From a loser to an immortal sage

Chapter 63: Gate of Ruins

"This barrier..." Wen Chen's brows furrowed slightly, a hint of seriousness appearing in his deep eyes, "It's probably not simple."

I stared intently and saw a pale golden light curtain enveloping the entire valley. Ancient and mysterious runes flowed across the light curtain, radiating a chilling pressure.

"Looks like we're late."

A sharp, piercing sound came from behind me. Startled, I turned around and saw several dark figures walking through the air. The leader was wearing a black cloak and a ghost mask with blue faces and fangs, exuding a chilling aura.

"The masked man!" Wen Chen said coldly, shielding me behind him.

The masked man chuckled sinisterly, his voice like the hooting of an owl, sending chills down one's spine. "Immortal Venerable Wen Chen, how have you been? It's been many years since we last met. I never expected to encounter you here."

"Stop talking nonsense, what do you want to do?" I couldn't help but ask, secretly on guard.

The masked man ignored me, staring intently at the golden light barrier, and said greedily, "I'm determined to obtain the secret of this ancient ruin. If you know what's good for you, get out of here!"

With that, he waved his hand, and the men in black behind him immediately unleashed their magical artifacts, blasting them towards the barrier. Multicolored spiritual energy exploded on the golden light screen, but only caused ripples; the barrier remained completely still.

"You piece of trash think you can break through this ancient barrier?" Wen Chen sneered, and a flash of light appeared in his hand, revealing a crystal-clear longsword, his natal magic weapon—the Azure Cloud Sword.

I stood shoulder to shoulder with him, a ball of flame gathering in my hand, ready for battle at any moment. Although my cultivation was inferior to Wen Chen's, I wouldn't hold him back.

"Hmph, you won't listen to reason, so you'll have to suffer the consequences!" Seeing that a direct attack was useless, a ruthless glint flashed in the masked man's eyes. He quickly formed hand seals and chanted incantations.

Oh no, he's about to unleash a powerful attack!

My heart skipped a beat, and I was about to warn Wen Chen when I saw a flash of green light in the distance, followed by an aged voice as loud as a bell:

"Stop! Who dares to act recklessly here!"

As the azure light dissipated, an old man dressed in a green robe stood in mid-air, riding a sword. He had an air of otherworldly grace, white hair and a youthful face, and his sharp eyes swept over everyone present, exuding a powerful aura.

"Elder Yue!" someone in the crowd exclaimed.

This old man was none other than Elder Yue, a highly respected figure in the Tianyan Sect. It was said that he had cultivated for hundreds of years and was proficient in array formations and restrictions, enjoying a great reputation throughout the entire cultivation world.

"Disciple greets Elder Yue." I quickly bowed to him along with Wen Chen.

Elder Yue nodded slightly, his gaze falling on the golden light screen. He pondered, "The entrance to this ancient ruin only opens once every hundred years, and each opening lasts for only three days. To enter, one must find the array eye and activate it with powerful immortal energy."

"The key to the formation?" A thought flashed through my mind. Could this be the key to breaking the barrier?

"That's right." Seemingly noticing my confusion, Elder Yue explained, "This ancient barrier is formed from the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and contains extremely powerful energy. It is almost impossible to break it by force. Only by finding the core of the array and resonating with it with one's own immortal power can a passage be opened."

"But where exactly is the core of this formation?" I looked around, but had no clue.

"This..." Elder Yue pondered for a moment, then shook his head, "I know nothing about this either, but..."

Before he could finish speaking, a clear voice suddenly interrupted: "I know!"

I looked in the direction of the sound and saw a girl in a pale yellow dress squeezing out from the crowd. She was pretty and cute, and her big, bright eyes sparkled with a mischievous light. She was the same Miss Ye I had met in the market earlier.

"Miss Ye?" I was a little surprised; I didn't expect her to be here too.

"Hehe, I knew you'd come." Miss Ye winked at me, then turned to Elder Yue and said confidently, "I've found the array's core, but..."

As she said this, she turned her gaze to Wen Chen and smiled playfully, "But with my abilities, I am not yet capable of activating it. I need to borrow the immortal power of Immortal Venerable Wen Chen."

Wen Chen nodded slightly without speaking, but his aura subtly surged, clearly indicating that he was ready.

Seeing this, Miss Ye stopped talking and gently raised her jade hand, a golden light condensing at her fingertips, pointing to a seemingly ordinary pile of rocks in the valley.

"That's it!"

