Chapter 106 - 96: Chaos Sword Embryo, Restless Cyan Lotus Martial Soul

Chapter 106: Chapter 96: Chaos Sword Embryo, Restless Cyan Lotus Martial Soul

Seeing Jiang Hao glance behind them, Ji Qingxue and the others couldn’t help but look disheartened.

"Brother Jiang, there’s no need to look. We are the only ones left." Ji Wufeng smiled bitterly. Their elite team of over thirty exceptional talents had lost a full third of its members just from exploring the Ancient Emperor Sect ruins. Such a severe loss was difficult to bear, even for Nanling.

Fortunately, more than a dozen of them survived, sparing them from total annihilation. Those who made it through were all outstanding figures who had fought their way out of a sea of blood and mountains of corpses. Every single one of them was a peerless prodigy who had undergone a complete metamorphosis.

Compared to when they first entered the ancient ruins, Ji Qingxue and her companions had drastically changed. This was especially evident in the faint yet chilling killing intent clinging to them—an aura that only those who had survived a baptism of blood could possess.

After a brief moment of sorrow, the group, already accustomed to life and death, composed themselves. The dozen or so peerless prodigies from Nanling looked at Jiang Hao, somewhat surprised to run into him here.

"Brother Jiang, what are your plans now?" Ji Wufeng took the initiative to ask. He didn’t seem to look down on Jiang Hao just because his cultivation was still at the Second Spirit Transformation stage.

It would be a joke to underestimate him. The man was a peerless freak, a top-tier existence. Even if his cultivation progress had slowed for now, a single stroke of fortune would allow him to instantly surpass them all. Taking a huge step back, even if Jiang Hao found absolutely no further opportunities, it would only be a matter of time before he caught up to them.

Jiang Hao shook his head slightly. "I don’t know where to go yet. Do you all have a better destination in mind?"

He was, of course, referring to other legacy sites.

The Nanling group exchanged blank looks at his words. For Jiang Hao, entering this Ancient Dynasty ruin had been entirely forced upon him; he knew absolutely nothing about the place. Even the Ancient Emperor Sect was something he had stumbled upon by sheer luck. If Dugu Hongyun hadn’t chased him all the way there, he wouldn’t have arrived in time for the opening of the sect’s ruins. Right now, Jiang Hao was completely in the dark. He had no idea where he was or where he should go next.

Seemingly noticing his awkwardness, Ji Qingxue pondered for a moment before suggesting, "Jiang Hao, if you have nowhere to go, why don’t you travel with us?"

Not a single person from the Nanling group voiced any objections to her proactive invitation. After all, the person standing before them was a freak who had cultivated Golden Spiritual Power. No one would refuse the chance to befriend such a monster.

"Miss Ji, Young Master Ji, where is everyone heading?" Jiang Hao asked. Even though he was unfamiliar with this world, it didn’t necessarily mean he would just follow them blindly.

Ji Wufeng took a deep breath and replied, "To the Ancient Imperial City."

"The Ancient Imperial City?" Startled by the answer, Jiang Hao asked, "You know the way there?"

Now it was the Nanling group’s turn to look confused.

"Brother Jiang, aren’t you heading in this direction to go to the Ancient Imperial City?" Clearly, by running into Jiang Hao on this very route, many Cultivators from Nanling had assumed he also had some understanding of this realm.

Jiang Hao rubbed his nose in embarrassment. "To tell you the truth, just as I said a moment ago, I really don’t know where to go next. I wasn’t trying to hide my itinerary." Feeling that his explanation wasn’t quite enough, he added, "I know very little about these ancient ruins. I have almost no concept of how things work here."

A peerless prodigy from Nanling blanked for a moment, not quite understanding. "Brother Jiang, do you not have a map of the ancient ruins?"

Jiang Hao couldn’t help but smile bitterly and shake his head. "I don’t."

The so-called map of the ancient ruins was actually a layout drawn from the collective memories of generations of geniuses who had participated in previous competitions. In other words, it was a map compiled by those who had entered the ancient ruins during the last summit, the one before it, and countless other tournaments over the eras.

This vast expanse of ancient ruins contained endless legacies, but they didn’t all open in every era. The Cultivators from the previous summit would carefully record the sites that were likely to open in the next tournament. This ensured their descendants could quickly locate them instead of wandering around blindly like headless flies.

It wasn’t that Jiang Hao didn’t know about the existence of such a map. However, when he first entered the ancient ruins, he was the leading figure of Qin City’s fifth genius team. Naturally, the map was in Qin Xiangyuan’s hands.

"Strictly speaking, Brother Jiang is considered a Loose Cultivator, so it’s perfectly normal for him not to have a map," one of the Cultivators chimed in.

Another added, "If Brother Jiang is willing, you can travel to the Ancient Imperial City with us."

"That’s right," Ji Wufeng agreed. "The Ancient Imperial City holds the greatest fortune of our generation’s competition. In past summits, the ancient ruins would open, but the Ancient Imperial City always remained sealed.

"If the seniors from the previous generation calculated correctly, our group has arrived just in time for its opening. Of course, according to their deductions, the Imperial City won’t open entirely.

"But even so, if only a tenth of it becomes accessible, the opportunities inside will still be unimaginable."

If they could obtain further fortuitous encounters inside, this trip would truly be worthwhile. It was important to note that the so-called Ancient Imperial City was the former stronghold of the Imperial Race within these ruins. Not only did it house the Imperial Race’s legacies, but it also contained countless inheritances from royal families, including those left behind by numerous Divine Kings.

Obtaining the mantle of even a single Divine King would be an earth-shattering stroke of luck. This referred to a full mantle of legacy, rather than just a single Cultivation Technique or a martial skill. This was the difference between the Imperial Race, royal families, and ordinary sects. When their predecessors passed away in meditation, they would seal their lifelong legacies within certain mediums, waiting for future generations to inherit them.