The Transmigrator’s Cultivation

Arc 21: Breaking Through The Nascent Soul Stage | Chapter 391: Ruins

The ruins were located in the northeast. Each person released their flying beasts, sat atop them, and sped towards their destination.

After a few days, they reached an oasis. Amid the vast yellow sands, it was an extraordinarily beautiful sight.

Shou Liangcheng said, “A hundred years ago, this place was teeming with sand scorpions. Their inner cores and pincers had special uses, and people often came here to capture them. Nowadays, most of them have been exterminated, and they are hard to find. Occasionally, you might come across a younger one, but the older ones are likely extinct.”

Everyone listened but remained silent.

How could they not understand that Shou Liangcheng was recounting old tales from a hundred years ago?

It was likely that Shou Liangcheng’s friend had come here to capture sand scorpions and accidentally discovered the ruins.

However, the oasis was not very large, and with a quick glance, they could see its edges, yet there was no sign of the ruins.

After speaking, Shou Liangcheng tapped the head of his beast, signaling it to descend.

Everyone followed closely. Xu Ziqing looked around and saw that this oasis was lush with greenery and abundant with the essence of wood, similar to other densely wooded areas.

Yet, the ruins remained elusive.

Xu Ziqing glanced at Yun Lie, who shook his head slightly.

After they landed, Shou Liangcheng said no more and headed straight to a small lake nestled under the shade of the greenery.

The lake was not large, only about ten feet in diameter, perfectly round like a pearl. Its waters were crystal clear, seemingly inviting one to take a drink.

Behind the lake was a small patch of forest, filled with short, fruit-bearing trees, all of which were round in shape as well.

The forest and the lake mirrored each other, resembling a pair of jade disks.

A man dressed in a plum-red robe spoke, “Is this where the ruins are?”

Xu Ziqing and the others also looked to Shou Liangcheng, waiting for his answer.

Shou Liangcheng smiled and said, “We arrived a bit early. By nightfall, we will know for sure.”

Hearing this, the group settled down on the grass to meditate and wait.

As night fell, Shou Liangcheng sat calmly, seemingly unaware of the passing time.

Among the group, one or two people were beginning to show signs of impatience, while others remained composed, clearly possessing better control over their emotions.

Xu Ziqing opened his eyes and began to channel his technique, using the essence of wood to probe the surrounding flora.

Among the group, only he possessed a legendary technique, giving him an advantage.

Sure enough, while others were unaware, Xu Ziqing sensed something unusual about the plants.

Their wood essence seemed to have drained significantly, not as if something had absorbed it, but as if it had vanished into thin air.

This was truly strange.

How exactly would the ruins reveal themselves?

After waiting for over two hours, it was now midnight.

The sky grew darker, the stars in the heavens suddenly gathered densely, while the moonlight dimmed.

An overwhelming and ancient will erupted from the bottom of the lake, stirring the water’s surface. Surprisingly, while the spiritual energy in the area surged several times over, not a trace of it leaked beyond the oasis.

Suddenly, the scene before them changed!

In the blink of an eye, the oasis transformed into a desert.

And within the desert, a massive ancient city emerged!

Majestic and imposing, the colossal presence seemed as though it would crush the will of everyone in an instant, yet, in the next breath, it dissipated like flowing water.

Soon after, the gates of the ancient city swung wide open.

Shou Liangcheng exclaimed with joy, “This is it!”

After he finished speaking, he took the lead and stepped inside. The others exchanged glances, hesitating for only a moment before quickly following suit.

Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie walked hand in hand, trailing at the back. They were not entirely trusting of the others, so they kept their guard up, and the six people in front divided into two groups, also wary of them.

This was a natural human reaction, so there was no need to take offense.

Before long, as Xu Ziqing reached the entrance of the ancient city, he felt a powerful pulling force from within, and before he knew it, he had been drawn inside.

He quickly clenched his fists and, as darkness enveloped him, he felt relieved that he hadn’t lost track of his shixiong and that they had not been separated.

In the blink of an eye, Xu Ziqing’s feet landed on solid ground, and Yun Lie stood beside him at the same time.

In front of them, Shou Liangcheng and the others were present, and nothing seemed amiss.

Once they all took in their surroundings, they were taken aback.

Inside the ancient city gate was not an ancient city but rather a grand hall.

Moreover, this grand hall was exactly as Shou Liangcheng had described, without a single detail missing.

It was precisely this that allowed them to relax.

Shou Liangcheng had indeed spoken the truth.

Xu Ziqing noticed countless holes above the main hall, arranged in a pattern resembling a starry sky. Through these holes, countless starlights cascaded down, converging into a pool on the ground.

In that pool, the starlight flickered, and many cold glimmers shimmered, with golden energy weaving through like threads, almost cutting into the air.

Without a doubt, it was the Henghe Xingsha!

The other cultivators also saw the Henghe Xingsha, but since Yun Lie stood beside Xu Ziqing, his sword aura was chilling, and after the golden energy surged from the pool, it was immediately drawn into his body, showcasing a formidable presence. They had heard Shou Liangcheng mention the ownership of this Henghe Xingsha, so they chose not to approach it but instead turned to look at the branching paths.

Just then, the branching paths suddenly transformed.

One person exclaimed, “There were clearly only three paths before, but now there are eight! Did I see incorrectly?”

