall there is a hidden small hole. Inside that hole are over a dozen spatial rings. Those rings contain the assets I hid here,” Xuanlong Daozhang instructed.
“With my current strength, I might not be able to reach a depth of two thousand meters,” Ye Yunfei assessed after sensing the surroundings and said.
“Am I not here? With our combined efforts, we can definitely reach that depth,” Xuanlong Daozhang said.
“That’s true,” Ye Yunfei nodded, then leapt, stepping into the black pond.
Boom…
Immediately, a vast, terrifying pressure within the pond surged toward Ye Yunfei, squeezing him as if invisible copper walls and iron barriers within the water sought to crush him into a bloody pulp.
Ye Yunfei’s body shuddered as he released his own physical strength to resist the crushing pressure. Instantly, he felt much lighter.
“You’ve actually tempered your body to such an extent. Impressive,” Xuanlong Daozhang couldn’t help but praise.
As Ye Yunfei continued to descend, the pressure he felt grew ever greater.
The surrounding pond water was pitch-black. Even with Ye Yunfei’s level of Soul Power, he could perceive at most three or four meters around him.
“This pond water seems to contain some special law, capable of isolating Soul Power perception. Even I am helpless here. It’s truly mysterious,” Xuanlong Daozhang sighed.
“It is indeed mysterious. Not just you; even if a Heavenly Emperor came here, they wouldn’t be able to perceive very far,” Ye Yunfei nodded in agreement.
“How do you know a Heavenly Emperor couldn’t perceive far here either? With your strength, can you gauge the capabilities of a Heavenly Emperor?” Xuanlong Daozhang asked, somewhat disbelieving.
“I certainly know,” Ye Yunfei gave a faint smile.
Because in his previous life, after Ye Yunfei had become a Heavenly Emperor, he had once come here wanting to reach the bottom of these two ponds but failed to succeed. He had only vaguely glimpsed some blurry scenes at the bottom before the terrifying pressure of the pond depths forcefully expelled him.
Roughly at the fifteen hundred meter mark, Ye Yunfei found he could no longer continue descending.
“I’ll help you!” Xuanlong Daozhang declared.
A palace, roughly the size of an adult’s head, was transmitted out from within the Phantom Tower and appeared beside Ye Yunfei, releasing a powerful surge of energy pressure.
Boom…
With Xuanlong Daozhang’s assistance, Ye Yunfei continued to descend. Before long, they finally reached the two thousand meter position.
“Right here, at that location on the well wall. Reach out and touch it; you’ll know. This pond is strange. Not only is the water difficult to perceive, but even the well wall is hard to sense,” Xuanlong Daozhang told Ye Yunfei.
Just at that moment.
Huh?
Ye Yunfei and Xuanlong Daozhang simultaneously made a light sound of surprise, their Soul Power extending downward.
Then both men felt their scalps crawl.
The pond water below them suddenly began to churn gently. A blurry figure was slowly floating upward—black hair loose and scattered, wearing a white dress. Though her posture was stiff, it couldn’t conceal her graceful form. It was clearly a woman with disheveled hair.
“This woman… she seems lifeless. How could there be a female corpse in this pond? When I came here before, I saw nothing,” Xuanlong Daozhang transmitted his voice to Ye Yunfei, clearly tense.
“Not just one. More than ten of them,” Ye Yunfei sensed with his Soul Power that one female corpse after another was slowly floating upward. All were disheveled, dressed in white robes, their hair like tangled snakes or aquatic weeds dancing incessantly, sending shivers down one’s spine.
“Kid, what are you waiting for! Hurry! Retrieve those spatial rings I hid! Leave this pond immediately! The things in this pond… are out of our league!” Xuanlong Daozhang urged frantically.