Chapter 579 - 524: Details

Chapter 579: Chapter 524: Details

Zhao Shuang spoke slowly, her voice unhurried, gradually revealing the secret of the Breaking Charm from all those years ago.

About a quarter of an hour later, Zhao Shuang finally stopped speaking. She bowed and stood silently, waiting.

Chu Mu’s expression remained calm. While it was unknown if Zhao Shuang had omitted anything, the information she had revealed was well within his predictions.

According to Zhao Shuang, the true reason for the uproar in Bazhou all those years ago over a Breaking Charm was, indeed, exactly as he had guessed.

It was all because of the legacy of an ancient ruin.

This legacy was located in the Outer Sea, mentioned in the last words of a Nascent Soul Ancestor of the Xie Family before he perished.

Among the remnant group of the Xie Family that had migrated to the Vast Sea, this information was passed down as a clan secret to the Golden Core leader of that very group.

That Golden Core leader was the elder brother of Xie Yu’s father. Therefore, when that remnant group of the Xie Family was ambushed and slaughtered by the Longevity Sect, the secret was passed on to Xie Yu amidst the chaos.

Whether any of this was true remained to be seen.

But as for these ruins...

Chu Mu frowned slightly and slowly asked, "So, Miss Zhao, you mean to say you’re asking me to help you break the Grand Array of the ruins?"

"The Grand Array of the ruins is an ancient one. My sister, Mr. Xie, and I are not skilled in Arrays, and our Cultivation is too low. We are powerless to break it..."

Chu Mu nodded, then abruptly changed the subject. "Have you ever been to those ruins?"

This time, Xie Yu was the first to speak.

"Reporting to Senior, this information about the ruins was passed down by an ancestor in my clan. According to the records, these ruins are quite special..."

As he spoke, Xie Yu took out a Jade Scroll and respectfully offered it to Chu Mu.

"Special?"

Chu Mu raised an eyebrow, a hint of interest in his eyes.

He raised his hand and beckoned. The Jade Scroll floated through the air and, in an instant, hovered over his palm.

His Divine Sense flowed out, and the contents of the Jade Scroll transformed into a torrent of information that poured into his Divine Sense Perception.

The ruins’ location and all related information were clearly recorded within this torrent.

After a moment, Chu Mu flicked his sleeve. The Jade Scroll landed in his palm, and the surging torrent of information slowly dissipated.

Chu Mu asked, "These ruins only appear once every sixty years?"

"Reporting to Senior, according to the records, that is indeed the case."

"The reason we risked so much in Bazhou to acquire that Breaking Charm was that the sixty-year mark was approaching, and we had no other choice."

"After that upheaval, we missed the window when the ruins appeared."

"According to the message left by my clan’s ancestor, when the ruins appear, they will remain for sixty days. After sixty days, they will become concealed again, only to reappear after another sixty-year cycle."

"Sixty years..."

Chu Mu frowned. His gaze swept over Zhao Shuang and the others, and his voice was somber.

"If it’s a sixty-year wait, then you’ll all have to be inconvenienced for a while."

Hearing this, the expressions of Zhao Shuang and the other two changed drastically, and they became visibly wary.

As if not noticing their vigilance, Chu Mu sat down at a nearby table. He poured a cup of Spirit Wine, and as the liquid splashed, a few drops suddenly transformed into a water screen about ten feet wide. The image on it shifted, displaying a scene of overwhelming bloodshed.

"You all are probably unaware of the great upheaval in Bazhou."

"The Chen Family plotted against all the major powers, sacrificing the lives of hundreds of thousands of Cultivators to turn them into Blood Qi... Although I was lucky enough to escape, I made an enemy of the Vast Sea Chen Family."

"Since you all followed me out of Bazhou, you’ll have to bear with me and stay by my side for another sixty years."

"After sixty years, when the ruins appear, I will break them open. You’ll take what you need, and I’ll take what I need. If something I need is also something you desire, I will compensate you with items of equal value. It will be a fair trade."

Having said his piece, Chu Mu looked at the three of them, his calm voice sounding once more. "So... what do you think?"

"We juniors... will obey."

The three dared not say more, speaking one after another.

"Good."

Chu Mu gave a slight nod. With a wave of his hand, dozens of Jade Bottles split into three groups and hovered before them.

"Consider these sixty years with me as sixty years of secluded Cultivation. These Elixirs are all Upper Grade. You need only focus on your Cultivation."

"Since the ruins are in the Outer Sea, we’ll head there first, find a peaceful place, and wait for them to appear."

The three replied again, "We juniors will obey."

Chu Mu raised his cup and drank, saying nothing more. Seeing this, the three of them bowed deeply and retreated one by one. As their doors closed one after another, Chu Mu was left alone in the cabin, drinking by himself.

After downing the cup of Spirit Wine, Chu Mu looked at the Jade Scroll again, his brow furrowed in thought.

The Jade Scroll’s description was very clear.

The ruins were located in what the Vast Sea Cultivation Immortal World defined as the Outer Sea.

Or rather... the Deep Sea!

According to the Jade Scroll, the ruins were the legacy of a Nascent Soul Great Power from ancient times, whose Daoist title was Qing Yang Ancestor. As for which specific ancient era he belonged to, that was no longer known.

However, the location of these ruins was not just beyond the border between the Inner and Outer Seas.

After crossing that border, one had to venture nearly another hundred thousand li into the Vast Sea.

Before the turmoil in the Vast Sea, the sea region stretching for hundreds of thousands of li around the border of the Inner and Outer Seas was basically a lawless no-man’s-land.

It served as a buffer zone between three major powers: the Profound Serpent Race, the Flood Dragon Race, and the Vast Sea Chen Family. None of them had extended their direct rule into the area. It was also the main region where Vast Sea Cultivators went to the Outer Sea for Demon Hunting.

But after the turmoil in the Vast Sea, this so-called buffer zone had long since vanished as the Profound Serpent Race pushed deep into the territory.

Strictly speaking, everything beyond the Demon Suppression Islands was basically the territorial waters of the Profound Serpent Race, entirely within their sphere of influence.

In other words, these ruins were located within the Profound Serpent Race’s sphere of influence...

Chu Mu looked hesitant, but after a moment’s thought, he relaxed somewhat.

’After all, the world of Demon Beasts could never construct a bottom-up, precisely integrated order like that of the Cultivation Immortal Realm.’

’Normally, a Demon Beast must reach Tier Four to fully awaken its Spiritual Wisdom.’

’Even those that awaken their intelligence abnormally early, or even achieve Transformation, are an extreme minority.’

’The Demon Beast Races, or rather, the world of Demon Beasts, even if it has some order, must rely entirely on that tiny minority of Spiritual Demons. It could never be as airtight as the order in the Cultivation Immortal Realm.’

’Even if hundreds of thousands of li of sea are all the Profound Serpent Race’s territory, ninety-nine percent of it is surely just a desolate ocean, ruled by pure savagery.’

’Due to their very nature, the civilization and order of Demon Beasts could not possibly cover such a vast area.’

’The greatest risk to me in entering the Outer Sea probably won’t come from the Profound Serpent Race itself.’

’The greater danger lies in the savage wilds of the open sea, in the endless Demon Beasts.’

’Just like when I went out to sea for Demon Hunting back in my Foundation Establishment Realm days...’

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