Chapter 25: Chapter 25: Heavenly Spirit Fire
"Great Elder, the prohibition has weakened." The Sixth Elder entered to report, his eyes full of obsequiousness.
He was well aware of his position and their current objective. He had even begun to anticipate it.
The Great Elder walked out and used his spiritual consciousness to scan the prohibition after the Sixth Elder reported.
"Darn it, each and every one of these Crane Cloud Pavilion members is so audacious and cunning."
The Great Elder clenched his fist with a touch of resentment. Elder Yuan Yang was indeed an extraordinary figure, having roamed the world for over three hundred years. He would even resort to this after his death.
The prohibition had disappeared the moment he glanced at it, but in truth, another prohibition had been triggered. This new prohibition restricted the age and cultivation level of the entrants.
The age of those entering must not exceed twenty years, and their cultivation must not surpass the Earth Martial Realm.
The Great Elder and the others didn't dare to forcibly break it. Elder Yuan Yang was so cunning that he had surely foreseen this situation. He must have prepared some contingency measures or it could even be an empty gesture, without any follow-up. But since it concerned the grand scheme of the Blood Demon Family, they couldn't gamble, nor could they afford to.
Fortunately, this time they had brought many disciples along, all with decent cultivation levels.
The Great Elder glanced at the disciples of the surrounding factions. Apart from the Qianqiu Sect, which had some noteworthy individuals, the others were quite unremarkable.
He promptly summoned these people and issued some instructions, even leaving a measure with their leader. Only then did he allow them to enter the ancient ruins. Given the gravity of the situation, he exercised extra caution.
Inside the ruins.
Several disciples from the Qianqiu Sect gathered around a sword-browed man holding a sword.
Upon their arrival, the group scattered, but they still had a way to establish a connection amongst themselves, leading some of them to gradually gather.
"Senior Brother Jian Lou, why did the sect elders make such a decision? They want us to listen to that little kid after we entered. What else did he say? Are we supposed to protect him even at the cost of our lives?"
A young man who seemed to be from the second generation of disciples grumbled. The one he addressed as Senior Brother Jian Lou seemed to be someone of higher status.
"Yeah, seriously, why? Just because that kid might be better looking than me?" As the complaints from the second-generation disciple continued, others chimed in with their own dissatisfaction.
"That's enough. Don't blame me for not warning you about the ill-fated words."
Frustrated by the increasingly energetic chatter of these headless juniors, Jian Lou couldn't help but lose his temper. Although they usually acted like second-generation disciples, their brains seemed to be entirely lacking. And those who ended up dead in the end had no idea how they met their fate.
"Brother, could it be that he has some powerful backing?" This time, a girl spoke up. Although her talent might not have matched up to Jian Lou's, she was certainly smarter than these brainless second-generation disciples.
Seeing the junior sister who posed the question, Jian Lou gradually calmed down.
"Junior Sister, do you still remember the incident in the sect?" Jian Lou didn't spell it out directly but alluded to it.
"Senior Brother means…" The woman wasn't naive, and she had a rough idea when she heard her senior brother's words. No wonder Senior Brother was so infuriated, it all makes sense now.
"Senior brothers and sisters, what are you talking about?" Some of the less intelligent disciples were still puzzled by their conversation, thinking they were speaking in riddles.
"Is he from that family?" A disciple suddenly had a realization and blurted it out.
Upon hearing this disciple's words, the others also grasped the situation and fell silent. They were well aware of the formidable nature of that family. Previously, they couldn't fathom why the sect would submit to other powers, until the day the higher-ups of the sect went out and returned, only to find Pingnan Academy annihilated. That incident gave them a clearer understanding.
However, that family's true power extended far beyond this. They had sent numerous elixirs, such as the Nine Blossom Jade Dew Pill and the Pure Spirit Pill, as well as various techniques and martial skills. Even the Sect Master and the Ancestor had added some of their acquired techniques to the sect's library.
Jian Lou, for one, had the privilege to study them. Moreover, Jian Lou had learned from their Sect Master the depth of that family's foundation. This was why Jian Lou held such an attitude.
Furthermore, the Great Elder had secluded himself for cultivation due to the elixirs provided by that family. Once he emerged from seclusion, the sect would gain an additional Ancestor-level powerhouse in the Profound Origin Realm.
Even the former Headmaster, Pingnan Elder, had pledged allegiance to the Su family and returned with Ancestor to the sect. Additionally, during the auction, the Fifth Elder had mentioned that the Kyushu Chamber of Commerce was owned by that family.
Then, there was that seemingly young girl who, despite her youthful appearance, had already reached the later stage of the Profound Origin Realm in terms of cultivation. She was even stronger than the sect's Ancestor. According to the Fifth Elder, that girl was merely a younger generation member of the Su family. Her prowess was a glimpse into the family's terrifying strength.
"Let's put this matter to rest. We mustn't discuss it any further," Jian Lou decisively concluded, his authority derived from being the direct disciple of the Sect Master.
The group refocused their attention on finding opportunities within the ruins, refraining from mentioning the incident that had just occurred.
In another direction within the ruins, Su Heng gazed at the surroundings.
"It seems this place is far from simple," he muttered, taking note of the spatial energy permeating the area and the intricate spatial formations within the ruins.
He had also heard about it. The owner of this ruins was merely at the late stage of the True Martial Realm, so how could there be the spatial power of the Enlightenment Realm that could only be comprehended by those at that level?
It seemed there was certainly some undisclosed secret here. Well, let him be the one to unveil it!
With that in mind, he moved forward.
However, within this ruins, things were far from calm.
True, the opportunities within this ruins were plentiful, but they were also limited. Though the allied forces seemed united, suspicions ran deep. Backstabbing wasn't uncommon, and during the time they had entered, about a third of the members from various significant powers had perished.
Yet, none of them had realized that, upon their deaths, their blood, once absorbed by the soil, converged towards an unknown location.
The members of the Blood Refining Hall hadn't sought to plunder the external so-called resources. Instead, from the very beginning, they headed deeper into the ruins; that's where the true "inheritance" lay.
However, they had encountered their fair share of difficulties along the way, carrying some injuries to varying degrees.
The highest cultivation level among them was only at the early stage of the Earth Martial Realm. Nevertheless, within this ruins, fourth-order demonic beasts were quite common, and even fifth-order ones weren't nonexistent.
Fortunately, luck had been on their side thus far; they hadn't encountered such beasts. Otherwise, they might have faced annihilation. Time and effort bore fruit, leading them to their intended destination: the volcanic crater that was still spewing lava.
What they sought was within this active volcano.
"Xiao Nanzi, there's a presence of Heaven and Earth Spirit Fire nearby." Outside the volcanic crater, the voice of Xuan Qingzi resounded in Chu Nan's mind.
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