The sky was dark, and there was a faint surge of black mists with a hint of blood.
Furthermore, the land was desolate, and there were broken rocks and dead branches everywhere. With a slight touch, they would turn into dust.
The grey setting sun slowly fell, hiding behind the mountains. A ray of slightly cold sunlight also disappeared. The world was silent and darkness flooded over, devouring everything along the way.
It was early spring, so it should have been the most vibrant season of the year. Nonetheless, the Big Ruins was dead as if everything was stained with grey. Even the sunlight was no exception. It was like a world that had been completely forgotten.
The sunset was getting lower. The last ray of light flashed past Ou Yangming’s body.
He raised his head to look at the sky. He saw a storm spinning and bursting out with an indescribable suction force. It tore everything in its surroundings into it. Gravel, sand, dried branches… The storm spun faster and raged into the distance.
“As expected of the Big Ruins, it’s indeed dangerous.” Ou Yangming chuckled, making fun of his misery.
At that moment, the windstorm suddenly changed direction.
It pounced toward where Ou Yangming was standing. Wherever it passed, everything was destroyed. The windstorm dragged a clear crack that was about 33 meters wide on the ground.
“Hmph…” Ou Yangming snorted coldly.
His reaction was not slow at all. His body flashed and like an arc of lightning, he streaked across the sky.
Even so, the storm was even faster, and it directly crushed over.
“Titanium Protection!” Ou Yangming did not have the time to take out his staff. His hands quickly made a gesture, and he pushed forward. A yellow light enveloped him. This light was like a yellow ancient scroll. It was very gentle, but its defensive power was strong.
Immediately, the storm only blew away some of the yellow light. After it passed through Ou Yangming’s body, it blew into the distance.
Ou Yangming let out a long sigh of relief. He took out the shabby sheepskin map and observed it carefully but even after searching for a long time, he still could not find any clues. The Big Ruins was really too huge, and it was vast and boundless.
“Creak, creak!” Ou Yangming did not know where the sound came from but when he heard it, it was as if his soul was about to be crushed.
“Food, delicious… Food…” The sound was like the cry of an evil ghost, making Ou Yangming’s hair stand on end. Following that, a blood-stained corpse rushed out from the dark. His body was covered in rotting flesh, his clothes were torn and tattered, and blood continued to drip down. The corpse’s eyes were cloudy, and his teeth were sharp like 2 short knives hanging upside down. His fingers were blood-red, and his fingernails were emitting a deathly aura.
The corpse was extremely fast. He closed his fingers and aimed for Ou Yangming’s chest.
“A dead person?” When Ou Yangming saw the corpse, the anxiety in his heart actually calmed down. He muttered to himself for a moment, then he took out the Blazing Fire Cold Cicada while retreating.
He pointed the staff in his hand forward, and a black light surged on it.
Ou Yangming uttered, “Stone Awl Art!”
As his voice echoed, numerous stone awls shot out from all directions. They were densely packed together, and they pounced on the corpse.
1, 2, 3… Countless pieces. The fierce and cold corpse in the Big Ruins was surrounded by stone awls just like that.
It shrieked sharply, and its eyes were ferocious. Its fingers were like knives, turning the stone awls into powder. Nevertheless, there were too many stone awls, and the corpse gradually found it difficult to hold on as it was surrounded by the stone awls, which turned into a huge ball. The corpse then stood quietly on the ground.
With a flash of thought, Ou Yangming’s golden mental power surged out.
He probed into the corpse’s head. After all, he had just entered the Big Ruins. What he needed to do was to have the most comprehensive and detailed understanding of this place.
What surprised Ou Yangming was that his mental power did not have the slightest obstruction and went deep into the corpse’s mind, but there was not even a single bit of useful information. It was chaotic, and all of his memories were buried by the drifting mists.
He rubbed his chin and pondered for a moment. Then, he tightened his fingers and squeezed hard. The ball formed by the stone awl continuously collapsed to the center. As a result, the corpse was crushed into powder by the stone awls.
Ou Yangming took a step forward and slowly walked forward.
Not long after, a rustling sound came from the dark.
Subsequently, an arrow feather flashed with a cold light and went straight for the spot between Ou Yangming’s eyebrows. The arrow feather kept spinning and stirred spiritual Qi with the power of wind and thunder.
“Hmph!” Ou Yangming scoffed and raised his hand to grab.
By the time Ou Yangming put his hand down, the arrow feather had been broken into 2. He quickly darted out.
A 7-year-old child was running rapidly without shoes. The muscles on his body were like that of a dragon, and he looked incredibly strong. The most terrifying thing was his eyes. He did not have the innocence of a child his age, and he looked cold. On top of that, he was also stained with blood.
Ou Yangming exclaimed and grabbed the child, making him unable to move.
His voice was cold as he asked, “Who are you?”
“It’s none of your business!” The boy enunciated each word, and a frightening and violent aura erupted from his body.
“Hmph, you’re really stubborn!” Ou Yangming increased the strength in his hands, and the child’s body was pressed lower. The dagger hidden in his sleeve slid out.
“Die, die!” The child struggled non-stop, and the blood in his body was boiling. A black pattern lit up on his body, but the weirdest thing was the center of his eyebrows. Faintly, an inch-long pattern could be seen protruding out.
