Chapter 522: Xuanwu Ruins Realm, Huangyu Island Military Camp
The Xuanwu Ruins Realm floated within the chaotic void of heaven and earth, separated from the Kunlun Realm by an immense distance. Even Saints would find it difficult to cross, and only by traversing a Space Channel could one reach it.
"Boom!"
The Ruins Realm warship's formations spun rapidly, creating violent friction with the atmosphere of the Xuanwu Ruins Realm, forming a massive, crimson-red fire cloud.
Standing on the ground and looking up, one could see that the originally pale blue sky now bore a colossal fire cloud, covering half the sky, creating a terrifying atmosphere as if the end of the world had arrived.
From within the fire cloud, a pitch-black Ruins Realm warship emerged, hurtling toward the ground.
Moments later, the Ruins Realm warship pierced through the atmospheric layer of the Xuanwu Ruins Realm, appearing above a stretch of clear sea. Then, the warship slowly descended, landing on a yellow-brown island.
"Boom!"
A thick layer of mud and dust was kicked up on the island, and the entire landmass shook once.
Huangyu Island stretched three hundred and twenty li from north to south and one hundred and seventy li from east to west. It was one of the bases built by the Ministry of War in the Xuanwu Ruins Realm.
Seven layers of defensive grand formations were arranged around the island.
Within the island's interior, layers of underground palaces and camps had been constructed, capable of stationing thirty thousand Ruins Realm warriors.
As the group disembarked from the warship and set foot on Huangyu Island, a Ruins Realm warrior clad in Ministry of War armor immediately approached and led them to the underground camp.
That Ruins Realm warrior said, "Huangyu Island is located on the edge of the Western Xuan Sea and is one of the ten major garrison bases in the Xuanwu Ruins Realm. It is personally overseen by the original body of King Jinhuang. All indigenous savage beasts within a thousand li of sea territory have been completely cleared. Therefore, you can rest assured—Huangyu Island is very safe."
Then, he added, "However, the natives of the Xuanwu Ruins Realm are very clever. They often disguise themselves as Ruins Realm warriors, infiltrate bases, gather intelligence, and cause destruction. So, to be safe, please leave an image and a drop of blood on the True One Mirror."
The True One Mirror was a Hundred-Pattern Sacred Artifact, developed by the Inscription Rune Guild. It could illuminate a person's true form.
Because of the True One Mirror's special power, the First Central Empire purchased it in large quantities from the Inscription Rune Guild and widely used it on the Ruins Realm battlefields to identify natives trying to sneak into bases or even infiltrate the Kunlun Realm.
The True One Mirror floated in midair, circular in shape, about three meters in diameter. It was unclear what material it was forged from.
On the mirror's surface, a faint white light emanated, quite bright and pure, like a bright moon suspended in the night sky.
Zhang Ruochen quickly stepped forward, being the first to approach the True One Mirror. His shadow was cast onto the mirror's surface.
Then, he cut his finger and squeezed out a drop of blood.
Soon, the mirror absorbed that drop of blood, fully recording Zhang Ruochen's biological information.
After doing this, Zhang Ruochen glanced back at Xu Hai and Green Robe Star Envoy behind him. Then, he activated his movement technique and rushed out of the underground camp.
"Hurry, hurry, follow him! Don't let Zhang Ruochen escape!"
Xu Hai immediately charged forward, chasing Zhang Ruochen. But he had only taken three steps before being stopped by the Ruins Realm warrior guarding the True One Mirror.
That Ruins Realm warrior held a long spear, its sharp tip pointed at Xu Hai's heart, and said coldly, "When you come to Huangyu Island, you must record your image and blood on the True One Mirror. Otherwise, you will be treated as a native of the Xuanwu Ruins Realm and executed on the spot."
Xu Hai clenched his fists tightly, flames seeming to shoot from his eyes.
He glanced in the direction Zhang Ruochen had left but ultimately suppressed his anger, not daring to challenge the Ministry of War.
He quickly walked beneath the True One Mirror, left his image and blood, then rushed toward the stone stairs, chasing after him.
By the time Xu Hai reached the surface, Zhang Ruochen was already sitting on a small warship over thirty meters long, which had broken through the seven layers of the island-protecting grand formation and disappeared over the sea horizon.
The three other Fish-Dragon Realm cultivators from the Xu Holy Clan also arrived on the surface one after another, walking up behind Xu Hai.
"Young Master, what do we do now?" one of the Fish-Dragon Realm cultivators asked.
Xu Hai's face darkened. "We can't let Zhang Ruochen escape. Pursue immediately—we must catch him."
"But... aren't we waiting for the Black Market people?"
Xu Hai's expression turned furious. "By the time they come out, Zhang Ruochen will have already fled far away. The Xuanwu Ruins Realm is so vast; finding him again would be like searching for a needle in the sea—how difficult would that be? Pursue! We absolutely cannot let him escape!"
Then, Xu Hai and the three Fish-Dragon Realm cultivators of the Xu Holy Clan, along with six other Ruins Realm warriors, formed a ten-man squad, boarded a small warship, and chased in the direction of the previous warship.
...
On the Ruins Realm battlefield of the Xuanwu Ruins Realm, one had to operate in teams to go out to sea and hunt native creatures.
