Chapter 149: All gathered up.
After the group spent another four days traveling, fighting through several swarms of Demonic beasts, they reached a valley so long and wide that it seemed like a scar on the earth itself. When Yao Jun tried to see how long the valley continued on, he found that he was completely unable to see the end of it, even with his enhanced vision.
Yao Duan He used his control over stone and earth to carve a simple set of stairs into the side of the valley, allowing the group to descend into the valley. The bottom of the valley was almost completely barren, vegetation almost unable to grow as the inside of the valley was battered by a constant and ferocious wind. Yao Jun could use the power of Sirius to divert the wind around him, but as that would arouse suspicion, he decided to use his Qi to form a defensive shield to hold back the wind.
“Senior Zhong Jun is located a short walk away from here, he should come into view after only two short hours.”
Yao Minghao pointed towards the distance as he spoke respectfully. Yao Jun raised his head slightly and chanelled his Qi into his eyes, peering into the distance. With his vision enhanced, he could see that Wei Zhong Jun was indeed waiting for them in the distance, accompanied by a group of six other people other people. What caused Yao Jun's eyebrows to twitch slightly was the fact that he could see a beautiful woman with short orange hair and kind blacke eyes, Qiao Xian Yi, the likely future matriarch of the Peng clan, waiting alongside him.
“So I really did end up meeting all of them.”
Yao Jun silently muttered to himself as he followed the group, thanks to the wind that was constantly battering the inside of the valley, no one was able to hear him. There were signs of battle all over the valley, as well as blood and some scattered corpses, spread around the inside of the valley, so it seemed like Wei Zhong Jun and the others had truly cleared the valley of Demonic beasts.
Because of this, the group was able to easily make their way through the valley and towards Wei Zhong Jun. Some of the people in the group were engaging in casual chatter, while some kept a watch for any Demonic beasts that Wei Zhong Jun might have missed. But walking in the back, Yao Jun felt that the valley was giving him a feeling that was slowly becoming more and more familiar. He could not quite point out what made the valley feel so familiar, but the feeling kept poking him at the back of his mind.
“Oi, Burly Jun! The treasures inside that ruin better be something truly good, otherwise you can't blame this Big Sister for getting rowdy with you.”
Zhuang Shao Ju was the first one to open her mouth when the group reached Wei Zhong Jun, completely ignoring Qiao Xian Yi who was standing not far away. While Zhuang Shao Ju greeted Wei Zhong Jun, Yao Jun gave the surroundings a quick check. The valley here looked the same as the part of the valley they had just walked through, but in the air not far from the group, there was a pitch black rift in the air, looking like the jagged maw of a Demonic beast.
“Would I call you here if the treasures were sub-par?”
Wei Zhong Jun raised an eyebrow at Zhuang Shao Ju's words, seemingly slightly annoyed that she would believe that he would deceive them. He swept his eyes over the group that she had brought with her, his pupils rapidly shrinking when he saw Yao Jun standing at the very back of the group. His eyes met with Yao Jun's, so Yao Jun sent him a quick signal with his eyes. Wei Zhong Jun seemed to have understood, as he moved his eyes away from Yao Jun as if he had never seen him.
“We sent in one of Sister Qiao's puppets earlier to scout out the inside, and just in the small area that the puppet was able to scout, we found a Wind Flower, Snow Lotus, and even a decently pure Void Quartz. And it is likely that all that was just found in the outskirts, can you imagine what might be located deeper inside the ruin?”
Wei Zhong Jun continued talking, explaining what they had discovered. The puppet he was talking about was in fact the corpse of person Qiao Xian Yi had killed and then controlled with her power. As for the items he mentioned, Yao Jun had no idea what any of them were, but just by looking at Yao Duan He's shocked reaction, he could guess that they were something extremely valuable.
“So what are the dangers associated? You haven't already entered, so there has to be something pretty bad inside, right?”
Yao Duan He narrowed his eyes as he swept his eyes over Wei Zhong jun and Qiao Xian Yi. Both of them were about as strong as him, so since neither had entered yet, even going as far as calling the others over, the inside was clearly extremely dangerous. Entering without knowing what they might face would be a stupid move.
“Indeed. I called it an ancient ruin, but it would be better to call it a separate hidden realm within this hidden realm. I was only able to find it by coincidence, an entrance appearing as the space here tore apart. Since an entrance suddenly opened here, it is likely that more entrances have opened all over this hidden realm, so there is no telling how many groups or Demonic beasts have wandered into the ruin.”
Wei Zhong Jun nodded his head and pointed at the rift in the air that was not far from them. Even though the five future rulers of the four clans and the Demon Race were all gathered here, there were still a lot of other people who had entered this hidden realm. And if one counted the large amount of Demonic beasts that already lived here, an untold number of people might have already entered the ruin.
