Time flew by, and more than half a year had passed.

In the evening, the afterglow of the setting sun poured down on the earth, bathing the entire plain in a dim yellow light.

The two teams of scaled beasts on the plain still maintained a distance that was neither too close nor too far, slowly heading towards a strange, enormous mountain range in the distance, following the gradually rising terrain.

In the scaled beast team at the rear, Han Li, dressed in a black robe, sat cross-legged on the roof of a black palace, gazing into the distance.

He saw that one half of the mountain range in the distance was illuminated by the setting sun, displaying a golden-red color, while the other half was dim, showing a strange, ghostly blue.

After watching for a while, Han Li couldn't help but furrow his brow. He sensed some strange fluctuations from the mountain range, and as they approached, the strange fluctuations became more and more obvious, and a chilling aura began to envelop them.

More and more people noticed the strangeness and came out of the stone palaces to investigate.

Although the distance seemed short, it still took the two teams a full seven days. It was not until dawn on the eighth day that they arrived at the foot of the mountain range.

This time, the Puppet City team did not continue to advance, but stopped at the mouth of the mountain, waiting for the Xuan City team to arrive.

Han Li and Gu Qianxun stood side by side on the back of a Dark Scaled Elephant, gazing at the mountain range in front. They saw that the black abyss, stretching for tens of thousands of miles, extended here, entering the mountain range, seemingly piercing through the entire mountain range.

The mountain range in front of them was half crystal blue and half crimson, each exuding strange auras.

"This place is truly strange. With our physique, we can still feel a bone-chilling cold," Gu Qianxun said, gently rubbing her arms.

"This half of the mountain range has rocks as cold as frost, looking like ice crystals, and the wisps of cold air emanate from the mountain. The other half of the mountain range has rocks as fiery as fire. Such a spectacle of ice and fire is rare in this Accumulation Scale Empty Realm," Xuan Yuanxing said, pointing to the other side of the mountain range.

Han Li remained silent, his brow furrowed.

At this moment, the sound of horns and bells rang out simultaneously.

Han Li, Gu Qianxun, and Xuan Yuanxing exchanged glances and flew forward, landing in front of the two teams.

Soon, the others also arrived and gathered in front.

A dozen steps away, the Puppet City team also gathered together.

Han Li's gaze swept over them and saw the handsome young man with the short halberd on his back, who had come suspended in the air on the Winged Scale Bird that day, standing at the very front of the team.

To his left stood a burly man more than two zhang tall, half bald with a sky-piercing braid on the top of his head, looking rather comical. His upper body was bare, his muscles like carved steel, with twisted, protruding blue veins visible, full of explosive power.

To the right of the handsome young man stood a dwarf man less than four chi tall, with a rather handsome face, no less than the halberd-bearing youth. He wore a set of snow-white bone armor, standing upright, looking somewhat imposing.

Most of the dozen or so people behind them were women with graceful figures, dressed in more uniform clothing, mostly black robes and gauze, with a layer of light gauze covering their faces.

Han Li's gaze swept over them, finally landing on the last three people in the team.

Although the three of them were also wearing black robes, the feeling they gave him was very different from the others.

Just as Han Li was about to investigate carefully, two figures flew down from the sky and landed in front of the two teams.

One was of medium height, with ordinary features, and was none other than the Lord of Xuan City, E Kui.

The other was wearing a white gauze dress, with a light veil attached to her face, with a graceful figure. When landing, she resembled a falling feather, extremely light, and every subtle movement was heart-stirring.

Even Gu Qianxun, a woman, couldn't help but be a little dazed.

"Clearly, she hasn't used any charm techniques, yet there's a natural but unpretentious allure flowing..." Han Li murmured, and he couldn't help but think of Zi Ling's shadow.

He knew clearly that the woman in front of him could not be Zi Ling, because she was the Lord of Puppet City, Sha Xin.

"Everyone, the 'Great Ruins' scenic spot that we have painstakingly sought is on the other side of the Black Abyss, and the path through the Black Abyss is in this ice and fire overlapping mountain range. I know that there have been too many conflicts between our Xuan and Wei Cities in the past, and both sides have close relatives who died at the hands of the other side," Sha Xin said slowly.

The people of the two cities heard this, and their expressions were somewhat unnatural. When they looked at each other, there was obvious hatred in their eyes.

"This kind of hatred... cannot be eliminated, nor needs to be eliminated."

As soon as Sha Xin said this, there was an uproar in both teams. Many people turned their wrists and touched the Star Weapons on their waists, and the killing intent in their eyes grew stronger.

"Everyone, please be calm," E Kui said with a smile, still with his usual gentle appearance.

Upon hearing this, the people of Xuan City withdrew their hands, but the vigilance in their eyes did not diminish in the slightest.

"No matter how deep your hatred is, I only hope that at this moment, in this Ice and Fire Extreme Vein, you can temporarily put it down," Sha Xin said, calmly sweeping over everyone.

