After traveling for a day, night fell, and Zhao Li found a place to rest briefly.
Zhao Li sat cross-legged on a treetop, 'watching' the Black Mist. Suddenly, the orange-gold Flame lunged towards it, and the Black Mist shrank violently.
Seeing that the Flame was effective, Zhao Li controlled it to gradually approach. The Black Mist seemed to sense the threat and began to frantically bite at Zhao Li's Primordial Spirit.
Zhao Li stopped, and the Black Mist, seeing the Flame no longer approaching, also stopped biting.
But as soon as the Flame tried to get closer again, it would hit Zhao Li hard.
Just like that, the mist and fire were locked in a stalemate.
"Does it fear fire? I'm afraid it really is a living thing."
Seeing that the Flame was indeed useful, Zhao Li was pleased. Although he had been bitten a few times and his head ached terribly, he didn't force it anymore. He simply used the Flame to surround the Black Mist.
Controlling the Natal Flame was this effortless and precise, without worrying about it backfiring.
Seeing the Black Mist and the Flame in a stalemate, and that it was no longer biting his Primordial Spirit, Zhao Li ignored it and began to cultivate on his own.
During these few days of seclusion in the Li Family, aside from his Soul Power advancing further and touching the threshold of the Heaven Realm, the more important thing was that his Cultivation Technique had been perfected again. With the integrated cultivation of Essence, Qi, and Spirit, he only needed to proceed step by step and accumulate over time. The small goal he had jokingly set at the beginning of his cultivation was now easily achievable.
Under the night sky, the mountains were very quiet. The moonlight occasionally pierced through the forest, reflecting off the bonfire within, casting a faint glow on the young man sitting cross-legged nearby, looking handsome and otherworldly.
The night passed without incident. Early the next morning, as the first hint of light appeared in the sky, Zhao Li set off again, startling the early birds in the forest.
Time passed in such peaceful travel. After about ten days, Zhao Li finally reached the unnamed deep mountains indicated on the map.
The Dou Qi Continent was vast, and there were still many, many places that had not been recorded, either because no one had set foot there or because there was no inclination to record them. In short, Zhao Li had never seen a relatively complete map.
It was precisely because of this that no one knew when or where a lucky person would encounter a Ruin, either soaring to greatness or perishing within, unknown to anyone...
This mountain range was also like this, except that this Ruin had already been visited by others.
Zhao Li looked at the map, confirmed his direction, and entered the deep mountains.
Half a day later, Zhao Li arrived before a towering peak.
A Stone Gate had been carved open at the foot of the peak, with a tall Stone Pillar standing on each side. Strange characters could faintly be seen on them.
The Stone Gate had stood for an unknown amount of time, exuding a sense of ancientness and simplicity.
Looking at the strange characters on both sides, he figured they were some kind of introduction. Although Zhao Li didn't understand their meaning, he focused and memorized these characters before walking into the Stone Gate.
A Bluestone path unfolded from the entrance, extending straight into the distance. Following it with his gaze, the other end was enveloped in ethereal clouds and mist.
Stepping onto the Bluestone path felt like going to worship celestial beings.
Zhao Li stopped and didn't follow the path.
He had heard Li Zhenxuan say that this place had already been thoroughly searched. Fortunately, his purpose wasn't treasure, so he slowly wandered around the spacious main hall.
This place was extremely vast, occasionally divided into smaller halls by Stone Pillars. Zhao Li felt it was very similar to a sect's main hall. Perhaps in the past, it was filled with people, their eyes fixed with fervor on the celestial beings in the distant clouds and mist.
Even though his purpose wasn't treasure, Zhao Li still searched carefully within the main hall, hoping to find some mechanism that others hadn't discovered. Perhaps he was the special one?
However, after circling around, he found nothing except a few Murals depicting people in strange clothes singing and dancing. Zhao Li clicked his tongue:
"It's like a locust plague passed through; it's really clean."
Similarly, Zhao Li memorized the Murals and walked towards the next area.
Before the Stone Chamber, Zhao Li looked at the wide-open Stone Gate and knew in his heart that the inside had likely been completely looted as well.
