So the opening of Ruins passages might not itself be some kind of "Gift" that allowed people from the Main World to enter the Ruins, obtain resources, and cultivate powerful Transcendents.
Instead, it might be some kind of mystical ritual meant to strengthen the connection between the Main World and the Ruins?
If that speculation was true, did that mean the Ruins slots everyone in the Main World was so eager for were themselves one of the "keys" pulling the Ruins closer, allowing the gaze of Outer Gods to fall upon the Main World?
The harder they worked, the closer the apocalypse came.
That was a little hellish.
He Ao shook his head and followed Liu Zhengyun's footsteps as they quickly passed through a narrow corridor.
The entire corridor sloped downward. It was long and cramped, its lights dim, while everything ahead looked gray and hazy, as though it led into the depths of an abyss.
But He Ao did not slow his pace in the slightest.
Even if it was a road toward death, that did not necessarily make it the wrong road.
If the Ruins had not opened time and again, if Transcendents had not emerged from them one after another, the Main World might have exposed its coordinates and been completely destroyed as early as the Velora incident.
The reverse side of a Gift was a price, and the reverse side of a price was also a Gift.
That was how this world worked, following the ancient principle of equivalent exchange.
The road leading to death brought them closer to death, but perhaps that was precisely why it might allow them to find an opportunity to survive.
"We're here."
Liu Zhengyun stopped at the end of the corridor. After verifying his identity, he pushed open the door