Chapter 318: Chapter 320: The Cracks in the Stele
“We’ll only need one day’s time for the Brown Banner Army of Slaughter Country to reach Runyu City. What shall we do when that time comes?” Yao Junshi began to speak anxiously.
With the great army pressing in, even if they had many Dragon Trainers and Divine and Mortals here, it would be hard to contend with the unending forces of Slaughter Country!
Slaughter Country’s ambition was immense, having just declared war on Yao Country and invaded its territory, and now they were swiftly dispatching a large force towards Runyu City.
“They must have wanted to move against Yao Country for some time now. The Brown Gun Army that was previously stationed here was also preparing in advance for the attack on Yao Country. Now that the national war has started, he must want to recapture this place to use it as a springboard for their expansion,” Hu Chongming said gravely.
In the end, it seemed impossible to spare Runyu City from the ravages of war. This time, the Brown Banner Army was probably an even larger force, and it would be very difficult for them to hold out here.
“There’s not completely without hope. If we find the Fiend Star Dragon in the Ancient Relics and inform the Orderer of Green Bull Mountain in time, I believe the Orderer will not allow the Slaughter Country Army to step into Runyu City,” Hu Bailing spoke at this point.
“One day’s time should be enough for us to find the Fiend Star Dragon. You stay in the city, and if we can’t find it, abandon Runyu City. Better to keep the green mountains,” Zhu Minglang said to the Hu Family Siblings.
The most persistent about Runyu City were naturally the Hu Family Army; they hoped to rebuild their homeland.
Zhu Minglang, on his part, was rather indifferent; it wasn’t anything he couldn’t let go of. If the overall situation was set, giving it up to Slaughter Country wasn’t a big deal. If it really couldn’t be helped, they could temporarily avoid the sharp edge and when the right opportunity came, they could take the city back.
“Yeah, we understand. Rest assured, we won’t make any meaningless sacrifices. It is you who must be careful if you really are going into the relic,” Hu Chongming said.
Based on the clues brought back by Hu Chongming, Li Xinghua began to search for the Ancient Relics hidden in Runyu City.
Prophets are not omnipotent. A matter they wish to know, in the Prophet’s Divine Sense, is like a shattered puzzle; the more related fragments and clues found, the more accurate the information pieced together will be.
The news provided by Hu Chongming was particularly crucial, narrowing the search range for the Prophet, and it also enabled them to deduce the location of the Ancient Fissures based on previous minor summons.
“Are you sure it’s here?” Zhu Minglang inquired.
Standing in the poplar forest of Runyu City, the warm winter did not ruin the city’s forest scenery, which remained verdant.
The poplar forest was at the edge of the city, with many abandoned orchards as well, and at a glance, one could see many scattered little cabins in the woods, sadly all covered in green moss.
In the past, this place must have been inhabited by many tree and fruit farmers. On the way here, they passed a small fruit town, which was just as dilapidated and uninhabited.
“Star Painting, there is a large stele over there,” Nan Lingsha pointed to the edge of the woods and said.
“Let’s go take a look.”
The three approached the large stele, which was almost obscured by lush vines, surrounded entirely by weeds taller than a person, and the stele itself was covered in vine plants, resembling a strangely wrapped tree, standing in the cluttered thicket.
“Whoooosh”
Suddenly, a chill washed over them as if blown from the depths of the forest, mixed with an odor of darkness and decay.
Zhu Minglang walked forward, parting the wild vines in front of him, and quickly ascertained that this peculiar cold breath was indeed emanating from the abandoned stele!
A spatial fissure!
This stele was the location of the fissure!!
It turned out that another entrance to the Ancient Relics was truly within Runyu City. Zhu Minglang, elated, turned his head and said, “It’s here.”
Li Xinghua gently placed her hand on the stele. In fact, her palm did not make contact with the stele, but between the stele and the palm of her hand there undulated a strange ripple, like an ultra-calm lake, reflecting a perfect scene, yet the ripples from the breeze distinguished reality from the reflection.
Behind the stele, there was another world.
Ordinary people couldn’t see it, nor could they touch it, and even if they walked straight ahead, they would never be able to fully open the Door of Fissure.
“Let’s go inside.” Li Xinghua’s face shone with a touch of radiance and pleasure, as she harbored a special yearning for ancient and unknown things.
“Before I go…”
Zhu Minglang had not finished speaking, when Nan Lingsha already stepped into the ancient fissure.
Zhu Minglang gave a wry smile, wondering why Nan Lingsha could always maintain such a disdainful attitude, as if the gods and demons of the world meant nothing to her.
With Nan Lingsha taking the lead, Zhu Minglang and Li Xinghua followed her into the Ancient Ruins.
What the Ancient Ruins looked like, they couldn’t guess.
It could be a terrifying Mourning Dragon’s Lair, after all, the Mourning Dragons had emerged from there, rapidly proliferating across the land to form a Mourning Dragon Clans.
“It’s a bit dark,” Li Xinghua whispered.
She seemed to be afraid of the dark, but in order to explore ancient things and to seek the laws of antiquity and the future, she walked forward step by step.
Zhu Minglang supported her, walking deeper into the rift.
But this fissure was deeper and longer and darker than the secret path in the valley they had encountered before; and as they walked, Nan Lingsha’s figure vanished from sight and gradually her footsteps also disappeared.
“Ling Sha?” Li Xinghua called out.
There was no reply.
She had been just ahead a moment ago, and then suddenly, she was gone!
Zhu Minglang hurriedly quickened his pace, trying to call out to Nan Lingsha, who had walked too fast.
“Young master, don’t chase!” Li Xinghua hurriedly grabbed Zhu Minglang’s hand.
“What’s wrong?”
“It may be alternate space pathways; Ling Sha might have taken another fissure,” Li Xinghua said.
“If I walk a few more steps, we’ll also get lost?” Zhu Minglang asked.
Li Xinghua nodded.
Walking in such dark fissures, it was easy to lose the concept of time, and Zhu Minglang wasn’t sure if they had been there for several hours, or for days and nights.
When finally there was a glimmer of light ahead, Zhu Minglang let out a long sigh of relief.
“Ling Sha might have already made it inside the ruins,” Li Xinghua said.
“Hmm, I didn’t expect this small Door of Fissure to have such mysteries,” Zhu Minglang nodded.
The light grew brighter and brighter, like passing through a narrow mountain valley, and finally, they saw an incredibly vast plain.
What unfolded before Zhu Minglang was a massive forest with trees that reached straight into the sky, their canopies obscuring the sun. Walking through this immense forest, Zhu Minglang and Li Xinghua both felt as if their bodies had shrunk.
It was a sight similar to what they had seen in the valley of the ruins before; everything here was extraordinarily large, including the flowers, grass, birds, and insects…