On an unnamed island in the East China Sea, off the coast of Shanghai!
A bronze gate, ten meters high, stood in the center of the island. The bronze gate was wide open, leading to another mysterious space within.
Standing before the bronze gate, one could feel the primordial aura emanating from within, a profound sense of age washing over them.
No living souls remained before the bronze gate, only a multitude of shattered corpses, strewn across the ground.
The air was thick with the pungent smell of blood, mingled with the distinct aroma of decaying wood.
Ye Ling's leather boots crunched on the soft earth, mixed with blood. As he watched the great gate about to close, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he chuckled, "It seems this bronze gate emits a peculiar scent that stimulates the brain, making people bloodthirsty and aggressive."
"Even before entering the secret realm, nearly half the powerhouses from various nations have died. Few will likely emerge alive from within."
As Ye Ling spoke, he used his spiritual energy to shield Wang Die and Feng Ke behind him, preventing them from being affected by the peculiar scent in the air.
"Emperor."
At that moment, Ji Xue and Tian Yuan appeared before Ye Ling, kneeling on one knee to report, "There is no one else on the island. All factions have entered the bronze gate."
Ye Ling asked, "Did the people from Hongchen Pavilion go in?"
Ji Xue replied, "The cultivators from Hongchen Pavilion were the first to enter. However, it's strange, the highest cultivation among the Hongchen Pavilion cultivators who entered the ancient ruins was only eighth-grade. No ninth-grade or higher powerhouses appeared, nor did I find any trace of Ye Feng."
"Hongchen Pavilion only sent eighth-grade cultivators?"
Upon hearing Ji Xue's words, Ye Ling's brow furrowed slightly. He then sensed the mark he had placed on Ye Feng and discovered that Ye Feng remained in the Immortal Realm, showing no signs of entering the ancient ruins.
'He's not going in?'
Having located Ye Feng, a flicker of confusion crossed Ye Ling's eyes as he couldn't quite grasp Ye Feng's intentions.
The core of the Tongtian Tower was in Ye Ling's possession. If Ye Feng wanted to activate the Tongtian Towers that Hongchen Pavilion had built worldwide, he would need to retrieve another core from the ancient ruins.
Given the dangers of the ancient ruins, sending a few eighth-grade cultivators from Hongchen Pavilion was no different from sending a horde of cannon fodder to their deaths.
With just those few eighth-grade cultivators, it was impossible to bring anything useful out of the ancient ruins!
As Ye Ling fell into thought, Wang Die couldn't help but remind him, "Emperor, the entrance to the ancient ruins is about to close. If we don't go in now, we'll have to wait decades."
Hearing Wang Die's words, Ye Ling snapped back to attention and said, "Let's not worry about Hongchen Pavilion's plans for now. We'll go in and take a look."
With that, Ye Ling led the way, leaping behind the bronze gate, followed closely by Ji Xue and the other two.
However, Ye Ling remained somewhat concerned about Ye Feng's unusual behavior, so he left a clone of himself outside the bronze gate as a precaution.
As Ye Ling and the other four entered the bronze gate, the massive bronze gate slammed shut with a roar, completely sealing the passage to the ancient ruins!
At this very moment, unbeknownst to Ye Ling... somewhere in the Immortal Realm, Ye Feng was on a blood-red altar.
His limbs were nailed to a cross by three iron pillars, and his heart had been gouged out. Blood dripped from the cross onto the altar, causing the altar to emit an eerie, blood-red glow.
The dim sky pulsed with this blood-red light, and blood-red crows circled overhead.
No one would have imagined that within the sacred Immortal Realm, there existed a place as hellish as this!
Ye Feng's heart lay before the cross, beating quietly.
On the surface of Ye Feng's heart, the mark Ye Ling had placed was emitting a faint glow.
Within the ancient ruins.
The sky was black, with only faint glimmers of light filtering through, lending the ancient ruins a desolate air.
Ye Ling emerged from the bronze gate, finding himself standing at the edge of a cliff. Looking down, he saw an endless expanse of land, dotted with numerous black pyramids and the ruins of the Tongtian tribe's cities.
Ji Xue and the others had not followed Ye Ling.
"It seems everyone who enters this ancient ruin is randomly teleported to a certain location."
"And this ruin is more dangerous than I imagined."
Ye Ling muttered to himself. He happened to see two fourth-grade cultivators being bitten in half by an unknown beast not far ahead of the cliff.
"Others may be fine, but that girl Feng Ke probably won't last ten minutes in this place."
Ye Ling chuckled, shaking his head, but his eyes held no trace of worry.
With a casual wave of his hand, the space beside him split open, revealing Feng Ke being chased by a canine beast, five meters tall and with a cultivation of seventh-grade.
Feng Ke, relying on her agility, weaved nimbly through the dilapidated structures, but her cultivation was still too low, and her speed far inferior to the seventh-grade beast.
Within a minute, Feng Ke had sustained several wounds.
"Damn it!"
Feng Ke glanced back at the massive beast and cursed under her breath.
She had entered the bronze gate with Ye Ling, but as soon as she emerged, she had stumbled upon the seventh-grade beast devouring a fifth-grade cultivator!
Before Feng Ke could even survey the situation in the ruins, she was already fleeing for her life.
"Roar!!!"
Just then, several smaller fourth-grade beasts leaped out in front of Feng Ke, blocking her path.
Caught between two forces, Feng Ke had nowhere to run and could only draw her Cold Light Sword, preparing for a desperate fight.
Seeing Feng Ke trapped, the seventh-grade beast didn't hesitate. It roared and lunged at her, its cavernous maw opening wide, ready to swallow her whole.
However, just as the seventh-grade beast leaped into mid-air, a white beam descended from the sky, piercing its head and pinning it firmly to the ground.
The fourth-grade beasts blocking Feng Ke's path were instantly terrified and quickly fled into the ruins, no longer daring to impede her.
"Little girl, why are you here alone in such a dangerous place?"
At that moment, a blonde man speaking broken Chinese descended from the sky, holding a white, feathered bow that emanated considerable power.
Feng Ke eyed the blonde man warily, her grip tightening on the Cold Light Sword as she retreated.
She could feel a more dangerous aura emanating from the blonde man than from the seventh-grade beast moments before!
What made her even more uncomfortable was that despite the blonde man's smile, she could see ill intentions in his eyes!
The blonde man scrutinized Feng Ke and then said with a smile, "My name is Charlie, an eighth-grade knight from Great Britain. The ancient ruins are perilous. It's too dangerous for you to be alone, little girl. Would you be interested in traveling with me?"
"As a knight of Great Britain, I can protect you."
"No, thank you."
Feng Ke refused Charlie's invitation without hesitation, sheathed her Cold Light Sword, bowed to Charlie, and then leaped into the ruins, attempting to put distance between herself and Charlie.
As Feng Ke departed, Charlie's lips remained curved in a faint smile.
But a glint of greed and excitement flashed in his eyes as he looked at Feng Ke's retreating back.
He stuck out his tongue and licked his lips, "Such a delicate flower... I'm growing more eager to ravage you."
"For now... I'll shoot through your feet."
Charlie chuckled, drew his bow, and a luminous arrow slowly condensed, aimed at Feng Ke.
Feng Ke felt the danger approaching from behind, her palms slick with cold sweat!
She knew that if she continued to run, it would only lead to her death. She summoned the Cold Light Sword again and turned to face Charlie.
It was time to fight!
But just as Feng Ke prepared to unleash the power Ye Ling had left her to fight the pervert, she saw the space behind Charlie slowly tear open.
Ye Ling emerged from it!