Thankfully, this thing wasn't the first strange occurrence, and he was somewhat used to it.
"After all these years..." the High Priest's eyes regained clarity, "I am finally free..."
"The hero of prophecy," he looked at Ye Fan with difficulty, "Heed my advice, do not proceed further."
"What exactly is this 'King' you speak of?" Ye Fan stepped forward, asking in a deep voice, "How much do you truly know about him?"
A flicker of confusion crossed the High Priest's eyes.
"I... I don't know."
"During this period of muddled existence, I saw many things."
"Although I could never truly fathom the King's existence, I knew it was no longer within the scope of understanding for you or me."
"All I know is that the King is the embodiment of all curses and calamities."
"If it lives, the calamities and curses will only be sealed within its being."
"If you truly kill it, it will bring unimaginable disaster to the world!"
"At that point, everything will be utterly destroyed!"
With those words, the High Priest slowly closed his eyes.
Ye Fan felt a jolt of annoyance, his lips twitching.
To hear his words was like hearing his words!
Couldn't you just speak plainly, damn it!
Suddenly!
A terrifying energy fluctuation emanated from the High Priest!
His withered body rapidly decayed and dissolved, finally transforming completely into a mass of purplish-black mist!
The mist writhed madly in place, exuding an intense aura of evil and destruction!
Everyone, including Ye Fan, quickly retreated.
The next moment!
The mist shot towards Ye Fan!
In an instant, the purplish-black mist was completely absorbed into Ye Fan's body!
Ye Fan's cultivation aura immediately surged to the peak of Golden Core!
Above the great hall.
Dark clouds instantly gathered, accompanied by rumbling thunder!
"Crack!"
A thick bolt of lightning descended!
Just as it was about to hit the ground, the lightning abruptly braked!
Then, it veered, striking horizontally towards the main doors of the hall!
"Crash—!"
Deprived of the purplish-black mist's support, the wooden doors instantly shattered into pieces!
The lightning continued its descent towards Ye Fan without losing speed!
Suddenly!
A wisp of purplish-black mist drifted out from Ye Fan's body, heading towards the lightning!
Upon contact, the lightning was "devoured" by the mist!
After consuming the lightning, the black mist continued to fly outwards.
"Crack—!"
"Crack—!"
Two more tribulation lightning bolts descended.
The purplish-black mist turned around and shot towards the sky!
As the two tribulation lightning bolts arrived mid-air, they were disintegrated by the purplish-black mist!
The mist then continued its ascent, plunging into the tribulation clouds!
The vast tribulation clouds instantly dissipated!
The purplish-black mist then changed direction and returned into Ye Fan's body.
Ye Fan's cultivation successfully reached the first level of Nascent Soul!
Everything happened too quickly!
By the time everyone recovered, it was already over!
Everyone looked at Ye Fan.
Faces filled with bewilderment...
Wasn't that the tribulation lightning for crossing tribulations just now...?
And what the hell are you, sir?
Not only did you absorb that terrifying mist without any ill effects, but you can even release it?
Are you in league with the monsters?!
...
Despite their myriad questions, no one dared to ask.
Who would dare to be the first to speak up at this moment?
What if they angered the powerful figure and received a blow? Who could withstand it...
Everyone lowered their heads, quietly maintaining a slight distance from Ye Fan.
It was as if Ye Fan were some monstrous beast...
However, they were overthinking it.
Ye Fan currently had no time to pay attention to them.
That large mass of purplish-black mist had all been absorbed by the stone in his spiritual sea.
After absorbing the mist, the stone actually trembled.
Ye Fan was now extremely eager to understand what was going on!
Why could that stone absorb the mist?
Would the mist remaining inside him cause any unknown consequences?
"Please wait a moment, everyone."
Leaving those words behind, Ye Fan entered the stone's internal world.
Seeing Ye Fan disappear instantly, everyone exchanged bewildered glances...
Should they go or stay?
If they left now, how would they deal with the dangers outside?
But if they didn't leave, it didn't seem very safe either.
What if another terrifying monster rushed in later?
...
Inside the stone's internal world.
Ye Fan reappeared next to the circular platform within the barrier.
The purplish-black mist previously absorbed by the stone was now swirling above the platform.
Mysterious talismans continuously circled the mist.
With each rotation, they absorbed a little.
At this rate, the purplish-black mist would eventually be consumed by these talismans.
Ye Fan sat down on the circular platform.
By now, he didn't have many bullets left.
If he continued forward, his strength was clearly insufficient.
Once the bullets ran out, he would be at a significant disadvantage.
The bullet shot at the High Priest earlier had been fired using cores from Nascent Soul realm demons.
Even so, it took over a dozen shots to resolve the situation.
The King mentioned by the High Priest was undoubtedly stronger than him.
It was possible that even his sniper rifle wouldn't be able to penetrate its defenses.
It was time to improve his strength!
Whether he could win or not was another matter, but at least he wouldn't be instantly killed...
Ye Fan once again immersed himself in contemplation.
Mysterious talismans spun around him.
One talisman detached itself and shuttled through Ye Fan's body.
After an unknown amount of time.
The talisman entered Ye Fan's body and never reappeared.
This meant that Ye Fan had completely fused with that talisman.
And this was precisely the tenth one!
Ye Fan stood up and looked up at the sky.
The purplish-black mist formed by the High Priest's transformation had vanished, likely "eaten" by the talismans.
"Hoo—"
Ye Fan let out a breath and ran towards the outside of the barrier.
His body swayed and leaped, drawing closer to the distant Heavenly Ladder.
Finally!
After one last jump and landing, Ye Fan reached the Heavenly Ladder!
From a distance, he hadn't felt much.
Now, up close, he realized just how massive this Heavenly Ladder was!
Each step was the size of two or three rooms.
And its height was around thirty feet!
What secrets...
were buried up there...
With a mixture of trepidation and curiosity, Ye Fan stepped onto the first stair.
The moment his feet touched the step, a bright light appeared beneath him.
The light then spread outwards, forming intricate patterns.
As these patterns emerged, the surrounding scene instantly changed!
Everything vanished.
He was now in an independent space.
Knee-deep white mist stretched as far as the eye could see.
There was nothing else!
The surroundings were eerily silent; Ye Fan could clearly hear his own heartbeat and breathing. Da Feng Novel Network
Ye Fan clenched his fist and attempted to walk forward.
Suddenly!
A sense of danger emanated from his back!
Before Ye Fan could react, he was struck heavily on the back!
Ye Fan stumbled, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
He slowly lowered his head...
Piercing his heart was a cone formed from condensed mist.
Truthfully, it didn't hurt at all.
But Ye Fan clearly felt his life force rapidly draining away...
The mist cone dissipated.
"Pfft—!"
Blood spurted from the large hole in Ye Fan's chest!
Ye Fan staggered, then fell headlong into the mist.
"Plop!"
It wasn't a loud sound.
But in the extreme silence, it was exceptionally clear.
Ye Fan lay on the ground, his vision filled with white mist.
His strength was rapidly fading...
His mind grew increasingly hazy...
A flicker of unwillingness crossed Ye Fan's eyes.
After all his strenuous efforts.
Just when he could finally explore the secrets of the Heavenly Ladder, he was to die like this...
Finally.
Ye Fan's last wisp of consciousness vanished along with his final breath.
Ye Fan...
Was dead!