Chapter 690: Cleaning Up City S

Chu Miao stared at the thin golden line between the doors for a few seconds before looking away.

Since the gateway said that the passage remained closed, she wasn’t going to poke it out of curiosity.

There were enough problems waiting outside.

"Let’s go," she said. "The crystal cores won’t collect themselves."

Ye Xuan nodded. "We should also check the place marked by the realm scar."

"After returning home."

Chu Miao was curious about it, but curiosity wouldn’t make her rush into a place that might contain the Zombie King.

They had just advanced to the Divine Transformation stage and hadn’t stabilized their cultivation completely. It would be foolish to run directly into the enemy’s nest without understanding the situation.

Besides, after seeing the mark on the projection, she was even more certain that the Zombie King had something to do with the strange changes happening in the world.

It might not have created the realm scar, but it was definitely benefiting from it.

Before leaving, Chu Miao looked at the golden gateway once more.

The words on its surface had already disappeared. Only the ancient patterns remained, making it look as quiet and harmless as before.

If they hadn’t seen the projection with their own eyes, no one would know that this gate was connected to the fate of two worlds.

"Ah Xuan."

"Hmm?"

"Do you think the ancestor knew all of this would happen?"

Ye Xuan thought for a moment.

"He probably knew part of it. Otherwise, the Soul Ring wouldn’t have been prepared so thoroughly."

There were living areas, farmland, mountains, rivers, oceans, dangerous training grounds, inheritances, and even a passage leading to the Immortal Realm.

No one would create such a complete small world on a whim.

The Chu family ancestors must have spent an unimaginable amount of time and resources preparing it.

However, if they had known every detail, they would have left clearer instructions instead of making their descendants figure everything out one step at a time.

"The ancestors were really fond of leaving riddles," Chu Miao complained.

Ye Xuan glanced at her. "Maybe they were afraid the wrong person would get the Soul Ring."

"That makes sense."

The Soul Ring had existed for countless years, but it had only recognized two masters. Even those with the Chu family bloodline couldn’t force it to acknowledge them.

If the information inside were too direct, an outsider might take advantage of it.

Chu Miao sighed and took Ye Xuan’s hand.

"Let’s return. If we stay here any longer, my brother might decide to come looking for us."

"He wouldn’t dare."

"He definitely would."

Chu Hao was obedient most of the time, but that obedience had limits whenever his sister was involved.

The two disappeared from the gateway and returned to the living area.

As expected, Chu Hao was waiting near the villa with his sword in hand. From his posture, it looked as if he had been considering whether to enter the deeper regions himself.

When he saw them, he immediately put away the sword.

"Bunny, what happened?"

"Nothing dangerous." Chu Miao walked over. "The gateway reacted because I reached the Divine Transformation stage."

Everyone nearby gathered around after hearing her words.

Mother Chu looked her up and down first. After making sure her daughter wasn’t injured, she relaxed.

"Can it be opened now?"

"Not yet. It only released the first seal."

"Only the first?" Chu Hao frowned. "How many seals are there?"

"I don’t know."

The gateway hadn’t explained that part.

It only said that she had to reach the Tribulation Transcendent stage and resolve the calamity affecting this world.

As for whether those were the final requirements or merely the next ones, they would only find out later.

Chu Miao briefly explained what they had seen, including the realm scar and the place marked by three circles and a crown.

The relaxed atmosphere around the villa gradually disappeared.

"A crown?" Grandpa Chu repeated. "That should represent the Zombie King."

"That was our guess as well," Ye Xuan said.

Father Chu’s expression became serious.

"If the Zombie King has occupied the area around that crack, it might be absorbing the energy leaking from it."

"Or using it to strengthen other zombies," Chu Hao added.

Everyone fell silent.

Ordinary zombies weren’t too difficult to handle anymore. Even large hordes could be eliminated as long as humans were properly prepared.

The real danger came from intelligent zombies and those that had evolved beyond the known levels.

If the Zombie King could continuously produce high-level subordinates, the final battle would be much harder than they had expected.

Grandpa Chu tapped the armrest of his chair.

"We shouldn’t make assumptions without evidence. First, gather everyone after returning to the sect. Then we can compare this information with the maps brought back by the hunting teams."

Chu Miao nodded. "That’s what I was thinking."

"Are we leaving now?" Mother Chu asked.

"Not immediately. There are tens of millions of crystal cores waiting outside."

Mother Chu looked at her daughter’s bright eyes and understood at once.

No matter how serious the situation was, waste was still unacceptable.

Those crystal cores had been washed clean by lightning. Leaving them buried beneath the ashes would be like abandoning a mountain of wealth.

"You just advanced," Mother Chu reminded her. "Don’t exhaust yourself."

"Don’t worry, Mom. I won’t collect them one by one."

She wasn’t planning to bend down tens of millions of times.

That would take forever, and her waist would probably stop cooperating halfway through.

After letting everyone know that it was safe outside, Chu Miao and Ye Xuan left the Soul Ring.

City S was no longer recognizable.

Most of the tall buildings had collapsed during the tribulation. The roads were covered in rubble, ash, broken glass, and pieces of twisted metal.

The noisy city filled with zombies had become completely silent.

Not even an insect could be heard.

Chu Miao stood in the air and surveyed the surroundings.

"This place is cleaner than after a demolition team passes through."