170: Chapter 170 Arrival at the Ruins

On the thirty-fifth day, the flying boat traveled through a strange void mist.

The mist was grayish-white and as thick as a physical substance, suppressing Divine Sense to less than a hundred feet. The flying boat's detection Formations also lost their effectiveness, forcing them to rely on the most primitive methods of sight and perception to determine their direction.

Ling Hao stood by the porthole, his brow slightly furrowed. In his perception, this mist held an indescribable wrongness; it wasn't danger, but a deeper sense of incongruity, as if the mist itself were deliberately concealing something.

“Everyone, stay alert,” he ordered in a low voice. “Shadow Seven, you three spread out around the flying boat and maintain visual contact. Signal immediately if you discover any anomalies.”

“Yes.” Three dark shadows silently glided out of the hatch and vanished into the mist.

The flying boat sailed through the mist for a full six days. On the evening of the sixth day—though there was no day or night in the void, people still kept time by habit—the mist suddenly thinned, and a massive void vortex became faintly visible ahead.

The vortex displayed an eerie rainbow of colors, with countless space-time turbulences intertwining, colliding, and annihilating within it, letting out silent roars. Even from a great distance, the flying boat began to vibrate violently, and the light of the protective Formations on the hull flickered unsteadily.

“We can't go any closer,” Manager Nangong He shouted. “The flying boat's protective Formations cannot withstand this level of space-time turbulence!”

Ling Hao stared at the vortex, his gaze deep. In the center of the vortex, a massive black gap was faintly visible, its edges covered in space-time cracks that spread out like a spiderweb. Every expansion of these cracks was accompanied by a terrifying void collapse.

And further away, through the gaps in the vortex, one could faintly see a boundless grayish-black ocean. That was the Endless Nether Sea, a forbidden land rumored to connect to the Nine Serenities. The sea was not made of water, but of the concentrated resentment of countless lost souls; any living being that fell into it would be devoured by that resentment, never to be reincarnated.

“The Burial Immortal Ruins are right beneath that gap,” Ling Hao whispered to himself, his voice carrying a trace of hard-to-detect complexity.

Manager Nangong He walked to his side, his expression grave. “Fellow Daoist Ling, the space-time disorder at the mouth of the abyss is more violent than what is recorded in the Wanbao Pavilion archives. Given the current situation, I'm afraid the flying boat will disintegrate if we charge straight in.”

“Mm, the flying boat cannot enter,” Ling Hao nodded. “Stop the flying boat at a safe distance; we will enter on our own.”

He turned to look at everyone inside the cabin.

Shadow Seven and his two companions, Nangong Xuan, the three Enshrined Elders, six Specialists, and two guards—including himself and Manager Nangong He, there were seventeen people in total.

“Everyone, take a short rest. We set out in half an incense stick's time.”

During that time, the cabin was silent, save for the faint sounds of checking Magic Treasures and Medicinal Pills. Everyone knew that the path ahead would be a hundred times more perilous than all the dangers they had faced combined.

Ling Hao stood alone by the porthole, taking one last look in the direction they had come from. The void was pitch black; he could see neither the path they had traveled nor the way back.

He was thinking of Azure Cloud City.

Nearly a month and a half had passed, and he had received word that Ling Xiao and the others had successfully repelled Elder Xueluo. Given Ling Xiao's character, he would surely intensify training and strengthen the city's defenses after the battle, and Ling Xue would seek a Breakthrough in the Chaos Dragon Pool. With them there, Azure Cloud City should be safe for the time being.

But what about the Heavenly Dao Palace?

That behemoth was always a sword hanging over the Ling Family's head. When he was in the Southern Region, the Heavenly Dao Palace still had some reservations; now that he had traveled far to the Burial Immortal Ruins, would the Heavenly Dao Palace take advantage of the vacancy? Although Ling Xiao was both wise and brave, facing a power of the Heavenly Dao Palace's level would still be too much of a strain.

Ling Hao closed his eyes, clearing the distracting thoughts from his mind.

He had to obtain the Huangtian Divine Dynasty's Legacy as quickly as possible and then return.

Only by becoming stronger could he protect everything he wished to protect.

“We are ready,” Manager Nangong He's voice came from behind him.

Ling Hao opened his eyes, his gaze returning to a state of clear resolve.

The void heaven-escaping shuttle stopped at a relatively stable space-time node three hundred miles away from the Burial Immortal Ruins.

Seventeen figures glided out of the hatch, hovering in the void.

Ling Hao stood in the air, looking toward the massive black gap.

Up close, the terrifying space-time turbulence was even more palpable. It wasn't just simple spatial cracks or temporal disorder, but a frantic intertwining, collision, and annihilation of two sets of laws.

Space was twisted into spirals here, and the flow of time was erratic. Occasionally, one could see the flow of time in a certain area suddenly accelerate, causing a piece of rubble to weather and dissipate in an instant; or it would suddenly slow down, causing a streak of light to freeze in mid-air, remaining motionless for a long time.

Ordinary Cultivators would be torn to shreds the moment they approached, with not even their Divine Soul able to escape. Fortunately, they carried special Magic Treasures prepared in advance.

“Group up according to the plan,” Ling Hao spoke. “Myself, Shopkeeper Nangong, the three from Shadow Seven, and Young Miss Nangong will be the vanguard, responsible for scouting and breaking through obstacles. The three Enshrined Elders will lead the six Specialists as the main force, responsible for setting up Formations to stabilize space-time. The two guards will bring up the rear.”

“Understood!” everyone shouted in unison.

“One last reminder.” Ling Hao's gaze swept over everyone. “Inside the Burial Immortal Ruins, space and time are disordered. Transmissions, sensing, and even sight and hearing may fail. If you encounter danger and get separated, do not panic. Find a relatively stable space-time node and wait for backup. Remember, only by staying alive is there hope.”

Everyone looked solemn.

Ling Hao said no more and took the lead, turning into a streak of light that shot toward the Abyss of Fallen Gods.

Manager Nangong He and the others followed closely behind.

Seventeen figures streaked across the void like meteors, disappearing into the massive black gap.

Not long after they entered,

The void rippled, and three figures emerged.

They were the three Divine Generals: Tianzhen, Tian Fa, and Tian Ming.

“They've gone in.” General Tian Fa stared at the black gap, thunder dancing in his eyes.

“We go in too,” General Tian Zhen said coldly. “The reinforcements sent by headquarters will arrive in three days. At that time, we will surround them from inside and out, ensuring they have no way out.”

“But the danger inside the ruins...” General Tian Ming hesitated.

“No matter how dangerous, we must enter,” General Tian Zhen said decisively. “The Temple Master has ordered that the things within the Huangtian Divine Dynasty ruins must never fall into the hands of others. If necessary, we can use 'that thing'.”

Hearing this, the expressions of both Tian Fa and Tian Ming changed.

“We're really going to use it? The price...”

“We can't worry about that anymore.” General Tian Zhen was the first to fly toward the gap. “Let's go!”

The three turned into streaks of light and vanished into the abyss.

In the even more distant depths of the void, a pitch-black warship shaped like a skull was slowly approaching.

At the bow, a blood-robed man with a vertical blood-colored mark on his brow stood with his hands behind his back. He looked toward the Burial Immortal Ruins, a cruel arc curling at the corner of his mouth.

“Ling Hao, let's see how you escape this time.”

Behind him stood twelve Cultivators also dressed in blood-red robes. Each of their auras was obscure, but they were all at the Early Stage of Void Refining.

The Blood Fiend Sect had almost come out in full force.

The storm had finally arrived.