The residence was dim, with only a faint glimmer of gold and black slowly drifting through the air.
Qin He shed Liu Chengan's outer guise, returned to his original appearance, and sat quietly on a meditation cushion.
Every trace of demonic energy lingering around him had long since been drawn in.
The Black Demon Banner floated half a foot before him, its patterned surface glowing faintly with demonic light. Long Qingyun's soul projection drifted languidly inside, his expression tinged with weariness.
"How much do you know about the Return to Ruins Realm?" Qin He asked, his voice low and even.
"I interrogated Liu Chengan. There was hardly any useful information." Long Qingyun's soul light wavered gently. After a moment's hesitation, he slowly continued, "All I know is that it's an ancient battlefield left over from the Ancient Era, so old that even the Divine Court's records are incomplete."
"What war was fought there? Who was the enemy?" Qin He pressed.
"I don't know."
Long Qingyun shook his head, a trace of gravity showing in his spectral form. "The surviving fragments of ancient texts contain only one vague line: 'The realm collapsed, and ten thousand bones returned to the ruins.' Beyond that, not another word. It's as though someone deliberately erased every trace of that place. Even divination through heavenly secrets can't see through it."
Qin He tapped his knee lightly, a faint light flickering in his eyes. "What about the coordinates?"
"It's a forbidden land. Its coordinates are concealed by the Heavenly Dao."
Long Qingyun sounded certain. "Ordinary cultivators never even hear its name. The fact that you and I know of the Return to Ruins Realm is already a gap in the veil of heavenly secrets. But... what seems far beyond the horizon is right before our eyes."
"The