The Sacred Ruins

Mount Qinling, in a general sense, was a mountain range which traversed the middle part China from east to west. It was revered as the dragon vein of ancient Chinese civilization.

It could be said that its status was extremely high and could rightly be called a land chosen by the heavens. Mount Qinling was a living part of human history, and the region it passed through once flourished with the most brilliant flames of civilization.

In a narrower sense, Mount Qinling was south of Shanxi and at the intersection of Wei River and Han River. It was bordered by Ba River and Dan River Valley in the east, and by the Jialing River in the west.

Chu Feng arrived at Mount Qinling in Shanxi province.

Whether it was in a broader sense or otherwise, this was the most succinct part of the Qinling Mountain Range.

The extraterrestrials were very powerful. They had descended for over 22 years and had already grasped countless scripts and volumes. They were familiar with ancient landforms and very knowledgeable in history.

From a certain perspective, they knew more about the earth than the earthlings.

At the same time, they had studied about this star since before they descended here and knew about its past.

But parts of those facts were already gone from earth because there was a break in civilization when the whole star withered. The brilliance of the past had long since been destroyed. Earth had been in decline for countless years.

Chu Feng arrived and met up with those from the Pre-Qin Research Institute. They chatted away delightfully.

Qi Honglin, the person in charge of the Pre-Qin Research Institute, was now full of black hair and appeared to be in great physical condition. His strength had also increased by a great margin.

He could be considered well acquainted with Chu Feng. Back then, he had gifted Chu Feng the jade piece containing the Demon Flood Dragon Fist as an apology for his grandson’s behavior.

"We will be depending on Brother Chu when we enter the mountain later," said Qi Honglin.

Chu Feng nodded with a smile. "Elder Qi is too polite. I also wanted to experience the legendary ancient grounds of the Mount Qinling. Some consider it a divine mountain, while others say it’s a dragon vein. I think all of them are logical. Since I became a domain researcher, I have always wanted to step into this place. But I know my own strength is limited since, after all, I’m no longer an evolved being. Today, rather than say that I’m helping everyone, we should say that I’m fulfilling one of my own wishes."

Qi Honglin’s expression was complicated. This young man before him used to be able to shake the whole world and suppress all the corporations until they couldn’t even raise their heads. He had almost wiped out the Archaic Alliance and the Extraterrestrial Research Institute. Today, his identity had changed after losing all his combat power. He had become a domain researcher, but his temperament was so natural. This made people sigh regretfully.

Naturally, there were some who revealed odd expressions as they recalled the unbridled Chu Feng of the past. It could be said that he was tyrannical to the extreme, a stark contrast from his current amiable manner.

Some people felt that he was someone who recognized the situation. Today, he had considered himself a supporter in service of the powerful evolved beings.

Many people were secretly delighted despite not saying it out loud.

There was a time when Chu Feng had suppressed the corporations miserably. Their expressions would change whenever they discussed him, and they would all tremble in fear when facing him.

Now, many people could finally stand proud. It was like a certain return to glory.

Naturally, they didn’t openly display their thoughts. After all, all parties needed to cooperate with domain researchers and required Chu Feng to take action and open the mountains and rivers.

The toad was glancing sideways from a distance. It would glance momentarily at Chu Feng and then at those people.

It was cursing Chu Feng for being a swindler, an evil domain researcher, and that he wasn’t a good person at all. The latter lowering his stance like so probably meant he had something evil in mind.

It couldn’t help but sneer when looking at those people. These people didn’t know who actually was the weak one. They had no idea who was the actual sheep and who was the hungry wolf. Once the cat comes out of the bag, many people would cry themselves to death.

Qi Honglin smiled and said, "Rest assured, Brother Chu, you are the center of your excursion into the mountain. We will definitely ensure your safety. Domain researchers are the most valuable nowadays. If we must describe and categorize our roles, then you are an intellectual worker while we are manual laborers."

Regardless of whether he was sincere or pretending, his words at least made one feel comfortable.

Chu Feng laughed as he greeted the relevant higher-ups. He was trying to search for the extraterrestrial all this time but simply couldn’t find him. All he had met so far were mainly from the Pre-Qin Research Institute.

"In truth, this time, we are joining forces with a few others. That senior has already entered the mountain," Qi Honglin told Chu Feng that there were other corporate agents arriving.

"Let’s go, don’t delay anymore. We should also head out." Xu Mei was now quite impatient. She twisted her hips elegantly and seductively.

Some of the corporate scions’ eyes were filled with flames because their seniors had told them that their position would inevitably rise if they could marry the daughter of a descended being.

