Chapter 1180: Sealing

"You, however, want us to abandon our homeland, wander into unfamiliar places, and live at the mercy of others? Our people will be scattered and bullied!" He gave a cold laugh, "The outside world is not so easy to navigate."

"But we can avoid the scourge of war," Axun said earnestly. "If we stay in Golden Sands Plains, we will only face endless enemies. The Kingdom of Giant Deer has recently been buying a lot of warhorses. Father, if you are willing, we can sell all our fine steeds. We are far from them, so they won't care about our past and won't refuse our warhorses, as long as the price is right! The money we get will be enough to take a ship from Giant Deer Port and settle in the New World."

During this westward journey, he had stayed in the Kingdom of Giant Deer for a long time, and what he saw and heard deeply affected him.

He learned that there were still countries not bound by war, that peace could bring prosperity and flourishing, that life could steadily improve, and that one could live in peace and contentment simply through their own hard work.

He realized that people could have hope, not just merely exist.

The more he saw, the more he thought, and the more he regretted his past foolishness.

The clan leader stared at him, his gaze growing colder by the second. "You're just afraid to fight, aren't you?"

Axun inwardly thought, "This is bad." He had been too hasty. "I'm not..."

"We are not leaving!" the clan leader interrupted him. "So what if the whole world is our enemy? Look at the Kingdom of Yao. Which surrounding country doesn't hate it, and which country dares to offend it? As long as we become as strong as the Kingdom of Yao, why should we care about others' resentment?"

"But..." They had arrived at the Ruined Treasury, and Axun immediately swallowed his words. "You are right, as long as we are strong, others will naturally submit."

As they walked, the mountains and forests became silent, with not even the sound of insects.

The clan leader had been hurrying along, but now he looked around and suddenly asked Axun, "Where are your attendants?"

"I arrived first; they will follow." Axun's heart tightened, but his face remained calm. "Father, something is glowing over there."

He pointed to the nearest stone platform.

In fact, those close attendants, sent by him, had taken a detour to arrive earlier and had already activated the sealing rune array.

Glowing? The clan leader instinctively looked in the direction he pointed, and indeed, he saw a faint red light seemingly emanating from the top of the tall platform, his eyes instantly sharpening.

The moment he turned his head, Axun lunged forward, forcefully shoving him towards the center of the platforms, shouting, "Come help, hold him down!"

However, the clan leader, blessed by the Rakshasa Armor, was remarkably agile. As if he had eyes in the back of his head, he evaded the lunge and struck Axun with a backhand punch, sending him flying. But because they had been walking shoulder-to-shoulder, they were too close, and Axun had already thrown several Ice Talismans onto him.

One of these talismans could freeze a person stiff. With three or four of them at once, the clan leader immediately became immobile, and the white frost blooming on his black armor grew thicker and thicker, solidifying into hard ice in just three to five breaths.

These were Ice Talismans Axun had prepared beforehand using his own heart's essence and various materials, making them even more powerful than those used in White Hair Mountain.

"If you don't want to die, come help quickly! We need to seal him!" Axun disregarded the turmoil in his blood and qi, scrambling up and pointing to several people, all strongmen of the tribe.

The Ying people he pointed to were stunned for a moment but quickly recovered and came forward to help move the clan leader.

At this point, the sealing array had been activated, and red lights flickered on all the platforms.

The formations of the Golden Sands Empire were still usable after a thousand years; though the elders had made repairs, their inherent quality was truly superb.

Everyone worked together, swiftly moving the frozen clan leader to the center of the platform. The elders had said that the closer to the center of the rune array, the stronger the sealing power.

Threads of runes emerged from the ground, like human capillaries, and the runes swam around them like tadpoles, moving faster and faster.

The clan leader's feet quickly sank downwards—

The rune array was like a whirlpool, with a powerful suction force from its center pulling him towards the earth's core.

The ice-bound clan leader's face was filled with fury, his gaze fixed on his son, as cracks burst out from within the ice.

Ice Talismans capable of freezing steppe elephants could not hold him for long.

Axun, having held back until now, finally spat a mouthful of blood onto the solid ice.

His father's punch had been very powerful.

With red eyes, he uttered, "I'm sorry!"

Tears streamed down his face as he pressed down on his father's shoulders, forcing him into the whirlpool.

He had to do the right thing; he had to seal the Rakshasa Armor!

He wanted to lead the Ying people away from Golden Sands Plains, away from all strife and suffering.

What his father could not accomplish, he had to complete.

So, Father, I'm sorry!

Koling Ridge, Blessed Fortress.

In the ruins, silent for a thousand years, a low roar suddenly echoed from underground!

Countless night birds startled, cawing as they flew into the sky.

The roar shook the ground, and the forest creaked.

Immediately afterward, the three ground platforms successively cracked, the sound as crisp as crushing beans.

Several miles away, a person leisurely walked towards Koling Ridge, occasionally taking a sip from his wine gourd, enjoying the pleasant buzz of slight intoxication. Although drinking while traveling at night was always a taboo, he was intimately familiar with the area, knowing where every pit was without needing to look down, and thus swayed along.

When the roar from beneath the ruins began, he choked on his wine, stood stunned for two breaths, then suddenly dashed towards Koling Ridge, frantic as an arrow-struck rabbit.

"It's over! It's over, over, over!" he cursed, sticking a Swiftness Talisman onto himself. "Are you kidding me? You've been sleeping soundly for over a hundred years, why do you have to wake up and cause trouble precisely when I'm here?"

