Immortality Cultivation: I can use my clansmen’s energy and blood to add points.

After hearing this, Qing Shuang's eyes sparkled with excitement: "Then can we go explore the ruins?"

Luo Chen nodded, but his expression immediately turned serious: "However, such ruins are often full of dangers, and we must be fully prepared."

Qing Shuang nodded firmly: "No matter what, I will be with you."

A warm feeling surged in Luo Chen's heart. He knew that no matter what the road ahead held, as long as Qingshuang was by his side, he would have endless courage and strength.

They began to prepare for the upcoming expedition, gathering necessary supplies and information.

During the preparation process, they also continued to study the mysterious map, trying to decipher the secrets contained in it.

As the days passed, Luo Chen and Qing Shuang's preparations were gradually completed.

They know that a new adventure is about to begin, and this mysterious relic may change their destiny.

The night before departure, Luo Chen and Qing Shuang sat in the courtyard outside the house, gazing up at the starry sky.

Luo Chen looked up at the starry sky, with complex emotions surging in his heart.

He whispered to Qingshuang: "Qingshuang, I always feel that this expedition is a little unusual. Although we have been prepared as fully as possible, the unknown in the ruins is always difficult to predict."

Qingshuang smiled slightly, with a determined light in her eyes, "Brother Luo, no matter how many unknowns lie ahead, I will fight alongside you. Haven't we already gone through many difficulties together?"

Luo Chen nodded, feeling a warm feeling in his heart.

He knew that Qingshuang's words were not just empty comfort, but her persistence and belief.

"Yes, Qingshuang, as long as you are here, I have nothing to fear." Luo Chen held Qingshuang's hand tightly, and the two made a silent oath under the starlight.

The next morning, Luo Chen and Qing Shuang packed their bags and set out on their journey to the ruins.

They rode their spirit beasts, passed through dense forests, and crossed the mountains.

Along the way, they encountered various monsters, but they all avoided them skillfully.

After several days of trekking, they finally arrived at the location marked on the map.

It was a desolate valley surrounded by towering mountains. In the center of the valley stood an ancient stone gate covered with moss and vines.

"Is this the entrance marked on the map?" Qingshuang looked at the stone gate curiously.

Luo Chen nodded and took out a jade pendant from his arms. This was another item they got from the auction house, and it seemed to have some mysterious connection with this door.

He placed the jade pendant in the groove of the stone door, and the stone door made a dull roar and slowly opened.

An ancient and mysterious aura gushed out from the door, causing Luo Chen and Qing Shuang to hold their breath.

They walked into the stone gate carefully and found a huge underground cave inside.

The walls of the cave are inlaid with glowing gems, lighting the way forward.

They walked along the cave passage. The walls around them were engraved with ancient runes and murals, which seemed to tell an ancient story.

"Look at these murals, they seem to depict an ancient civilization." Qingshuang said, pointing to the patterns on the wall.

Luo Chen observed carefully and found that the characters in the murals were holding strange weapons and seemed to be performing some kind of ritual.

"Could these rituals be related to the secrets of the ruins?" he said to himself.

They continued to go deeper into the cave and finally came to a huge underground hall.

There is a stone platform in the center of the hall, on which is placed a transparent crystal ball.

There seems to be flowing light inside the crystal ball, constantly changing colors.

"Could this crystal ball be the core of the ruins?" Luo Chen was full of doubts.

Qingshuang walked forward and reached out to touch the crystal ball.

Suddenly, the crystal ball emitted a dazzling light, illuminating the entire hall.

Luo Chen and Qing Shuang only felt that a powerful force surrounded them, their consciousness gradually became blurred, as if they were sucked into an unknown space.

When they opened their eyes again, they found themselves standing in a strange world.

The sky here is purple, the earth is covered with golden sand, and in the distance there is a huge palace, emitting a mysterious glow.

"Where... where is this?" Qingshuang looked around in surprise.

Luo Chen shook his head. He didn't know where they were.

But his intuition told him that everything here was related to the crystal ball.

They decide to head to the palace, hoping to find a way back to the real world.

