257: Xiao Chen gradually approached

Seeing that her brother did not strongly oppose, Li Linger felt a little relieved, and she secretly clenched her small fists.

The night was deep, and the campfire crackled, illuminating the faces of everyone as they either contemplated or adjusted their breathing.

Yao Delong sat cross-legged with his eyes slightly closed, the Nine Yang Heaven Burning Art within his body slowly circulating to recover from the exhaustion of the day's fierce battle.

Qiong Shuang had shrunk its form, coiling on his lap, its cold scales rubbing against his lapels, while its pair of large, ice-blue eyes darted around, clearly trying to curry favor.

"Big Brother…" The little one nudged Yao Delong's hand with its head, its voice deliberately lowered and filled with a sense of claiming credit. "Did you see my performance just now? Wasn't it impressive? With just one roar, I scared that group of silly Ironclad Earth Dragons into wetting themselves! Even that hulking Demonic Ape was so angry its nose was crooked!"

It tried hard to puff out its little chest, gesturing with its small claws. Its appearance clearly showed it wanted a reward, but it dared not be too direct, fearing it might annoy its benefactor.

The corner of Yao Delong's mouth twitched imperceptibly. He slowly opened his eyes, looked at the little one on his lap who was trying hard to act like "I'm very impressive, hurry up and praise me," and flicked his finger lightly against its cold, smooth little head.

"Mm, Qiong Shuang is indeed impressive." His voice was calm, yet carried a hint of imperceptible amusement.

Upon hearing this, Qiong Shuang's large, ice-blue eyes instantly lit up amazingly, and its little tail couldn't help but wag happily.

"However," Yao Delong changed the subject, watching its little expression instantly turn nervous, and slowly took an item out of his storage ring.

It was a delicate and exquisite jade ring, carved entirely from a type of warm, gentle jade. The ring flowed with seven-colored rays of light, and inside, it seemed as if a nebula was slowly rotating, emitting soft and pure spiritual power fluctuations. It was clearly an extremely precious top-grade Spiritual Artifact!

This jade ring not only had astonishing defensive power but also came with the effects of gathering Qi and calming the mind. Its gorgeous and exquisite appearance instantly captured all of Qiong Shuang's attention!

"Wow—!" Qiong Shuang let out a short, surprised shriek. Its little claws shot out like lightning, grabbing the radiant jade ring into its embrace. It rubbed its head against it, unable to put it down, its large, ice-blue eyes curving into crescents filled with sparkling little stars.

"So pretty! So bright! Thank you, Big Brother! Big Brother is the best!" It held the jade ring, excitedly rolling around on Yao Delong's lap, then flew into the air, circling and dancing around Yao Delong. Its childish voice was filled with excitement and eager professions of loyalty: "Big Brother! Tomorrow when we go to the ruins, if you tell me to go east, I will never go west! If you tell me to beat a dog, I will never chase a chicken! I will follow whatever Big Brother says! Even if it's a mountain of blades or a sea of fire, Qiong Shuang will brave it for Big Brother!"

That appearance of pledging loyalty and wishing to charge into battle immediately made even Lin Qingxue, who was resting with her eyes closed nearby, unable to help but curl the corners of her mouth.

Yao Delong looked at its money-loving and sycophantic appearance, shook his head with a laugh, and reached out to stroke its cold little head: "Alright, remember what you said."

"Mm-hmm! I will definitely remember!" Qiong Shuang nodded vigorously, hugging the jade ring, and contentedly coiled back onto Yao Delong's shoulder, its little claws tightly guarding its newly acquired treasure, as if it possessed the whole world.

The night passed quietly as everyone adjusted their breathing.

Meanwhile, in a dense forest thousands of miles away from this valley ruin, Xiao Chen and his group stopped. Everyone's face carried signs of exhaustion. Two consecutive days of high-intensity travel, coupled with attacks from several waves of Yao Beasts along the way, had consumed a great deal of energy. Even those like Liang Kun, who were at the Nascent Soul Stage, had somewhat unstable auras.

Xiao Chen's expression was gloomy as he looked at the Ghost Shadow shrouded in shadows beside him: "Elder Ghost, scout again! How far is that trash Yao Delong from us now?"

The Ghost Shadow remained silent, its form blending into the night and instantly becoming blurred. A moment later, his figure solidified again, his hoarse voice carrying a hint of gravity: "Young Lord, the target is still about five thousand miles away from us. However…" He frowned slightly, "The auras around them… have increased. Besides the original few people, there are several more powerful auras!"

"What?!" Xiao Chen's expression changed. "Could it be that the bitch Liu Ruyan has arrived with her people?" A flicker of wariness flashed in his eyes, immediately replaced by deeper malevolence. "Hmph! So what if she has come? This time, he won't be able to escape even with wings! Elder Ghost, are you sure they are still in that direction?"

"The source of the energy fluctuations is right there, there's no mistake," the Ghost Shadow affirmed.

"Good!" Cold light flickered in Xiao Chen's eyes. "Rest a little, and in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, we will advance at full speed! We must arrive within a few days! I want him to… fall into an abyss of despair while in the ecstasy of thinking he has obtained the Opportunity!" His tone was chilling, carrying bone-deep hatred. Beside him, Meng Bi heard this, a cold, sinister smile appearing on his face as he licked his lips, as if he had already seen the scene of Yao Delong kneeling and begging for mercy.

… When the first faint rays of dawn pierced through the lead-gray sky and fell upon the ruined plaza of the ruins, everyone sitting around the campfire opened their eyes almost simultaneously. After a night of rest, everyone was full of energy, their Yuan power fully recovered, and their eyes sparkled with anticipation for exploring the ruins.

"Set off!" Yao Delong stood up, concise and to the point. Everyone immediately took action, centering on the altar, and began to carefully search for the entrance to the ruins. The traces of last night's fierce battle still remained, and the air was filled with a faint smell of blood and burnt odors, adding a touch of grimness.

The search did not last long. Lin Qingxue's cold, clear voice rang out: "Over here, there is a faint energy fluctuation, very subtle, carrying a chill."

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice, only to see a corner behind the altar buried by huge broken pillars and rubble. If not for Lin Qingxue's Ice Soul Physique being extremely sensitive to cold-attribute energy, it would have been almost impossible to detect.

"Let me!" Yue Shan let out a low shout and strode forward. He took a deep breath, earth-yellow Yuan power surging around his body, and slammed his palms onto the ground! "Earth Quake · Mountain Moving!" Rumbling! The ground surged like water ripples, and those heavy broken pillars and huge rubble seemed to be lifted by an invisible hand, slowly moving to the sides, revealing the buried ground below.

An entrance with stairs made of ancient bluestone, extending diagonally downward, suddenly appeared before everyone! The entrance was permeated with faint white cold air, which was exactly the source of the energy sensed last night.

"Found it!" Joy appeared in Li Chen's eyes. Yao Delong and Li Chen looked at each other, both seeing the gravity and determination in each other's eyes.

"Let's go!" Yao Delong took the first step and stepped onto the cold stone stairs. Qiong Shuang immediately flew up from his shoulder, hovering in front of the group, its large, ice-blue eyes vigilantly scanning the deep passage, fulfilling its duty as the "vanguard."

The stone stairs wound downward, no one knew how deep they went underground. The light in the passage was dim, with only the fluorescent stones embedded in the stone walls, which had long lost their luster, emitting a faint light. The air was cold and damp, carrying a decaying scent that had been sealed for ages, as well as increasingly clear, pure, and ancient cold-attribute energy fluctuations.