258: Chapter 258: Alibi

Inside the Moon Palace, corpses littered the ground.

The silver-white jade floor had turned a dark red.

The air was thick with the stench of blood, the smell of charred flesh, and the pungent odor of residual poisonous mist.

Xiao Ran and Li Changsheng stood in the center of the main hall, looking around.

The corpses of the Yao Race prodigies and the Human Race prodigies were mixed together, indistinguishable from one another.

Some were pierced by Long Halberds, some were charred by lightning, some were corroded into white bones by poisonous mist, and some were blown into fragments by self-detonations.

"They're all dead."

"Clean up the battlefield. Take everything. Leave nothing behind."

Xiao Ran looked at everything before him as if he were looking at a treasure vault.

One had to realize that these people were all the favored children of various great Sects and families; none of the items they carried were subpar.

The same was true for the Yao Race; their flesh and blood were the best Materials for Magic Treasures.

Thus, both of them had made a massive profit from this wave.

Xiao Ran and Li Changsheng both showed looks of greed.

The two split up to take action.

Xiao Ran headed toward the pile of Yao Race Prodigy corpses, while Li Changsheng headed toward the Human Race Prodigy corpses.

They didn't speak; there was only the sound of corpses being flipped and the clinking of Magic Treasures and Storage Rings colliding.

Xiao Ran squatted in front of the corpse of a Golden Lion; it was Shi Haokong.

Its body had been blasted beyond recognition by a self-detonation. Its golden mane was burnt to ashes, and shattered bones were visible beneath its charred skin.

But its Storage Ring was still there. The ring on its claw flickered with a dim golden light under the remaining glow of the night pearls.

Xiao Ran took off the ring and sent his Divine Sense inside. It contained all the treasures Shi Haokong had collected in the ruins.

Several Peak Soul Transformation Stage monster cores, several thousand-year-old Spirit Medicines, a Low Grade Heaven Rank armor, and a fist-sized golden crystal emitting dense metal-attribute spiritual energy.

A Bloodline crystal of the Golden Lion Clan, a top-tier material for Artifact Refining.

He put away the Storage Ring and walked toward the next corpse.

The Nine-Headed Snake corpse of en own source text reference to mythology mythology was a wretched sight. Seven of its heads had been severed, and the remaining two were a bloody mess, with black blood staining the ground.

Its Storage Ring was hidden under the thickest tail. Xiao Ran pushed the tail aside and took the ring.

Inside were the venoms, poison sacs, and poisonous herbs en own source text reference to mythology mythology had collected, along with a bottle of emerald-green liquid.

The natal poison essence of the Nine-Headed Snake Clan, one of the Materials required for the evolution of the ten thousand poison bead.

Lei Qianjun's corpse had been charred beyond recognition by his own lightning. Cyan-blue scales were scattered everywhere, revealing the blackened flesh beneath.

His Storage Ring was worn on his left front claw, and the electrical sparks on the ring had already died out.

Inside was a fist-sized lightning crystal, several lightning-attribute monster cores, and a Jade Slip recording a lightning Cultivation Technique.

Chi Hanyuan's corpse had been frozen into an ice sculpture and then shattered by a Jade Rabbit Statue, leaving ice fragments scattered all over the ground.

His Storage Ring was hidden on his frontal bone. Xiao Ran picked up the ring from among the ice fragments.

Inside was a piece of Profound Ice Jade Marrow, the taiyin essence collected by Chi Hanyuan, and a Jade Slip recording a Profound Ice Cultivation Technique.

...

On the other side, Li Changsheng was also looting the corpses of the Human Race prodigies.

He picked up Zhao Wudi's demon slayer. Although the sword had many cracks, the sword spirit was still present. It could still be used if he found a swordsmith to repair it later.

Then came Zhao Wudi's Storage Ring, which contained all the treasures the Zhao family had collected in the ruins.

Although Sword Dust's frost frost sword was shattered, the ice-blue gemstone embedded in the hilt was still there.

That was Ten-Thousand-Year-Old Ice Jade Marrow, worth a fortune.

Li Changsheng naturally didn't stand on ceremony, taking the gemstone and pocketing it.

There were also many good things on the corpses of the City Lord's Manor prodigies.

The two of them looted for a full hour, packing everything of value in the hall into their Storage Rings.