Ou Yangming’s expression did not change. He thought to himself, ‘What a strong power. It’s a fantasy to step into the Extreme Grade boundary at the age of 6 or 7. In the outside world, wouldn’t he be protected like a treasure by the major sects? Most importantly, the Extreme Grade boundary that he’s in isn’t ordinary at all. In terms of power, even an ordinary Spiritualist wouldn’t be as strong as this child.’
Of course, this kind of strength could not do anything to Ou Yangming at all.
“How strange!” He shook his head, and his eyes were filled with curiosity.
After 15 minutes of being in a deadlock situation, the entire world completely darkened such that one could not even see one’s fingers. The dark night was like a beast that wanted to devour everything.
“I’ll let you go, but why don’t you tell me who you are?” Ou Yangming tried his best to soften his voice.
The child thought for a moment and nodded. The viciousness in his eyes flashed.
Just as Ou Yangming’s hand moved away, the boy bent his body and grabbed the short knife. The young fellow was quite daring at this point as he deliberately slowed down and waited for the boy to grab the short knife. Despite that, the moment the boy grabbed the short knife, not only did he not retreat, but he also turned around and stabbed Ou Yangming’s heart. He was fast and ruthless. He was absolutely resolute and did not leave any room for maneuver.
“Boom…” With a loud boom, the boy was pressed down by Ou Yangming again. Half of his body sank into the soil.
He did not roar nor scream, but the viciousness on his body reached its peak.
Ou Yangming stared at the boy, and a hint of killing intent surged in his heart.
As if the boy sensed Ou Yangming’s thought, his body trembled. He still appeared unyielding, but his teeth were clenched tightly, and he refused to beg for mercy.
Ou Yangming’s heart was moved. Ever since he ventured out of the lower realm, he never killed an innocent person. If the person in front of him was not a child, he would not hold back. Having said that, when he saw the trace of fear and unwillingness in the child’s eyes, which the child was desperately trying to hide, his heart somehow softened.
Perhaps those eyes reminded him of his childhood.
Even when Ou Yangming was at his loneliest and most difficult time, he never lowered his head to fate.
After taking a deep breath, Ou Yangming loosened his fingers and let go.
The child was stunned for a moment and glared at him fiercely. Then, he disappeared without a trace.
All of a sudden, something unusual happened. The black mists in the sky surged. A pair of blood-red eyes swept down, and an arm that was over 33 meters long tore apart the black mists. It descended from the sky and swept towards the child’s location. The strength of this force had reached that of an Advanced Spiritualist. If Ou Yangming did not make a move, this child would surely die.
The barefoot child was also suppressed by the powerful aura and could not move. His eyes were filled with terror.
“Sigh, forget it. Since we met, it’s fate. Since it’s fate, what harm will it do to me if I save you again?” Ou Yangming muttered.
Having made up his mind, Ou Yangming increased his speed to the limit. It was as if he was stepping on 2 tornadoes as he pounced forward. He was exceptionally fast.
He grabbed the child’s body and rushed out.
Just as the 2 of them left the area where the palm was aiming at, a deafening sound was heard. Where the palm landed, a giant pit that was over 33 meters wide appeared out of thin air. At the same time, a storm swept out in all directions. The strength of the storm was so strong that even an Intermediate Spiritualist would be killed if one touched it, and not even a speck of dust would remain.
“Forget it. I’ll just be a good person until the end.” Ou Yangming took a deep breath and lifted his hand to block the storm.
He did not notice that the child had a complicated look on his face. There was surprise, guilt, and all sorts of things. That said, there was more disbelief than anything else. Yes, disbelief. He refused to believe that the person he had ambushed twice before would make such a decision. The child felt like a monstrous tide was raging in his mind, causing his inherent thoughts to be torn to shreds.
Deep down, the child felt that other than darkness, there was only darkness in this world.
However, his view of the world had just crumbled. He lifted his head to look at the side of Ou Yangming’s face. It was very clean without a single bit of stubble.
Ou Yangming flashed out and instantly disappeared into the distance. He was so fast that cultivators below top-grade Spiritualists would not be able to stop him at all.
In mid-air, black clouds churned, and that scarlet eye appeared once more. It growled in a muffled voice, “You actually ruined Sir Blood Red’s plan. Even if you’re a top-grade Spiritualist, you’ll die without a doubt. What a pure bloodline power! What a pity, what a pity…” The enormous body turned into a streak of black mist and dispersed abruptly.
Ou Yangming did not know how long he had been running for but after confirming that there was no danger…
He pushed out with his right hand, and a gentle force spread out from the palm of his hand. He placed the child on the ground.
Without saying a word, he walked off into the distance.
The land was barren, and the north wind was howling. It was not cold, but it made one feel a chill in their hearts.
Behind Ou Yangming, the child looked at his back view, his eyes filled with confusion. He took a step forward and retreated, his heart filled with hesitation.
When Ou Yangming’s back gradually disappeared under the horizon, he gritted his teeth and followed him from afar.
The sky was already bright. It was already early in the morning but the light coming from the horizon still carried a touch of grey as if the sunlight had passed through a grey liquid. The earth, the sky, the mountains, the grass… Everything was covered in a layer of grey light, which was so depressing that it made one’s heart palpitate.
