EBE Chapter 169 First Exploration of the Forbidden Zone
Chapter 169 First Exploration of the Forbidden Zone
The Northern Frontier is vast. Even a True Immortal of the Three Flowers would need to fly for several years to cross it and enter the Central Continent on their own. Fortunately, some large cities have inter-domain teleportation arrays.
After paying the exorbitant price of one hundred catties of immortal essence, Li Lan and a group of cultivators embarked on a journey to the Central Continent via a teleportation array.
He disguised himself once again, now appearing as a robust middle-aged man. After obtaining the Heaven-Mending Technique, his ability to shift forms and change bodies became even easier, and even without the cat's help, high-level cultivators could not detect anything amiss.
The void shifted, and about a day later, everyone emerged from the teleportation array, all feeling dizzy and lightheaded. Some cultivators even began to vomit, suffering from teleportation array dizziness!
"Is this the City of Ten Thousand Immortals?"
"The weather in Central Continent is truly extraordinary!"
Leaving through the teleportation array, we quickly entered the densely populated city. Everywhere we looked, there were cultivators, and the streets were wide with buildings.
The Wanxian City alone, in terms of area and population, is already comparable to the Northern Emperor City of the Northern Frontier!
There are dozens of cities like Vientiane City in Central Continent.
Zhongzhou is the center of the world, where the most powerful forces gather, and the Immortal Court also occupies a prominent position here. Therefore, the cultivators in Zhongzhou are generally a level higher than those in the other four regions.
After a brief tour, Li Lan left and headed towards the "Nine-Headed Forbidden Mountain".
Forbidden zones are usually sparsely populated and inaccessible to humans. However, a day later, when Li Lan saw nine enormous mountains resembling lion heads in the distance, he discovered that countless people were already waiting outside the forbidden zones.
"The Chen family of Fanzhou has come to pay their respects to the senior guarding the mountain, and present him with a thousand catties of immortal essence and a hundred immortal herbs!"
"The sect leader of the Tianlong Sect in Wangzhou has come to request an audience!"
"Guo Haotian, the patriarch of the Guo clan of Taihua City, has come with his beloved daughter!"
Representatives from many factions were on the periphery, loudly communicating into Jiutou Mountain with great respect.
To Li Lan's surprise, he went into the crowd and listened silently, quickly figuring out what had happened.
"The Nine-Headed Celestial Lion Clan is about to return. News has already leaked out of the Celestial Court that this clan intends to form a marriage alliance with the human race!"
"How long will it take for humans and primordial forbidden beings to give birth to children with primordial blood? These children are the hope for mutation. If one person mutates, it might be enough to save an entire family!"
"There are just too many people!"
"That's too many? You have no idea how crowded it is at the Ancient Demon Ape's place. I heard that the Ancient Demon Ape is lewd, so many forces send hundreds or even thousands of their beauties there..."
The Central Continent is different from the Northern Frontier. The Northern Frontier faces the gray fog directly, and the Celestial Court's rule is relatively weak. After the Sun Moon Sect and the Sword Sect took the lead in the war, and with Li Lan's encouragement, the people's desire for war did not die out, and even became the mainstream at one point.
However, in the Central Continent, people trust the Celestial Court more. Since various rumors have already spread within the Celestial Court, peace is the right thing to do. Only by changing the nature of things can the inheritance be preserved. How can people not strive to befriend the forbidden beings of the Primordial Era?
Even before the Primordial Demon Ape, the Nine-Headed Celestial Lion, and others have arrived in the Immortal Realm, they are already eager to seize the opportunity and have sent all the beauties of their clans here.
Li Lan couldn't help but sigh softly.
"We have arrived at the Holy Land of Taiyi!"
At that moment, a loud shout rang out, immediately surprising everyone around.
"The Taiyi Holy Land has also arrived!"
"I didn't expect that even the Holy Land couldn't sit still and had to come and pay a visit in person?"
"Heh, it's just a sacred land. It's not that noble in front of the forbidden beings of the Primordial Era!"
Many people are talking about it.
The Dao Realm and the Holy Land are arguably the two strongest forces below the Celestial Court.
The realm created by the Immortal Venerable, where his own Dao Fruit is protected and nurtured, is called the Dao Realm.
After the Immortal Venerable passed away, the Dao Realm lost the protection of the Great Dao and was thus called a Holy Land.
In short, the Dao Realm is the territory of the living Immortal Venerables, and the Holy Land is the legacy left behind after the Immortal Venerables passed away. Its strength is far beyond that of ordinary forces.
