Chapter 950: Eliminating Future Worries

Han Li hesitated at E Kuai's proposal, weighing the pros and cons, uncertain whether to go, when Shi Chuankong's voice suddenly sounded in his ear:

"Brother Li, our transmission tokens are fake, and we can no longer use them to return to the Saint Domain. If there is any place in the Jilin Void that might allow us to go back, it can only be the depths of this Great Ruin."

Han Li's brow furrowed even more tightly upon hearing this.

"What is it, Brother Li? Do you have any concerns? Speak freely." E Kuai asked kindly.

"To be honest, I have a Black Calamity Worm planted inside me, which has always been a hidden menace. I do not know what changes may occur within this Great Ruin, and I am truly worried that the Black Calamity Worm might suddenly act up. If it only harms me, that would be one thing, but if it delays our grand plan for Xuan City, I would be guilty beyond redemption..." Han Li clasped his hands and said.

"The Black Calamity Worm? Isn't that Lady Liuhua's method? What is..." E Kuai turned to look at Lady Liuhua, puzzled.

"It's a long story... Enough, I will remove the worm for him first." Lady Liuhua frowned and said.

With that, she led Han Li out of the hall and into the open.

"You're quite the sly one, using this opportunity to blackmail me into removing the Black Calamity Worm for you?" Lady Liuhua's expression suddenly darkened.

"Senior, do not misunderstand. I only dared to bring this up because Brother Gu told me that you had originally planned to resolve the Black Calamity Worm issue for me after this matter was concluded. Otherwise, I would not have presumed to speak." Han Li quickly explained.

"That girl, why does she tell you everything? Isn't that favoring outsiders?" Lady Liuhua frowned.

"Senior, speaking of which, have you encountered Brother Gu since entering this Great Ruin?" Han Li asked calmly.

"No... the situation was chaotic then. I only thought to have her stay close to me, but in the end... So, you haven't met Gu girl either?" Lady Liuhua's eyes grew more worried.

"Senior, rest assured. Brother Gu is blessed by heaven and will surely be fine." Han Li did not answer directly, offering only a noncommittal comfort.

"You have some conscience, worrying about her safety... Otherwise, even if ordered by City Lord E, I might not be willing to remove it completely. Alright, let's begin now..." Lady Liuhua sighed and said.

Han Li smiled bitterly inwardly, nodded, and stepped forward.

After a moment, Han Li returned to the hall with Lady Liuhua. The Black Calamity Worm that had plagued him for so long was finally resolved.

"Now that Brother Li's worm problem is gone, can we set out?" E Kuai laughed.

"Thank you, City Lord E and Senior Liuhua. I am willing to follow." Han Li clasped his hands and bowed.

"Good! Let's go."

E Kuai waved his hand and gave the order. The assembled group headed out of the hall.

But before they had gone far, the entire hall suddenly rumbled and shook. Cracks appeared on the walls, growing larger, and countless fragments of stone fell.

"Not good, this place is collapsing! Get out quickly!" Sun Tu's face changed slightly as he exclaimed.

Seeing this, the others also changed expressions, slightly panicked.

Han Li, however, was not alarmed. His eyes flickered as he recalled the moment he had taken the blood-red key earlier.

At that moment, he caught a glimpse of Chen Yang, who also appeared calm, not at all surprised by the sudden upheaval. Han Li's heart stirred.

"Don't panic." E Kuai said calmly.

His voice was not loud, but it had a calming effect, and everyone immediately quieted down.

"Just a few falling rocks, nothing to make a fuss about." E Kuai chuckled and waved his sleeve.

A white light shot out from his sleeve and soared into the sky.

As soon as the white light left E Kuai's sleeve, it rapidly expanded and brightened, turning into a thick white pillar of light dozens of zhang wide, with scorching electric arcs flickering inside, emitting a terrifying sizzling sound as it shot upward.

Boom!

The hall's roof instantly collapsed under the white light, and the ground above also dissolved under its impact. The entire hall shook even more violently.

In an instant, the white light disappeared into the sky, leaving a huge charred hole above everyone's heads, leading straight to the surface, where thick yellow clouds could be clearly seen.

Seeing this, everyone was stunned, looking at E Kuai with awe and reverence.

A flicker of shock passed through Han Li's eyes as he turned to look at Chen Yang.

The electric arcs within the white pillar just now were the same as the white lightning contained in the earth-yellow short spear Chen Yang had used earlier, likely the same type of attack.

Chen Yang stared blankly at the charred hole above, his face slightly pale.

But everything around them continued to collapse violently. Cracks also appeared on the hole, which seemed about to crumble.

E Kuai's figure flickered as he shot out through the hole.

