Phoenix Blood Red Gold
After parting ways with Ye Fan, Zhou Tong quickly found a secluded place, removed the Heaven-Deceiving Array Pattern from his body, and the Heavenly Tribulation of the fourth transformation of the Dragon Transformation descended.
In an instant, the vast sea of lightning engulfed the heavens and the earth. Zhou Tong sat cross-legged in the Void the Great, circulating the Thunder Emperor Method. He opened his mouth and swallowed layer after layer of the sea of lightning completely into his stomach, slowly refining it.
His physical body, primordial spirit, and the Hegemonic Bell were all refining the lightning together. His primordial spirit and physical body gained considerable benefits from the sea of lightning. Originally, he had already reached the fourth stage of the Dragon Transformation realm, and under the impetus of the Thunder Tribulation, he took another small step forward.
"Boom!"
Finally, the Thunder Tribulation of the fifth transformation of the Dragon Transformation also descended.
The Thunder Tribulation still couldn't harm Zhou Tong Zhou Tong, completely transforming into nourishment for him. The Great Dao Laws within the sea of lightning became Zhou Tong's insights, and the essence of the sea of lightning became nourishment for Zhou Tong's primordial spirit and physical body. The Innate Dao Patterns within the sea of lightning were completely imprinted into the Hegemonic Bell, forming one Heavenly Deity pattern after another.
These two consecutive Heavenly Tribulation lasted for a full half-day before finally dissipating.
After the Heavenly Tribulation, Zhou Tong has advanced to the fifth stage of the Dragon Transformation Realm.
After advancing to the fifth stage of the Dragon Transformation, Zhou Tong spent several days refining another portion of the Heavenly Dragon Source.
However, this time it wasn't as intense as the first time. It was just a matter of changing some blood, completely stabilizing his fifth transformation of the Dragon Transformation, and at the same time making the nascent form of the True Dragon Divine Form in his Wheel Sea a little clearer.
Once everything was ready, Zhou Tong headed straight for the Primordial Ancient Mine.
On the land of the Eastern Wasteland, there are seven Life Forbidden Zone, the most famous of which is the Primordial Ancient Mine in the Northern Region.
This place was originally a Source Mine, but it has become a dead zone. Moreover, it is named "Taichu," meaning that it existed before the creation of heaven and earth, making it hard to imagine how ancient it is.
Beyond the Primordial Ancient Mine, a vast area was almost entirely occupied by Great Sage, as this was the most abundant Source Mine. In fact, about half of the source minerals produced by the Great Sage originated from here; source minerals produced elsewhere simply could not compare with those from here.
Beyond the Primordial Ancient Mine stands the only city— Source City!
However, Zhou Tong did not enter Source City; instead, he took another road towards the Primordial Ancient Mine.
This is the same road that Hengyu the Great once walked.
When Hengyu the Great went to the Primordial Ancient Mine to train his troops, he took this very road. Zhou Tong had seen Hengyu the Great enter this place to train his troops when he was viewing the memories of the Immortal Divine Phoenix Medicine's past life, so he knew very well how Hengyu the Great had taken this route.
Hengyu the Great fought his way in, so all the strange phenomena and oddities that followed him disappeared completely. Even if someone rearranged things later, they were no longer as powerful.
Others might not know what those Forbidden Zone or the creatures within Forbidden Zone were, but Zhou Tong knew very well.
There are several kinds of creatures in the Forbidden Zone, the most important of which are naturally the resting places of the supreme beings; next are the resting places of the guardians or descendants of the supreme beings; and then there are the creatures that protect those guardians, passed down from generation to generation.
Hengyu the Great killed a large number of these guardians and the creatures that had been protecting them for generations in the Primordial Ancient Mine.
It's safe to say that Hengyu the Great must have completely cleared out all the places he once visited.
After Hengyu the Great, no other Great Emperor took control of the Primordial Ancient Mine, and naturally, no new guardian was born. Therefore, the path Hengyu the Great took can be considered the safest path, where all the Weird and Ominous were far less than in other places.