Taiyi Immortal Venerable has been gone for two thousand years, but his illustrious lineage remains undiminished.
"Get out of the way!"
The Taiyi Holy Land was impressive, with four huge chariots leading the way. In the middle was a middle-aged man dressed in a crown robe, and beside him sat a beautiful young woman with a cold and elegant demeanor.
Six chariots followed behind, filled with young boys and girls.
"Wang Hao of the Taiyi Holy Land, accompanied by the Holy Maiden Zhu Ling, has come to pay a visit. He has brought three thousand young boys and girls as a gift for the senior guarding the mountain. These children were carefully collected by my sect, and their bloodlines and talents are all extraordinary. Please accept them, senior!"
The sound reverberated throughout the surrounding area.
"Very good, very good. I never expected that after a thousand years of seclusion, someone would still remember my humble appetite..."
The silent Nine-Headed Mountain finally responded, with a burst of celestial light and countless restrictive lights appearing. In the shadows, a bridge formed of celestial power extended to the Taiyi Holy Land.
"How could the mighty Taiyi Holy Land be so shameless? Offering three thousand boys and girls as gifts? Are they feeding the old lion guarding the mountain?!"
"It is rumored that the Nine-Headed Celestial Lion clan has a violent bloodline and is extremely bloodthirsty. While human blood is not as powerful as that of the forbidden beings of the Primordial Era, it is balanced and can compensate for the deficiencies of various races. Therefore, when this clan was still in the Immortal Realm, they often hunted and devoured human geniuses..."
"How come we didn't think of this?"
Many people spoke up, some with disdain, others with regret.
Li Lan watched the crowd with a cold gaze, her brows furrowed.
"No...I want my mother!"
"I'm scared... Weren't we supposed to be going to a holy land to cultivate? Why were we sent here..."
"Waaaaah..."
The boys and girls were all terrified and cried loudly, their condition extremely pitiful.
One can imagine that the Taiyi Holy Land must have gathered these spiritual children under the guise of recruiting disciples, but then handed them over to the old lion in the mountains as gifts!
Li Lan's eyes were cold.
The people of Taiyi Holy Land ignored the surrounding discussions and entered the area through the bridge of immortal power that had been formed in the Nine-Headed Forbidden Mountain. Then, the light of the restriction reappeared, sealing off the surrounding area before disappearing without any apparent abnormality.
"The restrictions here are truly astonishing."
"We can't get in. Alas, even if the Holy Lord Taiyi spares such a huge expense, we still can't compete."
"They really are willing to give up three thousand boys and girls, all of whom are exceptionally talented..."
Many people shook their heads and sighed, then dispersed.
Li Lan stayed behind, observing the reality of the place. With the Earth Eye in operation, he saw the various restrictions manifest when the old mountain lion welcomed the Taiyi Holy Land, making his vision even clearer.
He distanced himself from the crowd and went to a deserted mountain forest, which was adjacent to the Nine-Headed Forbidden Mountain. Li Lan stepped into it.
The mountains and forests were vast and desolate. The closer one got to the Nine-Headed Forbidden Mountain, the more silent it became, without even a bird's call. The space in front of him was as calm as could be, but in Li Lan's eyes, he could see the crisscrossing aura of restrictions.
The Nine-Headed Celestial Lion clan not only left behind an old lion to guard the mountain, but also set up extraordinary restrictions that rely on the earth's energy source within the Nine-Headed Forbidden Mountain, ensuring their perpetual existence.
Let alone ordinary people, even if an old Source Master came, he would probably be helpless. No wonder the forbidden races of the Primordial Era disappeared for so many years, and the forbidden zone is still a forbidden zone.
But in Li Lan's eyes now, all these protections were useless. His figure disappeared from the spot, and the next moment, he had already entered the area of the Nine-Headed Forbidden Mountain.
However, the surroundings remained calm and undisturbed.
Li Lan stood with his hands behind his back, strolling leisurely even though he was in a dangerous forbidden zone. However, the paths he took were very peculiar, sometimes high and sometimes low, constantly turning left, right, forward and backward. Sometimes, he would even stop at a mountainside and guide the earth's energy for a long time before continuing forward.
As dusk fell and night descended, Li Lan finally arrived at the vicinity of Jiutou Mountain.
The mountain was filled with a network of interconnected caves. Li Lan crawled into one of the caves, and soon after entering, he heard the sound of footsteps lingering in the darkness. Li Lan saw clearly that it was a mining ghost.
However, these things were of no use to Li Lan now. With a movement of the stone skin covering his entire body, he calmly walked past the mine ghost, who remained oblivious.