“Space inside is also unstable and distorted, so it is hard to know where we will end up once we enter it, we will likely be sent to random places once more. Since the space inside is distorted and unstable, there is a danger of cracks in space or spatial storms, it is hard to know how many amongst us would be torn apart if they were caught in one of those. But this unstable space is also perfect for sensing and getting accustomed to the power of space, allowing us to react faster if we were to ever face someone who can control space.”
Spatial storms were what happened when space was shattered and the fragments sent flying. The fragments could easily become so sharp that even the hardest metal would be sliced into ribbons, only people with control over space or that had truly tyrannical bodies could withstand them. Cracks in space were much the same, a place were space had been shattered and torn apart. If one were to fall into such a crack, they could either be sent to any random place, or simply end up lost in the vast void between dimensions, lost forever.
“And the main danger? If these were all the dangers, you would have already entered.”
Yao Duan He let out a slight sneer as he spoke up again, interrupting the story. He did not believe that as little danger as a few spatial storms would be enough to cause Wei Zhong Jun to call them over, so there was clearly something else that he had yet to talk about.
“The puppet we sent in earlier arrived at what seemed to be close to the center of the ruin and saw the corpse of a Demonic beast. I sent in a bit of my blood with the puppet that Sister Qiao sent in, and the bloodline of the Blood Dragon was completely suppressed in the face of that Demonic beast. If we were to acquire the blood of that Demonic beast, we could greatly strengthen our own bloodlines. But the corpse of that Demonic beast is also the reason the space inside the ruin is so unstable, so getting close to it is dangerous and challenging, the puppet was torn apart before it could get much closer to the Demonic beast.”
Wei Zhong Jun narrowed his eyes and sent a glare towards Yao Duan He, apparently annoyed that he was interrupted while talking. As he spoke about the corpse of the Demonic beast, his eyes gleamed with a mixture of desire and fear.
“Do you have any proof of this?”
Gao Zhou Wuhan was the one who spoke up this time, his voice tinged with interest. If there truly was such a Demonic beast corpse in the ruins, and he was able to devour it using the power granted to him by his Soul Beast, there was no telling how much his strength would grow.
“Sister Qiao, please show them.”
Wei Zhong Jun did not waste any more time on words, waving his hand towards Qiao Xian Yi. She waved her hand, causing an image to appear above the palm of her hand. The image showed what her puppet had seen as it walked through the ruin, clearly showing the treasures that Wei Zhong Jun had mentioned. The last thing the image showed was a terribly distorted space, but one could still see a massive body floating in the air past the distorted space, silvery-gray feathers barely visible.
“Well, what are we waiting for then? We need to acquire that corpse before anyone enters from a different entrance and snatches the corpse.”
Gao Zhou Wuhan's eyes gleamed with desire after the image cut out. His bloodlines had felt stifled just from seeing an image of that Demonic beast, so he could not imagine how powerful it would be if he were to see it in person. Gao Zhou Wuhan was not the only one who was filled with desire after seeing the Demonic beast, Yao Duan He and Zhuang Shao Ju were also making plans of their own.
The only one who had a somewhat grim face was Yao Jun, who was still hiding in the back of the group. He did not care about the treasures that had been shown in the image, but there was one thing he had seen that he could not ignore. He saw a human figure obscured by the distorted space, but the rainbow colored hair and yellow scarf that the figure was wearing made it so that there was no doubt in Yao Jun's mind who that person was. Guo Luo had entered the ruin.
“What about you, Song Sito Jun, will you join us?”
Gao Zhou Wuhan, Yao Duan He, and Qiao Xian Yi were already making their way towards the rift in space, but Zhuang Shao Ju and Wei Zhong Jun had yet to follow after them. Zhuang Shao Ju turned towards Yao Jun, speaking with a sweet smile. She spoke out the full name he had used when he introduced himself to them, allowing Wei Zhong Jun to know what he should call Yao Jun if they meet in the ruin.
“With such enticing rewards, how could I not?”
Yao Jun put on a carefree smile, as if he had not just seen Guo Luo in the image that Qiao Xian Yi had projected. Upon hearing his words, both Wei Zhong Jun and Zhuang Shao Ju's faces lit up with smiles, both joining him as they headed towards the rift. Zhuang Shao Ju was happy that Yao Jun was joining because his strength was unknown, so he might be a great help if they manage to meet up.
But Wei Zhong Jun had personally seen what Yao Jun had done when they were facing the Demonic beast in the hollow mountain. Darkness, lightning, and wind, he had effortlessly controlled three different elements, and even used a technique to temporarily raise his cultivation by two small realms, from the early stage of the 2nd Mortal Earth to the late stage of the 2nd Mortal Earth.
Another thing that caused Wei Zhong Jun to be dumbstruck was Yao Jun's current cultivation. Back then he had only been at the early stage of the 2nd Mortal Earth, but now he was already at the late stage of the 2nd Mortal Earth. What if Yao Jun used the same technique as back then, how far could he temporarily increase his strength? Wei Zhong Jun would always be happy to have such a person accompany him.
The three caught up with the others and stepped into the rift, space rapidly distorting around them, their vision going black as they entered the ruins.