Courtyard Check-in: Starting with a Small World of Cultivation

Under the hazy sky, Chen Yu stood on the wasteland, spreading his spiritual sense to cover an area of ​​a hundred feet in radius.

The air was thick with the stench of blood and decay, a nauseating mixture. Roars echoed from afar, sometimes near, sometimes far, like some ferocious beasts locked in combat, or perhaps a warning to the intruders.

"This is the ancient battlefield..." Chen Yu murmured.

He took a deep breath, suppressed his unease, and began to observe his surroundings.

Beneath my feet lay scorched earth, hard and unyielding, as if scorched countless times by fire. Everywhere were jagged rocks, some towering like pagodas, others scattered like graves, their surfaces riddled with cracks and holes, as if ravaged by countless battles. The twisted, withered trees were even more eerie, their trunks a strange dark red, their branches reaching towards the sky like ghostly claws, some still slowly writhing, as if alive.

Chen Yu carefully avoided the withered trees and headed towards the center of the battlefield. According to Xuan Ming, the core of the seal was in the center of the battlefield, which was also where the most ferocious creatures were.

After walking for about half an hour, a ruin appeared ahead. Broken walls and remnants were scattered across the wasteland, vaguely revealing the remains of an ancient building. Stone pillars were broken, walls had collapsed, and shards of broken pottery and rusted weapons were scattered on the ground.

Chen Yu approached, squatted down, and picked up a shard of pottery. The shard had exquisite patterns on its surface, and although they were blurred, they were still recognizable as ancient craftsmanship.

"People used to live here..." he thought to himself.

Just then, I sensed a dangerous aura in my spiritual sense!

Chen Yu suddenly stood up, instantly summoning the Four Symbols Ritual Artifacts—the Azure Dragon Cauldron protecting his body, and the Vermilion Bird Lantern Mirror poised to unleash its power.

Deep within the ruins, a pair of eerie green eyes lit up!

Immediately afterwards, a dark figure rushed out from behind the broken wall at an astonishing speed!

Before Chen Yu could think further, a burst of flame shot out from the Vermilion Bird Lantern Mirror, heading straight for the dark figure.

"roar!"

The dark figure was struck by the flames and let out a shrill scream, but its speed did not decrease, and it pounced in front of Chen Yu in an instant!

Chen Yu then saw its appearance clearly—it was a monster resembling a jackal, but larger than an ox, covered in black scales, with fangs in its mouth, and eerie green eyes that emitted a ferocious light.

A menacing creature!

Instead of retreating, Chen Yu advanced, slamming a punch into the monster's head. The power of a fifth-level Golden Core cultivator was terrifying; with a single punch, the monster's head exploded, splattering black blood all over the ground.

But the monster's final counterattack tore his sleeve, leaving three shallow bloodstains.

Chen Yu looked down at his wound and felt a slight burning sensation – the beast's claws were poisonous!

He immediately took an antidote pill and applied a hemostatic and tissue-regenerating powder to the wound. After a short while, the burning sensation disappeared, and the wound began to heal.

"That was close." He breathed a sigh of relief.

These are just the ferocious creatures on the outer perimeter, and they're already this troublesome. The further you go into the center, the stronger the creatures will become.

Chen Yu abandoned his initial contempt and began to explore more cautiously.

Over the next half day, he encountered several more attacks. There were ferocious beasts like the jackals he had just encountered, flying winged snakes, and giant centipedes hiding underground... Each one was several times stronger than the monsters from the outside world, and every battle was extremely dangerous.

However, Chen Yu's fifth-level Golden Core cultivation, combined with the Four Symbols Ritual Artifacts, was more than enough to deal with these ferocious beasts on the outskirts. After half a day, he killed more than ten of them, and although he himself suffered some minor injuries, he was otherwise unharmed.

As dusk approached—if the dim sky could even be called dusk—a colossal mountain appeared ahead. Dark red in color, it soared into the clouds, its surface riddled with countless holes, like a honeycomb. At its foot lay a complex of buildings, far larger than the ruins encountered earlier, with the outlines of towers, palaces, and city walls faintly visible.

"The center of the battlefield?" Chen Yu's heart skipped a beat.

According to Xuanming, the core of the seal is located in the center of the battlefield. If this is indeed the center, then the core of the seal is likely inside that mountain.

Just as he was about to approach, he suddenly sensed a familiar presence—

Xuanming!

He was in the cluster of buildings at the foot of the mountain, and his aura was fluctuating violently, clearly engaged in a fierce battle with a person—or rather, a ferocious creature!

Without hesitation, Chen Yu rushed towards the building complex at full speed.

The complex was even more magnificent than it appeared from afar. The dilapidated palaces, collapsed towers, and crumbling city walls all testified to its former glory. But now, these buildings were filled with ferocious creatures—the jackals he had encountered before, giant pythons of even larger size, winged tigers, and countless other monsters whose names he did not know.

