"Tsk, so this is an Ancient Ruin? Doesn't look like much!" snorted one of the stronger Inner Disciples as he looked at the decayed ruins with a mix of disdain and greed.
Of course not everybody was smart enough to recognize reality, but no matter one's perception, the thing that was certain was that these Ancient Ruins contained as many dangers as they did opportunities, and this made the eyes of the cultivators burn with fervor.
"Phew!" A burly rogue cultivator let out a small, relieved sigh as he took in the Ancient Ruins.
"Why the relief?" asked another nearby rogue cultivator.
The burly cultivator, his face still carrying that relieved expression, opened his mouth to answer but stopped midway, his gaze flickering about in quick, cautious glances to make sure no Flame Sovereign Sect cultivators were within earshot, before leaning forward and murmuring,
"I was just worried about the Ancient Ruins, I mean the opportunity looked too good to be real and I feared it could be a trap of some kind, but it seems that I worried for nothing…"
Snort!
The other rogue cultivator shot him a disdainful glance as he snorted before speaking,
"Why would it be a trap? Do you think an Overlord Sect cares enough about us little figures to set something like this up? Don't be delusional and be grateful for this opportunity!"
As he spoke his last words the rogue cultivator's voice rose an octave higher, drawing the attention of those around him, and even two Inner Disciples frowned at his noisy outburst though they did not otherwise react.
Uncomfortable with the gazes they were attracting, the burly cultivator quickly nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I was really worried for nothing," he declared, and this was truly what he believed, unfortunately—
What neither the burly rogue cultivator, nor the other rogue cultivator, nor the rogue cultivators as a group, nor even the Inner Disciples and Inner Elders noticed, was that ever since the Ancient Ruins had entered their sight a quiet, silent change had begun to unfold!
The Core Disciple who had earlier said, "Thank you for your magnanimity, Sect Master," had quietly slipped away from the expedition group and was now nowhere to be seen.
And it wasn't like this was an isolated phenomenon or anything.
No! It was the opposite!
As ALL the other Core Disciples had also silently vanished, and it wasn't the even worst, as Young Master Qin, the three Core Elders, the Grand Elder and even Sect Master Qin weren't to be 'outdone' as they had also quietly disappeared, almost as if taken by a silent enemy…
In a couple of short moments all the high-tier combat power of this expedition group had vanished without anybody being the wiser.
After all these powerful figures were the minority in the expedition group, and they had all kept to themselves and acted strangely inconspicuous, almost as if they wanted to not be watched…
Because of that their disappearance strangely didn't attract attention…
Swish.
The strongest Inner Elder, as he had been designated earlier before the expedition by the Sect Master, took flight and once standing above the tens of thousands of cultivators who from his vantage looked like a sea of ants, he spoke, his Qi-powered voice reaching every cultivator present.
"As the Sect Master ordered, now that the Ancient Ruins is in sight, don't panic nor rush, act as it was indicated and create ordered lines, those that don't follow the rules will be dealt with strictly!"
"The Inner Elders are the first to enter the Ancient Ruins with the Inner Disciples following, then it will be the turn of the Outer Elders and finally it will be the rogue cultivators."
The stern voice of the old man reached everyone and was like a bucket of calm water poured over the fire of greed and ambition that had ignited in many cultivators at the sight of these Ancient Ruins.
Step, step, step.
With their heads now cooled the tens of thousands strong group of cultivators didn't dare cause trouble, and consequently every single one of them moved in an orderly fashion, at least as orderly as such a mass could be.
At that moment the Inner Elders stood first in line, ready to enter the Ancient Ruins, making their last-minute preparations before stepping into what promised to be a dangerous but fruitful opportunity.
"Hum?" The strongest Inner Elder raised an eyebrow in surprise as he quickly scanned his surroundings, 'Where is the Sect Master,' he thought in confusion.
After all, wasn't it logical for the Sect Master to be the one to 'officially' authorize the first cultivator to enter the Ancient Ruins? Yet even as his gaze swept across the crowd he couldn't find him, he couldn't find the Sect Master!
A brief surge of panic rose in the Inner Elder's heart before he forced it down, a thought flickering through his mind, 'It should be the Sect Master testing me!'
A faint light lit up in his eyes, 'Yes, this should be the case, the Sect Master wants to see my capabilities!' At that thought excitement welled up in his chest.
After all, if he was able to gain from the Sect Master, if not favor then at least an appreciation for his capabilities, he knew it was possible that he would be able to reach a higher realm!
'This is an opportunity!' he thought while clenching his fist, and the pumped-up Inner Elder began to give orders, organizing the large group to the best of his capabilities.
Soon enough minutes passed, and what was notable was that the strongest Inner Elder had authorized the entry into the Ancient Ruins in place of the Sect Master, something that created unrest.
But the strongest Inner Elder, determined to grasp this 'opportunity,' calmed the disorder and declared that the Sect Master had named him in charge of the entry into the Ancient Ruins!
With the Sect Master's name being used the unrest was calmed down, but—
Not entirely, as some clever cultivators began to notice that the Sect Master and the other powerful cultivators were absent, which created a trace of unease in their hearts.
