Upon hearing the name Qi Zhen, both Daoist Mo Ying and Daoist Ning Gui fell silent. They exchanged a glance, their expressions turning serious.
The two headed towards the white mist without any prior agreement. A group of people had already gathered there. Among them was a tall daoist holding an extinguished oil lamp in his hand. His expression was rather ugly, and there was visible sadness in his eyes.
The deaths of the young daoists from the Dao society earlier, while causing some commotion, had not been considered a major incident. However, the situation was different now because of the identity of the deceased.
Qi Zhen was a disciple of the Auspicious Cloud Daoist Temple, a major sect within the Longevity Dao lineage, even larger than the Sublime Bright Sect. Qi Zhen was also a genius listed on the Latent Dragon List. Among the daoist geniuses who entered the ruin, Qi Zhen might not match up to Song Changxi and Yun Jianyue, but he was certainly the number three figure. Such a genius should have been very hard to kill inside the ruin.
In other words, Qi Zhen's death likely involved some existence inside the ruin.
"What's going on? Didn't the Sublime Bright Sect say that there were no dangers in the periphery?"
That Daoist had an ugly expression. Although he did not name anyone, he was looking at Daoist Ning Gui.
While the information from the Sublime Bright Sect had been as such, the one currently presiding over this was not a cultivator of the Infatuation Daoist Temple. However, since it had happened, as daoist disciples, this daoist thought of the Infatuation Daoist Temple right away.
"Perhaps it's because the periphery has been thoroughly explored by the Sublime Bright Sect, they didn't see anything good, so they ventured deeper into the inner regions."
Someone spoke up, trying to ease the situation for Daoist Ning Gui and the daoist who had spoken up.
After all, no matter how sad or angry that daoist was at this moment, he should not have said anything to the Infatuation Daoist Temple.
The daoist quickly returned to his senses and looked over here, his emotions calming down greatly.
Only then, did Daoist Ning Gui say, "Since it was said before that those who enter should take responsibility for their own lives and deaths, that should be the way. Putting aside that it's Qi Zhen, even if it were Yun Jianyue who died, my Infatuation Daoist Temple wouldn't say anything either."
Upon hearing the name Yun Jianyue, the crowd fell into a thoughtful silence. If that young genius really died inside, with only one of the Twin Pillars of Daoism left, it was likely that the Infatuation Daoist Temple would unleash its full force to flatten the ruin.
Hence, nobody took Daoist Ning Gui's words seriously. Instead, someone asked, "Daoist Mo Ying, perhaps these young people lack resilience and may linger inside for too long, which worries the Fellow Daoists a little as well."
Although the person did not explicitly say it, the implied meaning in the words was already very clear.
Daoist Mo Ying glanced at Daoist Ning Gui, the latter also took a look at him. The two exchanged glances, the emotions in their eyes very complicated.
"Fellow Daoist Distant Wanderer?"
After a moment, Daoist Ning Gui looked towards one side where Distant Wanderer had stood silently for a long time without uttering a word.
He could not control the matters of various sects, and he did not know what was inside the ruin either. Therefore, when this all started, he did not speak at all. He was just very quiet, continuously so.
Now, someone was looking at him, making him give an answer. He could not stay silent any longer and had to speak up.
"I was invited by everyone to oversee the exploration of the ruin, and it was made clear before that after entering the ruin, life and death are one's own responsibility. Whether they can come out alive is their business. If everyone still wants to follow the rules, then wait for it. If you don't want to follow the rules, I'll leave right now."
Distant Wanderer's voice was faint and somewhat powerless. He likely also understood that many things could not be changed just by his desire to change them.
"What are we still waiting for? Those youngsters might have encountered some major problems right now. If we don't do something, none of them may make it out."
A cultivator spoke up, several of the young cultivators from his sect had already died. He had no particular desire for exploring the ruin now, he just did not want all the people from his sect to die inside. Therefore, his emotions were very agitated when he spoke.
Distant Wanderer glanced at him, wanting to say something. But in the end, he did not say anything.
"Yes, it's probably not suitable for those young people to be inside alone right now. We should go in and take a look!"
"Take a look? Pardon me for being blunt, but what's the difference between you entering and not entering, Fellow Daoists? Do you think you can still retain your cultivation after entering?"
