Chapter 106: Reaping the Inheritance

As Yu Shan Tianyi led the way toward Lift Blue Mountain, the disciples of the Ascending Immortals Society behind her also followed suit.

In the crowd, Huang Qingzhou leaned close to Fang Xu and whispered, "Have you finished studying the relic's guide?"

Fang Xu gave a slight nod.

The guide to the Lift Blue Mountain ruins isn't extensive; cultivators constantly develop their own potential, so their memories naturally surpass ordinary folks—after skimming a few dozen pages, he had already memorized it by heart.

"After entering the ruins, stay alert; if you get a chance to escape, flee immediately, then take Miss Chu and Miss Lu out of Maple Forest Town and head to Central State."

"Take this letter."

Huang Qingzhou said, producing a sealed letter from his bosom and handing it to Fang Xu: "This is a letter I wrote to my master. Take it and find him; even if Yu Shan Tianyi grew bolder, she would never dare chase after my master to kill you."

After glancing at the letter before him, Fang Xu hesitated, then reached out and took it, saying, "Thank you, Senior Brother Huang."

Huang Qingzhou waved his hand, turned to glance at the other Ascending Immortals disciples around, then whispered to Fang Xu: "Later I'll inform Luo Ming and a few others; if an opportunity arises, they'll also help you escape."

Their group consisted of eighteen Ascending Immortals disciples in total, four or five of whom were quite close to Huang Qingzhou.

Shouts of vendors and peddlers mingled with the sounds of cultivators arguing and fighting, rising and falling, making it quite lively.

It's him!

Hmm?

As his gaze swept over a slender figure in the distance, Fang Xu's brows furrowed slightly.

After Yu Shan Tianyi and the Ascending Immortals disciples arrived, she paused briefly, turned, and again reminded everyone of the precautions for entering the ruins.

Most cultivators merely dared to sneak a glance, then quickly looked away; but occasionally, a lust‑blinded cultivator who stared a second longer would pay a heavy price.

"Senior Brother Huang, how did she strike?" Fang Xu asked in a low voice.

He silently committed this to memory, Fang Xu's eyes locked onto Yu Shan Tianyi, trying to discern her technique.

After proceeding onward, they finally reached the entrance to the Lift Blue Mountain ruins about two hours later.

Among the cultivators of the several countries surrounding Great Yu, the Ascending Immortals Society enjoys immense prestige; aside from the Divine Extension Sect and a few other radical forces, few cultivators dare to openly provoke them.

Fang Xu also couldn't be bothered to listen, idly watching the varied crowd of cultivators around him.

While the two were speaking, the group quickly left Maple Forest Town and entered the outskirts of Lift Blue Mountain.

On the way to the ruins, any cultivator with a bit of perception, upon seeing the Ascending Immortals crowd, would have already kept their distance and cleared the path.

Dressed revealingly, she naturally possessed a bewitching aura; walking among the cultivators, she inevitably drew the sideways glances of hot‑blooded youths.

Martial arts of Feather Mountain Island?

Yu Shan Tianyi herself didn't know what martial art she had cultivated; when those who offended her cultivators, Fang Xu often saw only a flash of light in her hand—those cultivators couldn't react in time, their eyes were pierced straight through, blood spraying everywhere.

Amid the bustling crowd, he unexpectedly spotted an acquaintance—the very vendor he had met when following Yun Qing to Clear River County, browsing goods on Stone Slab Street that day.

Encountering some reckless, hot‑headed cultivators, Fang Xu also got a full measure of Yu Shan Tianyi's domineering nature.

Huang Qingzhou shook his head slightly and said, "Most of what Yu Shan Tianyi practices is Feather Mountain Island martial arts—quite esoteric; she rarely shows her hand, and I don't know the details either."

Fang Xu nodded.

Although he had made many preparations the previous night to survive in the ruins, if he could safely escape the ruins, flee to Central State, and seek protection from Xu Changqing using Huang Qingzhou's status, that would be ideal.

The scene at the ruins' entrance was much like his last visit—stalls everywhere displayed all sorts of oddities, while cultivators in twos and threes moved through the crowd, scouting for teammates to explore the ruins together.