What on earth had activated the seal?

Meanwhile, with dark skies and slippery paths, Dong Rui asked the great fox demon, "Have you ever been to Jing Mountain?"

"Twice, I think," Sanwei replied, also looking around. "This place always gives me an ominous feeling; I prefer not to go near it."

Great demons possessed astonishing spiritual perception; it wouldn't be worth their while to contend with such a place.

"Cutting straight through Koling Ridge is the shortest route out of Jing Mountain. On Koling Ridge are the ruins of the Golden Sands Empire's imperial palace," Sanwei remembered the way. "Taking a detour would be much farther, adding half a day's travel."

"Did you encounter anything unusual the previous two times you came to Jing Mountain?"

"No."

Then they shouldn't be unlucky either. He Lingchuan decisively said, "Let's go through Koling Ridge."

The others, both humans and demons, had no objections.

However, no sooner had he spoken than dozens of red lights suddenly shot up into the sky from the horizon!

The light was too bright and conspicuous, like the twilight clouds in the sky; no creature in the mountains would miss it.

"That direction is..." He Lingchuan thought to himself, *Could it be?*

Jing Mountain had been silent for over a hundred years, causing no trouble for anyone who came. Why were things going awry when they hadn't even completed half their journey?

"Koling Ridge," Sanwei said, equally puzzled. "What's happening there?"

No one had an answer. Dong Rui joked, "Could it be the Rakshasa Armor? Hahahaha."

The other demons and humans didn't laugh, leaving him feeling awkward. Sanwei spoke up to rescue him, "If it really were the Rakshasa Armor, why wouldn't it appear earlier or later, but precisely now? I bet someone has gone to the ruins again to perform rituals to find the armor, causing such a big commotion."

It scoffed at the legend of the Rakshasa Armor.

Meanwhile, He Lingchuan's clothes near his chest began to heat up again—

It was only a slight warmth, but the Divine Bone Necklace trembled several times, as if greatly excited.

Was this thing resonating with the red light in Koling Ridge?

He Lingchuan could only think of one reason for the red light shooting up from Koling Mountain ruins. Could it be that the picky Divine Bone Necklace had also taken a liking to it?

Come to think of it, was the Divine Bone Necklace unresponsive because they had passed by Jing Mountain last time without entering?

He Lingchuan made a quick decision and said to Sanwei, "The plan has changed. The two of us will go to Koling Mountain to investigate. You lead the rest of the tribe forward, and we'll meet at Red Bean Ridge!"

Red Bean Ridge was located on the southwest side of Koling Mountain, named for the red beans covering the mountain.

Sanwei nodded. "Okay."

Knowing there were pursuers behind them, it didn't waste words and continued forward with its offspring.

Only after its figure disappeared did He Lingchuan turn to Dong Rui and say, "Let me borrow your demon puppet."

The bat was perched on its master's shoulder, licking its fur. Dong Rui patted it twice, and it jumped to the ground, transforming into its true form.

He Lingchuan hadn't ridden this thing in a long time. When it transformed into its complete form, he and the fox demon were equally surprised:

Before, this demon puppet, though a bit strange after transformation, largely retained the appearance of a bat. But now, the creature that leaped out of Dong Rui's backpack and grew in size was completely unrecognizable to He Lingchuan.

The bat's short fuzz had become sparse, growing only on its back, head, and tail, while more than half of its body was covered in hard gray scales. Its face, which used to look as if it had been flattened by a punch, now had an elongated snout and a mouth full of sharp teeth, somewhat resembling a giant lizard's. Most bizarre were its wings: the bat wings had become very thick, reminding He Lingchuan of the texture of rough tarpaulin, and had developed bone ridges and spikes at their tips. With a sweep of its raised wing, small trees nearby were cut in half.

"Whoa, that's ugly," He Lingchuan commented, not daring to compliment Dong Rui's aesthetic.

Dong Rui was displeased. "It's not completely modified yet."

He tinkered with it casually; this wasn't even the final version, was it?

He Lingchuan tapped the bat demon puppet's scales. "Hmm, why does this texture feel a bit like wood?"

Dong Rui simply said four words: "True Lord Mu Su."

He Lingchuan let out a long "Ohhh." So that's how the wood immortal's clone was utilized. Truly worthy of a demon puppet master.

Not long ago, the bat demon puppet had also eaten a large piece of aged hide from a treasure lizard. He wondered where it had been used; perhaps on its loose, flapping jaw?

"So, was your money well spent?"

"Barely satisfactory," replied the boss from Yangshan Archipelago, who was very demanding and rarely gave positive reviews. "I'll go check it out first. Don't rush to get close."

If he wasn't mistaken, whatever was in the ruins was not to be trifled with.

"Understood," Dong Rui replied, instructing the ghost ape to transform into its original form and carry him forward.

His agility was far inferior to He Lingchuan's, so it was best to add some mobility for himself first.

He Lingchuan leaped onto the bat's back, soared into the air, and headed towards Koling Mountain.

Those dozens of red lights merely flickered a few times before extinguishing.

The mountain forest was once again plunged into darkness. A sudden gust of wind, from an unknown source, swayed the trees and distorted shadows, making everything appear exceptionally ominous.

Flying was faster than walking; in less than a few dozen breaths, the bat arrived at Koling Mountain.

The ruins of the Golden Sands Empire covered a large area. Below were the remnants of some buildings, appearing to be stone towers or... half-walls of some structure?

Within the shadows of the structures, something seemed to move.

(End of Chapter)