Da Ming: The system granted me immortality; I clock in every day.

The north wind whipped up a blizzard, covering the endless, desolate mountains and forests outside Zhenhai Fort with a thick layer of silver.

The night was deep and quiet, and all was still.

Ordinary birds and beasts hibernate in their burrows early in the morning, and not even a chirp of an insect can be heard.

Only the soft rustling of falling snowflakes echoed monotonously across this ancient land.

Li Changqing, wearing a worn-out wool cloak and black cloth shoes with thick soles, strolled alone through the deep, snowy mountains.

He didn't walk fast, and even seemed to be taking a leisurely stroll.

Those seemingly ordinary steps, with each step, made the figure already hundreds of feet away.

The snow on the ground was knee-deep, but his cloth shoes didn't leave a single dent in the snow, as if a light night breeze had silently swept across the heart of this new continent.

The deeper you go, the thicker and taller the trees around you become.

Those ancient giant trees, which have lived for countless years, have trunks covered with thick icicles, resembling icy giants guarding the depths of the wilderness.

The mining of Wolong Ridge was like injecting a needle into the pulse of this sleeping continent.

The Ming Dynasty craftsmen worked day and night to excavate the spirit stones, causing the spiritual energy buried deep underground to vibrate.

This shockwave traveled eastward along the earth's veins, eventually converging in the direction Li Changqing was heading.

"The predecessors planted the trees, and the successors enjoy the shade. But we don't know whether the ancestors of this new land left behind blessings or disasters."

Li Changqing tucked the Xiangfei bamboo folding fan into his sleeve, held a half-worn wine gourd in one hand, and took a sip of the spicy liquor.

The warm liquor flowed down his throat, dispelling the bone-chilling coldness around him.

They had walked about three or four hundred miles.

The terrain ahead suddenly opened up, revealing a bottomless, enormous rift valley stretching across the wind and snow.

At the edge of the rift valley, jagged rocks stand out. Warm white mist rolls up continuously from the depths of the rift valley, mingling with the wind and snow in the air, turning into a sky full of ice crystals.

Li Changqing stood at the edge of the rift valley, his eyes lowered.

Beneath this rift valley lies the magnificent ruins of a vast ancient city!

By the faint light of the snow and the shimmering glow emanating from the valley floor, one could vaguely make out the temples, altars, and towers built of huge, dark blue-green stones.

However, most of these buildings have collapsed, and thick vines, like writhing dragons, are wrapped around the broken walls, telling a story of vicissitudes that has been completely submerged by the long river of time.

"They've hidden it well. They've used the earth's vein fire to keep warm and gathered spiritual energy from all directions to form an array. This kind of skill is far superior to the wild fox Zen on those three immortal islands in the East Sea."

Li Changqing leaped into the air, his body as light as a falling leaf, sliding down the rock wall of the rift valley towards the ancient city ruins at the bottom of the valley.

The moment my feet touched the blue flagstone street at the bottom of the valley, a desolate, ancient wind, carrying the scent of decaying time, rushed towards me.

The temperature inside the ancient city is much higher than outside, and the snow melts into flowing water that flows along the intricately constructed ditches on both sides of the streets towards the center of the city.

Li Changqing walked forward along the wide main street with his hands behind his back.

On both sides of the street, there are towering stone guardians, each several meters tall.

These stone sculptures are neither human nor beast, but have three heads and six arms, holding all kinds of weapons in their hands.

Although it has been eroded by time and its surface is covered with moss, its desolate aura remains chilling.

Just as Li Changqing walked past the ruins of a temple that were still relatively well-preserved.

"Buzz".

A low buzzing sound suddenly rang out in the tranquil ancient city.

Suddenly, intricate and dazzling crimson patterns lit up between the cracks in the bluestone slabs beneath their feet.

These array patterns, as if alive, spread rapidly outwards, instantly enveloping the street within a radius of several dozen feet.

