485: Discover the Lost Ruins

Xiao Zhuo moved like lightning, tearing through layers of spatial obstruction, almost instantly crossing tens of thousands of miles to appear where Wind Jade's Immortal ship was located.

Ahead, a section of the Void Realm resembled a shattered mirror, covered in distorted cracks. Violent spatial currents, like countless out-of-control giant pythons, furiously whipped and tore at everything.

A chaotic energy storm raged, evaporating the surrounding seawater into nothingness, forming an absolutely dangerous death zone.

Wind Jade's Immortal ship was suspended at the edge of the turbulent zone, its hull's Immortal light flickering erratically, clearly under immense pressure.

Seeing Xiao Zhuo appear, Wind Jade immediately led Tian Yidao and others to greet him, his face showing reverence and a hint of excitement.

"Master, look!" Wind Jade pointed to the most turbulent central area, "There! At the core of the energy storm, the spatial structure is extremely abnormal, not naturally formed. It's more like the remnants of an incredibly massive... entrance that was forcibly shattered! My subordinate used the Immortal ship's spatial compass to repeatedly probe it, and from within, there's a faint ancient Law aura, completely different from the outside world, which perfectly matches the characteristics of the 'Ruins of the Lost' described in ancient texts!"

Xiao Zhuo focused his gaze, his eyes swirling with silver light, activating his Spirit Group - Divine Eye to its maximum.

In his vision, behind that chaotic energy storm, a colossal, jagged dark opening was indeed hidden, as if the firmament had been forcibly torn open, constantly exhaling a heart-palpitating Chaos aura.

"Well done," Xiao Zhuo praised lightly, which made Wind Jade feel flattered.

"You all follow behind, be careful," Xiao Zhuo instructed, then took the lead. Fine, silver-gray Spirit Group runes appeared around his body, forming a flowing halo that protected him, and he unhesitatingly rushed into that deadly Void Realm turbulent zone.

Wind Jade dared not be negligent, fully activating the Immortal ship's defenses, closely following the relatively stable path Xiao Zhuo had opened, advancing with difficulty.

Upon entering the turbulent zone, terrifying spatial tearing forces surged from all directions. An ordinary True Immortal here would likely be torn to shreds instantly.

Even Wind Jade's Golden Immortal ship's defensive light shield flickered on and off, emitting groans of being overwhelmed.

Xiao Zhuo, however, walked as if strolling in a garden, occasionally pointing his finger. Spirit Group runes containing spatial stabilizing power merged into the Void Realm, cleverly deflecting the most violent turbulent impacts, creating a relatively safe passage for the Immortal ship behind him.

The closer they got to the massive black opening, the more intense an indescribable sense of oppression became.

It was as if an invisible barrier separated the inside from the outside.

Finally, Xiao Zhuo was the first to touch the edge of the opening.

There was no violent impact as imagined; it felt like passing through a cold, viscous film of water. The surrounding light, sound, and even all perceptions were instantly twisted and stretched, then abruptly plunged into absolute darkness and silence.

A brief sense of weightlessness and spatial disorientation followed.

The Immortal ship, which followed closely, also vibrated violently as it passed through that boundary.

When everyone's vision returned, the scene before them had completely changed.

It was no longer the raging Sea of Taboo, nor was it the chaotic Void Realm turbulence.

They seemed to be in a gray, immensely vast yet desolate world.

The sky was an oppressive dark gray, without sun, moon, or stars, only a chaotic halo providing faint light.

The ground was cracked and a withered gray-black, with undulating, rugged mountain ranges in the distance, resembling giant skeletons.

The air was filled with an ancient, desolate, silent aura, as if after the end of all things.

What made Wind Jade, Tian Yidao, and the others' expressions change drastically was—

"My... my Immortal Qi!" A Silver Edict Celestial Envoy discovered in horror that his Immortal Qi, which had previously surged like a river, now felt like viscous mud, incredibly difficult to circulate, and he doubted he could exert even one-tenth of its full power!

