Chapter 1186

Beneath the ancient battlefield's ruins, light was dim, utterly black!

Xu Que's group had already passed the Altar and reached the opposite shore; on the ground lay leftover hot pot ingredients from Er Gouzi and Duan Jiude, along with several chaotic footprints leading in different directions.

But in a corner of one wall, a pile of shit remained, with a dog's paw print extending forward.

Xu Que glanced at it casually, then pointed toward the wall's edge and walked on.

Bai Cailing's group didn't hesitate—they immediately followed. The others paused briefly, then also trailed behind Xu Que.

Not long after, the passage ahead gradually widened, finally opening into a vast Dao Field!

The entire Dao Field was dilapidated, the ground pitted and uneven, scattered with broken weapons and Dharma Artifacts.

Clearly, a great battle had once occurred here, long ago—so long that even bones and remains had long since decayed into fertile soil.

Ahead of the Dao Field, hundreds of ancient buildings stood scattered, all equally ruined: some had only half a pillar and crumbling walls left, others had collapsed sideways, covered in cobwebs.

"Could this place have once been a Sect?" someone exclaimed in shock.

Clearly, this had once been the Gate of the Sect, but eventually became a battlefield in a Divine Spirit war, reduced to ruins and buried underground—until Er Gouzi and Duan Jiude dug it up.

"Old Xu, there are footprints here, leading that way!" Bai Cailing pointed southward toward the Dao Field and said to Xu Que.

Xu Que turned to look—the ground indeed bore Er Gouzi and Duan Jiude's footprints, crossing the Dao Field and heading straight toward the ruined buildings to the south.

The buildings in that direction showed nothing unusual, yet from the footprints, it was clear these two had headed directly for that spot, without even considering other areas.

This made Xu Que more certain: Er Gouzi and Duan Jiude must have received some map or guidance—otherwise, they couldn't possibly know this place so well.

"Follow the footprints. And don't touch anything else, don't wander off—this place is no ordinary ruin!"

Xu Que spoke gravely, stepping first onto Er Gouzi's footprints.

The others nodded—this place was truly extraordinary. The scattered weapons and Dharma Artifacts across the Dao Field were all coated in Death Qi; countless Great Abilities had died here, their Flesh Bodies fully absorbed by the earth. For their current realms, stepping carelessly could mean disaster!

"Boom!"

Yet just as Xu Que stepped onto the Dao Field, a thunderous explosion erupted ahead, flames shooting skyward, blazing red light illuminating the entire field.

Immediately, Xu Que saw Er Gouzi, Duan Jiude, and others fleeing back in utter disarray.

Among the fleeing figures, Xu Que spotted Mo Junchen behind Er Gouzi—but no Jing Ning. His eyes widened, and he charged forward.

"Huh? Someone's come in!"

While sprinting, Duan Jiude spotted Xu Que—and behind him, Bai Cailing and the other factions standing still. He froze in shock.

"Hey, who's this old man? Only Half-Immortal Realm—and he dares run straight at us?" Er Gouzi laughed mockingly at Xu Que, waving his dog paw. "Guardian Mo, kill this old geezer!"

Mo Junchen immediately formed Dharma Seals, preparing to cast a Dharma Spell.

But Xu Que had already dashed before them—his chest glowed with brilliant golden characters: "Saint Body." Mo Junchen froze, halting his hand.

"Er Gouzi, Tian Wang Gai Di Hu!" Xu Que lowered his voice, speaking gravely.

"Chicken stewed with mushrooms!" Er Gouzi blurted out, then his eyes bulged—he shouted: "Holy shit, no need to fight—we're on the same side!"

"Damn, this kid's pretending again!" Duan Jiude muttered under his breath.

Mo Junchen understood instantly—those two characters on the "old man's" chest had already revealed Xu Que's identity.

The group immediately sped up, reaching Xu Que's side, their gazes turning to Bai Cailing and the others not far behind.

"Kid, why did you bring them here?" Er Gouzi whispered.

Xu Que frowned, shook his head, ignored Er Gouzi's question, and asked gravely: "Where's Jing Ning?"

"Don't worry, kid, she's hiding in that small house behind us, healing up—safe as can be! We left footprints to cover for her!" Er Gouzi grinned immediately.