"The danger of the Ice and Fire Extreme Vein is far beyond your imagination. There's no need to doubt this. In this mountain range, we cannot spread out and act separately like before. We must join together and proceed cautiously. So, everyone must temporarily put aside personal grievances and support each other," E Kui said, taking over the conversation.

After a moment of silence, Sun Tu took the lead and said, "We will obey the city lord's order."

Then, everyone responded in unison.

"Next, we will enter the mountain from the side of the Ice Mountain Range. To prevent accidents, after entering the mouth of the mountain, the two city teams will be mixed together, traveling at intervals," Sha Xin said, frowning slightly.

"Yes, ma'am," everyone said without hesitation.

"Let's go," E Kui gave an order, and everyone returned to the backs of their scaled beasts and began to head towards the mouth of the mountain.

When Han Li looked back at the three people at the end of the Puppet City team, they were gone.

E Kui's and Sha Xin's scaled beasts walked side by side in the front, first entering the mouth of the mountain valley.

Following closely behind, a scaled beast puppet carrying the people of Puppet City entered, followed by another scaled beast carrying the people of Xuan City. The two teams were staggered, one after another, entering the valley.

As soon as they entered the valley, the sound of mountain winds, like a woman's wailing, rang out around them.

Although there was no ice or snow in the valley, it was shrouded in a slight chill, making people feel uncomfortable all over.

Han Li frowned slightly, looked at the rugged mountain road in the valley, pondered for a moment, returned to his room, and began to cultivate in seclusion again.

After several days of trekking, as everyone continued to deepen, the crystal blue rocks in the mountain became more and more profound in color, and the coldness emanating from them became more and more intense.

At first, Han Li was able to cultivate without being disturbed, but in recent days, even he was disturbed by the icy chill that enveloped him all the time, making his mind unable to settle down. He would wake up from time to time, so naturally, he could no longer continue to cultivate in seclusion.

One night, he woke up from his meditative practice again and got up and walked out of the stone palace.

It was late at night, the moon was bright and the stars were few. The rocks in the valley reflected the cold light of the moon, illuminating the mountain road very clearly, but combined with the temperature in the valley, it seemed even colder.

Just as Han Li was looking up at the moon, Gu Qianxun walked out behind him.

When he turned to look, he found that Gu Qianxun had changed into a brand new set of clothes after only a few days. She was wearing a rather thick animal skin coat over her shoulders, looking a little bloated, but with a bit more naive and endearing cuteness.

"Fellow Daoist Li, what are you looking at?" Gu Qianxun asked, feeling a little strange at being stared at by Han Li.

"Where did you get that animal skin coat?" Han Li said somewhat awkwardly.

"The team was attacked a few days ago by a group of demon beasts that were scaleless but hairy all over. I killed a few and peeled the skin of one of them to make this coat. What, you didn't know what happened the day before yesterday?" Gu Qianxun glanced at Han Li and asked.

"I heard the movement, but I was at a critical juncture in my cultivation at the time, so I ignored it," Han Li said after a slight hesitation.

At that time, he was just about to open a mysterious acupoint, so even though he knew there was an enemy attack, he still did not take action.

"No wonder... But speaking of which, Fellow Daoist Li's concentration is truly extraordinary. The temperature in the mountains has recently dropped to such an extent that the skin of several people in the team has been frozen and chapped, and they dare not stay still at all. You can still sit alone and cultivate in seclusion, amazing..." Gu Qianxun praised.

"Fellow Daoist Gu is too kind. By the way, how strong were the demon beasts that attacked the other day?" Han Li deliberately changed the subject and asked.

"Very strong... more than ten times stronger than those we encountered on the way here before. Even the most ordinary ones are Profound Rank demon beasts, and there are a large number of them. A cultivator from Xuan City was careless and was bitten on the calf by the leader of a Heaven Rank demon beast, and was eventually dragged off the back of the Dark Scaled Elephant and tragically eaten," Gu Qianxun said after pondering for a moment.

"I didn't expect this kind of thing to happen..." Han Li frowned slightly.

"So, everyone has been paying extra attention recently, fearing that these demon beasts will attack again," Gu Qianxun nodded.

Han Li frowned and looked into the distance, and saw that the front of the team had already ascended a steep slope and was beginning to climb up the mountain wall little by little, as if to cross a towering mountain ridge in front.

"The road ahead is getting more and more difficult to walk," Han Li withdrew his gaze and sighed.

"No matter how difficult it is, we have to keep walking. Now that we're here, we naturally have to explore and see what treasures are hidden in this legendary 'Great Ruins'," Gu Qianxun said, her eyes flashing slightly.

"Hopefully, it won't disappoint us. It's better if it's just a ruin, as its name suggests," Han Li said with a smile.

"You crow!" Gu Qianxun glared at Han Li and turned back to the stone palace.

Han Li put away his smile, looked at the deep darkness in front of him, and his eyes flickered a few times, wondering what he was thinking.