---

Chapter 168: The Ancient Town and the Destroyer

When the three girls, who had taken their time, finally arrived at their destination, the silver light barrier was already deserted.

Miss Vilyric surveyed the swaying waves of the blood-red flower sea, frowning slightly.

“Weren’t we told that Murong Yun came first to check things out? Where is he? Did he just rush inside without waiting for us?”

“That shouldn’t be the case; that little guy isn’t the reckless type…”

Seemingly feeling the same confusion, Miss Miao Miao, who had prepared for battle and stored Miao Miao in a special space in advance, tentatively spoke up.

“Could something have gone wrong?”

“There aren’t that many accidents; there’s always a reason for something happening. It’s not that simple.”

Vilyric shifted her gaze to the silver-haired girl beside her.

“Hen, considering reasons like trust, I haven’t asked until now, but since we’re at the door, you should tell me—why did you want me to find the ruins of Open Heaven Gate?”

Facing the piercing gaze of the black-haired girl, Miss Hen smiled.

“You seem a bit dissatisfied.”

“…You know, I’ve never liked being led around by the nose, not even by you. The fact that I can trust you unconditionally is already influenced by special factors.”

“After all, we haven’t known each other for long. You’re not the person I’m truly looking for, and trust is reciprocal. I can’t accept a partner who’s always hiding many secrets.”

After a moment of silence, Princess Ling nodded.

“Open Heaven Gate is a subordinate branch left by Lingyin Fairy Island in the Ancient Spirit Realm, originally established by the Spiritual Fox Priestess to guard an important secret. This secret is closely related to the former ‘Evil Demon Chaos’ and the upcoming ‘Four Saints Selection Tournament.’ However, something went wrong in the past, leading to the current situation.”

“More than a hundred years ago, Open Heaven Gate was destroyed, and the secret it guarded fell into the Endless Ruins Sea. This unexpected factor wasn’t part of the plan but can serve as a starting point for you, the destined one, to understand the whole matter.”

“Please believe me, this will only benefit you. I won’t harm you.”

“…Open Heaven Gate was established by the Spiritual Fox Priestess?”

The corners of Priestess’s mouth twitched slightly as her previously serious expression turned a bit strange, and she quickly changed the subject.

“So what exactly is the secret?”

“I don’t know. The plan left by the Spiritual Fox Priestess contains information that even the heavens can’t probe. I just know that I should guide you this way, but the specific content still needs to be discovered by you personally.”

The silver-haired girl emphasized again.

“Helping and guiding the destined one is my mission, but that’s about all I can do. I make suggestions; how you proceed is up to you, and I’ve never viewed you as a pawn to manipulate.”

“…”

Staring at that cold, beautiful face, which was almost indistinguishable from her memory, Vilyric remained silent for a moment but ultimately accepted the other’s statement.

However…

“I’ll definitely come back for a proper explanation sooner or later, and when that time comes… don’t think you can just brush it off.”

…

Although the form of expression was different, the space beyond the silver light barrier, where the ruins of Open Heaven Gate were located, was just as different from the outside world as the Rezdnes World.

Upon entering, Miss Vilyric immediately sensed the uniqueness of this place.

It’s truly astonishing that this ruin is just like the tomb holding the ‘Nameless’ Demon Lord, enveloped in a barrier that prevents the diffusion of spiritual points and firmly seals the movement of space. That familiar feeling could be said to undoubtedly originate from the same person.

In other words, this place is indeed intricately linked to that Spiritual Fox Priestess.

“It looks like it’s an ancient town.”

Unlike the absolute silence of the Rezdnes World, the ruin where the Open Heaven Gate is located still retained some vitality; at least the plants along the roadside were lush and green. The sky, though dim, was not entirely devoid of light, resembling the environment of the Endless Ruins Sea.

At this moment, a light drizzle fell from the heavens, soaking the ground and eaves thoroughly.

Immediately pulling out three paper umbrellas from her ring and handing them to Vilyric and Miss Xiao Kong, the silver-haired girl opened her umbrella and looked around.

“This architectural style resembles that of the last civilization a thousand years ago, but the degree of weathering doesn’t match. It should be imitation, and the abandonment time isn’t too long.”

“Yeah, it seems the Open Heaven Gate sect is quite nostalgic.”

With her paper umbrella at hand, Vilyric also surveyed her surroundings.

The area where the three of them stood was just at the entrance of the ancient town, or rather, the edge of the ruin.

