Emperor Wu Shihuang's handwriting, do not go out of the Milky Way border

After a while, the group arrived at a huge mountain range. Huo Ling'er walked over and spoke to Ying Zheng and the others.

"Our destination for today is just ahead. It might be a bit dangerous inside, so please be careful."

Ying Zheng nodded.

There are very few things in this world that can pose a threat to him. He treats these ancient ruins with a calm and ordinary attitude.

Ying Zheng looked around and found that a lot of people had gathered around the ruins.

Most of them were elderly people with one foot in the grave, who probably came to the ruins to try their luck, hoping to make one more step forward at the last moment.

"Ying Zheng, do you think we can find anything good in these ruins?"

Huo Luan asked.

Throughout the journey, Huo Luan remained completely silent, as if she were invisible.

Once they reached the ruins, he seemed to open up and become very talkative.

"That's hard to say, it depends on your own fate. Your primary task now is to properly digest what I've given you."

The item that Ying Zheng gifted to Huo Luan was not a rare object that ordinary people could possess; even in some long-sealed ancient ruins, it might not be possible to find its trace.

That treasure, if placed in the outside world, would be considered a priceless and rare gem, its value beyond measure by ordinary standards.

“I understand. When the time comes, I’ll just take whatever I can get from these ancient ruins. I won’t fight or grab; I’ll just focus on digesting what you gave me.”

Huo Luan looked at Ying Zheng and said sincerely.

Looking at Huo Luan, Donghuang Taiyi recalled the scene when Ying Zheng gifted Huo Luan that treasure. To be honest, he himself longed for such an opportunity, but he didn't know how to ask Ying Zheng for it.

Therefore, Donghuang Taiyi thought he would try his luck in these ancient ruins to see if he could find something that could help him improve his strength.

"Let's go inside."

Huo Ling'er came to Ying Zheng's side and said softly.

Ying Zheng nodded to Huo Ling'er, then beckoned to Huo Luan, Donghuang Taiyi, and Kong Xuan beside him.

"The restrictions on this ancient ruin have been lifted; we can go in now."

Ying Zheng spoke to Donghuang Taiyi and the other two.

Thus, led by Huo Ling'er, the group stepped into this legendary ancient ruin.

The moment Ying Zheng stepped into the ruins, an ancient aura enveloped him.

"It seems that these ancient ruins are indeed genuine; we've come to the right place."

Ying Zheng addressed the group.

Before this, Ying Zheng had indeed explored so-called ancient ruins, but some of them were nothing more than empty shells.

Even more absurdly, some places that claim to be ancient ruins are filled with an atmosphere exactly the same as the present world.

Therefore, when Ying Zheng stepped into this place, the ancient aura he was greeted with convinced him that this was a genuine ancient ruin.

"Of course, the place I brought you here could not be fake."

Upon hearing Ying Zheng's words, Huo Ling'er spoke to the group with considerable pride.

After saying that, Huo Ling'er continued to lead Ying Zheng and the others forward.

At this moment, Kong Xuan walked to Huo Ling'er's side and asked.

"Have you been to this ancient site before? You seem quite familiar with it."

Huo Ling'er smiled upon hearing this and said to Kong Xuan.

“You’re right, I did come here before. But I only went a short distance, but I already gained a lot then.”

Huo Ling'er paused for a moment, then continued.

"We can't stay together indefinitely at this ancient site; we need to split up and explore. Otherwise, it'll be difficult to distribute what we find. What do you all think?"

Hearing Huo Ling'er's words, everyone nodded in agreement, and then each chose a direction and walked forward.

Huo Ling'er chose a route heading north, while Kong Xuan and Dong Taiyi explored their respective areas not far from her.

Ying Zheng casually chose a direction and strolled forward. For him, unless some innate treasure of supreme value appeared, ordinary things would no longer be of any help in improving his strength.

As Ying Zheng walked alone, several figures were quietly following him not far away.

Before Ying Zheng lay a vast ancient forest. He leaped lightly among the branches, constantly using his divine sense to explore his surroundings, but there seemed to be nothing of interest to be found.

