Ancient Hall

One hour later.

Zuo Shuiyun arrived outside Song Wen's cave abode.

"Junior Brother Wu, excuse me for a moment, I have something to discuss with you."

Song Wen dispelled the formation, stepped out of the cave abode, and asked.

"Senior Sister Zuo, are you preparing to depart and return to the sect?"

Zuo Shuiyun shook her head.

"I have gained some insight and have decided to go into seclusion here for a period of time. I have come to inform you, junior brother, that if you are in a hurry to return to the sect, you may return on your own ahead of time."

Zuo Shuiyun had just attempted to form a spirit beast soul contract with the Blood Demon, but it was not successful. Even though the Blood Demon was severely injured, the soul contract still failed to be formed.

This made her realize that subduing the Blood Demon was not so easy.

Cheng Ruidá's painstaking efforts in refining the Blood Puppet Spirit-Refining Pill were not without reason.

The Blood Demon must first be given the Blood Demon Blood Puppet Spirit-Refining Pill to weaken its intelligence before there is even a slight chance of successfully signing a soul contract.

This matter is not convenient to be completed within the Beast Taming Sect.

Therefore, she decided to return to the Beast Taming Sect after subduing the Blood Demon.

Upon hearing this, Song Wen frowned and fell into deep thought.

He has just performed a soul search on Cheng Ruidá.

They learned that eight years ago, Cheng Ruidá discovered the location of the ancient site where the Blood Curse Technique was found.

The ancient site is not far from here, only about 10,000 miles away.

There are clues about the Divine Blood Sect in the ancient ruins. The Divine Blood Sect is related to the <Corpse King Blood Refinement Art>, Song Wen is interested in exploring it.

Song Wen said, "I have some personal matters to attend to and do not intend to return to the sect immediately."

Zuo Shuiyun's eyes lit up. "Junior Brother Wu, how long will it take you to handle your personal matters?"

"It could take as little as half a month or as long as a month," Song Wen casually made up.

"How about we meet here a month from now and return to the sect together?"

Zuo Shuiyun estimated that she should be able to subdue the Blood Demon within a month.

Song Wen nodded, "Alright, then I'll come back here to find my senior sister a month from now."

After saying this, Song Wen mounted his flying sword and soared into the sky, disappearing without a trace in an instant.

Zuo Shuiyun watched Song Wen's Song Wen figure until it completely disappeared into the horizon before slowly turning her gaze away.

His brows were furrowed, and he remained in deep thought for a long time.

His gaze gradually hardened.

Zuo Shuiyun flashed into the cave abode.

One day later.

Nestled in a valley surrounded by mountains.

The Spiritual Qi here is thin, and the place is desolate and remote. There are no cultivators, no mortals, and not even any powerful Demon Beast.

According to Cheng Ruidá's memory, the entrance to the ancient site was located in the valley.

After suppressing the sword light, Song Wen arrived at the bottom of the valley.

A deep hole, carved out by rainwater, appeared before Song Wen's eyes.

The opening was small, only about three feet high, and it pointed vertically downwards, inside which was pitch black.

Although Cheng Ruidá remembered that there was no danger in the cave, Song Wen did not enter rashly.

Song Wen probed the deep cave with his Divine Sense.

The cave is very deep, extending vertically downwards for over a thousand meters, beyond which lies a large underground cavern.

The cave covers an area of over 100 acres and is bisected by an underground river.

The underground river flows swiftly, like a giant python slithering underground.

The river water churned, carrying mud, sand, and stones, constantly creating whirlpools and undercurrents.

The two Sacred Beetle Gu flapped their wings and flew into the deep cave. After confirming once again that there was no danger in the underground cave, Song Wen then jumped in.

Upon entering the underground cave, Song Wen leaped to the top of a stone wall, which was hundreds of meters high and severely eroded, with uneven surfaces.

There is a grotto on the rock wall, about ten feet square.

When Cheng Ruidá and a friend first arrived here, it was in this very cave that they discovered a skeleton.

The owner of the skeleton had been dead for countless years, yet the remains showed no signs of decay or rotting.

Cheng Ruidá concluded that the flesh in front of the skeleton was extremely strong, which was why the skeleton could withstand the erosion of time and remain intact even after countless years of death.

On the right index finger of the skeleton was an ancient-looking storage ring.

Upon first seeing the storage ring, Cheng Ruidá was convinced that it must contain a High Antiquity treasure, and thus harbored malicious intentions, ambushing and killing his friend.

However, he was also seriously injured by his friend's desperate last-ditch effort.

To Cheng Ruidá's disappointment, the storage ring he obtained at the cost of serious injury contained not a single Law Treasure or Spirit Artifact. It did contain a considerable amount of pills and Spirit Stone, but due to the passage of time, they had all weathered into a pile of powder devoid of any Spiritual Qi.

All they obtained was the token that recorded the Blood Curse Technique.

After carefully examining the cave and the stone wall, Song Wen found nothing of use.

He lowered himself and landed steadily on the cave floor, where there was a thick layer of gravel of varying sizes beneath his feet.

These pebbles were likely carried here by an underground river during a flood and washed down from upstream.

In some areas not covered by rubble, the ground can be seen to be paved with neatly arranged boulders.

This is sufficient to demonstrate that this underground cave was not formed naturally, but was constructed by humans.

But too much time has passed, and everything has changed.

Song Wen explored the entire cave several times, but found nothing more.

There were no stone doors or other exits, nor were any secret passages found. If it weren't for the openings carved out by rainwater, this place would be a completely enclosed space.

This left him somewhat disappointed. He had traveled a long way to this place, hoping to find clues to the <Corpse King Blood Refinement Art>, but he found nothing.

The only place Song Wen hadn't explored was that underground river.

Just as Song Wen was considering whether to stay or leave, the cave floor, which was covered with countless pebbles, suddenly lit up with a blue light.

Song Wen was immediately shocked. Before he could activate his flying sword and escape, he felt a dizzying sensation.

Then, the cyan light disappeared, and Song Wen vanished into the underground cave.

Deep underground, there is a huge underground hall.

In the center of this hall stands an ancient palace.

This great hall was built from countless huge stones, each bearing the marks of time.

Ancient and strange patterns are carved on the stone doors and walls of the main hall, emitting a faint glow in the dim cave.

In front of the main hall, there is a square.

Thirteen statues, each ten feet tall, stand around the square.

These sculptures are all humanoid, but they have wings on their backs, fangs in their mouths, ferocious faces, and distorted forms.

Opposite the main hall, a waterfall cascades down from the top of the cave, its waters surging and its sound deafening.

Below the waterfall is a bottomless pool, its destination unknown, which swallows up all the water flowing from above.

In the square.

The three groups were locked in a tense standoff.

The largest group consisted of eight people, all dressed in matching blue robes, clearly from a cultivation Lineage.

The smallest group consisted of only four people. They wore Kasaya and had ordination scars on their shiny scalps, indicating they were Buddhist or Daoist practitioners.

The other group consisted of six people, dressed in disheveled attire; they were Rogue Cultivator.

Everyone present displayed a Foundation Establishment Realm.

On the ground lay two corpses, recently deceased, with crimson blood flowing from them, staining the stone slabs below a deep red.

The atmosphere in the square was heavy, but neither side dared to make a move rashly.

As if afraid of disturbing the thirteen stone statues guarding the ancient hall.