Distant Wanderer said calmly, "In truth, it won't make a difference whether fellow daoists enter or not. You should handle the situation as it is."
His words were the truth, even if everyone wanted to refute, they were unable to say anything too.
Entering now would not guarantee that they could still possess their cultivation. If they could not retain their cultivation, what use would entering serve?
Unless they had a way of taking care of the white mist and restoring their cultivation.
More experienced?
Actually, speaking of which, it was somewhat laughable too. Most cultivators spent their days cultivating by themselves on the mountains, how would they have any so-called experience? They were not much different from the young cultivators.
Daoist Ning Gui looked at everyone and did not say anything.
Daoist Mo Ying said emotionally, "Since that's the case, let's wait a bit longer. I believe that there will be remarkable existences among the youngsters, it shouldn't be to an extent where they can't do anything inside."
Everyone understood his meaning. At the end of the day, one of the Twin Pillars of Daoism, Yun Jianyue, was still inside. As long as he was there, they believed that at least things would not be too dire.
……
……
Yun Jianyue indeed felt rather terrible.
Since entering this ruin, Yun Jianyue instantly felt rather uncomfortable. Ever since he began cultivating at a young age, he had been growing stronger year by year, feeling the power within him. This gave him a great sense of security. However, the moment he stepped into the white mist, he started to feel uneasy.
This feeling was not great.
What kind of feeling was this?
Likely, it was the discomfort of strength temporarily leaving his body.
No, it was fear.
Why would he be scared?
It was because the current him was only slightly stronger than the average person. But if he really encountered a cultivator who had cultivation, killing him would probably be effortless.
This involuntarily made Yun Jianyue think of those ordinary people.
Those living at the lowest level of this world.
Although many times, cultivators would boast about how they were not the same existences as ordinary folks, from a certain perspective, both the common people and cultivators were the same; they were all human.
For instance, now, after his cultivation was removed from his body, Yun Jianyue could no longer feel the difference between himself and ordinary people.
He shook his head, casting aside those emotions entirely, and then looked ahead at the vast plain.
A small river stretched into the distance, but due to the white mist, Yun Jianyue could not see too clearly ahead.
But with that small river, it was enough.
He walked forward along the river. The plain had a lot of wild grass, but even the grass was gray, looking very dark in comparison to the white mist. Either way, it was all very strange, and it did not mesh well.
Yun Jianyue just walked quietly.
After who knows how long, he stopped by the river, and then crouched down. Reaching his hand into the clear water, he fished around and pulled out a broken spearhead.
Looking at this broken spearhead in his hand, it was unknown what Yun Jianyue was thinking.
Among cultivators in today's world, very few knew how to use long spears. Perhaps only those martial artists in the North knew how.
But the presence of a broken spearhead in this ancient ruin indicated that martial artists existed in these sects back in ancient times.
This discovery was unable to excite Yun Jianyue in any way. He just picked up the broken spearhead and continued walking ahead.
Not long after, he stopped again.
His expression became somewhat solemn.
Not because he had found something here again, but because he saw a lot of things.
In the open field ahead, there were countless graves.
One after another, packed closely together.
Yun Jianyue only took a few glances and deduced that there were at least several hundred graves here.
Those buried here were probably the cultivators who used to be in the ancient ruin.
Yun Jianyue did not continue forward but stood on the spot and thought for a long time.
Within the white mist, he could only see a dozen or so yards ahead, but he remembered very clearly that he had been walking on the outskirts all along. He remembered his route very clearly as well. However, whether it was this plain or the graves, if it was truly on the periphery, then the Sublime Bright Sect would have discovered it a long time ago. What would they do if they discovered it?
To say something that was not very pleasant, they would most likely dig up the graves.
For cultivators, although they would not have as many burial items as ordinary people after death, there would often be cultivators who would bring their most precious belongings into their graves.
To cultivators, their most precious possessions would never be ordinary items.
With so many graves here, if someone had the patience to dig them up one by one, they would definitely find what they were looking for.
Yun Jianyue did not take any action, he just continued walking forward.
In his hand, he held a broken spearhead. To some extent, it could even be used as a decent hoe to dig graves.
Perhaps this was the will of heaven, wanting him to dig graves.
But Yun Jianyue did not want to do such a thing.
Hence, he continued walking forward, past those graves, heading further away.