That vendor's uncanny, unfathomable pickpocketing skill left a deep impression on Fang Xu.

He never expected to run into him again today.

In the crowd, the vendor seemed to sense someone watching him; the moment he turned and saw Fang Xu, his expression shifted slightly, he quickly squeezed past the passing cultivators, and vanished from Fang Xu's sight.

"Fang Xu, let's go."

At his side, Huang Qingzhou lightly tugged his sleeve; Fang Xu quickly turned, seeing that Yu Shan Tianyi seemed to have finished her instructions, regarding him with a half‑smile.

From her eyes, Fang Xu caught a hint of faint amusement.

"Let's go."

"You two, keep an eye on him." Yu Shan Tianyi gave a sideways glance to the two Ascending Immortals disciples beside her, issued the command, then swayed her waist and slowly walked toward the ancient stone archway.

The Ascending Immortals disciples followed closely behind; Fang Xu and Huang Qingzhou also stepped in step, heading for the archway.

As their figures crossed the archway, Fang Xu clearly felt a sensation of his consciousness entering an aperture space.

After an uncomfortable, strange sensation, the scene before his eyes changed instantly.

First to come into view was a huge plaza, weeds growing all around, while in the center lay a cavern the size of a basketball court.

The tiles around the cavern were purplish‑black, with copious broken armor, shattered weapons, and rotting skeletons scattered everywhere.

Behind the cavern stood a village that was obviously in ruins.

In the village, the buildings had nearly collapsed, leaving only a few broken walls and remnants standing amid the weeds.

Yu Shan Tianyi surveyed the surroundings, turned to look at Zhang Mingyue behind her, and said, "Although you have the strength of a Martial Master Third Realm, you must not stray too far from this palace."

Zhang Mingyue quickly nodded and bowed in agreement.

Yu Shan Tianyi lightly waved her hand, and the Ascending Immortals disciples all followed her steps toward the cavern.

Fang Xu and Huang Qingzhou were in the midst of the crowd, following along as they arrived before the cavern.

The dark, deep cavern resembled a gaping maw that devoured people, exhaling a faint rot; a stone stairway, clearly stained purplish‑black by blood, wound downward from the cavern's mouth.

Seeing this, the Ascending Immortals disciples all gripped their weapons tightly.

Having previously studied the ruins' guide, they knew the site contained not only various dangerous traps and seals, but also numerous elusive monsters—no room for carelessness.

The group proceeded slowly down the stone steps.

After a long passageway, having safely passed a few minor mechanisms, they arrived at a vast underground plaza.

The ceiling of the underground plaza hung with night pearls of various sizes, while the surrounding stone walls bore ever‑burning eternal lamps; aided by the light of the night pearls and eternal lamps, Fang Xu noticed that the plaza resembled a massive altar!

The plaza was hexagonal, its blue‑stone floor etched with exceedingly intricate patterns, and on each side stood a gigantic, ferocious‑looking stone statue!

These statues were dark and uncanny; at first glance they resembled humanoids, but their bodies were composed of various beast parts, as if haphazardly spliced together.

In the very center of the hexagon stood an even taller stone statue!

Fang Xu looked up, made a rough estimate, and the height of this stone statue was at least several tens of zhang!

"Sima Yun."

Ahead, Yushan Tianyi sized up the statue standing in the plaza, then turned to look at a scholar-clad disciple of the Ascendant Immortal Society behind her and asked, "Can you tell the identity of the owner of this relic?"

A scholar-like martial artist held a blank book, roughly sketching a simple map of the plaza; hearing Yushan Tianyi's words, he set aside what he was doing, slightly shook his head, and said, "Very strange, like the spirit worship of ancient peoples; to clarify the identity of the relic's owner, we still need more."

Yushan Tianyi nodded slightly: "Then let's continue forward."

Everyone continued forward, crossing the plaza, arriving before a passageway with three forked paths.

Fang Xu had just planted his feet when he felt a tremor from the light curtain deep in his sea of consciousness; turning his awareness to the curtain, he suddenly saw more than a dozen flashing arrows on it simultaneously pointing to the left‑front fork of the passageway!

(End of chapter)