They are besieging one person—Xuanming!

Xuanming was covered in blood, surrounded by black mist, and was fighting a bloody battle. His cultivation level was also around the fifth level of the Golden Core stage, but there were at least twenty or thirty ferocious beasts attacking him, some of which had an aura comparable to the Golden Core stage!

"Xuanming!" Chen Yu shouted and charged into the battle.

The four ritual artifacts were activated at full power—the Azure Dragon Cauldron protected the two, the Vermilion Bird Lantern Mirror swept across with raging flames, the White Tiger Cong enhanced its power, and the Black Tortoise Armor withstood the attack.

"Chen Yu!" Xuan Ming's eyes flashed with surprise when he saw him. "What brings you here?"

"Enough talk, let's fight our way out!"

The two stood back to back, unleashing their full power.

Chen Yu's Vermilion Bird Lantern Mirror is most effective against group attacks, unleashing bursts of flame that repel the surrounding ferocious creatures. Xuanming's techniques are cold and ruthless, specifically designed to deal with powerful enemies who get too close.

The two worked together seamlessly and gradually managed to stabilize their position despite being surrounded by twenty or thirty ferocious beasts.

"roar!"

With a deafening roar, a colossal ferocious creature slowly rose from the depths of the complex. It was a three-headed python, each head as thick as a water vat, its body covered in thick scales, its aura comparable to the seventh level of the Golden Core stage!

"Not good!" Xuanming's expression changed drastically. "That's a three-headed dragon! One of the overlords of the battlefield!"

The three heads of the three-headed dragon turned towards them simultaneously, its six eyes flashing with a cold light. It opened its blood-red maw, and three streams of black venom spewed out at the same time!

Chen Yu and Xuan Ming dodged at the same time, but the venom covered too much area, and they were still splashed with some.

The area on Chen Yu's arm where the poison had splashed instantly turned black, and excruciating pain shot through him. He gritted his teeth and swallowed an antidote, but it had little effect—the poison was too potent!

"We must escape!" Xuanming roared, "Run into the mountains!"

The two of them mustered all their strength, broke through the encirclement of the ferocious creatures, and rushed toward a hole in the mountainside.

The three-headed dragon was hot on its heels, but the holes were too narrow for it to fit through. However, the smaller, ferocious creatures continued to pursue it relentlessly.

Chen Yu and Xuan Ming rushed into the cave, which led to a narrow, winding passageway. They ran for their lives, and after what seemed like an eternity, the pursuers finally began to fade into the distance.

They collapsed to the ground, panting heavily.

Chen Yu looked down at the wound on his arm, which had spread to his forearm and turned black all over.

"Quickly circulate your internal energy to expel the poison!" Xuanming handed him a pill. "This is the Xuanming Palace's holy antidote; it should work."

Chen Yu took the medicine and sat cross-legged to circulate his internal energy. Half an hour later, he finally expelled the toxins from his body.

He opened his eyes, and Xuanming, having treated his wounds, was sitting to the side, looking around.

"Where is this place?" Chen Yu asked.

"I don't know." Xuanming shook his head, "But the interior of this mountain should be where the core of the seal is located."

Chen Yu looked up into the depths of the passageway. It was pitch black there, but he could vaguely sense faint fluctuations of spiritual energy—similar to the Five Elements Spirit Pearl, but even more ancient and profound.

"Let's go." He stood up.

The two continued upwards.

The passageway widened, gradually transforming into a vast cavern. The cave walls were riddled with countless holes, forming a labyrinthine network. Following the fluctuations of spiritual energy, they walked for about an hour until the passage suddenly opened up before them—

A huge underground space appeared before our eyes!

In the center of the space, a colossal altar floated. The altar was circular, a hundred feet in diameter, constructed of massive black stones, its surface covered with intricate runes. At the center of the altar stood a gigantic crystal pillar, about ten feet high, entirely transparent, with countless points of light flowing within.

"Seal the core!" Xuanming exclaimed excitedly.

But the next moment, their hearts sank to the bottom.

The altar was surrounded by a dense swarm of ferocious creatures! There were three-headed dragons that we had seen before, winged tigers, giant apes engulfed in flames, and countless other terrifying beings whose names we did not know.

They seemed to sense someone had intruded, and as they turned their heads, countless pairs of cold eyes stared at them.

Chen Yu and Xuan Ming exchanged a glance, both seeing the despair in each other's eyes.

With so many ferocious creatures, including some comparable to the ninth level of the Golden Core stage, they were no match for them at all.

"What should we do?" Xuanming asked.

Chen Yu gritted his teeth: "Charge! We're going to die anyway, might as well give it a shot!"

Xuanming nodded: "Alright! Let's charge together!"

The two rushed out at the same time, running wildly towards the altar!

The ferocious creatures roared and pounced—

A bloody battle has begun!