Chapter 108 Celestial Jade Sacred Lady
That woman had bright eyes and white teeth, her delicate neck as elegant as a lotus flower just breaking out of the water, her beauty exceptional as she stood at the precipice. If she were to take just half a step forward, she would fall into the endless abyss. Her white clothes fluttered in the wind, making her seem like a cold fairy free from this world riding the wind.
Ye Fan was unable to find even a single imperfection on her body. This woman’s beauty simply didn’t even seem like a real person’s. It was more like a dream or illusion, an absolutely flawless woman far above the mortal world.
Amongst all the women Ye Fan had seen before, the only one whose beauty could match hers was that perfect woman he had seen at the Demon Emperor’s tomb.
“How could there be such a matchless beauty in such a dangerous place?” Ye Fan was alert and quickly fell back a couple steps. Even his Ancient Desolation Sacred Body’s flesh was aging, but this woman didn’t seem to change at all, not suffering at all from the Ancient Desolation Forbidden Land’s effect. It was hard to imagine just what she was.
“What are you doing standing there? Why aren’t you quickly plucking the sacred medicine?” Jiang Hanchong shouted from below. The three people below could see Ye Fan standing at the summit’s edge, but they were unable to notice that on the other side near the cliff was a woman.
Below the summit, the evil air rushed forth. The woman that seemed to have come right off a painting gracefully and elegantly walked over towards Ye Fan.
“Not good!” Ye Fan sensed that his body had begun to age even quicker and a mysterious air enveloped him. He quickly withdrew down the mountain.
This woman was definitely not simple. She was extremely frightening, possessing a force specific to the Ancient Desolation Abyss, making it so that Ye Fan was unable to support himself in front of her. If it weren’t for the fact that his golden Sea of Bitterness had not dried up and was now billowing forth to resist her, he probably would have already died from the aging, turning into nothing more than dust.
“She should be the legendary ‘Desolation’ right?” Ye Fan’s heart shook. He had long since heard that the Ancient Desolation Abyss held someone unknown thing within it. No one knew whether it was a life form or some kind of power, but it was named “Desolation.”
Ye Fan quickly ran down the mountain. He wanted to leave this peerless woman to Jiang Hanchong and the others.
“Why did you run back?” Jiang Hanchong berated.
“What, why is there a woman?” Ji Yunfeng’s expression abruptly changed. He was the first to notice the white-clothed woman, immediately sensing the rate at which he was aging increase slightly.
“That is…” The Flickering Light Sacred Land’s Elder Xu Daoling seemed to realize something completely inconceivable, an extremely stunned expression appearing on his face as he quickly stepped back a couple steps, his face incomparably pale and full of fear.
Seeing him act this way, Jiang Hanchong and Ji Yunfeng were also alarmed, following him in retreat and asking, “What, who is that woman?”
“It’s completely unbelievable!” The Flickering Light Sacred Land’s Elder Xu Daoling’s face was deathly pale as he said, “I once saw this woman in a portrait.”
Ji Yunfeng quietly said, “Was her picture that amazing? Her looks really are peerless. I’ve never seen such a beautiful woman.”
“That portrait was of someone from six thousand years ago!”
Jiang Hangchong and Ji Yunfeng immediately sucked in a breath of cold air. A person from six thousand years ago…it really was just too shocking. Even in powerful clans like theirs, there didn’t seem to be any people who had lived that long.
“She isn’t a living person!” Xu Daoling’s face was still deathly pale.
“What?!” Ji Yunfeng And Jiang Hanchong’s expression immediately changed, realizing something in just a moment.
“Six thousand years ago, she was reputed as the Eastern Wastelands’ number one sacred lady. Completely faultless without the slightest imperfection, all of the peak matchless powerful figures in ancient history that shook the Eastern Wastelands were once at her side pursuing her.”
Hearing Xu Daoling explain it in such a way, Ji Yunfeng and Jiang Hanchong gradually became able to guess that woman’s ident.i.ty. The two of them simultaneously exclaimed, “Six thousand years ago, that immortal sect Sacred Land that reached the peak of its golden age and then reached its destruction here, she’s from that sect?”
