Next door.
The tightly shut doors and windows could not keep out the air, and a strange smell quietly slipped inside.
Xiang Baiwei lay on her bed, breathing evenly.
Suddenly!
It was as though she had dreamed of something terrifying.
Her rosy face turned deathly pale.
Cold sweat seeped from her forehead.
Then her nose twitched slightly a few times.
Her brows knitted.
Her eyes slowly opened...
Once she clearly smelled that odor, Xiang Baiwei froze, then gently pinched her soft, fair cheek. After confirming that she was not dreaming...
The next second,
Her dazed expression suddenly turned cold.
Her gaze sharpened as well.
"What did you call me out fo..." Her cool voice held a trace of arrogance, as though she were talking to herself. But before she finished, she caught the smell in the air, and her brows immediately furrowed.
She swiftly used spiritual power to seal her nose. Although she could no longer smell it, she still felt repulsed.
She put on her clothes.
Rose.
And flung the door open with a swish.
Her gaze swiftly swept her surroundings. Those noisy people had already left.
She looked around.
Finally,
Her gaze settled on the door next door.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
Then she strode toward Chen Yu's door on her long, slender legs.
She did not knock.
She simply pushed it open.
Then,
She saw her neighbor inside, with two wads of cloth stuffed into his nostrils, expressionlessly tending to a Stone Pot. A jumble of things had been mixed together inside it, and after boiling over a fierce fire, they had taken on an indescribable color and form...
Seeing someone suddenly open his door, Chen Yu looked up blankly.
Their gazes,
Met just like that...
Emerald Cloud Peak.
Near the summit.
Inside a thatched hut, Elder Sun was about to rest after an uneventful day when a voice suddenly rang out from outside.
"Elder Sun!"
Elder Sun frowned.
He walked outside.
He was about to see who was disturbing his rest so late at night.
Instead, he saw two Dao Sect Inner Disciples dressed in pure white robes.
"What is it?" Elder Sun asked.
"Elder Wu has ordered you to go to Little Bamboo Peak immediately," the two Inner Sect Disciples relayed.
"Oh."
Elder Sun nodded.
He was puzzled.
Emerald Cloud Peak had few disciples, and all of them had already entered the Immortal Ruins yesterday.
According to the order, today was Ten Thousand Mountains Peak's turn.
The disciples of Ten Thousand Mountains Peak had to maintain the mountain-protecting formation and could only enter the Immortal Ruins in batches, so they had been placed last.
That was not the point. The point was that each peak's disciples took turns entering the Immortal Ruins, and Emerald Cloud Peak had already completed its task. Why was Elder Wu suddenly summoning him now? Even if something had happened, shouldn't he be looking for Elder Du of Ten Thousand Mountains Peak?
With these doubts in mind, Elder Sun descended the mountain with the two Dao Sect Inner Disciples.
Along the way, as they reached a certain stretch, he suddenly caught a strange smell. He could not say what it smelled like, but it was oddly fragrant. Elder Sun thought little of it.
They soon arrived at Little Bamboo Peak.
Behind the mountain.
The Mass Burial Grounds.
When Elder Sun arrived, he discovered that the elders of the other peaks, along with Elder Wu, were already there. Yet the disciples of Ten Thousand Mountains Peak were nowhere to be seen...
Wait!
Something was wrong!
Elder Sun's pupils contracted.
Not only were the disciples of Ten Thousand Mountains Peak absent, but the Immortal Ruins were missing too!
"Elder Sun." Seeing Elder Sun hurry over, Elder Wu, who stood in the middle, stared at the spot ahead where the Immortal Ruins had previously manifested. Now, however, only a vast expanse of white mist remained. "Did anything unusual happen last night?"
At those words, Elder Sun's expression turned solemn, and he hurriedly answered in all seriousness, "Reporting to Elder Wu, nothing unusual happened last night!"
"Nothing unusual?"
"Correct."
Elder Sun nodded.
After a moment's thought, Elder Wu said, "Describe everything that happened last night."
"Yes!" Elder Sun answered truthfully. "When the time came last night, I gathered the disciples of Emerald Cloud Peak and brought them here. Once the Immortal Ruins manifested, the disciples entered in order, while I stood guard outside the entrance..."
Elder Sun recounted everything in full detail.
His memory was excellent. He could accurately recount the treasures each Emerald Cloud Peak disciple had found, how many times each person had entered the Immortal Ruins, and their condition when they emerged...
He spoke for over ten minutes straight, recounting everything.
Elder Wu stared directly at Elder Sun the entire time.
Elder Sun did not avert his gaze and spoke with complete confidence.
After listening, Elder Wu thought it over and nodded once he was certain there were no problems.
At that moment, Elder Song of Purple Bamboo Peak ventured a guess:
"Could the Immortal Ruins simply be appearing a little later tonight?"
"No." Elder Wu shook his head. "Haven't you noticed that the Yin Qi here is no longer dense?"
Everyone froze at his words.
It really was true.
"We carefully inspected every disciple entering and leaving the Immortal Ruins. There couldn't possibly have been an oversight. Could all the treasures inside have been cleared out, so it stopped appearing?" Elder Sun frowned.
"Impossible!" Elder Du of Ten Thousand Mountains Peak immediately said. "Given the scale of these Immortal Ruins, there's no way they could have been emptied so quickly. Besides, how many valuable treasures have we actually found inside over the past few days?"
Today, he had brought the disciples of Ten Thousand Mountains Peak here to prepare to enter the Immortal Ruins. Yet after waiting a long time, the Immortal Ruins still had not appeared.
Thus, he had hurriedly reported the situation to Elder Wu.
"That's true."
Elder Sun nodded.
None of them knew why the Immortal Ruins had suddenly vanished, and they were all at their wits' end.
At that moment, Elder Wu suddenly asked, "How did these Immortal Ruins first open?"
Elder Song of Purple Bamboo Peak immediately said, "After the Registered Disciple assessment ended, Xu Niannian and Wang He stayed behind to deal with the remains. An accident occurred at the Mass Burial Grounds that night, leaving one dead and one mad. Afterward, I issued a mission, and over thirty disciples came here to search for Xu Niannian's corpse. None survived. Immediately afterward, I witnessed the Immortal Ruins manifest here."
After listening, Elder Wu looked thoughtful.
"Many disciples, none survived... Yin Qi... Immortal Ruins...
..."
Suddenly,
A flash of inspiration struck.
Could the manifestation of the Immortal Ruins be related to Yin Qi?
At that thought, Elder Wu frowned at the Mass Burial Grounds ahead, his gaze deep. No one knew what he was thinking.
The five Outer Sect elders beside him did not dare disturb him casually.
After a long wait,
Elder Wu suddenly said:
"When will the next batch of Registered Disciples arrive?"
Elder Song of Purple Bamboo Peak immediately answered, "Within half a month at most."
"Mm." Elder Wu nodded. "From now on, after the Outer Sect disciples are refined into Spirit Essence, gather all their remains and dump them here. Also, you can deal with the disciples confirmed to be unable to repay their loans as soon as possible."
Hearing this, the elders immediately realized something.
Could the manifestation of the Immortal Ruins be connected to the Yin Qi produced by the accumulation of remains?
They looked at the Mass Burial Grounds ahead.
And nodded in unison:
"Yes!"
"Dismissed." Elder Wu waved his hand.
With that, Elder Wu formed a hand seal with one hand.
And drifted away.
The five Outer Sect elders left behind exchanged glances. Thinking of Elder Wu's final instructions, they could not help smiling...