1349 Ancient Ruins

Chapter 1349: Ancient Ruins

Translator: CKtalonEditor: CKtalon

"Senior, thank you very much." Yi Yun gratefully accepted the offer.

Yi Yun led Aged Blackrock out of the array. They did not go to the desolate lands again and instead headed straight for the Nine Li Magus Empire's palace.

Yi Yun knew that Patriarch Pillheart and the rest were likely searching for a way to open the array's entrance. In response, Yi Yun specifically requested Ling Xie'er to think of means to prevent them from entering.

It was not easy to enter the Herb Nurturing Array to begin with. And with Ling Xie'er now in the position of the array's fire seed, she could easily cause trouble for them. Therefore, she would have no trouble keeping them out.

Yi Yun followed Aged Blackrock and Nine Li Magus Maiden to an altar. There, he saw a teleportation array.

The teleportation array was situated on the dried river bed. It effused a strange aura that seemed to lead to somewhere unknown.

The trio entered the teleportation array together.

From where they were, the riverbed continued to a distant spot where they could see the river extend into the abyss. There was an indescribable feeling one felt while standing there, because it felt like time had come to a pause.

It was unknown how long the river that seemed like the River of Forgetfulness had been dried up for. It was truly fascinating that it could still give one such a feeling.

At that moment, Aged Blackrock produced a few hand seals, activating the teleportation array immediately. The scene before Yi Yun's eyes went into a blur as spatial fragments constantly brushed past him. He couldn’t tell how far they were traveling.

After a long while, Yi Yun finally felt his feet make contact with solid ground.

Yi Yun immediately saw that he was standing on a mountain peak that sat on a vast and ancient land.

Looking down, there were endless cliffs with no vegetation. Nor were there any biological auras. Amid the sand and gravel, there was a rich cadaveric air emanating throughout the area.

Yi Yun could not help but be alarmed when he sensed it.

Where is this?

What shocked Yi Yun even more was that he saw a riverbed that stretched across the land in a ceaseless manner.

"It's the River of Forgetfulness…" Yi Yun never expected that the River of Forgetfulness would continue on for such a distance, even reaching where they were.

And the riverbed here was many times wider than the riverbed in the Nine Li Magus Empire. Perhaps, this was where the River of Forgetfulness's was widest.

"You know about the River of Forgetfulness?" Aged Blackrock was somewhat astonished before he shook his head and said, "This isn't the real River of Forgetfulness, just a distributary of the River of Forgetfulness. My Nine Li Magus Empire began from one of the River of Forgetfulness's distributaries."

Aged Blackrock's words made Yi Yun's heart skip a beat. This vast river bed was only one of the many distributaries?

"This place has existed for a very, very long time. The history here far exceeds one's imagination."

Nine Li Magus Maiden walked forward a step, looked into the distance, and said softly, "We will never know what this place used to be. We are currently in a place called the Ancient Ruins world. Some people say that this is what the real Sinkhole is. It is the source of the Sinkhole in ancient times."

"My young friend Yi Yun, let's head to the mystic ground," said Aged Blackrock.

The teleportation array was located on a mountain range. And among the mountain range was a deep valley. When one looked up from the bottom of the valley, all they could see was a thin line of the sky. However, this sky was different from other places. It was not blue with astronomical objects dotting it. Instead, there were constantly twinkling spatial fragments.

"This entire mountain range belongs to my Nine Li Magus Empire. There is a defensive array that is perennially activated. And once you enter the mystic land, there will be even more array formations concealing and protecting you. You can be absolutely certain of your safety inside." Aged Blackrock explained as they proceeded forward.

Yi Yun could not help but ask, "Are there any other dangers here?"

"There aren't. However, the Ancient Ruins world is extremely expansive, with limitless profound mysteries. The most powerful factions in the Sinkhole will attempt to occupy a territory in the Ancient Ruins world, and all the Nine Li Magus Empire has accomplished is to occupy a tiny area," explained Nine Li Magus Maiden.

Aged Blackrock wanted to elaborate but he decided not to. After all, Yi Yun was only there to enter seclusion and so shouldn’t encounter problems.

The trio walked slowly in the valley that was void of life. Yi Yun could sense that he was passing through layers of membranes that emitted a terrifying aura. Clearly, those were the defensive array formations that Aged Blackrock had mentioned.

As they proceeded deep into the valley, a riverbed appeared in front of Yi Yun. Surrounding the wide riverbed were two towering cliffs.

The topographical features here effused a primordial aura. The riverbed went under the mountain.

Aged Blackrock and Nine Li Magus Maiden brought Yi Yun deep inside where there was a cave entrance. "We are here."

Yi Yun was standing in front of the cave's entrance when his pupils instantly constricted.

In the cave, there was a small deep pool.

The deep pool was about the size of a bowl. However, the black water within appeared bottomless. Such an endless pool seemed to go deep into the netherworld.

"This water is very shallow." Nine Li Magus Maiden walked to the side of the pool.

She extended her slim hand into it.

Instantly, the black water parted as the Nine Li Magus Maiden's hand extended to the bottom.

Yi Yun was astonished. It was not a deep pool at all. It was like the rain water that gathered in potholes after a light drizzle.

However, the black water in front of him was not as simple as rain water.

"This is the water from the River of Forgetfulness," said Nine Li Magus Maiden.

Water from the River of Forgetfulness?

Yi Yun gasped. The River of Forgetfulness was one of the twelve Fey Gods. Although he had come into contact with a few items related to the twelve Fey Gods over the years, he was still a great distance away from the actual twelve Fey Gods. Yi Yun never expected to encounter a tiny pool of the River of Forgetfulness!

