Liu Yun kept descending, hoping to find the ruins and a way to defeat the Golden Horned Beast.
But clearly, the Golden Horned Beast was no longer what it had once been. Babata's original advice had merely been to run! If Liu Yun truly wanted to gain power, he could only resort to unconventional means. He would stake everything on the Machine Race Clone.
"Crystal Ball! Even now, I still don't fully understand your secrets. I only hope you can save Earth."
As Liu Yun spoke, he continued descending—6,000 meters, 8,000 meters, 10,000 meters... until, at a depth of 15,000 meters, he finally discovered an anomaly at the location described in the original work.
This was the site of Earth's most powerful ruins, and also where Hu Yan Bo had fallen. Within the rock strata, Liu Yun searched for a sliver of life that was nearly impossible to find.
Deep underground, countless layers of rock had accumulated to form an ancient and mysterious world. Yet at that moment, one massive boulder began to tremble and squirm, as though drawn by some unknown force. Then, with a whoosh, like a bubble suddenly blown apart, the rock vanished into nothingness without a trace.
Where the rock had been, a half-open hatch covered in dust abruptly appeared. It stood there in silence as Liu Yun stared at it, determination gleaming in his eyes. He knew that beyond this hatch lay the secrets of the Mist Island Ruins, perhaps even his last hope of resisting the Golden Horned Beast. He took a deep breath and stepped forward without hesitation, walking toward the hatch.
Liu Yun crossed the ancient hatch and entered a strange space unlike anything he had seen before. The interior was vast and boundless, completely unlike the narrow passageways he had imagined.