Zhao Li entered the secret chamber. What met his eyes was row after row of Stone Shelves. They were carved directly into the mountain, seamlessly integrated. It looked like this place was a library or similar area. Perhaps in the past, it was filled with various ancient texts, but now the Stone Shelves were completely empty, with nothing left.
After walking around, he only discovered different characters carved on the Stone Shelves. He figured they might be something like book classifications.
Zhao Li memorized them as well and continued to the next place.
He visited several places like this. From their appearance, some were places for alchemy, some for artifact refining, and some for trials and martial arts practice. But as he walked through, they were all empty. Anything that could be moved was gone, and there was even very little unknown information left.
Zhao Li did occasionally encounter a few people, all looking dejected. They all had Dou Emperor Cultivation Level, and he feared they had come with excitement, only to return disappointed.
Zhao Li frowned. His gains so far were meager. He didn't even know the era or location of this Ruin.
His heart sank. Zhao Li could only go to the Tomb Chamber that Li Zhenxuan had marked. He feared there would be no gains inside either.
Zhao Li sighed and pushed the door open.
It was filled with Stone Coffins, neatly arranged.
Looking at this scene, a strange feeling arose in Zhao Li's heart.
Then his heart stirred, and he understood. This place was too neat.
Although this was a Tomb Chamber, its location was not hidden. He didn't believe that people who had gained nothing would show great respect to the deceased here and not disturb anything.
Understanding that this place might be a bit eerie, Zhao Li also became cautious.
Zhao Li came before a Stone Coffin and carefully lifted it. It was empty inside. Zhao Li knocked and tapped, but there were no secret passages or compartments. The coffin couldn't even be pushed or moved; it was as if the mountain itself had been hollowed out.
Zhao Li lifted open one Stone Coffin after another, and they were all empty inside.
Suddenly, Zhao Li focused. Just now, he felt a momentary fluctuation in the Black Mist within his body. Zhao Li stopped, took out the map Li Zhenxuan had drawn, and looked at it. It wasn't the location he had marked. Zhao Li looked at the Stone Coffin before him, feeling puzzled:
"Is it another one, or... can it move too?"
Zhao Li didn't know. To prevent any accidents, he thought, and Flame covered his entire body. He shot out a stream of Dou Qi and lifted the Stone Coffin.
Zhao Li stared blankly at the empty stone coffin.
He sent out his Soul Power, carefully searching, but found nothing unusual – no sign of anything like the Black Mist.
After searching several times, Zhao Li gave up and moved on to the next stone coffin.
He checked several more in a row, still finding nothing. Zhao Li breathed a sigh of relief; he had been overly suspicious. He already suspected the Black Mist was alive, so it was normal for it to act strangely.
However, just as he opened another stone coffin, the Black Mist stirred again.
Zhao Li stopped. Once could be a coincidence, but experiencing it twice in such a short time, Zhao Li didn't believe it was just chance.
"Something's wrong. There must be something strange here. The Black Mist is connected to these stone coffins."
Li Zhenxuan had also mentioned that the Black Mist entered his body in the tomb chamber. This was the only clue about the Black Mist.
But after searching a few more times, he still found nothing.
Zhao Li didn't continue opening the coffins. If there was something inside, it wouldn't have been left for him anyway. Zhao Li fell into thought:
"What's the connection between them? A mechanism? Or something else?"
After a long while, Zhao Li remembered the puzzle games he used to play. His eyes lit up, and he suddenly rose into the air, looking down.
There were over a hundred stone coffins below, filling the tomb chamber.
Zhao Li found the coffin marked by Li Zhenxuan, then looked at the locations of the two coffins that had caused the Black Mist to stir earlier. Zhao Li closed his eyes, simulating and deducing in his mind, hoping to find the relationship between them.
After just a moment, Zhao Li opened his eyes and walked straight to a specific stone coffin. Without a doubt, the Black Mist moved again!
Zhao Li felt the Black Mist's stirring, but he wasn't happy. Instead, his mood became solemn:
"Is it really like this?"
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