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Chapter 162: The Graveyard of the Buried World

“Flower stamen…?”

Following the gesture of the White-clad Middle-aged Man, Priestess knelt down, her long robes lifting slightly as she took a good look at the countless blood-red flowers that had previously gone unnoticed.

The Flower of the Other Shore, a symbol of the Spiritual Fox Priestess, is considered one of the important elements directly linked to the Endless Ruins Sea.

This is a kind of flower that doesn’t exist in the real world, characterized by a particularly unique shape that’s beautiful yet somewhat eerie.

Aside from its blood-red color and aura, the structure of this flower is also quite peculiar.

It divides into two parts—an outer section with thin, elongated petals that fan out in every direction, revealing all its beauty and captivating souls, while the inner petals are comparatively short and wide, drawing inward to tightly conceal the core parts, exhibiting two completely opposite extremes.

Putting aside the symbolism, focusing on the hidden stamen, Vilyric began to realize where the issue lay.

Inside, there was a mass of sealed “energy.”

With her head still bowed, the girl asked, “What is this?”

“Long ago, there was an analogy: ‘A flower represents a world.’ This saying is not just nonsense, but has indeed been verified, Miss Vilyric. This here is the ‘Ruins Realm.'”

The White-clad Middle-aged Man stood up, his gaze sweeping across the sea of blood-red flowers.

“Each Flower of the Other Shore within the Endless Ruins Sea represents a Ruins Realm, a lost place that can no longer be considered a world. And here lies the graveyard where they are buried— the graveyard of the ‘world.'”

“I’m not clear on their origins, but the few ancient texts remaining about the Open Heaven Gate do indeed record this.”

“I see…”

Seeing the Black-haired Girl simply staring at the softly swaying blood-red flower and responding vaguely, Murong Yun soon showed a hint of helplessness.

“It seems Miss Vilyric is once again tempted to take risks and do something in line with your style.”

“Is that not allowed?”

“Of course, it’s allowed… The Ruins Realm is unclaimed; anyone is qualified to enter. However, unless one has prior experience before truly stepping into a Ruins Realm, no one knows what kind of place it really is.”

The White-clad Middle-aged Man explained with a bitter smile.

“Earlier, I was always leading everyone along the explored route to avoid wandering into unknown Ruins and encountering danger, but now that Miss Vilyric sees this flower…”

“Hehe, it’s precisely because it’s mysterious that it’s interesting. I wouldn’t want to go if it’s guaranteed to be safe.”

Exchanging glances with the two girls who had also crouched down, Miss Vilyric displayed a smile brimming with eagerness.

“Since we’re fated, let’s go for this one. How do I enter?”

“You… sigh, fine.”

Knowing that further persuasion would be futile, Murong Yun gave a slight nod.

“It’s actually quite simple. Just touch the center of the Flower of the Other Shore with your body, connect with the power representing the Ruins Realm, and don’t resist the pull. As long as it’s a Ruins Realm you’re permitted to access, you’ll naturally enter its interior.”

“However, I should still remind Miss Vilyric that entering a Ruins Realm is easy, but leaving can be challenging. Each Ruins Realm’s conditions and means of exit differ, and it’s generally not recommended to enter without preparation. Have you really thought this through?”

“Alright, alright, Uncle, why are you getting more and more verbose…? But just to be safe, I’ll go in alone this time; you guys can stay outside and wait.”

Seeing the Black-haired Girl suddenly exclude them, Princess Ling couldn’t help but frown, while Xiao Kong immediately voiced her objections.

“I’ll go with you! With me around, if anything happens, I can forcefully break the space and leave, so it’s totally fine for these two powerless folks to stay outside, right?!”

“Why does it feel like we’re facing a life-and-death situation? Do you think so little of me…?”

Miss Vilyric shook her head, both amused and exasperated.

“Listen, going in alone isn’t because I’m worried about trouble or not coming back; it’s just that with too many people, it can be limiting and counterproductive, and given the unpredictable situation outside, we need enough strength to guard against unexpected events.”

