Chapter 60
A beam of white light suddenly appeared, landing on the edge of the cliff and spreading out slowly like ripples on water.
Everyone was stunned by this strange sight.
A few people in the crowd had already witnessed this scene before and waited in silence.
Leng Huai said, "The gate to the Ruins of Ashes has been opened. Everyone must come out of the Ruins of Ashes within ten days."
Someone asked, "Ten days? That's not enough, Demon Lord. Please give us more time."
The man thought that Leng Huai had deliberately set the deadline for them too short.
"Ten days is a rule of Heaven, not my decision. After ten days, the gate will close, and those who do not come out will be imprisoned inside for hundreds of years. Even if the Jade Emperor himself comes, he will not be able to rescue you."
Those present gasped upon hearing Leng Huai's words.
Many of the people here were visiting for the first time. They had previously been dismissive of Min Dibao's words, but now they were all crowding around the stalls, frantically grabbing for magical artifacts.
Min Dibao grinned from ear to ear and said generously, "Don't worry, everyone. I have plenty of magical artifacts here. On such an important day, I'll give you all a 10% discount!"
Hearing about the discount, people who were still hesitating gathered in front of his stall.
The Ye family glanced at Min Dibao's lively scene but did not join in. They gripped their swords and walked towards the edge of the cliff without hesitation.
Mo Xiaoxin felt a little nervous and kept staring at the direction of the cliff.
She always felt like she was going to fall.
They walked to the edge of the cliff without hesitation and stepped onto it. Surprisingly, they did not fall but entered the circle of light and disappeared instantly.
Mo Xiaoxin watched in amazement. Judging from their appearance, they seemed to have entered another space, perhaps like the space created by Bai Long, except that this space did not belong to any one person, but was a mysterious space.
Immediately afterwards, the Yue family and the Xian family also went in.
The remaining people remained silent, seemingly still observing.
The entrance is so mysterious, I wonder what kind of scene will be inside?
One by one, people began to spontaneously form groups and go in together.
Once the magical artifacts were almost sold out, Min Di Bao called out to everyone again: "If you trust me, Min Di Bao, you can come in with me. We'll go in together to find rare treasures and fight monsters and beasts. If we find anything good, we'll split it equally!"
The crowd cheered, thinking that Min Dibao was a really good person and they all wanted to go in with him.
Li Zhao scoffed at Min Dibao's behavior, choosing to ignore it rather than cause himself any annoyance, and went in alone.
Everyone formed their own teams and entered the Ashes Ruins.
"Let's go in too," Leng Huai said.
Mo Xiaoxin nodded, and then the two of them went to the edge of the cliff together.
As Mo Xiaoxin stepped into the suspended area, she felt a little uneasy, but once she truly felt the solid ground beneath her feet, her heart finally settled down.
After entering the Ruins of Ashes, there is a dense forest, just like any other forest. It is filled with birdsong and fragrant flowers, lush foliage, and a clear sky. There is nothing eerie or dangerous about it. Stepping on the soft grass, you can even smell the fresh scent of grass.
Mo Xiaoxin took a deep breath, savoring this rare and secluded place.
"Don't let your guard down; the more beautiful the place, the more dangerous it may be," Leng Huai warned.
Mo Xiaoxin smiled and said, "I understand."
Seeing Mo Xiaoxin's bright smile, Leng Huai was momentarily stunned and lost in thought. After a while, he came back to his senses and said, "This place is extremely dangerous. You must stay close to me."
Mo Xiaoxin turned her head. The cliff area they had just entered had completely disappeared, and behind them was a dense forest.
"Why haven't we seen a single person after we've been here for so long?" Mo Xiaoxin asked, somewhat puzzled.
Many people had clearly entered before they did.
Even if they are slow, surely they should be able to see no one at all?
Leng Huai explained, "Depending on the time of entry, the Ruins of Ashes will take people to different places. We might encounter other people later, but the probability is very small."
Mo Xiaoxin clicked her tongue in amazement.
It seems this Ruins of Ashes must be very large, capable of accommodating so many people.
After a moment's thought, Leng Huai said, "Don't trust anyone here, not even... me."
Mo Xiaoxin was taken aback, and for some reason, a chill ran down her spine. Confused, she asked, "Why don't you believe me either?"
Leng Huai glanced at the forest: "No one knows what will happen here. From this moment on, you can only trust yourself."
Mo Xiaoxin followed Leng Huai in a daze, pondering Leng Huai's words.
The more seemingly safe something appears, the more dangerous it actually is. Mo Xiaoxin kept this in mind.
