104: Chapter 104 Mysterious Skeletons Deep Within the Rift Valley

The starlight of the Legacy gradually dissipated, and the scroll turned into specks of starlight, merging into the Void Realm.

Ye Tian stood alone under the fading starry sky, feeling the trace of Stellar True Essence within his Dantian, his heart filled with determination.

Cultivating the Star Qi Induction Art was by no means the work of a single day; it required years of drawing in and refining Astral Power to gradually and completely transform all the True Essence in his body.

After the scroll completely vanished, the Void Realm constructed by the power of the Legacy began to fluctuate and collapse.

In the next moment, Ye Tian found himself back inside that stone chamber.

The Heart-Transforming Pool remained clear, and the patterns on the star wall had returned to a state of calm, but the gate of starlight had completely disappeared.

The stone chamber was empty; Shi Feng, Leng Yue, Mu Sisi, and the heavily injured Zhao Qianju had all departed.

Ye Tian was not surprised by this; they had not obtained the Legacy, so they naturally had no reason to stay.

He carefully inspected himself; his cultivation was stable at the Peak of the third level of the Ningyuan Realm, and the wound on his shoulder from the Talisman's sword light had healed.

"It's time to leave."

Ye Tian turned his gaze toward the only exit passage of the stone chamber.

The opportunities here were exhausted, and staying longer would be useless. Moreover, no one knew if Zhao Qianju would bring back the Liuyun Sect for revenge, so he had to distance himself as quickly as possible.

He executed his movement technique, swiftly gliding outward along the corridor he had come from.

Soon, he passed through the layer of Star-Trace Restriction and returned to the Wind Erosion Canyon.

The outside world was still a desolate sight, with the cold wind blowing so hard it made one's face ache.

But now that Ye Tian's cultivation had greatly improved, his protective True Essence was several times thicker, greatly increasing his resistance to this cold wind, and his Divine Sense perception range had also recovered significantly.

He identified the direction and decided not to return to the Cliff-top Market by the original path, but instead to continue exploring deeper into the Meteor Star Great Rift Valley.

Although the depths of the rift valley were more dangerous, they were sparsely populated, and perhaps more opportunities could be found.

Having made up his mind, Ye Tian immediately activated his movement technique, his figure becoming ethereal as he headed toward the lower regions of the canyon.

The deeper he went into the rift valley, the harsher the environment became.

Earth-fire poisonous gas occasionally erupted from cracks in the ground, and the sky was shrouded in thick dust and haze, making the light dim.

The number of Yao Beasts active here decreased, but their individual strength was significantly greater; the occasional auras he sensed possessed the fierce power of the Middle or Late Stage of the Ningyuan Realm.

Using his Divine Sense, Ye Tian avoided several nests where powerful Yao Beasts resided in advance.

After traveling like this for several days, he didn't know how far he had delved into the rift valley, but the color of the surrounding rocks had turned a dark purple.

Based on the map fragments and his observations along the way, he judged that he might be approaching the edge of the third layer of the rift valley, a dangerous zone that only True Martial Realm experts dared to set foot in.

Just as he was about to find a relatively safe rock crevice for a temporary rest, a sinkhole crack ahead caught his attention.

The crack was a hundred feet wide and bottomless.

Pitch-black astral winds continuously swirled out from the crack; it was the soul-eroding black wind!

This black wind was more than ten times more powerful than the cold wind of the Wind Erosion Canyon; it not only eroded Divine Sense but could also dissolve flesh and True Essence!

Ye Tian's expression grew solemn, and he was about to bypass it when he keenly sensed a trace of energy fluctuation mixed within that black wind!

This fluctuation was somewhat similar to the Stellar True Essence he had just refined!

"Something is strange!"

Ye Tian's heart stirred, and he took a risk by condensing his Divine Sense into a line, slowly probing into the depths of the black wind.

