The once-desolate little valley was now packed with people. Most remained around the valley's outskirts, not daring to casually approach the center. Every so often, terrifying auras erupted from within, enough to make them tremble in fear.
"Gods, what exactly happened here? I think there are probably several Spirit Venerables inside. Did something happen?" Suddenly, a burly mercenary who had only recently arrived shouted loudly. The people around him turned to look, but most soon turned away and went back to whatever they had been doing.
At that moment, a skinny man nearby pulled the burly man aside. "Brother, don't spout nonsense here, or you won't even know how you died. The people here are all experts from major powers."
Hearing this, the burly man cautiously looked around and finally noticed something was wrong. Though the place was a chaotic mass of people, most of them ordinary mercenaries and adventurers, the true experts standing farther away all wore distinctive clothing and insignias. Those marks told him that none of them had simple backgrounds, and this time they had gathered in droves.
"What exactly happened? Why are things like this? It's usually hard enough to even see one of these people."
The skinny man whispered, "Looks like you're new here, so you probably don't know. An Ancient Ruins site is about to open here. This ruin is the Heavenly Refining Palace. It is said to help people break through their bottlenecks and raise their cultivation."
After pausing, the skinny man lowered his voice further. "Let me tell you, there are more people here than the ones you can see. There are many Spirit Venerables inside as well. This Ancient Ruins site only opens once every ten thousand years. Every time it opens, countless people die, but countless others break through their