The big black dog was struck by lightning and convulsed, lying on the ground, foaming at the mouth!
Hearing the little girl say that, he was startled and immediately struggled to get up!
As soon as Nangong Zheng pointed, the big black dog was enveloped in a soft blue light. In an instant, its bones cracked and sprang, and a rain of light filled the air. Its injuries healed rapidly.
"Senior, please show us the way. This is the Boundless Array Pattern!" The big black dog took out a tattered, ancient scroll and let Nangong Zheng examine it. He dared not lead the way anymore, or he might lose his life.
Nangong Zheng's eyes flashed with a strange light as he took it. The big black dog possessed one-tenth of the Boundless Array Pattern, and it happened to be the direction from which they entered.
He sat down cross-legged, stared at the ancient scroll, and began to comprehend it silently.
Ten days passed before he slowly stood up.
"You can go in now," Nangong Zheng said. Although he hadn't fully grasped the concept, getting inside shouldn't be a problem.
Rumble!
At that very moment, a strange black wind came from ahead, a black gale that uprooted ancient trees and swept them high into the sky!
"It's that strange wind again!" The big black dog looked terrible, its bald tail standing on end. Ye Fan also looked serious; clearly, they had already experienced this before.
Nangong Zheng's gaze was deep, his pupils flashing, as he saw a pair of cold and vicious eyes staring at them from the black eye of the storm!
Sizzle!
A flash of light appeared between Nangong Zheng's brows, and a small tree flew out, swaying with chaotic sword light, its gleaming blade slashing towards that spot.
The strange black wind vanished, and the eyes went out completely, seemingly disappearing into nothingness without a trace.
In the sky, a tuft of long black hair danced, and there was nothing else.
"What the hell is that?" Ye Fan exclaimed in surprise.
"It's nothing, let's continue." A faint light flashed between Nangong Zheng's brows, and the sapling returned.
Soon, they continued on their way and came to another valley, where they immediately felt a scorching heat.
Because a black mountain blocked the way, with many ancient caves spewing flames outward.
"True Sun Fire?" Nangong Zheng's eyes flashed; this was the most terrifying flame in the World.
At this moment, he remembered that there seemed to be a formidable demon saint here.
In the original story, even with the old madman's intervention, the terrifying demon saint was not spared.
It's important to note that in the original story, the old madman was already in the late stage of the Saint King realm at this point, which shows how terrifying he was, yet he still managed to escape.
"There is a demon saint here. Be careful and try to conceal your presence!"
Everyone was shocked to discover that a demon saint was here. They immediately used various methods to suppress their aura as much as possible.
With a wave of his hand, Nangong Zheng created a hazy light that obscured everyone.
He used natural methods to suppress everyone's aura, making them seem to blend into the World, indistinguishable from one another.
They then crossed the area without incident and set off deeper into the sacred cliff.
Nangong led the group through one strange and perilous place after another. They avoided provoking anything along the way and tried to keep clear of everything, so they managed to escape danger without any major incidents. Finally, they arrived at the deepest part of the place.
The central mountain towers into the clouds, its entire body a dark red, as if soaked in blood, and even has a strong, bloody smell, which is quite astonishing.
Furthermore, on this mountain, there is a stone coffin!
"Could it be that the body of that Great Accomplished Saint was buried on the mountain?" Ye Fan exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes, that's right there." Nangong Zheng nodded calmly.
"The Investiture of the Gods by the Great Emperor Wushi!" the big black dog exclaimed, suddenly becoming excited.
"What Investiture of the Gods?" Ye Fan was shocked, because there was also a legend of the Investiture of the Gods in his hometown.
The big black dog ignored him, its big eyes wide open, muttering to itself, looking somewhat lost and dejected.
"Let's retrieve the Nine Secrets first. The 'Xing' Secret is located on that mountain peak!" Nangong Zheng said, taking out the ancient scroll Ye Fan had given him and carefully comparing it.
The big black dog and Ye Fan were both somewhat uneasy, seemingly preoccupied, but they still began climbing the mountain. The array patterns here were terrifying, and the group followed behind Nangong Zheng, not daring to fall behind.
Even Nangong Zheng was walking very slowly at this moment, showing extreme caution!
Because if you go to the wrong place here, the consequences will be extremely serious, equivalent to being slapped by Wushi!
Nearly three hours later, they finally arrived at the halfway point of the mountain.
At this moment, fog rose between heaven and Earth, with ribbons of black mist swirling around, making everything appear very dim, but the atmosphere became even more eerie.
"Nannan saw several people, both men and women!" Little Nannan, sitting on Ye Fan's shoulders, suddenly spoke in a clear voice, pointing ahead.
"Ignore them. Those guys are in great danger. Let's go up the mountain. We've come here for the Nine Secrets. We don't need to worry about anything else," Nangong Zheng said solemnly, transmitting his voice in secret.
There are immortal Taoists in this place, so we must be vigilant and careful!
The group didn't dare to breathe loudly as they walked step by step up the mountain, not daring to look back. Even the Black Emperor behaved himself.
Finally, they reached the summit.
This is a vast cliff, very expensive. It's large enough to build a small town on top of it.
However, this place was a barren wasteland, devoid of vegetation, entirely black, with dark red bloodstains and pools of blood in certain areas.
Of course, the most eye-catching thing is at the edge of the sacred cliff, where a huge stone coffin, hundreds of feet long, hangs on the precipice.
"The remains of the Great Accomplished Holy Body are in the stone coffin, but where is that secret inscription?" Ye Fan wondered.
"It's right here in this coffin!" Nangong Zheng's expression turned solemn.
"Does this mean we have to open the coffin?" The big black dog's expression changed. If the ancient corpse became sentient, none of them would survive.
"This stone coffin is moldy, no, it's covered in green mold..." Ye Fan exclaimed in surprise, involuntarily taking a few steps back.
"The curse of the Holy Body?" the big black dog asked in surprise.
"Look here!" Ye Fan pointed to two stone tablets.
Beside the ancient coffin are two stone tablets inscribed with words of remembrance. In addition, there are two huge star charts, each with a thin line pointing into the depths of the starry sky.
"A bald man and an old geezer!" Black Emperor exclaimed in surprise.
There are two markings on it, one is a Buddha, and the other is an older man riding a bull.
"Shakyamuni and Lao Tzu!" Nangong Zheng's heart stirred slightly, and those star charts were the ancient star road.
"These two old bastards…" the big black dog muttered.
"These two are quite remarkable. More than two thousand years ago, they were already quasi-emperors." Nangong Zheng glanced at the big black dog.
"What? Quasi-Emperors from two thousand years ago! The big black dog was dumbfounded. He never expected that the two people he had been so viciously slandering actually had such unfathomable cultivation. He was immediately filled with fear and quickly shut his mouth.
Ye Fan was even more shocked and somewhat dazed. Where were the two ancient sages of Earth who were quasi-emperors more than two thousand years ago? Could they have become immortals?
Bang!
At that very moment, a soft sound suddenly emanated from inside the ancient coffin, and an unparalleled, terrifying, and chilling killing intent permeated the air, as if some terrifying being had awakened.
Splash!
The next moment, Nangong Zheng summoned an ancient banner, which unleashed a fierce and malevolent aura. Various ghostly creatures bared their fangs and claws, exuding a chilling aura, as if they had devoured millions of souls, and rushed towards the top of the stone coffin!