Investigating the Former Site of Spirit Hall, Elder Yi: There's a Sword!
"No wild sheep, but plenty of stock."
Di Lingxi jumped off the rock, went to the grill, and sniffed.
"That's more like it. I want the whole hind leg, with two coats of chili sauce."
Zhu Lu stepped forward and skillfully took out a spice jar and clean iron skewers from her Soul Tool, helping Dai Huabin cut the beef into chunks and skewer them.
She glanced at Dai Huabin's hand movements and spoke softly.
"Have you finished scouting the area?"
Dai Huabin lit the charcoal fire and nodded.
"I've looked at everything; it's just rocks and mud. There's nothing particularly interesting to see."
Ice Empress leaned against a broken wall and kicked at the pebbles at their feet.
"I told you a long time ago this place is a pile of junk, but you insisted on coming here yourself. Now you've given up, haven't you?"
"It's no trouble at all to come and take a look."
Dai Huabin casually replied while turning the roasted lamb.
"Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. Standing on this ancient battlefield from ten thousand years ago, even just feeling the wind can temper one's character."
Ice Empress crossed his arms and let out a soft hum.
"They're clearly just trying to find a picnic spot for gluttons, and they've got a lot of excuses for it."
Di Lingxi grabbed a handful of small iron skewers and turned her head to protest.
"I'm not a glutton, I'm growing and need to replenish my energy and blood."
Snow Empress sat on the stone bench, her tone indifferent.
"Ling Xi's true form is a fusion of Golden Dragon Bloodline and Auspicious Beast, so it's natural that she has a large appetite."
Bi Ji smiled and took out several wooden bowls filled with water, handing them to everyone.
"Eating more high-age Soul Beast can indeed nourish your qi and blood. The meat that Huabin prepared is very fresh."
The charcoal crackled and popped, oil dripped down, and a rich aroma of meat rose up.
Dai Huabin skillfully sprinkled coarse salt and spices on the lamb leg, cut off a large piece from the roasted golden-brown and crispy lamb leg, placed it on a wooden platter, and handed it to Di Lingxi.
Di Lingxi grabbed a lamb leg with both hands, took a big bite, and mumbled indistinctly.
"It's delicious, much better than the food in the college cafeteria."
Zhu Lu neatly arranged the cut steaks on a plate and handed them to Snow Empress and Bi Ji before sitting down next to Dai Huabin.
Dai Huabin cut off a piece of the tenderest pork tenderloin and handed it to Zhu Lu's mouth.
Zhu Lu opened her mouth, took a bite, chewed it carefully, and swallowed it, a faint smile appearing on her face.
Ice Empress picked up a skewer of grilled beef from the side, took a bite, and although he didn't say anything more to mock them, he didn't stop eating the skewer.
After eating and drinking her fill, Di Lingxi rubbed her stomach and leaned against the blanket, feeling drowsy.
Night gradually enveloped the ruins of Jialing Pass, with only the campfire in the center of the camp flickering in the wind.
Dai Huabin sat cross-legged on a thick animal skin cushion and began to meditate on his Soul Power.
Zhu Lu nestled beside him, her eyes closed in quiet meditation, her body subtly radiating the keen senses of Hell Spirit Cat, wary of any movement around her.
The next morning, as dawn broke.
The morning breeze dispersed the thin mist among the ruins.
Dai Huabin extinguished the charcoal fire and put all the camp equipment back into his Storage Soul Tool.
Di Lingxi rubbed her eyes, climbed off the blanket, her golden hair slightly disheveled.
Where are we going today?
Dai Huabin determined the direction and pointed to the vast mountains in the northwest.
"Let's go take a look at the former site of the Spirit Hall's main city."
Ice Empress patted the grass clippings off her skirt, looking somewhat puzzled.
"Wasn't the Spirit Hall destroyed ten thousand years ago? Even the Pope Palace was completely demolished. What could possibly be left in that place?"
Dai Huabin strode ahead, his tone calm.
"Just going to take a look. Back then, the Spirit Hall practically plundered the most top-tier resources across the entire continent. Although they were later divided up by various empires and forces, and even Shrek has a significant portion of its resources originating from there, the geographical location of that main city is quite unique."
Snow Empress walked to the side and answered softly.
"Important sites built atop mountains often rely on special geological formations. It wouldn't hurt to go and take a look."
Zhu Lu quickly followed Dai Huabin, taking out an ancient map of the mainland from her sleeve for comparison.
"Following the route above, after crossing this border canyon and walking for three more days along mountain paths, we can enter the area of the former Pope Mountain."
Di Lingxi followed behind, skipping and hopping as she kicked pebbles.
"As long as we're well-fed on the road, I'll go wherever you want."
The group left the Jialing Pass and continued along the rugged mountain path.
Avoiding crowded and intrusive towns, the six of them traveled at full speed, their pace extremely fast.
Three days passed in the blink of an eye.
On the afternoon of the fourth day, towering, continuous mountain ranges stretched out in front of us.
The terrain here is even more precipitous than Jialing Pass, with mountains rising abruptly from the ground and cliffs as if carved by a knife and axe.
On the central, flattened main peak, one can vaguely see a large expanse of collapsed white marble base.
Those magnificent palaces that once symbolized the highest power on the continent are now reduced to broken stone pillars leaning against the soil.
Severely weathered fragments of the relief sculpture were scattered everywhere, and the Six-Winged Angel and various Martial Soul patterns carved on them were already blurred and indistinct.
The entire mountain was shrouded in a desolate atmosphere.
Dai Huabin led the group to the edge of the main peak platform.
Underfoot was a floor of large, broken granite slabs, with thick shrubs growing in the cracks.
Ice Empress stood atop a tilted, broken pillar, looking down over the entire area.
"Sure enough, not a single decent piece of metal was left; it was all taken away by later generations."
Zhu Lu looked around at the stone base and spoke softly.
"In that battle ten thousand years ago, this place was completely breached. Anything that could be taken away was surely divided up by the various powers thousands of years ago."
Di Lingxi lay on the edge of the cliff, looking down, and pursed her lips.
"There's not even a place to shelter from the wind here; it's not even as good as the valley yesterday."
Dai Huabin stood in front of the ruins of the original main hall of the Pope Palace, his feet on a stone slab with broken patterns.
He closed his eyes, his mind stirring slightly.
What was once a glorious place ten thousand years ago has now turned into a desolate mountain of rubble.
No power in this world can last forever; only one's own absolute strength is fundamental.
His Dao Heart trembled slightly at this moment, and the circulation of his Qi and Soul Power became increasingly stable.
However, just as he was about to call everyone to leave this desolate main peak.
Deep within the sea of consciousness, a distinct golden-white halo suddenly appeared in the Eye of Life.
Electrolux, who had remained silent until now, let his voice, unusually, flutter.
That wasn't a bland narration, but a clear and focused conclusion.
"Huabin, stop."
Dai Huabin immediately stopped in his tracks and quickly asked in his mind.
"Elder Yi, what's wrong?"
Electrolux's divine sense coalesced in the Eye of Life, pointing towards the steep canyon deeper behind the main peak.
"The main peak is indeed empty, but deep underground behind these ruins... I sensed the pure aura of a god!"
Dai Huabin's heart skipped a beat.
"The aura of a god? What is that?"
Electrolux's voice echoed in his mind, each word clear and distinct.
"That aura was extremely intense and sharp, carrying the edge of judgment and verdict."
"That's a sword!"