A Record of a Mortal's Journey to Immortality: Immortal Realm

Chapter 955: Burial Site

"Everyone, this altar is the place that we've been searching so arduously for," E Kuai declared, and everyone turned to him upon hearing this.

"Is this where the ultimate treasures of the Great Ruins reside, City Lord E?" Qin Yuan asked with a perplexed expression.

"I'm sure all of you have already sensed the tremendous bloodline aura in this place. Is this not already an exceptional treasure for us bodily refinement cultivators? On top of that, the set of remains that I mentioned is also in this pond," E KuaI replied, and everyone immediately looked down into the pond again upon hearing this.

Han Li peered into the pond like everyone else, but even with his eyesight, he was only able to see thick layers of bones beneath the blood, and he was unable to determine whether the holy remains were actually present inside.

"City Lord E, if the remains are in this pond, then does that mean that we have to go into the pond to retrieve them?" Fu Jian asked.

"That would no different from committing suicide. The bloodline power in this pond is beyond anything you can imagine, and if you try to enter it, you'll only be contributing your own bones to the piles of bones that are already at the bottom of the pond," E Kuai said.

"What should we do then?" Sun Tu asked.

"This pond is built upon a blood sacrificial array, and those five statues are the cornerstones of the array. I'm going to need all of the city lords to help me activate the array together and draw the set of remains out of the pond," E Kuai replied.

"City Lord E, I was hoping you would be able to enlighten me on something," Qin Yuan said with slightly furrowed brows.

"None of us have entered the Great Ruins prior to this, so why is it that you seem so familiar with everything in here, City Lord E?" Qin Yuan asked.

Everyone turned to E Kuai upon hearing this, and it was clear that Qin Yuan wasn't the only one troubled by this question.

"While exploring the Scalptia Spatial Domain on my own some years ago, I came across an ancient plaque that provided details about a certain secret area. It wasn't explicitly stated that this secret area was the Great Ruins, but I always had my suspicions. After entering the Great Ruins, I was able to verify many of the things detailed on the plaque on the way here, and that confirmed my suspicions. As for whether you believe me or not, we've already come so far, so why not place your trust in me one final time?" E Kuai said as he swept his gaze over everyone.

Han Li didn't buy this story at all. It was very likely that he had made up this story on the spot, but it was impossible to rebuke him because no one aside from him knew anything about this place.

Having said that, it was indeed true that they had already come this far, and no one was going to be willing to turn back empty handed.

"We have full trust in you, City Lord E. At the very least, you have my trust. It's just that no one has ever been here before, so I think we should all carefully examine this area to ensure that there are no hidden traps around before we activate the array. What do we all say?" Sun Tu proposed, and everyone began nodding in agreement.

"Of course, I was about to suggest the same thing, Fellow Daoist Sun," E Kuai said with a smile, and thus, everyone split up to examine the entire altar around the pentagonal pond.

Instead of approaching Chen Yang, Han Li teamed up with Shi Chuankong to examine the outskirts of the altar along the stone railing.

Chen Yang took a glance at the two of them, then turned and made his way toward one of the black stone statues, followed closely by Xuanyuan Xing.

Meanwhile, the other city lords and their subordinates had each gone to examine one of the remaining four stone statues.

Sun Tu arrived at the foot of one of the statues, then looked up at its protruding neck for a while before laying a hand onto it and injecting a wisp of starpower inside.

The statue remained completely still, displaying no reaction to the injection of starpower.

Sun Tu's brows furrowed slightly upon seeing this, and he swept a hand over the blood pond, upon which a tendril of crimson mist rose up from below before swirling its way up his sleeve.

A faint rustling sound rang out, following which his sleeve reverted back to its original state.

Moments later, a reassured look appeared on Sun Tu's face, and he cast his gaze toward Fang Chan.

At this moment, Fang Chan was leaning against the stone railing, looking down at the blood pond below with an enraptured look on his face and drool coming out of his mouth, much like a starving man greeted by the sight of a magnificent feast.

"Get back, Chan'er! You cannot enter that pond, do you hear me?" Sun Tu warned with a serious expression.

Fang Chan turned to him with a disappointed expression.

