Chapter 78: The Correct Way to Open the Ruins

Chapter 78: Chapter 78: The Correct Way to Open the Ruins

Having shouted the same thing about thirty times with no response, Su Han, now mostly convinced that no one was controlling these ruins from behind the scenes, took out a bottle of Spirit Fruit Juice and started to drink.

However, he had barely taken two sips when the light before him dimmed once more. A peacock burst out of the void, transforming into a streak of light as its sharp claws tore toward Su Han.

Su Han’s eyes narrowed, a cold glint flashing within them.

He used Moon Shadow Step, instantly appearing dozens of meters away and dodging the peacock’s attack.

He cast his Eye of Truth on the peacock, and the information it returned made the coldness in his eyes intensify.

"A Celestial Human Realm peacock. They really think highly of me, don’t they."

He held back the Suiyuan Swordsmanship he had been preparing to use. Seeing the peacock sweep its tail toward him, the corner of Su Han’s mouth curled into a cold sneer.

"You really think I was just kidding..."

He reversed his grip on the light longsword. In that instant, the blade, which should have been nearly weightless, suddenly felt as heavy as a mountain.

He lifted his head, his emotionless gaze fixed on the peacock. Sensing the danger, it charged straight for him. Su Han’s body rose into the air, and he plunged the inverted longsword downward with immense force.

The moment the Sword Stance descended, the very space for a thousand miles around Su Han seemed to freeze, locked in the instant he held his sword.

Nearby, the peacock’s body froze less than three meters from where Su Han had been standing, a look of terror solidified in its eyes.

Nine Swords of Earth Sword: When the earth unleashes its killing intent, dragons and snakes rise from the land. The Earth Sword bears its own weight, the utmost limit of power, shattering mountains and rivers.

The longsword pierced through the peacock’s body as if it were rotten wood, meeting no resistance at all.

The moment the longsword passed through it, the Celestial Human Realm peacock’s physical body popped like a bubble, vanishing into nothing.

The peacock’s Divine Soul struggled, letting out a silent roar.

But how could a mere Celestial Human Realm Divine Soul ever hope to break free from this frozen space?

The instant its physical body dissipated, the peacock’s Divine Soul was torn to shreds by the Sword Stance, leaving not even a trace behind.

And yet, after slaying the Celestial Human Realm peacock, the might of the Earth Sword showed no sign of weakening.

The Flying Sword carried Su Han’s body straight down into the deep forest below.

"BOOM~"

The earth trembled, and the landscape shattered.

With Su Han’s landing point at the epicenter, all vegetation within a thousand-mile diameter was vaporized, the land itself transforming into a bottomless crater.

A powerful shockwave blasted outward, felling every tree and plant for thousands of miles, creating a truly apocalyptic scene.

After a long while, once the dust had settled, Su Han floated in mid-air, his sword held in one hand behind his back. He was the very picture of dashing, ethereal grace.

However...

"PTUI~ COUGH COUGH~ SPIT SPIT SPIT~"

His coolness didn’t even last three seconds.

That invincible poise lasted but a moment before Su Han was bent over, spitting repeatedly onto the ground.

’Damn it. I knew you were powerful, but I never imagined you were *this* powerful.’

’If I’d known, I would’ve worn a mask before using this move. I got a whole mouthful of dirt.’

"SPIT SPIT SPIT~"

After spitting a few more times, he flew high into the sky. Gazing out toward the horizon, Su Han realized that as far as the eye could see, not a single tree remained.

The power of the Earth Sword was truly terrifying.

However...

’Holy shit! I destroyed so many trees... What if there was a Skill Tree among them?’

The thought filled Su Han with a pang of regret, and he couldn’t help but feel a little resentful toward the Earth Sword skill.

’Other skills have their descriptions exaggerated to hell and back just to make them sound awesome.’

’So why are you so damn literal?’