A distributary of the River of Forgetfulness that had been dried up for hundreds of millions of years actually still had some of its water left in this cave. The Nine Li Magus Empire not only had the dried River of Forgetfulness, it also had some of its water. It was difficult to imagine how ancient its history was.

"The River of Forgetfulness's water can only exist in the River of Forgetfulness. When it leaves the River of Forgetfulness, it will dissipate into nothingness," said Nine Li Magus Maiden. "This water contains the power of time. Drinking it will allow one to have eternal youth, as though one's face is no longer affected by time."

"One will not age visibly?" Yi Yun's eyes lit up. "Can it extend one's life?"

"No…" Nine Li Magus Maiden shook her head gently. "Although one will have eternal youth, they will not be able to escape the samsara of life. One's end will eventually come. The day one is fated to die is the day one will die."

"Is that so…"

The effects of eternal youth Nine Li Magus Maiden mentioned were very attractive to warriors. But compared to an actual rise in cultivation level, it paled in comparison.

Yi Yun did not believe that the River of Forgetfulness's water only had the effect of giving one everlasting youthfulness.

Nine Li Magus Empire continued, "There is another interesting effect of drinking the River of Forgetfulness's water. Young Master Yi, you can experience it for yourself. In fact, this pool of water from the River of Forgetfulness was meant to be given to you as remuneration after you refine the pill. But now, I shall give it to you ahead of time."

Yi Yun had gotten Ling Xie'er to replace the original array fire, so the Nine Li Magus Empire was naturally not going to be stingy as they rewarded him ahead of time.

Besides, Yi Yun's cultivation level was insufficient. By helping Yi Yun increase his cultivation level, they would aid in Yi Yun's completion of the Herb Nurturing Array.

"This is too tremendous a gift." Yi Yun felt a little embarrassed. He hadn’t really done anything at this point.

Nine Li Magus Maiden shook her head. "Young Master Yi, there's no need to stand on ceremony. The Fate Changing Pill is many times more important to me than the water from the River of Forgetfulness. Although the water from River of Forgetfulness is precious. this mountain cave will produce a tiny amount of it every thousand years. This is the core mystic ground of my Nine Li Magus Empire."

"In addition, Young Master Yi should have already noticed that the Ancient Ruins world is odd in many ways.This mystic land of my Nine Li Magus Empire is one of those mystical places in the Ancient Ruins world. The Heaven Earth Yuan Qi and the nomological fragments are much richer here than in the outside world.

"Then I'll thank you, Your Highness. Thank you, Senior Blackrock." Yi Yun was not a pretentious person so he thanked them solemnly.

The Nine Li Magus Empire had provided him with a mystic land and the precious water of the River of Forgetfulness. It represented the sincere belief the Nine Li Magus Empire had in him.

Yi Yun knew that by providing the cultivation mystic land to him, the Nine Li Magus Empire was basically sacrificing resources that could have been given to its own geniuses. Yi Yun was one to square things of with others be it a grudge or kindness. By providing Yi Yun the River of Forgetfulness's pool of water, they received Yi Yun's heartfelt gratitude.

After bidding Aged Blackrock and Nine Li Magus Maiden farwell, Yi Yun went deep into the pool where he sat cross-legged.

To warriors, entering a few decades of seclusion was nothing. Cultivation knew no time.

"I wonder what special effects the water of the River of Forgetfulness will provide when I drink it."

Aged Blackrock and Nine Li Magus Maiden did not elaborate. This piqued Yi Yun's interest towards the water.

Water that contained the powers of time sounded extraordinary.

Yi Yun meditated for a moment before beckoning with an outstretched arm.

Immediately, the pool transformed into a flux of water that headed towards Yi Yun.

Yi Yun opened his mouth and imbibed it like alcohol, drinking the water from the River of Forgetfulness.

As the water entered his body, Yi Yun gradually felt that his body had entered an independent space. It was quite a spectacular feeling. When he cast his gaze out, everything in that world seemed to turn evanescent as though he was watching it from the opposite side of the river of time.

Yi Yun had comprehended space-time laws. He had even condensed a nine-leaf space-time Dao fruit. His sharp senses allowed him to feel that the time passing in his body was different from that of the outside world. Or it could be said that, he and the surrounding world were in completely different spaces.

The time which flowed for him was many times faster than his surroundings. However, Yi Yun could accurately grasp every second. It was as though the water of the river of time were flowing through his fingers drop by drop, allowing him a perfect grasp of time.

This was a very miraculous state. Was this the effect of the River of Forgetfulness's water?

Yi Yun made some inferences and believed that what he experienced as one or two years would be only a month in the outside world.

Drinking the River of Forgetfulness's water allowed Yi Yun's time efficiency to increase by at least twenty times!

Despite the twentyfold increase in time, he was ensured to have an absolute grasp of time.

Furthermore, Yi Yun remembered that the Nine Li Magus Maiden had said that the River of Forgetfulness's water did not extend one's life. The day one was fated to die was the day one would die.

Yi Yun originally thought that it was a limitation of the water's powers but now he knew. It was a manifestation of the water's powers.

This was equivalent to allowing Yi Yun to experience a period of time twenty times more than the actual time that passed in his life. This made his foundation turn more robust as it experienced long periods of time. Best of all, it would not expend any of Yi Yun's vital potential!

"So this is the power of the River of Forgetfulness's water." Yi Yun felt like he had discovered a door to a brand new world as his eyes flickered in a different light.