Even with their spiritual eyes opened, the range of vision in the darkness of this underground dojo was no more than twenty li, and that was the limit achievable with far-seeing.
Within Ji Yuan and Lin Yubai's sight, everything was a ruin. Vast swathes of wreckage lay before them.
Yet, despite being mere ruins, the two still felt a residual grandeur, making it hard to imagine what this place was like thousands of years ago, how prosperous it must have been.
"What exactly is this place?"
Ji Yuan murmured to himself, momentarily at a loss for words to express his shock.
Mere ruins buried underground, weathered by thousands of years, still made anyone who beheld them feel their own insignificance.
"This should be the core of the underground dojo, the Xuanhuang City built by that Red Heart Daoist!"
Lin Yubai pondered for a moment before speaking slowly.
During their escape, they had learned about each other. He now knew the young man beside him was a successor of the Xuan Tian lineage, and thus there was no need to guard his knowledge.
The information he possessed was even more detailed than that of Elder Hong Tian, for his own master was the peak lord of Lei Ze Peak.
Legend had it that thousands of years ago, a colossal city named 'Xuanhuang City' was built in this dojo. Its grandeur and scale were no less than that of any prefectural city in the present day.
"One of the reasons Senior Brother Du and I, along with others, joined forces to explore the dojo was to find clues to this place."
He thought for a moment and did not hide anything, revealing their mission.
Not long after entering the dojo, the elders of the third realm had found traces. Subsequently, the Nine Xuan Sect discovered from clues obtained in various cave dwellings that the core of this dojo was within Xuanhuang City.
The Nine Xuan Sect even knew the city's location, but for various reasons, they had not yet dispatched elders or disciples to explore it.
Originally, Lin Yubai and the other Heavenly Talents were supposed to be the first exploration team, but they had unfortunately fallen into a trap meticulously planned by cultivators of the demonic path.
"Do we go in?"
He asked softly, already showing eagerness.
Ji Yuan also had a clear inclination in his eyes. It was impossible to say he wasn't interested in exploring it.
However, he also understood that they were currently being hunted by a third-realm demonic cultivator, and exploring ruins at this time was definitely not opportune.
The priority was to preserve themselves as much as possible, not to court trouble by seeking opportunities.
"Let's shake off that old devil first, and after regrouping with the elders of the sect, we can consider exploring this place."
Ji Yuan sighed, ultimately deciding not to take risks for now.
Lin Yubai on the side immediately showed a hint of helplessness, but he did not say much.
Just as they were about to move, intending to bypass the ruins of Xuanhuang City and find another direction to leave, they suddenly realized that behind and to their sides, they had been enveloped by a dense mist without their knowledge.
Before turning around, they had not detected anything, and suddenly their path was blocked at some unknown time.
"How can this be?"
Ji Yuan's brow furrowed, his gaze deepening.
He waved his hand and sent out a surge of spiritual power, attempting to disperse some of the mist. However, the pure spiritual power roared out and was swallowed by the churning mist, causing him to instantly lose contact with it.
Lin Yubai on the side also employed some techniques, but the results were no different. It seemed that anything that touched the mist would lose contact.
This left the two hesitant. Venturing into the mist without knowing what lay within was clearly not a wise decision.
"It seems we have no choice but to enter the ruins, even if we didn't want to."
Lin Yubai gave a wry smile, though there was no real dejection in his expression. After all, he had wanted to explore the ruins anyway.
Ji Yuan, on the other hand, looked grim. The mere mist had made him speculate wildly, conjuring numerous possibilities in his mind.
However, after a moment of thought, he could only reluctantly nod. Compared to the mist before them, he would rather turn and enter the grand ruins.
Having made their decision, the two immediately acted, turning and walking towards the ruins in the distance.
The mist behind them strangely followed, maintaining a distance of about ten zhang.
It was unclear whether the mist was continuously expanding or if the entire mass was moving with them.
A quarter of an hour later, Ji Yuan and Lin Yubai arrived outside the ruins. Before them stood a collapsed city wall. Judging from the remaining traces, it must have been at least twenty to thirty meters wide.
With such a thick city wall, even in the entire Great Yu Dynasty, only a few border fortresses would have such specifications.
Upon entering the city wall's perimeter, the two found that the mist behind them no longer followed, hovering outside the ruins of the city wall, churning silently, giving off a sinister aura.
With a sigh, the two felt a sense of helplessness but could do nothing. They could only continue deeper inside.
"I feel like I'm being secretly watched."
Lin Yubai suddenly spoke, a hint of doubt in his eyes.
Beside him, Ji Yuan was also somewhat surprised. He too felt unseen eyes on him, but no matter how he sensed, he could not pinpoint the location of these gazes.
If his spiritual senses were not strong, he might have dismissed these faint observations as mere illusions.
