Entering the Ruins First

“Sect Master, what exactly is happening over there?”
Mu Wenjie and the others demanded, their faces etched with shock.

The immense energy fluctuations soaring into the sky did not resemble the power of cultivators at all; instead, they felt akin to a rare treasure emerging into the world.

“To think that within this desolate mountain we selected, an ancient sect’s ruins lay hidden,” Yan Yun remarked, her voice laden with a mix of awe and concern.
“It’s truly hard to discern whether this is a stroke of luck or an omen of misfortune.”

Yan Yun’s expression was grave.

The proximity of this site to their chosen Poison Sect stronghold was alarming.

Such a massive disturbance would undoubtedly alert and draw formidable cultivators from the neighboring Jiang Country’s cultivation world.

Should a multitude of Divine Venerable Realm experts converge upon the Wuyin Mountain Range, their Poison Sect’s hidden base would be effortlessly exposed.

“What? There’s actually an ancient sect ruin here?”
Wen Meng and the others exclaimed, visibly startled.

After a moment of profound thought, Yan Yun gestured to Wen Meng and the others.
“Sister Wen Meng, please guard our home,” she instructed.
“I shall go and investigate.”
“Your cultivation and foundations are not yet sufficient for such a perilous place; it would be too dangerous.”
“I will go, and if any opportunities arise, I shall return.”

Wen Meng and the others nodded in unison, their agreement immediate and unwavering.

Indeed, they were in no position to involve themselves in such a perilous endeavor; their presence would only serve as a hindrance to Yan Yun.

“Mm, do be careful,” Wen Meng cautioned.
“It’s perfectly fine if you don’t manage to seize any opportunities.”

Yan Yun further instructed them to cease all work for the next few days, to keep their aura concealed, and to await her return.

With her instructions delivered, Yan Yun made ready to depart.

However, at that very moment, Xiao Leng called out, stopping Yan Yun.

“Third Sister, wait.”

Yan Yun’s movements halted; she turned immediately to face Xiao Leng, who was now flying towards her, accompanied by Heiyue.

“Big Sister, what is it?” Yan Yun inquired.

“You see, that location,” Xiao Leng began to explain, “Heiyue and I both find it somewhat familiar.”
“If it truly is an ancient sect ruin, I may have entered it before, and Little Sister Heiyue also believes she has been there.”

This revelation greatly surprised Yan Yun.

“Is that so?”

“Yes,” Heiyue affirmed, “before I transformed into a demon, I squeezed through an inconspicuous crack in the ground.”
“Beneath, there was a vast ancient ruin, which I believe belonged to human cultivators.”
“On the outskirts of that ruin, I consumed a certain spirit grass, and that is how I underwent my demonic transformation.”

Yan Yun then cast her gaze upon Xiao Leng.

“I cannot guarantee that the place Little Sister Heiyue and I visited is the very same,” Xiao Leng elaborated, “but where I was born, there also appeared to be a human ruin.”
“I awoke within it, and inside, there seemed to be a remarkably peculiar spiritual liquid.”
“It was by drinking the spiritual liquid that seeped out from the cracks that I achieved my transformation.”

Given their accounts, Yan Yun realized she had no choice but to bring them along, for the places they seemed to have entered surely held some profound secrets; otherwise, Xiao Leng would not have reacted with such intensity.

It appeared as though they had gained entry from disparate points.

Perhaps she could seize the opportunity amidst the commotion, enter through an alternative entrance, and acquire the valuable treasures within before anyone else.

“Then let’s go,” Yan Yun called out.

The two girls instantly transformed into their smaller, juvenile forms, settling gracefully upon Yan Yun’s left and right shoulders.

Yan Yun, with her two companions, passed through the formidable array and made her way toward the site where the ruins had emerged.

Before setting off, she had even utilized the magic treasure she acquired previously to alter her appearance, ensuring she would not be recognized.

Revisiting the ruins’ location, it remained at the original fissure, yet the ground had been violently ripped open into a colossal chasm by the immense energy surging skyward.

Beside the gaping chasm, several Divine Soul Realm cultivators stood vigil.

These individuals were undoubtedly the guards dispatched by the Qianjin Pavilion.

