Outside the Wu Ming Ruins, the Blood-colored Wolf Smoke Pillar had withdrawn. The other outsiders in Da She Village, a kilometer away, arrived one after another, along with the Official Elite Forces maintaining order.
They stared at the hundred or so people at the Manifesting Strength level standing outside and froze. Why were they still here? Weren't they going in to explore?!
Seeing some ordinary people itching to enter the Stone Gate, the Manifesting Strength fighters sneered.
"You have a death wish? We're still deciding whether to go in, and you people who haven't even reached Manifesting Strength want to rush in and get yourselves killed?!"
"My advice? Stay out here and watch. If those puppets kill you inside, no one's going to collect your bodies."
Only then did the ordinary people who had arrived later realize how dangerous it was inside. No wonder even the Manifesting Strength fighters were afraid to enter!
The Official Elite Special Operations Forces at the scene spread out to maintain order again. They stayed alert, wary of monsters rushing out to attack.
Whirrr...
Rotor blades thudded overhead. Six large helicopters hovered in the air, and elite Special Operations Forces members rappelled down from them. The authorities had urgently dispatched another group of Manifesting Strength operatives, codenamed Dragon Fang. They were the elite fighters Fang Hansong had trained when the authorities invited him to serve as their instructor, roughly fifty in all. Another helicopter carried medical personnel and a makeshift operating table to deal with any casualties.
Their mission was much the same as the earlier troops': investigate the Blood Qi Puppets and explore the ruins. Dragon Fang's fifty members split into five squads and entered the Wu Ming Ruins. The people outside began talking.
"The authorities have sent nearly a hundred people in by now, haven't they? Add the hundred or so from the Civilian Faction, and that's over two hundred. Just how big are these ruins? They should have explored the whole place soon, right?!"
"The authorities have too much power. They've got guns and other deadly weapons. Aside from those two Pillaring Grandmasters and the Transforming Strength Great Boxer, who could stand against them? I wonder who'll get the Human Immortal Martial Dao hidden in there."
While the crowd outside argued, people finally began staggering out through the Stone Gate. Blood stained their bodies and their clothes hung in tatters, as though they had just crawled out of a beggar's camp. Curious onlookers crowded around, demanding to know what had happened inside.
"There are... there are stronger puppets! We fell apart the moment we faced one. We were no match for it. And the passages in the ruins move!"
"It was fast and incredibly strong. It knocked me four or five meters back in one hit. My ribs are broken. Good thing the passage moved me near the exit, or I'd be dead. Is there a doctor?!"
"..."
The people outside cried out at the sight of the wounded Manifesting Strength explorers. Many secretly thanked their luck that they had stayed out. Thankfully, the authorities had prepared a medical team.
Meanwhile, Gu Chen, Liu Qing'er, Fang Xiu, Ye Zhen, Wang Xiaoai, and Li Xingming walked through the dim Wu Ming Ruins. They had already weathered four waves of attacks. Fortunately, all their attackers had been Manifesting Strength Blood Qi Puppets. As long as fewer than ten appeared at once, the group could handle them. It had been dangerous, but they had come through unscathed.
Perhaps things had gone a little too smoothly. Ye Zhen's overdramatic streak flared up again.
"Those mere Blood Qi Puppets were nothing. Before me, Ye Liangchen, they couldn't even fight back. To fall by my hand was a blessing..."
Everyone in the group rolled their eyes. They had no words for him. Every time they finished off a Blood Qi Puppet, he launched into another ridiculous speech. He was practically begging for a beating. If the puppets could think, they would have jumped out and ganged up on him long ago.
Gu Chen rolled his eyes too. If he, the creator of these Wu Ming Ruins through Refine Falsehood Into Truth, had not been here and known how the ruins operated, Ye Zhen would already have run into a Centurion-level Blood Qi Puppet and been smashed flat.
Another half hour passed. They occasionally encountered other Manifesting Strength explorers, but the two groups merely hurried past each other. The exploration grew monotonous, and there was still no trace of the rumored Human Immortal Martial Dao. Ye Zhen, who was apparently incapable of keeping quiet, started complaining.
"What idiot ancient built these ruins? The passages shift every so often, and then we have to explore them all over again. We've gone round and round without finding a damn thing. These lousy ruins have made a prodigy like me, Ye Liangchen, wander in circles! If I find that ancient here, I'll dig up his grave..."
"..." Gu Chen's eye twitched as he listened. Apparently, he had been too kind. It was time to teach Ye Zhen to watch his mouth and show a little humility.
At a thought from him, a withered yellow arm reached out of a mound of earth nearby, where numerous Purple-Red Grass Fruits grew.
Rustle, rustle...
The six explorers soon heard the rustling. Puzzled but wary, they turned their Headlamps toward it and spotted the mound covered in Purple-Red Grass Fruits. A faint, unusual fragrance drifted from them, stirring a sudden craving in the group. They wanted to pick the berries and eat them. These had to be something special!
Ye Zhen's face lit up. "I knew it! Fortune favors me! With me here, we've already found a Spirit Medicine!!"
The mound cracked open. A Blood Qi Puppet clad in Beast Hide and rusted armor, with dirt clinging to its body, slowly climbed out. It turned toward the group. Fresh from the ground, its movements were still somewhat stiff.
Ye Zhen laughed and charged at it with a contemptuous look. "Puppet, you should count yourself blessed to die by the hand of a prodigy destined to dominate this era. I, Ye Liangchen, will put an end to your miserable puppet existence! Hahaha..."
"Wait, Ye Zhen! Don't rush in! Something's off about this one!!" Fang Xiu frowned. The Blood Qi Puppet that had emerged from the ground did not seem right to her.
Gu Chen nearly burst out laughing as he watched Ye Zhen charge. This was a Centurion-level Blood Qi Puppet. Even though its strength had fallen to a fraction of what it had been in life, it still possessed combat power comparable to a Transforming Strength Great Boxer.
"Where Ye Liangchen stands, there is heaven! Wandering Gallery Bagua Subdues the World! What can a brainless Blood Qi Puppet do to me?!" Ye Zhen roared as he reached it. He gathered his Whole-Body Force and slammed an Azure Dragon Probing Palm at its head.
Smack!!
The Blood Qi Puppet that had climbed out of the ground merely trembled. Otherwise, it did not react at all. Its sunken eye sockets stared straight at Ye Zhen, whose palm was still against its forehead. Their eyes met, and dread washed over him. He forced an awkward smile.
"Sorry, big guy... You had some dirt on your forehead. I was just brushing it off for you."
As he spoke, Ye Zhen swung both hands and slammed them into its forehead again. It felt like striking a steel plate. Only then did he realize he had picked a fight with something far beyond him. His grandstanding had backfired. He was in trouble!
The Centurion-level Blood Qi Puppet answered Ye Zhen's treacherous sneak attack with a slap of its own. A fierce gust rose with its hand, and Ye Zhen hurriedly tried to retreat.
Thud!!
Ye Zhen flew backward like a battered sack. At last, the ruins had given him the beating he was asking for. He spat blood as he sailed through the air, but still managed to shout.
"Pfft... Thirty Years East of the River, Thirty Years West of the River! I, Ye Liangchen, will remember this slap!"
Liu Qing'er, Fang Xiu, Wang Xiaoai, Li Xingming, and the others heard Ye Zhen still trying to sound impressive even after being slapped hard enough to cough blood. They all thought the same thing: Serves him right!
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