Entering the Ruins

On the projection of the Communication Crystal, Kepu's location resembled a Treasure Vault, with a mountain of Originium piled up behind him. However, Gu Ding also noticed something unusual: Kepu's eyes had turned completely crimson, and even his hair had turned blood red.

"Oh my, I really didn't expect you to succeed." Kepu's eyes and hair quickly returned to their original color.

"Enough with the nonsense. Keep your promise and tell me where you hid Pa Ma?" Gu Ding asked coldly.

"Speaking of which, you're really lucky, you just happened to run into that Three-Headed Worm undergoing its tribulation." Kepu's words surprised Gu Ding.

"You're on this planet?!" Gu Ding reacted instantly. All the detectors on this planet had long since stopped working; even Sea Emperor had checked them. The Communication Crystal from before had been put into his Storage Space, and even if it activated automatically, nothing could be seen outside of that Storage Space. This could only mean one thing: Kepu was on this planet, and he had witnessed everything that had just happened.

"It seems you're a little smarter than I thought," Kepu didn't deny the answer. "You can continue guessing where I am."

"Gu Ding, the only place on this planet that I cannot detect is that one hidden ruin. That ruin was concealed by High-rank God using special methods, which is why it was able to evade my detection. If Kepu is on this planet, then he must be hiding in that ruin." The Sea Emperor immediately understood that Kepu had never actually left this planet.

"You are in the ruins of that High-rank God!" Gu Ding's answer was firm.

"Oh, you guessed right again... You're a little bit smarter than I thought." On the projected screen, Kepu casually extended his thumb and forefinger to gauge Gu Ding's intelligence; the distance between his two fingers was no more than two millimeters. He closed one eye, carefully observing the gap between his fingers with the other, and asked nonchalantly, "So, do you know exactly where this ruin is located?"

Gu Ding didn't answer the question, but instead issued a final warrant with an icy expression. "Hand over Pa Ma, or I'll kill you!"

"Are you sure you have the strength?" Kepu finally looked up at Gu Ding, a mocking smile on his lips. "I know you haven't used your sealing ability yet. But do you really think I brought you here just to weaken your sealing ability? You're too naive, young man! I am a mid-level Four-Star Mid-rank God. The sheer volume of my divine source is enough to crush you, making it impossible for you to get close or break through my defenses. Your sealing ability is completely useless against me."

"I sent you here simply to have you hold off that Three-Headed Worm so I could plunder the treasures on the Second Level of the ruins while he's away. There are two Mechanical Beast guarding this ruin, both Five-Star Mid-rank God. If I force my way in, the Three-Headed Worm will be there too, leaving me to fight three against one. While I wouldn't necessarily die, it would be very troublesome, and I'd definitely get injured. Luckily, you're here. So, I'm using you to lure him out and buy me some time. It seems your mission was very successful, and mine went smoothly too. I just dealt with those two Mechanical Beasts, and the Communication Crystal rang. Tell me, wouldn't you say we're telepathically connected?" Kepu tilted his head slightly, smiling faintly. He really enjoyed this feeling of being in control.

"I'll say it again, hand over Pa Ma!" Gu Ding stubbornly gave his reply.

Kepu glanced at his Smart Watch. "There are still over six hours until the ten-day deadline. What's the rush? We haven't seen each other for so long, can't we catch up? Your indifferent attitude makes it really hard to continue the conversation. Since you don't want to talk, I'll go loot the treasure. You can do whatever you want. Anyway, after you killed the Three-Headed Worm, I've fulfilled my promise, and you already know where I am. Goodbye..."

The screen on the Communication Crystal quickly went black, because the other party had turned it off. Gu Ding had an urge to crush the Communication Crystal.

"Why do I feel like this kid is so arrogant?" Sea Emperor couldn't help but complain.

"Sea Emperor, can't you find the entrance to that ruin?" Gu Ding felt they couldn't delay any longer. That guy, Kepu, might just loot the ruins and run away; given his personality, he was definitely capable of doing that. If they couldn't rescue Pa Ma this time, who knew when the next opportunity would come?

"I can't scan the location of the ruins, but I recorded the process of the Three-Headed Demon Dragon surfacing, and I can see where it emerged from the seabed. That point where it appeared should be the entrance to the ruins." The Sea Emperor quickly found the coordinates of the point where the Three-Headed Demon Dragon emerged from the seabed, but he was still somewhat uneasy.

