Chapter 536 - 323: Eyes Filled with Ice Corpses, Touching the Ascension Platform, the Ice Mountain Melts

"The only way through these barriers is to infuse our bodies with a large amount of the Divine Stones’ power."

Yun Qinghe said, gazing at the fiery barrier that enveloped the entire island.

"The Divine Stones are no problem. I have plenty."

Lu Mingyuan took a number of them from his Celestial Treasure Golden Pouch and handed them to the Cultivators from Great Yan.

As for those who had already used up their Divine Stones, they could only look on with envy.

Lu Mingyuan considered himself no philanthropist; he wasn’t at a point where he could just hand out Divine Stones indiscriminately.

Every Cultivator present who had a Divine Stone was already eagerly entering the island.

Sui Yuqing, Qi Muxue, and the Nanli Cultivators under Li Muwan’s command had already gone one step ahead to explore.

Their Ancient Ship had carried over a hundred people, but in the end, only eighty-some made it to the island.

The few who weren’t strong enough were claimed by the Evil Thought Embodiments and left at sea.

Lu Mingyuan could only save the Cultivators from the Great Yan Camp. He couldn’t rescue everyone; sacrifices were inevitable.

That these eighty people survived was only because Lu Mingyuan had intervened so often.

Had any other faction made the journey here, it’s unlikely so many would have survived.

Lu Mingyuan used the power of the Divine Stone to pass through the island’s barrier, revealing the true face of the Ascension Relics.

Before them was a pitch-black world, a barren wasteland. Ruined grand halls were everywhere, stretching on endlessly, all piled together.

A solitary moon hung high in the sky.

Everything here was impossibly immense. The pillars, the temples, even the door sills—all were hundreds of meters tall.

It was as if this place was inhabited by a race of giants.

The black waters of the Returning Ruins Silent Sea flowed through the island, forming numerous small streams. The mountains were riddled with hollow rock formations, which produced a mournful whistle whenever a strong wind blew past.

The ground was littered with skeletal remains.

These skeletons were enormous; a single frame was likely a hundred meters long.

Among them was a Dragon Bone that was a thousand meters long. Without a closer look, it resembled a continuous mountain range.

There was also a hundred-meter-long bull skull, its sharp horns still emitting a faint, eerie glow.

Yet, terrifying auras of power could be felt emanating from these corpses.

They were clearly just corpses, yet their presence seemed to have never dissipated, still lingering between heaven and earth.

Lu Mingyuan gazed at the scene before him and couldn’t help but marvel, "This is quite breathtaking. It truly lives up to the name Immortal Ruins."

Yun Qinghe also surveyed their surroundings, her gaze focused. "These remains should belong to creatures from the Middle Ages," she said. "Their power was close to that of Divine Beings, which is why their bodies grew so immense."

Lu Mingyuan glanced at the rushing stream and mused aloud, "So what exactly are the Divine Beings in the heavens? What kind of entities are they?"

The river exuded a chilling aura, and there was no telling what lay hidden within its depths.

Yun Qinghe shook her head. "I don’t know either. All I know is that the so-called Divine Beings are a group of entities who have lived for an incredibly long time. They might have existed since the beginning of the world, mastered the Path of Longevity, and can dominate all of creation."

"Then aren’t they Creators?" Lu Mingyuan mused.

"Creators... What a strange way to put it, but it’s very apt." Yun Qinghe murmured, nodding slightly in agreement.

For a moment, Lu Mingyuan’s mind raced with thoughts.

Then, in a flash of insight, he seemed to realize something.

’To think the Ascension Platform would be hidden in a place like this.’

’And considering all the obstacles and the fates of those who tried to get here...’

’If I look at it from another angle, maybe whoever placed the Ascension Platform here didn’t want people to find it.’

’That’s why they hid it.’

’If that’s the case, is my coming here to find the Ascension Platform and take it away a good thing for the world, or a bad one?’

Lu Mingyuan quickly pushed the thought aside.

’Even if I don’t do this, the Demon Race will.’

’And so would the Taoist Sect.’

’Perhaps the re-emergence of the Ascension Platform is, in itself, a calamity for the world.’

’And I must fight for a chance at survival in the midst of this great disaster.’

"Your Majesty, look!"

Just then, a startled cry from Yang Zhaoyuan broke Lu Mingyuan out of his thoughts.

Lu Mingyuan immediately looked up.

He saw a massive iceberg speeding down the river, the water CHURNING loudly around it.

"So this is where those icebergs are coming from," Lu Mingyuan said in surprise.

Frozen within the iceberg was a ferocious-looking Pig Demon. It wore cyan armor and held a Beast Patterned Broken Saber. Even in death, its eyes radiated a terrifying aura. It was undoubtedly a Demon King.

"This Pig Demon is one of Gangzhu’s subordinates, not a creature from the Middle Ages."

Yun Qinghe recognized the Pig Demon’s origin at a glance, her tone grave:

"This means Dragon Halberd has already reached the true location of the Ascension Platform."

"You can tell that just from this?" Lu Mingyuan asked, surprised.

Yun Qinghe nodded. "These Ice Corpses must have formed only recently. That’s why they aren’t enormous yet, just the size of large ice blocks."

"In any case, we should rendezvous with the Empress and her group first. She said she would leave marks along the way so we could meet up."

Hearing her words, Lu Mingyuan understood the urgency of the situation. He immediately released his Primordial Consciousness and, sure enough, discovered a mark of Confucian Taoist Righteous Qi on one of the skeletons.

"I’ve got it! The aura of Vast Righteous Qi!"

Lu Mingyuan was overjoyed.

’With Qi Muxue and her group scouting ahead, he would be much more efficient.’

Lu Mingyuan found several more marks, discovering that the trail led upward. He immediately gave the order:

"Follow the river upstream toward the high ground. Our time is limited. We must reach the summit within Half an Hour."

"Yes!"

The Cultivators of the Three Academies all activated the Talismans they carried to hasten their travel.

Along the way, they noticed many white dots floating above the ever-widening riverbed.