387: Tianluo Ruins

After resolving the Deep Sea Demon Whale, the Mountain Sea Ship did not rush to depart.

The Deep Sea Demon Whale was a treasure all over; its bones, scales, and flesh could all be refined into top-grade Saint Weapons, and even its demonic soul could be used to refine powerful Magic Treasures.

Therefore, the Hai Family dispatched several powerhouses to begin salvaging the Deep Sea Demon Whale's corpse.

The ninth-floor ship tower was resplendent and magnificent, like a small palace.

A Purple-Robed Old Man sat cross-legged, his body exuding a faint pressure, as if he had merged with the heavens and earth. The sword light that had just annihilated the Deep Sea Demon Whale came from this Old Man's hand.

He was an Old Ancestor of the Hai Family; although his Cultivation was only at the Three-Step Quasi-Emperor stage, he had extensive connections and friends in both the near sea and inner sea, which allowed the Hai Family's merchant ships to travel freely between the various star islands without obstruction.

“Om—”

Suddenly, an invisible force quietly spread from the ninth-floor ship tower. In an instant, everything on the entire ninth floor was frozen, and even time came to a halt at this moment.

The Purple-Robed Old Man's figure solidified on the meditation cushion, like a statue.

An invisible Dao thought surged into the Purple-Robed Old Man's Sea of Consciousness, like invisible tentacles, gently stirring his sea of memories, yet not causing the slightest ripple.

A moment later, the Dao thought dissipated, and time began to flow again.

The Purple-Robed Old Man remained seated cross-legged, as if everything that had just happened had never occurred.

And the instigator was none other than Xu Qing.

He had just quietly probed the memories of the Hai Family's five powerhouses and learned some information about the Tianluo Ruins.

Although the Tianluo Ruins were protected by special Restrictions, a Sea Eye passage would appear once every hundred thousand years. The Sea Eye passage had two entrances, one located in the inner sea and one in the deep sea. By passing through the Sea Eye, one could enter the outer perimeter of the Tianluo Ruins.

After several eras, countless external beings entered the Tianluo Ruins, yet it was likely that not even thirty percent of the outer perimeter had been explored. After all, even the outer perimeter contained many Quasi-Emperor Realm beings, coupled with various remnant Formations, which increased the difficulty of exploration.

And that Sea Spirit Pearl was obtained by the Hai Family when they unexpectedly entered a special place while exploring the Tianluo Ruins a hundred thousand years ago.

Now, there were only five years left until the next Sea Eye passage opened.

The Mountain Sea Ship that Xu Qing was on was merely the Hai Family's vanguard ship; the Hai Family's main force would follow later.

Half a month later, the Mountain Sea Ship finally sailed into the Tianluo Inner Sea.

Here, islands gradually became more numerous, ranging from tens of thousands of miles to hundreds of thousands of miles in size. These islands were all fragments formed after the collapse of the Tianluo Continent in the past, scattered throughout the inner sea like stars on a chessboard.

Judging from the size of these islands, the Mountain Sea Ship's current location still belonged to the outer perimeter of the former Tianluo Continent.

The Mountain Sea Ship would stop for a moment whenever it passed a large island of ten thousand miles.

Firstly, for supplies, and secondly, for transporting goods and passengers.

The Tianluo Inner Sea was fraught with danger, and ordinary Cultivators who wished to travel long distances often chose to take a merchant ship.

Although the Hai Family belonged to the near-sea forces, it also had a considerable reputation in the inner sea, and coupled with its good relations with various star islands, it thrived in the inner sea.

Another two months passed, and the star islands that the Mountain Sea Ship passed grew larger and larger, with the smallest being hundreds of thousands of miles in size. The forces on these star islands also became stronger and stronger, with even Quasi-Emperor level forces appearing.

During these days, Xu Qing did not Cultivate, but rather traveled between the various star islands, admiring the beautiful scenery and tasting local delicacies. He was like a traveler roaming the four directions, at ease and carefree.

Three months later, the Mountain Sea Ship finally docked at a star island named Hidden Mist Island.

This was a huge star island with a radius of ten million miles, occupied by a super force—the Hidden Mist Sect.

