371: Chapter 371 Heading to the Ruins

There were still a few days left before the No. 9 Civilization Ruins were set to open.

Xiao Weiqing didn't waste any time and settled into his Cultivation rhythm. He needed to seize every moment to absorb Universe energy and saturate his body as quickly as possible; otherwise, he would have to spend more time inside the ruins, slowing down the progress of Constructing a Divine Body.

Time passed.

Three days later.

The first light of dawn appeared.

Inside the Vermilion Bird Palace, on a plaza, a red-colored aircraft slowly descended.

Over a dozen people were waiting on the plaza early on, with Xiao Weiqing and Lou Xiaoxing among them.

"Everyone, I wish you a fruitful return," Yin Zong said to the ten people.

"Old man, don't you worry. With me here this time, I guarantee we'll get more nirvana stones than ever before," Yin Wenzheng said, patting his chest.

Yin Zong said coldly, "It's because of you that I'm worried. Xiao Weiqing, if Yin Wenzheng doesn't follow orders inside the ruins, just break his legs."

Yin Wenzheng: "..."

Xiao Weiqing didn't respond. Regardless of whether Yin Zong was serious or not, he couldn't take it at Face value.

The ten people boarded the aircraft one by one, and it quickly ascended and flew out of the Vermilion Bird Palace.

Inside the aircraft.

The ten people entered the main cabin, which had several rows of seats.

Xiao Weiqing and Lou Xiaoxing sat together.

"Xiao Weiqing, did you notice?" Lou Xiaoxing sent a mental transmission.

"Yeah, I noticed."

Xiao Weiqing gave a subtle glance around and then replied.

Of the original ten people set to enter the ruins, they had met everyone else at the meeting a few days ago, excluding themselves. However, at this moment, the man named Dong Jin was gone, replaced by another man.

"It seems something happened in the last two days that we don't know about. I even chatted with that Dong Jin before; he seemed like a decent guy, but this one..."

"Not only is he older, but he looks like he'd be difficult to get along with."

Xiao Weiqing replied, "Don't mind him. We just need to look out for ourselves. Once we're in the ruins, you focus on Constructing a Divine Body first."

"Alright. But what if they cause trouble? I'm afraid they'll find excuses to bully us."

Lou Xiaoxing's concern wasn't groundless. Even now, the Vermilion Bird Empire hadn't told them about the situation inside the No. 9 Civilization Ruins, likely fearing Xiao Weiqing would ditch them and work alone.

Xiao Weiqing's lips curled up. "Lou Xiaoxing, in the Face of absolute strength, everything else is futile. You should know that even in this No. 9 Civilization Ruins, there is a possibility of casualties."

"With those words from you, I'm relieved. I was afraid you'd be too embarrassed to take action when the time comes."

"You're overthinking it. Aside from Ruan Yisen and Yin Wenzheng, if anyone messes with you, give them a lesson. If anyone harbors ill intent, strike first to gain the upper hand."

With Lou Xiaoxing's strength, unless they ganged up on him, no one was his match.

"That's what you said."

Having received Xiao Weiqing's approval, Lou Xiaoxing said no more, hoping these people wouldn't be blind enough to cross them.

"What are you looking at?"

The middle-aged man who had replaced Dong Jin spoke coldly to Lou Xiaoxing, his tone somewhat unfriendly.

Lou Xiaoxing was amused. Before even entering the ruins, someone was already looking for trouble. This couldn't be tolerated, so he retorted:

"If you weren't looking at me, how would you know I was looking at you?"

"When I looked at you, you were already looking at me. Do you have a problem with me?"

Lou Xiaoxing crossed his arms and chuckled:

"No problem, just curious. As far as I know, Dong Jin was supposed to enter the No. 9 Civilization Ruins with us. So, what happened? A replacement?"

After saying that, Lou Xiaoxing glanced at Yin Wenzheng.