Is he heading this way?

One of the men, dressed in a black robe, whispered to the other two.

"That's right, he headed straight for that ancient jungle. It seems he's chosen a good burial place for himself."

The other person curled up a cold smile.

"In that case, the task Li Yang assigned us can be easily completed. Keep following him and don't let him get away."

After speaking, the man in black robes went straight into the ancient forest and followed Ying Zheng's trail.

Ying Zheng came to an ancient tree, which was completely different from the other trees around it, and immediately caught his attention.

"This tree is quite interesting."

Ying Zheng muttered to himself.

He reached out and gently stroked the tree trunk, while simultaneously using his Dao power to carefully perceive everything about the tree.

A moment later, Ying Zheng discovered that the tree contained an extremely abundant amount of wood element, pure and rich.

He immediately uprooted the tree and put it away.

"Let's study it properly when we get back. For now, let's put it away."

Just as Ying Zheng finished speaking, three figures suddenly appeared in front of him; they were the three who had been following him all along.

However, at this moment, the three of them had changed their clothes and their faces were covered with black veils.

Ying Zheng feigned a panicked expression and looked at the three people in front of him.

"What do you three want? You're not here to rob me, are you? I haven't found anything good, please don't rob me."

The three men, who had initially thought Ying Zheng was a tough nut to crack, burst into laughter upon hearing these words.

"If you know what's good for you, hand over all your valuables right now, or don't blame us for being impolite."

A man in black shouted at Ying Zheng.

Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng cautiously took out the tree he had just put away and placed it beside him.

"This is all the tree I have left. If you want it, feel free to take it."

The man in black gave a cold laugh.

"You'd better bring it to me obediently, or I'll let you taste what despair is like."

Just as the man in black was speaking, the other two had already quietly circled around Ying Zheng from behind and surrounded him.

Upon seeing this, Ying Zheng calmly said...

"Is it just the three of you who came?"

Upon hearing Ying Zheng's words, the man in black vaguely sensed that he was somewhat different from before.

"Don't try any tricks on me! Even if there are only three of us, we can easily take you down."

Ying Zheng deliberately chose a direction that was far away from the crowd, with the aim of luring Li Yang and his group there.

It's a pity that Li Yang didn't come; only a few of his underlings did.

"Then you might as well give it a try."

Ying Zheng spoke to the three men expressionlessly. Before he finished speaking, the two men behind him attacked simultaneously.

Ying Zheng didn't even turn his head, directly exposing his back to the two of them.

Seeing this, the man in black assumed that Ying Zheng had been frightened into a stupor, and immediately rushed forward as well.

In his view, with the three of them attacking together, Ying Zheng had no chance of escape.

Ying Zheng sighed softly.

"I didn't want to start killing again, but you brought this on yourselves."

None of them heard Ying Zheng's words clearly.

Just when they thought they were about to succeed, they suddenly found themselves out of control and fell backward together.

With just a light step, Ying Zheng caused the three men's bodies to begin to shatter into pieces, leaving several fragments of flesh and blood on the ground in an instant.

After dealing with these people, Ying Zheng waved his right hand, and the tree instantly returned to his hand, which he then put away.

"Since you're going to do this, don't blame me for being impolite."

Ying Zheng muttered to himself, but there was no one around, and he didn't know who he was talking to.

Ying Zheng did not set off to search for Huo Ling'er and the others at this moment, but continued to travel along the route he had chosen.

He hadn't walked far when the sound of fighting caught his attention.

"Hand over what you have, or you'll be wiped out of this world today!"

A scarred man wielding a long black knife spoke menacingly to a thin boy in front of him.

The boy was holding a square, black stone in his arms, which was emitting a faint light.

Faced with the scarred man's threats, the boy clung tightly to the stone and crawled backward in terror.

"Please, please let me go. This is the last thing my mother left me..."

The boy pleaded in a weak voice.

As Ying Zheng watched this scene, his gaze was drawn to the black stone that emitted a faint light.

