Four Symbols Sage

"Yue'er, entering the Saint's Ruins may randomly place you anywhere. Take this jade pendant and keep it on you." Jiang Ming took out a jade pendant and handed it to Zhang Lingyue.

"Thank you, Young Master!" Zhang Lingyue said gratefully.

"Let's go. Enter." Jiang Ming nodded.

"Whoosh—" A wave of dizziness swept over him, but Jiang Ming had prepared himself and nothing went wrong.

Before entering, Jiang Ming had stored the carriage in the Imperial Heir Ring. The Imperial Heir Ring itself could be considered a small Spirit Realm.

Inside the Saint's Ruins,

within a massive black city,

"So this is the Saint's Ruins?" Jiang Ming murmured. Most of his knowledge had come from the records inside the Imperial Heir Ring; this was his first time seeing the Saint's Ruins.

As for why he had entered despite having no need for the opportunities within the Saint's Ruins, it could only be said that he wanted to witness the great factions fighting over fortuitous chances.

Jiang Ming wandered idly through the city streets. The city was exceedingly strange, cast in a uniform deep-black hue and desolate beyond measure. Within the enormous city, the streets lay empty, dotted with scattered little houses.

After walking for half the day, Jiang Ming had not encountered a single person. It seemed this city was even larger than he had imagined.

After thinking for a moment, Jiang Ming headed toward the nearest house. He knocked on the door, but received no response, and the door was locked.

Bang— Jiang Ming kicked out, and the door shattered under the strain. Inside, there was only a simple wooden plank bed; apart from that, there was nothing at all.

Just then, a heaven-shaking aura erupted from the heart of the city. Jiang Ming narrowed his eyes. Scarlet wings unfurled from his back, and with a flash of his figure, he shot toward the source of that aura.

After the time it took to burn an incense stick, Jiang Ming stopped before a grand hall. Countless young prodigies had gathered at its entrance, but none paid him any heed.

"Brother, I am Lin Gen of the Dao Sect. Senior Brother instructed us to protect you if we encountered you," Lin Gen said, his tone carrying a faint trace of pride. At twenty years old, reaching the Sixth Layer of the Nascent Soul Realm was enough to make him proud.

"What happened?" Jiang Ming asked.

Lin Gen frowned slightly. Jiang Ming's tone displeased him somewhat, but for Chen Xuanjia's sake, he did not lash out. "This grand hall contains the inheritance of the Four Symbols Sage." A hint of excitement entered his voice. If he obtained a Saint Realm inheritance, then even Senior Brother would be no match for him.

"The Four Symbols Sage?" Jiang Ming frowned slightly. The Four Symbols Sage had been no good man. To grow stronger, he had stopped at nothing. Legend said that the power of the Azure Dragon rested in his left hand, the power of the White Tiger in his right; Vermilion Bird feathers grew from his back, and Black Tortoise armor covered his chest.

His speed, strength, and defense had all developed to perfection. Yet in order to obtain such power, he had fused the bloodlines of the Four Sacred Beasts, turning himself into neither man nor ghost. Later, to strengthen his mental power—that was, the strength of his soul—he had actually begun devouring souls. Whether demon beasts or humans, none could escape his grasp.

Back then, in the Ming Domain where the Four Symbols Sage resided, every living creature in the entire domain had been devoured, leaving it a dead land.

In the end, the Jiang Clan had acted, dispatching three Greater Saint-level experts to surround and kill the Four Symbols Sage. At the cost of minor injuries to the three Saints, they had slain him.

Jiang Ming had not expected to find the Four Symbols Sage's False Spirit Realm here. Moreover, as the Four Symbols Sage had lived tens of thousands of years ago, aside from himself, presumably no one else knew this.

As for the Ming Domain, it had become today's Nether Domain. Tens of thousands of years of development had restored the breath of life to it, but the powerful aura of resentful spirits had forever prevented the Nether Domain from flourishing.

"Have you seen Zhang Lingyue? The woman who was with me," Jiang Ming asked.

"I have not encountered her," Lin Gen replied.

