Volume One: County Servant Duties Chapter Ninety-Two: Deep into the Ruins

The situation is off. The sense of danger is growing stronger and stronger.

The black dog wore a grave expression and lowered its voice.

"A sense of danger? Did those people bring it?" Lu Jiuzhang asked.

"Doesn't seem like it..." the black dog muttered. "Maybe it has something to do with this place..."

If it was related to this place, could the barrier that had just appeared also be related to it?

Lu Jiuzhang looked toward Zhong Zhengming. "Director Zhong, this place..."

Before he could finish, the scenery around them changed abruptly, and everyone seemed to be yanked into a strange space.

The world shifted in an instant. By the time they realized it, they had already appeared within a vast underground expanse.

The place was in ruins, as though it were a world apart.

Great stone statues lay shattered and toppled to the ground.

In the distance stood towering structures reaching into the clouds.

Those high buildings were left with nothing but their frames, swaying on the brink of collapse, as if they would fall at any moment.

An ancient aura rushed at them head-on.

This place was at least a thousand years removed from the present, perhaps even tens of thousands.

"It should be the remains of a sect or some great power," Zhong Zhengming guessed. "Now I understand why the small schools that once established themselves here were wiped out. Once a superpower perishes, the land it leaves behind often becomes inauspicious."

"Broken formations, along with other unpredictable dangers, can appear from time to time."

"The remnants of such a great power's formations, even after tens of thousands of years, are not something those minor sects could contend with."

Zhong Zhengming was stunned.

Behind them, the pursuers also fell silent.

When a great power is destroyed, its land becomes a place of ill omen, stained with countless bloodstains.

Wandering spirits linger there; on cloudy days, one often hears ghostly wails.

Gold and jade once blazed brilliantly, only to be shattered overnight; darkness and desolation follow, the wind mourns and the sun wanes, withered grass and broken reeds lie everywhere, cold as a frosty dawn.

"Even places of ruin may hold great opportunity."

Zhong Zhengming spoke slowly.

Lu Jiuzhang looked at the pursuers and saw feverish hunger in their eyes; some were even swallowing repeatedly.

"Look for a chance to get away," Zhong Zhengming said.

"Sir, aren't we going to search for treasure?" the black dog asked in confusion. "Since this place holds great opportunity, how could we let it slip by?"

"Great opportunity is no use if you don't have the life to enjoy it," Lu Jiuzhang said slowly. "A place like this is not something our level can handle."

"Indeed," Zhong Zhengming said with a nod. "Places like relic sites usually require a strong leader, generally a martial artist of second or third rank. At the very least, one needs a fourth-rank master."

"Though this place is rich in opportunity, it is also fraught with danger. To explore it rashly would be to make light of one's own life."

Zhong Zhengming was wounded, and Bureau Chief Xue was on the verge of death.

Even with Lu Jiuzhang close to the eighth rank and the black dog at his side, they could not hope to explore the entire ruin.

Those broken and decayed formations, even after thousands or tens of thousands of years, could still unleash casual blows that none of them would be able to withstand.

"Everyone, this vast sect ruin lies before us, and within it are boundless opportunities. Its value naturally far surpasses mine, Zhong Zhengming's."

The director said slowly, "If you intend to kill me before you seize this ruin for yourselves, then even if I must die, I will drag a few of you down with me."

"By then, let alone seizing the ruin, the dead will all be sent to the Yellow Springs with me. Would that not be a pity?"

At these words, everyone fell into thought.

What would be gained by killing Zhong Zhengming?

The Demon Suppression Bureau would not reward them openly; at most, the people behind the scenes would offer a little benefit.

They might also use this chance to curry favor with those hidden benefactors.

But the existence of great opportunity here changed everything. If they could obtain superior cultivation techniques, exotic treasures, or precious spiritual herbs, their own strength would improve by leaps and bounds.

"Heh, Director Zhong!" Bai Yuan sneered. "We want the opportunity here, and we also want your life. Once I finish exploring this place, I will come back for your head."

They had been drawn into this space by some mysterious force, and getting out would not be easy. So why rush?

After they explored the ruin and advanced further in martial cultivation, they could return to hunt Zhong Zhengming down. Would that not be splendid?

With that, Bai Yuan turned and rushed toward the ruin.

It was an immense expanse, overgrown with weeds, the weight of history and desolation pressing in from every side.

Beneath crumbling walls and broken ruins lay a profound stillness.

Though eroded by the years, many buildings still stood.

Far in the distance there was an ancient pagoda.

That pagoda had been reduced to a mere skeleton, with a faintly visible gigantic handprint upon it.

For the first time in thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of years, this ruin was being stepped into by human feet. Those people moved with utmost caution, fearing they might trigger some hidden formation.

Wealth stirs the heart. Even knowing the enormous danger, Bai Yuan and the others could not help moving forward.

In the end, it was human greed.

Sighing deeply, Zhong Zhengming said, "We should do our best to avoid these places and head to the other side to see what exactly is going on."

He did not know how many chances they had to escape.

But they had to try. If they could get out before those others did, only then would survival be possible.

As for what to do once they were out, that could wait until then.

Perhaps, after endless pursuit, he would have no choice but to go into hiding and barely cling to life.

For Zhong Zhengming to end his own life was absolutely impossible.

Only by living would there remain the slightest hope.

The family that had acted against them certainly had more than one person involved; otherwise, their ancestor would not have fallen.

Once his martial path reached a higher level, perhaps he would secretly investigate which noble families had joined forces to besiege his ancestor.

Taking revenge on those ancestors was unrealistic, but avenging himself upon their families, Zhong Zhengming felt, was still possible.

...

Following the edge of the ruin, Lu Jiuzhang and the others pressed onward.

All around them were deep mountains and old forests, thick with undergrowth.

The spiritual energy here was slightly denser than outside, and compared with Changshui County, it was better by who knew how many times.

What a pity this place was too remote, with mountains running in all directions and little favorable ground for development. Otherwise, it might have become a new city for Changshui County.

As they walked, the black dog suddenly stopped, staring straight ahead with full vigilance.

"Something wrong?" Lu Jiuzhang asked hurriedly.

"There is danger ahead, a very strong beast." The black dog looked panicked. "We have to go around. At the very least, what lies ahead is a demon beast of sixth or seventh rank."

A demon beast?

Wasn't this supposed to be a ruined relic? How could demon beasts be here?

Lu Jiuzhang was puzzled.

"When a great sect falls, it is either destroyed by enemies or suffers some problem of its own." The black dog explained, "Powerful demon beasts may have fought alongside the sect, while the weaker ones might have survived."

"After the sect was destroyed, those weaker beasts could still live and breed here, continuously cultivating and absorbing the spiritual energy of the place."

"Especially since this place has been cut off from the outside world, like a hidden paradise untouched by human feet. With their unrestrained breeding and cultivation, those beasts will only grow stronger and stronger."