701 Returning to the Iron Sky Kingdom
"This ruin… Is far larger than it looked from afar…"
Standing in front of what could only be described as the ruins of a massive tower like structure towering all the way up to the ceiling of the cave a few hundred meters above them, Hui Ying almost whispered this to herself as she slowly began approaching the still somewhat intact entrance of the tower like structure.
Rustle~
"This is-!?"
"So many books…"
Entering the ruined tower while making sure to keep an eye out for any dangerous traps or demon beasts that might be lurking around inside, Bai Ning and Hui Ying were both taken aback by the rows of bookshelves towering more than a dozen meters tall that were covering everything inside the tower ruins.
Even if they didn't have a very clear what purpose the tower had once served, both of them had a feeling that the tower should have been a library of some sort. If not that, it might even have been a place to store ancient records!
No matter what purpose the tower ruins had served in the past, Bai Ning and Hui Ying both understood that their chances of finding a way out of the jungle had just increased by several times!
"Let's start searching for a book that can help us find a way out of the jungle. However, given how many books there are here, I have a feeling we might be here for some time…"
"Ah…"
Calming down as the excitement of possible finding a way out of the jungle died down, it did not take long before the two of them realized just how long it would take them to search through all the books inside the ruined tower.
Not to mention the fact that there should at least be ten thousand or more intact books on the bookshelves in front of them, there was still a floor above the one they were current on… And another floor after that…
Given the sheer size of the ruined tower, there should be more than a hundred thousand intact books left!
As this realization set in, both Bai Ning and Hui Ying could not help feeling depressed when looking at the countless still intact books in front of them.
Maybe it wouldn't be a bad thing if the number of books and scrolls that survived inside the tower were a bit lower.
…
At the same time Bai Ning and Hui Ying were lamenting over the many ancient scrolls and books they would have to read through to only get a chance of finding a way out, Xuan Hao reached the borders of the Iron Sky Kingdom only two days after his encounter with the imperial guards of the Sky Empire.
Whoosh~!
Standing up from the back of the flying demon beast that had been carrying him so far, Xuan Hao could not help smiling after flying by himself once again.
Chirp~?
Not understanding why Xuan Hao had suddenly gotten off all of a sudden, the flying demon beast in the shape of a massive bird could not help tilting its head in confusion.
"You can go back to the sect. Continuing any longer with your current strength will only end up endangering you…"
Understanding that the road ahead would get far more dangerous after he passed through the Iron Sky Kingdom and entered the core of the Sky Empire, Xuan Hao had already decided to sent the flying demon beast back.
All things considered, he had almost finished repairing his dantian from the damage it had suffered back in the enlightenment space when he merged ice and sword domain together into a single domain.
Other than the fact that he would not be able to focus his full attention towards cultivating, there was not any reason for him to keep the Nascent Soul Realm flying demon beast around. Especially considering that he might not be able to keep it safe when travelling through some of the more dangerous places he planned to visit on his way to the capital city of the Sky Empire.
Chirp!?
Feeling heartbroken that it would not be able to travel together with Xuan Hao any more, the large bird demon beast looked towards Xuan Hao like a puppy being abandoned.
"Why are you looking at me like that? You just want the mix of spiritual herbs and spirit stones I have been feeding you over the last week!"
C-chirp…
"Hah… You can find your way back to the sect on your own."
Swish-!
Rolling his eyes after seeing the large bird avoiding its eyes after being called out, Xuan Hao turned around and left in the direction of the Iron Sky Kingdom.
Even without him around, a demon beast in the Nascent Soul Realm like the large bird, was more than intelligent enough to find its way back to the Star Shattering Sect on its own!
Chirp…
Watching Xuan Hao leaving, the large bird demon beast let out a reluctant chirping noise.
Even if it had just been for a week, the spirit stones and spiritual herbs Xuan Hao had given it to eat was far higher quality compared to anything it would be able to get from the beast tamers back in the Star Shattering Sect. Especially over the last few months, where the quality of the food had decreased rapidly!
Whoosh~!
Remaining almost completely still in the air just outside the border of the Iron Sky Kingdom for the next few minutes after Xuan Hao left, the large bird inevitably gave up and turned around to start its journey back to the Star Shattering Sect.
Although the quality of food that it had been given was not considered good when compared to what Xuan Hao had given it, it was still far better than anything it could find outside the Star Shattering Sect.
Maybe it could ask to increase the quality of its food after returning to the Star Shattering Sect!
After all, it had just recently reached the Nascent Soul Realm and felt that it deserved better food than the Core Formation Realm demon beasts!
Chirp~
Having come up with such a brilliant plan to increase the quality of its food, the large bird demon beast happily began making its way back towards the Star Shattering Sect. Unaware of the fact that although the quality of its food would be changing soon, it would not be in the direction that the large bird demon beast was hoping for.
…
Whoosh~
Having left behind the large bird at the borders of the Iron Sky Kingdom, Xuan Hao soon arrived in front of the capital city of the Iron Sky Kingdom.
Different from the last time, the walls surrounding the capital city looked far more pristine compared to before. Not only that, but Xuan Hao could clearly feeling a terrifying power lurking beneath the surface.
"From the looks of it, Yi Min finished repair the formation around her capital and if I'm not wrong, it should be even stronger than before…" Muttering this to himself as he finished inspecting the pristine walls surrounding the capital city of the Iron Sky Kingdom, Xuan Hao could not help wondering just how strong the formation was now.
Given that it had the strength to resist someone in the Soul Ascension Realm if it reached its full potential before, Xuan Hao felt a shiver run down his spine thinking about how strong the current formation protecting the capital city of the Iron Sky Kingdom.
"Hah… I wonder just how many treasures and artifacts were used for this…"
Knowing full well that Yi Min used a countless number of artifacts together with spiritual treasures to create the formation, Xuan Hao could not help lamenting over the wealth of a Master Blacksmith.
The construction of the formation protecting her capital city was more than enough to bankrupt a dozen ordinary Peak Stage Domain Lord and that was only in case that they could actually get their hands on the different natural treasures used in its construction. After all, some of the natural treasures used in the construction process were tempting even to Soul Ascension Realm Experts!
Even a Half-Step Soul Ascension Realm Expert would properly not be able to get his hands on some of the materials used in the construction of the formation…
The only reason Yi Min could get her hands on some of the more precious natural treasures, was due to her identity as a Master Blacksmith!
"Hm… It's been a few years since I last visited the Iron Sky Kingdom together with Qing Yi, I wonder how Yi Min is doing…"
Whoosh~
Feeling curious about what Yi Min had been up to and at the same time wanting to ask her if she had any information about the dangerous places he would be going through on his way to the capital of the Sky Empire, Xuan Hao decided to pay her a visit before continuing his journey into the core region of the Sky Empire.