Chapter 682
The Forbidden Zone of Burying Gods
"Ancient Supreme Being—"
Gu Qingfeng nodded slightly, and then he flicked his finger, and a storage ring landed in front of the Ancient Nether Saint Lord.
"Since that's the case, there's no need to investigate further. From now on, the people of the Ancient Nether Holy Land will focus on searching for the Evil God Clan."
Any sign of an evil god must be suppressed and killed immediately, without fail!
This storage ring contains ten thousand high-grade Dao Immortal Stones; consider this a reward from the Ancient Netherworld Sacred Land!
"Dao Immortal Stone!"
When the Ancient Nether Saint Lord heard these words, he was immediately shaken to his core.
What is the Great Dao Immortal Stone?
He was naturally aware of this.
After a Celestial Venerable of the Seventh Tribulation or above perishes and transforms into a Daoist being, there is a chance that a Great Dao Immortal Mine will be created, which is rich in Great Dao Immortal Stones.
However, the Great Dao Immortal Stones produced by Seven Tribulations Celestial Venerables are generally only of low grade.
Such a high-grade Dao Immortal Stone can only be conceived and produced by a Nine Tribulation Heavenly Venerable who has transformed into the Dao.
If we were to describe it in terms of the starry sky, it would be the supreme immortal mine.
These top-grade Dao Immortal Stones have endless wonderful uses for cultivation for those below the Supreme level.
Despite being a top power in the starry sky, the Ancient Netherworld Holy Land actually possesses only a handful of Great Dao Immortal Stones, and they are all of low grade.
In the starry sky.
Every time a Great Dao Immortal Mine appears, it triggers a bloodbath, with numerous forces vying for it, even Heavenly Venerables shed blood.
Now that Gu Qingfeng has bestowed ten thousand high-grade Dao Immortal Stones in one go, one can imagine the shock this will cause to the Ancient Nether Saint Lord.
He is very clear.
If such a resource were placed outside, it would be enough to shake the entire cosmos.
Even so, it was nothing more than a casual act by the other party.
now.
The Ancient Lord of the Netherworld felt more and more that his decision to serve Gu Qingfeng was incredibly wise.
"Thank you for your generous reward, Senior. The entire Ancient Nether Holy Land will do its utmost to search for the whereabouts of the evil gods and annihilate them all!"
"Go ahead. Also, I will have Gu Xuan and Gu Xiu cooperate with you. Although the Evil God Clan has suffered a great loss of strength in this starry sky, it is still very powerful in the Endless Immortal Realm."
As long as the entrance to the Immortal Realm remains open, a steady stream of evil gods will inevitably enter.
You must not be careless about this matter either.”
Gu Qingfeng nodded, and then gave another reminder.
The previous battle.
The first group of evil gods to venture into the starry sky had already suffered heavy losses, so they were naturally not a cause for concern.
The problem is...
The evil gods in the starry sky are just the tip of the iceberg of the evil god race.
As long as the entrance to the Immortal Realm remains open, the evil gods will continue to enter. If left unchecked, the number of evil gods in this starry sky will eventually return to its former level, or even exceed it.
This is why other human races are doing their utmost to suppress the evil god race.
This is the only chance to suppress the evil god race, so it cannot be missed.
The Ancient Nether Saint Lord naturally obeyed Gu Qingfeng's orders.
……
a few days later.
Deep within the ancient and sacred land.
A dark figure vanished from the celestial palace like a wisp of smoke, without disturbing any formations or restrictions, or even leaving a ripple in the void.
Those layers of restrictions, personally set up by the Ancient Nether Saint Lord and powerful enough to trap and kill ordinary Heavenly Venerables, seemed to be nothing in front of this figure.
Gu Qingfeng left.
He did not disturb anyone, nor did he even bid farewell to the Ancient Netherworld Saint Lord—he had already given what needed to be given and bestowed what needed to be bestowed. The rest would be handled by Gu Xuan and Gu Xiu in conjunction with the Ancient Netherworld Saint Land.
As for himself, he has more important things to do.
The starry sky is vast.
Gu Qingfeng walked with his hands behind his back. His steps seemed slow, but with each step, the void beneath his feet automatically contracted and folded, and he traversed a distance of billions of miles with a single step.
His aura was extremely restrained, like a mortal strolling about. But if a powerful person were to probe with their divine sense, they would be horrified to discover that the void did not exist at all, as if it had been erased from the world by some supreme Dao.
The place he was going to was a forbidden zone for life.
From the intelligence jade slip presented by the Ancient Nether Saint Lord, Gu Qingfeng had a general understanding of the forbidden zone of life in this starry sky.
This immortal realm has existed for countless billions of years, and countless Celestial Venerables have been born in the long river of time, including many supreme figures who are exceptionally talented and have touched the threshold of immortality.
However, due to the rules of the secret realm, the Celestial Venerables cannot live forever—the lifespan of an ordinary Celestial Venerable is five hundred billion years, and even the Supreme Celestial Venerable's lifespan is only one trillion years.
