Chapter 1217: Section 1218 Heiyu
Angel still remembered that the Ancient Cold Ruins outside were called “ruins,” but according to Madeline, there were no traces of any buildings in that area. Some people had even dug three feet into the ground without finding the so-called ruins.
Initially, Angel too had wondered, if they were called the Ancient Cold Ruins, why weren’t there any traces of ruins? Could it be that they had been completely eroded by the mighty forces of time?
Now, it seemed that the sight of the ancient Guxia’s corpse, along with the numerous Indigenous People cities they had seen along the way, exactly confirmed Greerwu’s words.
This place might be the genuine Ancient Cold Ruins that had been sealed for tens of thousands of years!
And the so-called “Ancient Cold Ruins” in the outside world were nothing but a platform leading to this place. The real ruins were within this sealed continent!
…
Although they had roughly confirmed the location, how to leave became another problem.
Angel looked at Greerwu, if the Ancient Cold Ruins in the outside world was just a platform leading here, then there must be a passage.
Greerwu shook his head, “I never thought I’d end up in the Ancient Cold Ruins, nor did I inquire about an exit here. But in ancient times, if the Indigenous People could leave this place, then there must be a way.”
There was a way, but they had no idea where it was.
In the situation where they were at a complete loss, they could only turn their gaze back to the ancient Guxia’s corpse, hoping to get some clues from him. After all, Guxia had come from the outside world.
Popota began examining Guxia’s corpse.
“Nothing is missing. The One-time Spatial Capsule is still here, with some belongings inside. There are many potions for restoring injuries. It seems that Guxia made thorough preparations for coming to the Abyss, but unfortunately, something went wrong along the way.” Popota sighed and continued to extend his energy to inspect the internal condition of the corpse, “Based on the degree of residual energy consumption and some physical traces, we can basically judge that the death occurred about two months ago.”
“There is damage to the internal organs, but that shouldn’t be the cause of death. It’s probably due to the lack of energy to prevent the decay of the flesh… Eh, there’s a wound on the skull that doesn’t seem to have been caused by energy. It’s a bit like it was pecked out by some kind of creature.”
Popota turned back to look at Angel, “Guxia didn’t have these injuries before he disappeared, right?”
Angel nodded.
Popota stood up, “Apart from the wound on the skull, there’s no other discovery. That must be the fatal injury.”
The expressions on their faces grew heavier. The fatal injury hadn’t been caused in the outside world, which meant there was still some unknown creature here that had killed Guxia.
Unknown creatures, a source of great concern. However, Guxia’s body also provided them with some other clues. From the time of Guxia’s death, they could roughly infer that he died not long after entering this place.
Which means, the entrance to the Ancient Cold Ruins from the outside world might be nearby.
Popota: “You said before that Guxia had hysterics, heard hallucinations, felt someone calling out to him, and then he disappeared. Could this caller be the one who killed him?”
“It’s hard to say.”
When Popota mentioned hysteria, Angel recalled something else—
“After Guxia disappeared, Brufen once talked to me about the Ancient Cold Ruins. He said that in the last few hundred years, at least a thousand people have disappeared in the Ancient Cold Ruins. The frequency isn’t high, but the numbers added up are significant.”
“Later, the Frostmoon Alliance conducted research and found a commonality: All those who disappeared in the Ancient Cold Ruins experienced a kind of hysterical hallucination. Besides feeling someone calling in their ears, they could also see a figure.” Angel recounted what Brufen had said, “The figure was finally confirmed to be a person wearing a black Crow cloak, recorded in some texts as the Harbinger of Death from the Abyssal Depth—”
“Kulangduo!”
As Angel pronounced the name, Greerwu also immediately spoke up.
“You know about it too?”
Greerwu nodded, “Kulangduo is a Demon, a minion of an Ancient Being who controls the rules of death.”
“Ancient Being? What’s that?”
“Beings that lived since before the twilight of the gods—they are referred to as Ancient Beings. Among them are Demon Gods, Demons, and even Indigenous People. Kulangduo himself also seems to be an Ancient Being.”
Due to the limits of his knowledge, Greerwu didn’t know much. The only thing he knew was that Kulangduo was a guide for souls. Among the Indigenous People, he was called the Harbinger of Death, and in the eyes of the Demon Eye, he was a Demon.
“Since he is the Harbinger of Death, could the one who killed Guxia be this Kulangduo?” asked Popota.
Greerwu glanced at Popota, not wishing to respond, but since the store owner was present, he still shook his head reluctantly, “I do not know; the deeds of Kulangduo are very far removed from my life.”
