Chapter 113 Ancient Cultivator's Mansion, Fragment of Star Array Diagram

A distance of ten thousand miles was, for the Soul Transformation Stage Ye Yan, but a moment's work.

Following the guidance of the System map, he arrived above a twisted mountain range on the edge of the Black Fiend Wasteland. The terrain here was rugged, with jagged rocks jutting out, and the Spiritual Qi was exceptionally thin. Instead, it was filled with a chaotic spatial fluctuation; ordinary Cultivators would never linger here.

"System, pinpoint the anomaly." Ye Yan hovered in the air, his Divine Sense acting like the most precise probe, carefully scanning the area below.

【Scanning... detected a faint spatial barrier reaction three kilometers to the front-left, three hundred zhang underground, forming a natural concealment effect with the surrounding earth veins... Analyzing barrier structure...】

On the System light screen, a precise red dot was marked, while it simultaneously began to rapidly analyze the energy composition and weak points of that spatial barrier.

Ye Yan took a step and was already above the red dot. He formed his fingers into a blade, the power of the rule fragment swirling around his fingertips, and lightly slashed at a certain point in the void.

Rip!

A tiny spatial rift was forcefully torn open, revealing an extremely unstable passage behind it that could only accommodate one person. A desolate and ancient aura wafted from within the passage.

Ye Yan's figure flashed, and he disappeared into it. After he entered, the spatial rift rapidly closed, as if it had never appeared.

The other end of the passage was not the Secret Realm world he had imagined, but a small, enclosed stone chamber less than one hundred zhang in circumference. The stone chamber seemed to be located deep within the mountain's belly. The surrounding stone walls were dark gold in color, inscribed with long-lost ancient runes. Although most had lost their spiritual light, one could still feel their former sturdiness.

In the center of the stone chamber stood a Pill Furnace that had been extinguished for who knows how many tens of thousands of years, its body covered in cracks. Beside it was a stone bed, upon which a skeleton sat in a meditative posture. The bones were like jade, faintly shimmering with golden light, having endured the long passage of time without completely decaying. This showed just how formidable its Cultivation must have been in life—at least the Soul Transformation Stage, if not higher!

Beside the skeleton lay a primitive Storage Ring and a broken dark silver metal plate.

Apart from this, there was nothing else in the stone chamber. Time had long since worn away all other traces.

"As expected, this is a place where an ancient Cultivator passed away." Ye Yan's gaze swept over the area, finally landing on the skeleton and the two items.

He did not rashly step forward. He carefully probed with his Divine Sense and, sure enough, discovered extremely obscure remnants of a Restriction around the skeleton and the Storage Ring, ones that had almost merged with the space itself. Due to the passage of time, these Restrictions had less than one percent of their original power, but if triggered rashly, they could still lead to unpredictable consequences.

"System, analyze the Restriction structure and deduce a safe retrieval plan."

【Command received... beginning analysis... Restriction type: Ancient Star Soul-Locking Array (damaged)... Energy level: Extremely low... Three core nodes... Unlocking plan generated...】

The energy circulation diagram of the Restriction and the three key nodes quickly appeared on the light screen. Ye Yan acted according to the instructions, the power of rules flickering at his fingertips as he precisely tapped the three nodes.

Hum...!

The obscure light of the Restriction flickered violently a few times before finally extinguishing completely, like a candle in the wind.

Only then did Ye Yan step forward. He first gave a slight nod to the skeleton, considering it a greeting, and then reached out to take the Storage Ring and the dark silver metal plate.

He probed the Storage Ring with his Divine Sense. The internal space was vast, far exceeding the storage Magic Treasures of the current cultivation world, yet it appeared empty inside. Most of the items had evidently lost their spirituality over the long years and turned to dust. Only three things had been preserved:

A small pile of about one hundred Top-Grade Spirit Stones, shimmering with the light of the stars! The Spiritual Qi contained within them was pure and vast, far superior to ordinary Top-Grade Spirit Stones!

A jade bottle containing three Medicinal Pills the size of dragon eyes, their surfaces covered in nebula patterns. Although he didn't know their name, their medicinal power was well-preserved, emitting a strange fragrance that made one's Divine Soul feel comfortable.

Finally, there was a Jade Slip.

Ye Yan first picked up the Jade Slip and sank his Divine Sense into it.

The Jade Slip did not contain a Cultivation Technique Legacy, but rather a message left behind by this ancient Cultivator. It turned out that this person called himself "Xing Chenzi" and was an outer deacon of the ancient "Star Palace." During a great war, he was severely injured and fled to this place, eventually passing away due to his grave injuries. The star-attribute Spirit Stones and "Star Nebula Soul-Nourishing Pill" he left behind were his final assets, which he hoped to gift to someone fated. The end of the Jade Slip also mentioned that the dark silver metal plate was a fragment he had accidentally obtained, which seemed related to a secret treasure store of the Star Palace, but he had never been able to decipher it before he passed away, so he left it for someone fated.

"Star Palace?" Ye Yan was lost in thought. He seemed to have seen snippets of this name in some extremely ancient texts. It was said to be an extremely ancient and powerful Sect that cultivated star-attribute Spells, long since annihilated in the river of history. He had not expected one of its deacons to have passed away here on the edge of the Northern Region.

The star-attribute Spirit Stones and the Star Nebula Soul-Nourishing Pill were exactly what he needed, especially the latter, which had miraculous effects on nourishing the Divine Soul and strengthening the Divine Sense for Soul Transformation Stage Cultivators.

Finally, he picked up the dark silver metal plate.

The metal plate felt cold to the touch, its material neither gold nor iron. It was engraved with dots of stars using an extremely ancient technique, forming a fragmented star chart, and at certain nodes of the star chart, even smaller, strange runes were marked.

