I haven't decided on a name for my Pokémon trainer yet.

Ye Feng then began to examine the temple ruins.

Ye Feng stared at the three stone statues surrounding the temple and fell silent.

It wasn't some legendary spirit after all, just a statue. I got all excited for nothing.

The main reason Ye Feng came to the temple ruins so proactively was that he suspected that the ruins were related to the legendary Poklandis Empire, and that they might be the same ruins that appeared in the animation.

Inside the ruins, there is a stone sphere that seals the soul of the ancient king of the Poklandis Empire, and it has existed for countless years.

Although it was sealed, the fact that it had existed for so many years meant that the king's soul must have something special about it. Ye Feng considered what Meng Huan had said about his soul being special, and thought that he might be able to find some useful information.

Although he wasn't sure if this empire even existed in this world, Ye Feng decided to come and take a look just in case.

However, to everyone's surprise, the legendary spirits were not legendary spirits at all, but just a few statues.

After Master Wang finished his inquiry, he brought back some basic information.

After the ruins were discovered, in addition to sealing them off, the association also dispatched ancient studies experts to explore and study the ruins.

Initial exploration revealed that, apart from the ruins on the surface, there was a hidden world underground.

However, due to time constraints, a detailed exploration was not conducted. Only through instrumental investigation did we discover that there was an incredibly vast space deep underground, as if a city were buried beneath it.

“It’s getting late, let’s rest and recharge. After the expedition team brings a detailed report, we’ll see tomorrow whether to go down directly or wait for the professional team to arrive,” Master Wang said after thinking for a moment.

"Okay." The group nodded.

Ye Feng was assigned a small tent.

The temperature difference between day and night in the desert is particularly large. Fortunately, although the tent is small, it is fully functional and has a simple temperature control system inside, which can ensure that it is not affected by the outside temperature difference.

Silent all night.

The next day, before dawn, Ye Feng was awakened by the commotion outside.

Lifting the curtain and stepping out of the tent, Ye Feng was shocked to find the camp in chaos. Medical personnel were running around carrying stretchers, and the people lying on them were all covered in blood, looking like they had suffered serious injuries.

"What's going on?" Ye Feng, not even bothering to wash his face, went to find Master Wang.

"Hmm... the huge underground space is indeed the ruins of a city. During the search, the expedition team encountered traps, and many people were injured. However, they were all minor injuries and none of them were life-threatening," Master Wang said.

There really are cities underground? Ye Feng was incredibly surprised.

"Get ready, we're going down," Master Wang said.

"Go down? But it's a trap..." Ye Feng was a little worried.

"It's alright, with Master Yu here, no mechanism will be a problem," Master Wang said with a relaxed expression.

Ye Feng realized, "Oh right, with Master Yu here this time, even if there are any traps inside, they'll be like toys in front of Psychic-type Pokémon."

"I'm going to wash my face." Ye Feng ran back to the tent.

Ye Feng quickly washed up and arrived at the entrance of the underground ruins, where Masters Wang, Yu, and Ye were already waiting.

"Ye Feng is here, let's go," Master Wang said.

"Walk."

The passage leading to the underground city was very long. Ye Feng and Master Yu released their Pokémon and used their telekinesis to carry them forward quickly, otherwise walking would have been too time-consuming.

What's strange is that, despite being an ancient ruin, the air inside, apart from having a slightly old and decaying smell, doesn't affect breathing.

It's as if the space below is always connected to the outside world, and the air is circulating.

After descending for a long time, a sudden burst of light revealed the underground city to everyone.

Ye Feng rubbed his eyes, looking at the scene at his feet in disbelief.

The exit of the passage was in the air; and beneath their feet, a city had indeed appeared.

The city was filled with an atmosphere of decay and ruin, with all the buildings in sight collapsed on the ground, none of them intact.

There was no life in the place, as if it were dead, and there was a strange sense of oppression.

Judging from these dilapidated ruins, there may have once been a glorious civilization here, but that is all in the past. Now, all that remains is a silent, dead city.

The group walked through the dilapidated city, each of them summoning elven guards to protect them. Although a reconnaissance team had already been there, no one could guarantee that there might still be any dangers lurking around.

But the further Ye Feng went, the more he felt that such vigilance was unnecessary.

Because apart from them and the Pokémon, there was no sign of any living creature—and any remaining defensive measures posed no threat whatsoever under the protection of Alakazam and Gardevoir.

It's so quiet here, so quiet that you can only hear their heartbeats and the echoes of their footsteps in the city. The silence instills a strange sense of fear in me.

“It’s truly amazing.” Master Yu relaxed considerably, observing the buildings on both sides as he walked. “There are obvious traces of civilization here, but we don’t know when it’s from. What’s certain is that humans once lived here, and judging by the size of this city, it might even have been a dynasty.”