"Let you go? Just hand over what you have in your hand and I'll let you go."

The scarred man held a long knife to the boy's neck and said coldly.

In his view, the boy had no chance of escape. Countless people died every day in these ancient ruins, so what difference would one more make?

"Help! Someone please save me..."

As the scarred man approached, the boy finally couldn't help but shout.

Looking at the scene before him, Ying Zheng secretly pondered whether he should intervene to save the boy.

Upon hearing the boy's shouts, the scarred man burst into laughter.

"Who will come to save you in this place? Even if you scream your lungs out, no one will come. Hand over what you have right now!"

After saying that, the scarred man strode forward and snatched the black stone from the boy's hand.

However, the boy suddenly bit the scarred man's arm, causing the stone to fall to the ground. The boy reacted quickly, picking the stone up again.

The scarred man shook his bitten arm and slapped the boy across the face.

"You little bastard, how dare you bite me! Even if the King of Hell himself comes today, you'll still die here!"

The scarred man raised his long black knife and slashed fiercely at the boy.

The boy stared at the long sword coming straight at him, then slowly closed his eyes, as if he had accepted his impending death.

"Mother, your unfilial son is coming to be with you..."

The boy murmured, two clear tears sliding down his cheeks.

The black longsword drew a graceful arc in the air, but just as it was about to touch the boy, something unexpected happened to the scarred man.

Suddenly, the black longsword veered off course and slashed towards the boy's left, just barely missing him.

The scarred man sheathed his long sword, looked around warily, and shouted sharply.

"Who dares to ruin my plans? If you've got the guts, step forward and let grandpa see what you look like!"

However, the surroundings were eerily silent, which made the scarred man feel a little uneasy.

"I've heard that these ancient ruins are quite eerie. Could it be that there are really ghosts or monsters from ancient times causing trouble..."

The scarred man muttered to himself.

"Stop playing tricks! Come out right now, or don't blame me for being impolite!"

The scarred man suddenly shouted, as if to embolden himself.

However, no one responded after he finished speaking.

The scarred man shook his head, thinking that he might have been hallucinating, and then carried the large knife back towards the boy.

Are you ready to die?

The scarred man grinned menacingly at the boy.

Before he finished speaking, he raised his long sword again and slashed at the boy.

However, just like before, at the very moment the long knife was about to touch the boy, it was struck by a pebble and deflected to the side.

This enraged the scarred man. He sheathed his long sword and began wildly slashing at his surroundings.

"Who's playing tricks here? Show yourself if you dare!"

The scarred man chopped up the surrounding plants, but still couldn't find a single person.

"So you're not coming out, huh? You just wait!"

The scarred man angrily hoisted his long knife and left, no longer caring about the stone in the boy's hand.

As soon as the scarred man left, the boy knelt down and choked out a message.

"Thank you so much for saving my life! May I have the honor of meeting you, my benefactor?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Ying Zheng slowly walked out of the void.

Why is he hunting you down?

Ying Zheng asked calmly.

Upon hearing this, the boy handed the black stone in his hand to Ying Zheng.

“He wants this stone in my hand. This stone is helpful to his cultivation, so he wants to take it from me.”

When Ying Zheng saw the boy hand over the stone directly, he asked a question.

"You're just going to hand me this stone like that? Aren't you afraid I'm just like him, here to steal your things?"

The boy hesitated for a moment, but did not withdraw his hand that had offered the stone.

“My benefactor, I believe you. I believe you are not that kind of person.”

A faint smile appeared on the boy's face.

Upon hearing this, Ying Zheng's lips curled into a faint smile.

"Keep it safe, I won't look at it. But why are you in these ancient ruins?"

When Ying Zheng came in, he saw mostly cultivators like himself, and this was the first time he had ever seen a little boy like him.

When the boy first appeared, Ying Zheng had already used his Dao power to examine him and found that there was no Dao power fluctuation in his body.

Therefore, he became curious about the boy's origins. If the boy was alone, that was rather unsettling. (End of Chapter)