The burly cultivator carefully rolled up the rubbing paper, packed away all his tools, and stepped back to his companion's side.
"Thank you for accommodating us, fellow Daoist." The burly man cupped his hands in acknowledgment. The two turned and left the stone hall, their footsteps receding until they slowly faded into the wind blowing through the ruins, as though their encounter had been nothing more than a fleeting dream.
Lin Feng stood quietly in the hall, concentrating on his senses. Only when their auras had vanished completely from his range of perception, leaving not the slightest trace, did he bend down to put away the stone fragment and turn to leave the crumbling hall.
He did not immediately begin his return journey. Instead, he lingered at the edge of the ruins, continuing to probe the entire expanse of void. Once he confirmed that no one else lay hidden and everything around him was as usual, he stretched his limbs and retraced his route to Return to the Ruins City.
A faint premonition arose in Lin Feng's heart: beneath these ruins of the Heavenly Machine Pavilion, secrets that had never seen the light of day must still lie buried, merely awaiting discovery. The two people he had just encountered clearly knew more about the broken stone. Throughout his journey, he secretly watched the void behind him, checking again and again. Only after confirming that no one was following him did his mind relax a little.
After several days of uninterrupted flight, the familiar outline of Return to the Ruins City finally appeared in the distance ahead. The city's lights were scattered just as they had always been, and the layout of its streets and alleys remained unchanged. Long gusts sweeping between the towers carried dry dust into his face.
Lin