The sky was a dim yellow.
Chen Zhixing stood atop the mountain peak, his robe fluttering in the mountain breeze.
He gazed into the distance, his view filled with lush, undulating forests.
"Third Young Master, this is from the Xu Family’s son-in-law who asked me to pass it to you."
A servant responsible for the Xu Family’s daily life respectfully handed a folded paper to Chen Zhixing.
Chen Zhixing glanced down, and the paper instantly crumbled into powder.
"Tell him not to enter Lin’an City; there’s an abandoned temple outside the city where he should wait for me." Chen Zhixing said indifferently.
"Yes!"
The servant nodded, then respectfully departed.
A moment later.
Chen Zhixing saw the figure of Ning Changyu, carrying a burlap sack, quickly descending the mountain before disappearing into the dense forests of Ziwei Mountain.
The sky gradually darkened.
A large, bright full moon emerged in the night sky.
Whoosh—!
Suddenly, a dazzling light flashed across the distant night sky!
"It has begun."
Chen Zhixing turned around and walked towards the mountain gate.
...
...
Swish swish swish!
On Ziwei Mountain, everyone with cultivation in the Divine Travel realm, including the Celestial Brilliance Saint Son and the Guardian from Taichu Sacred Lands, all seemed to notice something and suddenly looked up.
"A treasure radiance soaring to the sky?"
"In the distance, heavenly materials and earthly treasures have emerged!"
In a suite, the Celestial Brilliance Saint Son and that Guardian exchanged a glance and immediately walked out of the room.
"Go! Let’s take a look!"
The two of them stepped, quickly heading towards the source of the light.
Meanwhile.
The members of the Ziwei Chen Family appeared bewildered.
"Look at that direction... isn’t it the false ruins outside Lin’an City?"
"I knew it; how could there be unknown ruins nearby?"
"Tsk... it got me excited for nothing!"
"Boring, let’s disperse."
The once-excited members of the Chen Family dispersed uninterestedly.
A Xu Family elder, seeing this, couldn’t help but step forward and ask in confusion, "Elder, why do you say those ruins are false?"
The elder, questioned, was momentarily stunned, then smiled and explained, "It is indeed a ruin, but the contents were emptied long before our Chen Family established itself on Ziwei Mountain."
"Then why did the treasure light appear?" the Xu Family elder asked curiously.
"Ah, what treasure light? It’s just projections of the treasures from the relics left countless ages ago."
"If there really were ruins, our Ziwei Chen Family has lived here for thousands of years; how could we not know? It must be someone carelessly opened the ruins’ entrance again."
The elder shook his head, losing interest as he walked away.
...
...
Meanwhile.
Ning Changyu, dashing through the forest, suddenly halted.
"Hmm? Ruins treasure light? Could heavenly materials and earthly treasures be emerging?"
Ning Changyu looked up towards the astonishing treasure light, his face showing a hesitant expression.
"Anything capable of forming such a treasure light must be a supreme treasure!"
"But at this moment, why do I feel something’s not right..."
Just then.
"The ruins have emerged! The ruins have emerged!!"
"Inside, there are countless dharma treasures, all shrouded in divine light, and so many divine herbs and grasses!"
"I discovered this ruin; reporting it to the Chen Family would surely grant me a rich reward, right?"
"Hahaha, what a huge fortune this is!"
An extremely excited voice sounded ahead of Ning Changyu.
Soon, he saw a rather burly man speeding towards the Chen Family, with his feet adhered to an earth escape talisman.
Ning Changyu’s figure flickered, hiding behind an ancient towering tree, watching as the burly man’s excited figure disappeared into the distance.
His face had long been filled with greed.
"Could this be what’s called surviving a disaster only to enjoy subsequent fortune?"
"First, I was granted rebirth with the Life Book, then encountered the unique Eight-Life Grid User! Now I’ve stumbled upon undiscovered ruins!"
"The relics inside must contain heavenly materials and earthly treasures that can replenish my lifespan!"
Ning Changyu’s eyes flickered with light as he glanced at the burlap sack containing the deeply unconscious Xu Qingzhou.
"The direction of the ruins is just outside Lin’an City."
"First, I should place Xu Qingzhou in that abandoned temple. By the time Chen Zhixing arrives and fulfills the Human Tao with Xu Qingzhou, I should have returned from the ruins!"
Ning Changyu quickly calculated in his mind and, without any more hesitation, sped off.
Meanwhile.
Soon after his departure.
Two figures hurriedly approached.
"Your Highness, it seems we are in luck,"
The white-haired, white-bearded Guardian said with a smile.
The purple-haired youth nodded slightly, "Yes, indeed, an unexpected delight."
"I heard what the man just said, that there are countless dharma treasures inside, along with many heavenly materials and earthly treasures. If we could bring them back to the Holy Land, we would definitely raise several strong practitioners!" the white-haired Guardian chuckled.
Swoosh swoosh swoosh!
The two quickly headed in the direction where Ning Changyu disappeared.
The entire forest returned to silence.
A figure in pristine white garments emerged from behind a bluestone.
He first looked in the direction the others left, then his figure disappeared.
...
...
After a stick of incense.
The sky turned completely ink-black, and a drizzling rain started to fall at some unknown point.
Outside Lin’an City, in an already ruined Buddhist hall.
Chen Zhixing stepped inside.
The Buddhist hall was covered in cobwebs; broken beams slanted downward, and even the walls had been stripped away. More than half of the roof tiles had been removed, leaving only bare wooden beams visible.
In the center of the hall stood a headless ancient Buddha sculpture made of mud and stone, its smiling head rolled to the side, eyes wide open, gazing at the sky.
Chen Zhixing shook his head, looking around.
Behind the statue on a platform lay a serene, long-legged woman with a graceful figure, deeply asleep.
"If you truly stay with Ning Changyu, you’ll probably be ruined in this life."
Chen Zhixing shook his head, flicked his fingers, and Xu Qingzhou fell into an even deeper sleep.
In the next moment.
Chen Zhixing tossed over several dozen array flags retrieved from the family’s treasury, embedding them in the ancient temple.
"Next..."
Chen Zhixing glanced in the direction of the poisonous pool.
Boom!!!
A thunderous explosion suddenly echoed.
Soon after, the sounds of countless Taoist Techniques and Divine Techniques clashing echoed in the dark night!
Blazing light flared for an instant, illuminating half the night sky!
Three figures flashed by in the void, continuously switching between attack and defense!
"It has started."
Chen Zhixing sat cross-legged, quietly waiting.