A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

Chapter 556 Entering the Ruins
Lin Youjian startled the Ghost Octopus away, and the journey was relatively peaceful afterward. Although there were a few places where spatial ripples faintly passed by, no high-level elemental beasts attacked them.

The group traveled on the wind, and after about an hour, they could see a large expanse of shimmering blue light in the distance.

In this land where the dark soil stretches endlessly, the azure light curtain is very conspicuous and quite enormous, like a great mountain, stretching and obscuring...

Looking at the azure light curtain, Lin Youjian's tense nerves relaxed slightly. "We've finally arrived!"

Duan Rong and his companions had imagined countless times what the ruins of gods and demons would look like, but they never expected it to be such a huge, flickering azure light screen. "Could this be the ruins of gods and demons?"

They didn't know that what they were seeing was only one of the sixty Zhou Tian Grand Arrays, and not the entire array, but only the outermost ring.

During the ten-day training camp, Lin Youjian and Liu Su did not discuss the sixty-four Zhou Tian formations surrounding the God and Demon Ruins with Duan Rong and the others. After all, this knowledge was of no use to their survival within the God and Demon Ruins. The ten-day training camp was already very tight, mainly focusing on the situation inside the God and Demon Ruins.

Therefore, when Duan Rong and the others saw the huge blue-green light curtain, they were completely confused and thought they had seen the ruins of gods and demons.

Led by Lin Youjian, the group quickened their pace and soon arrived in front of the azure light curtain.

Lin Youjian flew into the air, and suddenly flipped his hand, grasping a wedge-shaped array plate in his hand.

As Duan Rong approached, he could tell from the flickering, azure light screen that it was a talisman array. Seeing the array plate in Lin Youjian's hand further confirmed his judgment.

Lin Youjian held the array tablet and cast a spell, pointing it at the azure light screen. The azure light screen in front of him immediately blurred and changed, and then an oval-shaped hole appeared.

Seeing the scene before them, Duan Rong, Jiang Hanyan, and the others remained relatively calm, but some who were unfamiliar with talisman arrays showed expressions of astonishment.

Duan Rong noticed that Su Xinjue looked the most astonished among them. Shen Tu Ying had been living in seclusion in the Purple Bamboo Forest for many years. Although Su Xinjue had followed her in cultivation for ten years, she had always remained hidden in the Purple Bamboo Forest and had never seen much of the world.

Lin Youjian turned his head and said, "Liu Su, take them inside!"

"Alright!" Liu Su responded, then looked at Duan Rong and the others and said, "Line up and come in with me in order!"

The group then entered the azure light curtain. Lin Youjian was the last to retrieve the needle token that was floating there, and then his figure flashed inside.

She flashed in, and the azure light curtain trembled and shifted. The oval-shaped opening disappeared, and the azure light curtain returned to its original state.

Upon entering the Azure Light Curtain, the space before you is not very large, only about the size of two houses. All around are shimmering arc-shaped light curtains of varying shades and colors.

Lin Youjian looked at them and said, "It's safe here now, you can rest for a while."

Upon hearing this, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief; they were all quite tired.

Lin Youjian walked up to Liu Su and said, "Liu Su, you keep an eye on them and don't let them run around. I'm going inside to check if the grand formation that opened the passage to the Divine Demon Ruins has been activated."

Liu Su smiled at Lin Youjian and said, "Don't worry! Go ahead."

Liu Su and Lin Youjian are both young elders in the Elders' Association. They have known each other for decades, and twenty-nine years ago they even entered the Divine and Demonic Ruins together.

In fact, Liu Su had been somewhat attracted to Lin Youjian since then. But alas, while the king was willing, the goddess remained indifferent!
Lin Youjian had suffered heartbreak in his early years and was very averse to matters between men and women! Liu Su could naturally sense Lin Youjian's attitude, so he never revealed his true feelings.

Lin Youjian nodded, then turned and walked to a curved light screen. She touched the array plate on the light screen and then flashed inside.

Duan Rong and the others were all sitting there, cross-legged, meditating and resting.

As soon as Lin Youjian entered the light curtain, he noticed that the vast space in front of him was filled with a light blue mist.

She saw a blurry figure emerge from the mist and walk towards her. When the figure got closer, she recognized him as Fu Xingjian, the presiding elder of one of the sixty-four Zhou Tian Grand Arrays.