【Detected unknown high-level star chart information... Contains some similar structures to the database (derived from the star source core and ancient scripture of the star god fluctuation simulations)... Attempting to compare and analyze...】

【Analyzing... Confirmed to be some kind of spatial coordinate guide... Missing key parts... Unable to pinpoint at present... Suspected to be related to the 'Star Palace' ruins...】

The System's prompt came through.

"A fragment of the Star Palace ruins?" Ye Yan's eyes brightened slightly. The ruins of an ancient Sect often meant huge risks and opportunities. If he could find it, perhaps he could obtain more of the Legacy regarding the Power of the Stars, or even find clues to other rule fragments.

He carefully put away the star-attribute Spirit Stones, the Star Nebula Soul-Nourishing Pill, and the metal fragment. As for the high-quality Storage Ring, he directly swapped it for his own original ring.

A bountiful harvest!

Ye Yan looked at the skeleton again, flicked his finger, and a wisp of Demonic fire turned it into ashes. He then buried it beneath the stone chamber, which was considered resolving the Karma.

After finishing all this, he was preparing to leave.

Suddenly, his brows furrowed slightly. He looked up at the ceiling of the stone chamber, his gaze seemingly able to pierce through the thick rock layers to see the situation outside.

"Oh? Your noses are quite sharp."

In his Divine Sense perception, two not-weak auras were rapidly approaching this mountain range. One of the auras even carried a trace of a familiar, disgusting, grand righteous Qi.

"Running dogs of the Sky Patrol Alliance... they actually chased to the Northern Region? Or is it a coincidence?"

A cold light flashed in Ye Yan's eyes. His figure slowly faded, as if merging into the shadows, and he disappeared from the stone chamber without a sound.

...

Above the mountain range, two streaks of light descended, revealing two Cultivators.

One was wearing the attire of the Sky Patrol Alliance, with a cold expression, and his Cultivation was impressively at the Late Nascent Soul Stage! The other was a short, sly-looking Loose Cultivator with only Perfected Golden Core Cultivation.

"Deacon Wang, it's right here! A few days ago, while I was hiding from enemies here, I accidentally discovered that the spatial fluctuations in this area were abnormal. It seemed there were traces of a hidden Immortal Cave. Before I could investigate, I sensed the arrival of you, the Sky Patrol Alliance, so I specially reported this news..." The Golden Core Loose Cultivator said flatteringly to the Sky Patrol Alliance Cultivator.

The deacon surnamed Wang was expressionless. His powerful Divine Sense carefully swept over the mountain range below, and he soon discovered that extremely subtle spatial anomaly.

"Hmm, there are indeed some traces. If it truly is an ancient Cultivator's Immortal Cave, I will count it as your merit." A flash of eagerness appeared in Deacon Wang's eyes. He had been ordered to investigate clues about that Devil Head in the Starfall Secret Realm and had tracked it all the way to the edge of the Northern Region without any leads. If he could have some unexpected gains here, it would naturally be for the best.

He brought out a compass-shaped Magic Treasure and began to investigate carefully, attempting to find a way to enter.

Just as he was fully focused.

A cold voice, like a wind blowing from the Nine Netherworlds, resounded behind the two of them without warning.

"What are you two looking for?"

Deacon Wang and the Loose Cultivator's hair stood on end, and they whipped their heads around!

They saw a black-robed youth who had appeared silently behind them at some unknown time. He stood with his hands behind his back, looking at them with indifferent eyes, as if he were looking at two dead men.

It was none other than Ye Yan, who had returned!

Deacon Wang felt the unfathomable aura on Ye Yan, an aura that made even his Nascent Soul tremble. His face instantly turned as pale as paper, and he screamed in shock: "Soul Transformation?! It's you! That Devil Head!?"

He had been ordered to investigate, so he had naturally seen the images of Ye Yan in the Starfall Secret Realm that the Sect had blurredly restored using secret techniques! Although he couldn't see the specific face clearly, this aura and sense of oppression could not be wrong!

"Correct, but unfortunately, there is no prize."

Ye Yan simply extended his hand and grabbed through the air.

Boom!

A giant hand of Demonic Essence instantly condensed, directly crushing the terrified Golden Core Loose Cultivator into a mist of blood!

Immediately after, the giant hand did not lose its momentum and engulfed Deacon Wang!

"No! The Sky Patrol Alliance will not let you go!" Deacon Wang screamed in terror, desperately bringing out all his Magic Treasures to protect himself while simultaneously crushing a distress Jade Talisman!

However, it was all in vain.

Snap!

The protective Magic Treasures shattered like paper under the Demonic hand!

Puff!

Deacon Wang couldn't even self-detonate his Nascent Soul before he was grabbed by the Demonic hand. The terrifying power instantly destroyed all his vitality, and even his Nascent Soul was directly shattered!

One-hit kill!

Ye Yan casually collected the two men's Storage Pouches and flicked a wisp of Demonic fire to completely clear the traces.

"Sky Patrol Alliance... it seems trouble has already arrived." He gazed deeply in the direction of the Central Plains to the south.

He did not care about being exposed. Since he had chosen to establish a foothold in the Northern Region, clashing with the Sky Patrol Alliance was only a matter of time.

It was just that their speed was a bit faster than he had anticipated.

"That's fine. I will just use your heads to establish the prestige of my Ye Yan Palace in the Northern Region."

Ye Yan gave a cold smile. His figure turned into a stream of light, no longer concealing his tracks, and he headed directly back in the direction of the Profound Yin Ravine.

He knew that since Sky Patrol Alliance members had died here, stronger people would soon arrive.

And he would be at Ye Yan Palace, waiting for them.