107: PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, Ancient Ruins

Deep within the Savage Ancient Domain, the scenery became increasingly ancient, desolate, and bizarre.

Towering ancient trees were gradually replaced by twisted, grotesque black strange trees, and the ground was covered by a thick layer of humus, accumulated over countless millennia, emitting a nauseating, sour stench.

The air was permeated with dense, almost materialized Savage Malevolence and various mixed poisonous miasmas; even a Dou Zong, if staying here for a long time, would experience a sharp increase in Dou Qi consumption, and their mind would be more easily corroded by the malevolence.

Li Ao held Medusa, pushing his speed to the limit, fleeing recklessly toward the deeper parts of the ancient domain.

His face was ashen, and a trace of fresh blood even spilled from the corner of his mouth—this was the backlash caused by forcefully burning his vitality and over-activating the Annihilation Rule.

Medusa, who was in his arms, had an unstable flickering radiance around her Soul body, her purple eyes tightly shut as she fought with all her might against the corrosion of the external malevolence and the pain in her Soul Origin.

Behind them, the Nine-Headed Celestial Snake Remnant Soul's hiss and violent will were like a death warrant, relentlessly pursuing them.

It seemed to have completely locked onto the aura of the blood essence demon fruit, and on this ancient land, which was more familiar to it, its speed was astonishingly fast, and the distance between the two parties was rapidly closing!

"This won't do!" Li Ao felt anxious; his condition was worsening, and Medusa was also nearing her limit.

If they were caught, given their current state, they would surely perish!

He had to find a place that could temporarily obstruct that monstrous thing, or completely isolate their aura!

His Soul perception frantically spread out, stimulated by the crisis, almost surpassing its limit, scanning every inch of the land below.

Suddenly, he perceived extremely abnormal energy fluctuations about a hundred miles to his front left!

The space there seemed extremely unstable, filled with various chaotic spatial rifts, and there was also a lingering, faint yet extremely ancient and vast Formation fluctuation!

Was that... the entrance to Ancient Ruins? Or rather, a shattered spatial zone left behind by an ancient great war!

Danger! Extreme danger! Those spatial rifts were enough to easily tear apart the Physical Body of a Dou Venerate!

But similarly, the chaotic energy and the lingering ancient Formation might interfere with or even block the Nine-Headed Celestial Snake Remnant Soul's perception and pursuit!

Time to gamble!

A ruthless look flashed in Li Ao's eyes; he changed direction without hesitation and rushed toward that deadly zone!

A hundred miles was only a moment's work for a Dou Zong fleeing with all their might.

As he drew closer, the sight before him made Li Ao gasp.

It was a boundless, shattered land.

The ground was covered in bottomless ravines, as if chopped by a giant god's axe.

The sky was a twisted, color-shifting Chaos Void Realm, riddled with countless dense, visible black spatial rifts like a spiderweb; occasionally, huge spatial fragments peeled away and annihilated like glass.

A destructive energy storm perpetually raged within the area, emitting a bone-jarring shriek.

And at the center of that shattered land, one could vaguely see some extremely ancient, dilapidated remnants of gigantic buildings, appearing like the ruins of a submerged ancient city, faintly discernible within the energy storm.

"That's the place!" Li Ao fixed his gaze on the edge of the ruins, specifically a relatively stable broken wall, where a faint Formation halo seemed to flicker.

Spatial rifts were relatively scarce there; perhaps they could take temporary shelter!

He gritted his teeth, poured his last remaining strength into the Thunder Sound Steps, and his figure transformed into a twisted stream of light, narrowly avoiding several suddenly appearing spatial rifts, rushing toward the broken wall like a moth to a flame!

Just as he rushed into that relatively stable area—

"Hiss!!!"

The enormous phantom of the Nine-Headed Celestial Snake Remnant Soul also reached the edge of the shattered land!

Its eighteen chaotic serpent pupils stared fixedly at Li Ao and Medusa, who had rushed into the dangerous zone, emitting a hiss of extreme unwillingness and fury!

It instinctively feared the chaotic spatial power and the lingering ancient Formation aura ahead; those forces were enough to damage its already incomplete core of will!

It paced frantically at the edge, spitting out several decaying beams of light that slammed into the shattered land, causing a small-scale spatial collapse, yet it dared not truly step inside.

Finally, after letting out a series of venomous hisses, the massive phantom slowly dissipated and retreated back into the depths of the Savage Ancient Domain, but the locking, greedy will did not completely vanish, only becoming extremely faint.

