Divine Emperor Demon Emperor

A Divine Statue from the Divine Realm had appeared here. Lin Yun became even more curious about these ruins. At the same time, a bold guess formed in his mind. ’Could these ruins be related to the Divine Realm?’

He gazed at the tightly shut gates of the ruins. The massive, hundred-meter-tall doors were sealed tight. After a brief discussion amongst themselves, the Saints from the Five Great Forces arrived at the entrance to the great hall together.

Almost simultaneously, terrifying waves of Elemental Power erupted from the five Saints. The surrounding space itself seemed on the verge of shattering under the immense pressure.

Above them, the clouds looked as if they had been torn asunder; it was a scene of utter turmoil.

"Attack...!" the Celestial Eagle Saint of Celestial Eagle Valley shouted. As he spoke, the five of them struck almost in unison, launching five terrifying attacks that blasted toward the great hall’s gates.

BOOM! The five attacks slammed squarely into the gates. However, to everyone’s astonishment, the combined assault of five Saints failed to leave even a single scratch on the doors.

An attack from a Saint was terrifying beyond measure. And yet, this terrifying attack hadn’t left the slightest mark.

Looking at the undamaged gates, Lin Yun became even more certain of his guess. ’These ruins must be related to the Divine Realm. If that’s true, forget five Saints—even fifty of them wouldn’t be able to break down these gates.’

Without a word, Lin Yun simply stood to the side, watching the situation unfold.

The first strike had no effect, so the five Saints attacked again. After more than ten rounds of attacks, the gates remained completely unscathed. By now, everyone understood that it was impossible to break down these gates with brute force.

"It seems these gates can’t be broken by brute force," said the Celestial Eagle Saint from Celestial Eagle Valley.

"Since the ruins have appeared, they can’t just remain sealed like this forever. I think there must be a key to enter," said the Spiritual Essence Saint from the Spiritual Light Pavilion.

The Spiritual Essence Saint was the only woman among the five Saints, and she looked to be in her forties. Hearing her words, the Saint from the Death Row Shelter spoke in a low voice.

"A key? Spiritual Essence has a point, but what is this key? And where are we supposed to find it?"

No one knew the identity of this Saint from the Death Row Shelter. Every time he appeared before the world, he wore an old iron mask.

At the mention of a key, the members of the Five Great Forces all fell into deep thought. Indeed, not even five Saints could break down the gates, yet the ruins had undeniably appeared. In a situation like this, there must be a key that could open them.

The only problem was, where was this key, and what did it look like? The people from the Five Great Forces had no idea. Trying to find a key they knew nothing about was undoubtedly like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Just as everyone was lost in thought, a pleasant and beautiful voice drifted from the forest behind them.

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"It looks like everyone has run into some trouble."

Hearing this voice, a faint smile appeared on Lin Yun’s face. It was all too familiar—who else could it be but Qing Zhu?

As the voice faded, Qing Zhu’s figure slowly emerged from the forest behind the crowd. Following her were Aunt Lan, the Celestial Light Saint of Taiqing Academy, the Taiqing Institute Director, a group of Supreme Elders, and Wei Yunhang.

The members of the Five Great Forces didn’t recognize Qing Zhu, but they certainly knew the people from Taiqing Academy behind her. For a moment, everyone from the Five Great Forces turned their gaze to Qing Zhu.

"Everyone, are you unable to get through the gates of these ruins?" Qing Zhu asked coolly, stopping before the Five Great Forces.

"Who are you?" the Extreme Realm Saint of the Wuji Sect asked upon hearing her words.

Hearing this, Qing Zhu let out a light laugh and said, "Oh, I haven’t introduced myself. My name is Qing Zhu, and I am the president of the Qing Zhu Association..."

Qing Zhu’s voice was soft, but the words "president of the Qing Zhu Association" struck everyone’s ears like a clap of thunder—everyone, that is, except for Lin Yun and Luo Feng, who already knew her identity.

"You’re the president of the Qing Zhu Association? Does that mean Taiqing Academy has now pledged allegiance to the Qing Zhu Association?" the Spiritual Essence Saint of the Spiritual Light Pavilion said coldly.

Hearing the Spiritual Essence Saint’s words, the Celestial Light Saint replied calmly, "Spiritual Essence, a wise bird chooses its branch. The era of the Six Great Forces is over. The Eastern Domain is about to welcome a new age."

"In that case, we’ll just have to destroy you here today. The Qing Zhu Association has always been a menace," the Spiritual Essence Saint declared, ready to strike as a faint killing intent emanated from her.

As soon as the Spiritual Essence Saint spoke, the atmosphere instantly grew tense. However, facing her killing intent, Qing Zhu showed no sign of nervousness at all. She appeared completely at ease.

"Do you really want to have a decisive battle with the Qing Zhu Association right now? Don’t you want to see what’s inside these ruins? To see what it is that’s drawing you here?" Qing Zhu said.

"Little girl, entering the ruins requires a key. How could you possibly open them?" the Saint from the Death Row Shelter asked upon hearing Qing Zhu’s words.

The Death Row Shelter had never involved itself in the struggles of the Eastern Domain. Therefore, from this Saint’s perspective, the Qing Zhu Association was none of his business. All he cared about was how to enter the mysterious ruins before him.

With a faint smile, Qing Zhu said calmly, "You all said a key is needed to enter the ruins, so..."

Qing Zhu didn’t even need to finish her sentence. Everyone quickly realized—could the key really be in her hands?

"So? Do you still want to fight a decisive battle with the Qing Zhu Association here?" Qing Zhu asked with a smile.

Hearing this, the Celestial Bamboo Saint and the Spiritual Essence Saint exchanged a look, both seeing the answer in the other’s eyes. Then, the Celestial Bamboo Saint, who had been silent all this time, spoke.

"If you truly have the key to open the ruins, we can enter them together. As for what happens later, we can discuss it then."

"Very good. You certainly know how to see the bigger picture." Qing Zhu wasn’t surprised in the least, having already known the Five Great Forces would make this decision. Moreover, the Celestial Eagle Saint of Celestial Eagle Valley had been silent ever since Qing Zhu appeared. What no one knew was that it wasn’t just Taiqing Academy—Celestial Eagle Valley had also long since fallen under Qing Zhu’s control.

Lin Yun, who hadn’t said a word, was still thinking about the key. Suddenly, an image of the fragment he had brought back from the Mysterious Forest surfaced in his mind.

At the time, Lin Yun had found it strange. ’It was just an ordinary-looking fragment, so why was Qing Zhu so interested in it?’

’Could that fragment be the key to opening the ruins?’ he wondered, his gaze shifting to Qing Zhu in the distance.

Just as Lin Yun looked at Qing Zhu, a Space Rift suddenly appeared, and the Qingfeng Saint and Flowing Water Saint stepped out. With their arrival, everyone was finally present.