Yin Wenzheng explained, "Dong Jin is unwell, so Qu Yi is entering the No. 9 Civilization Ruins in his place."

Lou Xiaoxing realized, "Oh... I see. Understood."

Qu Yi frowned and barked, "What's with that expression?"

"Heh... how interesting. What does my expression have to do with you?"

"Then what did you 'understand'?! Speak clearly!!" Qu Yi's gaze was cold and aggressive.

Lou Xiaoxing chuckled, "It reminded me of when I was in high school. We were supposed to have a Chinese class, but then the martial arts teacher suddenly came in and said, 'Your Chinese teacher is feeling unwell, so I'll be teaching the Spiritual Qi class today.'"

Hearing this.

Xiao Weiqing also smiled. He thought of Chen Luo, who always took over classes, and Teacher Wang, who often had stomach aches.

"What did you say?!"

How could Qu Yi not know Lou Xiaoxing was mocking him? The young man next to him was even laughing. Seeing Xiao Weiqing's youthful Face, the hostility in Qu Yi's heart grew even stronger.

"Qu Yi, that's enough!" Yin Wenzheng quickly barked an order to stop.

"Lou Xiaoxing, give me some Face."

Lou Xiaoxing shrugged and said no more.

He only sent a mental transmission to Xiao Weiqing.

"It seems this trip to the ruins won't be very smooth."

There were ten people in total now. Xiao Weiqing and Lou Xiaoxing were from Great Xia.

Yin Wenzheng and Ruan Yisen were the closest.

The only female, Tian Zhenzhen, sat alone far from them, clearly not belonging to any camp. If the original Dong Jin had come, the two of them probably would have been together.

The remaining five were considered one camp, but Qu Yi, who replaced Dong Jin, seemed to have some distance from the other four.

"Don't mind them. If they're blind enough to cross us, just kill them."

Xiao Weiqing said expressionlessly. Ever since Ye Sinan appeared, Xiao Weiqing's sense of urgency had grown stronger. The Palace Master Yun Shu he met now had also cultivated a Divine Soul, and it was incredibly powerful; the level of her Extreme Yin Divine Fire might even be higher than Samadhi True Fire.

This made Xiao Weiqing feel very insecure. After the Azure Dragon Divine Envoy had attacked him, once again, Xiao Weiqing felt unable to control his own life and death.

Lou Xiaoxing looked at Xiao Weiqing in surprise, not expecting him to say that.

Soon.

The aircraft passed through the clouds and began to descend.

Through the porthole, the scene below could be seen—it was amidst a mountain range.

Within the mountain range,

in an inconspicuous spot, a base was built against the mountain, about the size of a small town.

"We're here!"

"Let's go."

The flight landed inside the base. When the hatch opened, the ten people walked out one by one.

"Welcome, everyone."

A squad of soldiers was waiting outside. The leader was wearing dark red combat fatigues, the unique uniform of the Vermilion Bird Army.

"General Xiang, what's the situation now?"

Ruan Yisen stepped forward to negotiate. The Ruan Family had significant influence in the Vermilion Bird Army, and he knew many people.

"The entrance has stabilized. You can go in now."

"Good, there's no time to lose. Let's go now," Ruan Yisen said.

"Please follow me."

With that, General Xiang led the way.

The ten people followed, crossing the base and exiting the main gate.

Xiao Weiqing raised an eyebrow. Was the entrance inside the mountain?

Sure enough.

The base was built against the mountain and was very close to the foot. In just five minutes, the group arrived at a cave. The entrance was very hidden and had no guards, but with his powerful Mental Energy, Xiao Weiqing had already discovered that there was more to the cave than met the eye, and there were powerful experts within.

General Xiang walked in front, leading everyone into the cave.

They entered the cave.

It was a dead end, looking like a door.

A small squad of ten to twenty people was guarding it, and the leader had the strength of the Eighth Realm Peak.

"General Wu, sorry for the trouble."

Ruan Yisen stepped forward and handed something to the leading expert.