Chosen One, how did I end up as the villain?

"Tap, tap"

The light footsteps tapped the ground, producing a crisp sound.

Like a ray of dawn breaking through the long-sealed ancient city.

The sound was resonant and exceptionally clear.

As if drawn by it, a chilling wind swept through the dimly lit area.

Qin Huaiyu snapped out of his thoughts and felt a chill inexplicably run down his spine.

Compared to the outside, you only truly understand what cold and dampness means when you go inside.

It was a coldness that came from within, rising from the depths of the heart and spreading throughout the body.

The yin energy here is far more concentrated than what you can feel outside, almost to the point of being tangible.

Even the exhaled breath is misty, drifting in the air without diminishing.

Moreover, seemingly influenced by this, the city is desolate, but there are no weeds or thorns, only dark windows and empty beams, a scene of devastation.

Ci Ning tightened her collar and moved closer to Qin Huaiyu.

It seems that only in this way can one feel somewhat safe.

Qin Huaiyu ignored him; at that moment, he felt like he was in a real-life version of Fengmen Village.

The empty house and deep alley were eerie and terrifying, with occasional wisps of dust, as if something was lurking in the shadows.

The old buildings facing the street are strangely shaped and jagged, like filthy things standing upright, their mouths wide open, waiting for someone destined to find them.

It was so quiet, so utterly quiet, that you could hear your own heartbeat clearly.

"...Something's not right. Why is it so deserted? There's not even a skeleton in sight." Ci Ning whispered, afraid of breaking the silence.

Qin Huaiyu nodded and said:

"It's really weird, look at what's on the street."

He pointed to a patch of black spots and said:

"These are likely traces of blood, weathered and remaining, and there are more than one!"

Ci Ning glanced at it, then looked into the distance. Indeed, there were many such spots, not only on the streets, but also on the houses.

She was even more puzzled and said:

"According to you, if the traces are blood, then many people must have died in this city. Where are they? Did they just vanish into thin air?"

Qin Huaiyu was also unaware; he frowned slightly and said:

"Look at the dilapidated state of the surrounding houses, the broken wooden beams, the splintered ends, the collapsed buildings in irregular shapes. There was clearly a major battle here, otherwise it wouldn't have been destroyed like this."

Ci Ning also agreed with this statement, but how could people explain it?

"Has someone come and collected our ancestors' remains?"

Qin Huaiyu shook his head, thinking it was unlikely.

He said:

"Since it's a great war, there must be both sides. Our ancestors died in battle, and naturally, the enemy also died. What happened to their remains? They were all collected. You have such good intentions!"

"How could that be?"

Ci Ning resolutely rejected the idea: "Collecting the enemy's corpses? Wouldn't that be an insult to our ancestors?"

"If you know all this, then who would be so foolish?"

“…………”

Ci Ning rolled her beautiful eyes at him and said:

"If you can't speak, you don't have to!"

Qin Huaiyu smiled and said:

"That won't do. A gentleman uses words, not fists."

"You can be a villain!"

"I'm sorry, but I've studied the teachings of sages and possess knowledge of etiquette, benevolence, wisdom, and trustworthiness. It's impossible for me to be a petty person!"

"Don't disgrace the sages; they weren't as cunning as you," Ci Ning mocked.

"Can I assume you're jealous?"

"I'm being sarcastic!"

"Irony? That only proves you're more envious."

Could you be any more shameless?

"Just telling the truth!" Qin Huaiyu spread his hands, looking serious.

"..."

Ci Ning was utterly speechless. He had seen shameless people before, but he had never seen anyone so shameless.

That's absolutely shameless.

Seeing that she had relaxed, Qin Huaiyu stopped teasing her.

Using a bit of banter is simply to keep the other person from getting too tense, lest they become a ticking time bomb later.

"Alright, getting angry is bad for your health. Let's go inside and take a look. After all, it's where cultivators live; they might still have something left behind," he said.

Upon hearing this, Ci Ning became interested.

The two then went into the nearest two-story building.

However, not long after, the two came out and went into another building.

Another round of entry and exit...

After about fifteen minutes, having searched five or six buildings, the two returned to the street, quite dejected.

Qin Huaiyu was speechless. Were all ancient cultivators this stingy? Apart from finding some unknown pills, they found nothing else.

"No remains, no treasures, this is truly bizarre!"

Ci Ning was very depressed and said:

"This city truly is a ghost town. If I had known this, I wouldn't have wasted my time."

Qin Huaiyu curled his lip and said:

"You're skilled in medicine, what kind of elixir did you find earlier?"

After hearing this, Ci Ning took out a dark, ordinary pill and said:

"Ordinary healing pills are not very effective. If they are left for too long, their medicinal properties will have long since disappeared. Now they are just useless waste balls."

As she spoke, she threw the pill away with obvious disgust.

"Ordinary pills!"

Qin Huaiyu frowned and asked:

"Would this pill be useful for high-level cultivators?"

"It's useful, but not very effective. Besides, why would a high-level cultivator bother with it..."

As Ci Ning was speaking, she suddenly realized something, her eyes lit up, and she said:

"Could it be that most of the cultivators in this city are low-level cultivators? That means that those who came to this ancient land weren't only ancient powerful beings!"

Qin Huaiyu nodded. He understood something. No wonder ancient cultivators were almost extinct. It turned out they had all come to the ancient land and died here.

But what kind of enemy could have nearly caused a collapse in the cultivation world, forcing almost the entire cultivation community to flee to another location...?

To preserve race?