This 'uneasy group' was only a small minority within the vast expedition, so apart from a faint, almost imperceptible sensation of unease lingering in the air, things proceeded as planned.
On that note the first Inner Elders stepped forward and were seemingly about to enter the Ancient Ruins, but just then—
Roooaaaarrrr!!!
A distant roar, its sound reduced by the distance, still carried with it an unspeakable power capable of overturning heaven and earth as it reached the cultivators.
Shivers.
Instinctively the cultivators froze, their bodies trembling as though a terrifying predator—no, not predator, a thing—was in the region, and a primordial terror struck them, the terror of prey standing before an apex predator.
But before the cultivators could gather their spirit and break free from their stupor, something else happened—
Whoosh.
A shivering and frozen rogue cultivator standing in the back line suddenly heard a faint, almost imperceptible sound of wind being displaced, and the next instant he saw a… red form appear?
Blink.
He blinked and the 'red form' became clear, and instantly his eyes widened to an almost comical degree as he recognized what this 'form' truly was.
'The Sect Master!?'
There he was, Sect Master Qin in all his splendor with his majestic crimson Taoist Robes, yet even more eye-catching than his robes or the fact that he had suddenly appeared was the shocking detail that—
This seemingly invincible and cold Sect Master had a trickle of blood running down the corner of his mouth, the undeniable sign of internal injuries!
And just as the rogue cultivator realized this, he saw something else—an extremely beautiful, almost ethereal aura manifested as silver liquid streaked with living violet suddenly materialized in the air and began to float just above Sect Master Qin's hands.
Every drop of this silver liquid was pulsing with faint arcs of purple lightning, shimmering with a dangerous and mesmerizing glow that spoke of absolute thunder.
Drip.
The liquid suddenly stopped floating and, with gravity working once more, it quickly struck the ground with a dripping sound, creating a small puddle of this beautiful liquid as it seeped into the earth.
"What!?" A surprised exclamation escaped the rogue cultivator, the absurdity of the situation enough to take him out of his roar-induced stupor.
If the Sect Master heard him, he didn't show the slightest sign of it, as the next moment, after confirming that the silver liquid was seeping into the ground, he nodded to himself before moving at insane speed and disappearing from the rogue cultivator's sight.
Boom.
The earth exploded outward as a human-shaped hole appeared, a hole into which, if the rogue cultivator wasn't wrong, the Sect Master had disappeared, and from his speed it was as if he was running from someone… or maybe something.
'What is happening,' thought the rogue cultivator, as shocked as he was confused.
As while he obviously didn't see the Sect Master move into the ground with his own eyes, because of the immense difference in strength he was able to infer that the Sect Master had dug into the earth?
'But why? What is happening—' His musing was cut mid-sentence as a terribly loud sound erupted above his head.
RRROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!
A roar so loud and carrying so much power that the rogue cultivator felt his bones shake and tremble as he instinctively bowed his head, like a peasant before an emperor.
At that instant the sun seemed to vanish and a shadow fell over the rogue cultivator and his surroundings, it was as if the sun had fallen and the night had risen in a single instant!
Gulp.
The rogue cultivator, sensing that something really, really, really wasn't right, cautiously threw a glance upward, and what he saw made his breath catch in his throat.
Flying high above, with its massive size and wings seemingly blanketing the sun and plunging this part of the 'forest' into an artificial night, there it was—
A beautiful azure-colored immense lion hovered in the sky, its two massive wings adorned with elegant and powerful azure feathers, each far larger than a man, upon which cracks of azure thunder nested.
Its entire body seemed to shimmer as those beautiful yet deadly arcs of azure thunder crackled intermittently across its form, as if thunder itself was part of its natural state.
Its size was so massive that even the remarkably similar Crimson Pyrogryph seemed 'small' in comparison, for it was at least twice as large, and the aura of power it was emanating was not at rest but in truth far higher.
From the terrifying presence it was releasing, there came the distinctive feeling of power that only something at the 1st layer of the Core Perfection Realm could release!
And as if the situation wasn't dreadful enough for the cultivators below, some of the unfortunate ones recognized this demonic beast…
Thud.
One of them fell to his knees as he murmured in terror, "Azure Thundergryph, an Azure Thundergryph at the 1st layer Core Perfection Realm and…"
His complexion paled as he gulped, "...with its extremely potent bloodline even the Sect Master probably isn't a match!"
As he spoke these words his complexion paled further until he was truly livid, and the surrounding less knowledgeable cultivators soon followed, their faces draining of color as they too realized the danger that this demonic beast represented.
"Sect Master."
"Sect Master, help us!"
Rapidly the nearby cultivators, whether it be the rogue cultivators, Inner Disciples, Outer Elders or even Inner Elders, all had the same reaction as their gazes frantically scanned their surroundings in search of the Sect Master,
All the while shouting for his help, but unfortunately…nobody responded!
Author Note:
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———
What began as an expedition into an 'Secret Realm', not really as the Ancient Ruins isn't really an Secret Realm but you understand the idea as this is more or less the same time quickly took a time for the worst…
Fortunately the Sect Master is about to save them from the big bad Azure Thundergryph…right?
———
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— End of Chapter —