Ten Ruins Realm warriors formed a squad, one hundred formed a company, one thousand formed a battalion, and ten thousand formed a legion.
The sea area around Huangyu Island had already been swept clean by the Ruins Realm legions. Most of the powerful native savage beasts had been killed, leaving only a few low-level native savage beasts still living in this area.
Low-level native savage beasts had low intelligence and limited attack power, so they were not the targets of Ruins Realm warriors.
The imperial court aimed to rule the Xuanwu Ruins Realm, not to exterminate all its life.
Normally, when going out to sea, most operated in ten-man squads to accumulate military merit points. Only when a powerful native creature was discovered would companies and battalions be deployed.
Zhang Ruochen had temporarily joined a ten-man squad, which was why he could immediately go out to sea.
The members of this squad were all soldiers from the Ministry of War. The strongest, the squad leader, was only at the Heavenly Extreme Realm Middle Extreme Position. The other members were mostly at the Heavenly Extreme Realm Initial and Middle stages.
The squad leader was named Nie Nanfei. He looked to be in his thirties, with a somewhat weathered appearance. His hands and face were covered in scars, clearly showing he had experienced many battles.
After talking with him for a while, Zhang Ruochen learned that his actual age was sixty-eight. He had fought in the Xuanwu Ruins Realm for twenty-one years, and the military merit points he had accumulated were enough to exchange for the title of a lower-level commandery prince in the First Central Empire.
"Your age should be under thirty, right? First time in the Xuanwu Ruins Realm?" Nie Nanfei asked.
Zhang Ruochen nodded and smiled. "Indeed, it's my first time."
Nie Nanfei sighed. "To reach the Heavenly Extreme Realm at such a young age, you must be a genius aiming to break into the Heavenly Ranking. But I have to be honest with you—the Xuanwu Ruins Realm is a top-tier medium-level Ruins Realm, almost approaching an upper-level Ruins Realm. It's quite dangerous. Not to mention Heavenly Extreme Realm martial artists; even Fish-Dragon Realm martial artists can die here if they're not careful. So, if you want to accumulate military merit points and break into the Heavenly Ranking, it's better to go to a lower-level Ruins Realm. The danger level is lower."
Zhang Ruochen knew the other party was giving him good advice, but since he had already come, how could he leave easily?
Zhang Ruochen humbly said, "Brother Nie, you've been in the Xuanwu Ruins Realm for over twenty years. You must be very familiar with it. Could you tell me more about it?"
Nie Nanfei knew he couldn't persuade Zhang Ruochen. He had seen too many proud geniuses like Zhang Ruochen, full of youthful vigor, but few of them survived.
However, he had already given his good advice, fulfilling his duty as an old soldier, so he stopped trying to dissuade him.
Nie Nanfei explained to Zhang Ruochen, "How vast the Xuanwu Ruins Realm is—even the Half-Saints in the military probably don't know. According to the maps currently released by the Ministry of War, two continents have been explored in the Xuanwu Ruins Realm, named 'Xuan Continent' and 'Wu Continent.'"
"These two continents only occupy a very small part of the map. In fact, over ninety percent of the Xuanwu Ruins Realm is covered by sea."
"The native humans are almost entirely distributed on the two continents and some large islands. In the sea, most are highly intelligent native savage beasts, some of which are even smarter than humans."
"Huangyu Island is located on the edge of the Western Xuan Sea, one of the eight major sea regions. Within a thousand li, almost all fourth-order and above savage beasts have been cleared. So, if we want to accumulate military merit points, we have to go to farther sea areas."
"Of course, Ruins Realm warriors whose cultivation hasn't reached the Fish-Dragon Realm should avoid going too far. It's safer to operate within three thousand li of Huangyu Island. Once you exceed three thousand li, you're likely to encounter powerful fifth-order savage beasts. Even just one would be a catastrophic disaster for a squad like ours."
Zhang Ruochen listened attentively, deeply memorizing every word Nie Nanfei said.
As they spoke, the warship had already traveled a thousand li from Huangyu Island, entering a dangerous zone, and its speed began to slow noticeably.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen's gaze turned toward the direction behind them. He saw a small black dot on the sea horizon rapidly approaching.
It was a small warship.
Zhang Ruochen used his Heavenly Eye to look over and clearly saw Xu Hai standing at the bow, along with the three other Fish-Dragon Realm cultivators from the Xu Holy Clan.
"Chasing so quickly?"
Zhang Ruochen smiled, stood up, leaped into the air, flew out of the warship's protective formation, and landed on the water surface ten zhang away.
A surge of true qi flowed from his feet, supporting his body.
Nie Nanfei was slightly startled. "Brother Zhang, what are you doing?"
Zhang Ruochen stepped on the water waves as if on flat ground and said to Nie Nanfei on the warship, "Brother Nie, you go on ahead. I have some personal matters to deal with. I hope we'll have the chance to meet again."
Nie Nanfei glanced at the warship behind them, showing a thoughtful expression, then nodded. "Alright. Take care of yourself."
With that, Nie Nanfei and the remaining squad members steered the warship, speeding away and leaving this sea area.
Moments later, the warship carrying Xu Hai and the three Fish-Dragon Realm cultivators from the Xu Holy Clan rode the wind and waves, stopping three li away.