Xu Que finally exhaled in relief, then stared at the blazing flames ahead—like a volcanic eruption, the ruins were violently active—and frowned: "What the hell are you two up to? What happened over there?"

"Nothing much—just bad luck. This Divine Venerable just got royally screwed—missed out on a Divine Artifact!" Er Gouzi's face fell, utterly distraught.

Divine… Artifact?

Mai Pi!

Xu Que's eyes bulged—he nearly punched Er Gouzi dead.

So all this fuss was because Er Gouzi and Duan Jiude were scheming for a Divine Artifact—and abandoned him to sneak here alone.

Judging by their current state, they clearly hadn't gotten their hands on the treasure—failed to steal the chicken, lost the rice, and missed a Divine Artifact!

A Divine Artifact!

That was something beyond any Immortal Artifact—something used by Divine Spirits!

Xu Que felt his heart bleeding—if Er Gouzi hadn't hidden this from him, maybe he could've gotten that artifact!

"Missed nothing! That thing never existed—it was destroyed long ago, couldn't even be carried away, and nearly got old man me killed!" Duan Jiude rolled his eyes.

He'd just barely escaped death—he was still shaken.

Mo Junchen also looked regretful, shaking his head: "We thought we might see the legendary Divine Artifact—but that Divine Object was already ruined, only a shell remained. As soon as we approached, it scattered into the wind."

"Damn it, what exactly did you find?" Xu Que glared.

He was thoroughly confused—these three kept saying there was a Divine Artifact, then saying it didn't exist.

"Qian Kun Smelting Forge—the original Dharma Artifact of an Ancient Top-Rank Artifact Emperor. We thought we'd struck gold, but it had already been destroyed, couldn't be salvaged!" Er Gouzi lamented.

Then Duan Jiude added: "We found an ancient scroll, left behind by someone who escaped from here alive. He claimed he saw a Top-Rank Artifact Emperor perish here, and the Qian Kun Smelting Forge fell into the ruins. But the man was too busy fleeing to retrieve it. He hid to heal, but his wounds were too severe—he died within days. Before dying, he left this scroll, recording his regret. So we came here—not for greed, but to fulfill his final wish!"

"Fulfill a damn wish! What was the artifact like?" Xu Que rolled his eyes.

"Don't ask. We used Guardian Mo's help to bypass the Altar, finally found this place—only to discover the Qian Kun Smelting Forge was already destroyed, just a hollow shell. The moment we pushed open the door, a gust of wind blew through—and the forge exploded!" Duan Jiude shook his head.

Mo Junchen sighed: "Truly regrettable. Though the Qian Kun Smelting Forge is gone, these flames are treasures—precious beyond measure. The Top-Rank Artifact Emperor had stored his original Divine Fire inside the forge, nurturing it for years. To let it vanish like this… what a waste."

"Can't we collect it?" Xu Que asked.

The original Divine Fire of a Top-Rank Artifact Emperor was incredibly precious—stronger than Strange Fire, capable of melting any Divine-level material. Even a speck of it on a Great Luo Golden Immortal would burn them to ash instantly.

Those who reached Top-Rank Artifact Emperor status were nearly Divine Spirits—or already Divine-level beings—far surpassing Great Luo Golden Immortals by several grand realms.

Mo Junchen, an Artifact Emperor himself, was merely a First-Rank Artifact Emperor—a weakling among Artifact Emperors, capable of forging only Middle-Grade Immortal Artifacts, nowhere near the power of a Top-Rank Artifact Emperor—eight full ranks below!

"Can't collect it!" Mo Junchen shook his head, grimacing: "Unless we had a high-grade Divine Artifact ourselves, we couldn't possibly capture this Divine Fire."

Speaking of this, Mo Junchen looked back at the great fire with a face full of reluctance and sighed, "What a pity and regret! If I had other precious materials on me, I would run over while this divine fire is still unextinguished to melt and temper those materials!"

"Eh? What did you say? You can use this divine fire for Artifact Refining?" Hearing this, Xu Que's eyes instantly lit up.

It was precisely the broken halberd he had snatched from Liu Wenfeng back in the Lost Land; its blade was entirely made of Purple Void Geng Metal and contained a vast amount of Evil Qi, making it a rare Supreme Treasure!

【First Update delivered!】