"Once the array is activated, you have to make sure to keep a lookout and protect me. Once we retrieve that set of remains, I'll do my best to secure a part of it for you," Sun Tu assured with a faint smile.

An elated look immediately appeared on Fang Chan's face upon hearing this.

Meanwhile, Fu Jian was examining another statue, while Duan Tong trailed along behind him with a hesitant expression.

"If you have something to say, then say it," Fu Jian said.

"For some reason, I have a bad feeling about this place. How about I operate the array in your stead, City Lord Fu? If something goes wrong, it'll be easier for you to save me than for me to save you," Duan Tong proposed through voice transmission.

"E Kuai specifically asked for all of the city lords to enter the array, so he must have his own considerations, and I'm sure he wouldn't agree for you to let you take my place. On top of that, your cultivation base is most likely insufficient to activate the array," Fu Jian replied through voice transmission.

Duan Tong fell silent upon hearing this.

"There's no need to be overly concerned," Fu Jian said as he patted Duan Tong on the shoulder. "I have some tricks up my sleeve, so even if any mishaps occur, I can look after myself just fine."

Duan Tong nodded in response, looking slightly more reassured.

Qin Yuan had been keeping an eye on Fu Jian the entire time, and the two of them exchanged a glance and a nod from afar.

Each of them had already examined a stone statue and the blood pond without discovering anything amiss, and after carefully examining the ground around the five statues, they didn't find anything worthy of concern, either.

Han Li was gradually making his way toward the center of the altar from its outskirts, pausing momentarily in front of each stone pillar to examine the patterns etched onto its surface.

All of a sudden, his brows furrowed slightly, and he turned around to discover Zhu Ziqing standing beside him.

"You're Li Feiyu, right? My brother tells me that there's more to you than meets the eye, but I can't tell what he's referring to," she remarked.

"I'm afraid your brother is mistaken, I am but a mere gladiator of Green Goat City," Han Li replied in an expressionless manner.

"In any case, I'm very interested in you. It's very remarkable that a human like you was able to refine your body to this extent. That alone makes you very special in my eyes," Zhu Ziqing said as she stroked her own chin.

Zhu Ziyuan's attention had been focused on the blood pond this entire time, and only now did he notice that his sister was no longer by his side.

"What are you doing over there? Hurry up and get back here!"

Zhu Ziqing gave him a sheepish smile before sticking out her tongue in a cheeky manner, then returned to his side before tugging on his sleeve.

A faint smile appeared on Han Li's face upon seeing this.

He still recalled that his youngest sister was the sibling that he had been most fond of back in that small village, but having already spent countless years on the path of cultivation, his memory of her had become rather murky.

Zhu Ziyuan gave Han Li an apologetic nod, then departed with his sister.

Meanwhile, Chen Yang was circling around one of the stone statues, but as he did so, his eyes were constantly darting around from side to side, clearly indicating that there was something on his mind.

"City Lord Chen," Xuanyuan Xing called out with a concerned expression, and only then did Chen Yang snap back to his senses, following which he took a glance at Xuanyuan Xing, but didn't say anything.

He strode over to the stone railing, and after looking down into the blood pond for a moment, he suddenly reached a hand into his own sleeve before pulling out a yellow spear with lightning patterns etched upon it.

With a sweep his hand, the spear shot through a gap in the railing before plunging into the blood pond.

A resounding boom rang out as the spear exploded into a ball of white lightning that was around ten feet in size within the pond.

White lightning erupted in all directions, scattering much of the crimson mist, but it was still unable to rise up out of the blood pond.

Everyone was given quite a fright by the explosion, and they turned to discover that the blood in the pond was clearly flowing much quicker than before, forming waves that crashed against the five walls of the pond.

"What the hell are you doing, Chen Yang?!" Qin Yuan yelled.

"I was just trying to see if there was anything strange inside the pond," Chen Yang explained in a calm manner.

E Kuai only took a brief glance at the blood pond before returning his gaze to the stone statue in front of him, while Shao Ying, Zhu Ziyuan, and Zhu Ziqing stood behind him in silence.

Some time later, the waves in the blood pond gradually subsided, and nothing out of the ordinary took place.