Chapter 583 - 527: The Elusive Ruin

Chapter 583: Chapter 527: The Elusive Ruin

After about fifteen minutes, the Compass hovering before Chu Mu, shimmering with a faint white glow, slowly fell silent as its needle stopped spinning.

Chu Mu seemed to notice something. He took out a Jade Scroll and recorded all his observations before turning his gaze toward a bottomless trench in the seabed not far away.

In the past, he might have been unfamiliar with these kinds of spaces that were worlds unto themselves. But ever since refining the Spirit Beast Bag and perceiving the mysteries of Qiankun, he now had a much clearer understanding of them.

This included the ruins before him, the famous Secret Realms of the Cultivation Immortal Realm, and even the so-called Small Worlds.

In truth, they were not fundamentally different from the Qiankun Bag he had refined. They were all small pocket dimensions that existed by depending on the greater Cultivation Immortal World.

The only difference between them lay in the quality and quantity of the space.

Take the East Lake Secret Realm, for example. It could be seen as an oversized Qiankun Bag. Its essence was the same—it depended on the Cultivation Immortal Realm for its existence and was not a truly independent world.

And the essence of this Ruins Cave Mansion was naturally the same.

They were creations forged by Ancient Cultivators using Great Divine Power, forming their own pocket dimensions while relying on the Cultivation Immortal World for existence, thus achieving true isolation from the outside world.

As far as he knew, such isolated Cave Mansions, each a world unto itself, were quite common in ancient times.

In many ancient texts, they were even given the elegant name of "Immortal Mansions."

The legacies and ruins that left behind countless legends in the Cultivation Immortal Realm often referred to this type of Immortal Mansion.

Of course, the most important point was that only these isolated Immortal Mansions could typically survive and be passed down through the long river of time.

An ordinary Cave Mansion, even if its Array Prohibitions could last for a very long time, would have obvious external traces. Unless it was in a completely desolate location, it would inevitably have been discovered and become an opportunity for some other Cultivator over the ages, making it impossible for it to remain untouched for long.

But since these Immortal Mansions and Secret Realms, these worlds unto themselves, relied on the Cultivation Immortal Realm to exist, they were bound to have a detectable connection.

And this connection usually had distinct characteristics.

For example, the connection between the East Lake Secret Realm and the Cultivation Immortal Realm was the Jade Scrolls originating from it. In other words, a token was needed to open the Secret Realm to enter and exit.

His Qiankun Bag, for instance, required his Divine Soul Aura as a key to open it and store living beings and inanimate objects.

This connection could be seen as a gateway—a portal that must exist for any space that relies on the Cultivation Immortal Realm.

However, the masters of these spaces usually placed various restrictions on such portals.

It was a simple principle, just like locking the door to a room.

This was the most obvious connection, the most apparent trace, linking such spaces to the Cultivation Immortal Realm.

Even though this legacy ruin was hidden and only appeared once every sixty years, its portal must follow the same principle.

The only question was whether he could detect this portal and whether he could open it.

Chu Mu stared at the Compass. Its needle was fixed due south, precisely in the direction of the bottomless trench he was looking at.

According to the Compass’s readings, a spatial fluctuation existed within that trench.

However, this spatial fluctuation was extremely faint and highly unstable.

It was as if the location of the portal was constantly shifting, never fixed in one place.

’Is it concealed by an Array, or is the space itself shifting?’

Chu Mu pondered for a moment. If it was the former, there would be clues to follow. He might not have to wait a full sixty years; he could find a way to break the Array and open the portal himself.

If it was the latter, then it was undoubtedly beyond his capabilities.

He could barely manage to monitor space, or even disrupt and solidify it, with the help of this Compass.

But this use of spatial power was clearly superficial, more akin to knowing how it worked without understanding the underlying principles.

After all, even a Nascent Soul Great Power had only just begun to dabble in the concept of space.

His ability to refine this space-aligned Compass Magical Treasure was more of a clever workaround, using the mysteries of Arrays to produce effects on a spatial level.

His own understanding of space was limited to the insights he gained about self-contained worlds while refining the Qiankun Bag. Beyond that, his knowledge was extremely limited.

Chu Mu took a step, his figure flickering as he left the Sky-Breaking Flying Boat. He strode through the water, and within a few short breaths, he was hovering above the deep-sea trench.

Although he had reached what one would consider the seafloor, this trench was still bottomless.

After a moment of thought, Chu Mu circulated his Magical Power and his hovering figure began to slowly descend into the trench’s depths.

The trench was not wide, only a few dozen feet across. But in addition to being bottomless, it stretched from the edge of his vision into the endless gloom of the seabed, with no end in sight.

The sides of the trench were exposed rock, piled with unknown corals and shells. Strange rock formations stood everywhere, creating an inexplicably oppressive atmosphere under the shroud of darkness.

