The crowd gasped, realizing this was the entrance to the ancient ruins.
From the outside, it appeared as nothing but a vast expanse of white mist, resembling a sea of clouds, exuding an aura of mystery.
The majestic voice of Hundred-Eyed Celestial Lord resonated, "This is the ancient ruin discovered by our Lord half a year ago. Despite extensive exploration, no progress has been made, hence the summoning of more hands to delve into it. Those who contribute shall be personally summoned by our Lord and bestowed with a set of cultivation techniques. Any who retreat in the face of adversity will be executed without mercy!"
The hearts of the assembled crowd pounded wildly. This was an opportunity they had only dreamed of.
In the hearts of every demonic disciple, Demon Lord Fan Moluo was an unfathomably powerful being, capable of crushing all with a single finger. He was a demon god from hell, possessing world-destroying abilities, holding dominion over life and death, capable of creating mountains of corpses and seas of blood with a mere thought.
To be personally summoned by him and bestowed with cultivation techniques – wouldn't that make them half his disciples?
They would undoubtedly be able to walk with impunity from then on.
Observing the excited and fervent gazes of the crowd, Hundred-Eyed Celestial Lord was pleased. He said to the幽梦魔使 (Youmeng Moshi) faintly, "Prepare to enter. Make haste, as our Lord awaits news."
The Youmeng Moshi, with a pale face, remained silent, levitating like a feather.
He was the first to head towards the ancient ruin's entrance, quickly disappearing from everyone's sight. Following him were his demonic pets and four trusted subordinates. Hundred-Eyed Celestial Lord also advanced. The Flaming Lightning-Roc he rode let out a roar and, like lightning, charged into the entrance. Sima Kun, seizing the opportunity before the Tongtian Golden Toad, followed closely behind, leading his confidantes and Su Luo and the others into the passage.
Su Luo felt no danger, so he did not alert the others. He followed behind Sima Kun like a puppet.
"So this is what the ancient ruins are like?"
Exclamations of wonder erupted as all the demonic disciples who entered were dumbfounded.
The scene within the ancient ruins was vastly different from their prior imaginations. Before them lay a magnificent world, like a fairyland, shrouded in floating mist, brimming with mystery.
They stood at the edge of a colossal precipice. Ahead of them were countless circular stones suspended in mid-air, as white as jade, each about ten feet in diameter. They seemed to converge like stars, forming a celestial river stretching forward, its end unseen.
Below, the mist churned, impossibly deep.
Even Su Luo was stunned, his eyes flashing. So this was what the ancient ruins were like?
Chu Tianshu couldn't help but take a step forward, exclaiming, "Heavens, it's actually..." He immediately fell silent, not continuing. Fortunately, everyone else was so awestruck by the sight that even Sima Kun didn't notice his outburst.
"Is this the ancient ruins? How miraculous, how can there be so many... Are these stones? How can they be floating in mid-air?"
"It's like where immortals reside, I've never seen a place like this before!"
"I can feel it, the spiritual energy here is incredibly dense. There must be treasures!"
The demonic disciples were a mix of shock and joy. Only the Youmeng Moshi and Hundred-Eyed Celestial Lord remained silent, as this was not their first time entering. Here, not only was it not as peaceful and beautiful as it appeared, but it was also fraught with peril; a single misstep could lead to utter annihilation!
This place was originally discovered by Demon Lord Fan Moluo.
He had opened it with his peerless might and, upon entering, immediately sensed a unique power. Such a miraculous place was naturally not something Fan Moluo would pass up. He immediately explored it, but after half a year, he couldn't even pass the first trial.
The moment one stepped onto these white, chess-piece-like stones, heavenly lightning would descend!
Fan Moluo could naturally evade it, and he could also fly directly across the precipice without touching the white stones. However, after reaching the end, he encountered an invisible barrier that even his cultivation level couldn't penetrate.
Forced to retreat, he spent his time searching for a solution.
It was then that he discovered a stone tablet at the entrance.
