C344 Tong Laoqian
The Forgotten Ruins were renowned throughout the Aetherius Continent. Not only in the Sunblessed Empire and the Silvermoon Empire, but even in other nations, there were evil cultivators who, being shunned by society, were forced to take refuge and conceal themselves in the Lost Lands.
The spiritual energy in the Lost Lands was scarce, leaving them to rely on soulstones for their cultivation practices.
A century ago, before the Ethereal Void Sect established its teleportation circle, and before Shen Feiqing's master had christened the land, it was a desolate and forsaken place, utterly ignored and as uninviting as a wasteland could be. Cultivators from Euwrea and the Land of Quiescence, let alone those from the Sunblessed Empire and the Silvermoon Empire, had no desire to venture into this ghostly territory.
It was, in essence, a sanctuary for the nefarious and fiends.
Legend has it that before it had a name, the Forgotten Ruins drew numerous malevolent cultivators from across Aetherius. Dark adepts and evilkind renegades from both Euwrea and the Land of Quiescence also sought refuge within its depths. At the height of its infamy, the Forgotten Ruins harbored formidable forces of evildoers.
Yet, the construction of the Ethereal Void Sect's teleportation circle marked a turning point. Once the Ethereal Void Sect selected this site and erected the circle, Chong Xiao, a Sage of the Solar Spirit realm, personally took charge. Trial-takers from lower sects, including the Thunder Sect, Winter's Bite, and Abyssal Dawn, as well as high-ranking counselors, flocked to the Forgotten Ruins through the teleportation circle, dramatically altering the region's dynamics.
The cultivators from the seven lower sects once saw the Forgotten Ruins as a proving ground for their disciples. Led by their elders, they pursued and eliminated the malevolent and fiends, providing their hand-chosen disciples with opportunities to amass combat achievements and advance their cultivation, breaking through the shackles of their limits.
In a relatively brief span, the majority of the evildoers and fiends in the Forgotten Ruins were decimated. The survivors, no longer daring to congregate there, dispersed into hiding places such as the Godsblight Marsh and other perilous Otherworlds to evade becoming prey for the trial-takers of the seven lower sects.
Once notorious for their dark practices, the evil cultivators and dark disciples who had made a name for themselves here had vanished without a trace.
It was believed that these malevolent beings would never dare to return.
Yet, unbeknownst to all, Yan Qiling had sabotaged the Ethereal Void Sect's teleportation circle, rendering it inoperative. Following this, the three fiends that once reigned with terror in the Lost Lands stealthily slipped back and brazenly revealed themselves above the pit.
In the midst of battle within the pit, Yan Qiling and Bai Shang felt the distinctive presence of the three entities and abruptly ceased their combat.
Xu Zixi, who had been thoroughly overpowered by the white-haired crone, was visibly shaken.
She watched in awe as countless white beams of light shot from the mouths of seven giant pythons, burrowing into the crone's scalp and transforming back into slender white snakes.
The demon snake, leaning on her crutch, let out a contemptuous huff and declared, "This can wait for another time!"
She then pivoted to fix her gaze upon the night sky behind her.
Shen Feiqing, Yan Qiling, and Bai Shang, each with their own unique expression, simultaneously turned their attention to the night sky, observing the three infamous guests rapidly approaching from the Forgotten Ruins.
Within the Fallen Star Eyes.
Liu Ying reflected for a moment before directing her attention to the mirror on the table. Her full lips moved slightly as she spoke in a melodious tone to Yuan Lianyao, "The portly old man in the jade pavilion is known as Tong Laoqian. My master tells me he has a penchant for collecting the first copper coin minted by each empire and dynasty across the Aetherius Continent."
"Each inaugural copper coin minted by an empire is imbued with the fortune of that dynasty, and he has assimilated them into his being."
"Tong Laoqian was once besieged by the combined forces of the empires and spent some time in hiding within the Forgotten Ruins. My master mentioned that he is an indigenous oddity of the Aetherius Continent, without any known lineage or mentor, who has pursued cultivation on his own. He has reached the Spirit Walk stage, though his current level remains unclear."
Liu Ying shared the tale of Tong Laoqian's origins.
In the mirror, the old man adorned with a robe festooned with golden threads and copper coins, seemed to hear her. He broke into a wide, simple grin and, despite the barrier of the mirror, he respectfully clasped his fists in a greeting, as if to acknowledge Liu Ying's presence.
Liu Ying's expression shifted as she sensed a disturbance within her spirit. A woman of striking beauty, cradling a lute and with bones as white as jade beneath her flowing dress, emerged in place of Tong Laoqian.
"Qi Hongyi," she began, "was reputed to be the sole daughter of a high-ranking prime minister in the Songbird Empire. Caught in the empire's internal conflicts, she was executed by a general. She suffered the indignity of being flayed and imprisoned, her three souls confined. Yet, she wasn't entirely dead when someone rescued her from her cell."
"Just thirty years later, Qi Hongyi, still in her skeletal form but as beautiful as ever, appeared one evening at the residence of that very general, now a high-ranking official in the Songbird Empire, lute in hand."
"In a single night, the general's entire household—over three hundred people, including family, servants, and maids—was wiped out."