Not far away, a tall and exquisite ten-meter white stone archway stood majestically, but the upper third had been destroyed by some force, long lost to time, rendering the characters which should have indicated the town’s name unreadable.

Only on the corner was it possible to vaguely glimpse half of the character ‘门’ written in the common language of the Ancient Spirit Realm. The broken archway was overgrown with wild grass, and its surface was covered in moss due to rainwater washing over it, giving it a rather desolate and dilapidated look.

The architectural outlines of the ancient town still appeared relatively intact from a distance, but many signs of battle damage were evident. Clearly, the Open Heaven Gate sect had engaged in several fierce battles with invading enemies, and the conflicts must have been quite brutal.

“Let’s go take a look.”

As they crossed the broken archway, they were greeted by beautifully classic buildings on both sides. The wide road paved with bluestone was spacious enough for carriages to pass side by side, but many areas were littered with cracks left by heavy objects.

Destruction marks were everywhere, yet the remains of local residents were nowhere to be found. It seemed survivors like Murong Yun had already collected and buried them. Although the Open Heaven Gate sect was now nearly extinct, this type of thing was still possible.

Examining the widespread collapse and fracture marks on the streets, Miss Xiao Kong, who was also holding an umbrella, showed a look of surprise.

“These… don’t seem like destruction caused by humans. It feels more like something with great physical power, like spirit beasts or demons. What on earth destroyed the Open Heaven Gate?”

Hen also quickly stopped, crouched down, and beckoned the two girls over.

“Come look at this.”

What she had discovered was quite intact but strangely noteworthy, leaving one intrigued.

Footprints.

That’s right, footprints left on the hard bluestone road.

The imprint was about double the size of an adult’s foot, deeply indented by about a foot, yet it was whole and clear without a hint of cracks, almost as if cast in metal.

However, the stretchability of stone and metal is entirely different. Generally speaking, an overwhelming impact would cause the former to shatter completely rather than result in such an unfathomable outcome as penetration and indentation.

In other words, the speed and strength of whatever left the footprints far exceeded human limits.

“There must be at least someone of Ming Xi level, possibly even of Transformation Extreme. For a human, that’s like facing a natural disaster-level enemy.”

Miss Xiao Kong made her judgment immediately, and Vilyric nodded in agreement.

That’s a minimum of level 60, even above level 70 enemies, while for human sects, level 40 is the upper limit, with at most one equivalent to a transcendent-level expert appearing. The gap is nothing short of vast.

“No wonder they could wipe out the once-mighty Open Heaven Gate in a single night, but this happened over a hundred years ago. Back then, high-tier experts in the Ancient Spirit Realm were already quite limited; there were only so few who reached that level… could it be that the Seven Day Demon Lords were behind this?”

That said, the Priestess had indeed had several confrontations with that bunch. Among the Seven Day Demon Lords, there were indeed those of Transformation Extreme, but to be precise, there were only the old man known as the ‘Bone Immortal’ and that Heart-Snatching Evil Demon. It’s obvious that neither of them was a power-type expert, so they probably weren’t the ones who destroyed the Open Heaven Gate.

Was there some hidden powerful force… or perhaps other Demon Lords yet to make an appearance? Like, say, there were actually eighty or ninety of the Seven Day Demon Lords?

This matter needed to be clarified.

One or two Ming Xi Transformation Extreme individuals may not matter much to Vilyric, but one must know that the Open Heaven Gate was merely one of the hundreds of sects wiped out in a single night. That was something no few powerful individuals could accomplish.

Whether the Spiritual Fox Priestess was indeed the former Vilyric remained uncertain, but since arriving in the Ancient Spirit Realm, the past of Ming Xi had increasingly converged towards her, and the intersections of their fates had begun to increase continuously, even showing signs of gradual merging.

The fact that the other party could forcefully wipe out the Open Heaven Gate was clearly aimed at the Spiritual Fox Priestess. Since that’s the case… sooner or later, Vilyric will have a reckoning with her.

At this moment, Miss Hen, who had been observing the footprints, suddenly spoke up.

“The Seven Day Demon Lords are merely clowns, taking shortcuts to gain advantage. Vilyric, the real threat the Ancient Spirit Realm faces has always been just one thing. I can now confirm that the destruction of Open Heaven Gate must be closely related to it.”

The black-haired girl’s beautiful eyes narrowed.

“Are you saying… Evil Demon?”