For a time, it seemed as if the clues were once again broken. Or rather, the clues were so mixed up that they couldn’t be connected together.
“Whether it’s Kulangduo who killed Guxia or not, finding the way out is currently most important,” said Angel. “Let’s continue looking here for clues. If none, we head toward the wasteland. I feel… We’re not too far from the place that’s calling me. Perhaps, we’ll find answers there.”
All over the town, there were still many bodies, but no other useful clues came to light. Occasionally, they found human bodies, but they were mostly Apprentices.
In the end, they came up with nothing.
“Since there are no clues, let’s keep moving forward.” This time, they didn’t take the Gondola because Angel already sensed that the calling place was extremely close.
The group of them walked into the dark, misty rain, and disappeared from sight.
…
Deep footprints were made on the ground, and as heavy rain fell, the impressions quickly filled with puddles of water.
Such puddles stretched into the depths of the wasteland.
Angel, still inexperienced with controlling his strength, accidentally made a hole with his step. Greerwu and Popota, acting as if they hadn’t seen it, continued walking ahead.
This slightly relieved Angel’s embarrassment.
“Shopkeeper, can you feel who is calling you now?” Greerwu suddenly asked.
Angel shook his head. He felt that he was getting closer to the source of the call, but still couldn’t sense whether it was a being calling him or if he was being guided by the collective consciousness of the continent. These remained questions.
Several miles more were traversed.
The further they walked, the stronger Angel felt a sense of kinship.
Originally, Gucia had disappeared because he felt someone calling him, which had seemed similar to Angel’s own situation.
But upon reflection, Angel realized there was a difference.
After hearing the call, Gucia had hysterically rejected it, completely opposite to Angel’s reaction.
Despite this, Angel remained cautious. After all, he knew how to deceive the senses and perception himself. Perhaps this sense of kinship was nothing but a carefully crafted illusion.
“There seems to be a shadow up ahead?” pointed Popota at something in the distance.
Angel looked up into the distance where only rain and mist obscured the view, but between the shades, there indeed stood a not very tall yet seemingly sturdy silhouette that was motionless.
This was a wasteland, and all along their journey, they had not even seen a large stone. The sudden appearance of a shadow was quite abrupt.
The figure stood still, so they approached with both caution and care.
Only upon getting closer did they realize that the shadow was not a living creature but a withered tree.
Standalone amid the wilderness, bathing alone in the curtain of rain.
“I thought there’d be no plants on this continent, but it turns out there’s still a tree. Withered though it may be, at least it signifies that there used to be vegetation here,” mused Popota, walking towards the tree.
Angel intended to follow but was stopped by Greerwu.
By then, Popota had reached the proximity of the tree and after circling it a few times, realized that Angel and the others hadn’t followed.
He walked back, and when Popota stood before Greerwu, confusion flickered in Greerwu’s eyes, who muttered softly, “That’s odd. I sensed something wrong with that tree, a lingering dangerous aura… How could you…?” be unharmed?
It was then that Angel understood why Greerwu had stopped him, probably sensing danger ahead, and had treated Popota as a scout.
Popota, however, paid no heed to Greerwu; they were not of the same species and held no affinity for each other.
Angel shook his head and walked towards the tree. Since Angel had gone ahead, Greerwu naturally followed.
As Greerwu arrived at the tree, he saw Angel take something down from the withered branches and hold it in his palm.
Out of curiosity, he leaned in, “What is this… a feather?”
In Angel’s palm lay a black feather, its down somewhat stiff, its color reminiscent of the profound void.
Popota also approached and upon seeing the feather in Angel’s hand, paused, “Where did you find this feather?”
Angel pointed to the withered branches.
With a confused expression, Popota said, “When I was here earlier, I examined it carefully and saw no feather.”
“Are you sure?” Angel looked at Popota.
With a confident tone, Popota insisted, “The tree isn’t tall. I looked very closely, and there was nothing.”
It was unlikely Popota would lie about such a matter. So, could it be that the feather had appeared only recently?
“When I walked over just now, the first thing I noticed was this feather, strikingly conspicuous.” Angel examined the feather in his hand, a flicker of confusion in his eyes: “Could it be that some creature has been nearby all along without our notice?”
This seemed to be the only answer that explained the current situation.
For a moment, the atmosphere fell silent.
Just then, a voice suddenly reached their ears:
“This is a gift from Kulangduo to you. Please accept it, Savior of the Continent of Yuantan.”