After about 30 minutes, they were ready to go. Long Feng jumped onto the main seat and took the reins. Qingxuan hopped onto the side.
Lan Xue took one last look at Liu Chang wiped a tear and climbed into the caravan, and then they set off on their journey towards the Sacred Ruins.
The horses that pulled the caravan moved like gusts of wind. They had already spent more than an hour on the road. Qingxuan was still calmly seated on the side rail of the caravan. His head was lowered, feet cross legged.
Looking at him from the side, he looked the side, he resembled a mysterious and enigmatic figure with the straw hat, and the all black high collared cloak, and blindfold.
His eyes were closed, but his vision constantly swallowed an area of about 300m circumference around them with the caravan at the center.
Not even a blade of grass was exempt from scrutiny as the caravan passed by. While he had chosen this route because it was safer, it was simply better to be safe than sorry.
Meanwhile, his focused himself into meditation.
The Warlock Divine Symbol shone brightly within his consciousness, as he comprehended the mysteries of the soul.
Qingxuan had barely made any progress in his comprehension of the Dao of the Soul. But that was mainly attributed to the unfinished Soul Symbol. But even then, the little achievements he had made placed him on another level entirely.
The caravan took a sharp turn to the right, Long Feng patted his hands and handed over to Lan Xue to rest a little.
She took over, steered the horses through a bush and back onto mainland, while she followed the map that had been pinned to the sledge.
Qingxuan saw her peeking at him. He really didn't want to talk to anyone at the moment, just meditate, but he also couldn't stand the constant peeking, it made him uncomfortable.
"I can imagine your sadness in relation to the whole Liu Chang situation.."
He spoke calmly, his voice low and whispery, yet he kept his mind on the divine warlock symbol.
Lan Xue was stunned for a moment and then she nodded, her expression turning downcast.
"We've been a trio for more than a decade. We've gone through thick and thin together.. He and Long Feng are family to me.." She spoke calmly. Qingxuan could detect the slight tremor in her voice.
He nodded. "I see.." He really didn't know what to say from here, so he just kept calm.
"Do you think we made the right decision?" Her voice peeked through to him.
"You did. You prioritised the well being of a loved one.." Qingxuan exhaled.
Lan Xue smiled sweetly, and then turned back to him. She was already used to Qingxuan's nonchalance and mysteriousness, and at this point, the ice between them had already melted so she wasn't the least bit shy to engage him in small talk.
"Tell me Xuan, do you have a loved one? Someone whose wellbeing you'll prioritise even above yours?" She asked, and then steered the horses through another thicket.
Qingxuan paused for a moment. The logical answer was yes. He would for Aunt Lin. But did he even ever want it to come to that? Where he'd have to give up something like sacrificing himself to save her?
He sighed. Why not just become strong so that such situations never occur. He found that solution rather comforting.
Lan Xue took his silence for an answer. But then it made sense to her. Why would a high caliber talent like Qingxuan be out here on such a murderous adventure? Men who didn't have loved ones waiting for them mostly tended to embark on such journeys, and he was one of them.
If he could hear her thoughts, he would've been gobsmacked at her way of thinking.
After about an hour later, when the sun was finally setting, the caravan pulled over to the edge of a cliff near a waterfall.
Qingxuan hopped down from the caravan, took the map and looked through, his brows furrowing deeply underneath the blindfold.
Long Feng walked out rubbing his sleepy eyes. "Are we there yet?" He yawned, but when he saw where they had arrived at, he shook.
Lan Xue also walked up from behind him and paused in shock. Shock turned to anger, with switched into disappointment and betrayal, and then she flopped to the ground.
"After all we went through, it's a dead end!!" She turned to Long Feng with red eyes, but he could only sigh deeply. He too had not expected this outcome, not with Qingxuan leading them.
Their eyes turned to him, meanwhile, he himself was stuck in deep thought, and the he walked slowly to the edge of the cliff.
He saw the raging waters, took a deep breath and gently lifted his blindfold above his left eye and concentrated, allowing his vision to peer through the deep layers of water.
His eye lit up after a second, and the he laughed. "Hahaha! Brilliant!" Long Feng and Lan Xue were gobsmacked. For the first time in their lives, they heard Qingxuan laugh.
They looked at each other in confusion then to him.
"Little brother Xuan.. Is there a matter?" Long Feng asked with furrowed brows.
Qingxuan turned sharply. The smile on his face had been wiped off. "If you were a peerless expert, where would you hide your precious inheritance from the outside world?" He posed a question to the both of them.
Lan Xue responded first. "Where no one would be able to see?" Her head turned to the side.
"Good. But where exactly, where would you hide your inheritance if it contained something that should not see the outside world? Would land be the safest place to hide if? Definitely not. Under Water? Maybe.."
He explained. Long Feng furrowed his brows. "You mean to tell me that the fabled Sacred Ruins is the tomb of a peerless expert and contains his inheritance?" He asked after a bit of thought.
Qingxuan smirked, and then took the lead. He blitzed towards the edge of the cliff with incredible speed and simply let himself fall.
Lan Xue took in a deep breath and followed. Since they had known him, Qingxuan had never been wrong about a matter.
Why was he going to start now? She wasted to no time and chased after him the plunged straight into the water.
Long Feng grit his teeth, and looked to the skies. "Qing'er, Zi'er.. Hold on for me, please.."
He stomped on the ground and ran to the edge of the cliff then plunged towards the water head first..
*
Qingxuan and the duo held their breaths as they plunged through the heart of raging waters, as if an invisible force had latched onto their bodies. The moment they reached the sea bed, the invisible force grew even stronger. They thought the seabed was a vast expanse of land.. How wrong they were.. Their feet sunk deep into an expanse of soil and air and the invisible force pulled on their bodies, sending them hurtling through the seabed.
