Shortly after Xuan Hao had begun his fight with the creature that had crawled out from the dead heart located at the centre of the small hollowed out part of the mountain sized dead creature, the young boy in the Core Formation Realm slowly got back up as he looked around himself filled with horror.
"Wha-what is this place!?"
Almost screaming this to himself as he looked at the dead heart in front of him and the mountain of body parts next to him, the young boy could not comprehend where the precious spiritual herbs, artifacts and the Soul Ascension Realm inheritance had gone.
BOOOM-!
ROOOOAR!
Jus at this moment as he was looking around himself trying to comprehend what had happened to him, a loud explosion followed by a roar filled with killing intent echoed out from a hole in the fleshy wall not too far away from him.
Even if it was just for an instant after hearing the roar filled with killing intent, the young boy clearly understood that the one responsible for the roar was far stronger than him!
I... I have to get out of here!
Still not knowing how he had ended up in his current location, the young boy could only think about getting away from the dead heart and the fighting that was taking place not too far away from him. Not wanting to get caught up in the battle that should be between a powerful cultivator and a demon beast.
Whoosh-!
Ignoring the fact that he had been covered in blood from head to toe at some point, the young boy made his way towards the entrance to hollowed out space with the dead heart inside of it.
Just where did I end up...
Still filled with fear as he cautiously made his way through the weird tunnels covered in flesh all around him, the young boy could not help shivering in fear as he finally reached a large wall made of black miasma
"This should be the way out..." Muttering this to himself as he encouraged himself that he was on the right path, the young boy ignored the dead body parts on the ground all around him as he passed through the wall of black miasma-
"Ahhh-!"
Not even a second later, the fearful scream of the young boy echoed out across the corrupted land all around him, as he saw the mountain sized dead body who's mouth he had just walked out of!
...
"Hm? It seems like the Core Formation Realm Expert managed to break the illusion created by the Dao of Corruption..."
Arriving back inside the hollowed-out space where the dead heart was located after having killed the Soul Ascension Realm creature that had been born through the Dao of Corruption, Xuan Hao could not help showing a surprised expression on his face after realizing that the Core Formation Realm Expert had disappeared.
All things considered, the fact that the Core Formation Realm Expert had managed to break through the illusion he had been trapped inside of, was most likely due to the fact that the presence of the Dao of Corruption around him had been pushed back for a short moment when Xuan Hao had first knocked the Soul Ascension Realm creature into what had once been the stomach of the mountain sized dead creature...
In any case, it would be easy for him to catch up with a little Core Formation Realm Expert with his current cultivation realm.
Swoosh-!
Having locked on to the trail left behind by the Core Formation Realm Expert, Xuan Hao did not waste any time as he chased after him. Soon finding himself back outside the mountain sized dead body he had been inside of, with the Core Formation Realm Expert he had been searching for having fallen to the ground with a face full of fear while looking up towards the mountain sized creature.
Even from a glance, it was obvious to Xuan Hao that the Core Formation Realm Expert should not know about the fact that he had willingly entered the dead creature's mouth just a few minutes earlier...
I should calm him down and see if I can find out how he entered the ancient sect ruins...
Swish~
Thump!
Landing on the ground beside the young boy who had still not noticed him at this point in time, Xuan Hao felt somewhat surprised over the fact that the Core Formation Realm Expert he was searching for was only a young boy that looked no older than twenty or so years old.
"Hello, mind if I ask a few questions?"
Calling out to the young boy who had still not noticed him, Xuan Hao silently mobilized his domain to protect from the miasma slowly entering and poisoning his body. Even if the miasma was not any threat to Xuan Hao, it still posed a certain threat to someone in the Core Formation realm and would force them to spend most of their energy on trying to keep the miasma from entering their body and killing them.
"Ah!?"
Not noticing Xuan Hao who had suddenly appeared beside him, the young boy cried out in shock before turning to look towards Xuan Hao with a fearful expression on his face.
"Not a demon beast... What do you want to know...?
Only after realizing that Xuan Hao was not a demon beast and didn't seem to be hostile towards him, did the young boy start calming down a little... Of course, he was not fully trusting towards the person who had suddenly appeared beside him and was still prepared to fight in case Xuan Hao decided to attack him.
Not that he would have much of a chance considering how much weaker than Xuan Hao he was...
Whoosh~!
"I want to ask you how you managed to enter the ancient ruins!"
Not wanting to waste time trying to convince the young Core Formation Realm Expert to tell him how he ended up inside the ancient sect ruins, Xuan Hao decided to fully release his aura as a Peak Domain Lord Realm Expert when asking.
"This-"
Feeling the terrifying power that suddenly exploded out from Xuan Hao's body before it started to engulf him, the young boy understood full well that the other party could easily kill him and he would not have any chance to resist!
Even the sect master is not this scary... Is this person perhaps someone in the Soul Ascension Realm!?
Taking a deep breath as he thought about this, the young boy could not stop his body from trembling when faced with someone who was even stronger than his sect master.
"So?"
"I-I remember entering the forest of poisonous devil trees on the border between the inner and outer region of the Great Poison Swamp when-"
Hearing Xuan Hao's voice once again, the young boy did not waste any time before he began talking about how he had ended up in his current location. From the Devil Bugs he had encountered while entering the forest of poisonous devil trees, to the sudden teleportation to a place filled with the corpses of over a dozen Domain Lord Realm demon beast and all the way to him following a strange light that suddenly resulted in him being teleported once again.
"-After passing through the golden mist, I then made my way to the core of the palace to get my hands on the inheritance... But just when I was about to receive the inheritance from the immortal spirit left behind by the past owner of the palace, I was teleported inside... That thing..."
Glancing back up towards the mountain sized dead body filled with fear after he finished explaining how he had ended up in his current situation, the young boy soon looked away before waiting for Xuan Hao to respond.
All things considered; the young boy understood very well that his only way out of his current situation alive would be to get the expert in front of him to help him out.
Without anyone's help... The young boy doubted he would be able to leave whatever horrifying place he now found himself inside of alive!
"Hm..."
Frowning to himself as he thought about what the young boy had told him, Xuan Hao had already realized that the young boy should have entered the ancient teleportation artifact he had also entered the ancient sect ruins through.
The only difference between the way they had entered, was that the young boy should have entered the ancient teleportation artifact before him.
Wait... If he could enter the teleportation artifact before me, does that not mean the ancient teleportation artifact can be used more than once!?
Feeling like another headache outside of the shadows and the terrifying creature he had encountered back inside the ancient sect itself was about to pop up in the form of a group of Soul Ascension Realm Experts, Xuan Hao felt more determined than ever to leave the ancient sect ruins as quickly as possible.
At the very least he now had a clue from talking with the young boy, the room he had appeared in!
Although the description given by the young boy of the room was not something he himself understood, Xuan Hao realized that the ancient symbols he had seen were most likely a teleportation formation of some sort that could be used to teleport someone back out of the ancient sect ruins again!
[Side Quest: Escape, Updated!]
[Description: Explore the ruins of the long-forgotten sect in front of you and look for a way to escape before dying. NEW: The ancient teleportation artifact that was used to enter the ancient sect ruins was anchored to a greater teleportation formation. Using the greater teleportation formation will allow you to connect with other teleportation artifacts outside the sect and use them to escape.]
As if to confirm his train of thought, the description of the quest changed. Showing that he would indeed be able to escape through the room that the young boy had appeared in when he first arrived at the ancient sect ruins!
Now the question became... How was he going to find the room with the greater teleportation formation after he had destroyed the gate back to the ancient sect in an attempt to prevent the shadows and terrifying creature from chasing after him...?