Stealing Heavenly Secrets

Time ticked by, second after second. The endless dirge seemed ready to seep through the coffin, stirring in everyone a faint urge to prostrate themselves before the Small Coffin.

"Could this be the funeral music of an ancient emperor being laid to rest?" Zhang Ziling remarked, a hint of surprise in his voice.

At that moment, nine piercing dragon cries rang out across the sky, shaking mountains and rivers. A vivid scene seemed to unfold before their eyes.

In an instant, they felt as if they were witnessing an unparalleled Great Emperor—from his reign over the earth and dominion over the eight corners of the universe, to his death on the frontier with his imperial blood spent, followed by a grand funeral held by all living beings.

Even Li Zhi was lost in thought, pondering which Great Emperor the scene depicted.

"Look, those Buddhist treasures are glowing again," someone shouted, pointing to a corner of the Bronze Giant Coffin.

The Buddhist relics, set aside by the group, now radiated a golden divine light.

Then, countless beams of divine brilliance were absorbed by the coffin walls, sinking into the ancient bronze carvings.

Soon after, a section of the star chart on the coffin wall began to flicker.

Seeing the engraving of the Big Dipper light up, Li Zhi immediately set to memorizing every detail of that star chart.

Those star charts seemed to be Star Coordinates.

Though only the Big Dipper region was illuminated, the chart encompassed the entire cosmos, with many unlit areas.

He didn't yet know how to interpret Star Coordinates.

But once he memorized the chart, he could use it as a map when traversing the universe, locating other ancient stars.

Near the Big Dipper, Li Zhi also spotted the engraved star representing Ziwei Ancient Star.

While he focused on memorizing the chart, Lin Jia and Zhou Yi discussed where they might be headed.

Suddenly, someone shouted, "Everyone, look—that glowing line has stopped spreading. It seems to have halted in the Big Dipper's starfield."

At the same time, everyone felt the Bronze Giant Coffin shudder violently, as if it had crashed into a mountain.

Those who'd experienced a similar event on Ancient Scarlet Planet immediately recognized this as a sign of landing.

"It looks like we've reached our destination," someone said, excitement plain in their voice.

"Could we be at the Big Dipper?" another wondered.

"Is this the legendary Immortal Realm?" someone asked, full of hopeful anticipation.

"Following the Ancient Starry Road forged by the Deity to its end—what kind of world will we face?" another voiced concern.

Unlike the others, Li Zhi quickly began packing his belongings. He stuffed the Rubbings, Luoyang Shovel, Eternal Blue Gold Scriptures, and Hundred Herbs Diagram into his Snakeskin Bag, then tied it securely to his body.

At the same time, he silently called out to the Deity of the Hundred Herbs Diagram, hoping the senior would send out the Ginseng Fruit to save his life.

The vast universe, the boundless starry sky—who knows how many secrets it hides.

Every living being on a Life Ancient Star is endlessly curious about the cosmos above.

Thus, some are born who love to gaze at the stars, perhaps hoping to one day make contact with extraterrestrial civilizations.

In the desolate, dark void of space, nine Dragon Corpses pulled a Bronze Giant Coffin, racing through a passage seemingly woven from time. As it passed a sacred ancient star made of five vast continents, it suddenly veered, bursting out of the Time Passage.

Then, at an unimaginable speed, it descended onto that star, landing beside an abyss surrounded by Nine Holy Mountains.

The Bronze Giant Coffin, dragged by the nine Dragon Corpses, tumbled several times on one of the Holy Mountains before finally coming to a stop.

The region formed by the Nine Holy Mountains was none other than the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Zone—one of the seven great Forbidden Zones of Life on the Ancient Beidou Star.

With the arrival of the Nine Dragons Coffin Transport, this eternally still and unchanging forbidden zone seemed to emit a faint, barely perceptible ripple.

Many Cultivators from Yan State, near the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Zone, caught that strange fluctuation and sent their disciples to investigate the edge of the zone.

An anomaly in the forbidden zone often heralded world-shaking fortune or disaster.

They had to take it seriously.

Meanwhile, Inside the Bronze Giant Coffin, after a dizzying spin, everyone finally landed steadily.

"Boom!"

With a thunderous crash, the coffin lid shifted again, sliding heavily to the side, leaving the entire coffin tipped over. (It seemed someone feared they couldn't climb out of the eight- or nine-meter-high walls, so each time it stopped, the coffin was left overturned.)

"Light—I see light!"

Those who'd just recovered from their dizziness spotted the gap where the lid had opened.

Eagerly, they rushed toward the light beyond the gap.

The crowd poured out, bathed in brightness.