At the same time, the eight stone guardian statues that had been lifeless on both sides of the street suddenly lit up with two balls of eerie blue ghost fire in their eyes.

With a sickening screech of rocks scraping together, the moss and soil covering the stone sculpture peeled off.

These eight stone sculptures, after sleeping for millions of years, were activated by the aura of the intruder and slowly turned their stiff heads.

"Those who trespass into the Holy City shall die."

An ancient divine thought, indistinguishable by gender and devoid of any emotion, suddenly reverberated in mid-air.

Immediately afterwards, the eight stone sculptures simultaneously raised their giant weapons, carrying immense force, and slammed them down fiercely towards Li Changqing, who was trapped in the center by the array patterns.

The immense force tore through the surrounding air, producing a piercing shriek.

If it were an ordinary cultivator, facing this ancient puppet array driven by the earth's spiritual energy, they would probably have no chance to resist and would be smashed into a pile of minced meat.

He watched quietly as the eight giant stone blades cleaved down from above, his eyes revealing a serene composure that seemed to have seen through the ages.

"Using such inanimate objects to guard the house shows that the original owner also failed to grasp the true meaning of longevity."

He slowly pulled the Xiangfei bamboo folding fan from his sleeve.

There was no vast outward release of true energy, nor any dazzling light from magical treasures.

He simply held the folding fan and, seemingly casually, lightly tapped the crimson array node at his feet.

"Smack."

The fan ribs tapped against the bluestone slab, producing a crisp, light sound.

This soft sound, falling amidst the surrounding raging killing formation, was like a stabilizing needle, firmly nailed to the formation's fatal weakness.

The crimson array patterns, which had been flowing wildly and absorbing the earth's spiritual energy, suddenly froze under this attack.

next moment.

The eight stone sculptures, their weapons raised high, came to an abrupt halt just a foot or so above Li Changqing's head.

The eerie blue will-o'-the-wisps in their eyes flickered violently twice, like candles in the wind, before going out completely with a "poof".

The array patterns faded, and the stone sculpture returned to its lifeless state.

Because the core of the formation was broken, countless deep cracks appeared on its huge body. With a few loud "booms", it turned into a pile of rubble and scattered on the street.

Li Changqing put away his folding fan and dusted off the hem of his blue robe.

"Gathering spirit energy to form an array, though it can endure for millions of years, is ultimately a dead array. Without adaptability, it's just a matter of understanding the basics when encountering a knowledgeable opponent."

He stepped over the rubble and continued walking toward the center of the ancient city.

At the very center of the ancient city stands a huge circular altar.

The altar is made entirely of a rare type of white jade, and it remains as smooth and new as ever despite the passage of time.

Around the altar stood twelve white jade pillars carved with ancient star maps.

In the very center of the altar, there was a bronze coffin about ten feet long.

Li Changqing walked up to the altar and came to the ancient bronze coffin.

The ancient coffin was not fully sealed, leaving a crack.

Li Changqing did not push the coffin lid; his immense divine sense had already thoroughly explored the scene inside the coffin.

There were no remains inside, only a long, weathered golden robe and a jade tablet engraved with ancient seal script.

Li Changqing waved his hand, and a gentle breeze swept by, lifting the jade tablet from the coffin and suspending it in front of him.

The inscription on the jade tablet is extremely ancient, and its main meaning is to record the past of this land.

In extremely distant times, there once existed a cultivation civilization called "Tai Xu" in this place.

They multiplied to their peak, producing many great figures.

In pursuit of a higher realm, the elders of the Taixu Sect set up an unparalleled array, attempting to drain the spiritual veins of the entire new continent and forcibly break through the void to ascend.

As a result, their forceful seizure and plunder incurred the wrath of Heaven, which unleashed a world-destroying lightning tribulation.

The Taixu civilization was destroyed in an instant, leaving only this protective array to struggle on until today, when it has completely fallen into ruin.