“It has finally emerged.”
“Have Pavilion Master and the others been informed?” one of them remarked.

“Yes, they have been notified,” the leading cultivator stated.
“At their speed, Pavilion Master and the others should arrive here in ten minutes at most.”
“Before then, we must ensure that our Qianjin Pavilion members are the very first cultivators to enter this place.”
“All other cultivators, regardless of their affiliation, must be barred from entry.”

“But what if Divine Venerable Realm experts from surrounding factions arrive?” someone else interjected, posing a rather challenging question.

Yet, the leading cultivator exuded an air of supreme confidence.

“Rest assured,” he declared, “as long as we inform them that our Qianjin Pavilion discovered this place through a treasure map acquired with immense wealth, they will not dare to act presumptuously.”
“On the Tianchen Continent, no one would dare disrespect our Qianjin Pavilion.”
With his confident assertion, the others finally relaxed.

The six individuals encircled the chasm, collectively deploying a formidable array.

While this formation proved incapable of isolating the surging energy, it nonetheless possessed the power to impede any cultivators below the Great Perfection Divine Venerable Realm.

Soon, Yan Yun arrived in the vicinity.

With Yan Lingyun’s assistance in concealing her aura, it would prove exceedingly difficult for any cultivators below the Divine Venerable Realm to detect her presence.

“Heiyue, is this the place you spoke of?” Yan Yun inquired, perched high on the trunk of a towering tree, her gaze fixed on the golden light erupting from the ruptured earth below.

Heiyue surveyed her surroundings.

“Yes, this is indeed the place,” Heiyue confirmed, a note of helplessness in her voice.
“It merely appears to have been discovered prematurely.”

Yan Yun instructed Yan Lingyun to ascertain the cultivation realms of the cultivators standing guard at the entrance.

Upon realizing they were all Divine Soul Realm cultivators, Yan Yun promptly discarded the notion of entering through that particular point.

“Big Sister, let us proceed to the entrance you spoke of.”

Xiao Leng immediately began to lead the way for Yan Yun.

Not long after, Yan Yun arrived before a mountain cave, its entrance thoroughly obscured by a dense tangle of thorny vines.

This location was undeniably clandestine; the cave mouth was so densely overgrown with vines that, without a meticulous, close-up inspection, one would never discern the presence of a hidden cavern.

“This is it,” Xiao Leng declared, leaping from Yan Yun’s shoulder.
Heiyue followed suit.

Yan Yun followed them, parting the dense vines and stepping inside.

The interior was shrouded in profound darkness, yet such common obscurity posed no impediment to the keen vision of cultivators.

The trio pressed deeper into the cave.

After traversing a certain distance, Yan Yun perceived a distinct surge of energy radiating outwards.

This energy was precisely the same as that which had erupted skyward, though considerably less volatile.

Before long, they reached the cavern’s end.

The energy emanated from a minuscule opening, indicating that this was indeed an alternative entrance.

“This is it,” Xiao Leng announced.

Yan Yun immediately crouched down to inspect it.

“This opening seems rather small,” Yan Yun mused, lying prone to attempt entry.
“I have a feeling I might not be able to get through.”

Xiao Leng offered a small smile.

“Give it a try,” she suggested.
“If you find you can’t pass, Little Sister Heiyue and I will help widen the opening.”
“You can then follow directly behind us.”

Yan Yun offered no objections.

Thus, the two small creatures squeezed through first, and Yan Yun, too, began to crawl in after them.

Before she had even managed to crawl a few meters, Yan Yun found herself utterly stuck.

“Ow, I’m stuck!” Yan Yun cried out.
“I can’t get through!”

While she possessed the ability to forcefully expand the opening herself, their current location was too near the main entrance.

Any exertion of her power would almost certainly lead to their detection.

“Alright,” Xiao Leng and Heiyue responded, immediately raising their claws and swiftly digging at the surrounding rock.

Under their claws, the rock crumbled like tofu, and the opening swiftly expanded, allowing Yan Yun to slowly advance.

After nearly ten minutes of persistent crawling, they finally reached the end, having successfully infiltrated the mountain’s interior.

