Chapter 1050: The Path Sword Appears

Upon witnessing the scene before him, Ye Guan was stunned.

What's happening?

Ye Guan turned to Ruler Qi standing beside him and found her staring at him with a grave face.

Ye Guan spoke in a low voice, "Senior, what happened?"

Ruler Qi opened her palm, and strands of energy slowly dissipated from her hand. Staring at the fading remnants of power, her eyes flickered with a trace of unease. "Young Master Ye, the First Hall Master's strength... is truly terrifying."

"I merely tried to probe her with a minor divine technique, but she—" Ruler Qi looked around cautiously before continuing, "She warned me."

Ye Guan's face darkened.

Damn, is the First Hall Master really that powerful? She even dared to warn the ruler of a Tier Six civilization! Holy crap.

"Young Master Ye, focus on your cultivation here. Tomorrow, we will set out for the ancient ruin," Ruler Qi said. Then, without waiting for his reply, she turned and left, her figure vanishing swiftly into the distance.

Ye Guan blinked. Then, she called out, "Senior! That hall master—"

"I will not be involved in that matter, Young Master Ye," Ruler Qi replied. Then, she disappeared from sight.

Left alone, Ye Guan furrowed his brow deeply. After a brief pause, he shook his head and sat down, clearing his mind. He began absorbing the Stellar Energy and Devourer Energy around him.

The moment he started cultivating, the entire starry sky trembled as an overwhelming surge of energy flooded toward him.

Ye Guan's eyes widened in shock, realizing something extraordinary—the Stellar Energy and Devourer Energy were actively converging on him.

Raising his head, he saw an enormous array hovering above, drawing in the energy from the depths of the vast expanse and funneling it directly to him.

This is incomparably faster than absorbing the energy on my own.

Without further thought, Ye Guan closed his eyes and immersed himself fully in the process, focusing entirely on refining his fleshly body and strengthening his soul. His goal was clear—he would ascend to the Verity Immortal Realm.

While Ye Guan was cultivating, Ruler Qi arrived at a secluded pavilion filled with countless ancient tomes. She approached a bookshelf and pulled out a pale red book. As she flipped through its pages, her expression grew increasingly solemn.

After what seemed like an eternity, she closed the book slowly, and her gaze heavy with contemplation. She walked to the window, her eyes falling on the distant figure of Ye Guan, who was still cultivating in the vast starry sky.

"If she's from there, then you are in serious trouble, Young Master Ye."

***

Around noon of the next day, Ye Guan opened his eyes. In that instant, a dazzling glint of starlight flashed across his pupils.

Boom!

A surge of powerful soul energy exploded from him.

"Congratulations." A voice broke the silence.

Turning his head, Ye Guan saw Ruler Qi approaching him with a smile. She nodded slightly and said, "You've reached the Verity Immortal Realm."

Ye Guan took a deep breath and clenched his fists. An invisible force rippled outward from him, causing the surrounding starry skies to tremble. He could now be considered a Verity Immortal expert.

A satisfied smile tugged at the corners of Ye Guan's lips. His fleshly body, sword intent, and soul had all reached unprecedented heights. If he were to face Sovereign Chu again, he would be confident of defeating him without even drawing the Qingxuan Sword.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Ye Guan turned to the Ruler Qi. "Lady Qi, shall we go?"

Ruler Qi nodded. "Okay."

With a swift turn, she took Ye Guan and vanished from the starry sky, reappearing moments later in a desolate area. Ye Guan looked up and saw towering stone pillars stretching endlessly into the horizon, their immense forms piercing the sky.

There were hundreds of thousands of these stone pillars, and they were carefully aligned in the distance. A massive, grand hall stood behind them.

Ye Guan looked at Ruler Qi and asked, "Senior, what is this place?"

"I don't know."

Ye Guan glanced at her doubtfully but remained silent.

"I truly don't know. We discovered this ruin not long ago, but we haven't figured out what civilization it belongs to yet."

"Shall we go take a look?"

Ruler Qi nodded in agreement.

As the two approached the towering stone pillars, an overwhelming sense of oppression pressed down on them. The pillars were etched with mysterious runes, and Ruler Qi curiously eyed the strange carvings.

After a short walk, she suddenly stopped in her tracks. Ye Guan halted as well and turned to look at her. She extended her right hand, tapping lightly at the space in front of them. The moment she did, spacetime rippled like water.

The runes on the tens of thousands of stone pillars shone.

"Each of these pillars contains a soul. They are the guardians of these ruins," said Ruler Qi. She then turned to Ye Guan and said, "Young Master Ye, I'll leave this to you."

Ye Guan nodded and stepped forward, drawing the Qingxuan Sword.

With a single precise motion, he lightly tapped the sword forward. In an instant, something seemed to tear apart, and the spacetime around them began to distort and blur.

Ye Guan instinctively raised his guard.

The stone pillars around them trembled violently, and terrifying roars erupted from within each one.

