There are no ancestors at all; I made them all up.

Chapter 178 You are the one destined for us!
"Whoosh whoosh—"

Several communication talismans flew through the air and landed in the hands of Liu Shuang'er, Yan Ruoshuang, and the others, causing their expressions to change!

Ling Juefeng directly asked his junior sister what had happened.

Yan Ruoshuang said with a solemn expression, "The anomaly of this ruin has actually caused several changes, with several entrances appearing in the bustling city and the suburbs! Some are filled with demonic energy, while others have an ancient and simple aura, clearly leading to this twin ruin!"

Meanwhile, Liu Shuang'er quickly sent messages to all sides, mobilizing troops to guard the newly appeared entrances to the ruins.

After making arrangements, her expression became very serious: "It happened too suddenly. There are quite a few new entrances and exits, and their exact distribution is still unclear. I'm afraid it will be difficult to guard them all in a short time! In short, we can only do our best!"

Yan Ruoshuang frowned and said, "There are already many people lurking in the city who covet it. Now that so many entrances and exits have appeared, it will probably attract many people to enter the ruins! That would make the situation very complicated!"

"We need to hurry!" Liu Shuang'er took a deep breath. "Although I'm reluctant to admit it, with such unknown changes, if there were a cultivator from the Xuanjuan Pavilion by my side, they might be able to figure out the source of the changes. We need to catch up with Liu Yin as soon as possible."

As they talked, they walked quickly forward, and soon, the backs of Liu Yin and the old man in black robes became clearly visible.

However, Liu Yin couldn't care less about anything else at this moment. The black compass in his hand hummed and the pointer spun wildly before pointing to a certain location deep within the ruins!
His eyes suddenly lit up, and his face turned an unnatural red, clearly indicating extreme excitement.

"It is indeed here! This should be 'Hidden Truth in the Palace Ruins'! The secret record is correct! Hahaha, Heaven blesses my Liu family! This place is destined for me!" He ignored the crowd behind him and his figure flashed, as fast as lightning, and in the blink of an eye, he disappeared into the depths of the dark passage ahead. The old man in black robes followed closely behind and his figure disappeared in the blink of an eye.

"Keep up!" Liu Shuang'er shouted, and she, Ling Juefeng, Yan Ruoshuang and the others immediately activated their movement techniques to chase after them.

Chen Qing stepped forward, but a thought stirred within him: the internal structure of this ruin was quite peculiar.

The passage was not straight, but meandered downwards. The stone walls on both sides were sometimes as hard as iron, gleaming with a cold metallic light, and sometimes as soft as mud, seeping out gurgling black demonic energy.

In some areas, the sun, moon, and star runes of Taiyi Palace and the twisted and ferocious demonic patterns have eroded and intertwined with each other, creating a bizarre and fantastical illusion.

Moreover, along the way, there are many forks in the road, which, although not dense, are still quite complicated.

"This place is like an underground labyrinth."

Thinking this, he followed along, but Liu Shuang'er and the others ahead had already slowed down.

"Cannot be found!"

Their expressions were all somber.

Meanwhile, the outside world.

Several powerful auras erupted almost simultaneously above Blackwater City!

In the east of the city, a young master dressed in a brocade robe and with a jade belt around his waist suddenly opened his eyes, and snapped his jade-bone fan shut: "The situation has changed dramatically, and inspiration has soared to the heavens! A treasure has actually been born in this remote place! This means that the opportunity is mine! It is destined to be mine! You will all follow me into the ruins!"

Behind him, several guards with solemn expressions responded in unison.

In the south of the city, a cultivator cloaked and whose face was hidden in the shadows let out a hoarse laugh: "Hehehe, I've only been here for a day, and this ruin has opened up on its own. This is the will of Heaven! It is destined that I, your ancestor, will achieve great success in my demonic arts and sweep across Nan Yan in the future!"

As he spoke, a faint blood-red aura swirled around him, and after a few breaths, his figure blurred and disappeared without a trace.