“Right, six thousand years ago, she was the Celestial Jade sacred lady!” Xu Daoling felt a huge headache, never having expected to meet someone from such ancient history.
Back in the day, the Sacred Land that had been destroyed was called Celestial Jade, the same as the Flickering Light Sacred Land in that its name referred to one of the stars of the Big Dipper, beta Ursa Major.
“Back in the day, one of the peak figures of my Flickering Light Sacred Land was devastated over her and left behind this image in our sect’s ancient library.”
Ye Fan’s divine Spring of Life had not yet dried up, and his spiritual perception was as keen as ever, so he managed to clearly hear everything they said, the words shocking him. This beautiful woman was actually the number one sacred lady of the Eastern Wastelands back in the day. She had been a member of that destroyed immortal sect Sacred Land, the same sect as that old madman.
The old madman had blankly surveyed the Ancient Desolation Forbidden Land for a whole night before. If he managed to see the old sacred lady whose body seemed immortal, not changing from before, he didn’t know what kind of reaction he would have.
“She died six thousand years ago. Now that she has appeared again, there’s only one possibility. She has become a Desolate Slave,” stated Jiang Hanchong.
Within that distant past, there many peerless figures who entered the Ancient Desolation Forbidden Land, independently tempering themselves within the endless abyss. In the end, they all became Desolate Slaves.
“Only peerless figures are able to become Desolate Slaves. Although she might have died six thousand years ago, she is probably just as frightening as in the past.” Ji Yunfeng gloomily asked, “What should we do? Are we forced to withdraw now? My life force is fading and might go out at any time. Her body possesses an incomparably dense Desolate air.”
“I’m afraid we aren’t even able to run anymore!” Xu Daoling’s whole body was covered in cold sweat.
That matchless beauty was like a specter as she silently floated over. Pa.s.sing by Ye Fan, she glided towards the other three.
Ye Fan grumbled inside, feeling as if it really was possible he might die here. Thinking back to the first time he landed on the sacred mountain, everything had gone extremely smoothly and there hadn’t been any danger. He had easily plucked the sacred medicine.
“I understand now. Back then, it was all because of the nine huge dragon corpses and the ancient bronze coffin falling from the sky to here, intimidating the endless abyss’s Desolation. All the Desolation Slaves didn’t dare to appear.”
“Risk it all!” Jiang Hanchong attacked, holding the embroidered case, his body erupted with countless rays. A purple copper mirror rushed out of his body, the back of which had an eight trigram diagram carved into it. The front emitted a dazzling light like the full moon, emitting a huge light beam that grew to the size of a house as it rushed towards the Celestial Jade Sacred Lady.
The entire sacred mountain’s summit shook, the light beam seeming to have come from the very heavens as it released a frightening endless pressure.
Ye Fan was overwhelmed by Jiang Hanchong’s strength, which seemed absolutely boundless. As a Spring of Life realm cultivator, he couldn’t even estimate or imagine how powerful this light beam was. If he were to be hit by it, he would immediately turn to ash.
“This should have already surpa.s.sed the Paramita realm…” He knew that other than the ‘Wheel and Sea’ secret boundary, there were also other secret boundaries within the body.
Chi!
But that light beam that overshadowed even the sun turned into a strand of smoke that disappeared. Not even a single hair was injured upon the Celestial Jade Sacred Lady.
Dong!
With a metallic vibrato, the purple copper eight trigram mirror fell to the ground. Jiang Hanchong’s face was now deathly pale and was on the verge of collapse, his divine energy source-spring once more drying up.
Ji Yunfeng took action, holding the strange black stone, a Sky Gathering Parasol rushed out his body, covering the sky. It released countless astral winds that blocked the light from the very sun.
Bang!
The woman lightly raised her finger, and that huge, sky-covering parasol was pierced through, its light dimming as it fell to the ground. Ji Yunfeng’s complexion turned pale without the slightest blood. His aged body was bent as he tottered back, landing upon the ground.
