Chapter 164: Garrison Puppet

After Feng Chuxun unleashed this move, the guardians lingering near the ruins actually revealed a hint of fear, hesitating and not daring to charge forward.

This came as somewhat of a surprise to Shen Qingyun, as the guardians here had unexpectedly turned cowardly in the face of death.

Having collected the cores, Zhanyan and the others gathered around Shen Qingyun once more and stepped forward toward the ruins. At this moment, due to Feng Chuxun's dazzling display earlier, the guardians vied with one another to give way, making their passage quite effortless.

"There's no need to linger over these outposts; we are heading straight into the ruins!" Shen Qingyun said calmly as they walked.

Hearing this, Zhanyan, Yan Muge, and the others suppressed the urge to attack the guardians and instead looked at them with heightened vigilance.

Strangely enough, just as Shen Qingyun and his group were about to step onto the stairs of the ruins, these guardians, which had been retreating all along, suddenly seemed provoked by something and lunged madly toward them.

"Quickly get onto the ruins," Shen Qingyun shouted without the slightest hesitation.

Zhanyan and the others did not drag their feet in the least. Upon hearing Shen Qingyun's command, they immediately abandoned the idea of fighting the guardians, turned around, and sprinted at full speed toward the ruin stairs.

"We'll go too."

Shen Qingyun and Feng Chuxun volunteered to cover the rear. Seeing the others ascend the steps, Shen Qingyun spoke to Feng Chuxun.

Feng Chuxun nodded. A pair of black wings materialized behind him, and with a single flap, his speed surged dramatically, carrying him onto the steps in a flash.

Shen Qingyun was even more remarkable. Without any flashy maneuvers, and before anyone could even react, he was already standing atop the stairs.

The guardians lunged forward, yet not a single one dared to set foot upon the stairs, howling hoarsely at the base of the steps instead.

Seeing that the guardians were unable to come up, Zhanyan and the others let out a collective sigh of relief, turning their heads to gaze at the palace-like ruins with burning anticipation in their eyes.

"Let's go."

Having no intention of wasting any more time on the guardians, Shen Qingyun also wore a faint smile as he looked toward the ruins.

The group stepped onto the stairs. In the distance, the opposing team caught sight of Shen Qingyun and his group ascending the steps during a lull in their battle, and their eyes turned red with envy and frustration.

"Damn it! We agreed to move together!"

"Stop talking nonsense; they're surrounding us again!"

"Stop talking, hurry over, or all the treasures of the ruins will be taken by them!"

...

Upon entering the ruins, what awaited Shen Qingyun and his companions was a barrier of blue light, and nothing else.

"Shall we go in?"

At this juncture, Zhanyan and the others actually hesitated.

"In! We've already reached this point anyway!" He Ming gritted his teeth and said.

"Retreating will only earn us a pitiful amount of points, whereas going in gives us a fighting chance. So why not take the gamble?" Shen Qingyun stepped forward, walking right up to the blue light barrier, and spoke calmly.

The others soon felt that Shen Qingyun made sense. What could one achieve by being timid and overly cautious?

Those who had hesitated now solidified their stance and followed Shen Qingyun as he strode through the light barrier.

As their bodies passed through the barrier, they could distinctly feel the surrounding space rippling. Looking back, the scenery of the main entrance they had just left behind suddenly transformed.

Emerging from the light barrier, the surrounding landscape had altered completely, presenting a long bluestone corridor before their eyes. Shen Qingyun couldn't help taking a deep breath of the air here, a burning intensity flashing in his eyes. This scent—there was no mistaking it!

The scent of long-sealed dust, an authentic set of ruins—there was no doubt about it!

"Let's move!"

Shen Qingyun waved his hand and smiled.

Moving a short distance down the bluestone corridor, a grand palace came into view before them.

"Thud!"

Feng Chuxun's figure darted forward, his sword splitting the dust-covered stone doors apart. The sound of shattered stone fragments scattering everywhere brought a bustling liveliness back to the grand hall that had lain dormant for years.