Qingxuan spun forcefully dodging a rock that swam towards him with full force. Lan Xue was safe, but Long Feng wasn't so lucky, one rock crashed into his figure, sending blood spewing out of his mouth as they shuttled down.
The moment they plunged through the last layer of the sea bed, their vision changed instantly. One moment they were plunging through a rock seabed, another moment, they were suddenly in mid air, above a terrain of dark clouds.
Long Feng panicked, his figure spun as gravity latched onto their figures, pulling them from above the mysterious stratosphere with incredible speed.
"Steady yourselves.." Qingxuan transmitted his voice with a burst of mental energy, not telepathically, but amplified his words so they could hear even with the interference.
Lan Xue heard him and turned to him, her eyes red with fear. Long Feng managed to stabilize himself with a short burst of Yuan power and turned to Qingxuan as well.
The moment they passed through the clouds, their expressions changed instantly.
Beyond the endless sea of clouds, where the horizon itself seemed to bend beneath a pale, ashen sky, lay the ruins.
They did not rise abruptly, nor did they announce themselves with grandeur. Instead, they emerged slowly from the mist like the bones of a forgotten god, vast, silent, and oppressive.
The land here was desolate, stripped of life, its soil cracked and bleached as if drained of vitality long ago. No birds cried above, no insects stirred. Even the wind seemed reluctant to pass through this place.
At the heart of the wasteland stood the ruins themselves.
Colossal stone structures sprawled across the land, their original purpose impossible to discern. Towers lay broken and half-sunken into the ground, their jagged tops pointing skyward like shattered spears. What once might have been halls or sanctums had collapsed inward, forming cavernous voids choked with rubble and shadow.
Every surface was etched with ancient markings, runes and sigils worn smooth by time, yet still faintly visible, carrying a solemn authority that had not entirely faded.
The stone was dark, almost metallic, as if forged rather than carved. Veins of dull crimson and violet energy ran faintly through the cracks, pulsing intermittently like the dying heartbeat of the ruins themselves.
This was not natural decay; it was the aftermath of something catastrophic, an annihilation so complete that even time had been scarred.
Massive arches stood without walls, framing nothing but emptiness beyond them. Stairways ascended only to end abruptly in midair. Some structures appeared inverted or twisted, as though the very laws governing space had once failed here.
The ground was littered with fragments of enormous statues, torsos without heads, hands frozen in gestures of command or prayer, suggesting beings that were once worshipped, feared, or obeyed.
An overwhelming pressure hung over the ruins.
Qingxuan froze in shock. Even he felt a chill down his spine as his vision swept across the ruins. He turned to Lan Xue who was falling beside him. He closed his eyes for a moment and then…
The Yin Shadow cloak billowed as he excuted a set of intricate footsteps. Yuan power burst out of his form, and exploded, sending him flying towards her.
He grabbed her, pulled her close to him. He saw the fear on her face, her hurried breathing, he could see the adrenaline pumping through her vessels, amplifying her heart rate.
"It's alright.." He whispered and grabbed her arm, then pushed her softly to the side. The two fell flat, holding arms in mid air, to slow their bodies down.
"Long Feng!" Qingxuan sent a ripple of mental energy towards Long Feng who was plunging face first down like a meteor from the skies. They were only about 5km from the ground.
The man nodded, pushed him towards the Qingxuan duo in a burst of Yuan Power. Qingxuan caught his arm and pulled him towards them.
The trio held one another's hands and felt their descent slow down abruptly.
"When I give the command, send a crushing wave of Yuan power towards the ground simultaneously! Don't hold back, otherwise we'll die from the fall…"
Qingxuan coated his voice with mental energy. The duo heard him. He nodded in return. With every passing second, they were nearing the rocky grounds of the ruins.
500m
300m
The Yin Shadow Cloak erupted behind them like a parachute, filled with Qingxuan's Yuan power, slowing down their rapid descent. But even thought their descent had been slowed to this extent, they would definitely sustain injuries if they were to hit the ground at this speed.
"Now!!"
Less than 100m from the ground, Qingxuan roared. Long Feng exploded forth with a column of devastating Yuan Power, emptying his reserves. Lan Xue followed suit.
The waves of Yuan power slammed into the ground, and halted their descent for a moment, instantly cancelling out the momentum.
BANG!
Qingxuan grabbed Lan Xue, unsheathed his blade and executed the azure dragon wake, exploding forth with a burst of Yuan Power that sent them crashing into a stone pillar. There he stabbed the blade into the rock, and glided down effortlessly with her in his arms.
Lan Xue was caught in a daze, staring at Qingxuan's face, and his body so close to hers. She could smell his manly scent and She felt a strange feeling budding within her core.
Upon nearing the ground, Qingxuan sheathed the blade and then flipped off the stone pillar with Lan Xue in his arms. They crashed into the ground heavily, yet in Qingxuan's embrace, Lan Xue felt almost nothing.
The rolled to a stop several meters away on top of each other. Lan Xue stared deeply into where Qingxuan's eyes should've been, but he clenched his teeth, and groaned. He had definitely shattered a couple of bones from that fall.
Long Feng was the most unlucky. His burly figure crashed into a stone pillar, shattering it and smashed into the ground heavily, coughing blood as he skipped across the rocky ground to a stop.
"Haha!" He laughed with a bloody nose and mouth, and crawled out of the small crater his body had made in the ground. Then, he staggered towards the group.
"We made it.." Lan Xue arose and watched her surroundings before she calmed herself and steeled her resolve. This was it.