Fu Xingjian smiled and looked at Lin Youjian not far away, saying, "Little Lin, are you leading the team this year?"

Lin Youjian laughed and said, "Yes! Elder Fu, it's been a while since we last met."

Fu Xingjian said, "After I stepped down, I was sent to this godforsaken place to oversee the great formation. Where are you going to see me?"

Lin Youjian laughed and said, "This place is the foundation of our sect. How come it's become a desolate place in Elder Fu's mouth?"

"Of course, it's due to its inherent strength!" Fu Xingjian said, "But it's also truly a desolate place!"

Lin Youjian knew that Fu Xingjian was lazy and had caused some outrageous things in the sect in his early years. However, he was also very eloquent, which gave Yang Sixuan of the Judgment Department and Zhu He of the Inner History Department a lot of headaches. That's why the sect leader Chu Qiushan sent him to preside over the Zhou Tian Grand Array.

Looking at the mist filling the vast space, Lin Youjian asked, "Is the grand formation almost ready?"

She asked this because she knew that the pale blue mist in the space before her was not a deliberate illusion, but rather a mist that spontaneously generated after the grand formation was set up.

Fu Xingjian nodded and said, "It's all arranged. We're just waiting for the Ancestor to come and personally oversee it before we can start!"

Just then, a sudden gust of wind arose behind them, causing the blue mist to churn.

Amidst the swirling blue mist, a figure slowly walked away.

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. The patriarch Lü Yinlin has already arrived.

Fu Xingjian and Lin Youjian immediately knelt down and said, "Greetings, Ancestor!"

As their voices echoed, shouts also came from near and far in the depths of the blue mist.

Lu Yinlin raised his hand and said, "Get up, all of you!"

Fu Xingjian and Lin Youjian then stood up.

Lü Yinlin looked at Lin Youjian and asked, "Have you brought everyone?"

Lin Youjian said, "Reporting to the Ancestor, everything has been brought and is waiting outside."

Upon hearing this, Lü Yinlin turned his head, and with a slight movement of his divine sense, he passed through the light barrier and enveloped Duan Rong and the others.

Moreover, when their divine sense swept over them, none of Duan Rong and the others noticed anything.

Of the eight, only Jiang Hanyan and Su Xinjue were women. Lu Yinlin had seen Jiang Hanyan before, so the other woman with remarkable looks was naturally Su Xinjue.

Lu Yinlin's divine sense only swept over Su Xinjue before withdrawing. He looked at Lin Youjian and asked, "Were you checking their bodies before bringing them here, since they can't have any magic weapons that can be used for law-based attacks?" Lin Youjian replied, "Don't worry, Ancestor, we've checked them carefully."

Lu Yinlin nodded. He had just scanned the area with his divine sense and had not detected anything unusual.

Lü Yinlin turned to Fu Xingjian and said, "Activate the entire formation!"

Fu Xingjian clasped his hands and said, "Yes, Ancestor!"

Fu Xingjian immediately flipped his hand and grasped a array ruler. The array ruler was covered with complex runes. He cast a spell on the array ruler, and the runes on the array ruler flickered between light and dark, and then trembled incessantly, emitting a faint humming sound.

After the runes on the array ruler flickered between light and dark, they suddenly shone brightly. At that moment, Fu Xingjian abruptly released his grip, and the array ruler transformed into a bright ball of light, flying into the depths of the pervasive pale blue mist.

The ball of light flew into his throat, and the pale blue mist that had been calmly spreading throughout the vast space began to churn violently...

At the same time, the patriarch Lü Yinlin and Fu Xingjian each transformed into a streak of black light and flew into the depths of the mist.

Fu Xingjian flew to the side, but Lü Yinlin flew into the center where the fog was thickest.

Seeing the two figures disappear into the depths of the mist, Lin Youjian also slipped out of this space and returned to the place where Duan Rong and the others were meditating cross-legged.

As Lin Youjian walked over, Liu Su glanced at the constantly shifting arc-shaped light screen behind her and said, "The grand formation has been activated!?"

Lin Youjian said, "That's right! However, it will take several hours from activating the great formation to opening the passage into the God and Demon Ruins. We'll have to wait. Let's rest for a bit."

Liu Su nodded.

