144: Chapter 103 Ancient Battlefield

The flying boat headed north.

The outline of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range loomed in the morning mist, and Demonic Qi surged from the mountains like a gray tide, obscuring half the sky.

Chen Xuan stood by the ship's railing, holding that cyan Jade Slip in his hand.

His Divine Sense probed into it, and the ancient Golden Core Dao Legacy left behind by Zhao Wuji slowly unfolded in his mind.

Using the Golden attribute imagery as a base, to forge the Purple Mansion Foundation and transform it into a Small World.

Once the Blessed Land is formed, one becomes a Golden Core Master.

He closed his eyes to sense it, and the City Wall Earth imagery in his Dantian trembled slightly. That miniature ancient city wall emitted a dim yellow light within his Purple Mansion, as if responding to a summons from afar.

The direction was northeast.

The Ancient Battlefield.

"Junior Brother, did you sense it?" Liu Lili walked over and handed him a spirit fruit.

Chen Xuan took it and took a bite.

The juice was sweet, and Spiritual Qi dissolved in his mouth.

"Yes. There is more than one strand of City Wall Earth imagery."

His gaze crossed the railing and looked toward the horizon in the northeast.

There was a patch of dark red clouds there, hanging low and pressing down on the mountain peaks like dried blood.

The Ancient Battlefield was almost here.

Liu Lili leaned against his side and also looked at that dark red cloud.

"Junior Brother, how many more imageries do you think are left in that ancient Golden Core Cultivator's Blessed Land fragments?"

Chen Xuan shook his head.

"I don't know. But at least two."

He returned the cyan Jade Slip to his Storage Pouch and placed his hand on his sword hilt.

"Zhao Wuji's diary says that he fought to the death against three Golden Core Masters of the Buddhist Sect in the Ancient Battlefield, killing two and severely injuring one, causing his Blessed Land to shatter and his Golden attribute to leak away."

"His Blessed Land fragments are scattered throughout the battlefield, and the City Wall Earth imagery is the most precious thing among them."

"But ten thousand years have passed; there cannot be many imageries left."

"Two is already the limit."

Liu Lili nodded and said nothing more.

The flying boat continued northward.

The Demonic Qi grew thicker, and the dark red clouds hung lower.

Chen Xuan's Divine Sense spread forward; within ten thousand zhang, there was no Golden Core aura.

However, there were many auras of Foundation Establishment Yao Beasts scattered among the mountains, like flickering ghost fires.

They were watching.

The Human Race stepping deep into the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range was an invasion to them.

But as long as the Golden Core Yao Kings did not make a move, they dared not act rashly.

Chen Xuan withdrew his Divine Sense and turned to walk into the cabin.

"Senior Sister, prepare to land."

Liu Lili nodded, took out a Miasma-Avoiding Pill from her Storage Pouch, and swallowed it.

Chen Xuan also swallowed one.

Once the Miasma-Avoiding Pill entered his stomach, its medicinal power turned into a cool current, circulating through his Meridians and protecting his internal organs.

The Demonic Qi deep within the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range was poisonous; if Cultivators below the Foundation Establishment stage inhaled too much, their cultivation would regress.

Even those at the Foundation Establishment stage could not stay for long.

The flying boat landed on a clearing on the outskirts of the Ancient Battlefield.

Chen Xuan jumped off the railing, his feet landing on the charred ground.

The soil beneath his feet was soft, as if stepping in ash.

He crouched down and grabbed a handful of soil.

There were fine bone fragments in the soil—white, hard, and resembling the shattered bones of a Golden Core Cultivator.

Ten thousand years had passed, yet the bones had not completely weathered away.

The bones of a Golden Core Master contained the Golden attribute; even after the owner died, the Golden attribute would not easily dissipate.

It would only slowly leak away until it completely returned to the heavens and earth.

Liu Lili landed beside him, her hand on her sword hilt, looking around vigilantly.

The air was filled with the scent of decay.

That was the lingering smell after magical power had collapsed, which had not dissipated even after ten thousand years.

Chen Xuan stood up and shook the bone fragments from between his fingers.

"Let's head inside."

The two transformed into streaks of light, flying close to the ground toward the depths of the Ancient Battlefield.

Liu Lili followed behind Chen Xuan, her light kept very low, almost brushing against the charred earth.