In the west of the city, a burly man carrying a huge sword box on his back, with a cold expression, sneered: "The demonic energy is restless and extraordinary. If there is indeed a secret treasure in those ruins, once it falls into the hands of evil spirits, it will surely cause widespread suffering! This rare treasure should be taken by my Zhenyue Sword to restore order to the world!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he strode forward, the faint sound of a dragon's roar emanating from the sword case behind him.

"Interesting! This relic of the Southern Yan Dynasty seems to be teeming with life! No wonder my elder sister, after calculating the future, sent me on this path; it turns out there really is a fortuitous encounter!"

Further away, a magnificent carriage rests amidst the clouds.

Inside the carriage, a beautiful young woman dressed in palace attire peeked out, looking at the shaking ruins below. She clapped her hands and laughed, "Old Master Fu, it's quite lively down there! Shall we go down and take a look?"

Beside the carriage, an old man in gray stood expressionlessly, shaking his head indifferently: "Your Highness, this place is a melting pot of all sorts of people; there may be danger."

"Isn't Master Fu here?" the girl said coquettishly. "Let's go take a look. Maybe we can find something fun. Besides, I'm on a mission to the Southern Yan Kingdom to arrange a marriage. Once you enter the palace, it's like entering a deep sea. Aren't you going to let me indulge myself here? Or do you want me to grow old alone and stifled in the palace?"

The old man in gray hesitated for a moment, then sighed, raised his hand, and gently made a slash in the air in front of him!
"Shoot-"

With a cracking sound like tearing brocade, he forcefully ripped open a crack in space, wide enough for a carriage to pass through. On the other side was the dazzling passage of light and shadow inside the ruins!

"It can only be admired from afar, not..."

Before the old man could finish speaking, the young girl leaped from the carriage, transformed into a streak of light, and instantly vanished into it.

"Sigh!" The old man in gray sighed, but he was not surprised. "The eldest princess calculated for His Highness that it was an opportunity to elope. Sure enough, she seizes every opportunity to cause trouble. Once she hits a wall, she will naturally know how powerful she is."

Even so, the old man then stepped out and entered the crack.

"Whoosh-"

Almost simultaneously, a disheveled streak of demonic light streaked across the horizon at an astonishing speed!

Following the demonic light, another dazzling sword light followed closely, its sword energy soaring into the sky, extremely sharp!
Within the demonic light was a young man with a panicked expression and tattered clothes. He glanced back at the pursuers, his brows furrowed, and then, sensing something, looked down at the entrance to the ruins that had materialized below.

"Hahaha! As expected, Heaven has not forsaken me! Since I began my cultivation, I have always escaped from dire straits, and no matter how great the disaster, there is always good fortune to follow! I have been making a comeback all the way, and this crisis is indeed another opportunity! The spiritual light of this ruin is soaring into the sky, and there must be an opportunity to help me get rid of that killer behind me, or even kill him! It may even help me directly enter the eighth stage of the Golden Core!"

With this thought in mind, the young man did not hesitate and plunged headlong into the entrance.

From the sword light behind, a middle-aged Taoist priest dressed in a coarse robe, carrying an ancient sword, and with a simple and ancient face, sneered: "Hmph! This twin ruin should be the Taiyi Palace and the Demon Cave that were rumored a while ago! You demon, do you think you can survive by escaping into this place? Today, I will definitely act on behalf of Heaven and kill you, this scourge, and while I'm at it, I'll also explore the secrets of Taiyi!"

The sword light then burst into the entrance of a ruin!
Besides these groups, many other cultivators from various factions, hidden within the city, either rushed about or rode their escape lights, entering the ruins through several entrances.

Only a small number of cultivators were stopped.

Listening to the report from his subordinates, Zhou Chen, who was in charge of guarding, patrolling and defense, had a gloomy face!

"We must inform the people in the ruins of this news as soon as possible! The situation is complicated now. If they cannot decipher the ruins quickly and allow outside cultivators to unravel their mysteries, it will be a disaster!"

Inside the ruins, the tremors gradually subsided.

Liu Shuang'er focused her senses for a moment, then ran to the stone wall and tapped it twice. She frowned and said, "The entrance to the demonic path seems to be still silent. So, is this whole incident related to the Taiyi Dao Palace? Could it be that someone is deliberately triggering it?"