She cautiously watched her surroundings, but apart from the rustling of their footsteps, there was no other unusual sound in the fragrant forest.
In stark contrast to the tranquil forest paradise, the desert is filled with howling winds, scorching heat, and sweltering sand.
After entering the desert, Li Zhao was exposed to the scorching sun.
In the vast desert, he seemed to be the only one walking.
Everyone's entry point in the Ruins of Ashes is different; it's all down to luck. The desert is especially dangerous, and his luck is just too bad!
However, he then thought that the more dangerous the place, the more unexpected surprises he might encounter, such as higher-level magical artifacts or herbs.
Li Zhao is not a lone wolf, but he learned his lesson from his previous experience and would rather venture out on his own than become someone else's stepping stone.
The wind was incredibly strong, and sand kept blowing into his eyes. He could sense all sorts of things lurking and stirring in the desert.
Monsters that can survive in the desert must be tough and resilient to the elements. If you can kill one, you might get some good loot.
As he was thinking, he suddenly felt something moving under the sand, and he immediately became alert.
Suddenly, a sharp object emerged from the sand and stabbed towards Li Zhao's foot. The object was incredibly fast, and Li Zhao couldn't dodge in time, so a chunk of flesh was torn off.
He cried out in pain and looked down, only to see the thing quickly shrink back into the sand.
The speed was so fast that it startled Li Zhao, but in the last second he still saw it clearly: it was a huge, dark brown claw.
It's a sand scorpion!
While Li Zhao was still in shock, a huge sand scorpion suddenly sprang out from the ground. Its black shell was incredibly hard and dazzling in the sunlight, and its pincers opened and closed with a chilling sound.
The sand scorpion was many times larger than Li Zhao and was looking down at him.
If a timid person saw this commotion, they would surely be terrified, but who is Li Zhao? He has already ventured into the Ruins of Ashes once, and his past experiences have made him strong and indestructible.
Li Zhao watched the sand scorpion's movements with a wary expression. Although he was injured in the leg, his wound gradually healed within five seconds.
Li Zhao reappeared safely in front of the Sand Scorpion.
Yes, Li Zhao's talent is the ability to heal wounds quickly. You should know that this talent is something that many people in the demon realm covet, and no matter how much effort many powerful beings put in, they may not be able to cultivate it successfully.
This is also why Li Zhao was able to enter the Ruins of Ashes with such confidence.
However, Li Zhao has always been a low-key person, and not many people know about his talent. If he hadn't suffered a loss at the hands of Min Dibao last time, he would never have come forward to criticize him this time.
He came to the Ruins of Ashes this time to find a suitable magical artifact. It's not enough for it to just have strong healing abilities; it also needs to have a powerful offensive weapon.
The spear in his hand was the one he bought from Min Dibao last time. Although it looked powerful on the surface, it was not very useful in practice. It is said that high-level magical artifacts can communicate with their masters, but this spear did not obey his commands at all. He suffered a great loss when he went to hunt magical beasts before.
He suspected that the Min family had tampered with the spear, making it appear as an ordinary magical artifact.
Unsatisfied with the magical artifact, Li Zhao wasn't confident he could kill the sand scorpion.
Never mind, we're already here, we have to give it our all.
Life is all about adventure!
Suddenly, the sand scorpion's pincers snapped shut. This time, Li Zhao reacted quickly, dodging the attack with a swift sidestep, kicking up a cloud of sand. Before he could regain his footing, the sand scorpion's long tail lashed out at him again.
Li Zhao rolled on the ground, the sharp scorpion tail grazing his back and leaving a tear in his clothes.
He used the momentum of his roll to throw the spear at the sand scorpion. The spear pierced the scorpion's exoskeleton but only made a cracking sound before falling to the ground, failing to cause any real damage.
Li Zhao was startled. He had just noticed that the sand scorpion's shell was incredibly tough, but he hadn't expected that the magic weapon would do no harm to it.
What should I do?
This is the only magical artifact he owns.
While Li Zhao was still in a daze, the sand scorpion pounced again, baring its fangs and claws, attacking from both sides with its two large pincers.
Li Zhao was forced to dodge by leaping, the sand beneath his feet scorching hot, each step feeling like walking on burning coals. After a roll, he picked up the spear from the ground.
He pondered how to defeat the sand scorpion.
Passively dodging attacks wasn't a solution, so he lunged at the scorpion and, taking advantage of its momentary loss of balance after its attack missed, grabbed one of the sand scorpion's pincers with both hands and pulled hard.
Li Zhao was thin and weak, but he was quite strong.
The sand scorpion struggled frantically, its other chelicerae flailing wildly as it tried to attack him.