On their way to the palace, they encounter all sorts of bizarre creatures, some friendly, others hostile.

After a difficult battle, they finally arrived at the gate of the palace.

The gate of the palace slowly opened, revealing a magnificent hall with a huge throne in the center. Sitting on the throne was a man dressed in ancient costume.

"coming?"

As Luo Chen listened to the magnificent voice, he couldn't help but narrow his eyes slightly.

This person is not simple.

The god-like aura from his body alone is enough to prove a lot of things.

"Who are you?" Luo Chen asked in a deep voice, his hand unconsciously tightening the hilt of the sword at his waist.

The man slowly stood up from the throne. His figure was tall and majestic, as if the entire palace was trembling slightly under his pressure.

"I am the protector of this world, and the guardian of the ruins you seek."

His voice echoed in the empty hall, and every word seemed to contain endless power.

Qingshuang stood nervously beside Luo Chen. She could feel the power, but she was more curious about the unknown.

"Master Guardian, we have no intention of offending you. We just hope to find a way to return to the real world."

Qingshuang said respectfully.

The guardian smiled slightly, and that smile seemed to contain pity for the two mortals.

"You have already embarked on this path. If you want to go back, you must complete a mission."

Luo Chen and Qing Shuang looked at each other. They knew that this might be their only way out.

"Please make it clear, Lord Guardian, that we are willing to accept any test."

Luo Chen said firmly.

The guardian nodded, and with a slight wave of his finger, the ground in the center of the hall suddenly cracked, revealing a rotating light gate.

"After passing through this light gate, you will enter a trial land, where you must find three artifacts and bring them back here."

"Three divine artifacts?" Qingshuang asked doubtfully.

"Yes, three artifacts. Only by collecting them can you open the door to the real world." The voice of the guardian angel sounded again, full of unquestionable majesty.

Luo Chen and Qing Shuang did not hesitate. They knew that time was running out and every minute and every second could determine their life or death.

They held each other's hands tightly and stepped into the light gate together.

When they opened their eyes again, they found themselves standing in a strange forest.

The trees here are tall and twisted, with a faint blue light emitting from the branches and leaves, as if they are creatures from another world.

"We have to be careful, everything here is full of unknowns." Luo Chen reminded in a low voice.

Qingshuang nodded. She took out a piece of talisman paper from her waist and waved it gently. The talisman paper turned into a stream of light and flew into the sky, illuminating the way forward for them.

They moved cautiously through the forest, the silence all around them making them feel uneasy.

Luo Chen gripped the hilt of the sword tightly and observed his surroundings vigilantly, while Qingshuang used talisman paper from time to time to detect potential dangers.

"Luo Chen, look over there." Qingshuang suddenly said in a low voice, pointing to an open space not far away.

Luo Chen looked in the direction she pointed, and saw an ancient altar in the open space. In the center of the altar was a strange object emitting a faint light.

"That should be one of the three artifacts that the guardian god mentioned." Luo Chen said, with a hint of excitement in his eyes.

They slowly approached the altar. Luo Chen looked around vigilantly, while Qingshuang began to try to decipher the runes on the altar.

"These runes seem to record some kind of ancient ritual." Qingshuang said softly, his fingers gently brushing across the rune patterns.

"We have to be careful not to trigger any mechanisms." Luo Chen reminded. He knew very well that these ancient ruins often hid unknown dangers.

Just as they were about to conduct further research, suddenly, the ground around the altar began to shake, and cracks quickly spread.

"Retreat quickly!" Luo Chen shouted and pulled Qingshuang back quickly.

As the cracks in the ground widened, a huge figure slowly rose from underground. It was a giant made of stone with red light flashing in its eyes.

"It seems that we have triggered some kind of protection mechanism." Qingshuang said with a frown.

Luo Chen drew his sword, ready to fight the enemy that suddenly appeared.

"Qingshuang, you step back, I will deal with it." Luo Chen said in a deep voice, his eyes full of determination.

Qingshuang nodded. She knew Luo Chen's strength and understood that she needed to be there to support him.

Luo Chen engaged in a fierce battle with the stone giant, and the sound of swords colliding with stones echoed in the forest.

