Ruins

"I wonder whether the destruction restriction those battling idiots triggered back then has changed... That place was too dangerous... But come to think of it, those interlocking restrictions of destruction had power comparable to a Nascent Soul cultivator. If I could learn a thing or two..."

No, she couldn't take the risk. As soon as the thought crossed her mind, Su Fuxi hurriedly cast that greed out of her head and shuddered. Dwelling too long on that scene of heaven and earth being destroyed would shake her Dao heart.

She had watched with her own eyes as spears formed from light within the restrictions impaled at least twenty Golden Core cultivators like skewers. Before they even had time to feel fear, they were destroyed and reduced to flying ash.

Fortunately, she had reacted in time and slapped Zha Wuren awake, getting him to activate his teleportation treasure so they could escape.

"This is the entrance to the ruins, junior sister. Where are you going?"

The group landed before a collapsed archway, inside which lay a mysterious teleportation vortex. Only Zha Wuren and Su Fuxi had been there once before, so naturally the others looked to them for guidance, but Su Fuxi didn't want to lead the group.

"Once you go in, there are three branching paths. Just choose whichever direction you like. Don't go to the places marked as dangerous on the jade slip." Su Fuxi used her spiritual sense to inscribe a jade slip on the spot and handed it to Elder Sun. As she turned away, she looked at the three Golden Core cultivators:

"There are restrictions linked together at every step inside. If you're not good at undoing them, I suggest you look for opportunities on the outskirts instead."

With that, she flew into the vortex, her entire figure disappearing. She didn't care whether the others believed her; she had warned them for the sake of their shared sect. Ignoring the covert looks of jealousy and suspicion from the man and woman, she wondered, Is Zha Wuren really kind enough to take them treasure hunting?

Not necessarily. Su Fuxi chose to take the old path.

She was going to the place where, on her last visit, a restriction had accidentally sucked her in and transferred her to a subspace while she was obtaining the Lesser Great Luo Seal.

Only after truly entering the ruins did she see devastation everywhere. The destruction inside was even worse, but the remnants of the ruins stretched so far that she couldn't see the end of them.

In the central area stood damaged buildings that were mostly intact, and one could still make out their former splendor as jeweled towers and jade halls.

Most astonishing of all was the projection standing above the ruins like a mirage-the glorious sight the palace complex had once presented: the White Jade Capital, sparkling with five-colored spiritual light!

Seeing it again, Su Fuxi was still awestruck. It might really have been some immortal's residence once.

Then another thought occurred to her: her Lesser Great Luo Seal was so powerful even though it was only a fragment. Could it really be connected to immortal arts?

There were many experts on the middle path, so, to be safe, Su Fuxi decisively headed down the old path on the left.

The projected area seemed closer to the middle path, but she suspected that, in truth, none of the paths would lead there unless one's mastery of restrictions was heaven-defying.

Though she had traveled this way once before, she remained vigilant. Fortunately, the restrictions along this path weren't so complicated. As long as she didn't covet and touch the sealed objects, she wouldn't trigger them.

The pavilions, terraces, jade bridges, and decorations along the way were damaged, yet they looked as though they had only just been broken and were still lifelike. A phoenix with its wings spread as if about to take flight had one wing broken and hung lopsided to one side.

It was made of some kind of crystal stone and brimmed with spiritual light. Someone had tried to undo the restriction on it, but the slightest movement would draw in the restrictions throughout the entire garden. Thus, although the courtyard had collapsed and its flowers and trees had all withered, it had not been damaged by any other outside force.

Su Fuxi released her spiritual sense to check her surroundings. Only after confirming that no one was following her did she cautiously begin walking in a rhythm: four steps forward, two back, five to the right. Her figure drifted like a wisp, and in moments she had passed through the courtyard.

As she passed a clump of withered slender bamboo, she paused. Had she just sensed a tiny trace of wood-spirit vitality that vanished in an instant?

She took a closer look at the lifeless bamboo, shrouded in a restriction. Perhaps she had been mistaken. She quickly looked away and continued toward the moon gate ahead, which had a crack running across it, and passed through.

She was headed for the remains of a severely collapsed pavilion, of which only half remained, standing three stories high.

Following her previous route, she spent an hour flying over vast stretches of ruins and a dried-up pool before floating down in front of the pavilion's remains.

Su Fuxi's shoes, purple with yellow embroidery and a pearl adorning each, slowly touched down before the shattered steps. She was as light as a feather, not disturbing even a single speck of dust.

