Bang——

The next second.

Si Boyun immediately activated a defensive rune that is precious even among Tier Four.

His entire aura and alertness surged to their peak!

He had known Ye Tuhong for hundreds of years, intimately familiar with each other's true roots.

He could guarantee.

Ye Tuhong would never, nor could he possibly, silently disappear from his side.

Even if he activated some kind of Tier Five Teleportation Talisman passed down from Ancient Times, there would definitely be spiritual energy fluctuations.

Hence it was obvious.

Ye Tuhong did not disappear of his own volition.

Was this situation caused by a mechanism?

An array?

Or perhaps...

Someone else?

If it indeed was a trap from some ruins, Si Boyun could only wish his old friend good luck.

But if some being intervened...

That would be extremely, extremely frightening.

Having secluded himself for hundreds of years in Yaque, Si Boyun naturally encountered some cultivators with realms higher than his.

Especially after Old Monster Duan fell with another recently, several reclusive Nascent Soul Great Cultivators secretly arrived at Yaque.

And under confidentiality, even had an encounter with the Demon Realm's Demon King.

Although it wasn't a life-and-death battle, their cultivation at least revealed six to seven layers.

As part of the 'support team' sweeping arrays.

Si Boyun naturally took the opportunity to gain a relatively direct understanding of the top cultivators of the current Damo Realm.

Si Boyun could guarantee.

To silently take Ye Tuhong away, one's cultivation must be at least above the seventh layer of Nascent Soul Realm!

Drip——

Amidst the tension, a bead of sweat that hadn't appeared for hundreds of years dripped from Si Boyun's forehead.

At the same time, he took his meticulously refined life-bound magical artifact 'Heaven Ascension Book' in hand.

The Heaven Ascension Book was Si Boyun's famed life-bound magical artifact.

The entire book's cover was made from the skin of a Tier Four demon beast, containing over thirty characters inside.

Each character was infused with special Dao power, capable of lending Si Boyun a temporary increase in certain powers.

"Damn it...didn't Old Monster Duan frequent this place many times? Why did such an accident occur?"

Si Boyun watched his surroundings warily, his expression uncertain.

Then suddenly remembered something, raised his head to glance in the direction he came from.

Honestly speaking.

If he were to run now, theoretically, he could escape the island.

But...

This was a ruins!

If he could find something valuable—especially pills or medicinal herbs—even with many restrictions in place from Yaque, Si Boyun was confident he could successfully refine them.

At that time, casually pulling a critical situation excuse, could others really turn hostile?

This was considered a tacit privilege of the 'pioneer team', as long as it wasn't overdone.

After all, if it were only risky, Si Boyun and Ye Tuhong wouldn't have accepted the mission.

Given the area of the ruins, a substantial harvest inside was almost assured!

The crux was whether Old Monster Duan had accessed it or not.

If Ye Tuhong was simply taken by some mechanism, then Si Boyun's escape would be somewhat worthless.

Then Si Boyun touched a wooden plaque within his chest—a life plaque prepared for them by Yaque before their departure, capable of monitoring their life states at any time.

Four plaques in total:

Two kept by Yaque, one each held by Si Boyun and Ye Tuhong, to provide references during special circumstances.

At this moment, Ye Tuhong's life plaque was not shattered, indicating he hadn't fallen yet.

Specific status, however, remained unknown:

He might be trapped in some space, or could perish any moment.

At this instant.

Si Boyun's expression shifted wildly, clearly engaged in a mental struggle.

After a full quarter-hour passed.

He took a deep breath, determined...

To continue exploring, bolting at the first sign of trouble!

The area of these ruins wasn't large, spanning roughly just three hundred meters in a direct line.

Therefore, not long later.

Si Boyun reached the end of the ruins.

The end of the ruins was a dense forest, lush and rustling.

Though no life could survive in the Star Sea, many trees could still be found within the ruins.

Thus, Si Boyun wasn't overly surprised, heading straight for the dense forest.

Just before entering the forest, he suddenly paused, placing a half-human-tall stone brick from the ruins into his spatial bag.

Though spatial bags, given their high price, were mostly used for family trade.

Nascent Soul Realm cultivators viewed owning a spatial bag themselves as no significant financial burden.

Crunch crunch crunch——

Boots treading over fallen tree branches, Si Boyun quickly ventured deeper.

The trees within the forest belonged to a very typical broad-leaf forest, moderate in height.

Layers of leaves overlapped, completely shutting out the sole source of moonlight in the night.

Yet this dark in the physical sense posed no problem at all to Si Boyun.

Under the powerful night vision energy of his divine sense and body, everything appeared as bright as day in Si Boyun's eyes.

After journeying a distance.

Si Boyun suddenly raised his brows—he sensed a somewhat familiar aura.

This aura wasn't from the missing Ye Tuhong, but...

"Old Monster Duan? Did he cultivate here? And even broke through a realm?"

Perhaps trusting the existence of the ruins, Old Monster Duan didn't conceal his aura within the island.

The last time Old Monster Duan came here was several decades ago, far less than the lingering event of a Nascent Soul Stage cultivator breaking through realm Dao resonance.

Thus, Si Boyun quickly found a relatively clear trace of aura.

Tracking this aura for a time, he ultimately reached an entrance slanting into the underground.

Si Boyun stopped upon seeing this, maintaining vigilance as he extended his divine sense inward.

The result, just like outside the island, was his divine sense being blocked by some unknown force.

"Truly strange and bizarre..."

Si Boyun furrowed his brow, pondering for several seconds, and then extracted a wooden bug the size of a dragon's eye from his spatial bag.

This was a puppet he obtained during a travel, called Tsun Bug.

Refined, it could be linked to its controller's mind, transmitting images in real-time, serving as an excellent assistant for exploring perilous grounds.

Buzz buzz buzz——

Under the command of his divine sense, Tsun Bug spread its wings and flew into the entrance.

Then.....

Snap——

Si Boyun only felt a stabbing pain in his divine sense, as Tsun Bug fell directly to the ground, no more than three or four meters away.

It was clear.

This underground cave certainly had some problems.

Si Boyun remained silent for a moment, then....

Started running.

No kidding.

Only fools would enter such an obviously abnormal cave.

Yet after taking just a couple steps, Si Boyun sensed something amiss:

He was clearly moving forward, but the surrounding scenery was constantly retreating!

Strangely, he felt no suction at his back!

Si Boyun's expression instantly changed, channeling a surge of spiritual power into the Heaven Ascension Book held in his hand.

Rustle rustle——

The pages fluttered without wind, and a blue 'speed' character instantly surfaced on the cover.

The blue character flickered a few times, quickly merging into Si Boyun's body.

Within moments.

Si Boyun suddenly soared into the sky, reaching peak speed!

This instantaneous speed was even faster than many sword cultivators, described as exceeding 3.2 Mach according to rabbit speeds!

But what sent Si Boyun's liver and gall bladder quaking was...

Even in flight, he was still moving backward!

Whoosh——

Just like that.

The cave, like a giant whale inhaling and exhaling, forcefully engulfed Si Boyun into the entrance!

...

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