Looking around, there was no longer the dim sky or blood-soaked, desolate earth of Ancient Scarlet Planet.

Fresh air greeted them, carrying the scent of soil mixed with the fragrance of flowers and grass, as if they were standing on a spring-kissed plain.

Taking in their surroundings, they realized they stood atop a Not High mountain peak. Before them were lush peaks, verdant forests, full of life and vitality.

Near the summit, strange rocks dotted the ground, ancient trees stood tall, and thick vines as wide as buckets coiled like hornless dragons along the cliffs. Green grass and fragrant wildflowers adorned the crevices between the stones.

Compared to the gloom and desolation of Mars, this was undoubtedly a peaceful, blessed land.

"Great—we've finally escaped the darkness and desolation, and come to such a beautiful, sacred place."

"Finally, no more fear and dread."

Many were cheering, some even crying tears of joy. After a series of deaths and hardships, they had finally arrived in a world full of life and nature.

"Kissing the sunlight, telling myself to live on well." Even the sharp and seductive Lin Jia couldn't help reciting poetry.

Pang Bo stood atop a mountain peak, roaring at the distant ranges: "I've finally seen the sun again! Even if it's not the same one as before, I still shout it loud—I've been reborn!"

Ye Fan even let a rare smile slip.

But compared to those bursting with poetic inspiration, Li Zhi, upon seeing the beautiful scene before him, felt as if he had fallen into the Nine Abysses, his entire body ice-cold.

Blood-soaked earth, layers of white bones—they seemed to carpet the entire Holy Mountain.

There was no beauty to speak of; it was like stepping into a demonic land of death.

And something seemed to be watching him, sending a chilling dread crawling up his spine. He stood frozen, not daring to make a single move.

Seeing Ye Fan walking toward him, the creeping horror in Li Zhi's heart eased slightly. He spoke first: "Ye Fan, since we've made it to the New World, it's time to say goodbye. Until we meet again."

At these words, Ye Fan's classmates, who had been in high spirits, all turned to look at him, as if expecting an explanation.

Li Zhi cupped his hands toward the crowd and said, "I wish you all a smooth journey in the New World, and may your wishes come true. Everyone, until we meet again."

Then, without another word, Li Zhi bolted toward the outskirts of the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Zone.

His speed left everyone stunned.

In just over ten seconds, Li Zhi had crossed a mountain peak and vanished from sight.

The group stood there, dumbfounded.

Pang Bo walked over to Ye Fan and asked, "Ye Zi, what's up with Boss Li?"

A flicker of doubt passed through Ye Fan's eyes. He shook his head. "I don't know either."

At that moment, Lin Jia also came over. "Could it be that he knows what this place is, and that's why he ran off in a hurry?"

"Everyone, come look—there's a stone tablet here." Zhang Ziling's voice suddenly rang out from nearby.

Ye Fan and the others hurried over. Amid a pile of rubble, they spotted half a Stone Tablet lying there.

After brushing away the vines tangled around it, they saw three ancient, weathered characters.

Even Ye Fan, who had studied various ancient scripts, took a long time to identify them. "It seems to say 'Barren Ancient Forbidden'..."

"Could it be the Barren Ancient Forbidden Zone?" Lin Jia blurted out, startling even herself.

"Boss Li sure is a lousy friend," Pang Bo said. "If he knew this was a forbidden zone, he should've told us instead of running off alone."

Ye Fan shook his head. "We can't be sure of the situation yet. Let's look around first."

Pang Bo said, "I'm thirsty anyway. Let's see if there's water nearby."

The group then scattered.

Lin Jia came up beside Ye Fan and asked quietly, "Ye Fan, why do you trust that Li Zhi so much?"

Ye Fan replied flatly, "We've killed a man together and buried the body."

Lin Jia's eyes went wide as she stared at Ye Fan. She hadn't expected that the seemingly mysterious Boss Li shared such a "life-and-death" bond with him.

No wonder Ye Fan had been so calm when he saw Li Zhi kill someone.

"Do you two know something?" Lin Jia asked.

Ye Fan said, "I think Brother Li was afraid we'd mess up his plans. If I'm guessing right, he doesn't want to walk the path of cultivation with us."

At that moment, Ye Fan recalled the Cultivation Method Li Zhi had offered to sell him for five million.

It seemed that now that they'd arrived at a place where cultivation was possible, Li Zhi didn't want any entanglements with his old classmates over the method, so he left early.

But what Ye Fan couldn't figure out was why he had faintly sensed a trace of fear from Li Zhi just now.

Thinking this over, Ye Fan turned to look back at the endless abyss encircled by the Nine Holy Mountains.