One trillion years.
For ordinary people, it means living as long as heaven and earth, and sharing the same age as the sun and moon.
For the Celestial Venerable, however, it was merely a stop on the long path of cultivation, and there would eventually come a day when it would all end.
Thus, the forbidden zone for life came into being.
Those ancient celestial beings nearing the end of their lifespan, and even supreme beings on the verge of immortality, were unwilling to simply return to dust. So they used forbidden techniques to seal themselves, plundered the essence and blood of living beings to prolong their lifespan, and hibernated in the places where the former supreme beings had fallen, using the remaining Daoist charm to conceal the secrets of heaven.
These forbidden areas are forbidden zones for life.
These ancient beings have become a refuge for their lingering existence, but for outsiders, it is a perilous place with a slim chance of survival.
The intelligence presented by the Ancient Nether Saint Lord recorded many known forbidden zones in this starry sky, most of which were listed as ordinary forbidden zones, and were rumored to be inhabited by ancient celestial beings in slumber.
There are five other forbidden zones: the Ancient God Forbidden Zone, the Netherworld Forbidden Zone, the Purgatory Forbidden Zone, the Fallen Immortal Sea, and the Ancient Unborn Mine.
All five supreme forbidden zones have records of supreme beings shedding their blood.
The forbidden zone of the ancient gods has been wiped out.
Gu Qingfeng does not plan to set foot in the remaining four places for the time being.
Such a perilous place must contain terrifying beings on par with the Immortal Severed Finger, and may even hold greater secrets.
Right now, venturing into the forbidden zone without fear would be pointless, though not without its drawbacks.
He was heading to a regular restricted area.
Perhaps there are also considerable gains to be made in the places where those ancient celestial beings hibernate.
A month later.
Deep in the starry sky, in a desolate star field.
This place is far from the ancient sacred land and also far from the main area cleared by the human alliance. The stars are sparse, and most of them are dark stars on the verge of death and cold meteorite belts.
As marked on the star chart, this star field is called the Burial God Star Field, named after a special ancient star deep within the star field.
That star is the forbidden zone for burying gods.
Gu Qingfeng stood in the starry sky, gazing into the distance. It was a huge and strange star, a hundred times the size of an ordinary life-bearing star, its surface shrouded in a thick, grayish-white mist that slowly undulated, like the breathing of a living creature.
The space around the star twisted into an eerie arc, swallowing any light that fell into it, making the entire star appear as a deep black hole outline in the starry sky.
But what truly makes this star unique is the white covering its surface—not snow, nor salt, but dense, layered white bones.
Some of the skeletons are as huge as mountains, stretching across the surface of stars. A single skull is the size of an asteroid, with dark eye sockets staring into the void. Even though they have been dead for countless years, they still exude a chilling aura.
Some of the bones were scattered and broken, among the mountains and valleys, with shocking scars remaining on the bones. There were smooth cuts from sharp weapons, radial cracks from blunt weapons, and strange holes from corrosion by some kind of deadly poison.
These skeletons are all different in shape.
There was a human-shaped skeleton, covered in tattered armor. Even though it was just a skeleton, it still maintained a seated posture, as if it was still cultivating and comprehending the Tao in its last moments before death.
There are skeletal remains of demonic forms, some like lions and tigers, some like roc birds, and some like giant pythons. Each one is exceptionally large, and they must have been powerful demons who dominated a region in their lifetime.
There were also some strange skeletons whose shapes were unrecognizable. Some had three heads and six arms, some had wings growing from their ribs, and some bones had a strange crystalline texture—a characteristic of cultivating a certain Great Dao Law to its extreme and partially integrating it into the bones.
A forest of white bones stretched to the horizon.
This is the infamous forbidden zone for burying gods.
The origin of this forbidden zone was mentioned by the Ancient Nether Saint Lord in his intelligence jade slip.
Legend has it that in an extremely distant ancient era, there was a True Dragon Supreme whose cultivation had reached the point of being half-immortal, just one step away from stepping into the true supreme realm. However, due to the approaching end of his lifespan and his inability to break through the illusion of immortality, he ultimately perished here.
Its corpse transformed into an ancient star, and its Daoist essence evolved into a forbidden zone. Over countless millions of years, it has attracted countless ancient celestial beings nearing the end of their lifespan to come here, either seeking a breakthrough or using the Daoist essence of the true dragon to prolong their lives.
Over time, the number of corpses accumulated in the restricted area increased, eventually forming this eerie scene of a forest of white bones.
"God Burial..."
Gu Qingfeng murmured to himself.
"What was buried was that true dragon that was half-immortal."
He took a step forward, his figure disappearing into the restricted area.
The moment Gu Qingfeng stepped into the restricted area, he sensed several subtle divine thoughts sweeping over him from the depths of the restricted area.