"Law power? I can't sense any Law!" Another person was even more terrified. They had cultivated until now relying on their resonance with the Dao of heaven and earth, but in this place, they felt like they had become "deaf" and "blind," no longer able to sense the vast and majestic Law power of heaven and earth!

Wind Jade also had an extremely solemn expression. He tried to mobilize the Dao of Clouds he had comprehended, but found it was like a stone sinking into the sea, with no response.

His Divine Sense, upon leaving his body, was compressed to a pitiful degree. His Divine Thought, which could originally easily cover tens of thousands of miles, now became blurry after only a hundred feet.

This place felt like a dead end for all cultivators!

However, Xiao Zhuo's experience was completely different.

He also felt that powerful suppressive force; his Immortal Qi circulation became sluggish, and his Divine Sense was greatly restricted.

But when he subconsciously activated the Spirit Group runes—

Buzz!

A Chaos-colored "Law-Breaking Spirit Group" instantly condensed at his fingertip, flowing smoothly and freely, completely unaffected by the external environment!

The unique Dao charm it exuded, which could dismantle myriad Laws and annihilate structures, seemed even clearer and more active here!

"Indeed..." A flicker of understanding and pleasant surprise flashed in Xiao Zhuo's eyes.

The Spirit Group was created by the Saint who founded this realm, and even here, it remained unsuppressed.

Although these Ruins of the Lost were peculiar and could suppress ordinary Immortal Dao Laws, they could not affect the Spirit Group runes!

With this give and take, he still possessed extremely strong self-preservation capabilities here!

"Master, this place is strange, completely devoid of Immortal Qi. Our strength is less than one-tenth of what it normally is..." Wind Jade transmitted his worries, feeling that in this environment, they were almost a burden.

"It's fine, stick close to me," Xiao Zhuo said calmly, not bothered. His gaze swept across the desolate and silent land, choosing a direction, "Let's go look over there."

Everyone cautiously proceeded across the withered land, vigilantly observing their surroundings.

It was terrifyingly quiet here; apart from the wind, almost no sound could be heard, as if the entire world had died.

After walking for about half an hour, just as everyone thought this area was completely lifeless.

Xiao Zhuo, who was walking in front, suddenly stopped, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

Behind a relatively gentle hill ahead, a few wisps of... smoke were actually rising?

In this land of death, rumored to be abandoned by Immortals and Saints, there was actually human habitation?

Everyone quickened their pace, crossed the hill, and the sight before them made them all freeze.

Below the hill, there was indeed a small town!

The town's architecture was ancient and even somewhat crude, mostly built from gray-black stones and an unknown type of deadwood, surrounded by a simple fence.

The town was not large, appearing to accommodate at most a hundred households.

What made Wind Jade and the others even more incredulous was that there were indeed signs of life in the town, but the vast majority of them... were actually Mortals with no cultivation fluctuations whatsoever!

They could see residents dressed in coarse linen clothes slowly walking through the town, children chasing and playing in open spaces, and they could even faintly hear the crowing of roosters and barking of dogs!

All of this, in this land utterly devoid of Immortal Qi, seemed so out of place, so... bizarre!

"How... how can there be Mortals here?" Tian Yidao's eyes widened, almost thinking he was hallucinating.

How could a group of Mortals survive in such a terrifying environment where even Immortals struggled?

Xiao Zhuo's gaze, however, grew deeper. He carefully sensed the small town, and besides the large number of Mortal auras, he also detected a few extremely subtle energy fluctuations that seemed to merge with the environment, not strong, but carrying an ancient charm.

"Interesting," Xiao Zhuo's lips curved into an interested smile, "Let's go in and take a look. All of you, suppress your auras. Do not act without my command."

He led the way towards the Mortal town shrouded in a strange atmosphere.

Wind Jade and the others suppressed the surprise and unease in their hearts, quickly reining in all Immortal Qi fluctuations, and followed closely behind, like true Mortals.