Chapter 511: Stepping into the Eastern Wasteland

The array patterns bloomed with spiritual light, gradually growing more intense!

Runes flashed one by one, flowing across the massive spirit stone disk like small black fish in a jade lake, darting about continuously before finally converging!

The entire formation was enveloped by a white light; the void instantly distorted, and the figures of Xu Que and Er Gouzi immediately blurred.

"Little Zi Xuan, goodbye!" Xu Que shouted from within the array, bidding Zi Xuan farewell one last time.

"Take care!" Zi Xuan replied in kind.

In the end, the voices and shadows of Xu Que and Er Gouzi vanished within the formation.

Everything quickly returned to tranquility; dust settled, leaves fell, the massive spirit stone array disk dimmed, and the secret chamber became utterly empty, just like Zi Xuan's current mood!

She shook her head slightly with a smile, then turned and departed.

Meanwhile, Xu Que and Er Gouzi plunged into a dark void.

This was Xu Que's first time riding a teleportation array spanning such a great distance; his flesh body clearly felt the tearing force of the void intensify, and if it were any ordinary cultivator below the Infant Transformation Stage, they likely would not have been able to withstand the power of such an array.

Er Gouzi, however, appeared quite natural; with its monstrous flesh body, it surely felt nothing, so it opened its package and began eating its rations on its own.

But this teleportation was extremely fast; the gap between an ancient teleportation array and an ordinary one was vast, the difference in speed simply being that of heaven and earth, with the darkness lasting only the blink of an eye.

When points of light appeared before Xu Que's eyes and rapidly expanded, he knew they were about to arrive at the Eastern Desolate Continent!

"Hehe, we're almost there, kid. You'd better keep your eyes sharp from now on. This Divine Venerable was quite influential on the Eastern Desolate Continent ten thousand years ago. After ten thousand years, those little brothers of mine back then have probably all become Saints and Ancestors," Er Gouzi said with an excited expression.

Xu Que immediately narrowed his eyes with a cold smile: "Ten thousand years? I'm afraid everyone who remembered you is already dead! Once we reach the Eastern Wasteland, you keep your eyes sharp too. If you dare cause trouble, I'll stew you!"

"Damn it, compared to you, this Divine Venerable is the most well-behaved," Er Gouzi immediately retorted in dissatisfaction; when it came to causing trouble, it admitted that even galloping hard, it could not catch up to Xu Que, that troublemaker!

Whoosh!

At this moment, a beam of white light suddenly descended.

Xu Que clearly perceived the tearing force on his body diminish sharply; clarity gradually returned to his vision, and the distant green mountains and clear waters, the weeping willows by the riverbank, and the pavilions and towers before him gradually became distinct.

The next moment, they stepped out into thin air, their feet finally touching solid ground.

Instantly, a dense surge of spiritual energy rushed over like a flood.

Xu Que's entire spirit jolted, filled with some wonder.

No wonder those from overseas who went to Five Elements Mountain always said spiritual energy there was extremely scarce; it turned out that overseas spiritual energy was indeed this dense.

The five Nascent Souls within his body frantically absorbed the surrounding spiritual energy, like fish finding water, becoming extremely active.

Unfortunately, Xu Que's method of leveling up did not rely solely on cultivation; absorbing spiritual energy so frantically and quickly caused his Experience Points to rise very slowly, far slower than killing people!

"Not bad, this is a good place!"

After glancing around, Xu Que couldn't help but sigh with emotion.

This time, their teleportation landing spot was finally not in some remote wilderness, but within a villa.

The villa looked extremely ancient and dilapidated, as if abandoned for many years, with silence reigning all around.

After Xu Que and Er Gouzi landed, beneath their feet was likewise a massive spirit stone array disk, except this disk was peculiar; it was actually damaged, covered in many cracks, looking as though it could no longer be used, yet they had still emerged from it.

"This was deliberately destroyed by someone; it can no longer teleport, but it can serve as a landing point!" Er Gouzi glanced at it and said with an air of profound wisdom.

Xu Que nodded slightly; if this teleportation array were arranged in such a conspicuous location and still functional, Five Elements Mountain probably would not be so peaceful.

"Damn it, I feel like it's been too long since I returned to the Eastern Wasteland; everything has become so unfamiliar! It's like waking up from a sleep to find the whole world has changed!"

At this moment, after surveying the surroundings, Er Gouzi said with great surprise.

Xu Que was immediately stunned: "Er Gouzi, you damn dog actually have such a divine ability? You haven't even gone out to stroll around, yet you already feel things have changed?"

"That's because this Divine Venerable remembers this place; it seems I came here ten thousand years ago. In my impression, this place was extremely brilliant, seemingly belonging to some major faction, where many Holy Sons and Holy Maidens once gathered. Unfortunately, it later declined," Er Gouzi said with a sigh of emotion, as if recalling some past events.

Xu Que shook his head, having no interest in prying into Er Gouzi's past; glancing around, he noticed that beyond the villa lay nothing but desolate mountains and ridges, so he couldn't help but sigh: "Forget it. Since you have some impression of this place, hurry up and find the way to an inn called Bright Moon Pavilion."