“However, I don’t recall any records of any dynasty ever existing here,” Master Wang said.

Located in the interior of the continent and historically a desert region, this area is resource-poor, making it hard to imagine any dynasty establishing itself here without leaving any records.

Ye Feng frowned and looked around.

He always felt that this city gave him a strange feeling.

Although it was his first time here, the dilapidated streets and collapsed buildings gave him a faint sense of familiarity.

It was as if he had once lived here.

But this is obviously impossible. Ye Feng, whether in his past life or this one, is a modern person; while the architectural style here is clearly ancient.

Ye Feng couldn't have been here.

Could it be a scene from a TV series I watched in my past life?

Or is it the so-called hippocampal effect, or a sense of déjà vu?

Even when something or a scene has never been experienced, the brain can fabricate a similar experience, making people mistakenly believe they have been to a similar place.

“That is…” Master Yu suddenly looked up, staring in astonishment at the distance.

"What's wrong?" Everyone looked over.

"That's... Phoenix King?!" Ye Feng exclaimed in shock.

Not far away there is a palace-like building, and at the very front of the building is a huge statue.

Ye Feng was extremely familiar with the image of that statue; it was none other than the legendary spirit, Ho-Oh, whom he had met not long ago!

Chapter 274 The Palace Gates Opened

Why is there a statue of Ho-Oh here?

With this question in mind, the group quickly ran towards the palace. The closer they got to the palace, the more alarmed they became by the sights along the way, and the more dangerous the hidden traps became.

Apart from Ho-Oh at the highest point, there is a row of statues of the three legendary beasts on the right side of the road leading to the palace; while on the left side of the road are statues of the three legendary pillars.

After successfully overcoming the obstacles posed by the traps, the group arrived directly in front of the Ho-Oh statue, only to be astonished to discover that to the left of the Ho-Oh statue was another statue that had already been destroyed.

“This is…” Master Wang frowned, carefully observing the scattered stones on the ground. He could vaguely make out from the largest piece that it was shaped like a cylinder.

"Could it be the Holy Pillar King, Regigigas?" Ye Feng guessed.

"Oh? What do you mean?" Master Yu looked at Ye Feng curiously.

"Yes, over here are the Phoenix King and the Three Holy Beasts." Ye Feng pointed to the Phoenix King statue on the right and the Three Holy Beasts below it, then pointed to the lower left, "There are the Three Divine Pillars."

"The three legendary beasts are Ho-Oh's guards, while the three legendary Pokémon are created by Regigigas, the Regigigas, and can also be considered as guards. So I guess the only one that can be placed in the same position as Ho-Oh's statue is Regigigas, right?"

"And the shape is quite fitting too," Ye Feng said, gesturing with his hand.

"Hahaha, that makes a lot of sense. No wonder he's a genius that the Grand Master has his eye on!" Master Ye, who had been silent all along, suddenly burst into laughter and patted Ye Feng on the shoulder, making him wince in pain.

Master Ye didn't have anything to do along the way. As for observing the ruins, he wasn't good at it. When he finally found a chance to interject, he spoke quite loudly, and the sound even echoed.

In this deathly silent city, there's a slightly eerie feeling.

"Not bad, not bad, Ye Feng, you're quite clever," Master Wang praised with a smile.

"Hehe, it's just so-so." Ye Feng scratched his head sheepishly.

“Since there’s a statue of Phoenix King here, maybe it has something to do with Phoenix King? Ye Feng, has Phoenix King ever mentioned anything similar to you?” Master Yu asked Ye Feng.

"No." Ye Feng shook his head.

This building is from who knows how many years ago. Even if there is some connection, why would Ho-Oh tell me this if there's nothing else going on?

"But who exactly has the audacity to use Phoenix King and Holy Pillar King as gatekeepers?" Master Wang asked.

The statues of Ho-Oh and Pillar King stand on either side of the palace gate, guarding the entrance like door gods.

What's strange is that there were countless traps along the way. Although they were almost all rendered useless due to years of disrepair and posed no great threat to them, what kind of city would be full of traps?

"Could this not be an ordinary city, but a fortress similar to a military stronghold?" Master Ye wondered.

“That’s certainly possible, otherwise there’s no way to explain so many mechanisms.” Master Wang agreed with this statement.

In today's dilapidated city, the fact that so many mechanisms still exist—though they have lost their original function—makes it hard to imagine how intricately these mechanisms must have been back then.

If you weren't a well-trained soldier, you'd probably find it impossible to move an inch here.

"Should we go in and take a look?" Ye Feng looked up at the huge palace gate. He had a feeling that the answer they were looking for might be inside this palace.

“Of course we should go in, but…” The three masters exchanged glances and nodded. Master Wang said, “Ye Feng, you can stay here.”

"Why?" Ye Feng asked, puzzled. He had already come all this way, so why was he being told not to come along now?