078 Temptation (1)

A resonant hum echoed in his ears. In that instant, Xiu Nan vanished from where he stood, dissolving into a faint shadow that retraced his path at breakneck speed.

With a thunderous crash, the fissures in the passage widened. Web-like cracks crept inch by inch, and fragments of bleached bones, large and small, tumbled from the ceiling above. Immersed in a state of deep meditation, Xiu Nan evaded the falling skeletal remains with ease. Yet he made no effort to dodge the finer shards and pebbles; these scattered detritus pelted his face like rain, but were blocked by a faint, white membrane that shimmered over his skin.

Suddenly, a shadow shot from the corridor like an arrow, and Xiu Nan’s form gradually materialized. He had returned to the cavern where the Azure-Eyed Vulture made its nest, but this place too was collapsing, boulders crashing down all around.

A massive stone, the size of two men, plummeted straight toward him.

Just as it was about to strike, a muscular black wing swept the rock aside with a powerful stroke!

Heimu unfurled its vast wings, sheltering Xiu Nan beneath their protective span.

“Let’s go!” Xiu Nan cast a glance at the sunlight pouring from above.

Heimu let out a piercing cry, its iron talons delicately grasping Xiu Nan as it soared skyward. The mighty wings beat with force, generating a torrent of wind that launched the great bird into the heavens. Stones continued to rain down, striking its armored body with muffled thuds, momentarily slowing its ascent. But none of this could harm Xiu Nan, shielded securely below.

Man and bird burst from the ruins, bathed in long-lost light. Xiu Nan felt the sunlight’s faint warmth upon his skin. He looked up at the azure sky, where clouds circled the sun in slow procession.

Looking down, he saw a sea of rolling black mist. It cloaked the land in undulating waves, spiraling and churning like the tide. Below lay a region of hills, or rather small knolls, only half-shrouded by the swirling darkness.

Yet even now, the entire landscape was sinking, the ground rumbling with collapse. Dust and black fog mingled, forming vortices that spread ever outward.

“What a pity...” Xiu Nan murmured in midair.

There were still many unexplored corners in these ancient ruins—countless treasures, no doubt. Now, all was crumbling, buried forever beneath the rock and earth.

“Wait… could this be connected to the ring?” A sudden realization struck him: when he had entered the arched hall, he had carelessly touched the ring at its center.

The entire hall had begun to tremble then, as if on the verge of collapse. The ring seemed entwined with the fate of the whole ruin, and a crack marred its surface—perhaps it had widened because of his touch.

In the end, unable to maintain its balance, everything had fallen apart.

The longer Xiu Nan pondered, the more sense it made. Regret flickered within him, but he quickly suppressed it. Had he not touched the ring, the three passageways would never have opened, and he might have perished, trapped inside.

Had he found no other way out, he would inevitably have examined the hall’s artifacts—touching the ring was unavoidable.

It was not a matter of carelessness. Gains always entailed loss; nothing in life was perfect.

Xiu Nan swiftly adjusted his frame of mind.

Heimu soared like a warplane, but soon flight became a struggle, as if countless unseen hands were dragging it downward with ever-increasing force.

A strange anti-flight energy seemed to pervade the region.

Gradually, they sank into the black mist.

With two dull thuds, they landed on solid ground.

Weird, mournful cries echoed incessantly on the wind.

Xiu Nan glanced at a massive black stone nearby, its surface riddled with wasp-nest hollows. The unearthly wails issued from within those cavities.

All around, dead trees stood twisted and bare, their branches clawing into the mist like the talons of lurking monsters.

“We’re out, but still within this region…” Xiu Nan rose and surveyed his surroundings. The distant collapse of the hills sent gusts sweeping through, thinning the black fog.

“What’s that?”

He looked toward the far side of the boulder, across nearly a hundred meters. There, a hulking black silhouette, as tall as a tower, moved slowly, gripping a sword hilt in its hand.

Its battered armor clattered and clanged.

“The Guardian! My luck is truly remarkable…” Xiu Nan gave a wry shake of his head; he had barely escaped the ruins, only to land beside the Guardian.

Fortunately, he had landed behind a great stone; had he fallen straight into the mist, the Guardian would have struck him down with a blast from its fearsome sword. Though Xiu Nan’s power had grown tremendously, he was far from overconfident.

The sheer destructive force the Guardian had shown exceeded the first tier, and perhaps could rival even the second tier of extraordinary beings. Xiu Nan’s own Whitewood, though a peak first-tier mutant, would likely be no match.

A booming rhythm sounded as the Guardian suddenly broke into a run, drawn by some unknown lure. It thundered across the ground like a rampaging elephant, the earth shaking beneath its stride.

Xiu Nan quickly ducked behind the stone. When the pounding footfalls faded, he rose, glanced at the Guardian’s retreating form, and immediately slipped away in the opposite direction, his pace quickening.

He had not gone far when he abruptly halted.

A familiar figure appeared before him: Tie Yang stood with his right hand pressed to the trunk of a tree, his hair tangled and lifeless.

His clothes were in tatters, his body covered in wounds, and he looked battered and haggard.

Startled, Tie Yang lifted his gaze to Xiu Nan, his eyes growing cold. Muscles rippled beneath his skin, swelling with blood until his already burly frame expanded, growing to over two meters tall—nearly two and a half at that.

A layer of silvery white quickly swept across his powerful body. His muscles, tangled and knotted like tree roots, became even more pronounced, pulsing slightly with latent power.

“To think I’d run into you again. I thought you were already dead. Since you’re not, I’ll finish you myself!” Tie Yang’s expression was icy as he strode forward.

With a rush, he crossed several meters in an instant. His silver-white arm, thick as a pythons, lashed out.

A surge of force erupted from his fist, not flashy or complex, just a straightforward punch imbued with enough power to shatter stone.

With a resounding blow, Xiu Nan seemed caught off guard. His body folded and was hurled violently through the air, crashing against a tree with enough force to snap its trunk.

With a muffled groan, he rose and fled into the black mist.

“Where do you think you’re going!” Tie Yang charged after him.

Running through the mist, Tie Yang suddenly sensed something amiss. When he struck Xiu Nan just now, the mysterious membrane around his body had seemed especially thick. But it had flickered so briefly—perhaps it was just his eyes playing tricks on him…