Chapter 90: A Ruin Was No Exaggeration

Someone is trying to use the authority of the two holy lands to carry out some filthy business.

If we send our people there, they will surely fall into a trap!

The Grandmaster of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect spoke as though he had seen through the matter completely, his reasoning flowing with certainty.

When the others heard it, they thought the old sect master made sense.

The Heavenly Martial World had always been a place where the strong ruled. How could such a good thing appear for no reason at all?

Even if it did, it would be fought over endlessly. How could it be so easy?

With that in mind, everyone immediately ordered the more elite disciples of their respective sects to remain safely within their own grounds.

...

A few days later.

"This is obviously a scam. The sect even sent us to investigate what lies behind it—what is there to investigate?"

A young man spoke with obvious irritation, his face full of impatience.

He was the lowest-ranking disciple of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect.

His name was Lu Ran.

When the Ten Thousand Swords Sect moved from the Northern Realm to the Southern Wilderness this time, it was impossible for every disciple to come along. The spiritual transport vessels and teleportation arrays had limited capacity, so only a select group could be brought over.

The reason Lu Ran could come with the others was that he still had some use.

At the very least, he knew how to cultivate spiritual plants.

Though such a skill seemed rather insignificant, a sect could not grow without spiritual herbs and spirit plants. So Lu Ran was given the chance to come.

But now that they had arrived in the Southern Wilderness, there were simply too many people. Not to mention planting medicinal herbs, they barely had room to put down their feet.

Naturally, Lu Ran had lost his value.

Now that rumors were spreading that there were reclusive experts near the Black Ridge Mountain Range, the sect was unwilling to send out its elite disciples, so only useless people like them were dispatched.

Lu Ran knew this very well.

If there was danger in the Black Ridge Mountain Range, they were simply being sent to die.

There were countless legends about Black Ridge Mountain Range; he could spend a whole day counting them on his fingers.

Some days ago, the annihilation of the Hollow Silence Holy Land was said to be connected to the Black Ridge Mountain Range.

No one knew what terrifying thing lurked here.

"Damn it, what kind of sect is the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, sending me here just to die? If this goes on, I swear I’ll never go back..." Lu Ran muttered in anger as he walked deeper into the Black Ridge Mountain Range. The farther he went, the more afraid he became.

He could say this only because, as a low-ranking disciple who had never received much attention from the sect, he felt no sense of belonging and thus no loyalty either.

Lu Ran was still stewing in frustration when the sky suddenly darkened overhead. He looked up and saw a spiritual vessel floating in the air.

At that moment, the vessel was descending.

Before long, it landed on the ground. A bright banner came into Lu Ran’s sight.

The banner was a vivid yellow, embroidered with a dragon in red and gold threads. The dragon looked fierce and imposing.

"The Golden Dragon Imperial Clan!"

Seeing the vessel and the banner, Lu Ran was somewhat surprised.

The Golden Dragon Imperial Clan was a holy-land-level power of Central Province, and under its command were limitless resources.

"No way. The Golden Dragon Imperial Clan came to the Southern Wilderness too? What are they doing here?"

Lu Ran could not understand what these people were trying to do.

While he was still dazed, the people from the vessel had already stepped down.

A young man in bright yellow robes, followed by several guards, walked up to Lu Ran.

"My fellow daoist, I am Long Ruxuan of the Golden Dragon Imperial Clan. May I ask, are you a member of the Changsun family?"

Lu Ran froze. Hearing Long Ruxuan speak, he hastily replied, "No, I’m not from the Changsun family. I’m just a lowly disciple of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect. My name is Lu Ran..."

At this, the disappointment in Long Ruxuan’s eyes was hard to hide.

At first, seeing the sword on Lu Ran’s back, he had assumed Lu Ran was from the Changsun family. Only after coming down to greet him did he realize otherwise.

The Changsun family’s swordsmanship was extraordinarily profound, and throughout history the family had produced many immortals, with near-immortals appearing generation after generation.

No one doubted their strength.

If one could travel with the Changsun family, it would certainly be far more reassuring and safe.

But Long Ruxuan had not expected the person before him to be from the Changsun family at all—merely a disciple of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect, and moreover one of the lowest rank.

Alas... he truly wanted to sigh.

Still, after thinking it over, having one person was better than having none.

He was not favored within the Golden Dragon Imperial Clan either, and beside him were only four guards, none of them top-tier in strength. One more person meant one more chance at survival if danger arose.

"Brother Lu, may I ask whether you came into the Black Ridge Mountain Range for that legendary unparalleled expert?" Long Ruxuan asked.

Lu Ran glanced at him, then nodded. "That’s right. But this damned place doesn’t seem to have anything at all. I heard it’s especially terrifying here, and only people like us, who aren’t valued, would be sent here."

After saying that, Lu Ran hurriedly shut his mouth. He stole a cautious glance at Long Ruxuan beside him. "I mean... I was talking about myself."

Long Ruxuan could only manage a bitter smile at that.

"No need to be so careful, brother. I’m not valued either, so I won’t take offense."

Though he was a prince, he was utterly unwelcome in the imperial court simply because he was a useless man who could not cultivate. No one cared about him.

Wasn’t he just pushed out now? On the surface, he had been sent to seek opportunity, but in truth—what opportunity? He had merely been sent to scout the way.

Even the guards allotted to him were only four in number, and they were merely Golden Core realm cultivators.

In this chaotic world, four Golden Core guards plus a废 prince was nothing short of walking into death.

"I’m fine!" Lu Ran truly felt awkward. Seeing that Long Ruxuan seemed somewhat downcast, he couldn’t help but say, "Brother Long, do you also think this so-called expert is just a smokescreen?"

Long Ruxuan gave a pale smile. "Not necessarily. I think anything is possible."

"Since we’ve met, it must be fate. Why don’t we travel together? There are many dangers in this Black Ridge Mountain Range. If we join forces now, we may have a better chance of surviving if we encounter danger later."

Lu Ran was overjoyed to hear this.

"That would be great!"

With his meager Foundation Establishment cultivation, coming here was no different from waiting to die.

Now that a powerful backer had appeared before him, what was there left to hesitate about?

Long Ruxuan laughed. "Then let’s set off."

The two continued onward.

Very quickly, they entered the Black Ridge Mountain Range, where the land was filled entirely with collapsed peaks.

"My heavens! What kind of place is this? When did the Black Ridge Mountain Range become like this? How could this possibly be a dangerous forbidden zone? Calling it ruins would not be an exaggeration at all!" Lu Ran exclaimed, his mouth hanging open in shock.