“Elder brother Xu, quickly use your forbidden item. Didn’t you say that a Flickering Light Sacred Land’s Grand Elder’s divine energy was sealed within it and could be used twice? It should be able to fight against her,” Ji Yunfeng hastily urged him.
A hand-sized green leaf that appeared to have been carved of jade appeared in his hand. Sparkling with light and covered in Dao Glyphs, he pressed down both sides of it with his hands, immediately releasing endless dazzling divine clouds and light that filled with the very world with green splendor, completely enveloping the Celestial Jade Sacred Lady within it.
This kind of frightening energy was completely boundless, completely blocking out Ye Fan’s vision. Heaven and earth trembled for a quarter of an hour before the green light gradually dissipated.
Ye Fan sucked in a cold breath of air.
The Celestial Jade sacred lady hadn’t moved even a single step, continuing to tranquilly stand there. Even her white clothes had not been touched. She was as terrifying as an evil monster.
The three Elders’ expressions were all pale. They glanced at each other and attacked at the same time with their forbidden items. Revealing their most powerful divine abilities, this place immediately became enshrouded with lights that overflowed the heavens, completely drowning the Celestial Jade Sacred Lady.
But when the divine abilities were used up and their light once more dissipated, the Celestial Jade sacred lady was still completely uninjured, not receiving a single attack.
Kacha!
Ji Yunfeng and Xu Daoling’s forbidden items almost completely shattered apart and could no longer be used. Their faces were ashen and wrinkled, seeming to immediately age another ten years, their life force almost completely withering.
Jiang Hanchong had also aged to the point he was almost unable to bear it. The embroidered case in his hand now had nine cracks upon. He clenched his teeth and said, “I can only use that...”
The embroidered case shattered, and an ancient paG.o.da appeared in his hand. It was not even as tall as a hand and seemed completely ordinary, but in just the blink of an eye, a terrifying power shook out of it, releasing an energy fluctuation that was several times stronger than the previous battles.
It didn’t seem like a small paG.o.da, but more like its own world, as if it could contain all the lands and creatures of heaven and earth.
“This is…” Xu Daoling’s now-turbid old eyes flickered with two strange rays of light, in a trembling voice, he said, “I heard that the Jiang Family has always been trying to copy the Eastern Wastelands most precious treasure, the Desolate PaG.o.da. Could it be that you’ve succeeded?”
“How could we have succeeded? The Desolate PaG.o.da is unique and unmatched, it’s impossible to duplicate. These are just one of a couple defective copies we made.” Jiang Hanchong didn’t take any action, the failed imitation of the Desolate PaG.o.da just soared into the air. It quickly enlarged, pressing down upon the Celestial Jade sacred lady.
“This…” Ji Yunfeng gasped. “If even a defective good is this frightening, being able to escape from the bindings of the Ancient Desolation Forbidden Land, then the power of the real Desolate PaG.o.da is truly hard to imagine.”
Jiang Hanchong shook his head. “It’s a pity that there’s only enough energy for one attack. I hope this can temporarily suppress her so we can obtain some more time.”
The imitation of the Desolate PaG.o.da came down, causing heaven and earth to tremble. The paG.o.da seemed simple and ancient, possessing a natural Dao charm that condensed Great Heaven and Earth Power.
The Celestial Jade sacred lady quickly retreated, not daring to face it head-on. But the ancient paG.o.da was like her shadow as it followed her, in the end sealing her below it.
A huge rumbling sound rang out as the sacred mountain shook. The fake Desolate PaG.o.da quickly shrunk, turning back into a hand-sized paG.o.da as it tumbled to the ground.
“Excellent!” Xu Daoling exclaimed. “Looks like the Desolate PaG.o.da really does deserve its reputation. Even a defective imitation of it has such a frightening suppressing force. It can even independently resist the forbidden land’s effect.”
