Gulanxiu took the map and said to Liu Qingyuan, "Thanks, Brother Liu! If I gain anything from my trip to the Ancient God Ruins, I'll make it up to you handsomely later. By the way, Brother Liu, was the God Corpse you found an Immortal God from the Extraterrestrial Race, or one from our Bloodfall Continent?"
Liu Qingyuan pondered for a while, then smiled wryly. "It was probably one of our Local Immortal Gods. His clothes were in the style of our Bloodfall Continent."
A flicker of delight passed through Gulanxiu's eyes. With his wealth, the profits from an Ordinary Immortal's corpse didn't particularly interest him anymore. But an Immortal God from Bloodfall Continent was different. He had previously hunted a Ninth Stage Realm Lord Wild Beast and obtained over two hundred Bloodfall Crystals. A Local Immortal God from Bloodfall Continent would very likely have even more.
Gulanxiu hurriedly said to Liu Qingyuan, "Brother Liu, that news of yours has me itching to go. I don't want to waste another moment—I just want to get to the Ancient God Ruins as soon as possible and see for myself. So I'll take my leave now. Please tell Liu Jiang and Liu Li for me!"
Liu Qingyuan stared at him in surprise. "Brother Jia, you're leaving already? Shouldn't you make some preparations first? It's too dangerous to go to the Ancient God Ruins at the Cloud Soaring Level."
Gulanxiu laughed heartily. "If you want to become strong, secluded cultivation alone isn't enough. How can you grow without enduring all kinds of trials? Besides, I need to go to the Ancient God Ruins to fuse with Bloodfall Crystals. And now I have your news to go on, Brother Liu, so there's no way I'm not making this trip. All right, Brother Liu, don't try to talk me out of it. I'll come back and have a drink with you once I've made it back alive."
Without waiting for Liu Qingyuan to say anything else, he stood and strode toward the exit. In the blink of an eye, he was gone from Liu Qingyuan's sight!
Liu Qingyuan stared blankly in the direction Gulanxiu had left. After a long while, he sighed. "He really is a martial arts fanatic! Dealing with someone this stubborn is exhausting. I hope he makes it back safely. If he really can join the Immortal Temple, protecting Jiang'er and Li'er would be as easy as saying a word. Never mind. I'd better prepare for both possibilities and start packing for Maple Leaf City!"
What Liu Qingyuan didn't know was that Gulanxiu had secretly left a World Ring in the courtyard. Inside lay a Ninth Stage Domain Lord Golden Armor Dragon.
Gulanxiu wasn't going to take Liu Qingyuan's word completely at face value, so he had quietly left himself a backup plan. Besides Qila'angsi, he had also left behind a Life Fruit and a communicator.
Liu Qingyuan's injuries had stumped him, and even World Level powerhouses he had consulted had been unable to help. But to Gulanxiu, they were nothing—a single Life Fruit could take care of them.
If everything at the Ancient God Ruins turned out as Liu Qingyuan had said and his map was accurate, then even if Gulanxiu failed to obtain the Immortal Corpse, he would use the communicator to have Qila'angsi deliver the Life Spirit Fruit to Liu Qingyuan.
That would mean Liu Qingyuan hadn't deceived him; someone else had simply taken the Immortal Corpse during the past ten thousand years.
But if Gulanxiu arrived and discovered that the situation didn't match Liu Qingyuan's account, he would order Qila'angsi to kill Liu Qingyuan and Liu Jiang. With five times the Gene, Domain Level 9 cultivation, and a tail fused with four Bloodfall Crystals, Qila'angsi could complete the task with ease.
As for why he would kill Liu Qingyuan and Liu Jiang but spare Liu Li, it certainly wasn't because he coveted her beauty. Liu Li hadn't wronged him, while Liu Qingyuan had. That was why he wanted Liu Qingyuan dead. And since Liu Jiang was someone he had saved in the first place, killing him if Liu Qingyuan wronged him would be as if he had never saved Liu Jiang at all.
That was Gulanxiu's nature: if others treated him sincerely, he treated them sincerely in return. He didn't kill without cause or grievance.
Gulanxiu quickly left the city and reached the outskirts. This time, he wasn't heading toward the Blood Spirit Grassland, but in the opposite direction.
He found a spacious, deserted spot and instantly took out his E9-Class Spaceship. He darted inside, then swiftly ascended to the Eighteenth Layer of the cloud belt. After setting its course with the Light Brain, he sent it flying toward the Ancient God Ruins.
The Ancient God Ruins were hundreds of worlds away from Danyang City. Even with the spaceship traveling at nearly the speed of light, it would take more than a year to get there. Gulanxiu naturally wasn't going to waste that time, so he devoted himself to cultivation. In the Swallowed Star World, talent was ninety-nine percent of success, and effort the remaining one percent, right? Talent was important, but he still had to put in a little effort!
At that moment, inside the enormous palace hovering beyond Bloodfall Continent, a group of Realm Lords were constantly monitoring the continent. The whole landmass was under their surveillance.
"Look! That little fellow Gulanxiu has set out. Judging by his direction, he's probably heading for the Ancient God Ruins," a wolf-headed Realm Lord said quietly.
A Realm Lord beside him, whose handsome features made it impossible to tell whether he was male or female, smiled. "Little fellow? I've heard Gulanxiu has quite the talent. Maybe one day we'll have to call him 'Your Highness'!"
The wolf-headed Realm Lord wasn't annoyed at being contradicted. He just laughed. "Let's wait until he succeeds in his challenge. For now, he's still just a little fellow in the Fourth Secret Realm of the Axe Fighting Arena! Besides, the Ancient God Ruins are the most dangerous place on Bloodfall Continent. He might well die there!"
The handsome Realm Lord nodded. "That's true! As if any of us weren't in the Fourth Secret Realm! Aren't we all from the End Times Secret Realm?"
Just then, a Golden-Haired Ape Realm Lord said, "All right, you two, stop arguing! Keep the continent under constant surveillance. We don't care what happens inside it, but if any natives follow the members out through the cloud layers, we must kill them immediately. We absolutely can't let any of the trainees die beyond the Eighteenth Layer of clouds, or all our work over these tens of thousands of years will have been for nothing."
The Golden-Haired Ape Realm Lord seemed to command great respect. As soon as he finished speaking, the other two Realm Lords stopped bickering and focused on the changes within the Eighteenth Layer of clouds over Bloodfall Continent, displayed on the giant screen.
More than a year passed in the blink of an eye. Above the Ancient God Ruins, Gulanxiu waved his hand and put away his spaceship, then descended toward the ruins below.
The clouds over Bloodfall Continent were undeniably beautiful, their mists swirling like a celestial paradise.
But the Ancient God Ruins were clearly different. When Gulanxiu descended past the Fifteenth Floor of clouds, all the clouds around him turned blood-red, and an overwhelming killing intent filled the air.
Gulanxiu already knew about this from the original story, so he wasn't particularly surprised. Still, to be safe, he had Heavy Metal Stym transform into armor and cover his body, disguising himself as a Domain Level 9 powerhouse.
Then he continued descending quickly.
Before you continue