This area was damaged several times more severely than the courtyard just now! It could be called a field of rubble and broken tiles; only the pavilion, one corner of which remained, was barely worth looking at.

An expert could tell at a glance that there couldn't possibly be any treasures here.

It was only because Su Fuxi had deliberately studied the damaged restrictions that looked severely ruined that she had stayed here for half a year back then, and was accidentally sucked into the remaining space within the pavilion by a hidden restriction.

Now she opened her slender hand, and a halo of light spread across her palm. Floating there was a fragment of green glaze as large as a bushel, bearing a damaged character half a foot across and covered in cracks. It was only half of the seal-script character for "store."

This was a fragment of the pavilion's plaque that she had collected. It wasn't hard to guess what this place had been.

And these traces of a second round of destruction didn't look as though they had been caused by Golden Core cultivators fighting with spells. Who knew what those mighty figures said to have been the first to enter had discovered?

Su Fuxi quickly put the fragment away. The green glaze seemed useless, but it was a material not found on this continent.

She formed hand seals with both hands and sent out three seals in succession, placing them at three points in the air and activating the hidden restriction. Invisible currents rippled, and a breeze swept past. Soon, a white vortex formed above a pile of rubble.

A sudden suction followed, forcefully pulling Su Fuxi inside.

"The place you want to find is really far away. You're dragging me along, and if we run into a restriction on the way and I die, you'll be trapped in here too. Why bother?"

In a ravine, Lin Sui held the No Falsehood Sword and flicked the blood off its tip. A fierce-looking frog beast lay two zhang away, its ball-sized eyes wide open. Though it had stopped breathing, it was still frightening to look at.

He flicked the blade of the No Falsehood Sword, restraining its constant urge to lead him in some unknown direction. After stopping and starting all along the way, he no longer knew where he had ended up, so he had no choice but to keep marking places to avoid getting lost.

The No Falsehood Sword buzzed restlessly. Lin Sui patted it. "I know you want to go, but it's too far, and the routes you take are always dangerous. Anyway, since we're already here, there's no harm in picking the spiritual herbs we come across before moving on..."

Lin Sui coaxed his sword as though coaxing a child, secretly regretting that he had gotten stuck with such a troublesome sword!

They had charged recklessly along the way, and he had lost count of how many demonic beast lairs and dangerous places they had barged into, or how many treasures they had dug up. He coaxed the No Falsehood Sword and treated it like one of the treasure-seeking beasts of legend; whenever they ran into a demonic beast he really couldn't beat, he hurriedly had it carry him to safety.

After only a few months, he already looked weather-beaten. Strands of hair hung loose, his long hair was tied up haphazardly with a strip of cloth, and his face was covered in stubble. He hardly looked like a cultivator who had only entered the secret realm a few months ago.

But the No Falsehood Sword insisted on leading him into the ravine, and yesterday he had nearly run straight into the giant frog beast's mouth. It was a third-tier demonic beast and had been quite a struggle to deal with. If not for the sword in his hand, he would have ended up in the beast's belly.

High above his head, a strange spiritual herb grew abruptly from the bare cliff face. It had three leaves and a single flower, with a rich fragrance, and resembled the three-leaf flower described in the records, which bloomed only once every thousand years.

Lin Sui put in some effort before he managed to pick it. After sitting in meditation to regulate his breathing, he also took the frog beast's inner core. Although the frog loved water, its inner core was fire-attributed, and he thought it would be just right to take back as a gift for Su Fuxi.

"All right, all right, we're going now. I promised to take you to find your treasure, but you can't expect me to leave spiritual medicines unpicked when I come across them..."

Clang! No Falsehood immediately let out a muffled sword hum.

The young man picked up the inner core and casually crouched by the stream to wash it clean. The muscles in his back moved, his shoulders and back rising in clear contours as his black clothes pulled tight. His build was nothing like the slender figure he appeared to have in his usual loose clothing; instead, he looked even sturdier.

He carefully washed the grime from his hands, paying no attention when the hem of his robe fell into the water. He dried the water from the third-tier inner core and put it into his storage bag. Finally, he cupped clear water in his large, well-boned hands and washed his face before standing up.

After forming a seal to clean himself up, the young man stepped onto the ground scorched by the demonic beast's fire. He glanced at the beast and thought it a pity that he had no space to store its body. Then he leaped, and a flash of sword light appeared beneath his feet, carrying him toward the horizon.

A great black sword sped through the air above the ravine. Lin Sui followed it, unable to hold back a sigh.

"I wonder how Master is doing."

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