Ye Fan s.h.i.+vered. These Ancient Desolation n.o.ble Families’ truly had profound abilities, for them to make a defective copy of the Desolate PaG.o.da that was still able to suppress a frightening Desolate Slave like the Celestial Jade sacred lady. It really brought him incomparable shock.
“Quick, let’s leave here. This Desolate PaG.o.da only contains enough energy for one attack and can only suppress her for a short time before it automatically shatters,” Jiang Hanchong hastily urged them.
“I guess it’s as expected of a defective product.” Ji Yunfeng felt as if cold water had been splashed over his head.
“What are you still waiting for? Quickly pluck the divine medicine and then run down and reconverge with us.” Xu Daoling snarled towards Ye Fan.
“f.u.c.k, do you really think you controlled me?”
“You…” The three Elders’ expressions all changed, not expecting that the Puppet Brand had had no effect.
BOOM!
Just at this moment, the imitation of the Desolate PaG.o.da suddenly burst apart. The Celestial Jade sacred lady appeared in front of them, this time appearing much bleaker.
“We’re done for!” Jiang Hanchong bitterly smiled.
At the same time, his body withered away, turning into ashes that blew away in the wind. Ji Yunfeng and Xu Daoling also simultaneously turned into windborne ashes, their bodies pa.s.sing through thousands of years of time.
At the same time, at the foot of the sacred mountain, the aged knights and weakened ferocious beasts all had their bodies wither, turning into white skeletons.
Ye Fan’s heart trembled. His whole body was quickly aging. His golden Sea of Bitterness was billowing, his divine spring was bubbling forth, and Life Qi continuously flowed out to hold him back from death.
“Is the Ancient Desolation Forbidden Land going to become my burial site?” Ye Fan felt extremely weak. He quickly charged up the sacred mountain. Only the sacred medicine and divine spring could save him now.
Just as he reached the summit, the Celestial Jade sacred lady appeared, blocking his path. Her white clothes fluttered and her eyes appeared spiritual and bright, seeming as if she were actually alive.
“So the Ancient Desolation Land is actually this terrifying. Looks like last time we were just lucky…” Ye Fan wanted to take out his cauldron, but he found that his divine energy was insufficient. He ground his teeth and just managed to take out the golden tome. Light flashed as it slashed towards the Celestial Jade sacred lady.
Dong!
All she did was gently snap her fingers and the golden tome immediately fell to the ground. She was very interested in this golden page and took it into her hands.
She then silently arrived beside Ye Fan, releasing an icy-cold air as she reached out with slim jade-like hands towards Ye Fan’s Sea of Bitterness.
“You…” Ye Fan fell back, but he was completely incapable of evading her. That sparkling and beautiful perfect hand immediately entered into his body.
Ye Fan quickly aged, instantly becoming skin and bones, just short of becoming a human skeleton. But just at this moment, the Celestial Jade Sacred Lady shrieked in pain. The green copper in the center of Ye Fan’s Sea of Bitterness lightly trembled, and she immediately looked as if she were struck by lightning. The golden tome fell from her hands and she was shocked flying into the Ancient Desolation Abyss.
“Even the imitation of the Desolate PaG.o.da was unable to suppress you, but this lump of green copper of mine is comparable to the real Desolate PaG.o.da, yet you still wanted to touch it…” Ye Fan miserably smiled. His life force had practically completely dried up. His body was withered and no blood would even flow out of his wounds. He was on the verge of dying. But he still persevered, tottering forward.
With his senses fading, he vaguely could smell a refres.h.i.+ng scent in front of him. There were a couple odd small trees growing there and what seemed to be a gurgling spring. But his vision darkened, and then he collapsed into the spring.
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Translator notes:
So the term for the purple copper mirror was 紫铜, which separately means purple copper. But in Chinese, together it refers to a very pure kind of copper with a purplish tint. I kept it as purple copper just to differentiate it, but readers should be aware it is just a normal very pure kind of copper. On the other hand, perhaps the author did just mean it be purple. Chinese is fun that way.