"Gu Ding, the coordinates have been found. Based on what I can't currently detect, the ruins should be in a separate space, and the area shouldn't be submerged by seawater. But Kepu has already admitted that he is Four-Star Mid-rank God. The fact that he could defeat two Five-Star Mid-rank God Mechanical Beast means that his actual Combat Strength should be at least five-star or higher. Moreover, judging from the changes in his pupils and hair color just now, it's clearly a technique or supernatural power that enhances Combat Strength. The most important point is that he knows you haven't used your sealing ability, but he also knows the flaws in that sealing ability. As long as he crushes you with his divine source, you have absolutely no chance of winning."

"Regardless of whether there's a chance of winning, I have to go! I can't just stand by and watch Pa Ma become infected with the virus!" Gu Ding's eyes revealed a resolute determination. "Tell me the location of the ruins."

After the Sea Emperor projected the map, Gu Ding descended all the way down.

Although his current Cell Comprehensive Index is strong enough to withstand the immense pressure of the deep sea, he is still just a living being of flesh and blood, and his body needs oxygen to function properly. At this moment, a small technique within the Myriad Manifestations Emperor Body comes in handy, allowing him to control every pore of his body to absorb the oxygen needed for bodily functions in the water.

He quickly infiltrated the location indicated on the Sea Emperor's map.

Because of the enormous size of the Three-Headed Demon Dragon, its location wasn't a single point for Gu Ding, but rather a range of areas. After searching for a while, Gu Ding finally found the entrance behind a patch of deep-sea coral.

He moved swiftly and darted inside.

After entering the ruins, Gu Ding stepped onto a flat area.

This place appears to be a huge underground cave. Indeed, just as the giant crocodile said, one can feel a large amount of divine energy floating in the air as soon as one enters.

Gu Ding looked up and saw many stalactites hanging overhead, while the Sea Emperor projected the map he had detected.

The map as a whole is shaped like a vortex, with three layers and an irregular dot at the very center. Gu Ding is currently standing on the outermost layer. However, even though it is generally vortex-shaped, the roads in sight are still winding and twisting, making it uncertain what will happen after the turn.

"There are no signs of life on the outermost layer. Kepu is on the Second Level, alone. I didn't see Pa Ma. The Third Level and the middle area both have Mechanical Beast holding the handles." Sea Emperor quickly gave his findings.

"Pa Ma is very likely in his field," Gu Ding quickly offered his guess.

"That's very likely, because the only thing I can't detect on this planet is this ruin. And if it's not in the ruin, then it must be in his domain." As the Sea Emperor spoke, he began to investigate the situation inside his domain. After a while, the situation inside Kepu's domain was projected, and Pa Ma was indeed inside.

In the projection, Pa Ma was sleeping on the ground, breathing steadily. This reassured Gu Ding somewhat, as her condition seemed much better than ten days ago, and there were no signs of infection with the virus.

Knowing that Pa Ma was safe and sound, Gu Ding had the Sea Emperor switch the projection back to the map of the cave in front of them.

Following the map's directions, Gu Ding darted about quickly. This area was ridiculously large, and there were stones everywhere that obstructed the view, making it easy to get lost. It took Gu Ding a lot of effort to finally find the entrance to the Second Level.

The entrance is blocked by two huge rocks, leaving only a gap about the thickness of a palm. People can vaguely see light coming out from behind, and can also observe that the two huge rocks are at least thousands of meters thick.

Not far from the crevice, there is a green stone tablet about half a person's height, on which are carved three lines of text:

This is the entrance to the Second Level. Entering the Second Level is simple; just push aside the two giant rocks.

[Note: These two giant rocks are protected by a barrier, and they cannot be damaged unless there is power surpassing that of a god.]

[Friendly reminder: Only those with the strength of Mid-rank God or above can move these two stones. Those who are not strong enough should be careful if they try, lest they strain their backs.]

Gu Ding naturally saw the message of friendship, but he chose to ignore it.

He reached his hands into the gap and tried with all his might to pry the two boulders apart, but to his surprise, the boulders wouldn't budge an inch.

Gu Ding tried several times, all with the same result, but he was still unwilling to give up. So, he punched the rocks, trying to completely crush them, but when his fist struck, the rocks not only didn't crack at all, but also generated a recoil force that sent Gu Ding. Gu Ding's arm went numb from the strong recoil, and two of the fingers in his fist were almost broken. It felt like an ordinary human punching a rock.

Gu Ding then realized that the carving on the blue stone tablet was not a joke after all. He stood before the crack, hesitated for a moment, and then took out the Communication Crystal again... (To be continued...)