There were no plants or trees here, and little sign of life. The earth was crimson, as though soaked in blood.
Two stone mountains formed a gateway. Beyond them stretched a vast region, with black mist lying in bands over the ruins. From time to time, a treasure shot into the air with a sharp whistle.
The place was teeming with life, and the area outside the mountain gate was completely packed. There were all kinds of creatures: a gigantic golden bird, a being shaped like a Hou, Pixiu, Suanni, and even disciples of ancient human clans, experts from the Pure Land, and members of the Royal Clans of ancient kingdoms.
"Wow, all kinds of ingredients. They look delicious." Bai Yixin licked his lips, his eyes shining as he scanned each ancient beast.
"That golden bird looks delicious!" Little One's eyes lit up. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve, afraid he might start drooling.
The two had traveled countless miles to get here, spending several days on the road. They had crossed more than twenty districts and traversed a vast region before finally reaching this gathering place for geniuses.
"Come on, let's go hunting!"
Bai Yixin had no idea what the creatures gathered outside the mountain gate were waiting for. He took Little One and charged into the ancient ruins.
This caused an uproar, since no one had entered for quite some time.
A group had gone in earlier, and nearly all of them had died. Those treasures were sentient and would slay anyone who came near.
"Come on, it's our turn to set out!"
On the other side, seeing someone take the lead, Bifang, the golden divine bird, Pixiu, Chi Dragon, and other terrifying creatures—so formidable that they made people's hearts quail—could no longer sit still. These unfathomable beings were ready to enter the ruins.
Everyone was stunned, and then the place erupted in commotion. More people wanted to join in and brave the ruins.
The Heaven-Splitting Demon Butterfly, Earth-Traveling Dragon, Violent Ape, and Pumo Tree had already made their move. They transformed into streaks of light and shot into the ancient ruins.
The ruins stretched as far as the eye could see. Bands of black mist curled through them, and the whole world was dim, obscuring anything in the distance.
Rubble covered the ground, and broken walls and crumbling ruins were everywhere. This was an ancient site.
The ruins were vast, stretching all the way to the edge of the earth. Beyond the rubble, broken mountains rose in the distance, and beams of treasure light occasionally shot up through the dim, misty clouds.
Those beams came from the sentient treasures hidden beneath the rubble, their light flashing as they were startled and fled.
"These treasures are astonishingly spirited. No wonder they're relics of the ancient sages. I wonder what level of power those ancient sages had reached."
Bai Yixin saw a Gray Horn fly through the ruins in the distance and blow the head off a giant more than ten meters tall. Blood sprayed high into the air, and the headless corpse toppled helplessly to the ground.
"Brother Little White, should we make a move?" Little One had already taken out his Golden Dragon Scissors, ready to strike at any moment.
"Let's test the waters first." Nine beams of golden light rose around Bai Yixin's wrist and swept toward the Gray Horn. Radiance flashed, and the attack was astonishingly powerful.
"Boom!"
All nine golden sword beams struck the ashen Gray Horn, but the gray beast horn remained unharmed. Mist swirled around it, and it gleamed even brighter.
The nine fangs were knocked aside and slammed into a magnificent Giant Palace that had collapsed in the distance, sending dust billowing skyward.
"Whoosh!"
The gray beast horn blazed with light, growing ever more brilliant. It shot straight into the sky and soared into the dim heavens at incredible speed.
Even though Bai Yixin predicted its path and rushed forward to clash with it, hoping to seize it by force, he failed.
"Whew! That's powerful!" Bai Yixin glanced at his right palm, which had been shaken open and was bleeding. The corner of his mouth curled up.
"But it's still within what I can handle. I can take it down!"
"Little One, watch yourself. I'll chase it and take a look!"
His shout trailed off, stretching into the distance, as a stream of blue-gold light shot into the sky and sped after the gray beast horn.