For now... they were safe.

Li Ao held Medusa and stumbled, landing behind the broken wall; unable to hold on any longer, he knelt on one knee, coughing up several mouthfuls of dark blood, his aura extremely weak.

He quickly took out a Medicinal Pill and consumed it, circulating his Cultivation Technique with all his strength to recover.

Medusa also drifted out of his embrace and landed beside him; her Soul body was almost transparent. She likewise closed her eyes and focused her mind, absorbing the sparse yet unusually pure ancient energy from this place to repair herself.

This broken wall seemed to be a corner of a massive palace; although the remaining Formation was severely damaged, it still emitted a faint protective halo, isolating the external energy storm and most of the spatial rifts, forming a small safe area.

Within this desperate situation, the two raced against time to recover.

After an unknown amount of time, Li Ao was the first to open his eyes; the injuries inside his body had temporarily stabilized with the support of the Medicinal Pill and his formidable Physical Body, and his Dou Qi had recovered by twenty to thirty percent.

He looked at Medusa next to him; her Soul body was still illusory, but her aura was much calmer, indicating that she was also slowly recovering.

He stood up, cautiously surveying his surroundings.

This safe area was small, about ten zhang square; besides the corner where they were situated, there was also a partially blocked corridor ahead, leading deeper into the ruins.

"It is not advisable to stay here long; the Nine-Headed Celestial Snake's will has not completely dispersed, and people from the Hall of Souls might also track us down," Li Ao said in a deep voice. "We must quickly recover some strength and then figure out a way to leave."

Medusa slowly opened her eyes; the fatigue had not vanished from her purple pupils, but her usual calmness had returned. "Although the energy here is sparse, it is extremely ancient and pure, which is beneficial for the repair of this Queen's Soul. However, achieving complete recovery is not something that can be done quickly."

Her gaze swept across the blocked corridor, and she frowned slightly. "Furthermore, I sense that deep within, there seems to be something... calling to my Bloodline."

Li Ao's heart stirred.

Medusa possessed the Seven-Colored Sky Swallowing Python Bloodline, making her a Supreme existence among serpents; whatever could trigger her Bloodline's sensing was definitely not ordinary.

In Ancient Ruins like this, crisis often coexists with Opportunity.

"Once we've recovered somewhat, we can try exploring this corridor," Li Ao decided. "Perhaps we can find a path to leave, or... other Opportunities."

Thereupon, the two stopped talking and continued to seize the time to recover.

Another half day passed. Li Ao's strength had recovered by about forty percent, and Medusa's Soul had also solidified somewhat, recovering roughly ten percent, at least eliminating the risk of immediate collapse.

"We can try moving forward now." Li Ao walked to the corridor blocked by rubble, covered his palm with a bronze sheen, and gently pressed against the boulder.

"Rumble..."

The heavy boulder was slowly pushed aside by him, revealing a gap just wide enough for one person to pass through.

A denser, ancient energy carrying the aura of ages rushed out from the depths of the corridor.

Li Ao stepped in first, with Medusa following closely behind her.

The corridor was pitch black, and the walls were covered with already blurred murals depicting scenes of ancient predecessors fighting various powerful exotic beasts and engaging in sacrificial rites.

The air was damp and cold, permeated with the aura of time.

The two proceeded cautiously, their Soul perception maximized, wary of possible mechanisms or sleeping ancient creatures.

After advancing for about the time it takes an incense stick to burn, a faint light appeared ahead.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a rather spacious stone chamber.

In the center of the stone chamber was a dried-up pool, the bottom of which was covered with colorful crystal fragments, emitting faint energy fluctuations.

And at the end of the stone chamber stood a gigantic, ancient statue with a human body and a serpent tail!

The statue was carved from a certain type of jet-black stone; although covered in cracks and dust, it still emitted an aura of majesty and sanctity.

The scales of the serpent tail were carved lifelike, bearing seventy to eighty percent resemblance to Medusa's true form!

In the statue's hand, it held a fist-sized, dark golden scale covered in mysterious runes!

The moment the two stepped into the stone chamber—

Medusa's entire body trembled violently, and the seven-colored runes on her brow uncontrollably burst forth with brilliant light!

Her gaze was fixed on the dark golden scale, her purple eyes filled with unbelievable excitement and longing!

"Is this... the Ancient Heavenly Serpent Emperor's... Origin Inverse Scale?!"