Chapter 108: The Ruined Ancient City

Chapter 108: The Ruined Ancient City

The Great Perfection-level "Wings of Rage" unfurled, radiating a cyan glow with serpentine streaks of lightning coursing through them. When fully extended, they spanned a full 7 meters, resembling the wings of a thunder god.

"Whoosh!"

Ning Xiaochuan flapped the wings, soaring out of the light gate. He circled once in midair before landing steadily on the ground.

Jian Pavilion Pagoda, Second Floor.

This was a world of crumbling ruins—streets littered with debris, shattered walls, and blackened tree stumps, exuding an aura of desolation, decay, and lifelessness. A gust of wind swept through, rustling fallen leaves and deepening the sense of bleakness.

Ning Xiaochuan cautiously stepped into the abandoned ancient city. The air was filled with the roars of mystic beasts and the distant collapse of structures. His eyes remained vigilant, scanning his surroundings as a sphere of lightning crackled in his palm, ready to strike at any moment.

Not far away, behind a moss-covered stone wall, lurked a black wolf. Its body was five times larger than an ordinary wolf, its fur resembling human hair, and its eyes burning with a bloody crimson glow. Two razor-sharp fangs protruded from its maw as it fixed its gaze on Ning Xiaochuan’s approaching figure. Its claws scraped against the ground, growing restless.

The moment Ning Xiaochuan came within 10 meters of the stone wall, the black wolf shattered it with a burst of speed, its five dagger-like claws slashing toward his chest. In the blink of an eye, the claws were upon him, sharp as blades.

Thanks to his heightened senses, Ning Xiaochuan had already detected the danger. The instant the wolf lunged from behind the wall, he hurled the Lightning Ball he had been charging, transforming it into a Lightning Divine Beast.

"ROAR!"

The black wolf let out an ear-splitting howl, its eyes brimming with savage killing intent as it shattered the Lightning Divine Beast. However, the residual electric current still slowed its movements for a split second.

Seizing the opportunity, Ning Xiaochuan struck with pure Physical Strength, driving his fist into the wolf’s forehead.

"CRACK!"

The wolf’s skull fractured, and it let out a pained howl before pouncing again. Despite Ning Xiaochuan’s full-force punch—enough to severely injure a Fourth Level of the Divine Body Realm cultivator—the wolf suffered only minor wounds. Its physique far surpassed that of any martial artist.

"Star Shifting!"

Ning Xiaochuan’s hands traced circular motions, generating two swirling currents of energy that sent the wolf hurtling backward. Its body crashed into a mud-brick hut, reducing it to rubble.

With "Star Shifting," Ning Xiaochuan could reflect 2.1 times the force of an attack. The impact the wolf endured was equivalent to 2.1 times its own strength, leaving its claws nearly shattered.

Now wary, the black wolf stood amidst the debris, blood dripping from its claws, realizing Ning Xiaochuan was not an easy opponent.

"ROAR!"

"ROAR!"

Suddenly, a chorus of wolf howls erupted from the ruins of the ancient city, growing louder and rapidly approaching.

Ning Xiaochuan's expression changed slightly as he looked around. Shadows of black wolves emerged from all directions—some stepping out from the streets, others leaping onto rooftops, and some walking through the ruins—all closing in on him.

The Massive Black Wolf, one of the most fearsome creatures among Third-grade Mystic Beasts, was nearly as strong as Ning Xiaochuan in combat. And now, seventy or eighty of them had appeared at once. Forget Ning Xiaochuan—even warriors at the Fifth or Sixth Level of the Divine Body Realm would have no choice but to flee for their lives.

Ning Xiaochuan was about to activate the Wings of Rage and escape through the sky, but he immediately dismissed the idea.

Atop a six-story tower not far away stood a massive wolf covered in blood-red fur, with a pair of wings on its back, glaring fiercely at Ning Xiaochuan.

This was a Wolf King, a Fourth-grade Mystic Beast—and not just any Fourth-grade Mystic Beast, but one of the most powerful among them.

A Fourth-grade Mystic Beast's combat strength was at least comparable to a warrior at the Seventh Level of the Divine Body Realm, and some of the stronger ones could even rival those at the Ninth Level.

If Ning Xiaochuan activated the Wings of Rage now, his speed might surpass that of a Third-grade Mystic Beast in flight, but there was no way he could outpace the Wolf King.

Facing the Wolf King in battle would mean certain death.

Realizing this, Ning Xiaochuan quickly racked his brain for a way to survive.

Then— Boom!

He smashed through a wooden building on the left side of the street, barreling inside before crashing out the other side and darting into another structure.

The Wolf King, standing atop the tower, let out a furious roar.

Below, the Massive Black Wolves immediately split into nine groups, chasing after Ning Xiaochuan, smashing through buildings and blocking his path from all sides.

But after half an hour, the wolves realized Ning Xiaochuan had vanished.