Upon hearing the name Qi Zhen, both Daoist Mo Ying and Daoist Ning Gui fell silent. They exchanged a glance, their expressions turning serious.
The two headed towards the white mist without any prior agreement. A group of people had already gathered there. Among them was a tall daoist holding an extinguished oil lamp in his hand. His expression was rather ugly, and there was visible sadness in his eyes.
The deaths of the young daoists from the Dao society earlier, while causing some commotion, had not been considered a major incident. However, the situation was different now because of the identity of the deceased.
Qi Zhen was a disciple of the Auspicious Cloud Daoist Temple, a major sect within the Longevity Dao lineage, even larger than the Sublime Bright Sect. Qi Zhen was also a genius listed on the Latent Dragon List. Among the daoist geniuses who entered the ruin, Qi Zhen might not match up to Song Changxi and Yun Jianyue, but he was certainly the number three figure. Such a genius should have been very hard to kill inside the ruin.
In other words, Qi Zhen's death likely involved some existence inside the ruin.
"What's going on? Didn't the Sublime Bright Sect say that there were no dangers in the periphery?"
That Daoist had an ugly expression. Although he did not name anyone, he was looking at Daoist Ning Gui.
While the information from the Sublime Bright Sect had been as such, the one currently presiding over this was not a cultivator of the Infatuation Daoist Temple. However, since it had happened, as daoist disciples, this daoist thought of the Infatuation Daoist Temple right away.
"Perhaps it's because the periphery has been thoroughly explored by the Sublime Bright Sect, they didn't see anything good, so they ventured deeper into the inner regions."
Someone spoke up, trying to ease the situation for Daoist Ning Gui and the daoist who had spoken up.
After all, no matter how sad or angry that daoist was at this moment, he should not have said anything to the Infatuation Daoist Temple.
The daoist quickly returned to his senses and looked over here, his emotions calming down greatly.
Only then, did Daoist Ning Gui say, "Since it was said before that those who enter should take responsibility for their own lives and deaths, that should be the way. Putting aside that it's Qi Zhen, even if it were Yun Jianyue who died, my Infatuation Daoist Temple wouldn't say anything either."
Upon hearing the name Yun Jianyue, the crowd fell into a thoughtful silence. If that young genius really died inside, with only one of the Twin Pillars of Daoism left, it was likely that the Infatuation Daoist Temple would unleash its full force to flatten the ruin.
Hence, nobody took Daoist Ning Gui's words seriously. Instead, someone asked, "Daoist Mo Ying, perhaps these young people lack resilience and may linger inside for too long, which worries the Fellow Daoists a little as well."
Although the person did not explicitly say it, the implied meaning in the words was already very clear.
Daoist Mo Ying glanced at Daoist Ning Gui, the latter also took a look at him. The two exchanged glances, the emotions in their eyes very complicated.
"Fellow Daoist Distant Wanderer?"
After a moment, Daoist Ning Gui looked towards one side where Distant Wanderer had stood silently for a long time without uttering a word.
He could not control the matters of various sects, and he did not know what was inside the ruin either. Therefore, when this all started, he did not speak at all. He was just very quiet, continuously so.
Now, someone was looking at him, making him give an answer. He could not stay silent any longer and had to speak up.
"I was invited by everyone to oversee the exploration of the ruin, and it was made clear before that after entering the ruin, life and death are one's own responsibility. Whether they can come out alive is their business. If everyone still wants to follow the rules, then wait for it. If you don't want to follow the rules, I'll leave right now."
Distant Wanderer's voice was faint and somewhat powerless. He likely also understood that many things could not be changed just by his desire to change them.
"What are we still waiting for? Those youngsters might have encountered some major problems right now. If we don't do something, none of them may make it out."
A cultivator spoke up, several of the young cultivators from his sect had already died. He had no particular desire for exploring the ruin now, he just did not want all the people from his sect to die inside. Therefore, his emotions were very agitated when he spoke.
Distant Wanderer glanced at him, wanting to say something. But in the end, he did not say anything.
"Yes, it's probably not suitable for those young people to be inside alone right now. We should go in and take a look!"
"Take a look? Pardon me for being blunt, but what's the difference between you entering and not entering, Fellow Daoists? Do you think you can still retain your cultivation after entering?"