Xiao Ran filled seven Storage Rings, and Li Changsheng filled five.

A massive amount of taiyin essence, dozens of Heaven Rank and Earth Rank Magic Treasures, over a hundred monster cores, hundreds of Spirit Medicines, and dozens of Cultivation Technique Jade Slips... it was an astronomical fortune.

"That's about it."

Xiao Ran stood up and stretched his aching back.

The corpses in the hall had been picked clean, leaving only shattered bones and bloodstains all over the floor.

Li Changsheng walked to his side, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and suddenly frowned. "Xiao Ran, a problem just occurred to me."

Xiao Ran raised an eyebrow. "Speak."

"All the Human Race and Yao Race prodigies are dead, and only the two of us are going back alive."

"Tell me, what will the people outside think?"

Li Changsheng said in a low voice.

"The Zhao family, the Sword Sect, the Luoxia Sect, the Wanbao Chamber of Commerce... not a single one of their Disciples came out, yet the two of us did?"

This was clearly suspicious.

Xiao Ran fell silent for a moment.

Li Changsheng was right; this was a major problem.

People from various factions were waiting outside the ruins. If none of their people came out while only Xiao Ran and Li Changsheng emerged...

Anyone could figure out that something was wrong.

"So we need to create an alibi."

Xiao Ran looked at Li Changsheng, a glint flashing in his eyes.

"An alibi?" Li Changsheng was stunned.

"Don't you hold the key to the Moon Secret Realm?"

"Not everyone entered the Moon Secret Realm; there are still a few stray people wandering outside."

"They were searching for other opportunities in the ruins and didn't make it in time for the opening of the Moon Secret Realm."

"I believe they must be waiting at the exit right now."

"We can open an exit from the other end of the Secret Realm, rush to the main ruins exit, and pretend that the two of us never entered the Moon Secret Realm at all."

Li Changsheng's eyes lit up.

"Good idea! That way, the people outside will think we've been exploring outside the whole time and never went in."

"Whatever happened inside the Moon Secret Realm has nothing to do with us."

Xiao Ran nodded.

"Exactly. And we can also testify for each other."

"You say you obtained a Legacy in an Immortal Cave, and I'll say I found treasures in another ruin."

"The timelines will match up, and no one will be able to see through it."

The two looked at each other and smiled simultaneously.

That smile contained understanding, smugness, and a hint of craftiness.

"Then let's do that."

Li Changsheng took out the Moon Fairy Jade Pendant from his robe, infused it with spiritual energy, and the pendant glowed with a soft silver-white light.

He closed his eyes, sensing the structure of the Moon Secret Realm's Restrictions.

In the Legacy left by the Moon Fairy, there were methods to control the Moon Palace's Restrictions as well as ways to open temporary exits within the Secret Realm.

"Found it."

Li Changsheng opened his eyes and pointed toward a wall deep within the main hall.

"There, the Restriction is weakest."

"Opening an exit from there can teleport us directly to the other end of the ruins, about three hundred miles away from the main exit."

Xiao Ran nodded. "Let's go."

The two walked to that wall.

Li Changsheng pressed the jade pendant against the wall, and silver-white light surged from the pendant, sinking into the wall.

The runes on the wall began to flow and peel away layer by layer, revealing the gray-black void behind it.

The void tore open, forming a light portal about a chang high.

Outside the portal was the gray sky and dark red earth of the ruins' wasteland.

"I'll go first."

Xiao Ran took a step forward and entered the light portal.

Li Changsheng followed closely behind.

The light portal closed behind them, and the runes on the wall flowed again, returning to their original state.

The ruins' wasteland, the other end.

Xiao Ran stepped out of the light portal and landed on a pile of scattered rocks.

The sky was gray, and the air was filled with the characteristic sandy scent of the wasteland, completely different from the bloody smell in the Moon Palace.

He took a deep breath, feeling his entire body relax slightly.

Li Changsheng also emerged, looked around, and identified the direction.

"The main exit is over there, about three hundred miles away."

"We'll go separately. You go first, and I'll head over in a little while."

Xiao Ran nodded and turned into a gray-black light, flying toward the direction of the main exit.

Li Changsheng also turned into a cyan-white light, flying in the opposite direction.

He intended to take a detour to create the illusion of arriving from afar.