270: Mysterious ruins

Gu Xiaoyue weighed the 99 keys in her hand before putting them into her Yu Beast Space.

Actually, she thought the same as White Gaze; she probably wouldn't come to Damon again. Since this was her first and last time entering the Imperial Mausoleum Secret Realm, why not—

—try to pack every single plant and tree from the secret realm into her Yu Beast Space!

Under the rapid travel of the Youming Tiger, Gu Xiaoyue and her companions arrived at the entrance of the Imperial Mausoleum Secret Realm in half a day.

She distributed the entrance keys, knowing that holding a key near the entrance would teleport them into the secret realm.

For Gu Xiaoyue, the earthen shrine of the Imperial Mausoleum Secret Realm was something she had only seen a few days prior.

White Gaze, however, seemed a bit lost in thought, his gaze lingering for a few seconds.

Considering he had been out of the secret realm for over two years, all to wait for her arrival, Gu Xiaoyue couldn't help but pat his shoulder again.

"Stop spacing out! Let's go find Zheng Yi!"

Everyone entered the secret realm together. A gentle breeze rustled the green grass on the ground, and a boundless prairie stretched out before everyone's eyes.

This couldn't help but remind Gu Xiaoyue of the time she and White Gaze lived on the prairie.

After spending a good part of the day in the secret realm, they all felt that both the climate and the environmental time here were the same as in Damon.

Gu Xiaoyue couldn't help but suspect that this was simply a part of the Damon territory carved out.

"You and Zheng Yi have lived here for quite a while. Did you leave any secret signals for communication?"

"Yes, we did, but we haven't seen them yet."

This secret realm wasn't very large. When White Gaze and Zheng Jie first entered, they were also very cautious.

After all, at that time, White Gaze had only awakened his Yu Beast talent for a little over a year, and Zheng Jie had just unfrozen her talent.

She was no different from a newly awakened person; she needed to re-cultivate and train her pet beasts.

Logically speaking, since White Gaze had gone to the Dragon Country to find Gu Xiaoyue, Prince Yi Bai Jin Yi and the others should know about the existence of a secret realm.

It was very strange that they could patiently wait for her to come instead of forcing White Gaze to hand over the entrance keys.

After all, the Damon National Treasury was empty, and any secret realm could potentially hold many natural treasures for them to collect.

Yet they remained inactive—

Gu Xiaoyue also considered that perhaps it was because White Gaze said there were no treasures here, and Prince Yi Bai Jin Yi and the others believed this claim.

But she wouldn't believe it herself.

So it could be—

Gu Xiaoyue and her companions wandered in the secret realm for two days, only killing a few fierce beasts, and they were only mature fifth-rank ones. They didn't even see a single spiritual herb.

"This secret realm is too poor!"

Duan Yao couldn't help but complain. She glanced at White Gaze, "You must have been here before, right? Has it always been this barren?"

White Gaze lowered his eyes and didn't answer.

It was Gu Xiaoyue who came over and put her arm around Duan Yao's shoulder.

"Our main purpose for this trip is to pick someone up; everything else is just a bonus! If you want something, I'll get it for you when we return to the Dragon Country!"

"Really, Xiao Yue? I want to hire a special chef to handle my meals!"

Before Duan Yao could say anything, Charlie leaned over. He pinched his cheek.

"I think I've lost weight these past few months! The food in Nanya is just average; I want something more delicious!"

Gu Xiaoyue's mouth twitched. She didn't care much about food and clothing, but only the dishes White Gaze cooked truly stimulated her appetite.

Perhaps it was because she lived in the apocalypse in her previous life, where eating was not a pleasure but the beginning of the next battle.

So, for Gu Xiaoyue, most of the time, eating was just to satisfy her body's needs, and also—

She didn't know if it was because these past few days were spent helping White Gaze find his mother, but she inexplicably missed Mu Qingning and the food she made.

"Mother must be safe. I also wanted to find more spiritual plants and such in the secret realm."

After another two days, White Gaze secretly confessed to Gu Xiaoyue.

It turned out that in one part of the secret realm, there was a site resembling an ancient civilization's ruins, seemingly protected by some kind of restriction, so no fierce beasts would approach it.

Zheng Jie had been living there all along, and White Gaze remembered the exact location.

If it were someone else, they might be angry at White Gaze's actions, but Gu Xiaoyue completely understood him.

"I understand you. In fact, at first, I even wanted to put the entire secret realm into my Yu Beast Space!"

Gu Xiaoyue just felt that her idea was truly absurd and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

White Gaze, on the other hand, marveled at the capacity of her Yu Beast Space. If it wasn't incredibly vast, how could she even conceive such a thought!

