Chapter Ninety-Three: The Ruins of the Ancient City

“The Lost City, the Glory That Vanished.”

Lin Fan murmured to himself, his brow tightly furrowed, a deep chill spreading through his heart.

Far ahead, black mist stretched without end, blanketing the ruins of the ancient city.

“What place is this? Why have I never seen any record of it in the old texts?”

Young Master Falling Flowers wore a grave expression. Before coming to Mount Wangwu, he had also learned of certain hidden secrets, yet there was nothing about this ancient city.

“This is corpse miasma, mixed with lingering resentment. It has not dispersed for countless years. I fear there is some great terror within this city.”

Yi Xiaoxian’s eyes flickered; she clearly knew something.

“Miss Xiaoxian, there is no need to hold back. Speak freely.”

Lin Fan had spent a long time with Yi Xiaoxian and knew what this expression meant.

“This should be the ancestral land of a clan, and it could never be an imperial clan. Legend has it that the true secret of Mount Wangwu is an ancient monastery called Bluefern. Shakyamuni once attained enlightenment here. This city is very likely one of the passages leading to Bluefern Temple.”

One stone stirred a thousand waves. Yi Xiaoxian’s words were like a boulder crashing into a still lake, sending up monstrous surges.

“Shakyamuni?!”

Lin Fan’s expression changed dramatically. Rumor held that Shakyamuni was the sole Buddha of the Buddhist path, lofty and godlike. If Mount Wangwu were truly the place where Shakyamuni attained enlightenment, then it would be terrifying indeed, containing an earth-shaking secret.

“Only the Shakyamuni of his youth, before he had attained the Dao. Later, for reasons unknown, after he became the Buddha, he never descended here again.”

Yi Xiaoxian shook her head. She was not very clear about these ancient secrets either; everything came from what she had read in old books.

“Let’s go into the ancient city and take a look. Only by entering can we glimpse a corner of the ancient past.”

Lin Fan did not press further. He took the lead toward the city, though clearly on guard, his whole body taut, already prepared to strike in a desperate situation.

The others followed closely behind. Soon the group entered the ancient city.

Their feet crunched over rubble. Only after stepping inside did they discover that not all the buildings had been destroyed; a tiny portion still remained.

“A city like this, if placed in the present day, would probably rival the main city of a commandery.”

Lin Fan sighed, sweeping his gaze around. Even the ruins alone gave him a vast and boundless feeling. What, then, must the true ancient city have looked like?

“Indeed. I have seen the main city of the Bhasura Commandery, and I fear it still does not compare to this place.”

Young Master Falling Flowers nodded in deep agreement, his expression grave.

“Someone is here!”

Suddenly, a cry of alarm rang out. Zi Ming’s expression changed drastically.

His voice trembled, filled with fear.

“Where?”

Lin Fan turned to ask, a vertical eye faintly appearing between his brows, adding a touch of majesty.

“In, in that house. I saw a figure, an old man.”

Zi Ming’s eyes flickered. He did not dare meet Lin Fan’s gaze and unconsciously lowered his head.

But at this moment Lin Fan had no mind to concern himself with him. He walked toward that house, one of the few buildings still standing.

“Best to be careful. If it is someone from the ancient past, there may be something inauspicious about it.”

Yi Xiaoxian spoke. She followed not far behind Lin Fan, able to lend support at the first moment. Young Master Falling Flowers did the same, and the atmosphere grew all the more solemn.

“No need to worry. That man has already fallen, and there is not the slightest trace of life left in him.”

Lin Fan comforted them. His vertical eye opened, a beam of divine radiance shrouding the space ahead, and at once he saw the state of the old man Zi Ming had mentioned.

Creak.

The door opened, but then in Lin Fan’s hand it instantly turned to dust and scattered on the wind.

“So ancient that at the slightest force it turns to ash.”

Lin Fan was slightly dazed, then stepped through the doorway.

A stone table, a stone bed, four stone stools—that was all the room contained, simple to the extreme.

“This old man possessed great supernatural power in life.”

Lin Fan’s expression changed. The dead elder was still seated on the stone bed, a dragon-headed cane placed beside him. His eyes were open, as though he were about to march to war.

Lin Fan also saw traces of laws within the old man’s body. Coupled with the fact that he had remained unrotted through countless years, his cultivation could well be imagined, very likely no lower than the titled realm.

“What a pity. A mighty expert has fallen like this.”

Lin Fan sighed inwardly and shook his head.

“Master Lin, is there any danger inside?”

At that moment, Yi Xiaoxian’s voice drifted over, pulling Lin Fan back.

“Nothing at all. You may come in and take a look.”

Lin Fan called out, also hoping the others would enter. As descendants, they ought to show respect to such sages.

A few shadows flickered as Yi Xiaoxian and the others stepped inside.

“So empty. This senior fell far too suddenly and had no time to react at all.”

Young Master Falling Flowers looked around and let out a long sigh.

“All right, let’s go.”

Lin Fan nodded, agreeing with Young Master Falling Flowers.

Just then, a voice sounded.

“Lin Fan, you were the first to enter the room. Did you gain anything?”

Zi Ming suddenly spoke, an odd expression on his face.

“What do you mean?”

Lin Fan frowned, his eyes narrowing. A trace of killing intent flickered within them.

“How could a room like this be so empty? Surely there should be some ancient relics here.”

Zi Ming had actually chosen this moment to tear off the mask, completely abandoning his earlier submissive demeanor.

“Even if there were any, I would not touch them. Let alone the fact that there are none.”

Lin Fan sneered. He rather wanted to see what plan Zi Ming had in mind.

“I do not believe it. Unless you take out your interspatial pouch and let us have a look.”

Zi Ming had already made up his mind and would not yield in the slightest.

“And if I say no?”

Lin Fan’s voice turned icy, as though he might kill someone on the street over a single disagreement.

“If there is an opportunity, sharing it together is only right. It is not as though you alone came here.”

Zi Ming forced himself to speak, his face somewhat unnatural.

“You have gone too far.”

This time it was Yi Xiaoxian who spoke, equally cold.

“If not for Lin Fan, we would already have died at the hands of Old Ancestor Wang Yan. Zi Ming, what exactly are you doing?”

Young Master Falling Flowers was upright and forthright by nature, and he looked down most of all on Zi Ming’s villainous face.

“If Lin Fan had known of Wang Yan’s scheme, he should have spoken earlier. I could have kept one arm. I have not even had time to settle this matter.”

Zi Ming’s expression suddenly turned ferocious, like a beast ready to devour people.

“At last I understand why there are treacherous villains. Speak your purpose. You have endured until now before erupting—what exactly do you want to do?”

Lin Fan was fully enraged, but he still had not struck. He did not wish to destroy everything in the room, or rather, he wanted to preserve the old man’s final dignity and let his countenance remain forever.