# Chapter 156: Chi Kong Secret Mansion
Duanmu Xingling still appeared to be only fourteen or fifteen years old, with a petite and delicate figure, full and abundant bosom, slender willow-like waist, exquisite facial features, a pair of round and beautiful eyes, and fine, long, curled eyelashes, as if she would forever remain at the age of a young girl.
Her hands were clasped behind her back, and her crystal-clear red lips curved slightly upward as she cast a charming, flirtatious glance. "It's only been a month since we last met, but why do I sense a cold energy emanating from you?"
Duanmu Xingling was originally of an ice-cold constitution, making her extremely sensitive to cold energy.
Although Zhang Ruochen had refined the Ice Vein Pill, he had not yet fully integrated the cold energy into his true qi, which was why Duanmu Xingling had detected it.
Zhang Ruochen did not answer her. Instead, he stared at her carefully and said, "Senior Sister Duanmu, during the time you were away from the Martial Market Academy, your cultivation seems to have advanced again."
"Your observational skills are quite sharp!"
Duanmu Xingling's eyes rolled playfully, and she smiled. "I've broken through to the third layer of the *Eight Desolate Six Harmony Technique*, reaching another mysterious and profound realm. With my current strength, even if I'm not as fast as Sister Chen, my combat power is definitely not inferior to hers."
Suddenly, Duanmu Xingling raised an eyebrow and looked at Zhang Ruochen, teasing him. "I heard that you recently went to the Thousand Water Commandery, defeated the geniuses of various countries with a broken sword, won first place in the Sword Discussion Assembly, and even got engaged to the most beautiful Yan Chen Commandery Princess of the Thousand Water Commandery?"
Zhang Ruochen smiled faintly, not hiding anything from her, and recounted the entire sequence of events from beginning to end.
After listening to Zhang Ruochen's explanation, Duanmu Xingling nodded gently. "So that's how it was. You had no choice. Once you become an inner court disciple of the Martial Market Academy, even the Thousand Water Commandery King wouldn't dare to kill you easily. Besides, Sister Chen is truly a peerless beauty. If you can marry her, you won't lose out at all."
"Right now, all the students of the Martial Market Academy know about this. Many people envy you, but there are also many who are jealous, and some are even preparing to kill you."
Zhang Ruochen appeared fearless. "Who wants to kill me?"
"Xun Guihai."
Duanmu Xingling said with a smile, "Xun Guihai has already declared that if you dare to participate in the Intermediate Ruins Exploration Exam, he will definitely take your life. Xun Guihai had already prepared gifts to go to the Thousand Water Commandery to propose marriage, but you beat him to it. You have no idea—he's almost mad with rage!"
Zhang Ruochen said, "That Xun Guihai hates me is within my expectations. After all, Senior Sister Huang was using me as a shield, and given my situation at the time, I had to help her block that arrow."
Duanmu Xingling's expression turned serious. "Xun Guihai is ranked fourteenth on the *Mysterious Ranking*. His strength is far greater than you imagine. You must not take him lightly."
"It is said that he once killed a Mid-stage Earth Extreme Realm hall master of the Moon Worship Demon Sect. That battle made him famous and turned him into a prominent figure in the outer court of the Martial Market Academy. With his strength, if he wants to kill you, one move would be enough."
"I'll deal with whatever comes. I can't skip the Intermediate Ruins Exploration Exam just because of his words." Zhang Ruochen said.
After thinking for a moment, Zhang Ruochen added, "Senior Sister Duanmu, you've been preparing for the Intermediate Ruins Exploration Exam for a long time. You must be very familiar with the intermediate ruins. Can you tell me what I need to prepare in advance before entering them?"
Duanmu Xingling blinked her eyes and leaned slightly closer to Zhang Ruochen. "Sister Chen didn't tell you?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "Senior Sister Huang and I are only engaged in name. In reality, our relationship is not as close as outsiders imagine. At least in my eyes, my relationship with Senior Sister Duanmu is much closer."
It was clear that Zhang Ruochen's words had pleased her. Upon hearing them, Duanmu Xingling's smile grew even brighter. "At least you know how to speak. I thought that now that you have a fiancée, you'd forgotten all about me, your senior sister. Let me start from the very beginning. First, you need to understand the origins of these ruins."
"The Kunlun Realm has a history spanning hundreds of millions of years, from the earliest Ancient Desolate Era, followed by the Primeval Era, the Ancient Era, the Medieval Era, and the Recent Era. In the eternal river of time, countless heroes have been born, and there have been the darkest, bloodiest wars, as well as prosperous ages where ten thousand saints emerged together."