The Hidden Mist Sect was extremely mysterious, with an ancient Legacy. It was said that its history could be traced back to the Ancient Era. Several Great Emperors had emerged from its gates, and the strongest Old Ancestor of the current Hidden Mist Sect was even a Peerless Quasi-Emperor, whose strength was many times greater than that of the Hai Family.

The moment Xu Qing stepped onto Hidden Mist Island, he sensed the extraordinary nature of this island.

There was actually Chaos Origin Qi here. Although it was thin, for beings below the Transcendent level, it could imperceptibly accelerate their Cultivation speed, and the source of this Chaos Origin Qi was the center of the island.

Xu Qing released his Dao thought and swept it across, discovering a Major Thousand Worlds deep within the Hidden Mist Sect's territory. To possess a Major Thousand Worlds, its creator must be at least a Dao Master. Clearly, this Hidden Mist Sect was no ordinary Sect; it was very likely an ancient force hidden in the Lower Realm.

However, Xu Qing did not investigate further.

He spent half a month on Hidden Mist Island, sampling all the local delicacies, then quietly departed, heading south.

The Tianluo Ruins were located at the junction of the inner sea and the deep sea, billions of miles away from Hidden Mist Island. However, for Xu Qing, this distance was but a blink of an eye.

At this time, there were still four and a half years until the Sea Eye passage of the Tianluo Ruins opened, and the various forces in the inner sea had already begun to gather here, while the various sea clans in the deep sea were also secretly assembling.

Of course, the Restrictions of the Tianluo Ruins were like nothing to Xu Qing.

Firstly, his Cultivation was powerful enough to traverse the Tianluo Ruins; secondly, he held several extraordinary treasures that could ignore Restrictions, such as the bridge of helplessness.

Xu Qing stood above the Tianluo Sea, his gaze profound, as if penetrating layers of seawater to see the secrets deep beneath the sea.

He recalled the introduction to the Tianluo Ruins in his mind.

The Tianluo Ruins, the fifth forbidden zone of the Eternal Continent, was located beneath the Tianluo Deep Sea, yet it formed a world of its own.

This was the remnant land after the Tianluo Continent collapsed during the Dark Era. One-third of the continent sank into the deep sea, forming this mysterious and dangerous forbidden zone.

The Ruins were divided into outer, inner, and core parts, each containing endless Opportunities and dangers. Dao Severing, Dao Master, and even Dao Monarch Legacies were scattered within, and over countless years, many Heaven And Earth Treasures had been nurtured.

However, this was also the dwelling place of those ancient beings from distant eras. Furthermore, ancient Formations and Dao principles were pervasive. Even Dao Severing powerhouses could fall here if they were not careful in the inner region.

Not to mention the core region!

Xu Qing transformed into a streak of light and plunged into the deep sea. As he delved deeper, darkness enveloped him, but the deeper he descended, a point of light appeared ahead. Soon, that light gradually expanded, and a vast, ancient land enveloped by a barrier appeared before Xu Qing.

This ancient land was not large, roughly a hundred million miles in circumference, with half in the Tianluo Inner Sea and half in the Tianluo Deep Sea.

But this was due to spatial folding; the actual area was impossible to calculate.

After all, when the Tianluo Continent was at its peak, even if it wasn't as large as the Eternal Continent, its area was certainly not small.

And the Restrictions of these Tianluo Ruins were quite significant!

According to legend, after the Tianluo Ruins fell into the deep sea, powerful individuals once explored it, but ultimately failed to enter and retreated helplessly.

It was said that at that time, the Restrictions of the Tianluo Ruins were incredibly powerful; let alone Dao Monarchs, even ordinary Dao Ancestors could not enter. Later, the Ancient Land of Dao appeared, and various forces surged into the Upper Realm, allowing the Tianluo Ruins to remain.

It is unknown when the Restrictions here began to weaken, but for some reason, the attention here drastically decreased until the late ancient times, when the Sea Eye appeared, and it was once again mentioned by the world.

Interestingly, those ancient clans showed no interest in the Tianluo Ruins, including those forces in the Upper Realm.

To say that the Legacies inside were not appealing, Xu Qing did not believe it, after all, the Star Moon Grotto-heaven had attracted beings from the Upper Realm to go there.