After walking for a long time, Li Lan entered a neat and bright corridor, where the source energy was extremely rich.
Li Lan used his Earth Eye to probe and knew that he had already touched the main mineral vein of the Nine-Headed Forbidden Mountain.
He wasn't in a hurry, but instead followed the earth's veins, preparing to find the center of the mineral vein.
……
now.
"These three thousand boys and girls were all carefully selected; I wonder if they suit your taste, senior..."
Inside a huge cave hall in the Nine-Headed Forbidden Mountain, the furnishings were simple and ancient. Above was a huge golden throne, and on both sides were many golden treasure chests covered with restrictions. An old man with golden hair looked at the three thousand boys and girls that Wang Hao had led in with gleaming eyes, and was already very envious.
"Excellent, excellent, Elder Wang, you've gone to great lengths!"
The old lion guarding the mountain nodded repeatedly.
"When will the other seniors arrive in the Immortal Realm? Do you have any accurate information?"
Wang Hao asked with a smile.
"One month later."
The old lion guarding the mountain smiled, looked at Zhu Ling, the holy maiden of Taiyi Holy Land, and nodded: "She's beautiful and strong enough. My clan's son might like her."
His gaze was quite impolite, as if he were appraising a piece of merchandise, but neither Wang Hao nor Zhu Ling showed any aversion.
"I'll need your help with this matter, senior..."
Wang Hao was also invigorated and said, "I have heard that the Nine-Headed Heavenly Lion Clan has a Transformation Technique, which is specifically used to increase the probability of having offspring. I dare to ask you, senior, to pass on this technique to our clan's Holy Maiden. What do you say?"
"In this way, she will be able to better contribute to the Nine-Headed Celestial Lion Clan in the future."
In the beginning, many forbidden beings had difficulty conceiving, which is why their population was small. As a result, some techniques specifically designed to assist in childbirth came into being.
If Zhu Ling cultivates this method, then when the Nine-Headed Heavenly Lion Clan returns, Zhu Ling will have a perfect advantage and there will be no mistakes.
"Easy to say, easy to say."
The old lion guarding the mountain smiled. He had already received news from his clan that they were indeed preparing to intermarry with humans.
Since that's the case, why not lend a hand to this sensible Taiyi Holy Land?
"This method is the Transformation Meridian Technique. You can stay here for a few days to cultivate and use the source energy here to advance faster."
He took an ancient book and handed it to Zhu Ling.
Zhu Ling solemnly accepted it and thanked her.
"I'll take these young boys and girls to my clan's ancestral land for refinement first, and I won't accompany you any longer—"
The old lion couldn't wait any longer, and the two immediately said goodbye.
……
And this moment.
"Ancestral land?"
Li Lan had already sneaked into a cave.
Beside the cave hall is a huge rock with the characters of the Nine-Headed Celestial Lion Clan carved on it, but from the spiritual imprint, Li Lan recognized that this was the most important ancestral land of the Nine-Headed Celestial Lion Clan.
Inside the cave, the primal energy made one's blood boil. In the center was a Dao platform, which was actually forged from purple divine energy!
The entire cavern is the core of the Jiutoujinshan mineral vein.
Inside the cave, there were several huge stone coffins. Li Lan glanced at them and saw that they contained the nine-headed celestial lions that were extremely powerful in life. After they passed away, they were placed here, and their spiritual imprints still remained.
Clearly, the Nine-Headed Celestial Lion Clan values this place highly. With its divine source serving as a Dao platform and numerous ancestral Dao imprints providing assistance, it is undoubtedly an excellent place for seclusion.
As Li Lan was pondering how to make the most of these divine resources and raw ores, he suddenly heard footsteps and cries coming from outside.
Li Lan frowned, then leaped into an empty coffin and closed the lid.
"Human flesh and blood can replenish the deficiencies of all races, and the flesh and blood of these young boys and girls are even more delicious..."
The old lion guarding the mountain had a burning desire in its eyes. It licked its lips, walked into the ancestral cave, and with a wave of its hand, released several boys and girls from its storage ring.
"Do not……"
"Help!"
Upon seeing the old lion's gleaming white teeth, the children couldn't help but tremble and weep.
"Don't cry, don't cry, the meat will be softer when you're happy..."
The old lion guarding the mountain grabbed a girl and was about to devour her, but at that moment, a strange aura suddenly emanated from a coffin in the cave.
The old lion guarding the mountain sensed this aura, and its hair stood on end. It turned around abruptly and stared intently at a coffin.
A look of fear flashed across his old eyes.
What's going on? This coffin... wasn't it empty?
Something went in?
……