"After her rampage, she vanished into the night. The Songbird Empire issued a kill order, and she fled into the Forgotten Ruins. For years, the empire's cultivators searched the ruins for her, to no avail. Most who sought her met their end, and whispers of her whereabouts grew increasingly scarce."
Liu Ying's voice was a hushed whisper, as if fearful that Qi Hongyi might overhear her revealing such a past.
"Qi Hongyi, this name... I've heard it before," Yuan Lianyao remarked, her stunning face alight with respect. "I can't imagine what she's been through, but I believe she's done no wrong."
Liu Ying gave a slight nod. "Whoever it was that freed her from her cell and imparted such profound spells to her remains a mystery to this day."
"And what of the other?" Yuan Lianyao inquired, "The yellow apparition atop the colossal gourd—I've never heard of such a figure."
"I'm just as puzzled," Liu Ying admitted. "My master never mentioned anyone like that in the Forgotten Ruins. The gourd is as vast as the hills, and the apparition towers a hundred meters tall. It hardly seems human."
The two women conversed quietly in the sky above.
Meanwhile, three malevolent figures had swiftly converged above the ruins of the city, locking gazes across the void with the military commander draped in purple silk.
Tong Laoqian stood atop his jade palace, squinting his eyes and stroking his chin with burgeoning excitement as he gazed upon the floating island. He nodded in approval, murmuring, "Splendid! Such a marvelous treasure. This island complements the Forgotten Ruins perfectly! No, wait!"
He took a swig from his bronze flagon, the wine within as red as blood, his eyes suddenly alight with realization. "It's not just complementary! This island is a concentration of the Forgotten Ruins' lingering destiny, a nexus of strange powers from the miasma and toxic fumes, forged with dragon tendons and cemented with dragon blood and flesh!"
Tong Laoqian's fondness for the island grew with every moment. "I never imagined, truly never imagined, that my return to these lands would yield such a prize! My exquisite jade palace is in need of a sturdy foundation, and there's no place more fitting than this island!"
As he spoke, his hands were already busy sizing up the island, envisioning the placement of his palace. He imagined his jade palace perched atop the floating island, the island itself propelling the palace through the skies. What joy that would be!
"Girl, I'll take you as my goddaughter. From now on, you'll accompany me, Tong Laoqian. Together, there's no place in Aetherius we can't explore!"
Shen Feiqing, Yan Qiling, and Xu Zixi watched with peculiar expressions as Tong Laoqian, once a figure of renown in the Forgotten Ruins, showed his unabashed enthusiasm for the island. It was clear he was oblivious to the secrets of the Mysterious Realm.
He was unaware that the massive platinum skull was a Shura from the Dark Realm beyond the stars, nor did he grasp the astonishing secrets hidden within its eye.
Shen Feiqing, Bai Shang, and the white-haired crone exchanged knowing looks, silently relieved. They had initially thought these three formidable strangers, with their alien souls, were aligned with Yan Qiling and the state preceptor. But as Tong Laoqian's covetous gaze fell upon Yu Zhu's floating island, they realized they had been mistaken.
As long as these newcomers weren't after the Shura's eye, and as long as they didn't pose a threat, all would be well.
At this moment, the formidable commander, her petite figure standing out against the purple silk, hesitated briefly before stating, "We have no desire to claim that island for ourselves."
Her implication was clear: if Tong Laoqian wanted the island, he would have to take action himself; they would not intervene.
Upon hearing her declaration, Yan Qiling and Xu Zixi felt an even greater weight upon their hearts.
Yu Zhu had once been a powerful ally to them.
Her combat strength in the Forgotten Ruins, in harmony with the Way of Heaven, was on par with theirs. However, her cultivation had suffered due to refining her dragon blood and extracting the vital essence from her own heart, compounded by the successive assaults from Van Yan that left her further wounded.
She had barely begun to recover when she unexpectedly encountered Tong Laoqian.
"Did you all catch that?"
Tong Laoqian's boisterous laughter filled the air as he joyfully said to Qi Hongyi and the colossal phantom atop the gourd, "You see? She's made it clear—the island is mine now!"
"The island may be yours, but what about me?"
The towering yellow-clothed phantom hummed lightly and reached out with one hand, suddenly grasping towards a specific location.
Grey phantoms were yanked from the cadavers nestled deep within the forest.
These were the remnants of the nobility from the Abyssal Dawn and Silvermoon Empire, slain by the Blackfang Legion's Le Baixiong and his cohorts, whose residual souls had yet to be gathered by the Silvermoon Queen.
The yellow-clothed phantom savored the phantoms slowly, consuming them as he remarked, "These are hardly sufficient."
Qi Hongyi, clad in red with white bones peeking from beneath her gown, scanned her surroundings with her lute in hand. Her gaze then settled on the massive platinum skull.
Her pupils suddenly shone with a fiendishly blood-red glow.
She sensed an exceedingly bizarre strange power within the platinum skull, a relic from the Shura of the Dark Realm. She believed that if she could assimilate it into her skeletal form, it would significantly enhance her strength.
Her crystalline skeletal form might become even more resilient and robust with this grand skull.
She even entertained the thought that this could help her breakthrough her long-stagnant realm and elevate her White Bone and divine body to unprecedented heights.
"That's out of the question."
The crone leaning on the White Bone Crutch sneered disdainfully, fixing Qi Hongyi with a cold stare.
"I want that skull," Qi Hongyi stated calmly.
