Ancient Ruins

Hun Tianchen was very satisfied with this performance.

"Not bad."

Just a bland word of praise was enough to make Ninth Elder Moyu wildly excited, as though he had received a reward from the heavens.

This undoubtedly further provoked the other Venerates. Those Dou Venerates scrambled to kill every last person from Ice River Valley.

But the Ice River Valley members were far too weak. They simply could not endure such torment and were played to death.

When the people from the other factions saw Ice River Valley's entire group wiped out, they became even more desperate.

Other than the Hall of Souls, what other faction could casually dispatch so many Dou Venerates at once?

Seeing how dangerous the situation had become, the Tianming Sect members finally realized something and stepped forward, cupping their hands as they said, "Honored Elders, my Tianming Sect has never provoked the Hall of Souls. How about letting us leave?"

Hun Tianchen gave the man an indifferent glance and slowly said, "Tianmingzi, Sect Master of the Tianming Sect. What wind blew you here?"

Tianmingzi was at the peak of the Nine-Star Dou Venerate realm. Though he could be considered the strongest person present, he truly did not dare to oppose the Hall of Souls.

"Young Master asked you a question. What are you standing there for?" The Eighth Elder and Ninth Elder both looked at Tianmingzi with displeasure.

So what if he was a Nine-Star Dou Venerate? The two of them were Nine-Star Dou Venerates now as well! They did not regard a mere Tianmingzi as worthy of their attention.

If Hun Tianchen gave them another chance to advance, they could reach the level of a One-Change Dou Venerate or higher.

"Cough..." Tianmingzi had just opened his mouth toward the two Heavenly Elders when the Eighth Elder slapped him hard across the face and angrily rebuked him, "Look at Young Master when you answer! Why are you looking at me?"

Tianmingzi, who had been slapped for no reason, was filled with rage. Yet under the threat of the Eighth Elder and Ninth Elder's strength, he did not dare act recklessly and could only swallow his anger.

Taking a deep breath and forcibly suppressing the urge to attack, he finally put on a smile and said to Hun Tianchen, "Reporting... Young Master, we were heading to the newly unearthed Ancient Ruins..."

He said the words "Young Master" with extreme reluctance, as though they voiced all his unwillingness.

With his discernment, he could naturally see that this Young Master of the Hall of Souls was merely a Two-Star Dou Venerate. Under normal circumstances, would he ever need to lower himself so humbly before such an insignificant Two-Star Dou Venerate?

It would already be good enough if he gave him a pleasant expression.

Hun Tianchen had no intention of even acknowledging such a response. He turned around and quietly exchanged a few words with Xiao Yi Xian and the others.

Such disregard was undoubtedly like a vicious slap across Tianmingzi's face, causing his expression to freeze instantly.

The Eighth Elder and Ninth Elder's gazes toward him also gradually turned hostile.

"Tianmingzi, you have successfully displeased our Young Master. You're dead."

The two immediately attacked, fiercely grabbing Tianmingzi and fighting him.

Even against one of them, Tianmingzi fought with great difficulty. How could he possibly handle two? As expected, he quickly fell into a disadvantage in this battle.

"What are you waiting for? Are you waiting for the Hall of Souls to kill us all one by one?" Tianmingzi looked toward the various groups. "Do you really think the Hall of Souls will kindly let us leave? If we don't join forces and break out now, then when will we?"

Tianmingzi's words voiced everyone's thoughts. Just as those Dou Venerates were about to intervene and help him, Hun Tianchen's voice drifted over lightly.

"Kill everyone from the Tianming Sect, then tell me roughly what has appeared within the Ancient Ruins. After that, you may leave."

The crowd was only briefly stunned before making their choice.

Between the Hall of Souls and the Tianming Sect, the choice did not seem difficult at all. Anyone with a brain knew which side to choose.

Thus, the Tianming Sect's group was wiped out just like that.

"No!!!" Tianmingzi glared furiously at Hun Tianchen and roared unwillingly, "Who exactly are you? Who are you?!!!"

He could not believe that such a young man had sentenced the Tianming Sect to death with a single sentence.

"You dare shout at Young Master? Courting death!" Ninth Elder Moyu gave a sinister grin and charged forward, joining the Eighth Elder in killing Tianmingzi.

As for his soul, they naturally took it as well.

Hun Tianchen looked down at the people from the other groups and said indifferently, "What is in the Ancient Ruins? Where did it appear?"

"Those Ancient Ruins are to the south. You'll see them not far from here... There should be many people gathered there. We only came to watch the excitement." Several Venerates forced smiles and respectfully tried to curry favor with Hun Tianchen.

Among them, only Feng Venerate quietly remained where he was, saying nothing.

"Not only might there be heaven-tier cultivation techniques within, there may also be Magic Cores of extremely high quality."

"Magic Cores?" Hun Tianchen raised a brow and waved his hand. "You may leave."

Only then did those people seem to regain a new lease on life. They hurriedly led their groups away, no longer heading in the direction of the Ancient Ruins.

What a joke. The Hall of Souls had come, and they were so domineering. How could they possibly let people like them have even a sip of the soup? If they did not leave, were they waiting to be killed?

Watching them depart, Hun Tianchen pondered for only a moment before beckoning Hun Miesheng over from the distance.

"Young Master, what are your orders?" Hun Miesheng looked at the Venerates around him with a hint of envy in his eyes.

He wanted to make a move too, then receive Hun Tianchen's reward.

But he had already been classified within the Five-Star Dou Sheng range. According to the rules, he could not act recklessly.

This was Hun Miesheng's pain. Sometimes, having one's cultivation too high was not a good thing either. He could only hope Young Master would advance to Dou Saint as soon as possible.

"You said before that you found a Heavenly Poison Scorpion Dragon Beast that might meet the requirements for an eighth- or ninth-tier one. Is it in these Ancient Ruins?"

"That's right." Hun Miesheng nodded. After hesitating for a moment, he added, "However, Young Master, those Ancient Ruins have now been exposed to everyone. People from the Ancient Races and Magical Beast factions have all become involved."

"If you go there just like this, Young Master, you'll undoubtedly be openly exposing your identity. That could put you in danger."

"I don't care about danger. Without danger, how could I break through quickly?" Hun Tianchen drew a slight breath. "Have any of our Hun Clan members gone there?"

"Yes. Hun Li, Hun Ya, and Hun Yu were sent there to train, with several Venerables assigned to protect them."

"I can only go. There's no other way." Hun Tianchen frowned slightly and said helplessly, "After all, we urgently need an eighth- or ninth-tier Heavenly Poison Scorpion Dragon Beast Magic Core. These things are far too rare. Even the family treasury doesn't have Magic Cores of that level, so we can only search for them ourselves."

Hun Miesheng thought it over, but ultimately chose not to stop Hun Tianchen.

"Understood, Young Master. But if the worst happens, I hope you won't blame me for forcibly intervening to save you."

Hun Tianchen gazed into the distance, his eyes distant.

"The worst-case scenario..."