Amidst the violent energy turbulence, he captured the source of that fluctuation coming from beneath the cliff wall on the opposite side of the crack—a cave entrance half-hidden by several massive boulders!

At the entrance of that cave, a faint Restriction light screen was barely visible; if not for that energy fluctuation, it would have been extremely difficult for Ye Tian to discover it.

"A Restriction? Could it be another ancient Cultivator's Immortal Cave?"

Ye Tian's heart began to race.

The Meteor Star Rift Valley buried countless secrets; perhaps there was more than one ancient ruin.

He carefully observed the patterns of the black wind and found that although it was violent, it was not continuous but had intermittent changes in intensity.

Between the two strongest intervals, there would be a brief period of weakening.

After waiting for about half an incense stick's time, the Opportunity arrived!

The black wind suddenly weakened!

"Now!"

Ye Tian immediately executed the Blood Shadow Step, instantly rushing across the hundred-foot crack and landing at that hidden cave entrance!

The aftershocks of the soul-eroding black wind scraped against his protective True Essence, bringing waves of sharp pain and Divine Sense dizziness, but he forcibly suppressed them.

Passing through that layer of Restriction light screen, the scene before him suddenly opened up!

The interior of the cave was not large, only about the size of an ordinary room. Compared to the violent black wind outside, it was exceptionally quiet here, and the air was fresh.

The cave walls were smooth, seemingly carved by hand, and the ceiling was embedded with several night pearls that had long since lost their luster, providing faint light.

The most eye-catching thing in the cave was a set of skeletal remains in the center!

The skeleton was in a cross-legged sitting posture. The clothing on its body had long since weathered away over the long years, leaving only bones as translucent as jade.

On the ground in front of the skeleton stood a rusty broken sword, with only half the blade exposed above the ground.

And that trace of energy fluctuation was precisely radiating from these remains and that broken sword!

Ye Tian held his breath and slowly approached.

His Divine Sense carefully swept over, confirming there were no other dangerous Restrictions or living things inside the cave.

These remains had endured countless years without decaying; the cultivation level during life must have been extremely high, likely surpassing the Ningyuan Realm or even the True Martial Realm!

His gaze first fell upon that broken sword.

Although the hilt was rusty, one could faintly see the star patterns carved upon it!

Around where the broken sword was thrust into the ground, the rock displayed a glazed texture, as if it had been instantly melted by extremely high temperatures.

"This sword... could it be caused by channeling Astral Power?" Ye Tian speculated in his heart.

He tried to contact the broken sword with his Divine Sense, but felt a sharp remnant Sword Intent that stung his Divine Sense with slight pain, making it impossible to probe deeper.

Then, his gaze turned to the skeletal remains.

The skeleton was preserved extremely well, but in the center of its sternum, there was a shocking small hole!

The edges of the small hole were smooth, feeling as though it had been pierced through by something extremely sharp!

This was likely the fatal wound! "

A killing blow in one strike!

What kind of person, or what kind of thing, could so easily kill an expert who was possibly beyond the True Martial Realm?"

Ye Tian felt a chill.

The waters of this Meteor Star Rift Valley were deeper than he had imagined.

He bowed respectfully in front of the remains to show his respect for the Senior Cultivator.

Then, his gaze fell upon the finger bones of the skeleton.

There was an unremarkable ring worn there.

And the patterns on the ring seemed somewhat familiar.

These patterns...

Ye Tian's pupils suddenly contracted!

These patterns, although not identical to the ones on the two mysterious rings he had obtained from the Black Cloud Mountains, had an aura originating from the same source as the chaos bead—it was almost exactly the same!

"This... this ring..."

Ye Tian's heart pounded wildly as he reached out his hand, wanting to take the ring to examine it.

However, at the very moment his fingertip was about to touch the ring...

Within the eye sockets of the remains that had been silent for unknown ages, two points of Soul fire suddenly ignited!

In the next instant, a desolate remnant will, carrying endless resentment, instantly submerged Ye Tian!