Chapter 173: An Unexpected Old Friend

“What’s going on with Teacher Xiao Kong? Can she be reliable just once…?”

Although Vilyric was bickering with Cat Daughter, she could more or less guess what was happening.

Since this was the site of the Open Heaven Gate, it must have originally been established within the Ancient Spirit Realm. After all, if it were hidden deep within the Endless Ruins Sea from the beginning, the Open Heaven Gate wouldn’t be so widely known, and enemies wouldn’t be able to find them so easily.

If Murong Yun and the Open Heaven Gate were indeed bearing the role of the Ferryman, then they surely knew a lot about the Endless Ruins Sea.

When formidable enemies attacked, perhaps the Open Heaven Gate recognized it would be difficult to resist. To preserve their last inheritance, they must have resorted to some hidden means, relocating the entire Open Heaven Gate base to within the Endless Ruins Sea in the form of a Ruins Realm.

Such an incredible large-scale spatial transfer, coupled with the urgency of the situation, it was only reasonable that some issues would arise.

Seeing Cat Daughter casually waving away that terrifying spatial rift like a toy, Vilyric inquired further.

“If the space here is already very unstable, will it gradually collapse?”

Xiao Kong shook her head.

“Hard to say. Generally, a decrease in spatial medium should only lead to a reduction in the world’s boundaries, not this situation of continually patching the walls. Since this has happened, it indicates something must be forcefully maintaining the boundaries.”

“As long as that thing is still there, there shouldn’t be any major issues, but if it’s taken away or damaged, then it might be a bit hard to say.”

As their conversation came to a pause, Miss Hen, who had been quietly listening all along, naturally reminded them.

“It’s time to go; those people are still chasing us.”

“Yeah… they’re really persistent. I wonder what happened to the people from the Screaming God Sect; I haven’t seen them around lately.”

After a brief chat, the three women continued deeper into the area where spatial rifts became increasingly concentrated. Though Vilyric had no idea how to clear the Ruins Realm of this Open Heaven Gate site, there’s bound to be a way when they reached the mountain; many things need not be rushed, and perhaps they would naturally understand as they walked.

After spending quite a bit of time and turning a few corners, the Priestess suddenly sensed a new sound of footsteps.

“Wait, it seems there are people up ahead.”

Upon hearing this, Xiao Kong and Hen stopped in their tracks as well.

“What kind of people? Those ‘ghosts’?”

“…Doesn’t seem like it. They should be other outsiders delving into the Ruins Center.”

While the two were chatting, those in the unknown group across the ruins seemed to have sensed the commotion as well, and their originally slow pace suddenly quickened. In just a few breaths, they appeared before the trio.

“Uh…”

“…?”

The two parties stared at each other in surprise by the ruins, and the atmosphere grew somewhat awkward for some reason.

There were six people in total – four young men and two women, all appearing quite youthful and attractive, dressed somewhat casually. Although they all donned black hair and white clothing, which was quite unusual, they clearly didn’t belong to any sect; they seemed more like a casually organized group.

Moreover, Vilyric quickly noted that these individuals were all very clean, showing no signs of injury or blood. To have infiltrated this Ruins Realm from the outside unscathed already proved their strength.

Seeing that the three women hadn’t moved for some time, the apparent leader among the youths seemed unable to tolerate the awkward atmosphere. He clasped his hands and tentatively greeted them.

“Meeting is fate. These three young ladies, please allow me to introduce myself. My surname is Shui, given name Men Shu, a wandering cultivator. These are my like-minded friends; we are here together to explore the Endless Ruins Sea for treasures. We mean no harm, may I ask how you three wish to be addressed?”

Shui Men Shu? What a fake name… can it be more slapdash than this?

Hearing his self-introduction, Miss Priestess immediately felt a thousand grass mud horses galloping inside her mind and couldn’t help but show a strange expression.

The reason for her silence wasn’t out of respect or fear of these suddenly encountered folks; she was just a bit surprised and pondering the reasons for their presence.

Hen was always reticent, while Xiao Kong also appeared lost in thought. Not knowing what they were thinking, the three silently maintained their quiet.

It’s somewhat unbelievable, but this leader who just spoke was someone Vilyric actually recognized.

Though he had changed his appearance and had a considerable shift in demeanor from his earlier merchant-like persona to that of a seasoned person of the underground world, he still didn’t hide the fox ears on his head. However, that face showed no change at all.

Unexpectedly meeting again in this manner.

Ming Lan.

A member of the Lingyin Ethnic from Lingyin Fairy Island, the Vice President of the Lingyin Merchant Association from another continent, and possibly one of the close confidants of the Spiritual Fox Priestess, Ming Xi.

However, though Vilyric immediately recognized him, it was obvious that Ming Lan hadn’t seen her face without the Mask of the God Fox and didn’t seem to know who Xiao Kong and Hen were. Seeing the three remain silent, he couldn’t help but scratch his head, puzzled.

“Ladies, is something the matter?”

Nearby, another girl with equally good looks patted Ming Lan’s shoulder and whispered something in his ear.

Though her voice was very low, thanks to the divine race’s exceptional hearing, Vilyric managed to catch snippets of their conversation.

Probably something like, “Hey, these guys don’t seem friendly; are they trying to rob us…?”

It sounded somewhat funny, but such situations weren’t entirely impossible. To avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings, the Priestess quickly nodded and returned a simple greeting.

“Um, my name is Vilyric. These two are my friends… I guess you could say we are also wandering cultivators. Don’t worry, we have no intention of starting trouble. As long as you don’t attack us first, we won’t resort to violence either.”

“Vilyric?”

“Uh…”

Ming Lan frowned slightly, and the girl who had ‘offered advice’ suddenly blushed.

Hearing the Priestess call herself that way, it was clear that the latter had overheard her prior speculation, causing the girl to feel a bit embarrassed, turning her head away but still casting curious glances at the three women, especially Vilyric.

Hmm… given that I’m with Ming Lan, a member of the Lingyin Ethnic, and considering the black hair and the subtly strong aura she emits, this ‘girl’s’ identity and age…

Cough, it might be best not to probe further.

After a moment of contemplation, Ming Lan, under the alias Shui Men Shu, quickly recovered and cheerfully nodded.

“Haha, sorry to make you girls laugh. You’re also heading toward the center of this Ruins Realm, right? Meeting is fate; this place is exceptionally dangerous, so why don’t we travel together for a while? It would be better to look out for each other in case we run into trouble, how about it?”

“Hmm?”

Vilyric looked up and noticed that Ming Lan and his companions seemed to be subtly focused on a particular fox-shaped pendant hanging at her waist, clearly interested but restrained from asking outright due to their first meeting.

Oh… their observation skills are quite sharp.

The actions she had taken earlier unexpectedly yielded some unanticipated benefits.

The girl smiled slightly.

“Alright~ then let’s go together.”

   

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