The already ruined district had been reduced to utter wreckage—wooden splinters, shattered tiles, broken walls, and collapsed structures littered the ground. Not a single intact building remained, all destroyed by Ning Xiaochuan and the wolf pack.

All the black wolves stopped, their gazes turning toward the Wolf King, awaiting its next command.

The Wolf King had been watching Ning Xiaochuan the entire time, yet somehow, in the midst of the chase, he had disappeared—as if he had melted into the earth itself.

The wolf pack searched the ruins for another half an hour but found no trace of Ning Xiaochuan. In the end, they retreated like a receding tide.

A long while later, Ning Xiaochuan crawled out from a pile of rubble, shaking off the dust as he muttered to himself, "Such a vast ruin is practically the perfect hiding spot. It'd be strange if you could still find me."

Leaving the ruins behind, Ning Xiaochuan headed deeper into the ancient city.

This city was enormous—even larger than the Imperial City of the Yulan Empire. It was unclear from which era it originated, but all its former inhabitants had vanished, leaving it overrun by mystic beasts that now ruled as its masters.

The city was divided into the Outer City, Inner City, and Imperial City. Ning Xiaochuan was still only in the Outer City, where even the weakest creatures were Third-grade Mystic Beasts.

Among them, many Fourth-grade Mystic Beasts had claimed entire districts as their territory, ruling as kings. Any living being that trespassed into their domain would be attacked without mercy.

After the lesson from the last encounter, Ning Xiaochuan became even more cautious. Whenever he encountered a mystic beast, he would end the battle swiftly. If he couldn't subdue the beast within ten moves, he would immediately flee. Otherwise, he would inevitably be surrounded by a horde of mystic beasts, and whether he could escape by luck would be hard to say.

Ning Xiaochuan had already slain seven Third-grade Mystic Beasts, all of them Huang Mang snakes. Clearly, this part of the ruined city was a massive snake den.

Each time he killed a Third-grade Mystic Beast, the corpse would dissolve into Blood Qi and merge into his body, strengthening his power bit by bit.

After hunting seven Huang Mang snakes, Ning Xiaochuan’s physical strength took another significant leap, now five times that of a warrior in the same cultivation realm.

In other words, without using Martial Arts Profound Qi or divine abilities, the force of his punch was comparable to five times that of a warrior at the Fourth Level of the Divine Body Realm.

The power of the "Star Shifting" technique had also improved, now capable of reflecting 2.3 times the force back.

For example, if someone with an arm strength of 150 kilograms punched Ning Xiaochuan, he could reflect back 345 kilograms of force. Even if the attacker wasn’t crippled, they would certainly be overwhelmed.

At dusk, strange howls echoed through the abandoned city, accompanied by streaks of lightning that spread across an area of over 5 kilometers.

Noticing that many Huang Mang snakes were slithering toward that part of the city, Ning Xiaochuan grew curious and stealthily followed them.

His movements were agile and swift, and since he didn’t use Martial Arts Profound Qi, he easily evaded the snakes’ notice, infiltrating the area and climbing to the top floor of a tower.

Peering through a crack in the tower window, Ning Xiaochuan looked down at the distant square and gasped in shock.

The vast square was crawling with over a hundred Huang Mang snakes, each at least 10 meters long, with some stretching over 30 meters—truly a massive snake den.

At the center of the square lay a huge nest, where a silver serpent over 50 meters long coiled. Beneath its belly were nine bulges, and through its scales, nine bright and luminous halos could be seen.

The silver serpent let out piercing shrieks, as if enduring immense pain.

Bolts of lightning and thunder erupted from its body, shattering nearby structures and causing the ground to tremble faintly.

Finally, the first silver glow detached from its body and rolled into the nest.

It was a massive Mystic Beast Egg, as large as a washbasin.

Hidden in the tower, Ning Xiaochuan watched the scene quietly. This was his first time witnessing a mystic beast laying eggs, and the spectacle was astonishingly grand.

The silver serpent was a Fifth-grade Mystic Beast, immensely powerful. In the process of laying its egg, it had unleashed its divine abilities, naturally creating the thunderous phenomenon.

"If I could absorb a Fifth-grade Mystic Beast’s egg, the effect would be many times better than that of a Third-grade Mystic Beast. It might even elevate my physical body by an entire major realm."

Ning Xiaochuan was deeply tempted by the Fifth-grade Mystic Beast’s egg. However, the sheer number of Huang Mang snakes guarding the mother serpent in the square made stealing the egg from the nest seem nearly impossible.

Moreover, even if he stole the egg from the snake's nest, he would undoubtedly be chased to death by these frenzied Huang Mang snakes, with no chance of escape.

Egg or life?

Ning Xiaochuan decided to take both.

A plan formed in Ning Xiaochuan's mind, and with a slight curl of his lips, he quietly left the tower.