’It says "the utmost limit of power," and it’s really the utmost limit of power? It says "shattering mountains and rivers," and one slash really shatters them for a thousand miles?’

After witnessing the power of the Earth Sword, Su Han didn’t dare to even think about casually trying the other two swordsmanship styles from the Nine Swords.

Celestial Sword: The Sword of Heaven, Stars Extinct.

’God only knows what would happen if I actually used that. I might end up knocking the sun or moon out of the sky.’ 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

’As for the Human Sword...’

Heh.

The Sword of Man: Stars fall, mountains and rivers shatter, heaven and earth are overturned.

’Nope! Definitely not messing with that!’

...

"PFFT~"

From within a pile of fallen trees, the sound of someone spitting blood broke the desolate silence.

"COUGH COUGH COUGH~"

After a fit of violent coughing, Zhao Yang crawled out from under several massive trees, each with a trunk wider than he was tall.

Spitting the bloody dirt from his mouth, Zhao Yang stared at the scene of shattered landscapes and decimated plant life, completely dumbfounded.

After a long moment of stunned silence, Zhao Yang finally remembered he still hadn’t found his girlfriend.

"Feifei? Feifei, where are you?"

"Ngh... I’m over here..."

Hearing her reply, Zhao Yang followed the sound of her voice and pulled his exhausted girlfriend out from under a large tree.

"Feifei, are you okay?"

"SPIT SPIT~ I’m fine. Just exhausted from the fight earlier."

Zhao Yang nodded, took out a bottle of Elixirs, and poured one out for his girlfriend to take.

After taking the Elixir and regaining some of her strength, Lu Feifei stared at the scene before them, utterly bewildered.

"Dummy... what just happened?"

Lu Feifei’s question made Zhao Yang, who was just starting to feel less confused, become confused all over again.

’She was asking him, but who was *he* supposed to ask?’

Still, his girlfriend had asked, so he had to give her some kind of answer.

"Before, we were surrounded by those Cannibal Monster Trees and were on the verge of collapsing from exhaustion."

"I took out the Help Jade Talisman that Senior gave us, preparing to call for help."

"But before I could crush the talisman, a powerful shockwave sent me flying. When I came to, everything was already like this."

After explaining, a thought suddenly struck Zhao Yang, and he added, "Feifei, do you think maybe Senior sensed we were in danger and saved us?"

In response, his girlfriend gave him a look like he was a complete idiot.

"Are you an idiot?"

Zhao Yang: "..."

"You didn’t even crush the talisman, so how would Senior have known you were in danger? Why would they have saved you?"

"Besides, who on earth saves people like *this*?"

Zhao Yang: "..."

Flying into the air with his girlfriend and looking out at the endless expanse of broken trees and shattered branches, Zhao Yang and Lu Feifei were once again struck dumb.

What could have possibly caused this insane level of destruction?

It was a question they were fated never to answer.

But... one thing was certain: for now, at least, they were safe.

Yet, along with safety came a new kind of bewilderment.

When they first entered the ruins, they hadn’t known where to look for opportunities, but since the whole place was a forest, all they had to do was venture into the trees.

But now... as far as the eye could see, not a single tree in the entire forest was left standing.

With the forest gone, what were they, who had come seeking opportunity, supposed to do next?

What to do next?

Zhao Yang and Lu Feifei weren’t the only ones asking this question; so were all the other equally dumbfounded Cultivators from across Jiuzhou.

Also feeling lost was the Young Prince who had single-handedly caused this whole mess.

’All the trees were destroyed. Even if there were Skill Trees, they would have been blasted to smithereens.’

’So what... what was he supposed to do now?’

’When other people explored ruins, they had thrilling but ultimately safe adventures and came away loaded with rewards.’

’So how come when it’s my turn, I tear up the script right at the start, before I’ve even gotten anything?’

Thinking about it made Su Han feel a bit melancholic.

’He felt as if, from the very beginning, he had chosen the completely wrong approach to exploring these ruins.’