Distant Wanderer said calmly, "In truth, it won't make a difference whether fellow daoists enter or not. You should handle the situation as it is."
His words were the truth, even if everyone wanted to refute, they were unable to say anything too.
Entering now would not guarantee that they could still possess their cultivation. If they could not retain their cultivation, what use would entering serve?
Unless they had a way of taking care of the white mist and restoring their cultivation.
More experienced?
Actually, speaking of which, it was somewhat laughable too. Most cultivators spent their days cultivating by themselves on the mountains, how would they have any so-called experience? They were not much different from the young cultivators.
Daoist Ning Gui looked at everyone and did not say anything.
Daoist Mo Ying said emotionally, "Since that's the case, let's wait a bit longer. I believe that there will be remarkable existences among the youngsters, it shouldn't be to an extent where they can't do anything inside."
Everyone understood his meaning. At the end of the day, one of the Twin Pillars of Daoism, Yun Jianyue, was still inside. As long as he was there, they believed that at least things would not be too dire.
……
……
Yun Jianyue indeed felt rather terrible.
Since entering this ruin, Yun Jianyue instantly felt rather uncomfortable. Ever since he began cultivating at a young age, he had been growing stronger year by year, feeling the power within him. This gave him a great sense of security. However, the moment he stepped into the white mist, he started to feel uneasy.
This feeling was not great.
What kind of feeling was this?
Likely, it was the discomfort of strength temporarily leaving his body.
No, it was fear.
Why would he be scared?
It was because the current him was only slightly stronger than the average person. But if he really encountered a cultivator who had cultivation, killing him would probably be effortless.
This involuntarily made Yun Jianyue think of those ordinary people.
Those living at the lowest level of this world.
Although many times, cultivators would boast about how they were not the same existences as ordinary folks, from a certain perspective, both the common people and cultivators were the same; they were all human.
For instance, now, after his cultivation was removed from his body, Yun Jianyue could no longer feel the difference between himself and ordinary people.
He shook his head, casting aside those emotions entirely, and then looked ahead at the vast plain.
A small river stretched into the distance, but due to the white mist, Yun Jianyue could not see too clearly ahead.
But with that small river, it was enough.
He walked forward along the river. The plain had a lot of wild grass, but even the grass was gray, looking very dark in comparison to the white mist. Either way, it was all very strange, and it did not mesh well.
Yun Jianyue just walked quietly.
After who knows how long, he stopped by the river, and then crouched down. Reaching his hand into the clear water, he fished around and pulled out a broken spearhead.
Looking at this broken spearhead in his hand, it was unknown what Yun Jianyue was thinking.
Among cultivators in today's world, very few knew how to use long spears. Perhaps only those martial artists in the North knew how.
But the presence of a broken spearhead in this ancient ruin indicated that martial artists existed in these sects back in ancient times.
This discovery was unable to excite Yun Jianyue in any way. He just picked up the broken spearhead and continued walking ahead.
Not long after, he stopped again.
His expression became somewhat solemn.
Not because he had found something here again, but because he saw a lot of things.
In the open field ahead, there were countless graves.
One after another, packed closely together.
Yun Jianyue only took a few glances and deduced that there were at least several hundred graves here.
Those buried here were probably the cultivators who used to be in the ancient ruin.
Yun Jianyue did not continue forward but stood on the spot and thought for a long time.
Within the white mist, he could only see a dozen or so yards ahead, but he remembered very clearly that he had been walking on the outskirts all along. He remembered his route very clearly as well. However, whether it was this plain or the graves, if it was truly on the periphery, then the Sublime Bright Sect would have discovered it a long time ago. What would they do if they discovered it?
To say something that was not very pleasant, they would most likely dig up the graves.
For cultivators, although they would not have as many burial items as ordinary people after death, there would often be cultivators who would bring their most precious belongings into their graves.
To cultivators, their most precious possessions would never be ordinary items.
With so many graves here, if someone had the patience to dig them up one by one, they would definitely find what they were looking for.
Yun Jianyue did not take any action, he just continued walking forward.
In his hand, he held a broken spearhead. To some extent, it could even be used as a decent hoe to dig graves.
Perhaps this was the will of heaven, wanting him to dig graves.
But Yun Jianyue did not want to do such a thing.
Hence, he continued walking forward, past those graves, heading further away.
