495: ruins

Tian Yidao expressionlessly withdrew his finger, as if he had merely swatted away an annoying fly.

The others didn't even bat an eye.

For them, these seemingly powerful Savage Beasts, under the environmental suppression of this place, might pose a fatal threat to Undergoing Tribulation and even Mahayana Realm Cultivators, but in the face of an Immortal's might, they were still fragile and easily defeated.

Their speed undiminished, the group continued northward.

Similar attacks occurred several more times during the journey.

There were scaled giant leopards that could spit corrosive energy orbs from their mouths.

There were centipede-like giant insects that lurked underground, launching surprise attacks and manipulating rocks.

There was even one instance where they startled a swarm of monstrous birds, each comparable to a Nascent Soul Cultivator, with incredibly sharp mouthparts, covering the sky... But the fate of these Savage Beasts was, without exception, to be torn into bloody shreds by the Immortal Qi gales or subtle Sword Qi casually unleashed by the Heavenly Patrol Guard before they could even get close.

The real trouble was not these Savage Beasts, but the continuous consumption of Immortal Qi by the environment here.

Continuous flying and occasional skirmishes, even for a Heavenly Immortal, could lead to a noticeable depletion of Immortal Qi within their bodies.

"My Lord, the Immortal Spiritual Qi is cut off here, making it impossible to recover Immortal Qi," Wind Jade approached Xiao Zhuo and transmitted his voice, a hint of imperceptible gravity in his tone. He spread his palm, where several slightly dim Immortal Crystals lay. "Although we carry many Immortal Crystals, if this continues, we might exhaust our supply."

Xiao Zhuo's gaze swept over the Immortal Crystals and he nodded slightly.

He had naturally noticed this problem as well.

Once Immortal Crystals were consumed in this place, they could not be replenished with external energy; each one used meant one less available.

"Slow down and prioritize conserving Immortal Qi. Do not act unless absolutely necessary," Xiao Zhuo ordered. "Try to keep your Divine Sense restrained to reduce unnecessary consumption."

"Yes!" the group acknowledged the command.

During the subsequent flight, their speed noticeably decreased. They no longer rushed but advanced northward at a steady pace to conserve Immortal Qi. Their altitude also lowered significantly, allowing them to observe the ground more clearly in search of city traces or signs of Human Race activity.

According to the beast skin map, twelve cities of varying sizes separated Dragon Bone Town and Holy Spirit City.

Heize City was the first, closest to Dragon Bone Town.

After about half a day of flying, Xiao Zhuo, who had been scanning the ground with his Divine Eyes, suddenly frowned and raised his hand to signal.

"Stop."

Everyone immediately hovered in mid-air, looking forward in the direction of his gaze.

Before them, the outline of a massive ruin on the ground gradually became clear.

Broken city walls, like the fractured bones of a giant beast, lay haphazardly collapsed, with the tallest remaining sections only a few feet high.

Inside the city was even more chaotic, filled with collapsed houses and shattered rubble. Many buildings bore traces of being destroyed by immense force or incinerated.

Dark brown, long-dried and solidified bloodstains were visible everywhere, and on some broken walls and dilapidated structures, even giant claw marks and bite marks could be seen!

A deathly silence, deeper than the wilderness, enveloped this ruin.

There was no sign of life, only the whistling wind, like the wailing of lost souls.

The six slowly descended to the city gate of the ruins.

A massive stone tablet, broken in half, was obliquely embedded in the soil. On it, two large characters were carved in ancient pre-human script—Heize.

"Heize City... destroyed," Tian Yidao spoke with some disappointment, tightening his grip on the hilt of his sword.

Wind Jade squatted down, his finger tracing a giant, blackened claw mark on a stone pillar. His expression was solemn: "Judging by these marks and the faint residual aura, the Savage Beasts that destroyed this city were likely far stronger than any we've encountered before, possibly comparable to a True Immortal. Moreover, this seems to have happened... a long time ago."

Xiao Zhuo remained silent, his Divine Thought carefully sweeping over the entire ruin.

There were no traces of any survivors, nor any signs of recent activity.

This city, marked on the map, had long turned to dust.

An ominous premonition, like a cold viper, quietly coiled around his heart.

Heize City was a ruin, so what about the cities further ahead? What about the ultimate destination—Holy Spirit City?

Had it also long ago, under the endless years and the incursions of Savage Beasts, turned into similar ruins?

Aunt Hua's hopes, his own hope of fully activating his Spiritual Root Runes, were they all for naught?

"My Lord, we..." Wind Jade looked at Xiao Zhuo.

Xiao Zhuo took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart, his eyes once again firm: "Continue north. Though Heize City is destroyed, it doesn't mean all cities are. If the Spirit Kingdom truly hasn't perished as Priestess Hua said, then Holy Spirit City must exist."

He glanced at the group: "How is your Immortal Qi consumption?"

"Still manageable, but we need to be more frugal," Wind Jade estimated and replied.

"Mm." Xiao Zhuo nodded, "From now on, unless we encounter a true threat, try to avoid using Immortal Qi. I will act!"

With that, he took the lead, stepping over the broken walls of Heize City, and walked northward.

The five behind him followed closely, each person's expression growing a bit more solemn.

The path ahead was unknown, and hope seemed to blur with the ruins of Heize City.

But they had no choice; they could only continue northward, towards the Holy Spirit City that might exist or might have long since been annihilated.

Under the gloomy sky, six figures swept across the vast ruins, like travelers in a post-apocalyptic painting, solitary and resolute.

Another day and night of monotonous flying and trekking, coupled with the Frustration of learning that Heize City had been annihilated, even Xiao Zhuo and the others felt a hint of mental fatigue.

The consumption of Immortal Qi was still within a controllable range, but the pervasive gloom and deathly silence that enveloped heaven and earth constantly eroded their willpower.

Most of the Savage Beast attacks encountered along the way were resolved by Xiao Zhuo.

He no longer used Immortal Qi; instead, his fingertips outlined, and one after another, Chaos-colored "Law-Breaking Spirit Groups" or "Annihilation Spirit Groups" instantly formed, precisely entering the bodies of the pouncing Savage Beasts.

These Spirit Groups, constructed by Divine Thought activating the power of spirituality, although less powerful here than in the outside world, could still easily kill these Savage Beasts that had not reached the Immortal Realm in his hands.

This made Wind Jade and the others secretly astonished and even more awed by Xiao Zhuo's mysterious "Spirit Group" Divine Ability.

Finally, in another area of uniquely shaped stone forest, Xiao Zhuo discovered a strange giant tree, a hundred feet tall.

The tree was dark gold all over, but its branches and leaves were like black jade, incredibly hard, emitting faint energy fluctuations, and many Savage Beasts were perched on it.

After Xiao Zhuo used several Chaos Slashes to eliminate all the Savage Beasts on the tree, the group descended onto the tree.

"We will rest here tonight," Xiao Zhuo ordered.

The six flew onto the treetop, each finding a thick branch to sit cross-legged on, took out Immortal Crystals, and quietly recovered.

The night in the Spirit Realm was exceptionally long and cold, the darkness so thick it couldn't be dispelled, with only the occasional distant roars of beasts reminding them of the dangers of this land.

Time slowly passed.