Once inside, Yan Yun’s gaze widened in astonishment.

Before her lay a colossal mountain cavern, within which a magnificent cluster of buildings shimmered with flowing light.

The scale of this architectural complex rivaled that of the Yunhua Sect itself.

Directly above the cavern, a vast celestial fissure opened, and it was from this point that the immense power of the ruins erupted.

“Haha, thanks to both of you, we must be the first ones to enter, right?” Yan Yun asked again.

Both of them nodded.

“Indeed,” Heiyue confirmed, “you see, it was after I consumed that specific spirit grass that I gained sentience, and from there, I gradually evolved into a demonic beast.”
She pointed towards the golden spirit grass growing along the edges.

Yan Yun recognized the plant with just a single glance.

“This is Lingxi Grass!”
“No wonder you gained sentience after eating it; this indeed has such an effect.”
“Mortals who consume it can enhance their memory, while cultivators can strengthen their acquired divine sense.”

“There’s so much of it!”
“We can’t waste time; let’s quickly gather it.”
“We mustn’t let others get it cheaply,” Yan Yun exclaimed, her voice filled with excitement.

Lingxi Grass could be used to make Spirit Enlightenment Pills, which were even more effective, but the thing about this grass was that its effects diminished with repeated consumption.

That’s why Heiyue hadn’t eaten too much of it back then; after a few stalks, she realized it wasn’t doing much anymore.

There was an abundance of it, and the three of them collected a great deal.

“Forget it, forget it.”
“This stuff is like weeds here; it’s too time-consuming.”
“Big Sister, where is the spiritual liquid you mentioned?” Yan Yun asked Xiao Leng once more.

Xiao Leng quickly ran towards the location where she had discovered the spiritual liquid.

She had been born here, so she was very familiar with the place.

Under Xiao Leng’s guidance, they arrived at a corner on the south side of the ruins.

In this spot, there was a small pool radiating a pure, luminous glow.

“I can’t believe how much has accumulated after all these years,” Xiao Leng exclaimed, her face alight with surprise.

This substance seemed to exert an irresistible allure over both her and Heiyue, who immediately scrambled to the edge of the pool and began to drink.

“Hey, don’t you two drink it all!”

“Old Ancestor, is this perhaps Ten-Thousand-Year Stone Marrow Liquid?” Yan Yun inquired.

“Mm, it is indeed this very thing,” Yan Lingyun confirmed.
“This is a truly excellent substance that can directly increase cultivation.”
“Of course, it’s not particularly useful for you.”

Yan Yun couldn’t care less about that; she quickly pulled out bottles and began filling them.

It might not be useful for her, but it would certainly benefit her mother, wife, and brothers.

As the three of them drank and filled their bottles, the small pool quickly ran dry.

Heiyue and Xiao Leng even licked the bottom of the basin clean.

“Big Sister, is it really that delicious?” Yan Yun couldn’t help but ask.

At this moment, Xiao Leng looked no different from an animal.

“It’s simply too sweet; I couldn’t resist,” Xiao Leng responded, a helpless tone in her voice.

Yan Yun glanced at the several large bottles in her hands.

“Alright, Big Sister, did you actually emerge from within these ruins?” Yan Yun pressed further.

However, this question made it difficult for Xiao Leng to provide an accurate answer.

“This?”
“My memories from when I was first born are very blurry now.”
“I only clearly remember the circumstances of my emergence.”
“I should have come out from inside.”
“I’m trying to recall exactly where I squeezed out from,” Xiao Leng began to reflect carefully.

Just then, people arrived from outside, but they were not from the Qianjin Pavilion; it was the Cui family’s Old Ancestor.

“Who goes there?”
“This place was discovered by our Qianjin Pavilion.”
“No other cultivators are permitted to enter before our Qianjin Pavilion members do!”
The Divine Soul Realm cultivator from Qianjin Pavilion spoke with unwavering firmness.

Upon hearing that these individuals were from the Qianjin Pavilion, the Cui family’s Old Ancestor paused for a moment of thought, then immediately retreated a distance, waiting patiently.

There was nothing for it; their Cui family could not afford to offend the Qianjin Pavilion.