"Something is wrong, it's best to be more careful."
He took a deep breath, his hand hidden in his sleeve already subtly gripping several talismans.
The two did not move quickly through the ruins, their eyes vigilantly scanning the collapsed houses, not overlooking any suspicious spots, especially those suitable for ambushes or surprise attacks.
As they proceeded, Ji Yuan couldn't help but ask if the Nine Xuan Sect had any further intelligence about this place. Otherwise, they couldn't just wander aimlessly.
However, Lin Yubai simply shook his head, stating that perhaps even the elders knew very little about this place, being limited to legends and descriptions, and did not possess concrete information about the city.
After all, the elders had only found the location before. Due to a lack of understanding of the situation within the city, they had not approached further and had turned back from afar.
It wasn't that the elders of the Nine Xuan Sect didn't want to explore any opportunities this place might hold. It was that in an unknown situation, rashly entering ruins was almost tantamount to seeking death.
If they were lucky enough, they might leave with one or two opportunities. If they were less fortunate, they might perish here.
Especially in places that were once extremely prosperous and famous, they often harbored immense opportunities alongside countless bizarre dangers.
If it weren't for the strange mist blocking their path, they likely wouldn't have stepped foot inside.
"From what I know, this was the site of a great battle thousands of years ago."
Lin Yubai said thoughtfully.
Thousands of years ago, Red Heart Daoist intended to sacrifice all the cultivators in the dojo to aid him in breaking through to the Great Power realm and escape the predicament of his dwindling lifespan.
The cultivators within the dojo obviously could not sit idly by and become his sustenance. Thus, they united and engaged in a decisive battle within Xuanhuang City.
"Someone over there!"
Just as Lin Yubai was explaining what he knew, Ji Yuan suddenly stopped and then quietly reminded him.
Following his gaze to the side, the former immediately saw a figure sitting with their back to them on a pile of rubble. The long hair on their back moved as if stirred by the wind, appearing somewhat eerie.
The hearts of the two immediately tightened. They quietly mobilized the spiritual power within their bodies, ready to launch a swift attack at any moment.
They exchanged glances and did not make any loud calls. Instead, they cautiously approached, their eyes repeatedly scanning their surroundings with vigilance.
As they drew closer, the two began to shift sideways, slowly circling around to face the person. They then saw an unremarkable face with no expression, and even their eyes had become murky and unfocused.
This was clearly a corpse, dead for who knows how many years. Only when they got close did they realize that it had no life force left.
Ji Yuan could even sense the dense death energy contained within it, which, if unleashed, could potentially annihilate cultivators of the Enlightenment realm.
Upon realizing this, the two quietly retreated several zhang, unwilling to get too close to the corpse.
Although the dense death energy within it could not cause them fatal harm, a moment of carelessness could lead to contamination of their spiritual power and physical bodies, impairing their cultivation, or worse, shortening their lifespan.
"There's a Mountain River Pouch on his waist!"
Lin Yubai said in a deep voice.
This Mountain River Pouch was clearly of extraordinary quality. It looked unassuming on the outside, but upon careful sensing, one could detect hidden spiritual energy. It had endured who knows how many years yet remained largely intact.
Putting aside other matters, this single Mountain River Pouch, even if slightly damaged, could fetch an extremely high price outside, no less than that of a magical artifact.
"Do you want it? Shall I give it to you?"
A hoarse voice suddenly rang out, as if someone was whispering in their ears.
Hearing this, Lin Yubai instinctively wanted to nod, but then his expression froze, appearing rather unnatural.
Ji Yuan's face grew even more solemn. His gaze fell upon the corpse, which lay more than ten zhang away, its life long extinguished, leaving only a dense aura of death.
In the next moment, the corpse's stiff body slightly turned its head, its murky eyes looking towards them.
With just one glance, the two felt their scalps tingle, and a chilling dread surged through them, almost making them turn and flee at the fastest possible speed.
A corpse, dead for who knows how many years, had moved and spoken to them?
Such an event, even in the mortal world, would be enough to scare ordinary people to death, and for cultivators, it represented a great terror and a grave crisis!
"It's been a long time since I've seen living people."
Without the other opening its mouth, a hoarse voice echoed in their ears.
"Apologies for the intrusion! Farewell!"
Ji Yuan, with a solemn expression, performed a cupped-hand salute, then turned and left decisively and swiftly.
Lin Yubai's mouth twitched. Although his heart was already in a flutter, he maintained a calm demeanor and quickly followed.
However, after the two turned, they had already mobilized all their spiritual power. Despite exposing their backs, they were prepared for any eventuality.
Suddenly, a faint breeze blew from behind them. The two immediately spun around, their poised spiritual power almost erupting.
But before them, there was nothing but emptiness. The anticipated attack did not occur. Even the corpse that had been sitting on the rubble had vanished.