The density of energy within the mountain was much higher than outside.

Mount Qinling was verdant with abnormally luxuriant vegetation. Great mountains were strung together endlessly.

The vitality within the mountain was exuberant with numerous species of birds and beasts within. The saw many deviant races that had given birth to some king level entities. All of this was caused by evolution.

Looking back at the nation’s history, this place was termed the dragon vein and it wasn’t without reason.

Chu Feng observed the geography as he went and revealed an astonished expression. There were many broken ancient domains in the depths of Mount Qinling. The many eras had completely erased them.

And this was only the exterior. One could imagine how important this place was in the ages past. The deepest area was definitely extraordinary.

Today, Mount Qinling was extremely large with apes crying and tigers roaring. A certain primitive aura rushed towards their faces. There were giant vines strewn across the ground like a ferocious sleeping dragon. Their thickness was shocking.

"Ah, why do I feel that a part of the folded space has merged with the corporeal world. Look, those plants don’t belong to earth." Chu Feng pointed towards the front.

They saw a sea of blue, a whole mountainside full of thorny growths. They were completely blue as if carved from crystal. There were no such species on earth.

Qi Honglin nodded and said, "Mm, it is indeed so. But fortunately, only the plants can appear on earth. Those gigantic beasts can’t escape this space. They would be completely obliterated if they take so much as half a step across the lightning lake."

Mount Qinling had grown larger. They met up with another group only after half a day.

Chu Feng finally met that extraterrestrial. He was an elder with white hair and clad in ancient style clothing. He was like an ancient who had come from many years past.

His eyes were special—they were yellowish brown and contained a slight tinge of golden color. He was still hale and hearty despite being quite old.

Qi Honglin spoke correctly. There were indeed people from other corporations. The old man just happened to be talking to the half burnt woman from Deity Biomedicals. They were smiling and seemed quite familiar with each other.

At the same time, Chu Feng also saw Lin Naoi. She had also come along.

"After a period of absence, our Little Mei has become even more beautiful," said the old man. He walked over with a smile, his golden pupils flowing with brilliant light.

"Hello, Grandpa Li!" Xu Mei greeted the old man with great familiarity.

Chu Feng was secretly astonished but didn’t reveal it. He felt that this old man was extremely powerful, much more so than the locals of earth. He had probably already severed his seventh shackle.

This was an extremely dangerous character!

But he immediately noticed that this old man surnamed Li, just like the half-burnt woman, wasn’t a person of the highest status.

That was because he could feel it in the way he talked to the old woman and how polite he was when he greeted Xu Mei.

Apparently, Xu Mei’s elder generation were the true descended beings. Those were the entities with the greatest strength and status.

"Let me guess. This must be Chu Feng, right? The younger generations will soon surpass us. You were able to comprehend those domain symbols on your own without being taught. This is truly an extraordinary feat. Additionally, you achieved significant attainments within a mere two or three months. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that you’re a rare talent."

The old man surnamed Li laughed as he walked over to greet Chu Feng. He cordially introduced himself as Li Canghe.

He patted Chu Feng’s shoulder and said intimately, "Little fellow, this time, we’re counting on you!"

Chu Feng felt somewhat odd coming into bodily contact like this with an extraterrestrial. However, he was completely natural on the surface—he was humble and subdued. He replied that he was just a new domain researcher who was still fumbling around and didn’t dare accept the elder’s praise.

"Grandpa Li, I’m very sad. Yanzhi, Xinghe, and Wucheng were all burnt to death. It was a miserable scene," Xu Mei said with red eyes.

Li Canghe sighed. "Don’t cry, child. It’s not the first time the scions of descended beings have died. A number of people have fallen in order to investigate the famed mountains. You have to be careful in the future. We can’t explore tombs of divine khans at the moment!"

They set out on their way once again and headed towards the depths of Mount Qinling.

On the way, Li Canghe explained in detail the aim of this excursion. He was quite frank and told Chu Feng that they had found an ancient cave with fragments of a divine beast egg.

However, some of them had already been swallowed by some wild birds and beasts.

And earlier on, some people had heard draconic cries and phoenix calls. They claimed to have seen a burning bird fledgling fly through the sky.

"What?!" Chu Feng was shocked.

Were divine beasts so common? He had caught a toad and now there was also a similar fledgling on Mount Qinling?

Li Canghe sighed and said, "It’s indeed inconceivable. It’s rare to find dragon and phoenix eggs even on those powerful ancient stars in the outer region. After many years, these things have become legends. No one could find any of them except perhaps on the top ten stars."

