After about half an hour, once everyone had recovered their condition, Fei Zhitu finally called out, "Let's move."
With that, the group followed the underground riverbed toward the direction Yang Kai had been staring at moments ago.
As they pressed deeper, that primordial, desolate aura Yang Kai had sensed earlier grew ever more intense. Even Cai He and the others noticed it. They exchanged glances, and the excitement in each other's eyes was unmistakable.
An aura like this could only emanate from something truly ancient. Having ventured out on multiple expeditions over the years, they were the most sensitive to this kind of presence. It seemed there really were ancient ruins here!
Although they knew Fei Zhitu would not deceive them, as they drew closer to their destination, everyone still couldn't help but grow eager.
For them, rescuing Qian Tong was naturally the priority on this trip, but if they could venture into these ancient ruins and grab some benefits along the way, that would be even better.
Ruins that were practically untouched by outsiders — there was bound to be no shortage of treasures within.
But after a few more minutes, when a spatial formation appeared before the entire group, everyone froze in place.
The desolate aura they had sensed earlier was emanating from this very spatial formation. Moreover, the formation looked quite different from the portal gates currently found on the Dark Star. While the general structure was the same, the finer details held significant differences.
Yang Kai had seen plenty of spatial formations and had even cultivated spatial power himself. He immediately understood that this spatial formation must be a relic from a much older era.
That explained why it differed from the spatial formations on the Dark Star today — after all, over the many years that had passed, the formations on the Dark Star had been repaired and modified numerous times.
At this moment, sitting in several indentations along the formation's base were a handful of depleted high-grade Holy Crystals, clearly consumed by the activation of the portal.
Fei Zhitu picked up one of the spent Holy Crystals, examined it for a moment, and nodded. "That settles it. Old Qian must have passed through this formation to reach the ancient ruins. These Holy Crystals were used not long ago."
"Since that's the case, let's go in as well," Ning Xiangchen said urgently.
Fei Zhitu shook his head slowly. "We'll certainly go in. But what lies on the other side of this spatial formation, we don't know. The message Qian sent back was far too vague. Finding this place in the first place was already a stroke of incredible luck. But since the ancient ruins were able to trap him, what's inside must be far from ordinary. You young ones, once you enter, do not act rashly. Stay close to our sides at all times. If there is truly any danger, we will step forward to handle it. Understood?"
Cai He and the others naturally did not dare to argue and hurriedly agreed.
Seeing the four Saint King Realm cultivators looking so obedient and well-behaved, Fei Zhitu nodded with satisfaction. With a wave of his large hand, he deposited high-grade Holy Crystals one by one into the indentations along the formation's base. Then he channeled his Holy Yuan, enveloping everyone within its embrace and pulling them onto the spatial formation.
In the next instant, the formation's lights flickered. Amidst a dizzying hum, all eight individuals vanished from where they stood.
When the eight reappeared, they found themselves in an entirely different place.
The moment they steadied themselves, Fei Zhitu and the other Void Return cultivators had already extended their divine sense, cautiously sweeping the surroundings while secretly circulating their Holy Yuan, ready to strike at a moment's notice.
When they sensed that no danger lurked nearby, the group finally relaxed and began to observe their current position and the environment around them.
Yang Kai took the opportunity to survey his surroundings as well. After a moment, a peculiar expression crossed his face, for he realized that after passing through the spatial formation, the place they had arrived at was actually a bizarre, self-contained space.
The spiritual energy of heaven and earth here seemed far denser than the outside world — even the current Dragon Bone Mountain could not compare. Above, the sky was blue with white clouds and a shining sun stretching across a clear horizon stretching endlessly in every direction.
And the position where their group stood was right in the middle of a vast complex of buildings. The place looked as though it were the grounds of some sect.
Yet in their divine sense perception, apart from the eight of them, there was not a single other living soul.
"This is the ancient ruins?" Ning Xiangchen and the others exchanged bewildered looks, a hint of suspicion creeping onto their faces.
"Don't doubt it. This is without question the ancient ruins," Fei Zhitu said in a low voice. It seemed he had noticed something. He pointed ahead and said, "These characters — on the Dark Star today, the script has evolved beyond recognition. This style was only used tens of thousands, or even over a hundred thousand years ago."
Following his finger, the group turned their gaze toward a pavilion not far away. The structure was built with considerable elegance, and on its second floor hung a plaque inscribed with several characters written in a bold, flowing calligraphy that carried a striking spirit. Yet no matter how the eight of them stared, they could not decipher what the characters meant — not even Fei Zhitu could read them.
Beyond that, several other pavilions and buildings also bore plaques with inscribed text. Without exception, none of them could recognize a single character.
"It really is an ancient ruins, and incredibly well-preserved at that!" Ning Xiangchen's expression grew excited, his face flushing with color. The old woman and the Void Return Stage Two martial artist were similarly moved.
The Dark Star was not without its discoveries of ancient ruins. But ones preserved this well? Truly, none had been found before. Such well-preserved condition meant the treasures within had yet to be claimed by anyone. As long as they rescued Qian Tong, there would be plenty of time to thoroughly explore this place.