Only then did the two sit cross-legged on either side of the line and begin to circulate their qi.

Along the way, Liu Su was alright, but Lin Youjian led the charge, fighting his way through, which actually took a lot of energy.

Several hours later, Duan Rong and his companions had regained their energy and spirits.

At this moment, the ground where they sat cross-legged began to tremble slightly, as if it were the prelude to an earthquake. As the ground trembled, various colored lights began to pierce through the arc-shaped light screen not far away and shoot into this space.

The strange lights that pierced through the light barrier and shone in had dimmed considerably. They floated and shifted in this space like the aurora borealis, leaving everyone stunned!
This situation lasted for nearly half an hour, when suddenly the curved light screen churned violently, and then a fist-sized vortex appeared in the center of the screen.

As soon as the vortex appeared, it continued to spread and expand, and in just a few breaths, it had turned the entire arc-shaped light screen into a huge vortex.

Then, a huge storm suddenly swept out from the vortex, engulfing the space. Sand and stones flew everywhere, and yellow dust filled the air, making it impossible for Duan Rong and the others to open their eyes.

At this moment, faint spatial ripples spread around them, enveloping them.

At the center of those spatial ripples was Lin Youjian, who was sitting cross-legged there.

The spatial ripples finally kept the storm and sand at bay.

However, at this time, the outside was shrouded in yellow sand, and nothing could be seen at all.

This situation did not last long; the storm soon stopped, the sand dispersed, and the spatial ripples that enveloped the area disappeared.

"Everyone stand up!" Lin Youjian suddenly shouted.

Duan Rong and the others immediately stood up.

Lin Youjian said, "Come here and line up in order!"

Only then did they realize that Lin Youjian had already stood not far from the original curved light screen.

When the yellow sand was swirling, the arc-shaped light screen had turned into a huge vortex. But now, the arc-shaped light screen has returned to its previous pale blue light, except that a hole half a zhang wide has appeared in its center.

The cave entrance was quite eerie. Standing there and looking inside, it seemed as if endless clouds were floating about, rapidly shifting and flashing past, dazzling the eye. More importantly, these clouds were layered upon each other, and although their flickering appearance was mesmerizing, it was clear that the space inside the cave was incredibly deep and seemingly endless…

Duan Rong and the others had already lined up beside Lin Youjian.

The order of the eight people had already been arranged during the training camp: Guo Tian first, Duan Rong second, Jiang Hanyan third, and so on.

Guo Tian looked at Lin Youjian with a questioning expression.

Lin Youjian noticed Guo Tian's expression and said, "It's not possible yet. The passage is still unstable. I will let you know when it is stable."

Guo Tian respectfully nodded and replied, "Yes, senior!"

Not far away, within the hole on the curved light screen, layers of flowing clouds continued to flash by. This situation lasted for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. Suddenly, the hole blurred and changed, then shone with a cold, eerie light, like a dark crystal.

Lin Youjian looked at the hole, which resembled a black crystal mirror, and said, "It should be stable now."

Suddenly, a figure appeared not far from the opening of the black crystal mirror, looked at Lin Youjian, and said, "It's alright! Let them go in."

The person who came was none other than the patriarch Lü Yinlin.

Lin Youjian replied, "Yes, Ancestor!"

Su Xinjue had never seen Lü Yinlin before. When an old man suddenly appeared, she didn't know who he was. It was only when she heard Lin Youjian call him "Ancestor" that she realized who he was and stared blankly at Lü Yinlin.

Lu Yinlin stood there, his gaze sweeping briefly over Duan Rong before disappearing from sight.

Lin Youjian looked at Guo Tiandao and said, "Let's go in!"

Now that we could finally enter the passage, Guo Tian hesitated as he stood at the front. The black crystal mirror at the entrance of the passage shone with a cold, eerie black light, which did look rather creepy.

Seeing that Guo Tian didn't move, Lin Youjian frowned, grabbed Guo Tian's shoulder, and threw him inside.

Guo Tian was thrown into the black crystal mirror by Lin Youjian. Duan Rong watched as Guo Tian's burly body disappeared into the mirror. The mirror, which shone with a cold black light, was like a magic mirror leading to a strange world.

With a grim expression, Duan Rong leaped into the black crystal mirror and vanished instantly...

(End of this chapter)