Qingshuang used talisman paper to provide assistance to Luo Chen, while looking for opportunities to attack the stone giant's weaknesses.

After a hard fight, Luo Chen finally found the stone giant's weakness and stabbed it into its chest with a sword.

The stone giant made a loud noise, then turned into a pile of rubble and scattered on the ground.

Luo Chen panted and turned to look at Qingshuang. They smiled at each other and both breathed a sigh of relief.

"It looks like we've found our first artifact."

Qingshuang said, walking towards the altar and carefully picking up the glowing object.

"Let's move on. There are two more artifacts waiting for us."

Luo Chen and Qing Shuang continued to go deeper into the forest. They knew that this was just the beginning and there were more challenges waiting for them ahead.

The air in the forest is humid and stuffy, and occasionally strange cries can be heard from afar, which makes people feel alert.

"Luo Chen, do you feel that the atmosphere here is becoming more and more weird?" Qingshuang asked softly, her eyes wandering around, trying to capture any unusual movements.

"Yeah, I felt it too, but we can't be distracted by these. We must concentrate on finding the remaining two artifacts." Luo Chen replied, his eyes firm and his hand gripping the hilt tighter.

They continued walking, and soon came to an open space.

There was an old stone bridge in the middle of the clearing, and the other end of the bridge seemed to lead to a darker area.

The stone bridge is covered with moss and vines, making it look particularly ancient and mysterious.

"Let's cross the bridge and take a look." Luo Chen suggested.

Qingshuang nodded, and the two of them stepped onto the stone bridge carefully.

The bridge was a little slippery, so they had to slow down to avoid falling.

Just as they reached the middle of the bridge, suddenly, a low roar came from under the bridge, and then a huge water dragon rose from the river, opened its huge mouth and attacked them.

"Be careful!" Luo Chen shouted, quickly pulling Qingshuang behind him and swinging his sword to attack.

The water dragon's attack was blocked by Luo Chen's sword energy, but its power was so great that it forced Luo Chen and Qing Shuang to retreat again and again.

Qingshuang reacted quickly, took out a piece of talisman paper from his waist, muttered something, and the talisman paper turned into a golden light and rushed straight towards the water dragon.

The golden light collided with the water dragon, bursting out with a dazzling light.

The water dragon let out a wail and gradually dissipated into the air.

Luo Chen and Qing Shuang finally breathed a sigh of relief. They knew that this was only part of the trial and the real challenge was still to come.

After crossing the bridge, they came to a swamp shrouded in fog.

The swamp was filled with a smell of decay, and the plants around it looked abnormally twisted, as if telling us that this world was unusual.

"The atmosphere here makes me feel uneasy." Qingshuang said with a frown.

"Let's be careful and not get swallowed by the swamp." Luo Chen reminded, and he began to probe the ground with the tip of his sword, looking for a safe path.

Just as they were moving forward cautiously, suddenly, the ground in the swamp began to wriggle, and huge tentacles stretched out from the mud and attacked them.

Luo Chen and Qing Shuang immediately separated and each fought against these sudden enemies.

Luo Chen wielded the sword, the sword light was like water, cutting off the tentacles one by one.

Qingshuang used the power of talisman paper to summon flames, burning the tentacles that tried to approach.

After a fierce battle, they finally destroyed all the tentacles.

Although they were both tired, there was a gleam of determination in their eyes.

They knew that as long as they kept moving forward, they would be able to find the remaining two artifacts.

"Let's keep going, Qingshuang." Luo Chen said. Although his voice was a little hoarse, it was full of determination.

Qingshuang nodded, she took out a new talisman paper from her waist, and waved it gently. The talisman paper turned into a soft light, illuminating the road ahead.

They continued on their journey, through the swamp, and came to a barren plain.

There was nothing on the plain except for the dust raised by the wind.

At the end of the plain, they saw an ancient temple. There was a gate of light at the entrance of the temple, which seemed to be the entrance to the next trial.

Luo Chen and Qing Shuang looked at each other. They knew that this would be the biggest challenge they faced. (End of this chapter)