Chapter 13: A Dangerous Place

Whoosh.

Flying all the way, breaking through all obstacles, even if there were some troubles, Kuafu would stretch his foot tens of thousands of miles and crush everything.

When I acted alone before, I was attacked by the 'Eight-Armed Battle Demon Formation' and the Nine-Headed Worm Beast, but since joining Kuafu and the other six True Gods, it's been really easy.

"Feeling relaxed?" Xing Tian, walking side by side with Ji Ning on the clouds, asked with a smile.

Looking at the mouth on Xing Tian's belly, Ji Ning remained very calm—after all, he had once commanded the 'Xing Tian Formation'—and smiled: "Yes, I haven't even made a move yet."

"Kuafu moves fast; no one can beat him to it," Xing Tian laughed. "And you know, the alien races in the Ancient Ruins are weaker than us in the Three Realms. So when we attack, they don't dare fight us openly... They only try to use some of the terrifying dangerous environments of the Ancient Ruins to deal with us. The Silent World... is one of the top worlds in the Ancient Ruins. The stronger the race that occupies it, the less dangerous the Silent World becomes."

Ji Ning nodded.

Good places are occupied by strong races.

Some terrifying and dangerous places are not suitable for racial reproduction. For example, the Three Realms, such a good place, is occupied by the Nuwa Camp and the Seamless Gate.

"So we'll be very relaxed in the Silent World, but when we get to some truly dangerous worlds, it'll be troublesome," Xing Tian cautioned. "We must be careful then; some of the most terrifying places are deadly even for leader-level experts."

"I understand." Ji Ning was solemn.

Even leader-level experts would die without a doubt—this was no lie!

Among the ten most dangerous places in the Ancient Ruins, the first was the 'Void Sea'.

The 'water' of the Void Sea was countless fragments of void, which collided violently to form a terrifying grinding force. Even top-grade innate spirit treasures would be ground to pieces! Only chaos treasures could withstand it... Such a terrifying grinding force had never been dared to be entered by anyone. Even Goddess Nuwa had never tried to enter. Perhaps after becoming a World God, she might have the strength to roam within, but there was no need; no one was willing to take the risk.

...

They traveled forward.

Two days later.

"Whoosh." A group of powerful gods and demons flew through the air on clouds: Kuafu, Xing Tian, Kong Xiu, Feng Ji, Xi Huang, Lu Wu, and Ji Ning.

"Hmm?" Ji Ning looked down. Below was a vast complex of buildings, with peculiar alien structures everywhere, and even some magnificent palaces, now all shattered and broken, many buildings clearly cut and fragmented.

Kuafu looked down and laughed: "Look at those sword marks; they must be from Yuding. Yuding is really fast."

"It is indeed the team of Daoist Yuding that destroyed the homeland of the Silent Clan," Kong Xiu said. Kong Xiu had four clones in each of the four teams, so she was most familiar with all movements.

"The homeland of the Silent Clan..."

Ji Ning sighed inwardly.

This was a war for survival. For the survival of their own Nuwa Camp, the enemy either surrendered, fled, or died—there was no other choice.

"Let's go. We've swept through the Silent World in five days; it's time to go to the next world," Kuafu said. "Let's move."

"Let's go."

Immediately, Ji Ning and the others continued their journey.

...

The journey was very easy. Even if there were some troubles, Kuafu and the others solved them, so Ji Ning didn't need to act. Ji Ning wasn't in a hurry. He came to the Ancient Ruins to fight, to win. When he was truly needed, he would act. It would be even better if he could win without ever having to make a move.

Ji Ning remained calm. Since reaching the leader level, he found himself more composed.

"Truly, only when one has real strength can one face everything more calmly," Ji Ning thought silently.

...

In the Three Realms, the ancient human imperial palace, also the palace of the Great Yu human world.

The Ten Thousand Races Hall.

This was where the humans gathered the great powers in ancient times. At the height of human power, they were the true masters of the ancient era. Many gods and demons, like Xing Tian and Ying Long, had long sided with humanity.

Inside the hall, the Three Sovereigns of Humanity, the leaders of Buddhism and Daoism, as well as Patriarch Bodhi, Divine Archer Hou Yi, the Buddhas of Buddhism, the Dao Ancestors of Daoism, and some carefree great powers, were all gathered. They had been assembled here for over half a year since the war against the 'Ancient Ruins' began.

Of course, most were only avatars or clones here, ready to act together at any time.

"Fuxi and his team have entered the extremely dangerous 'Thousand Mountains World'," Suiren Shi said. "This is the most dangerous world Fuxi has encountered since attacking the Ancient Ruins."

"Those aliens are cunning," Lord Sanqing nodded. "They refuse to fight head-on, and we haven't found their true lair. We've already conquered most of the simpler, safer worlds; now we have to attack some extremely dangerous worlds."

"In my opinion,"

Suddenly, a burly figure in dark armor below spoke in a deep voice, "Ji Ning suddenly joined the Dao Ancestor team on the expedition. The first few months were fine because they were only exploring relatively safe worlds. He didn't even need to act; Kuafu and the others handled everything. But now they've entered the Thousand Mountains World, a very dangerous place. In critical moments, Kuafu and the others might barely be able to protect themselves, let alone protect Ji Ning. At that point, Ji Ning will become a burden!"

"Although I don't like Thunder God's temperament," another immortal-looking old man said, "what he says makes sense. The expedition teams were carefully chosen to coordinate in formations. Ji Ning joining any team disrupts that coordination. Especially now, he could easily become a burden. I'm worried he might endanger Kuafu and Xing Tian."