Two streaks of light, one blue-gold and the other gray, raced toward the horizon, colliding from time to time with thunderous booms.
Quite a few people tried to chase after them, only to realize they couldn't keep up. Before they could react, those incredible streaks of light had vanished into the distance, reduced to tiny specks.
"Damn it! I've been chasing it all day. At this rate, I'm going to lose it!" Bai Yixin gritted his teeth, veins bulging across his forehead.
A pair of blue wings beat behind him, wrapped in golden lightning. They moved so fast they were almost impossible to see, making him look like a blue-gold ball of light. They gave Bai Yixin an extraordinary boost, just enough to maintain this incredible speed.
Bai Yixin hadn't expected the Gray Horn to be such a tireless runner, let alone so fast.
"Stop right there!"
Bai Yixin knew that if things continued this way, his current mastery of the Luan Bird Method wouldn't outlast the treasure. He had to make a decisive move to seize his one chance to catch it.
"Explode!"
"Bang!"
Blue-gold light burst across the sky with a thunderclap. A golden streak caught up with the gray light ahead and cleaved down at it!
"Clang!"
Golden light scattered everywhere as Bai Yixin's golden sword beam collided violently with the dark gray beast horn, ringing out in a series of brilliant flashes.
Blood drenched Bai Yixin's back, but fortunately, the wound had only broken the skin and hadn't reached the bone.
With the wings formed by his Luan Bird Method exploding behind him and propelling him forward, Bai Yixin landed a decisive strike and finally intercepted this clearly extraordinary treasure.
This horn was certainly no ordinary object. It had moved at such speed without anyone even activating it; it had to be a rare treasure.
"Roar, roar..."
The gray beast horn stopped fleeing. It knew that the young man in front of it wouldn't let it leave easily.
A tremendous gray light flared. From within the Gray Horn came a sound like a dragon's roar, and its terrifying might whipped the land into a storm.
Bai Yixin's body faltered slightly, but divine music rang within him, and he quickly broke free of the force restraining him.
Standing as firm as a mountain, Bai Yixin faced the storm without budging. Sword Qi burst from him, slicing the storm apart.
The gray beast horn—or rather, the horn of a gray dragon—unleashed immense power. It transformed into a gray dragon and hurtled toward Bai Yixin.
"Just what I wanted! Break!"
Bai Yixin shouted. The golden sword beam in his hand blazed, and a grass with nine leaves appeared faintly behind him. Boundless sword light erupted from it, Sword Qi surging into the sky as it slashed toward the gray dragon.
The two collided with a thunderous boom. Boundless light swallowed the world above and below; anyone watching would have been unable to keep their eyes open.
Only after a long while did the light fade. On the shattered earth stood a young man in tatters, blood streaming from wounds all over his body. Blood still trickled from his mouth.
Bai Yixin touched his forearm. There was a wound where a beam of light from the Gray Horn had pierced through him, but it had already healed.
His body recovered quickly. The wound was only minor; the bleeding stopped at once, and the flesh closed on its own.
"That was a good fight!"
Bai Yixin caught his breath. As spiritual energy and the inexhaustible essence from his Heavenly Caves flowed into him, his injuries gradually healed. The golden sword in his hand had broken until only its hilt remained. It reverted to its original form—a broken fang.
"The cost was a little steep, but it was worth it. I pulled it off."
Bai Yixin looked into the distance. The gray dragon horn had lost its earlier radiance and now stood dimly in a crater.
"I spent one-ninth of a treasure to get an ancient magical artifact. I'd say that was a good deal." Bai Yixin examined the hard-won treasure and sighed.
"I wonder which dragon this horn came from. It shouldn't be a Flood Dragon Horn, should it? Judging by its power, its former owner must have been a great expert."
"Whatever. At least I finally have a treasure I can use to make an impression. These people, always showing off their family backgrounds when they can't win a fight, dragging out whatever treasures their elders gave them to swagger around. Hmph. Now I've got one too!"
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