However, judging by the timeline, it was still far too early for the Ancient Ruins to emerge.
Lu Heng had not expected to unearth the saint's ruins now anyway. That would take an Ancient Void Dragon's help, but Zi Yan's cultivation was still a little lacking, so that was out of the question.
"Even if I can't get into the ruins, I can at least scout the ground outside."
Lu Heng stood up and stretched his limbs.
Throughout the year, sinister winds howled through the Skeleton Mountain Range. Countless Ancient Magical Beast remains lay buried underground, making it a perilous land of extreme yin and cold.
Places like this were especially prone to nurturing yin-aspected medicinal herbs with unusual properties, as well as certain minerals nourished by death energy.
If he tried his luck there, he might find some treasure.
Having made up his mind, Lu Heng raised his hand and withdrew the concealment formation at the cave entrance, then stepped outside.
Five-colored wings unfurled behind him. With a gentle beat, he rose into the air.
Fierce winds howled in midair. Lu Heng kept his speed at the Dou Emperor level and flew southwest along the route marked on the map.
The farther he went, the sparser the vegetation below became.
The once-lush sea of forest gradually vanished, replaced by vast stretches of gray-white wasteland. Enormous fossilized beast bones lay exposed on the surface, some hundreds of feet tall, gleaming a ghastly white beneath the sun.
The temperature dropped rapidly, and a rotten odor tainted the air.
Half a day later, an immense mountain system stretching beyond sight appeared on the horizon ahead.
The peaks consisted entirely of bare gray rock, without a trace of green. Blackish-gray mist coiled and churned around their slopes, giving off an oppressive, stifling air