Deep into the night, the long street was empty, not a soul in sight. Only the beggar in the corner was still letting out low, pained moans.

Hearing him, Hua Zhaoxue felt a surge of pity. She took out a few bits of silver from her sleeve, ready to give them to the poor beggar. But Li Yilin stopped her at once.

Hua Zhaoxue looked confused. Li Yilin only shook her head slightly, asked Li Rui for some dry rations, and handed them to the beggar. After thanking her, the beggar immediately wolfed the food down on the spot, leaving nothing behind.

“Miss Zhaoxue, if you gave him silver, he wouldn’t live to see tomorrow. There are no rules inside Barbarian City. Even if someone dies, passersby just turn a blind eye. Let alone a beggar.”

Hua Zhaoxue froze for a moment. Then she noticed that after finishing the rations Li Yilin had given him, the beggar thanked them again and crawled deeper into the corner. He didn’t react at all to the broken silver in her hand.

Seeing that Hua Zhaoxue still hadn’t fully come back to herself, Li Rui finally urged, “Miss Zhaoxue, it’s getting late. We should head to the ruins now.”

At the same time Li Rui spoke, Tian You, who stood beside Hua Zhaoxue, gently tugged at her sleeve. Only then did she come back to her senses. She suppressed that strange pity in her heart and followed the others.

Not long after, the group left Barbarian City. Under the cover of night, the atmosphere outside the city felt even more grim and eerie. A cold wind carrying a trace of chill swept past, stirring bursts of howling gusts. Hearing that dreadful wind, even Qi Cultivators with Qi Energy found it hard to resist the instincts of a woman.

As Hua Zhaoxue walked with the group, she edged a little closer to Tian You, hoping to find a bit of security.

Tian You sensed her presence and turned to look. Seeing Hua Zhaoxue’s tense expression and her beautiful face tinged with timidity, she smiled gently and quietly took hold of that slightly trembling little hand...

The group headed all the way toward the border of the Qizhan Empire. Before long, they arrived at the foot of a mountain. Li Yilin remained silent as she led everyone up toward the summit.

After reaching the top, a cliff lay ahead. There was clearly no road forward. Just as everyone showed puzzled looks, Li Yilin took out the Illusion-Breaking Pearl and said in a low voice to the people behind her, “Step back three paces.”

Everyone did as told. Li Yilin took a deep breath, then hurled the Illusion-Breaking Pearl down toward the cliff with force.

Bang—

A crisp sound rang through the air. To their shock, the pearl smashed a man-high crack into the space before the cliff. The moment Li Yilin saw it, she ran straight for the crack and shouted at the stunned group behind her, “What are you standing around for? Hurry up and follow me!”

Only then did the group react. They quickly chased after Li Yilin and ran toward the crack. A moment later, the crack returned to normal, as if nothing had happened at all...

After entering the crack, light and shadow flickered and crossed before their eyes. Then a stone gate appeared ahead, giving off an ancient, heavy aura.

At the sight of the several-zhang-tall stone gate, Nie Wangqing and Zheng Biao exchanged a glance. After nodding, they pressed both hands against the gate at the same time.

“One, two, three!!” The instant the last word fell, both of them pushed with all their strength—

Scrape—

There was none of the resistance they had expected. The stone gate was practically just for show. It opened with the lightest push. Neither of them had expected that, and after using too much force, they couldn’t pull back in time. They ended up crashing face-first onto the ground.

“Pfft...” Seeing the two in such a miserable state, the people behind them could hardly hold back their laughter. But before anyone could mock them, the scene ahead completely seized their attention.

As the stone gate opened, the view before them suddenly widened into a whole new world. The light was as bright as daytime. Clear streams flowed through lush, sprawling grasslands. A refreshing floral fragrance came riding in on the breeze, and that clean freshness lifted everyone’s spirits at once.

“Th-this... this is the ruins?!” Nie Wangqing muttered in disbelief, still lying in the posture of his fall.

This beautiful place before them didn’t look like a burial ground at all. Calling it a hidden paradise cut off from the world wouldn’t be an exaggeration!

Not long after the group left, a flash of white light appeared on the mountaintop, and a slender figure in snow-white robes slowly descended.

She wore a pure white long dress, its hem touched with faint ink-wash-like shading. A strip of white silk was tied at her slender waist. Her black hair set off her snow-pale skin, cascading loose all the way to her waist. Her whole body was spotless, like a handful of pure snow left behind in the mortal world by a heavenly being. Yet this beauty, as flawless as carved jade, was shrouded in the imperial aura of one who looked down upon all living things.

Her snowy eyes, devoid of any emotion, looked toward the empty space ahead. With a casual stroke of her jade-like finger, a slit appeared in the transparent air. Once the slit appeared, the woman put on a white veil to cover her face, then walked straight inside...