"After so many years, how could this Divine Venerable possibly remember the way!" Er Gouzi said with a helpless expression, indicating it could not recognize the route.

Xu Que also felt depressed; in her letter, the Empress had only said to wait for her at "Bright Moon Pavilion," without specifying the exact location.

"It seems we'll have to ask someone for directions!" Xu Que said calmly.

Being new to the area and unfamiliar with the people and terrain, Xu Que did not feel nervous; instead, he felt a slight excitement.

After all, a new place meant new opportunities for acting cool; the road ahead was long, and acting cool would accompany him every step of the way!

"Kid, don't think this place is so remote that there's no one here. Look over there; smoke is curling up from the chimneys. Someone must be cooking," Er Gouzi suddenly said excitedly, pointing toward a distant mountain forest, drool dripping from its mouth, every bit the foodie dog.

Upon hearing this, Xu Que immediately turned to look, but the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily: "Does your family produce smoke this thick when cooking? That's damn well war fire; people are fighting!"

Finishing his words, he stepped on a bolt of lightning and swiftly darted toward that mountain forest.

"Wait for me, wait for me!" Er Gouzi also hurriedly chased after.

One man and one dog flew rapidly through the air, while the smoke and fire within that mountain forest grew larger and larger.

However, by the time they arrived, they found only ashes throughout the forest; the battle seemed to have ended long ago, though the flames were still burning.

"Damn it, we're one step too late!" Er Gouzi immediately cursed.

"It would have been useless even if we came earlier. Judging by the scale of the fire, it probably burned all night; even the corpses have turned into charcoal," Xu Que said, shaking his head.

In this mountain forest filled with flying ashes, over a hundred corpses lay on the ground, all scorched black as carbon, unrecognizable in appearance, making it impossible to tell whether they were human or demon.

"Whoosh!" "Whoosh!" "Whoosh!"

At this moment, from the cloudy sky not far away, several light streams suddenly shot over with great speed.

Someone was riding flying swords, flying rapidly toward this location.

"Eh, someone's coming; we can ask for directions!" Er Gouzi exclaimed happily upon seeing them.

Xu Que also nodded, lifted his head, and shouted loudly toward the light streams in the sky: "Don't move, this is a robbery!"

Boom!

Instantly, a tremendous pressure suddenly descended from the heavens.

Xu Que and Er Gouzi's expressions changed simultaneously; they nearly collapsed to their knees from the shock of the pressure.

What's going on?

One man and one dog stared at each other, both eyes filled with shock.

Clearly, the people in the air possessed terrifying power; judging by this oppressive force, they were at least at the Void Refining Stage, and not just ordinary experts at that stage, but high-level ones—and there was more than one of them!

Whoosh!

Just then, several Light Streams suddenly landed; as the halos dispersed, their True Bodies manifested, revealing three individuals veiled in light gauze.

Judging by their attire, even though their faces were covered, it was evident that all three were women, and among them, two were very old, being two elderly matrons.

The white-clad woman standing in the middle possessed an extraordinary aura; she appeared very young, yet her cultivation realm was similar to that of the two elderly matrons, all of them being existences at the Void Refining Stage.

"Young man, who are you people, and why have you appeared here?" As soon as the three landed, the white-clad woman's gaze fell upon Xu Que, and she asked calmly.

Xu Que's eyelid immediately twitched; damn it, this was too unlucky, arriving only to encounter such powerful people!

He knew that with his current strength, even with the Killing Sword and Killing Book at full layers, he could not defeat a single Void Refining expert, let alone that there were three of them.

"Kid, let's run!" Er Gouzi cautiously transmitted via Sound Transmission.

"Run? You are too timid; if you wish to become a strong person, you should fear nothing!" Xu Que looked at Er Gouzi with contempt, and instead of using Sound Transmission, he loudly rebuked him.

Er Gouzi immediately gasped in shock, staring at Xu Que in astonishment as if looking at a fool.

We agreed not to stir up trouble, yet now you are stirring it up yourself; moreover, these are three Void Refining experts, and you actually dare to act so arrogantly? You're amazing, my Brother Que!

"What a fine phrase: 'A strong person fears nothing'!" The white-clad woman smiled faintly, her eyes coldly fixing on Xu Que, her voice suddenly turning indifferent as she stated heavily, "Young man, what did you just shout at us? Do you intend to rob us?"

"Kid, don't act rashly!" Er Gouzi hurriedly advised, while already bending his four limbs slightly, gathering strength and preparing to flee.

"What rash actions? What do I have to fear?" Xu Que, however, feared nothing, remaining as calm as clouds and wind.

Subsequently, he politely cupped his hands toward the white-clad woman and the others, smiling as he said, "Miss, you misheard; what I just shouted was 'Eldest Miss,' not 'rob'! I am a scholar who reflects on myself three times a day, keeping myself pure and upright; surely, I would never do something like robbery! Oh, by the way, Miss, have you ever seen a fairy?"