Chapter 245: The Secret Land of Fengdu

Inside the Return Ruins, the situation was the same as usual, without any changes.

Bai Yuxia cautiously surveyed her surroundings, confirming the environment did not differ much from what Chen Mo had previously described.

Upon entering this place, she also felt her own strength being suppressed.

Even though she possessed ten thousand marvelous methods and a thousand techniques, all these powers were firmly suppressed.

The strength she could currently exert would absolutely not exceed the Tongmai Realm.

Shui Qianqiu stood not far from Bai Yuxia, eyes slightly closed, carefully sensing the Endless Annihilation Force circulating within the Return Ruins.

This power was tyrannical and cold, indifferent to everything; its very appearance meant the destruction of all things.

"Let us go, everyone," the Master of the Blood Sea also spoke at this moment.

The two nodded one after another, determined their direction by the great sun in the sky, and walked together toward Wanren City.

As for Chen Mo, he descended directly into Wanren City and arrived once again at the residence he had previously departed from.

For instance, the courtyard where Chen Mo stayed had seen no visitors for a long time before he entered.

Outside the city, it was vast and desolate; apart from a small number of pedestrians belonging to the city's own rules, there was not another soul in the boundless world.

In this way, one could earn a sum of contribution for the Alliance while also having some reliable allies within the Return Ruins zone.

"Fellow Daoist, go and return quickly, do not delay the time. I estimate that in another day's time, I will have to leave the Return Ruins. If you can bring your three friends here by then, I can register them and issue identity Tokens," Ma Bufan instructed carefully.

Within the Return Ruins, there was only the Endless Annihilation Force, in addition to a small amount of law power remaining from the previous epoch.

And it is estimated that the world Chen Mo is from also controls a Gui Xu Gate; he also entered the Return Ruins through a Gui Xu Gate.

Furthermore, most people are here for cultivation and training and do not live here, so having a single house to stay in is sufficient.

This was already quite good; Bai Yuxia and the others could now see the city, but they had no awareness of him.

There were many residences within the Huantian Alliance manor, but these residences had not been allocated.

In this way, after confirming the situation in the Return Ruins, Chen Mo would naturally think of ways to bring others inside.

There were three Huantian Alliance elders guarding this stronghold; besides Ma Bufan, there was his elder brother Ma Sanwen, and Zhou Shanqing from the Bailing Realm.

Hearing this, Ma Bufan showed a smile and nodded, saying, "Easy, easy, I will go get them for you, Fellow Daoist."

Although the strength of Bai Yuxia and the other two was suppressed to the Tongmai Realm, their pace was still not slow.

Chen Mo's eyes were filled with condensed Qi and Blood, and at this moment, he naturally saw them.

Chen Mo, however, saw clearly that this secret treasury had a deeper level, where relatively more hidden and rare items must be stored.

These powers could only be continuously consumed, and it was precisely because of this that few people explored the deeper secret realms of the Return Ruins.

Chen Mo traveled several dozen miles outside the city, then stopped moving, halted his steps, and waited quietly here.

Ma Bufan turned and walked toward the back of the side hall, took out his own Token, and opened a secret treasury.

It was just that the distance was truly too far, and his power was suppressed, so he could only barely see their figures.

Because under normal conditions, there were too many houses here and too few people.

This secret treasury was actually not very hidden; it was placed right there.

The place Chen Mo wanted to go was the Main Hall; Elder Ma Bufan, who managed this stronghold, was currently in the side hall.

"Fellow Daoist Ma, I have come to request a few Absolute Law Treasure Garments; I intend to bring a few fellow daoists into the Alliance."

Ma Bufan nodded, quickly took out three Absolute Law Treasure Garments, and turned to hand them to Chen Mo.

Confirming that everything around was as usual, Chen Mo immediately walked with long strides toward the center of the manor.

The secret treasury did not store any rare materials, only Absolute Law Treasure Garments.

The three took turns replacing each other to ensure that at any time, there was someone managing affairs at this stronghold.

After waiting for about an hour or so, three figures gradually appeared in the distant world.

"Three pieces," Chen Mo replied.

But there was no Heaven and Earth Qi here, and Martial Artists could not replenish their own True Qi upon entering.

Because consuming power there required every bit to be carefully calculated.

He did not feel surprised that Chen Mo wanted to bring people into the Huantian Alliance, because Chen Mo came from a new world and was also the first Martial Artist from this world to enter the Return Ruins for exploration.

Chen Mo stepped into the side hall and, seeing the elder currently guarding the hall was still an acquaintance, smiled.

Their inherent strength still existed, so even with the strength of the Tongmai Realm erupting, no matter how long they exerted their full power, they would not feel fatigued.

But apart from using a Token with the proper authority, no one could open it.

After another two quarters of an hour or so, Bai Yuxia and the other two finally caught sight of Chen Mo.

"Good, many thanks, Fellow Daoist," Chen Mo bowed in thanks, turned, and left at high speed, hurrying toward the outside of the city.

"I wonder how many pieces you need, Fellow Daoist?" Ma Bufan asked in a loud voice.