The Primordial Ancient Mine was vast; it took Zhou Tong an entire day to get close to Ancient Mine center.
Suppression, fear, sorrow, grief... waves surged from the front, an emotion that made one lose control.
Zhou Tong activated his Martial Heavenly Eye and gazed into the distance. He saw endless starlight falling like a stream at the far end of the earth. The starlight gathered into a river, a vast expanse of white, flowing into the horizon, and the mysterious fluctuations emanated from there.
"We're finally arriving at the most dangerous place. If it weren't for that... I really wouldn't want to come!" A nine-colored halo was shining between Zhou Tong's brows.
He used the Nine Secrets: Qian to resist the summoning power within the Primordial Ancient Mine with all his might.
At the same time, he was constantly calculating in his mind that this area was already in a state of spacetime distortion. Hengyu the Great could walk in casually back then, but he couldn't just walk in like that. He had to use the principles in the "Source Heaven Book" to make calculations.
Zhou Tong has had the "Source Heaven Book" for several years now, and he is no longer in the same state as when he gambled recklessly in the Holy City. He has already done a certain amount of research on the "Source Heaven Book"; at least he is dozens of times stronger than Ye Fan in the original story when he first obtained the "Source Heaven Book" and came here.
What followed was a winding and circuitous journey, taking two steps back and three steps forward. Based on his understanding of the "Source Heaven Book," Zhou Tong moved forward erratically, sometimes to the left and sometimes to the right.
Along the way, he also encountered many strange creatures in the Primordial Ancient Mine. He killed the weak ones without saying a word, and avoided the strong ones.
Moreover, there were several warnings along the way from the Nine Secrets: Qian, and it was with these prompts that Zhou Tong was able to safely pass through all the crises of the Primordial Ancient Mine.
Finally, Zhou Tong arrived at his destination— Sun-Falling Ridge.
The sun sank and fell below the ridge, which became known as Sun-Falling Ridge. It is a demonic land of extreme heat and yang, burning everything in the world and is one of the most dangerous places in the world.
"We've finally arrived at our destination. It follows the same route that Hengyu the Great took back then, and it took so much effort!" Zhou Tong breathed a sigh of relief. It was finally a little safer here. "Once we get that piece of Phoenix Blood Red Gold, let's leave immediately!"
Upon entering Sun-Falling Ridge, Zhou Tong soon came across a ruin.
It was an ancient building that had not collapsed. There was a plaque on it with the words "Hengyu the Great" inscribed on it.
Behind this building lay a ground littered with corpses—the remains of the ancient creatures that had disturbed Hengyu the Great's military training.
"This is it, found it!" Zhou Tong's Martial Heavenly Eye spotted a piece of Phoenix Blood Red Gold Phoenix Blood Red Gold in the ruins almost instantly, and he quickly put it into his pocket.
"It's time to leave. This place is too ominous. I shouldn't come back until my Hegemon Body is fully developed!" Zhou Tong left quickly. He didn't even dare to open the stone skin sealing the Phoenix Blood Red Gold in the Primordial Ancient Mine, for fear that the light of the Phoenix Blood Red Gold would attract the creatures of the Primordial Ancient Mine.
The way out is much simpler; just go back the way you came.
After a day's travel, Zhou Tong quickly left the area of Primordial Ancient Mine and returned to the vast and boundless land of the Northern Region.
"Finally, we've left the Primordial Ancient Mine!" Zhou Tong breathed a sigh of relief after completely getting away from the Primordial Ancient Mine.
Those few days in the Primordial Ancient Mine were exhausting. He dared not relax at all. The Nine Secrets: Qian was running at almost the highest speed the whole time, and he was constantly using the "Source Heaven Book" to calculate the terrain.
"The most crucial thing is coming up next. I hope I'm not mistaken!" Zhou Tong said, taking out the Phoenix Blood Red Gold with some trepidation.