“Xiao Kong, your actual strength isn’t much weaker than mine, so instead of tagging along with me, it’s much more reasonable for you to stay behind and protect those two. Understand?”

“But…”

“Alright, let’s just listen to Miss Vilyric.”

Cat Daughter wanted to say something more, but Hen stepped forward and patted her shoulder. The two girls, both gifted with bizarre beautiful silver eyes, exchanged glances for a moment, and though slightly hesitant, Xiao Kong could only helplessly nod.

“Fine, but don’t overdo it.”

With a smile and a thumbs-up, Priestess skillfully planted several flags.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry ~ what danger could there be in a randomly chosen Ruins Realm? It’s not like we’re that unlucky to hit a hellish difficulty right off the bat.”

“You might want to keep quiet…”

“Hehe ~”

After lightening the mood, Vilyric ceased her hesitation, calming her mind a bit, and gently pointed her tender fingers toward the center of the blood-red Flower of the Other Shore as explained by Murong Yun earlier.

“Whoosh ~ Whoosh ~”

A gentle breeze swept by, and the closed blood-red petals seemed to be stirred, gently swaying like a sensitive mimosa, revealing the stamen concealed for so long and releasing a long-sealed aura that danced lightly around the fingertips of the girl.

Sensing the presence of that power, Vilyric closed her eyes, infusing her thoughts into it, accepting the mysterious invitation from the unknown realm.

“Buzz!”

In the next moment, a blinding light surged, enveloping the girl.

She vanished into the sea of blood-red flowers.

“…”

The remaining three exchanged glances, left speechless.

……

Silence and void enveloped the girl’s consciousness.

Vilyric opened her eyes, her silver-blue gaze scanning the surroundings, showing contemplation.

“…So this is the interior of that Ruins Realm?”

The girl looked up at the sky but saw only a murky darkness, as if trapped in a night even darker than dusk.

It was evident that she was not merely shrinking her body, entering into the stamen of that Flower of the Other Shore.

The internal space of this divine realm cannot be judged by ordinary logic.

While quickly sorting through the information at hand, the Priestess also continued observing her surroundings.

She raised her hand and ignited a small light to illuminate the area around her.

This Ruins Realm seemed quite dilapidated, or rather… lifeless.

The ground beneath her feet was composed of dry, cracked, dark stones, and occasional dead trees still held faint outlines, yet they had long lost their vitality. In this dark atmosphere, dimmer than the Endless Ruins Sea, not only was there no light, but even the sounds of insects and birds, or even the wind, could not be heard.

This made Vilyric think back to the Abyss world—Aibus—that she had encountered in the Kingdom of Azure.

However, the situation here was even more severe.

If Aibus was a dying world on the brink of destruction, like an aged man at death’s door, then this Ruins Realm surpasses that, being completely devoid of vitality; not to mention light, even temperature changes have entirely ceased, resembling a world post-death.

“The graveyard of the world…?”

There was one point Vilyric did not quite agree with.

Even as mere remnants, it was evident that this was not a complete world, for this place spanned only a thousand miles. How could a true world be so small? Moreover, Murong Yun had previously mentioned that the conditions within each Ruins Realm varied, so perhaps this was merely a coincidence and didn’t represent the state of all Ruins Realm.

While lost in thought, the unreservedly spreading sp has already enveloped this vast yet tiny place, skipping the long search process, leading the Priestess to the most special “anomaly” within.

Two white feathers quietly extended from behind, lifting the girl into the silent, windless, dark sky, and carried her away.

When she touched down once more, she stood before the sole remaining structure in this Ruins Realm.

Countless oddly-shaped broken stones were scattered across a rather extensive area, coated with decay and mottled patches. Some rose several meters high, indicating that these stones were once part of an extraordinarily grand building.

Amidst these rubble, a dilapidated remnant still stood, towering more than twenty meters high.

“…”

If just the diameter of the cylindrical base is considered, this structure is likely larger than the body of the Taotie from the Chaotic Great Secret Realm, able to comfortably house tens of thousands, even several hundred thousand occupants during its prime.

If Vilyric wasn’t mistaken, that should be a tower.

The collapsed “tower.”