“Boom!”
Just as the black flames were spat out, a series of runes suddenly appeared on the teleportation platform.
Two giant armored phantoms soared up from the statues, each wielding a shield and a spear. They blocked the black flames and simultaneously thrust their long spears toward the black Flood Dragon.
“Bang!”
Struck by the spears, the black Flood Dragon let out a hiss and retreated back into the clouds.
Then, several exceptionally strong auras rose from the surface of the water, all charging at the black Flood Dragon.
“Vile beast, daring to wreak havoc here, watch as I reduce you to ashes!”
Amidst an elderly roar, a massive blade shadow, with the ferocity of thunder and lightning, cleaved toward the head of the black Flood Dragon.
“Boom!” With an explosive sound, the body of the black Flood Dragon shook violently, and one of its heads was severed by the strike.
The lightning-like blade light wrapped around the body of the black Flood Dragon, slashing open wounds across its massive form.
Seeing this, the cultivators on the teleportation platform heaved a sigh of relief and couldn’t help but cheer.
However, for some reason, Xu Taiping felt even more anxious upon witnessing this scene, sensing that something bad was about to happen.
At the same time, the Ghost-Sealing Talisman in his left palm began to act up again, devouring his life force at an even faster rate.
“Thud!”
At that moment, the head of the black Flood Dragon plunged into the water.
Initially, the people didn’t pay much attention to it, focusing instead on the elder with the blade above their heads.
But as soon as the head of the black Flood Dragon touched the water, the calm lake surface erupted with a “boom,” stirring up huge waves wrapped in raging black flames.
The waves swept up, engulfing the entire teleportation platform, and then swallowed it whole.
Darkness fell before everyone’s eyes.
The anomaly with Xu Taiping’s Ghost-Sealing Talisman became extremely intense at that moment, his life force visibly depleting.
Just as he was about to take a swig of Dragon Gall Wine, he suddenly sensed several chilling auras flying into the teleportation platform.
Upon closer inspection, Xu Taiping discovered they were figures in black robes.
But the surrounding cultivators seemed completely unaware of these figures, allowing them to walk step by step to the center of the platform.
“What’s going on with these people?”
“Boom!”
Just as Xu Taiping was filled with shock, the teleportation platform suddenly began to tremble violently.
Following that, a blue beam of light rose from the platform.
“The teleportation platform is damaged, get down quickly!”
Vaguely, Xu Taiping could even hear the shouts of the Oriole from outside.
But it was too late.
The teleportation array had been activated, and no matter how the cultivators tried to use their True Qi, they couldn’t escape its pull.
“Boom!”
With a tremendous quake, a great force pulled the people apart.
Fortunately, Xu Taiping and Lin Buyu, who had been holding hands, tightened their grip upon realizing the situation, refusing to let go despite the force of the teleportation array.
“Don’t let go of my hand!”
Xu Taiping shouted to Lin Buyu.
Although still unclear about the origin of this anomaly, it was certain that two people would have a better chance of survival than one in the ruins.
Lin Buyu nodded vigorously and clung tightly to Xu Taiping’s hand.
“Boom!”
With another thunderous shock, their vision went dark, and they lost consciousness.
…
Time passed unknowingly.
Xu Taiping opened his heavy eyelids.
“Where is this?”
He looked around.
He found himself on a slope in a forest, the ground was sticky red soil, mostly pine trees around, and graves with wooden markers were everywhere. The air was filled with the pungent smell of rotting corpses, and the gloomy sky only added to the sense of dread.
“Am I inside the ruins?”
Xu Taiping was full of confusion.
According to Senior Sister Ziyann, the teleportation platform at General’s Pass was supposed to transport them to a manor.
“It must be a malfunction with the teleportation platform.”
He suddenly remembered the black Flood Dragon above the platform before he passed out, and the figures that had appeared on the platform.
“I remember holding Buyu’s hand before I fainted. Could we have been separated?”
He looked around and saw nothing but broken tombstones and graves.
He then took out the pendant that Senior Sister Ziyann had given him.
As soon as he took it out, the pendant automatically pointed towards the depths of the forest graveyard and began to flicker.
It would only do this if companions were nearby.
“Could Buyu be there?”
Xu Taiping felt a surge of joy.
Logically, he and Lin Buyu shouldn’t have been separated by too great a distance.
“First, I need to find Buyu, then figure out exactly where I am. With the map, as long as I can identify the name of this graveyard, I can determine my location within the ruins. Then I can head to Dew Garden to meet up with Senior Sister Ziyann and the others.”
After a brief moment of chaos, Xu Taiping’s thoughts became clearer.
“Ugh!”
However, as he abruptly stood up, his head spun dizzily, and he nearly collapsed.
“This damned Ghost-Sealing Talisman has drained my life force again.”
Recognizing the all-too-familiar sensation, he immediately took out Eight Treasures Powder and a Qi Preserving Pill from his gourd and stuffed them into his mouth without hesitation.
At the same time, he mentally communicated with Baiyu and the little monkey:
“Baiyu, Little Monkey, how do you feel?”
“Xu Taiping, have you entered the Cloud Dream Marsh ruins? Little Monkey and I can’t sense the outside world and can’t leave the gourd; we can only hear you talking,” Baiyu asked back, while the little monkey expressed its concern with a couple of anxious squeaks.
“That’s right, but the situation is a bit dire. The teleportation array has scattered me and a few Senior Sisters, and I’m now preparing to find them.”
After swallowing a Qi Preserving Pill, Xu Taiping nodded silently in response.
He also confirmed something Senior Sister Ziyann had told him before—spirit beasts and pets cannot be brought into the ruins.
“Be extra careful. My father told me that the Cloud Dream Marsh ruins are extremely dangerous. The outer and middle regions are manageable, but deeper in the ruins, there are even Corpse Ghosts at the level of flying zombies,” Baiyu warned Xu Taiping.
“Don’t worry, I will,” Xu Taiping nodded.
According to his knowledge, Corpse Ghosts are a type of undead, their strength ranging from low to high, classified as Purple Zombies, White Zombies, Hairy Zombies, and Flying Zombies, with even more formidable beings like Wandering Corpses, Lying Corpses, and Indestructible Skeletons beyond that.