The others quickly followed. Although they did not have Han Li's ability to walk in the void, climbing a hole was easy, and they soon all reached the surface.

The entire altar shook violently and soon completely collapsed, sinking into the ground.

A huge pit appeared in the city, dark and bottomless, like a terrifying giant mouth.

The group stood by the giant pit, staring blankly at everything before them.

Han Li quickly shifted his gaze from the black pit and looked around, a trace of worry in his eyes.

Earlier, when the altar in the ruins collapsed, countless puppets had appeared. Would it be the same here?

Although quite a few people from Xuan City had gathered in the Great Ruin, they were still far too outnumbered against the countless puppets.

Shi Chuankong also showed a hint of worry and exchanged a glance with Han Li.

"Alright. Let's go. To the depths of the Great Ruin." E Kuai said indifferently, turned, and walked forward. The others quickly followed.

They had not gone far when the ground began to tremble slightly again.

Han Li's eyes flickered, and a bitter smile appeared on his lips.

"What now? Another earthquake?" The group's expressions changed again.

As the ground trembled, puppets emerged from it in great numbers, just like in the ruins before.

These puppets were all red, humanoid, and quite similar to the red puppets Han Li and the others had fought earlier. Each held a large red sword with flames flickering on it.

As soon as the red puppets emerged, they immediately rushed at the group.

"So many puppets! How can this be?" The group's faces changed drastically, and they instinctively formed a circle back to back.

Although the puppets were numerous, everyone present was an elite. Though surprised, they were not truly afraid. They each took out their weapons and engaged the puppets.

Han Li swung his curved blade, exchanging a few blows with several red puppets and killing two, but his expression darkened.

These red puppets also had internal organs, with silver liquid flowing inside them, just like the puppets in the altar. They were immensely strong and even more agile, far more formidable than the wolf-headed and tiger-headed puppets from the ruins.

Han Li grew worried. These puppets were so powerful and numerous; leaving this place smoothly would likely be much harder than before.

But when he glanced at E Kuai and Lady Liuhua, who looked calm and confident, he was momentarily taken aback.

The others also changed expressions after a brief exchange with the red puppets.

"Everyone, don't worry. These are just a few puppets, nothing to fear. Lady Liuhua." E Kuai said calmly.

Lady Liuhua acknowledged, touched her waist, and a gray light flashed in her hand as a gray incense burner appeared.

Seeing this, Han Li raised an eyebrow slightly.

This incense burner seemed to be a star artifact, with starlight flickering on it. Lady Liuhua chanted an incantation, and a large amount of gray smoke poured out from the burner, rapidly spreading and covering an area of a thousand zhang in a few breaths.

The nearby red puppets, enveloped by the gray smoke, immediately slowed down, their attacks becoming weak and feeble. Han Li and the others, however, were unaffected by the smoke.

Han Li's divine sense swept over the puppets in the smoke. Upon careful inspection, his eyes flickered.

The silver liquid inside these puppets had turned silver-gray and become much thicker, almost gelatinous, flowing several times slower than before.

"So that's it..." Han Li seemed to understand and nodded slowly.

Seeing this, the group was overjoyed. They quickly knocked away or destroyed the surrounding puppets, clearing an open space.

The puppets outside seemed extremely wary of the gray smoke and dared not approach, circling the smoke's edge and roaring like beasts.

"City Lord E and Lady Liuhua have extraordinary means. We are truly impressed. May I ask what this gray smoke is that makes these puppets so afraid?" Sun Tu exchanged a glance with Chen Yang and said with a smile.

"Just a small trick to deal with these puppets, hardly worth mentioning. Let's go." E Kuai smiled faintly and continued forward.

The others followed. The gray smoke, as if sentient, moved with them, always maintaining a coverage of nearly a thousand zhang, neither dispersing nor retracting.

With the gray smoke escorting them, the red puppets ahead posed little threat. The group soon left the city and, shortly after, left the oasis.

The puppets here only operated within the oasis. Once they left it, the puppets stopped following, much to the relief of the Xuan City group.

After all, even with the gray smoke protecting them, being surrounded by tens of thousands of puppets as far as the eye could see was still unnerving.

E Kuai seemed to know the location of the forbidden area. After leaving the oasis, he led the Xuan City group directly along the crimson river, continuing downstream.

In the blink of an eye, two months passed. The Xuan City group finally left the red desert.

The ground ahead turned from red to black. The air suddenly became humid, and rain began to fall from the sky. The concentration of star power in the air grew even denser. Various plants, tall and short, grew on the ground, forming a lush rainforest.

The environment in the Great Ruin was peculiar, so the appearance of such a rainforest did not surprise the group much.

However, a faint black mist drifted through the rainforest, shrouding everything in a thin haze, giving the place an air of mystery.