"Why aren't you going inside?" Jiang Ming asked again.

"The sacred hall has not fully opened yet," Lin Gen answered truthfully.

Jiang Ming nodded and said no more.

"Senior Brother, what happened?" Lin Gen's voice rang out.

Jiang Ming turned his head and saw Chen Xuanjia approaching, covered in wounds. "Sorry, Brother Ming. Chang Litian took your maidservant away. I failed to protect her."

"Who is Chang Litian?" Jiang Ming asked, taking out a healing Saint pill and giving one to Chen Xuanjia.

"Chang Litian is the future heir of the Changli Clan," Chen Xuanjia replied.

The Changli Clan—Jiang Ming knew of it. A Lesser Saint lineage in the Heaven Domain. Nothing special.

"You weren't his match?" Jiang Ming asked. With Chen Xuanjia's Ninth Layer of the Nascent Soul Realm cultivation, he should not have been beaten into such a state unless his opponent was at the Nascent Soul Extremity.

"It wasn't just the Changli Clan. The Gusu Clan was there too. Gusu Zhouling and Chang Litian joined forces. Both of them are at the Peak Ninth Layer of the Nascent Soul Realm." Chen Xuanjia's complexion improved greatly after taking the pill.

As for Lin Gen, he had already been dumbstruck the moment he heard Chen Xuanjia call Jiang Ming "Brother Ming."

Just then, a red-haired young man dressed in crimson approached. In his hand, he held a long golden rope, and Zhang Lingyue's hands were bound behind it.

Golden light flickered in Jiang Ming's eyes. He strode before Chang Litian and said coldly, "Didn't you know she belongs to me?"

Chang Litian burst into laughter. "So what? This little beauty is so gorgeous that giving her to you would be a waste. Better hand her over to me. Then this young master won't hold your disrespect against you."

"Do you want to die?" Jiang Ming's voice was ice-cold.

Chang Litian curled his lips. The aura of the Peak Ninth Layer of the Nascent Soul Realm exploded forth, but then surprise flashed in his eyes. The youth before him remained utterly unmoved beneath that pressure.

"Release her! This is your last chance," Jiang Ming said coldly.

"Hahaha, a mere First Layer of the Nascent Soul Realm actually dares to threaten me?" Chang Litian sneered wickedly.

His crimson hair billowed as he casually waved a hand, sending a gigantic fireball crashing toward Jiang Ming.

BOOM!!! The fireball exploded, and smoke and dust rose in all directions. Yet when the haze dispersed, Jiang Ming was nowhere to be seen.

Chang Litian turned around and found that the bound Zhang Lingyue had already vanished. He looked up.

Jiang Ming hovered in midair, scarlet fiery feathers spread from his back, his right arm wrapped around Zhang Lingyue's slender waist.

"Young Master..." Zhang Lingyue's delicate voice sounded. Although she often encountered lecherous men with gall bigger than the sky at Jadeite House, no one had ever dared cause trouble there.

But this time was different. Zhang Lingyue had nearly fallen into despair. Faced with someone so powerful she could not resist, Jiang Ming's arrival had been like a beam of light illuminating her darkness.

Jiang Ming had given Zhang Lingyue a protective jade pendant, but it would only activate when her life was in danger. He had not expected her to be restrained; he had indeed failed to consider everything.

"Shh, don't speak." Jiang Ming said softly. He flashed to Chen Xuanjia's side. "Little Jia, protect her."

"Alright! This time, I won't let Miss Zhang suffer any harm." Chen Xuanjia declared solemnly, though his bedraggled state did not make the vow particularly convincing.

"Senior Brother, why?" Lin Gen asked in confusion from the side.

"Brother Ming has shown me kindness. He is a good man, someone worth befriending deeply!" Chen Xuanjia said in a grave voice.

"I understand." Lin Gen nodded. Whenever Senior Brother looked like this, it meant he had already made up his mind. All junior brothers like them needed to do was follow along and get a share of the spoils. It had always been that way, and it would remain that way. Following Senior Brother had indeed treated them well.