In the mountain woods, a stream wound around scattered rocks and flowed slowly into the distance.
Su Yu sat cross-legged on the bank, circulating the Azure Profound Divine Art to calm the blood qi surging inside him.
Blocking Tao Lie's saber light again and again had taken a considerable toll. Fortunately, his body was strong enough that he had escaped injury. After taking a medicinal pill to restore his true essence, his aura soon steadied.
Little Red lay beside him, head tucked beneath a wing, enjoying a rare spell of quiet.
Only when the sun began sinking toward the west did Su Yu open his eyes.
His true essence had almost fully recovered.
He took out his map and studied it carefully for a while.
The earlier chase had taken him off his original course. Still, he could match several nearby peaks to the map, so he was not lost.
"There's another set of ruins here."
Su Yu's gaze settled on a marked area.
The accompanying notes from the merchant association mentioned this place briefly. Apparently, extensive ancient buildings remained in the mountains. Most of the outskirts had already been searched, but many restrictions deeper inside were still intact. On each previous expedition into the secret realm, martial artists had found rewards there.
Since it was not far away, it was naturally worth a look.
"Little Red, let's go."
Little Red raised his head, shook out his feathers, and spread his crimson wings once more.
A little over an hour later, the mountains ahead gradually opened up.
Between two green mountains, a cluster of ancient buildings spread across the slope. Most of the outer walls had collapsed, and broken stone pillars lay hidden among the vegetation. Farther in, halls still stood tall, their roof ridges peeking through the woods,