In another area of the ruins—
*Siii!* a rift—one that is much larger than the one that Nuo'er had torn open, appears in the middle of the forest; and from within this rift—
"…"
"…"
Taking the lead, Qing Ming Yang and Lin Yu Heng stepped out of the rift.
Following the twos' emergence, many more figures—dressed in archaic robes, walked out of the rift, and looked around the area with a curious gleam in their eyes.
"Uh? A forest?"
"Qing-xiong, didn't you say we'd appear near a city?"
"That's…?"
The marker that Qing Ming Yang had created—via his divine senses, is only able to give a rough coordinate; hence—
"My marker isn't too precise. Maybe if we move a bit further along, we'll find that city?"
"…"
Shrugging his shoulders, Lin Yu Heng accepts this explanation, and remarks—
"In any case…"
"Un."
Simultaneously, the two turns to their clansmen, who number in the two-hundreds; and towards them, Qing Ming Yang says—
"Remember, safety first. You're all mainly here to acquire experience, but if you're feeling lucky, you can attempt to capture a weapon spirit of your own. Also, be sure to conserve as much spirit Qi as possible; the outer domain of the Leng Bing Realm—spirit Qi here isn't as abundant, you'd be wise to keep this fact in mind at all times."
"Qing-xiong, is it true that all the weapons obtained by subjugating a weapon spirit of this world is of better quality than those that can be found outside?"
Rather quickly, one of the clansmen asks this, and towards this, Qing Ming Yang replies—
"For those in the Core Formation realm and under, it's true. Anything above that requires extreme luck."
Adding to this, Lin Yu Heng takes out his spear, and says—
"This spear of mine was also obtained from this world, and it has served me well over the years."
Sounds of awe came from the Ling Yuan family's practitioners—all of whom couldn't wait to get started with hunting down weapon spirits.
"Right, let's get moving."
...…
To make the task of excavating this ruin easier, the excavation team has split themselves into 30-odd-man-groups at the entrance.
"…"
"…"
Sticking with the group, Long Hua walks through the forest with Tian Cheng beside him.
The sky of this ruin is still day out—making it easy to navigate through.
But once night falls, the plan is to set up a tent as soon as possible.
"…"
Those who are positioned to the outer edges of the masses would carve a marker onto a nearby tree as they walked by it.
So far, nothing unusual has happened; however—
"…"
The quieter things were, the harsher Long Hua's frown became.
Using his divine senses, Long Hua has a much better visual of the surroundings than anyone else, and for as far as he can see so far, there is not a single trace of life to be found.
Other than dirt and trees, the only other things to be seen are the various models of Lord Tian She Zi, which are scattered throughout the forest—all of which are unique in their own ways.
(Dammit, the more statues I see, the more irritated I become for some reason…)
Rotating the Tranquil Heart Incantation, Long Hua regains his composure at a gradual rate, while retracting his divine senses.
"Long-laoban."
"Hm?"
Turning to Li Xue, who is dressed in a white cardigan with a pair of black trousers, Long Hua raises an eye, and asks—
"Something up, surnamed Li?"
"Just felt like saying, thanks."
"For what?"
"The Spirit Extract."
"That was your own luck; nothing to do with me."
Smiling faintly, Li Xue replies—
"But if you hadn't hosted a drawing, I wouldn't have had that opportunity."
(Ai, *-laoban, what a purehearted girl this surnamed Li is, and yet… Your heart is as black as the night.)
Towards Li Xue's heartfelt words of gratitude, Long Hua raises a light chuckle, while thinking—
(A means to provide this world with false hope, and to have these people fight harder—under the belief that this false hope is genuine… If anyone found out about my true intentions in hosting that drawing, how would they react?)
Sniffing the air, Long Hua frowns, and mutters—
"Rain, is it?"
...…
"…"
Sniffing the air—
"Tch…"
A young man—dressed in a sleeveless black shirt with a pair of loose white pants and sandals, clicked his tongue.
Wrapped around the young man's forehead was a black bandana; and if one must point out a unique trait of his, then it would have to be his two-colored hair, which is predominantly pale blue with portions of it stained white.
Other than that, his feral yellow eyes would cause anyone who makes eye contact with him to feel like he is an unfriendly individual.
"The air reeks of foreigners."
"Yáng Hǎi, you able to tell how many of them there are?"
Standing behind the young man were similarly dressed individuals.
Age-group wise, all these individuals appear to be less than thirty.
Towards the one who had asked him that question, Yang Hai shakes his head, and answers—
"Too many."
"Ai… Seems like our village is destined to be discovered."
These individuals have lived within the grounds of this ruin for as far as they can remember, and from the elders, they've heard tales of the outside world to be an unfriendly place.
Collectively, the group heaves a sigh, and—
"Lord Tian She Zi, grant us your protection."
"Lord Tian She Zi, grant us your blessings."
Prayers—offered through these words, are spoken aloud.
The village these individuals hail from is a place called the Serpent Deity Village, and for the residents of this world, Lord Tian She Zi is their god of worship.
"Lord Tian She Zi, grant us your might."
Offering a prayer of his own, Yang Hai turns to the others, and says—
"Let's just return to the village, and report to the chief. We can decide on how to treat these foreigners after."
"Agreed."
"Let us hurry then, before the sun sets."
Towards this last statement, Yang Hai replies—
"I'm more concerned about the rain."