Normally, the seabed teemed with Demon Beasts, but this trench was unnervingly silent. He saw no signs of unusual activity. After descending for dozens of miles into the trench, he hadn’t seen a single living creature.

Chu Mu’s expression grew tense. His Magical Power circulated as a faint, sharp aura wrapped around him, his vigilance now completely unconcealed.

The Spiritual Qi on the seabed was dense; it was impossible for there to be no Demon Beasts.

The Spiritual Qi in this trench was even richer. There had to be a Spirit Vein somewhere within it.

For a place so rich in Spiritual Qi to be devoid of Demon Beasts was the greatest anomaly of all.

And an anomaly meant the unknown.

The unknown, in turn, meant unpredictable danger!

’The position... it changed again?’

After descending for another thirty miles, Chu Mu came to a sudden halt. Holding the Compass, his tense expression had turned grave.

Based on his observations from the Flying Boat, the faint spatial fluctuation should have appeared at roughly his current depth.

Yet by the time he arrived, the faint spatial fluctuation had already shifted its position.

Not only had it dropped several dozen more miles, but its location had also changed. It seemed to have moved from the trench into the adjacent rock wall, embedding itself dozens of miles deep within.

’Is this a random, natural change, or is it reacting to being watched?’

Chu Mu’s eyes flickered, the vigilance in his heart growing even stronger.

If it was the former, the situation was still manageable.

But if it was the latter, it undoubtedly meant the ruins had a master, and this trip was unlikely to end peacefully.

Chu Mu scanned his surroundings, then flicked his hand, sending a blade of light into the rock wall. After countless years under the pressure of the sea and being scoured by Spiritual Qi, the rock wall had long ago transformed into Spiritual Materials, and it was as fragile as tofu.

In just an instant, a simple underwater cave took shape, carved out by the churning blade of light.

Chu Mu stepped inside, sat down cross-legged, and closed his eyes. The Compass hovered before him as he once again began monitoring the faint spatial fluctuation.

This time, his monitoring lasted for nearly ten days.

The results allowed Chu Mu’s anxious heart to relax somewhat.

The positional changes of the spatial fluctuation truly seemed to be random and natural, not the result of deliberate manipulation.

On one occasion, the spatial fluctuation even appeared right outside his cave.

However, even when the fluctuation was right before his eyes, he couldn’t perceive anything within it, no matter what methods he tried.

The pattern of these positional changes was even harder to grasp. It moved within a radius of hundreds of miles, its location and the timing of its shifts completely erratic. There was no discernible pattern whatsoever.

His only real discovery was the reason why this place, so rich in Spiritual Qi, was devoid of any Demon Beasts.

The reason was quite simple. Such random spatial fluctuations, covering such a vast area, would inevitably affect the spatial stability of this region, no matter how subtle they were.

Demon Beasts have extremely keen instincts, especially when it comes to sensing their environment.

Any instability in their habitat would naturally put them on high alert.

After all, no living creature would choose to live in an unsafe place.

’In that case, do I really have to wait... for sixty years?’

Chu Mu pressed his lips together, looking somewhat hesitant, yet also somewhat resigned.

Fortunately, he had already mentally prepared himself to wait for sixty years before he came.

For a Golden Core Realm cultivator, a sixty-year period of secluded cultivation was a normal affair.

With a flick of his sleeve, he erased any discernible trace of his presence, as was his custom. He took a step, his body transforming into a crimson streak of light that shot up from the seabed, following the line of the trench.

Seeing Chu Mu reappear, Zhao Shuang and the other two waiting on the Flying Boat were visibly relieved.

In this perilous Outer Sea, without Chu Mu’s protection, the only fate for three mere Foundation Establishment cultivators like them was likely... a death with no grave to mark it.

After boarding the Flying Boat, Chu Mu’s first words were directed with profound meaning at Xie Yu, who stood bowing. "In such a deep part of the sea, I am very curious. With your cultivation at the Foundation Establishment Realm, how did you manage to get here?"

Xie Yu’s expression changed slightly, but he seemed to have anticipated the question. He quickly cupped his hands in a salute. "Forgive me, Senior. I came here with a senior from my clan."

Chu Mu’s expression remained unchanged. He looked at Xie Yu and the other two with keen interest, waiting for an answer that would satisfy him.

"Back when I was still in the Qi Cultivation Realm, I came here with a senior from my clan..."

Xie Yu explained methodically.

A very clear answer, though one whose truth could not be confirmed, was laid out before Chu Mu.

According to Xie Yu, he had come here back when he was in the Qi Cultivation Realm, following a Nascent Soul Ancestor of the Xie Family. It was a trial for the Xie Family Clan, and many other disciples from his clan had participated as well.

"So you’re saying you’ve been inside these ruins before?"

Chu Mu wasn’t concerned with the truth of the story; he cut straight to the crucial point.

Xie Yu handed over another Jade Scroll and said respectfully,

"This contains the information I recorded about the inside of the ruins. Please, Senior, take a look."