Saint's Ruins

A massive energy tide surged and, moments later, burst straight out of Cloudmist, spreading outward with a roaring rush.

Xiao Xuan was so startled that he hurriedly darted downward. If he were swept into that terrifying energy tide, even as a Dou Zun, he would probably lose a layer of skin even if he survived.

The enormous energy tide shimmered in brilliant colors, resembling an incomparably broad rainbow river beneath the sunlight.

It stretched across the sky in dazzling splendor, yet beneath that beauty lay deadly danger.

Waves of immense, multicolored energy continuously spread out from within the mountain range.

His gaze shifted away from the mountains and finally settled on their entrance.

There, the vast sea of people had already begun to stir restlessly. No matter where one went, being first always came with special benefits.

Even in these terrifying mountains, the first person to enter would likely gain the greatest advantage. Thus, everyone wanted to be that luckiest first one...

They arrived unhindered at the entrance to the ruins, but quite a few people tried their hand at it and could not budge it in the slightest. They could only quietly wait for the ruins to open.

"Brother Xiao, you're here too? Hahaha, excellent. The three of us can join hands and explore this secret realm together."

Hearing this, Xiao Xuan looked up. Wasn't it Tang Xiao and Dan Chengzi, whom he had parted with not long ago?

"Eh? You two big brothers? Sure!"

In the blink of an eye, three days passed. At this moment, the seal on the stone gate before everyone's eyes weakened and was about to open!

A sea of people stood outside the stone gate, and the tedious three-day wait had finally come to an end.

"Whoosh!"

The space before them twisted violently, producing a rushing sound like flowing water. As the sound spread, the fluctuations in that space grew increasingly intense...

Watching the energy seal become ever more illusory amid the distortions, countless eyes beyond the crowd quietly reddened. Even their breathing became much heavier, while the hands clutching their weapons slowly tightened.

Xiao Xuan narrowed his eyes at the increasingly distorted space. Amid those strange rushing sounds, he sensed an incomparably terrifying energy fluctuation. It was exceptionally violent, like a volcano suppressed beneath the earth's crust, ready to erupt in a mad burst.

"Whoosh..."

Another strange rushing sound rang out. The twisted space suddenly froze, and then, with a crisp crack, that distorted space shattered like fragile glass into countless tiny spatial fragments.

As the stone gate gradually opened, an ancient and desolate aura slowly drifted out, making many people turn solemn. Ancient things held an almost sacred significance to many. Xiao Xuan and the other two exchanged glances before leaping inside.

"Charge! The ruins are open!"

The instant the spatial seal shattered, countless figures around the crowd immediately reddened their eyes. Greedy, low roars erupted from their throats as they charged toward the center of the crowd like a swarm of locusts.

"Crack!"

"Aah..."

As though glass had shattered, space fractured. Those who moved too slowly were swallowed by the violent spatial ripples like wheat being harvested, leaving not even scraps behind.

When the Spatial Storm spread over, a glance revealed countless miserable figures rolling across the ground and screaming. Bright-red blood dyed a large stretch of land outside the stone gate.

"Such terrifying Space Strangulation. Even an early-stage Dou Zun could only die with hatred!"

Stepping through the stone gate and looking ahead, they saw that at its deepest point stood a great hall—an enormous hall nearly a thousand zhang tall, almost like a small mountain peak.

As they looked up at that colossal object standing between heaven and earth, a sense of their own insignificance naturally arose within them.

The great hall was entirely crimson. From afar, it looked as though flames were rising from it, making it especially eye-catching within this gray-white space.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

One figure after another gradually slowed, then stopped several hundred meters away from the stone gate. From here, the great hall appeared even more immense. Looking up, its roof seemed to pierce the clouds.

Outside the hall, countless mysterious runes flickered in and out of sight, seemingly forming a formation!

Dan Chengzi said, "Let's join forces to break the formation. Afterward, our fortunes will depend on our own luck."

"Agreed!"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

There were dozens of Dou Zuns present, not to mention high-level Dou Zuns like Tang Xiao and Dan Chengzi.

A crack opened in the formation. Xiao Xuan and the other two exchanged glances and rushed through it at top speed.

"Bastards!"

The Dou Zuns behind them who had failed to make it in time cursed furiously.

Xiao Xuan narrowed his eyes at the skeleton on the throne, as did Tang Xiao and the other.

Even though it was merely a skeleton, it still gave them a powerful sense of oppression.

A Saint. Before his death, the owner of this skeleton had not been an ordinary Dou Saint.

"Such a trivial illusion—break!"

Xiao Xuan raised his hand, unleashing the Golden Emperor Palm at the skeleton on the throne!

"Rumble..."

Seeing this, a glint suddenly flashed across the storage ring on Dan Chengzi's finger, and an exquisite jade bottle appeared in his hand.

A drop of unidentified liquid slowly pulsed within it.

Then, at Dan Chengzi's shout, the jade bottle exploded, and the liquid inside shot toward the skeleton on the throne!

Suddenly, specks of red light floated up from the throne and finally formed an illusory figure, gazing at Xiao Xuan and the other two with a smile.

The figure was entirely insubstantial and clearly not a physical body. He appeared to be around middle age, yet looked extremely young, with a radiant face and an elegant temperament.

"Senior!"

The three saluted him, while secretly remaining on guard in case this fellow suddenly attacked.

"Hehe, at such a young age, you possess such cultivation. Remarkable."

"Young people these days are becoming more and more formidable."

"You needn't be nervous either. It is indeed true that I am dead."

"This is merely a remnant soul I left behind, and it has been sealed within my skeleton."

"If you had not used your power to resonate with it, I would not have been able to appear."

"You three are all rare young talents, so I cannot be bothered with unnecessary words."

"With my inheritance in your hands, you will surely make your names resound throughout the Central Plains."

"Come with me!" the elegant man said with a smile.

Void rippled, and a black cave appeared before the three. Within it was a narrow, pitch-black path leading to an unknown destination. The elegant man stood quietly at the front, watching them.

As they walked through the silent, dark cave, a faint chill curled around them. Within the quiet passageway, only the soft sounds of their footsteps could be heard.

After walking through that silent atmosphere for more than ten minutes, the middle-aged phantom ahead suddenly stopped.

"We're here. This is where the essence blood is located."

The elegant man spoke slowly, carrying the air of a student returning home after studying abroad.