This was indeed greatly concerning. Any divine beast or sage beast would possess extremely powerful bloodlines. They would be absurdly powerful after they mature. A single divine beast could wipe out a powerful star.

The toad arrogantly glanced sideways when Li Canghe stressed that this kind of bloodline was terrifying.

Many people in the vicinity were rendered speechless. What was this toad being so proud of?

In the end, Chu Feng gave it a kick after seeing its attitude, sending him rolling on the ground. He then kicked it a couple times more until it was black and blue.

The toad cursed with teary eyes that these people weren’t able to recognize Mount Tai despite having eyes. "This grandpa is a divine beast, can’t anyone see?"

Naturally, the sounds that came out were just croaks. It didn’t dare use human language for fear of Chu Feng beating it up.

Li Canghe then continued, "Additionally, we’ve initially confirmed that the energy in the cave is very dense and the air is suffused with auspicious qi. A person who escaped that place alive said that he heard scriptures being recited by a stone wall. They sounded abstruse like ancient scriptures."

He came here to confirm whether or not there was really a divine beast fledgling and if there was a supreme breathing technique here.

Personal strength wasn’t always useful in such places because the specialties didn’t fit the job. They needed someone like Chu Feng.

Therefore, they were overjoyed after hearing that Chu Feng was with Xu Mei and had her immediately bring Chu Feng over.

Li Changhe didn’t hide anything and told Chu Feng that Mount Qinling could be considered a divine holy ground during earth’s era of brilliance. It was a land chosen by the heavens!

What was a land chosen by the heavens? It was a treasured land which even the heavens looked upon with favor!

This region wasn’t merely a holy ground erected by a powerful orthodoxy, but it was also incomparably prosperous and exceptionally glorious. There were all kinds of inheritances and schools.

"There’s an ancient imperial court under Mount Qinling. There is also a holy ground belonging to an immortal Taoist temple. Those orthodoxies are incomparably powerful, but they were drowned out after earth’s decline. They were covered up by the mountains and rivers. All their remains were buried beneath the earth." Li Canghe sighed.

Chu Feng was astonished at how candid this old man was. He was quite frank and actually didn’t hide anything from Chu Feng.

Chu Feng realized that such a land of glory naturally must be investigated thoroughly. Later on, they would definitely have to flip the whole Mount Qinling over!

At this time, some people glanced at Chu Feng with odd eyes because the descended being thought so highly of him and told him everything there was to know.

Only Lin Naoi was calm and didn’t express her opinion along the way.

Chu Feng had already greeted her. There was a certain feeling of dullness between them. It seemed they had grown apart somewhat.

As they went deeper, they were joined by yet another group of people. At this point, their party was full.

Four great corporations were present—the Archaic Alliance, the Pre-Qin Research Institute, Deity Biomedicals, and the Extraterrestrial Research Institute had all dispatched experts for this excursion. There were also people from the young generation who had come to gain experience.

Among them, the Archaic Alliance and The Extraterrestrial Research Institute were almost wiped out by Chu Feng at one point. Now after meeting him again, their expressions were complicated. There was coldness, fear, and a sense of Schadenfreude on their faces.

Chu Feng noticed that there was a certain mutual understanding between extraterrestrials. At least, those who had descended 22 years ago were currently working together without enmity.

That was because this old man surnamed Li and the old woman got along quite well. Additionally, the numerous corporations joining hands on Mount Qinling showed that the aces behind the respective parties were in contact.

There were some special young people in this group. Some of them were clad in old styled clothing, while others were wearing modern apparel. All of them greeted Xu Mei warmly after seeing her.

It seemed Xu Mei was quite familiar with them and their relationship was quite good. She walked over to chat with them.

Chu Feng realized these youngsters must be of the same status as Li Xinghe, Yu Hanzhi, and the others. All of them were the younger generation of those descended beings.

At this time, some corporate scions also approached with amiable smiles and began to interact with them. They all acted politely in an attempt to form a closer relationship.

Even some of the normally arrogant beauties from the corporations were no longer cold and aloof. They were quite passionate as they chatted happily with the special youngsters.

Before long, an exceptionally beautiful and alluring lady noticed Chu Feng. She smiled at him and extended her greetings.

Very soon, a girl arrived near Chu Feng and whispered in his ears, "Our Princess Lin wishes to be friends with you."

With that, she pointed towards the most beautiful lady among the special group. She was indeed excessively pretty—she possessed an immortal like temperament but also a demoness like charm and spirit. As she smiled sweetly at Chu Feng, the whole area seemed to become brighter all of a sudden.