My heart skipped a beat. Could that pile of rocks be the key point of the formation?

Without the slightest hesitation, Wen Chen flashed to the front of the pile of rocks. He quickly formed hand seals, and mysterious runes flew from his fingertips, disappearing into the pile of rocks...

In the valley, the atmosphere suddenly became tense. I felt an invisible force quietly gathering, and just then, a commotion arose in the distance, accompanied by an arrogant voice:

"Who dares to be the first to get there!?"

The sound exploded like thunder, and then a group of figures dressed in black robes descended from the sky like ghosts, landing in the valley. The leader, tall and with a cold, stern face, was none other than Pavilion Master Sima, the very person who had clashed with us in the market earlier!

"Master Sima, do you also want a share of the pie?" The masked man sneered, his tone full of disdain.

"Hmph, who wouldn't want to go inside and explore these ancient ruins?" Pavilion Master Sima retorted without backing down. "You masked man may be incredibly powerful, but trying to monopolize the treasure is a gross underestimation of our abilities."

"So you're planning to join forces against me?" The masked man's tone was icy, and a powerful aura emanated from him, making the surrounding air seem to freeze.

"So what if we join forces?" Pavilion Master Sima sneered, a black longsword suddenly appearing in his hand, its blade shrouded in black mist and radiating a chilling aura. "I'd like to see just how capable you, Ghost-Faced Man, really are!"

Seeing that a great battle was about to break out, Elder Yue quickly stepped forward and said in a deep voice, "Gentlemen, this ancient ruin is the common treasure of our cultivation world. Who goes in first depends entirely on their ability. Why make a big fuss here?"

"Hmph, who do you think you are, daring to meddle in our affairs?" Pavilion Master Sima completely ignored Elder Yue, his eyes only on the golden light screen, clearly blinded by greed.

"Since that's the case, then don't blame me for being impolite!" The masked man roared, his figure blurred, and he transformed into a black shadow, rushing towards Wen Chen!

"Wen Chen, watch out!" I exclaimed, but it was clearly too late for my warning.

The masked man was incredibly fast, arriving in front of Wen Chen in the blink of an eye. Black mist swirled in his hand, transforming into a giant ghost claw that slashed down at Wen Chen's head!

"Hmph!" Wen Chen snorted coldly, neither dodging nor avoiding, raising his right hand, his index and middle fingers together, and pointing out in mid-air!

A golden light shot out from his fingertip, instantly piercing through the ghost claw, its momentum undiminished, heading straight for the face of the masked man!

"What?!" The masked man was clearly not expected Wen Chen to be so strong. His expression changed drastically, and he quickly dodged to the side.

"boom!"

A golden light grazed his cheek and struck the distant mountain wall, sending rocks flying and dust billowing up.

"Amazing!" I thought to myself, Wen Chen's strength was indeed unfathomable.

"Immortal Venerable Wen Chen, I'm here to help you!" Elder Yue shouted and joined the battle.

In an instant, chaos erupted in the valley, with shouts of battle filling the air.

"Xiao Yao, let's go too!" Miss Ye grabbed my hand and ran towards the pile of rocks.

Then I remembered that breaking the barrier was the most urgent task, so I ignored the battle over there and came to the pile of rocks with Miss Ye.

“Wen Chen has already activated the array core. Now we just need to inject our immortal power into it to open the barrier!” As Miss Ye spoke, she placed her palm on the pile of rocks. A surge of pure immortal power flowed from her body and into the pile of rocks.

Seeing this, I quickly did the same.

As Miss Ye and I poured our immortal power into the pile of rocks, it began to shake violently, and the golden light barrier grew thinner and thinner...

"Look! The barrier is about to open!" someone in the crowd exclaimed.

I was overjoyed and worked even harder to activate my immortal power.

Finally, with a crisp "crack", the golden light curtain shattered, revealing a dark hole!

"The entrance to the ruins has opened!"

"Come on!"

The crowd erupted in excitement, with countless figures rushing toward the cave entrance.

"Let's go too!" Miss Ye excitedly grabbed my hand and ran towards the cave entrance.

However, at that moment, I suddenly felt a chilling killing intent coming from behind me...

"Watch out!" I turned around abruptly, only to see the masked man had appeared behind us without us noticing. Black mist swirled in his hand, transforming into a sharp blade that lunged at me! "Xiao Yao!" Miss Ye cried out in alarm, trying to grab me, but it was too late.

The masked man was clearly after me; his attacks were ruthless and deadly. My heart sank; I knew I was no match for him and could only try my best to dodge.