Upon hearing this, Yan Ruoshuang pondered for a moment and said, "Zhou Chen just sent word that many cultivators have infiltrated the ruins. He is trying his best to compile a list. Perhaps someone is hiding among these people, causing changes in the ruins from the outside, disrupting the situation, and taking advantage of the chaos to sneak in and hide themselves!"

Liu Shuang'er shook her head and said, "We can't make preconceived guesses, but we need to figure out the origin of this ruin as soon as possible. Liu Yin has disappeared at this moment. Could it be that the common problem of Xuanjuan Pavilion has struck again, and he has been blinded by some ancient charm and has ignored everything else?"

Ling Juefeng said calmly, "Instead of guessing blindly, let's find the person first!"

"Let's go!" Upon hearing this, Chen Qing immediately suppressed the Blood River Avatar stirring within him, disguised himself as a novice exploring the ruins for the first time, and obediently joined the others in chasing after the depths of the underground palace where Liu Yin had disappeared.

The further he went, the more turbulent and changing the eerie door in his heart and the blood river incarnation became!
"This place must be related to the schemes of Taiyi Dao Palace in the Dream Immortal Dynasty! And it's also inextricably linked to the Demonic Sect!"

As the group moved forward, the mechanisms and restrictions within the passage were triggered from time to time, but they were easily neutralized by Ling Juefeng's sword finger or Yan Ruoshuang's frost secret technique before they could even activate.

Seeing this, Liu Shuang'er smiled and said, "With Senior Brother Ling and Senior Sister Yan here, this trip is indeed much smoother."

Ling Juefeng, however, looked solemn and warned, "Don't be careless. Taiyi Dao Palace was the leader of the Daoist sects in the Middle Ages. In its heyday, it commanded all the sects in the world, and none dared to disobey it! Even though it declined later, its influence has lasted for thousands of years! Such a great sect's relics are by no means ordinary. Even though they are now in ruins, they should not be underestimated. Moreover, this place is also entangled with the Demonic Sect, which adds even more strange variables."

Chen Qing's heart stirred, and he asked, "It seems that you, fellow Daoist, know a great deal about the Taiyi Dao Palace?"

Yan Ruoshuang replied, "My senior brother's ancestors had a very deep connection with him."

"Oh?" Chen Qing guessed, "Could he be a successor from a previous generation of the Taiyi Dao Palace?"

Ling Juefeng shook his head and said frankly, "It is a blood feud! The sect my ancestors belonged to was a major sect in the Central Continent, and it was once very prosperous. However, because it offended the Taiyi Dao Palace, it was besieged by the palace and its vassal forces. In the end, the sect was destroyed and the lineage was almost extinct. The remaining bloodline was able to survive by flowing to the Eastern Spirit Continent. And those who suffered the same fate as our ancestors were not from one family. The ruthlessness of the Taiyi Dao Palace back then can be seen from this."

Chen Qing tentatively asked, "How could such a colossal creature have declined? Do you know the answer, fellow Daoist?"

Ling Juefeng shook his head and said, "This is a secret. What I just said was actually some records in the handwritten notes of my ancestors. As time goes by, each family has its own origins, but the records are mostly about the inheritance of their own lineage. As for such great secrets of the changes of the times, they are often vague and unclear, so it is difficult to see the whole picture."

Chen Qing nodded and asked no further questions.

Liu Shuang'er then said, "If you want to explore ancient secrets, the Xuanjuan Pavilion is actually one of the top choices. It contains countless ancient scrolls and secret files. If you are interested, I can find a way to make contact as a reward for my help this time."

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing was deeply moved.

Yan Ruoshuang suddenly retorted sharply: "Xuanjuan Pavilion is far away in the capital, and it is difficult to investigate in a short time. It is unknown how long it would take to make connections. If Mr. Chen is interested, there is actually another option."

Chen Qing immediately asked for advice.

Yan Ruoshuang said, "The Myriad Phenomena Star Chart of Xuanji Chess Academy is also a path. It is said to be one of the derivatives of the 'Myriad Phenomena Forest Chart,' a treasure of the Heavenly Mystery Alliance, a major sect of the Immortal Dynasty. It can deduce all things and also records many lost secrets. If Alliance Leader Chen is interested, I can make contact on his behalf."