They continued to quicken their pace; although their strength was restricted, it was only the power they could exert that was limited.

Although not as fast as Chen Mo, it only took them a little over an hour to catch sight of Wanren City.

Beside the residence where Tongxuan Stones were stored was the council hall of this manor, a vast hall capable of holding hundreds of people.

And in the first and second layers, even a Martial Artist of the Heavenly Human Realm could exert their power without restriction.

But upon reaching the third layer, only Martial Artists of the Divine Ability and Myriad Phenomena Realms could exert their power without any scruples.

Even upon reaching the third level of the Myriad Phenomena Realm, Chen Mo's internal Small World operated spontaneously, enabling it to produce a portion of power to supply himself.

Yet this power could only be called an extra supply.

When truly fighting with all one's might, one still had to borrow power from the external Da Tiandi.

But in the Return Ruins, there was no such environment; after one bout of exhaustive fighting, even if one's own power was not completely drained, most of it would be used up.

And those Ruin Spirits or giant beasts born within the Return Ruins had no such concerns at all; the source of their power was the Return Ruins itself.

Therefore, the more one wanted to explore the depths of the Return Ruins, the stronger the foundation of strength one needed.

Those with insufficient strength, even if they could barely explore, could not hold out for long before they had to find a way to return to replenish their own power.

Martial Artists are strong, yes, but the vast majority of Martial Artists still cannot completely avoid relying on external forces.

Even a Martial Artist of the True One Realm cannot do so; it is just that with the possession of Heaven and Earth True Gang, they can sustain themselves for longer.

Only upon reaching the In-Charge Realm does a Martial Artist begin to initially take charge of the Dao of Heaven and Earth, reaching an extremely profound understanding of one Heavenly Dao.

By incorporating it into their own body, the self is initially sublimated, and their very existence symbolizes a part of the Heavenly Dao.

For a Martial Artist who has reached this realm, if they were to die, even Heaven and Earth would grieve.

Because they themselves contain a part of the Heavenly Dao, it can be said that a Martial Artist of this realm can generate power almost endlessly within their body.

Wanting to exhaust them is an almost impossible task.

Even though the Return Ruins itself represents the end and annihilation, a Martial Artist of this realm is still capable of maintaining their peak state and exploring the Return Ruins for many days.

Before this realm, once a Martial Artist wants to delve deep into the Return Ruins to explore, they need to calculate carefully and use their own power.

Chen Mo looked toward the three of them, smiling and waving to signal them.

After another moment, the Master of the Blood Sea arrived first, with Shui Qianqiu following closely behind.

And Bai Yuxia was a step slower.

Although the Master of the Blood Sea is a creature born of Heaven and Earth, having been born within the Blood Sea, she was not that powerful at the beginning.

The reason for this is that possessing extremely powerful strength at the moment of birth is by no means a good thing.

A more primary reason is that there were restrictions from the rules of the Netherworld.

In the era when the Master of the Blood Sea was born, Heaven and Earth had just opened, and the Human Race that had escaped the previous Mirage Sea Catastrophe were only then waking up one after another.

And among these humans, the strongest might not even have been in the Tongmai Realm, ultimately only having developed a sense of Qi.

Under such reasons, even though the Master of the Blood Sea was born, her strength was also restricted by the rules of the Netherworld.

It is precisely because of these reasons that after she was born, she needed to cultivate continuously, cultivating step by step from the Tongmai Realm.

However, from the strength she currently displays, it is enough to see that at this realm, her foundation is extremely solid.

She is even a notch stronger than Shui Qianqiu, who is an Ancestor Son sealed by the Heavenly Palace; his talent and the cultivation he received go without saying.

That the Master of the Blood Sea is stronger than her is definitely not a level that can be reached by simply piling up resources or being taught by experts; it can only rely on talent.

It can only be said that she is worthy of being a creature born in accordance with Heaven and Earth.

"The three of you, this is the Absolute Law Treasure Garment; only by wearing this treasure garment can you enter the city."

Chen Mo produced the Absolute Law Treasure Garments and handed them to the three of them respectively.

At this time, he himself was also wearing an Absolute Law Treasure Garment; although he had a Token and could enter and exit the city at will.

But that would be too conspicuous, and besides, Chen Mo could guess the intention of the Lord of Wanren City.

Every pedestrian within this city is his eyes and ears, and is a part of him; as he walks among these people, they will carefully observe him.

Attempting to find his shortcomings and loopholes, so as to let the Lord of Wanren City defeat him.

Chen Mo still wanted to take this opportunity to farm the Lord of Wanren City for Ruins Crystals a few more times.

Naturally, he would not so easily expose everything about himself, so wearing the Absolute Law Treasure Garment was very necessary.

"Many thanks." Bai Yuxia took the treasure garment and smiled in thanks, and the other two did the same.

Following behind Chen Mo, they walked all the way into the city.

On the way, Chen Mo explained the situation of this city and the Huantian Alliance to the three of them.

