The group soared through the sky, and moments later, they beheld a palace hundreds of meters in size materializing before their eyes.

Li Guanqi exclaimed in amazement, “Is this the palace constructed for the trial realm?”

Once everyone had gathered, Tu Kui produced a pitch-black jade token and tossed it into the air.

Immediately, a twisted light screen appeared before the group.

Tu Kui declared in a deep voice, “There are a total of fifty Foundation Establishment disciples entering the trial realm this time. I hope all of you return safely. Remember, do not harm your fellow Sect members!”

“Every action you take will be recorded by the Sect’s Identity Jade Token.”

“If anyone harbors ill intentions, hmph! Do not blame the Sect’s merciless discipline!”

“Hurry and enter!”

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Li Guanqi and the other two exchanged glances, took a deep breath, and leaped into the light screen.

A wave of dizziness washed over his mind, and when Li Guanqi reopened his eyes, he found himself amidst the ruins of a dilapidated relic.

As soon as he landed, Li Guanqi instantly drew his long sword and surveyed his surroundings.

Ye Feng and the others were nowhere to be seen; it seemed a random teleportation array had scattered all the disciples who entered the realm.

Buzz!

Divine Sense extended…

But then Li Guanqi furrowed his brow, as he discovered that his Divine Sense was suppressed to a mere ten meters.

The farther he tried to extend it, the more terrifying the resistance became.

Opening his Insight, Li Guanqi began to carefully observe his surroundings.

He found himself in a decrepit city, on an unknown street.

The entire realm’s sky was a dull grey, eerily silent.

Beneath his feet were dark cyan stone slabs, engraved with mysterious patterns that looked exceptionally exquisite.

On both sides stood tall and grand buildings, but these structures had long since decayed from the ravages of time.

The air was filled with the scent of rotting wood, slightly pungent.

Li Guanqi took out his Sect’s Identity Jade Token, only to find that it was as if it was being interfered with and completely unusable.

He couldn’t even perform the simplest task of contacting his fellow disciples, let alone see the locations of others.

The silence in the air was oppressively quiet, but Li Guanqi was already accustomed to this solitude.

He had silently borne this loneliness, as if he were the only person left in the world, for many years.

Li Guanqi, sword in hand, slowly walked down the deserted street.

The only sound was the echo of his footsteps along the street.

Li Guanqi chose not to head straight for the city center but instead approached a tall building.

Looking up, he could imagine the past splendor of the five-story building from the exquisite carvings on it.

He gently touched the withered door, which collapsed with a bang.

Inside the building, he found a layout similar to a modern tavern, but everything here was far too exquisite, even a jade dish was adorned with gilded patterns.

The wine pot on the table was particularly eye-catching, a bright emerald green.

But with a light touch, the table and all the jade items on it instantly turned to dust.

Ascending to the second and third floors, he found that the items were even more delicate.

It wasn’t until he ascended to the fourth floor that the stone lions on the winding staircase suddenly flashed red in their eyes!

The wooden lotus flowers that were merely decorations on the handrails suddenly bloomed!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Countless hidden weapon petals shot towards him!

Clang, clang, clang, clang!

In an instant, Li Guanqi stood in mid-air, his sword creating an impenetrable defense, blocking all incoming hidden weapons!

Most of the hidden weapons turned to ash in mid-air, with only a fraction reaching Li Guanqi!

Just as he thought it was over, a cracking sound echoed in his ears.

The massive wooden chandelier, originally just a decoration on the dome, suddenly dropped more than thirty wicks!

The wicks flashed brightly, followed by dozens of ice spikes plummeting down!

Li Guanqi stood in the air, lightning flashing beneath his feet, and his figure instantly appeared in the corridor of the fourth floor.

He narrowly avoided the attack.

Li Guanqi’s brow was tightly knit, and he murmured to himself, “What on earth was that just now?”

The two consecutive traps had put Li Guanqi on high alert.

He had merely wandered in here by chance, without any deliberate choice.

Therefore, the possibility of someone lying in ambush was ruled out; these traps must have been part of the place all along.

Li Guanqi cautiously approached the handrail and looked down at the blooming lotus flower.

Through the wooden carving, he saw an exquisitely intricate mechanical structure inside.

The hidden weapons that had shot out were petals wrapped under these wooden carvings, fired by the complex rotation of gears.

Li Guanqi was inwardly shocked; this trial realm relic had existed for who knows how many years.

Judging by the decay of the building, it was certainly no less than a thousand years old, perhaps even three thousand!

Yet even so, the mechanisms here were still operational, quickly triggering a chain reaction!

Crash!

At the top of the building, a dilapidated plaque fell to the ground and shattered.

Had Li Guanqi stepped out of the building at that moment, he would have seen three big characters on the plaque: “Hua Mo Lou” (Ink Flower Tower).

Boom, boom, boom!

The ground shook, and the vast relic spanning a hundred miles began to slowly sink!

And the earth around the relic suddenly split open, revealing hundreds of huge slabs that enveloped the entire relic into an octagonal box.

Buildings within the relic began to collapse and sink!

The entire relic submerged underground, and the shaking continued for the duration of a stick of incense before gradually stopping.

The entire space plunged into darkness, but then…

Bang! Bang, bang!

Buildings along the street lit up with mysterious candlelight, and the desolate street suddenly became brightly lit.

However, this eerie scene sent chills down Li Guanqi’s spine!

Looking at the shattered plaque on the ground, Li Guanqi thought of the mechanical clan mentioned by his grandfather, Su Xuan.

“Could this be a relic of the Mo family lineage?!”

Speaking of the Mo family, Li Guanqi couldn’t help but recall the admiration in Su Xuan’s voice when he mentioned this lineage.

He clearly remembered Su Xuan once saying, “A true Mo family master can rely on their mechanical techniques to directly slay a Void Refinement cultivator!”

At this thought, Li Guanqi’s throat tightened, and a cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

Biting his teeth, he dared not stand on any of the stone slabs on the ground and soared towards the city center!