Another person echoed, “I saw the same thing! How about you all?”

The others nodded in agreement.

After steadying themselves, these Golden Core cultivators understood that these paths had shifted due to their presence; the number of paths corresponded to the number of people.

And the treasures they sought were likely hidden within these paths.

However, only one person could enter each path. What treasures could be obtained, or whether this place posed any trials, ultimately depended on the temperament of the ruin’s master—regardless, those who entered first had a greater chance of acquiring treasures.

At that moment, everyone kept their thoughts to themselves, except for Shou Liangcheng, who said, “If you see my friend, please bring him back. He has six fingers on his left hand, which makes him easy to recognize. If you can fulfill my request, I will reward you generously.”

This was a minor matter, and everyone agreed.

Then, they each took a step forward, choosing a branching path, and walked straight in.

Naturally, no one waited for Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie.

Xu Ziqing was not in a hurry to choose a path. His main objective on this journey was undoubtedly the Ganges Stellar Water. Seeing the brilliance of the starlight here, he felt a sense of joy.

Yun Lie said, “Shall we go down to investigate?”

Xu Ziqing nodded, “I was thinking the same.”

Since Yun Lie was a metal cultivator, his body was exceptionally resilient against the sharp strands of golden energy. Soon, he released his sword intent, creating a space of tranquility around them, and entered the pool, reaching out towards his junior brother.

Xu Ziqing grasped his shixiong’s hand, and with a leap, he was enveloped within Yun Lie’s sword intent domain. This was for Xu Ziqing’s sake; while he could resist with his own true essence, using his energy would consume significantly more due to the interaction between wood and metal. Thus, it was wiser to borrow his shixiong’s power, conserving much of his true essence. This also served as a precaution against any unexpected occurrences.

As the two stood in the pool, Xu Ziqing’s heels barely touched the ground, and he was almost cradled by Yun Lie. He released his consciousness and swept it across the pool, immediately spotting many particles of various sizes that resembled stars, glowing brightly or flickering erratically.

These Henghe Xingshas rightfully belonged to Shou Liangcheng, and they only sought the divine water.

Even though Shou Liangcheng had entered the branching path first, the two brothers did not need to take away his share.

Yun Lie’s consciousness was even more powerful, swiftly searching through the pool just like Xu Ziqing’s.

It was challenging to navigate through the starlight that obstructed their consciousness, but even so, they almost covered the entire pool, leaving no inch untouched.

Before long, they spoke simultaneously.

“Shixiong, I found it.”

“Three steps to the left.”

The sizes of the Henghe Xingshas varied, with the largest being the size of a thumb joint, emanating an impressive aura. If they weren’t mistaken, it should be the finest grade. The slightly smaller ones were the size of fingernails and were of high quality, followed by those the size of soybeans, which were of medium quality, and finally, those the size of mung beans were of low quality, along with countless tiny grains that did not qualify for any grade.

After a quick calculation, there were likely dozens of the finest grade Henghe Xingshas, hundreds of high-quality ones, even more of medium quality, and countless low-quality ones… If they could obtain all this Henghe Xingsha, it would be a tremendous wealth. Even if they couldn’t use it themselves, they could exchange it for many resources.

However, the brothers’ gaze was fixed on the layer of misty water surrounding the finest grade Henghe Xingsha.

Yun Lie’s figure swayed slightly, and together with Xu Ziqing, he approached the finest Henghe Xingsha. Suddenly, a massive black-golden hand appeared before him, reaching out to grasp that piece of the finest Henghe Xingsha! Just as it was caught, the misty water began to fall, and it looked like it would drop to the ground.

In that instant, Yun Lie’s mind stirred, and a small purple gourd flew up, quickly catching the water.

There were at least five drops of this water.

Xu Ziqing asked, “shixiong, how is it?”

Yun Lie nodded slightly, “It is indeed the Wanxing Divine Water.”

Xu Ziqing felt relieved and extended his own large green hand to grasp another piece of the finest Henghe Xingsha.

…So heavy!

After this grab, the Henghe Xingsha felt as heavy as a boulder, requiring some true essence to move it.

Fortunately, Xu Ziqing was not weak, and after exerting a little true essence, he managed to lift it.

The purple gourd moved again, sucking the divine water from the Henghe Xingsha.

After repeating this several times, both Xu Ziqing and Yun Lie worked together, and after a few breaths, they had collected all the Ganges Stellar Water from the finest grade Henghe Xingsha.

They then continued their search and found that most of the high-quality Henghe Xingsha also had divine water, though in lesser amounts—about two drops on each grain. They followed the same method and collected it. When searching through the medium quality Henghe Xingsha, only a few contained divine water, at most one drop each. By the time they reached the low-quality Henghe Xingsha, it was even scarcer, often requiring hundreds of grains just to gather a single drop.

It took them more than half an hour to collect all the Ganges Stellar Water.

Finally, the purple gourd was filled to over half its capacity.

Holding the heavy gourd, Xu Ziqing felt as if a great weight had been lifted from his heart, and he felt significantly lighter.

Now that the divine water had been gathered, the matter of the Small Universe had finally gained some hope.

This made his heart tremble slightly, and he felt a vague sense of enhancement within himself.

Translator: Lynn

Translations are not 100% correct. Please let me know if there are typos/mistakes in the chapter.

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