Stepping into the Huantian Alliance, Xu Yingping was not currently here, but fortunately, Elder Ma helped to register the three of them one after another and issued the Alliance Tokens at the same time.

In addition, it was still necessary to test the strength of the three according to the rules, but the strength of these three was far inferior to Chen Mo's.

So each person could only obtain the most basic White Jade Token, and in the future, they could only slowly find ways to improve their token level and accumulate Contribution Points within the Alliance.

This White Jade Token is far inferior to the Green Jade Token; take the simplest cultivation at the Sword Washing Pool, for example, the price required for the White Jade Token is twenty Contribution Points per day.

The Green Jade Token only requires ten points; this gap is not insignificant.

Fortunately, the three of them came prepared and carried some Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures on them; as long as they wanted to quickly obtain Contribution Points, they could completely use some Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures for exchange first.

Even if the Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures were not enough, they could also take on some missions within the Alliance to earn them.

The three of them each obtained their tokens, and Chen Mo could also check through the Tongxuan Stone that his own accumulated contributions had directly increased by three hundred points.

Shui Qianqiu took the token and directly asked for the location of the Hundred Weapons Forbidden Land; he wanted to go and brave it himself.

He knew that Chen Mo's strength was very strong, but he did not believe that Chen Mo could be stronger than himself in the Tongmai Realm.

Especially stronger by who knows how many times.

Ma Bufan, of course, would not tell the three of them the news that he had been easily defeated by Chen Mo.

Therefore, Shui Qianqiu only knew that Chen Mo had successfully defeated the Lord of Wanren City and harvested the supreme treasure, the Deceiving Heaven and Earth Hammer.

He also intended to brave this Hundred Weapons Forbidden Land at this moment, preparing for a battle with that Lord of Wanren City; if he could win, he would be able to obtain a supreme treasure himself.

This was, of course, a good thing that must not be missed.

Shui Qianqiu left in a hurry, and Bai Yuxia also cupped her hands and took her leave.

It seems she intended to go to the Sword Washing Pool to cultivate; this was also normal, as the previous cultivation in the Hengyu Asking Dao Hall had allowed her cultivation base to successfully break through.

Now, of course, she had to go to the Sword Washing Pool to hone herself; as for when she could break through to the third heaven of the Divine Ability Realm, that was hard to say.

Small realms are not like large realms, which have chasms that are difficult to cross.

It can be said that as long as a Martial Artist has the ability to break through to the Divine Ability or Myriad Phenomena Realm, they will certainly be able to cultivate this realm to perfection through slow, bitter practice.

Although the barriers between small realms are difficult to cross, they can all be slowly made up for with time or other things.

As for whether one can break through to the next large realm, that only depends on personal opportunity.

The Master of the Blood Sea, however, did not leave; she did not say much, just gave Chen Mo a look, bowed in a salute, and turned to walk outside the courtyard.

Chen Mo chatted with Ma Bufan for a few more sentences and then left as well.

Walking outside the courtyard, the Master of the Blood Sea was indeed waiting for him; the two looked at each other in silence and continued to walk outside the manor.

Until they reached a small courtyard around the manor, where there was no one else around.

"Do you have business with me?" Chen Mo then asked with a smile.

"I do." The Master of the Blood Sea lowered her voice with a solemn expression.

"In this place, you are the only one I can trust. You must promise me that you will never tell anyone else about this."

Seeing her so solemn, Chen Mo immediately became serious as well, putting away the smile on his face.

"Alright, I promise you. No matter what it is, I will never tell anyone else."

"I know of a secret location that should contain many cultivation resources and Secret Techniques, and perhaps even one or two supreme treasures.

Exploring it by myself is too dangerous. I would like to invite you to go with me."

Although the Master of the Blood Sea's voice was low, it was very clear and steady as she carefully explained her situation.

Chen Mo raised his eyebrows, a look of contemplation appearing on his face, and after a short while, he tentatively asked, "Is this secret location one left behind by Fengdu Niangniang?"

"That's right." The Master of the Blood Sea nodded in acknowledgment. "Back then, my sister took a fragment of the Underworld to the Cangxuan World, preparing to hide from the Catastrophe of the Mirage Sea.

Before setting off, she went to the Return Ruins to build a secret location, storing many of her extremely rare collections on the fourth level of the Return Ruins.

In order to keep these collections safely preserved, she had no choice but to set up some measures.

To enter, one must either have a Secret Technique or be forced to solve the trials of these measures and break through various dangerous barriers.

And even she herself did not expect that, in order to survive, she had forgotten how to undo the measures she had set up.

If I want to enter now, I can only force my way in. My strength alone is too weak, so I wanted to invite you to go with me."

The Master of the Blood Sea did not hide or hold back anything, directly spilling out the entire situation all at once.

"Fine, I will go with you!" Chen Mo naturally had no reason to refuse; the collections of an ancient Great Ability were bound to be incredibly rare.

Even if he only obtained a portion, it would be of great benefit to his own cultivation.

Perhaps there might even be some secret treasures that could assist in his cultivation.

Such an opportunity was rare, so naturally, he had no reason to refuse.

(End of this chapter)