"In the history of the Kunlun Realm, countless Half-Saints and Saints have lived and died, leaving behind only ruins and former residences."
"The intelligence network of the Martial Market Bank covers the entire Kunlun Realm, recording all the ruins of Half-Saints and Saints from history in the *Sacred Relic Handbook*."
"Based on the level of danger and the likelihood of treasures appearing in those ruins, they are further divided into multiple grades."
"In truth, even for outer court disciples, merely training in primary ruins can be life-threatening. That's why the Martial Market Academy only allows the top ten outer court students from each of the four courtyards to participate in the Intermediate Ruins Exploration Exam. And listen carefully—it's only an exploration exam, not a training exercise."
Zhang Ruochen asked, "What's the difference between exploration and training?"
Duanmu Xingling smiled. "Exploration means we only need to enter the intermediate ruins to take a look and search for valuable treasures. If we can't win, we can flee. But if it's training, we have to complete tasks assigned by the academy, which carries much greater danger. Generally speaking, only the experts among the inner court disciples actively go to intermediate ruins for training."
Duanmu Xingling continued, "Within the entire territory of the thirty-six commanderies of the Demon Ridge, there are only two intermediate ruins. One is deep within the Demon Ridge, called the 'Chi Kong Secret Mansion.' It is said that the Chi Kong Secret Mansion is located deep underground and was the sacred mansion where the Four-Winged Earth Dragon, the former ruler of the Demon Ridge, once lived."
"The Four-Winged Earth Dragon's cultivation was comparable to that of a Saint among human martial artists. When it was alive, it was arrogant and domineering, ruling over a territory of a hundred thousand miles. Every time it fed, it would devour an entire city of humans."
"Even the superior commandery, the Thousand Water Commandery, had to pay tribute to the Four-Winged Earth Dragon every year, offering spirit crystals, silver coins, pills, and blood sacrifices. Each year, the Thousand Water Commandery would send millions of human slaves to the Demon Ridge as food for the Four-Winged Earth Dragon. If they didn't, even more humans in the Thousand Water Commandery would die."
"Five hundred years ago, the arrogant Four-Winged Earth Dragon finally angered Empress Chi Yao, who had just ascended the throne. Empress Chi Yao issued an order, dispatching the army of the First Central Empire to surround and suppress the Demon Ridge, killing the Four-Winged Earth Dragon."
"To kill the Four-Winged Earth Dragon and the powerful barbarian beasts in the Demon Ridge, the First Central Empire fought a earth-shattering battle at the Chi Kong Secret Mansion."
"In that battle, two Half-Saints from the human race fell, but they killed seven Half-Saint-level barbarian beasts, and even the Four-Winged Earth Dragon died in the Chi Kong Secret Mansion. After all the barbarian beasts above the Half-Saint level were wiped out, the once-deadly land became much safer."
"Later, the Martial Market Academy established itself in the Demon Ridge, helping the First Central Empire suppress the remaining barbarian beasts. At the same time, some human cities on the edge of the Demon Ridge continuously encroached upon the barbarian beasts' territories. Over several hundred years of development, they formed nations. Your ancestor, the founding ruler of the Cloud Wu Commandery, rose to power during that time. The Cloud Wu Commandery was also established then."
Zhang Ruochen said, "So, the current territories of the thirty-six commanderies of the Demon Ridge were, five hundred years ago, all wild mountains and forests ruled by the Four-Winged Earth Dragon and barbarian beasts. Over five hundred years of human development, starting from scattered cities and villages, they grew into the thirty-six commanderies on the periphery of the Demon Ridge."
Duanmu Xingling nodded and smiled. "The combined territories of the thirty-six commanderies now account for only one-fifth of the Demon Ridge's total area. But given the strength of the human race, in a few hundred years, they will surely completely devour the barbarian beast territories of the Demon Ridge. By then, there might be seventy-two commanderies, or even one hundred and eight commanderies. Or perhaps they will be fully unified into a single powerful superior commandery like the Thousand Water Commandery."
Zhang Ruochen asked, "Besides the Chi Kong Secret Mansion, what about the other intermediate ruin?"
Duanmu Xingling said, "The other intermediate ruin is located in the Tongming River, at the riverbed. It is said that the Four-Winged Earth Dragon built a dragon palace at the bottom of the Tongming River. Because the Four-Winged Earth Dragon set up a great formation around the dragon palace, only martial artists below the Heavenly Extreme Realm can enter the dragon palace. If anyone tries to forcefully break the formation from the outside, the dragon palace will be destroyed."
"For hundreds of years, many martial artists have gone in to explore, but out of ten who enter, only two or three come out. The danger level of the underwater dragon palace is even higher than that of the Chi Kong Secret Mansion."