"Ugh..."
Meeting Ye Feng's gaze, Shen Yunyao was also taken aback.
"I... I thought you knew... that you'd be following me!"
Shen Yunyao blushed, looking rather embarrassed.
"What the heck~"
Ye Feng was speechless.
He had thought Shen Yunyao came from a major power and had some understanding of this ancient ruin. To his surprise, neither of them knew anything...
"Then do you know what the clues to the Ark of Doomsday are, or how to find that thing?"
After a pause, Ye Feng spoke again.
Upon hearing this, Shen Yunyao shook her head resolutely.
"Uh..."
Ye Feng looked around, scratched his head, and suggested, "Shall we go to the rooftop of that tall building to observe our surroundings and see what happens?"
As he spoke, he pointed to a towering skyscraper in the distance.
"Okay!~"
Shen Yunyao and Xiao Xiao answered in unison.
Immediately, Ye Feng, Xiao Xiao, and Shen Yunyao headed towards the skyscraper Ye Feng had mentioned.
Neither Ye Feng, Xiao Xiao, nor Shen Yunyao knew that not long after the three of them left, the water in a puddle not far from where they had been standing rippled, and then an eye slowly appeared...
...
Deep within the ancient ruins, in a place riddled with potholes and mud.
Inside an inconspicuous, dilapidated flat house,
A Jin, dressed in a sailor suit and wearing a chef's hat, sat cross-legged within a shimmering rune array.
He closed his eyes, completely enveloped by water.
Beside A Jin was the sea chef with a prominent anchor tattoo on his forearm, his expression wary.
"Plop!~"
Suddenly, the water bubble surrounding A Jin burst, and A Jin opened his eyes.
"A Jin, how is it?"
The sea chef immediately asked with concern.
"Hoo~ Hoo hoo!~"
A Jin gasped for breath. "This ancient ruin is incredibly vast. My exploration range is limited. Currently, I've only found a few scattered adventurers. The whereabouts of the other major powers are still unknown!"
"However, judging from the residual evidence here, this is indeed the Civilization Fire Seed we are looking for!"
...
On the other side,
Ye Feng, Xiao Xiao, and Shen Yunyao had already reached the skyscraper they had seen earlier. Since the elevator was out of power, they had to take the stairs.
"Speaking of which, Ye Feng, your growth speed is truly terrifying!"
Shen Yunyao looked at Ye Feng with the eyes of someone looking at a monster. "When you left Mech City, you were like me, only Silver Intermediate. Now you're actually Gold Rank Four... one level higher than me..."
Shen Yunyao was very surprised!
She was a core disciple of the Lord of the City of Arcane Arts, receiving abundant cultivation resources, guidance from a renowned master, and focusing solely on cultivation. Coupled with the strange pendant Ye Feng had given her, she had only just managed to break through to Gold.
Yet Ye Feng, who had been adventuring outside, had not only broken through to Gold but had reached Gold Rank Four...
"Well... it's alright... I broke through after a trip to hell..."
Ye Feng scratched his head, saying no more.
"Big Brother, over there!"
Just then, Xiao Xiao's surprised voice rang out.
At a stairwell corner where the three were walking, there was an apple core that looked very fresh, as if it had been discarded not long ago.
"It seems we're not the only ones who want to go to the rooftop to observe the situation~"
Ye Feng frowned slightly.
Soon, without further conversation, the three of them, weapons in hand, cautiously ascended the stairs.
...
After a full half hour,
Ye Feng and the other two finally reached the stairwell entrance one floor below the rooftop. All three wore solemn expressions.
Along the way, they had encountered several traps, some were landmines, others were simple alarm devices...
These traps were ingeniously set, and Ye Feng had almost triggered them several times...
"Damn it, this ancient ruin only opens on the night of the full moon, and we can only enter after the thunderstorm has passed, yet it's caused so much trouble!"
"This ancient ruin is so vast, where are we supposed to find Shen Yunyao?!"
As the three of them approached a half-open door at the rooftop entrance, a string of dissatisfied complaints reached their ears.
Hearing these voices, Shen Yunyao's brows furrowed.
"Putting Shen Yunyao aside, is this really an ancient ruin? Why doesn't it look like one at all?"
"Indeed, what kind of broken ruin is this place? Where are we supposed to find that bird-brained Ark of Doomsday!"
Two more dissatisfied complaints followed.
"The Ark of Doomsday is not our concern. We only need to eliminate Shen Yunyao!"
At this moment, another middle-aged male voice spoke, much calmer than the previous ones.
"I'll be damned..."
Ye Feng was speechless. Just seconds ago, he had thought they were Shen Yunyao's companions... but it turned out they wanted to kill her...
He peered through the gap in the half-open door and was even more speechless, because the people discussing the assassination of Shen Yunyao were from the City of Arcane Arts team he had met before.
He had just wondered if they had the same name, but now it seemed...
Involuntarily, Ye Feng glanced at Shen Yunyao, who shrugged helplessly. She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but ultimately didn't.
After all, this was not the right time to talk!
"Hey, Black Ghost, is this reliable? If Shen Yunyao dies here, it might be manageable for that old stubborn fellow from the City of Arcane Arts, but that old immortal from Mech City... we'll likely have endless trouble later!"
At this moment, a middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed round glasses said to a figure observing with binoculars.
"It doesn't matter. Killing her in a place like this, and then just saying she met with an accident in the ancient ruins is enough. She insisted on coming here herself this time!"
"Even if they investigate thoroughly in a place like this... they won't find anything!"
The one called Black Ghost was a middle-aged man, dark-skinned and bare-chested, covered in bizarre tattoos.
"But just to be safe, let's frame the Ice Princess as Elder Jin suggested!"
"That's also my purpose for coming here, a foolproof disguise!"
The man with the gold-rimmed glasses chimed in, but was immediately glared at by Black Ghost.
The man with the gold-rimmed glasses immediately realized he had uttered a name that shouldn't be spoken, and his face paled.
"Who is it?"
Suddenly, Black Ghost turned his head sharply and roared towards the half-open door of the rooftop.
"I say, Black Ghost, are you that bothered? You're always so suspicious!"
"You've yelled like this twice in the past half hour!"
The gaunt, crooked-mouthed man in leather pants to Black Ghost's left grumbled discontentedly. "We set up so many traps, who could sneak up here silently!"
"And even if they did, with the three of us, we don't need to be afraid!"
"Let's go, we'll open the door and put Black Ghost's mind at ease!"
As he spoke, the man with the gold-rimmed glasses walked towards the half-open door on the rooftop, his head turned towards Black Ghost's direction, and kicked the door open.
"See, Boss Black Ghost, someone is ambushing here!"
The man with the gold-rimmed glasses shouted in an exaggerated tone.
"That's right!"
Ye Feng's voice followed closely.
Upon hearing this voice, the man with the gold-rimmed glasses' face changed drastically. In that instant, Ye Feng's figure appeared beside him, and he punched the man in the face...
...