Beautiful!
As Gu Qingshan drew closer, a cold mechanical voice sounded from inside the iron gate:
"Target detected. Identity confirmed: human."
"Passage granted."
The iron gate rumbled.
It opened automatically.
Gu Qingshan looked inside. The gate was little more than a tiny entrance. Beyond it lay a world that had been utterly destroyed.
Ruins.
Ruins stretched as far as the eye could see.
This Underground World covered several million square kilometers. Judging by the layout and density of its buildings, one could easily imagine how prosperous it had once been.
Alas, not a living thing remained.
Only a Giant Demon Egg, hundreds of meters tall and black as night, floated above the ruins. Its shell was covered in mysterious runes that flickered bright and dim.
It drifted alone above the vast, boundless ruins.
The Giant Demon Egg radiated immense power. Whenever it moved forward or backward, the entire sky trembled.
"Welcome. You are the 8,925th visitor to this breeding ground of ruins, human male."
The Giant Demon Egg flew toward Gu Qingshan, speaking gently in the Human Race's common tongue.
This thing was powerful.
Gu Qingshan thought in silence, then asked, "Some of my companions have been turned to stone. Is there any way you can save them?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't help you," the Giant Demon Egg replied.
Gu Qingshan's heart sank. He gazed quietly at the Giant Demon Egg.
A string of strange characters appeared above its head.
Clearly, it was thinking about something.
Gu Qingshan had traveled through the Nine Hundred Million Layer World and learned many languages from the scholars of the tower, including various common tongues. Later, when he reached Void City, he had taken the time to study even more languages at the Assassin Guild.
But he had never seen these characters before.