Hundred-Eyed Celestial Lord pointed to a specific location and said sternly, "See this stone tablet? These white stones before us are called the彼岸神桥 (Bian Shenqiao), the Divine Bridge of the Other Shore. Only by using the correct method, stepping on each white stone, can one pass."
Only then did the crowd notice a mysterious white stone tablet erected beside the entrance.
The tablet bore the words "Bian Shenqiao," seemingly written with a finger.
"Who wrote this?"
Countless demonic disciples were astonished. The ancient ruins were already mysterious enough, and now there was such a stone tablet.
Doesn't this imply that everything here was arranged by someone, including the countless white stones floating before them, and the vast sea of clouds… What kind of person possessed such unfathomable cultivation?
Su Luo subtly activated his Divine Eye Mirror, and the secret of the stone tablet was immediately revealed.
Divine Bridge Stone Tablet: Personally crafted by Emperor Laiwu, made of colorful divine jade.
Emperor Laiwu?
Su Luo immediately recalled that this was the human emperor who had previously fought an earth-shattering battle with the Winged King, Sheli.Naga! So this ancient ruin was created by him!
It was too coincidental.
He had previously encountered the King of the Winged Tribe, and now he had stumbled upon an ancient ruin opened by Emperor Laiwu.
Just as everyone was in shock, Hundred-Eyed Celestial Lord also dropped his smile, adopting a serious expression. "Now, your task is to cross this Bian Shenqiao. Use any method you can, as long as you pass successfully. Tongtian Golden Toad, you will lead your men to try first."
A middle-aged man standing behind him stepped forward, the same person who had mocked Sima Kun on the way.
"Yes, my lord!" Tongtian Golden Toad, Fan Shi, stepped forward first and designated a few subordinates. "You, you, and Skinny Monkey, the four of you go and try the Bian Shenqiao. Be careful."
Immediately, four men, weapons in hand, cautiously walked forward.
The remaining two hundred or so people spread out along the cliff edge, watching them nervously. The four reached the edge of the precipice and first looked down into the bottomless abyss. One of them circulated his spiritual energy and detected no danger, then leaped forcefully onto the nearest white stone.
This stone was less than ten feet from the cliff edge.
The man landed steadily on the white stone, without even a tremor, as if the stone wasn't floating but rooted to the ground.
"Success!" someone cheered.
Immediately, the other three also chose relatively nearby white stones and jumped onto them.
The second person landed successfully on a white stone, and the third also did. But as the fourth person landed on a white stone, a streak of blinding lightning descended from nowhere, striking him directly on the head.
Boom!
The deafening sound echoed through the entire area, blasting him off the white stone and into the abyss.
Everyone was stunned. There was lightning?!
The scene immediately erupted into commotion. Even the three demonic disciples who had successfully landed on the white stones were so startled that they immediately crouched down, instinctively adopting defensive postures.
But after waiting for a while and seeing no further lightning, they finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Hundred-Eyed Celestial Lord's expression was unreadable. "This is the consequence of taking the wrong step. Powerful lightning will descend from above, so everyone must carefully consider which white stones are safe to tread on, and whether there is any pattern. Do not jump haphazardly."
So the two lords had known all along but hadn't told them until now.
The demonic disciples felt a chill run down their spines, now understanding the danger of the Bian Shenqiao, yet they dared not flee. They had known from the start that they were here to scout the ancient ruins, and any attempt to retreat would result in immediate execution.
"Continue!" the Youmeng Moshi finally spoke, his face dark.
His voice carried a distinct killing intent, sending a shiver through everyone.
Chu Tianshu, Lu Jixing, Wen Dai'er, and Shang Xie Shaoqing, who had been feigning like puppets, finally showed discernible glimmers of thought in their eyes. How should they cross these peculiar and mysterious floating white stones?
"Junior Sister..."
Chu Tianshu instinctively transmitted a message to Su Luo, "This is bad. If they force us to go, we can't hold back any longer. We'll just fight our way out!"