Ye Guan's face paled as the deafening sound nearly shattered his eardrums. He quickly channeled his sword intent to shield himself.

Just then, Ruler Qi raised her hand and pressed down.

Boom!

The stone pillars shuddered and were instantly suppressed.

Ye Guan shot her a calm glance, but his heart was filled with shock. Ruler Qi's strength was unfathomable.

Ruler Qi remarked, "Young Master Ye, your sword is truly remarkable. The arrays and seals here can't resist it at all."

"Let's move forward and see what lies ahead."

Ruler Qi nodded but surreptitiously glanced at the Qingxuan Sword. "With such a powerful sword, I imagine it must be burdensome for you, no?"

Ye Guan raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

"The sword's strength exceeds its master's. For someone like you, it must feel like a burden. You pursue pure strength, after all."

Ye Guan chuckled. "It used to, but not anymore. I've come to understand that as long as the opponent fights honorably, I'll refrain from using this sword. But if they choose to fight dishonorably, then I'll have no choice but to follow suit."

Ruler Qi stifled a laugh. "True, it's always wise to have a trump card in this crazy world."

Ye Guan's gaze softened. "To be honest, you've surprised me."

Ruler Qi tilted her head, curious. "Surprised?"

"A lot has happened between your Devourer Civilization and me. I was fully prepared for you to come after me, but you've taken me by surprise with your actions. I wasn't expecting this to happen at all."

Ruler Qi shook her head. "We don't have any conflict of interest. Without that, why would we be enemies? Isn't it better to be allies? Like now, for example. While we may not be friends yet, there's goodwill on both sides and plenty of room for cooperation. It's a win-win deal, don't you think?"

Ye Guan chuckled. "Indeed."

"Of course, I'll be honest with you. One reason for our cooperation is that you're far from ordinary. If you were just another cultivator, we likely wouldn't be having this conversation. This world is very pragmatic, and so am I."

"Ruler Qi, you're very straightforward."

Ruler Qi shook her head lightly and said, "Young Master Ye, you are a smart man. Even if I weren't honest, you'd still be able to see the truth."

The two chatted as they walked, and they eventually arrived before a great hall. The gates of the great hall towered over them, and two large blood-red characters were inscribed next to the gates.

Ye Guan asked, "Ruler Qi, do you recognize those characters?"

Ruler Qi shook her head. "No."

"Young Master Ye, I'll need to borrow your sword again."

Ye Guan stepped forward toward the stone doors, but before he could act, Ruler Qi suddenly grabbed his arm.

Ye Guan turned to look at her. She stared at the stone doors, silent for a long moment. Then, without warning, she pulled him away, disappearing from their spot. When they reappeared several thousand meters away, the area where they were a few seconds ago disintegrated into ashes.

Ye Guan's expression darkened.

Ruler Qi, on the other hand, was gleeful, and her eyes lit up with excitement as she exclaimed, "This is the ruins of a Tier Six civilization at the very least! We're about to strike gold!"

Without waiting for a response, she grabbed Ye Guan's hand. Before Ye Guan could fully grasp what was happening, she whisked him away to the ancient stone gates.

"Give it a stab," she said, gesturing toward the gate.

Gripping his Qingxuan Sword tightly, Ye Guan thrust it fiercely into the gates.

Boom!

The stone gates shuddered violently. The strange ancient runes surfaced, but they faded away moments later, eventually dissolving into nothingness.

The stone gates shattered and crumbled before their eyes.

Ruler Qi let out a soft chuckle. "Let's go."

Without hesitation, she led Ye Guan into the gates, and the two arrived at an endless expanse; it was so vast that it seemed to stretch infinitely in all directions.

A solitary stone monument was in the void up ahead. Other than the monument, there was nothing else.

Ruler Qi's expression shifted, and her brows knitted in deep thought. "What is this?"

𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

They quietly approached the stone monument. It was etched with ancient texts that exuded an aura of mystery and power. A middle-aged man was drawn on the monument; his finger was pointed at the skies, and his gaze was on it as well.

Ye Guan glanced at the texts, and confusion marred his face.

He could not read it at all.

Ruler Qi wasn't faring any better. Her eyes narrowed as she struggled to make sense of the texts.

Ye Guan called out,

"Master Pagoda, can you read this?"

"Why don't you take a guess?"

Ye Guan's expression darkened.

Ruler Qi stepped closer, inspecting the mysterious symbols more closely. When her fingers grazed the monument, something unexpected happened. The entire stone monument transformed into a swirling vortex, and a sharp burst of white light rushed out of it, engulfing both Ye Guan and Ruler Qi in an instant.

Ruler Qi's palm flipped upward, and she prepared to counter the unknown force, but something made her hesitate. In the end, she allowed the vortex to pull her and Ye Guan in.

The moment they were consumed, the starry expanse fell eerily silent. The next moment, a sword descended from the heavens and pierced the stone monument.

It was none other than the Path Sword.

The stone monument seemed to be whispering in the deathly silence.