"You're courting death!" Wen Chen's voice was like a thunderclap from the heavens, deafening. A golden light flashed, and he was already in front of me, forcing the masked man back with a palm strike.

"You think you can touch her?" Wen Chen's spiritual energy surged, and the golden light made him look like a god descending to earth. His sharp gaze swept over the masked man, carrying a chilling killing intent.

The masked man was forced back several steps, a hint of fear flashing in his eyes, but he still sneered: "Wen Chen, you dare to be my enemy for a piece of trash?"

"You're courting death!" Wen Chen stopped wasting words, his sword flashing as he aimed straight for the masked man's vitals. I had never seen him so enraged; his attack seemed to carry a world-destroying force.

The masked man didn't dare to be careless either. His black mist churned and transformed into a giant ghost-faced shield, blocking Wen Chen's attack. The two were locked in a fierce battle for a moment. The powerful fluctuations of spiritual energy shattered the surrounding rocks, and even Miss Ye and I were forced to retreat repeatedly by this force.

I was extremely anxious, but I knew I couldn't help. All I could do was pray that Wen Chen would be safe and sound.

Although Wen Chen was furious, he remained calm. His swordsmanship was exquisite, each move ruthless, yet still disciplined. In contrast, the masked man, though powerful, gradually lost ground.

"A mere trick!" the masked man roared, suddenly retreating as black mist churned in his hands, transforming into countless black shadows that attacked Wen Chen.

Wen Chen's gaze sharpened, and the sword in his hand shone brightly, forming an impenetrable sword net that blocked all the dark figures.

Just then, I suddenly felt a powerful suction force coming from the entrance of the ruins. I was startled and turned to look. I saw that the dark opening seemed to have transformed into a huge vortex, about to swallow everything around it.

"Oh no! The ruins are about to close!" someone shouted from the crowd, causing a commotion.

"Let's go!" Wen Chen grabbed my hand, lightly touched the ground with his toes, and flew towards the entrance of the ruins with me.

"Want to leave? Not so easy!" the masked man roared, trying to stop us, but was knocked back by Wen Chen's palm strike.

We rushed into the entrance to the ruins, and everything went black; we immediately lost consciousness.

When I woke up again, I found myself lying in a cold, damp cave. It was pitch black all around, with only a faint light coming from the cave entrance.

"Wen Chen?" I struggled to sit up, only to find that there was no one beside me.

"Wen Chen, where are you?" A sense of unease rose in my heart, and I quickly stood up and walked towards the cave entrance.

As soon as I reached the cave entrance, a cold wind blew in my face, and I couldn't help but shiver.

By the dim light, I saw a narrow passage before me, its stone walls on both sides covered with ancient runes that emitted an eerie glow.

I took a deep breath, gripped my sword tightly, and stepped into the passage... At the end of the passage, I could faintly hear footsteps approaching.

My heart tightened, and I quickly hid behind a stone pillar, held my breath, and gripped my sword tightly.

The footsteps grew closer, and I could even hear the other person's heavy breathing.

Finally, a tall figure appeared in my sight. He was dressed in a black robe and wore a bronze mask, so his face was not visible. He held a black longsword in his hand, and blood was dripping from the blade.

It's a masked man!

Why is he here?

I was terrified, but dared not make a move.

The masked man seemed not to have noticed me. He walked straight to the end of the passage and stopped in front of a stone door.

He slowly raised his hand, placed his palm on the stone door, and muttered incantations.

As he chanted his incantation, strange runes suddenly lit up on the stone door, emitting a dazzling red light.

"Click..."

A dull thud was heard, and the stone door slowly opened.

The masked man withdrew his hand and stepped through the stone gate.

A thought struck me, and I quietly followed.

Behind the stone gate lies a vast underground palace.

In the center of the palace stood a towering altar that seemed to reach into the clouds. Above the altar, a huge blood-red sphere floated, emitting an eerie light.

Beneath the crimson sphere, a person sat cross-legged.

The man was dressed in a black robe and wore a crown, obscuring his face, and exuded a chilling aura of power.

"Welcome back, Master!" The masked man knelt on one knee and bowed to the other man.

"Hmm." The person nodded slightly and slowly opened their eyes.

His eyes were an eerie blood red, like two burning flames, sending chills down one's spine.

"Ten thousand years..." He slowly stood up, his voice low and hoarse, as if from the deepest hell, "I have finally returned..."

My heart sank suddenly...