The torches on the walls ignited spontaneously without fire, casting a somewhat eerie glow that illuminated the hall.

Taking in the situation inside the hall, the hearts of the group, which had only just relaxed, tightened once more. There were five guardians in the hall, and their physical forms appeared much more solid than those outside.

The hall was not overly spacious—smaller than the main halls of various academies—and many objects lay in ruins, piled everywhere so that there was barely any place to step. Reflected in everyone's eyes, five outpost stone pillars were casually scattered throughout the tiny hall.

In other words, each of these five guardians protected a single outpost. Now, awakened by the scent of living beings, the eyeless faces of the guardians stared at Shen Qingyun and the others, as if waiting for them to step into the hall.

Shen Qingyun flicked his sleeves, sweeping away the dust floating in the air, and then took a single step into the hall.

"Be careful."

As Shen Qingyun cautiously tested the ground with one foot, Zhanyan immediately called out.

The moment Shen Qingyun entered the hall, the five guardians instantly darted out, unleashing devastating palms brimming with surging spiritual energy. A cold glint flashed in Shen Qingyun's eyes as four identical figures materialized beside him, extending their palms to meet the guardians' attacks head-on.

The corners of Shen Qingyun's lips curled upward, and he too extended his palm.

Ten palms collided violently, unleashing shockwaves laden with violent spiritual energy that whipped up the settled dust all over again, stirring it into a frenzy.

The five figures stood there, travel-worn.

Failing to secure a kill with their initial strike, the five guardians instantly pulled back and retreated.

"Want to leave? It's not that easy." Shen Qingyun chuckled softly, chasing closely after them with a leap. He thrust his fist forward like a flash of lightning, striking heavily against the chest of one of the guardians.

Bang!

Shen Qingyun's punch possessed a ferocious and violent force that actually caved the guardian's chest straight inward.

Shen Qingyun was confident that while this strike might not completely obliterate the guardian, it would certainly render it completely useless.

Seeing Shen Qingyun return to his original spot, Zhanyan and the other three knew they could not afford to fall behind. Various dazzling spells and divine abilities were unleashed, sharp sword intents and blade auras erupting and instantly descending upon the remaining four guardians. The powerful fluctuations of spiritual energy caused the entire grand hall to tremble.

The people lagging behind watched as Shen Qingyun and his four companions so easily dispatched guardians that appeared far stronger than the external ones, and their mouths twitched involuntarily.

They truly deserved to be top-tier powerhouses among the various academies!

As the spiritual energy fluctuations dissipated, Shen Qingyun once again flicked his sleeves to clear away the dust, revealing the guardians now lying paralyzed on the ground, entirely incapable of rising again.

Shen Qingyun remarked, "The guardians here are truly formidable; even an onslaught like that was only enough to heavily injure them."

"Still, it doesn't matter. They can't move anymore anyway."

"The harvest is quite bountiful." Shen Qingyun's lips curved upward. "Since the five of us made the moves, we'll each take one core. No objections, right?"

No one voiced any objections. The few followers who had simply played the role of spectators also had no complaints—their respective team leaders were the ones inside, and whether they claimed points made no difference.

The five scattered and walked toward the five outpost stone pillars. Shen Qingyun headed toward the central pillar, right along the path where the five fallen guardians lay.

As Shen Qingyun approached step by step, the five guardians, which a second ago appeared utterly lifeless, suddenly underwent a drastic change in the next instant. They sprang airborne and lunged fiercely toward Shen Qingyun.

Seeing them leap up, Shen Qingyun showed not the slightest trace of surprise. Instead, a pair of Fangtian halberds materialized in his hands. With a forceful throw, the halberds pierced straight through the guardians' bodies, pinning all five of them tightly to the ground.

"You would have been fine just lying there obediently. Why bother playing dead?"

With a cold and indifferent expression, Shen Qingyun stepped right over them.