Those are ancient celestial beings lurking here—they seal themselves with secret methods, suppressing their life force to the minimum, like hibernating venomous snakes, waiting for their prey to walk into their trap.
Gu Qingfeng ignored him.
He walked with his hands behind his back, his black robe motionless in the deathly silence of the forbidden zone, his feet treading over countless white bones without making a sound.
Those divine thoughts swept over him and then quickly withdrew, carrying deep fear and suspicion—these ancient celestial beings may not have much life left, but their eyesight is still sharp. How could they not see that this seemingly ordinary figure was actually a terrifying existence?
No one dared to make a move.
No one dared to utter a sound.
Gu Qingfeng walked through the Bone Forest, past the dried-up Blood Sea Ruins, and past the collapsed ancient altar.
His gaze remained calm, fixed on the depths of the forbidden zone—there, a faint yet profound Daoist aura emanated, somewhat similar to the aura he had sensed in the Immortal Crystal, but much weaker.
That was the aura of someone on the verge of immortality.
"really……"
Gu Qingfeng's eyes flickered slightly, and his divine sense spread out like a vast ocean!
In an instant, the entire ancient star, and even dozens of surrounding star fields, were enveloped by his divine sense!
This is not a brutal sweep, but rather a scrutiny like the way of heaven looking down on all things—all-encompassing and without omission, yet without harming a single blade of grass or disturbing a single grain of sand!
His divine sense pierced through the earth's crust, through the rock layers, through the countless layers of corpses and seals accumulated over countless millennia, descending ever downwards—
Then, he "saw" it.
That was a dragon.
A colossal, indescribably large black dragon coiled deep within the core of the star, its length unknown, its body winding like a mountain range, tightly binding the entire core of the star.
The dragon scales were as black as ink, each the size of a palace, and despite the passage of countless years, they still shimmered with a cold, eerie light.
The dragon's head was raised high, its horns piercing the void like sharp swords, and its mouth was slightly open, revealing its gleaming white fangs.
This is a dragon corpse.
The dragon's corpse, which has been fallen for countless billions of years.
Even after its fall, its body still exuded a terrifying pressure that suppressed all the heavens.
That was the pressure of a half-step immortal supreme being, an existence on par with the Eastern Emperor and the Heavenly Punishment God!
However, this oppressive aura has now lost its former sharpness and domineering power, becoming hollow and silent, like an echo, like embers.
There was a hideous wound on the abdomen of the dragon corpse.
It was a huge crack running through the dragon's body, extending from its lower jaw to its abdomen. The edges of the wound bore traces of some strange force that continued to erode the dragon's remaining essence even after millions of years.
One can imagine the fierce battle this True Dragon Supreme experienced before his demise.
Gu Qingfeng stared silently at the dragon corpse.
He did not act immediately, but was "watching," watching the way this true dragon lived.
The True Dragon Path, which leads to near immortality, is different from the Mountain and Sea Sword Path he previously comprehended, and even more so from the Netherworld Path he himself had followed.
This is a pure and domineering path—based on the bloodline of true dragons, with physical strength as its bones, and conquest as its soul.
This path lacks the vastness and profundity of the Mountain and Sea Sword Path, and the strict order of the Netherworld Path, but it possesses a primal and savage sense of power.
One force can overcome all methods; one force can subdue ten techniques.
This was a true dragon supreme in its lifetime, undoubtedly a peerless powerhouse who dominated a region. Even among the numerous powerful figures in the half-step immortal realm, it was by no means a weakling.
Unfortunately……
Gu Qingfeng's gaze swept over the traces of time erosion on the dragon corpse's body, as well as the fatal wound that was still slowly spreading.
Born at the wrong time.
Under the suppression of the rules of this immortal realm, even those who are half-step immortal cannot achieve immortality.
A lifespan of one trillion years is eternal for mortals, but far too short for cultivators.
Many exceptional talents, who were only half a step away from achieving true immortality, were ultimately hindered by the insurmountable barrier of lifespan, passing away with regret and returning to dust.
This dragon is like that.
The same applies to the ancient celestial beings who perished in the forbidden zone of the burial of gods.
The instant Gu Qingfeng's divine sense touched the core of the dragon corpse—
"roar----!"
A vast and violent dragon roar, filled with endless resentment and rage, resounded from the depths of the dragon's corpse!
The sound pierced through billions of years, through layers of crust and seals, like a sleeping beast being awakened, bursting out with a roar that shook the heavens!
The entire planet of the Burial Gods trembled violently!
The mountains of bones were shaken and tumbled down, many of which were already on the verge of decay and crumbled into dust on the spot.
The earth cracked open with countless abyss-like fissures, and magma from the ground shot into the sky like a blood-red fountain.
The gray-white mist that had lingered over the restricted area for millions of years surged wildly, like boiling water!
"What's going on!"
"The Forbidden Zone of the Burial Gods has erupted in chaos!"
"Damn it! Who disturbed that being's slumber?!" (End of Chapter)