"It's okay. As long as Zheng Yi is safe, we can wander around here for a few more days.

After all, we won't be able to come back here again, so it's best to strip this place bare!"

Gu Xiaoyue patted White Gaze's back, pushing him back among the others.

Everyone had been getting along very well these past few days. No one looked down on White Gaze because of his background.

Perhaps true powerhouses have a greater capacity for tolerance; they care more about strength than origin.

Finally, after they had circled the outer perimeter for seven days, Gu Xiaoyue and White Gaze gave up the idea of continuing to search for treasure.

Because there really was nothing!

The number of spiritual plants encountered was still: 0.

"I thought before that Mother and I only moved around in that one area, and there were no natural treasures there.

I didn't expect there to be nothing elsewhere either—"

White Gaze's expression was very dejected. Strictly speaking, the fierce beasts here were not low in rank, but their numbers were much fewer than outside.

"I also don't know what my grandfather was guarding for so many years!"

Gu Xiaoyue also sighed, "No more wandering. Let's go. Once we pick up Zheng Yi, we'll leave!"

Having made up their minds, everyone followed White Gaze's lead, riding their pet beasts. In just over two hours, they arrived at the earthen house where Zheng Jie lived alone.

"Mother!"

White Gaze excitedly ran into the house. Gu Xiaoyue followed behind him, while the others waited outside the house.

But when White Gaze entered the house, he surprisingly didn't find Zheng Jie.

"Mother?"

He circled inside and out twice, looking at Gu Xiaoyue with a bewildered expression.

Gu Xiaoyue also looked at White Gaze in confusion. The furnishings here indicated that Zheng Jie had been living here two or three days ago.

"Could Zheng Yi have gone deeper into the secret realm?"

Gu Xiaoyue was referring to the ancient ruins that White Gaze had mentioned to her.

"Mother and I wanted to explore it before, but while we could be in the outer area, if we tried to go deeper, we would unconsciously return to the starting point.

It was like that every time we tried, so I never truly entered the ruins until I left."

White Gaze spoke, his brows slightly furrowed, as if that memory wasn't pleasant.

Gu Xiaoyue gave a wry smile. Human curiosity truly is—

She could understand the curiosity and desire for exploration that White Gaze and Zheng Jie had for the unknown, but didn't they ever consider that danger and opportunity coexist?

They returned to the starting point as soon as they stepped into the ruins, just like being caught in a ghost wall!

"Just because you couldn't get in before doesn't mean Zheng Yi couldn't get in later. Let's go look!"

Gu Xiaoyue and White Gaze walked out of the earthen house. She summoned Qing Qing and flew towards the ancient ruins White Gaze pointed to.

She directed Qing Qing to fly high, and she looked down from above at the buildings. The outer walls separated them from the prairie.

The central building looked like a temple, and the outermost row of connected, enclosed houses couldn't be discerned for their purpose.

The other buildings were markets and residential areas. It could be seen that the number of people living here was not very large, but it should have been very lively at the time.

After roughly understanding the layout, Gu Xiaoyue finally landed.

She hadn't originally wanted to enter these ruins, because she didn't think there would be any overlooked treasures here.

But what if Zheng Jie really was here?

Gu Xiaoyue landed, and Qing Qing also transformed into human form.

During the flight, she had told Gu Xiaoyue about her longing for Fire Phoenix.

Only then did Gu Xiaoyue remember that she hadn't let Qing Qing and Fire Phoenix meet for some time.

She let White Gaze lead the way, while she secretly tugged on Chu Li's sleeve, signaling him to release Fire Phoenix as well.

They secretly watched Qing Qing and Fire Phoenix from the corner of their eyes, but they didn't see them embrace passionately. Instead, they just intimately clasped their fingers, both pairs of eyes red-rimmed.

This scene was quite touching, but when Qian Ce saw it, he also summoned Bai Jiu and began a new round of pursuing Qing Qing.

"I beg you, consider the time and place!"

Gu Xiaoyue was practically grinding her teeth. This touching reunion scene was completely ruined by Qian Ce's Bai Jiu, so she had no choice but to recall Qing Qing into her Yu Beast Space.

"Sister, we actually made it in!"

White Gaze, who had stepped into the ruins, felt a bit emotional. Why couldn't they get in before?

Gu Xiaoyue didn't answer him, but instead walked directly towards the temple in the center of the ruins.

The wooden gate was ajar. She gently pushed it open, and a giant Thunder-Winged Golden Eagle lay sprawled in the center of the temple.