Li Zhao gritted his teeth, his hands firmly restraining the scorpion.
The sand scorpion was incredibly frenzied, constantly spurting venom from the tip of its tail.
While dodging the venom, Li Zhao searched for the sand scorpion's weaknesses.
He discovered that the sand scorpion never fully exposed its abdomen to Li Zhao.
He was immediately puzzled, and while dodging the attacks, he observed the sand scorpion.
Suddenly, a smile appeared on his lips, and he understood.
So that's how it is. Sand scorpions don't have that incredibly hard shell on their abdomen, so they always attack while their abdomen is curled up.
Seizing the moment when the sand scorpion turned around, Li Zhao leaped up with all his might, spear in hand, and charged towards the scorpion's abdomen.
Just when Li Zhao thought everything was foolproof, he suddenly heard a dull thud as something hit the sand scorpion's back.
The sand scorpion immediately curled up, and Li Zhao's spear, striking its hard shell, actually bounced it off. He landed on the ground, his hands numb from the impact.
Immediately afterwards, the two Vajra rings firmly fixed the sand scorpion's two front pincers. The sand scorpion roared and tried to shake off the Vajra rings, but the Vajra rings held it firmly and it couldn't move at all.
It frantically pressed its front claws into the sand and rubbed them, trying to remove the golden ring.
Li Zhao looked in the direction from which the sound came and saw a diamond-shaped hidden weapon lying on the sand.
The hidden weapon looked somewhat familiar. He looked up and saw a group of people standing behind the scorpion, led by Min Dibao, who was holding a hidden weapon in his hand.
How did they get in here too?
Damn it! He was almost successful and he ruined it all.
After rescuing the man, Min Dibao shouted, "Young man, are you alright?"
Li Zhao was furious: "Min Dibao, we really are destined to be enemies!"
Upon closer inspection, Min Dibao discovered that the person under the sand scorpion was actually Li Zhao. He immediately frowned and said, "So it was you. You don't even thank me, and you're still being sarcastic. I'm really doing a good deed but no one appreciates it!"
Li Zhao snorted coldly: "I was almost killing this sand scorpion, and you, on the contrary, did it a huge favor! If you want this sand scorpion, just say so, no need to pretend!"
Those behind Min Dibao, unaware of the truth, were somewhat displeased with Li Zhao's continued harsh words towards him. One man stepped forward and shouted at Li Zhao, "Hey, our boss just kindly saved you, and this is how you treat your benefactor?"
Li Zhao snorted coldly, his sharp gaze sweeping over the crowd before him: "I don't want to waste my breath explaining anything further. A bunch of blind fools who don't know to associate with wolves!"
The man was extremely dissatisfied with Li Zhao's attitude: "A heartless bastard like you doesn't deserve to be in front of us. Get out of here!"
Li Zhao sneered, looking at the crowd with a hint of pity: "Why should I leave? If anyone should leave, it's you! I found this sand scorpion first, so it naturally belongs to me. You should leave this place quickly and find other magical beasts!"
The man glared at Li Zhao and shouted, "Li Zhao, it's one thing for you to spout nonsense at the entrance of the Ruins of Ashes today, but you actually want us to leave? Let me tell you, there's no such thing as first come, first served in the Ruins of Ashes. So what if you discovered it? In the Ruins of Ashes, strength is what matters! You want us to leave? No way!"
"What, you all want to bully me alone?" Although Li Zhao was alone, his aura was not weak. He just couldn't stand these people. They only followed his lead because of the small favor that Min Dibao had given them.
Min Dibao didn't say a word, but the people around him were all indignant on his behalf.
Another woman, who looked quite capable, stepped forward: "We invited you back then, and you didn't join us, but now you're saying we bullied you? To be honest, we invited you because we thought highly of you. Do you think someone as skinny as a tree trunk as you can handle anything?"
Another fat man scoffed, "Our team is full of people with all sorts of extraordinary talents. What talents do you have?"
Li Zhao glanced at the speaker, a burly man with a drooping head, large ears, and a greedy look on his face: "What, trying to trick me into talking?"
"You! Don't be ungrateful!" The fat man seemed to have been hit where it hurt, and his face turned bright red.
The verbal battle among the crowd intensified, escalating to the point where a physical fight seemed imminent.
Suddenly, a rumbling sound came from beneath their feet, and everyone immediately fell silent, looking around warily.
A dense swarm of sand scorpions emerged from the sand, varying in size. The largest was much bigger than the one Li Zhao had just encountered, and it could swallow seven or eight people whole if it opened its mouth!
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