The great powers below began to discuss.

Months ago, when Ji Ning first entered the Ancient Ruins, they had discussed this. But the situation was good then, and they hadn't encountered dangerous worlds, so they didn't say much. After all, Ji Ning's master was Bodhi, and his senior brother was Hou Yi; they had to consider their faces.

"Bodhi," Lord Sanqing said after a long silence, turning to Patriarch Bodhi.

Shennong Shi also looked at Bodhi.

Although they all liked Ji Ning, in such a great matter, personal preferences could not be allowed; everything must be considered from the perspective of the camp's victory.

"Haha..." Bodhi laughed.

The great powers below looked at Bodhi in confusion.

"Bodhi, what are you laughing at?" Thunder God frowned.

Bodhi glanced at Thunder God and then said, "Ji Ning will never be a burden."

"Oh?"

Shennong Shi, Lord Sanqing, Suiren Shi, and the others showed curiosity, while the great powers below whispered among themselves.

Bodhi smiled but said no more.

"Still keeping secrets," Lord Sanqing shook his head.

"You'll know when the time comes." Bodhi raised his white eyebrows. Hou Yi, sitting beside him, revealed a faint smile. He had spent too long with Bodhi and knew his master's nature well.

...

The great powers gathered here, chatting and laughing. For these long-lived beings, discussing Dao for thousands or tens of thousands of years was normal. In the past, when there was no calamity, two immortals might play chess for a hundred years.

Only half a day passed.

"Not good." The soft, gentle beautiful girl sitting below suddenly changed expression and quickly said, "Everyone."

Immediately, all the great powers present turned to look at Kong Xiu.

Kong Xiu had five clones, one in each of the four teams and one in the Ten Thousand Races Hall; she was responsible for conveying messages.

Seeing Kong Xiu's serious expression, all the great powers felt a tightening in their hearts.

"Just now, Kuafu's team fell into the dangerous death ground 'Earth Cry Mountain'," Kong Xiu quickly said.

"Earth Cry Mountain?"

All the great powers were startled.

Earth Cry Mountain was a very famous dangerous place because, long ago, when great powers from the Three Realms went there to train, a Dao Ancestor had died there!

"Earth Cry Mountain is very dangerous," Lord Sanqing said, his expression changing. "I've been there once and was trapped for over three thousand years. Hurry and get Tathagata to go. Tathagata... is the most likely to break Earth Cry Mountain."

"Alright." Kong Xiu nodded. "I've already informed Buddha Tathagata. He and three others are on their way."

...

Ancient Ruins, Thousand Mountains World.

Ji Ning had been in the Ancient Ruins for over three months. Following Kuafu and the others, he hadn't encountered any major danger.

"This is the Thousand Mountains World; we need to be careful," Kong Xiu reminded.

"Haha, any danger, I'll crush it with one step," Kuafu said with a laugh, holding his wooden staff. But after laughing, he still instructed Feng Ji beside him, "Feng Ji, keep a sharp eye."

"Mm." Feng Ji nodded.

The seven of them flew through the air on clouds, surrounded by连绵 mountains.

"I feel like we just passed that mountain," Ji Ning suddenly pointed ahead.

"Eh?" Kuafu stared wide-eyed and then nodded, "Right, we just passed it."

"Not good." Feng Ji quickly sensed and then his expression changed drastically. "This is a formation, using the mountains as its foundation. The formation covers a vast area and is silent... It only moved some peaks, and even I didn't notice it before."

"We're trapped in a formation?" Xing Tian was startled.

"We're already inside," Feng Ji nodded.

"What do we do?" Kuafu quickly asked.

"Two options," Feng Ji said. "First, break it by force—destroy all the mountains and this entire realm. That would work. But this formation was likely set by the Huanmu Master, who is very skilled with mountains and wood. A formation of this scale set by him... we probably can't break it by force. Second, solve it through formation techniques, which we also can't do. Human Sovereign Fuxi might be able to."

As soon as he finished speaking,

"Thump." A sound like a heartbeat came from deep within the earth.

"Thump." "Thump." "Thump." Low, rhythmic heartbeat sounds echoed through the sky and earth. The surrounding mountain environment instantly transformed into endless foul water, rivers surging endlessly.

Ji Ning and the others found themselves surrounded by endless foul water while riding the clouds.

"This, this is Earth Cry Mountain." Feng Ji's face turned pale. "Too late, too late. It's already too late."

"We were unknowingly led into Earth Cry Mountain." Lu Wu's face also changed drastically.

The others all felt a chill in their hearts.

"Such a clever formation," Ji Ning said softly. "We didn't notice anything before, and by the time we did, we were already inside Earth Cry Mountain."

"Buddha Tathagata already knows and is on his way," Kong Xiu quickly said.

"Everyone be careful, absolutely do not separate," Kuafu growled fiercely. "This is the greatest danger we've faced since entering the Ancient Ruins. Even if Buddha comes, it will take time to break Earth Cry Mountain. We need to hold out until Buddha rescues us. If we can't hold out... we will die here."

"Mm." Ji Ning and the other six nodded.

Everyone present was solemn. In life-and-death moments, no one dared to be careless.

"The Earth Cry sound is starting," Kong Xiu said. "When the sound is loudest, that's when danger arrives."

"Thump!" The heartbeat-like sound grew louder, as if the endless surrounding waters were trembling.