Chapter 1447: Fall of the Curtain

He noticed Wang Qingjing's face was pale, while Ye Haitang and the other three were normal.

"Qingjing, are you alright?"

Wang Changsheng's eyes were filled with concern. Having cultivated for hundreds of years with only one daughter, he naturally didn't want anything to happen to her.

"I'm fine, Father. We finally made it out safely."

Wang Qingjing looked as if she had been through a traumatic experience, having almost not made it back.

"We can talk more when we get back. It's good that you're out."

Wang Changsheng led them to land on the deserted island, while other Nascent Soul cultivators also began settling their respective disciples.

Strangely, a quarter of an hour passed, but no Core Formation cultivators emerged from the Immortal Ruins.

Four hundred and fifty Core Formation cultivators had entered the Immortal Ruins, yet fewer than thirty came out. A survival rate of one in fifteen? That proportion was far too low!

Major forces had explored the Immortal Ruins multiple times and possessed many maps, with most dangerous areas marked. Even with Fourth-tier demon beasts, such a low survival rate was unexpected.

Li Rui and Nangong Fu approached, their expressions grim. The Myriad Swords Sect had sent ten Core Formation cultivators into the Immortal Ruins, but only Qian Yue had survived. This was an immense loss, the largest the Myriad Swords Sect had suffered since the Immortal Ruins opened.

They learned from Qian Yue that there were Nascent Soul-stage foreign beings in the Immortal Ruins. If Ye Haitang hadn't saved Qian Yue, she wouldn't have made it back.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, are you aware of Nascent Soul-stage foreign beings in the Immortal Ruins?"

Li Rui asked via a private message. This was not good news; if Nascent Soul-stage foreign beings permanently resided in the Immortal Ruins, sending people in the future would be akin to sending them to their deaths.

Wang Changsheng nodded. "Haitang and the others mentioned something, but I didn't ask for details. If you want to know more, you can ask them."

Wang Changsheng raised a hand, and an egg-sized blue orb flew out. He cast a spell, and the blue orb emitted a large expanse of blue light, enveloping all eight of them.

Li Rui questioned Ye Haitang and the other four about the foreign beings. The five of them had already agreed on a story: they didn't mention killing any Nascent Soul-stage foreign beings, only that they had escaped and that a batch of Third-tier puppet beasts had been destroyed by the foreign beings. They naturally made no mention of Fourth-tier puppet beasts.

"So, there are at least two Nascent Soul-stage foreign beings in the Immortal Ruins! Fellow Daoist Wang, please do not disclose information about these foreign beings to outsiders."

Li Rui cautioned gravely, emphasizing the importance of this information.

Wang Changsheng naturally wouldn't spread such news, as it wasn't a good thing to begin with.

Inside the Immortal Ruins, a towering peak suddenly shot a blood-red light pillar, a thousand zhang in diameter, straight into the sky.

The void twisted, and hundreds of blood-red halos appeared.

Multicolored spiritual lights flew up, striking the various blood-red halos.

A deafening roar erupted, and the void seemed to collapse halfway, shaking violently as gales swept through.

The sky suddenly darkened, and a massive thundercloud appeared high above, accompanied by lightning and thunder. Thick silver lightning snakes writhed within the thundercloud.

"No..."

A desperate male voice came from the peak.

A rumbling thunder sounded, and the thundercloud churned violently as thick silver lightning bolts poured down, striking the peak below.

A blinding silver light suddenly flared in the void, forming a massive lightning barrier that covered an area of a hundred miles.

Soil and rocks shattered instantly when struck by the silver lightning, and ancient towering trees burst into raging flames.

Hundreds of spiritual lights fell from the sky, revealing themselves to be dim magical artifacts.

The blood-red halos disappeared one after another, as if they had never existed.

After half a quarter of an hour, the thundercloud dissipated, and the silver lightning barrier vanished. The hundred-mile radius was transformed into scorched earth, steaming with heat, devoid of any living creatures.

A somewhat dishevelled figure emerged from the scorched earth, revealing himself to be a benevolent-looking old man in red robes. His aura was weak.

He had still underestimated the power of the realm. Relying solely on a few Core Formation cultivators, it was impossible to open a spatial passage, especially with powerful restrictions remaining there. These restrictions were only aimed at foreign beings like them, not at others.

"Kill, kill, kill! Haha, kill all living beings here."

The red-robed old man laughed sinisterly. Years of hope had turned to dust, and he plunged into despair. Since he wouldn't live much longer anyway, he might as well slaughter every living creature he could see.

On the deserted island, Li Tianyang and over twenty other Nascent Soul cultivators gathered, their gazes grim.

They had sent people to search an area of a hundred thousand miles around, but found no cultivators who had entered the Immortal Ruins, indicating that the other cultivators had perished.

While the major forces weren't completely crippled, their vitality had been significantly affected. The Shen family suffered the greatest loss; already in decline, they had sent people to brave the Immortal Suppressing Pagoda, all of whom died in battle. Then, they sent people into the Immortal Ruins, with not a single survivor.

Li Rui had already inspected the storage pouches of Wang Qingjing and the other four, taking a portion of their cultivation resources, including dozens of thousand-year-old spiritual herbs. The nine disciples had not died in vain.

"Nascent Soul-stage foreign beings... it seems that when the Immortal Ruins open again in the future, we cannot send so many people."

Li Tianyang's gaze was somber. They exchanged information, learning that there were Nascent Soul-stage foreign beings in the Immortal Ruins. This was troubling news, as they didn't know if these foreign beings had entered accidentally or were permanent residents.

"What's done is done; further talk is useless. Let's return to our respective homes. Zhou Sihong is our true grave concern. Besides, the Immortal Ruins won't open again for over a thousand years."

Li Rui said gravely. Several survivors had seen the Nascent Soul-stage foreign beings, but none knew where they came from.

It was highly probable that the cultivators who didn't emerge had perished. As for verifying this, they would know once they returned to their respective strongholds and checked their life soul lamps.

In comparison, Zhou Sihong was their greatest threat.

"In that case, let's all return home. Farewell."

Shen Wenbin flicked his sleeve, his face ashen, and led his clansmen away.

If the Shen family couldn't overcome their current predicament, they would eventually be squeezed out of the ranks of the Ten Great Cultivation Families of the South Sea, while the Wang family had a chance to become one of them.

The title of "Ten Great Families" wasn't inherently important, but possessing it signified a powerful cultivation family and served as a form of recognition.

Strictly speaking, whether the Shen family fell out of the Ten Great Cultivation Families had nothing to do with the Wang family. Even without the Wang family, there would still be the Li family or the Zhao family to contend for the spot.

The major forces, each with their disciples, departed. Multicolored escape lights soared from the deserted island, disappearing into the horizon.

Wang Qingling released her Icewind Flood Dragon. With a flick of her wrist, a deafening dragon roar echoed, and the Icewind Flood Dragon flew out, gently settling on the ground. Wang Changsheng jumped onto its back, followed closely by the others.

The Icewind Flood Dragon soared high into the sky. Before long, it transformed into a streak of white light and vanished into the distant horizon.