Her gaze swept across the surroundings from time to time, and her hand remained on her sword hilt.

Chen Xuan's Divine Sense spread out to its full extent, and the City Wall Earth imagery in his Dantian trembled violently.

The direction was north-northeast.

He adjusted his flight light and flew in that direction.

The terrain of the Ancient Battlefield flashed by below.

Cracked earth, collapsed mountain peaks, dried-up riverbeds.

Traces of battle were everywhere.

There were deep trenches carved by Sword Qi, giant craters blasted out by Divine Abilities, and indentations smashed by Magic Treasures.

Ten thousand years had passed, yet these traces had not been erased by time.

This showed just how tragic that battle had been back then.

Chen Xuan's gaze swept across those traces, silently deducing in his mind.

The direction of the Sword Qi trenches was from southeast to northwest, indicating that the Cultivator who wielded the sword had launched the attack from the southeast.

The distribution of the Divine Ability craters was chaotic, indicating that the side being besieged was desperately trying to break through.

The shape of the indentations was claw marks, not Magic Treasures.

A Golden Core of the Yao Race had participated in that battle.

He withdrew his gaze and continued forward.

After traveling thirty miles deeper, Chen Xuan stopped his flight light.

A half-collapsed city appeared before them.

Most of the city walls had collapsed, the city gate was tilted, and the inscription on the lintel was blurred and illegible.

But the outline of the entire city remained, covering an area of about ten miles, with the ruins of a moat surrounding it.

In the city, there was a high platform, and a ball of dim yellow light hovered above it.

That light was very faint, like the last glimmer of sunset on the horizon.

But Chen Xuan sensed it.

That was the City Wall Earth imagery.

There was more than one.

There was one on the high platform, and another buried beneath the high platform.

The light was dim, but equally real.

Two strands of imagery.

Chen Xuan's breathing hitched slightly.

He looked at Liu Lili and lowered his voice.

"We've arrived. The City Wall Earth imagery is right inside that city."

Liu Lili looked in the direction of his gaze, her brows slightly furrowed.

"Why does that city feel wrong?"

Chen Xuan nodded.

"That is a fragment of an ancient Golden Core Cultivator's Blessed Land. After the owner died, the Blessed Land remained in the current world, slowly dissipating. Ten thousand years have passed, and only this dilapidated city remains."

He paused, his hand on his sword hilt.

"But there are still lingering Golden Core killing formations in the Blessed Land; we cannot force our way in."

Liu Lili bit her lip.

"Then what should we do?"

Chen Xuan did not answer.

His Divine Sense detected something unusual.

There were auras of living creatures in the city.

Not the Human Race, but the Yao Race.

And there was more than one.

He secretly activated his Dharma Eye, and through the collapsed city walls, he saw the situation inside the city clearly.

Inside the city wall, a white fox was crouching.

Its nine tails swayed behind it, and its golden slit pupils were fixed on the high platform in the center of the city.

A Nine-Tailed Fox.

Chen Xuan's heart sank.

This fox was stronger than when they had met last time.

Its aura was as thick as a mountain, already approaching the Golden Core Middle Stage.

How could it be here?

Chen Xuan quickly analyzed the situation in his mind.

The Nine-Tailed Fox occupied the northern part of the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range and had an alliance with Wanyao Immortal City not to step into human territory.

The Ancient Battlefield was located deep within the Ten Thousand Demon Mountain Range and did not belong to anyone's territory.

It had come here for the City Wall Earth imagery.

The Yao Race could also refine Golden attribute imagery.

The Nine-Tailed Fox wanted to use the City Wall Earth to strengthen its own Blessed Land and break through to the Golden Core Middle Stage.

Chen Xuan's gaze shifted to the other side of the city.

There was movement there as well.

Three Cultivators were sneaking in from the east, wearing gray Daoist robes with "Tian" character tokens hanging at their waists.

Cultivators from the Buddhist Sect of the Central Plains.

The leader was none other than Zhou He, a Foundation Establishment Late Stage Cultivator with a thin face and a sinister gaze.

Behind him followed two Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Cultivators, one male and one female, both holding Magical Artifacts in their hands.

They were also observing the city and the Nine-Tailed Fox.

No one wanted to make the first move.