"There's really a ruin up ahead!"
Following the stampeding beasts, Qin Mu suddenly saw the land dip sharply, revealing a long canyon. Within it lay countless ancient structures—palaces standing in clusters, broad plazas, and towering halls and pavilions.
At the entrance of the ruins stood a lofty gate spanning both sides of the canyon, flanked by massive ornamental columns coiled with dragon carvings.
The herd was charging straight toward this gate, rushing into the ruins.
"The darkness is coming!"
Qin Mu looked up, and his scalp tingled. A darkness—thick like spilled ink—was pouring over the cliffs above the canyon, cascading downward and flooding toward the ruins!
In moments, the darkness would swallow the gate.
The beasts became even more frenzied, fighting madly to enter the gate. They slammed into each other, trampled each other; one wrong step meant being crushed to pieces.
But hesitation meant a far worse fate—being caught by the darkness before reaching the ruins.
Qin Mu sprinted desperately and grabbed the tail of a massive beast. This creature was huge—like a moving mountain—sending other monsters flying or crushing them beneath its feet as it barreled forward.
More beasts leapt up behind it, grabbing onto its tail just as Qin Mu had, letting the giant beast drag them into the ruins.
Looking down, Qin Mu saw that even the fiercest beasts were now trembling, clinging tightly to the tail, not daring to move. He glanced back and saw Qu Shixiong, Qing Shijie, and the other four disciples racing toward the ruins as well.
At last, just before the darkness submerged the gate, the giant beast rushed through it. Darkness engulfed the entrance a heartbeat later.
Qu Shixiong, Qing Shijie, and another youth managed to dive through just in time. Of the remaining two, one only had an arm inside the gate when darkness swept over him; the other had half his body inside—face, chest, leg, half his abdomen, and one arm—while the rest was caught by the darkness.
Qu Shixiong landed on the other side and immediately grabbed at his two junior brothers. He caught one by the hand and yanked hard—dragging out a gleaming white skeleton.
As he reached for the other youth, the boy collapsed to the ground.
Qu Shixiong and Qing Shijie shuddered in horror. The front half of the youth's body was intact, but all the flesh on his back had vanished—stripped clean by something in the darkness.
"What in the world is hidden inside that darkness?" Qing Shijie cried.
Qu Shixiong steadied himself, exhaling heavily. "The dead return to dust. The two junior brothers died righteously, fighting demons. They died gloriously. That little demon brat deliberately delayed us until darkness fell—clearly planning to use it to kill us!"
Another youth shouted angrily, "He's trapped here too! Surrounded by darkness—there's nowhere to run! We'll find him and tear him apart to avenge our brothers!"
"There he is!"
Qing Shijie spotted Qin Mu dropping from the giant beast's tail. She screamed, "Little demon! You killed my junior brothers—trying to run?"
Qin Mu's anger flared. "You chased me for no reason, hounding me until nightfall. You killed yourselves—what does that have to do with me? I never provoked you! Yet you tried to murder me—who's the one being wronged here?"
"Still trying to quibble?" Qing Shijie snarled.
"Quibble your ancestor!"
Qin Mu shouted back. "I only killed one deer with Grandma to make clothes, and you called us demons. Yet you kill a whole herd of deer and still call us demons?"
Qu Shixiong stepped forward, face dark. "This demon brat is good at twisting words. No need to talk—kill him!"
Just as the three prepared to strike, low beastly growls echoed through the ruins. They froze and looked around.
Thousands of monsters were gathered throughout the ruins—some even lord-level beasts—staring at them with dangerous eyes.
Qu Shixiong stiffened and took a small step back. Seeing they weren't fighting, the beasts also stayed still.
Qin Mu clicked his tongue in wonder. These beasts were usually mortal enemies, always fighting over territory and prey. Yet now they coexisted peacefully.
"Could it be… they have a rule? No fighting within the ruins?"
Qin Mu blinked. Many of these beasts were natural nemeses, yet sat quietly together—proof his guess was correct. The villagers often said beasts had intelligence; he had seen the demon ape speak, calling him "little one." These beasts might truly have made an agreement.
Qu Shixiong seemed to realize this as well and whispered, "Don't act tonight. When dawn breaks—kill him immediately."
The other two nodded.
Qin Mu looked around. The ruins were vast, resembling a city built inside the canyon. Beasts filled every space—except one.
The plaza.
The plaza held not a single monster—only rows of human skeletons. There were two to three hundred of them, all wearing remnants of splendid garments.
"These were all women."
Strangely, all the skeletons sat cross-legged in neat rows—fifteen rows of fifteen each—as if meditating when disaster struck too fast to escape.
At the very front sat a leader's skeleton, also cross-legged.
All these remains faced the giant gate.
"Senior brother, look!"
Qing Shijie pointed excitedly at the skeletons. "They're holding treasures! Every one of them!"
Qu Shixiong's heart raced. Some skeletons held swords, others dust whisks, jade pendants, or treasure vases—each one shining, looking newly forged.
The leader's treasure was the most dazzling—a luminous pearl floating above its hand, mist swirling inside.
This was a treasure trove beyond imagination.
"If we get these treasures…" Qing Shijie whispered, breathing hard.
Even the treasure vault of the Five Elders of Lijiang couldn't compare to a fraction of this.
With these treasures, they could start their own sect.
Qu Shixiong's eyes gleamed. "Heaven favors us. Fifth Junior Brother—go retrieve them."
The fifth disciple stepped forward. But the moment he entered the plaza, a female skeleton's dust whisk stirred. The fine silken threads drifted like living things—one strand extended before him, rising like a tiny snake and inspecting him.
"Senior brother…" the youth whispered, trembling.
Qu Shixiong said, "They're just ownerless treasures. Don't be—"
Before he finished, the thread shot into the youth's eye like lightning. Countless more threads lashed forward, burrowing into both his eyes.
The youth opened his mouth in a silent scream as Qin Mu watched in horror—the boy withered in seconds, shriveling into a dried corpse.