"Xuanji Chess Academy..."

Chen Qing was naturally familiar with the Xuanji Chess Academy. Not to mention that it was one of the thirty-three major sects in Dongling Prefecture, he had a lot of interaction with this sect. In the past, due to many concerns, he had never wanted to have too much contact with it. Now that his cultivation had improved and he had more confidence, he could actually start to think about it.

However, besides these two...

He pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Have any of you heard of the Pavilion of Remnant Scrolls?"

The expressions of the group changed slightly, and they exchanged glances.

Liu Shuang'er asked in surprise, "Where did you hear this name, Mr. Chen? It is said that the Xuanjuan Pavilion was founded by some disciples of the former Canjuan Pavilion, but the sect has long since lost its lineage and little is known about it."

"The lineage has been severed?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Qing felt puzzled, but remained calm and did not ask any further questions. Instead, he followed the others to continue deeper into the area. Then, his divine sense trembled, and the tribulation lightning within his body vibrated as he prepared to leap out!

"Someone is spying on us!"

Sensing that the tribulation lightning was meant to strike based on one's senses, Chen Qingxin understood and began to ponder.

"Could this strange movement not be because of me, but because there is some hidden force behind it?"

"This group of four, two men and two women, are all excellent choices! One is born with a sword embryo, one seems to have some kind of Dao body, and among the two women, one has the Xuan Frost Body, and the other is even more powerful, the Yuan Yin Cauldron!"

Deep within the underground palace, in a hidden cave.

An ancient will that has been dormant for a long time is slowly awakening.

Before them, patches of mysterious light, like mirrors, reflected the various scenes within the ruins, including the situation of Chen Qing and his group.

After sweeping across the various mirrors of mysterious light, that will and divine sense exuded a sense of satisfaction.

"Those drawn here by the spirit-attracting array are indeed all extraordinary in terms of foundation and talent. Some of them even possess unique status and are excellent candidates for cultivation! If I could choose one to attach myself to, it might allow me to escape this place, see the light of day again, and fulfill the unfinished wish of my sect! However... I wonder what year it is in the outside world today? Has that great calamity been overcome? And who awakened me using the sect's methods?"

His mind raced, he carefully assessed the situation, and did not act immediately.

Although he longed to escape, he was even more afraid of rashly exposing himself and bringing unpredictable consequences.

"I wonder how much time has passed since the Great Calamity, and what methods these cultivators have now. Well, let's test them out first, set up some trials, and see how capable these younger generations are before deciding on a strategy."

With a thought, this will communicated with the great formation in the cave!
hum!
Deep within the cave, an extremely blurry portal loomed in and out of sight, connected to a series of array patterns, operating the array within the cave!
Inside the cave, numerous passages and branches changed one after another, scattering those who entered the cave at this moment, making it difficult for them to contact each other again!

Immediately afterwards, this ancient will brought about change, a cold wind suddenly rose in the cave, and indistinct "ghost messengers" materialized out of thin air.

"Go! Each of you take a magical artifact, pretend to be the spirit of this place, meet the intruders, act as if they are destined people, and lead them into the Taiyi Dao Formation!"

The ghost messengers bowed and accepted their orders, silently merging into the surrounding restrictions and ancient artifacts, before drifting towards the intruders scattered throughout the ruins.

Soon, a gleaming broken sword appeared before Liu Yin!

"You are the one destined to come here and discover the secret!"

At the same time, the strange portal in Chen Qing's heart suddenly manifested, causing his consciousness to drift and connect with the great formation hidden deep in the ruins!
"what?"

He immediately sensed something was amiss.

Ahead, a surge of black mist suddenly appeared, about to separate him from Liu Shuang'er and the others who were walking forward!

"what happened!?"

Liu Shuang'er's expression changed slightly. She wanted to disperse the black mist, but she felt dizzy and was getting further and further away from the people around her!

"not good!"

Her righteous path is in trouble!
"Zila!"

The next moment, Chen Qing tore through the black mist and arrived beside her.

"Follow me!"

(End of this chapter)