Chapter 73

(Thank you for the support from 'Piggy Catch'.)

"Yes, it is a ruin," Elder Yuan nodded and said.

Following that, Elder Yuan continued, "According to legend, this ruin was left by the founding patriarch of our sect. However, due to certain reasons, it has always been unknown. It wasn't until recently, due to an unexpected situation, that the sect learned of the existence of this ruin. However, the item needed to open this ruin was unexpectedly obtained by the Heavenly Spring Sect during a conflict between our sect and them. I had gone to investigate the whereabouts of that item in the Heavenly Spring Sect, which is why the situation arose last time."

After Elder Yuan's explanation, Ding Qi instantly suppressed his surprise and listened attentively.

From Elder Yuan's subsequent explanation, Ding Qi learned that after Elder Yuan found the location of the item last time, the Green Cloud Sect and the Heavenly Spring Sect had a confrontation and managed to retrieve the item.

After Ding Qi saved Elder Yuan, so many things had happened, which he was unaware of. However, Ding Qi's current focus was no longer on this matter.

From Elder Yuan's previous explanation, Ding Qi finally confirmed that the place Elder Yuan mentioned, the so-called ruin left by the founding patriarch, was indeed the strange secret realm that had once trapped him.

Although Ding Qi was surprised by this, he did not show it in the slightest. Then, he asked, "Elder Yuan, what do you want me to do...?"

Elder Yuan said with a bitter smile, "When you saved me, we were deep in the Seven霞 Mountains. Later, you told me that you often hunt in the depths of the Seven霞 Mountains. It seems you are quite familiar with the Seven霞 Mountains. According to the information our sect has, opening this ruin is quite troublesome and requires someone who is very familiar with the Seven霞 Mountains. So, I thought of you."

After Elder Yuan said this, Ding Qi finally understood what the white-bearded old man wanted to entrust him with.

...

After seeing Elder Yuan off, Ding Qi's face showed a strange smile. He naturally agreed without hesitation to what Elder Yuan had asked.

That strange secret realm had always been a place Ding Qi couldn't find a way to enter, causing him much distress.

Now, with the help of the Green Cloud Sect, he could enter it, and he was naturally willing to do so.

This way, he could thoroughly explore that strange secret realm and even figure out the origin of the innate skill he was cultivating.

However, what puzzled him was that, according to Elder Yuan, that strange secret realm was actually related to the Green Cloud Sect.

Ding Qi had a firsthand experience of the power of that strange secret realm. Even with the three techniques and the magical brocade in his possession, and his body no longer being that of an ordinary person, he could not handle the strange secret realm.

How could such a thing be related to a secular martial arts sect? This truly puzzled Ding Qi. But thinking about the connection between the innate skill and the Green Cloud Sect, Ding Qi showed a thoughtful expression and then shook his head.

"Perhaps everything will become clear when the Green Cloud Sect investigates the Seven霞 Mountains in a few days," Ding Qi narrowed his eyes and finally concluded.

In the following days, Ding Qi spent his time at the Green Cloud Sect's annex. One day, a Green Cloud Sect disciple came to the annex where Ding Qi was staying and informed him to gather at the foot of the mountain. Only then did Ding Qi leave the small courtyard.

Ding Qi knew that the investigation of the ruin by the Green Cloud Sect was finally about to begin.

When Ding Qi arrived at the Green Cloud Sect's gathering point, three disciples were already there. Ding Qi and his group were not the first to arrive at the Seven霞 Mountains. Before them, several batches of people from the Green Cloud Sect had already gone there.

Later, two more Green Cloud Sect disciples arrived. In the end, the six of them set off together from the Green Cloud Sect towards the Seven霞 Mountains.

Since Ding Qi was not familiar with these five disciples, he did not talk much with them on the way. Fortunately, the journey was peaceful, and after a day and a night, the six of them finally met up with the others who had arrived earlier.

However, upon reaching the meeting point, Ding Qi unexpectedly encountered someone he knew.

A rather familiar-looking girl was standing among the group. This girl was the one who had called for help from Ding Qi in Liangcheng but was ignored by him.

Seeing this girl, Ding Qi could only smile bitterly.

If he were recognized by the girl and the incident from the past were brought up, the atmosphere would likely become extremely awkward.

However, to Ding Qi's surprise, when the six of them arrived, the girl merely glanced in their direction twice and then showed no further interest.

Ding Qi first gave the girl a strange look, but then he understood what was happening.

It turned out that the girl no longer recognized him.

Ding Qi looked at the girl, touched his face, and smiled bitterly. For a moment, he didn't know whether to be happy or frustrated about this.

Ding Qi's appearance was very ordinary, and although the girl had harbored deep resentment towards him at the time, after four years, her memory of him had become very vague.

Now, she had completely forgotten about the ordinary-looking Ding Qi.

Thinking about this, Ding Qi felt somewhat amused.

However, he soon stopped thinking about it and focused on the others.

After carefully identifying the people, he recognized a few who he had met a few years ago. One of them was the Stone Guardian who was in charge of the Green Cloud Sect's assessment seven years ago. From their conversation, Ding Qi learned that the Stone Guardian from seven years ago had now been promoted to an elder in the sect.

The other two were also high-ranking officials who had appeared during the Green Cloud Sect's assessment.

The three others Ding Qi recognized were the Green Cloud Sect disciples who had accompanied Elder Ke when he was transporting herbs four years ago.

After looking at the Green Cloud Sect elders and disciples he knew or didn't know at the meeting point, Ding Qi found a clean spot and sat down.

Their meeting point was already at the edge of the Seven霞 Mountains. They just needed to wait for two more groups and a few important figures to arrive before they could begin exploring the Seven霞 Mountains.

Thinking about this, Ding Qi began to look forward to the exploration.