The onlookers trailing behind stared in absolute dumbfounded awe at Shen Qingyun's display. It was as if he were simply toying with them!

The cores transformed into points and were added to their respective total scores. Without any stone stele in sight here, there was no way of knowing how many points a single core was worth. However, given how powerful the guardians were, the point value surely wouldn't be low.

With the cores secured, this grand hall held nothing else worthy of attention. Clearing away the debris piled in front of the stone door, Zhanyan threw a punch, the resulting commotion nearly matching the force Feng Chuxun had used to shatter the previous stone door with his sword.

Yet another long bluestone passageway appeared, and Shen Qingyun waved his hand. "Let's continue exploring!"

Moving through smaller halls where the outposts mirrored the first one—five outposts and five guardians—they eventually reached a slightly larger hall housing as many as nine guardians, naturally accompanied by nine outposts.

Though considerably more troublesome to deal with, after putting in the effort, they netted a seemingly substantial sum of points, making it a worthwhile venture.

"That felt amazing!"

Yan Muge smoothed out her long dress, which had grown somewhat dusty and wrinkled from the recent battle, and smiled with a radiant expression.

It had been a long time since she had enjoyed such a thoroughly satisfying fight.

These guardians possessed no weak strength; ordinary teams would have undoubtedly perished at their hands. But for Yan Muge, this was the equivalent of encountering a well-matched rival!

Nothing felt more gratifying than a hearty, unreserved battle.

Shen Qingyun glanced sideways at Yan Muge, who possessed not an ounce of feminine delicacy, smiled, and said nothing.

The stone door was breached, and ahead, a massive grand hall reflected in Shen Qingyun's eyes. This grand hall was larger than all the previous ones combined. By comparison, those lesser halls were mere dilapidated huts, utterly not worth mentioning.

"I'm somewhat looking forward to this." Shen Qingyun murmured as he gazed at the hall ahead.

Feng Chuxun walked up beside Shen Qingyun, gazing forward as well. What kind of battle would erupt in a place like this?

At the thought of this, Feng Chuxun couldn't help rubbing the hilt of his Crimson Snow Sword. A burning fervor surged from the depths of his heart, continually intensifying until it filled his entire chest.

Streaks of spiritual light flashed across the bluestone corridor as several rays of spiritual energy burst forth, striking the massive gates of the grand hall. The doors shuddered visibly, yet they did not collapse.

"Hmm?"

This unexpected development stunned everyone. The stone doors that previously shattered with a single fragile blow were actually tough to this extreme here!

"Look, it seems there is something in front of the gates!"

Drawing closer, someone pointed toward two diminutive figures standing before the great gates and cried out in astonishment.

Hearing this, the group focused their gaze. Standing straight before the gates were two stalwart figures, emanating an unshakeable, imposing aura.

While still some distance away from these two stalwart figures, the group came to a halt.

"Are they alive?"

Someone couldn't help asking, only to regret it the moment the words left their mouth. What an idiotic question. In ruins sealed away for so many years, ghosts would be more plausible. As for living people—unless they were ancient monsters on a level that even academy heads could not compare to.

"These must be guard puppets."

As everyone cast their gazes forward, secretly guessing what they might be, Shen Qingyun suddenly spoke up.

"Are you certain?" Yan Muge asked, turning to him.

"It's the only possibility."

Shen Qingyun raised a hand, pointing to the circular badges—one blue, one red—fixed upon the chests of the two stalwart figures, and then pointed toward the two circular apertures on the grand doors. "These badges are most likely the mechanisms to open the gates. They wear the keys, proving they were guards in life, and after death, they were refined into guard puppets to eternally protect the gates of this grand hall."

Hearing this, a chill ran through the hearts of everyone present. To be denied peace even in death—it stirred a sense of sympathy within them for these two stalwart figures.

Shen Qingyun added, "Unless they committed grave sins in life, they wouldn't receive such treatment after death. After all, human hearts can also turn cold."