Chapter 67

How fast was Hao Qi? The puppets were still swimming out of the water, and their speed in the water was naturally not comparable to running on land. Moreover, Hao Qi was at the Internal Force Realm, and when he burst out with full strength, he almost reached the campsite by the time the first puppet reached the shore. Due to the urgency of the situation, he didn't have time to explain in detail, only mentioning that there were thousands of moving corpses in the lake bottom. What moving corpses meant was already crystal clear to the Su family. Everyone was both shocked and frightened, and without any further ado, they quickly packed the dromedary beasts, water, and food. Some bags were even left behind, and they just sat on the dromedary beasts, planning to flee immediately.

At this moment, Lan Ling'er also heard Hao Qi's voice. She immediately ran to the Su family camp and shouted, "We can't run, we can't run into the desert! All the puppet systems have a pursuit program. Even if we run into the desert, the puppets will continue to chase us to the death unless they receive an order to stop. The running speed of a Near-Internal Force Realm is much faster than a dromedary beast. If we enter the desert, we are dead for sure. We absolutely cannot run into the desert; otherwise, we will be surrounded by thousands of puppets! Everyone, follow me, we'll go to the ruins!"

Lan Ling'er's words made everyone hesitate. After all, the situation was clear: thousands of Near-Internal Force Realm puppets were impossible to fight, especially since the puppets were fearless and had exquisite combat skills. Even the three puppets that attacked the Su family camp before dawn had caused two deaths and injuries to everyone. The strength was evident, and the overwhelming numbers meant certain death if they were surrounded. Now, Lan Ling'er suggested they run to the ruins, the very place where the puppets came from. Wasn't this suicide?

At this moment, Su Shiyi seemed to understand something and immediately shouted, "That's right, Lan Ling'er is correct. Everyone, think carefully. The ancient records left by our ancestors, the ones about the ancient sects and the recipe for the Jade Skin Pill, which we once considered legends. Now, think carefully, isn't our only way out in those ruins?"

The foundation of the Su family came from their ancient ancestors, who were at the Internal Force Realm during a feudal and slave society. In theory, an Internal Force Realm expert could establish a family, but such a family would not be a noble family. Otherwise, the world would have been filled with noble families long ago due to the rise of many commoner Internal Force Realm experts.

A commoner Internal Force Realm expert who emerged from a million people and achieved the Internal Force Realm could establish a small family, but if no other Internal Force Realm expert appeared in the family before the first one died, the family would gradually decline, becoming a wealthy or gentry family. However, if another Internal Force Realm expert appeared in the next generation or a few generations later, the family's legacy could be preserved and even grow under the protection of the Internal Force Realm expert. If this happened three or four times over several hundred years, the family would become a minor noble family. After hundreds of years of accumulation, with the collection of martial arts secrets and the preservation of the Internal Force Realm expert's experiences, the family's rate of producing Internal Force Realm experts would increase, far exceeding the one in ten thousand ratio. As the family grew, it would branch out, and if each generation produced at least one Internal Force Realm expert without any gaps, the family would become a noble family.

However, the Su family was different. In just three generations, the Su family was already recognized as a noble family, all because the first ancestor's lineage produced an Internal Force Realm expert in each of the first three generations. After that, an Internal Force Realm expert appeared every seventy to eighty years, sometimes two or three at a time. By Su Shiyi's generation, six Internal Force Realm experts appeared simultaneously, making the Su family a famous major noble family in the northern Blue Sea region, with its strength even surpassing the royal family of the Thousand Mountains Empire. The reason for this was the Jade Skin Pill recipe obtained from the ancient sect ruins by the first ancestor.

The Jade Skin Pill was simple in function, enhancing the body's basic attributes. If the user was already a Near-Internal Force Realm or close to it, the pill would almost guarantee a breakthrough to the Internal Force Realm. This was the pill's miraculous effect, even though it required many rare ingredients. However, there was a significant limitation: those who achieved the Internal Force Realm through this pill could never advance further, as their physical attributes and Internal Force Realm level were locked by the pill.

The first ancestor of the Su family regretted this for life. While the pill ensured the Su family's status as a noble family, it also meant that the Su family had no hope of becoming a royal family, as only a family with a history of producing Internal Force Realm experts and a continuous lineage of Internal Force Realm experts could be considered a royal family. According to the Su family's situation, becoming a royal family was almost impossible unless they obtained another ancient sect pill, the Golden Bone Pill, which could break the limitations and allow further advancement. Therefore, the first ancestor recorded detailed information about the ancient sect ruins, including their location, entry methods, and internal details, hoping that future generations could find the Golden Bone Pill to overcome the final limitation and leave some hope for the Su family to achieve eternal royal status.

However, the first ancestor's information was from a thousand years ago, and over such a long time, even the Su family, a noble family, had experienced several periods of decline due to changing circumstances, especially with the rise of the Thousand Mountains Empire's royal family, whose Internal Force Realm experts dominated the western Blue Sea region. The Su family suffered many consequences, and much of the information left by the first ancestor was lost. The core information was only known to Su family members who had achieved the Internal Force Realm.

The core information included details about the ancient sect ruins, their entry methods, and the dangers within. Although much was lost, the general information remained, such as the guardians of the ancient sect ruins. These guardians varied in type but shared a common feature: their strength and endurance. In terms of strength, the guardians were at least Near-Internal Force Realm, with some at the Internal Force Realm level. In terms of endurance, they could operate for over six months without food or water. The first ancestor of the Su family was trapped in the ruins for six months, surviving by eating plants and hunting small animals within the ruins.

One of the most important points was that the guardians had different levels of authority. The weakest guardians could only patrol the outer areas of the ruins and could not enter the inner areas. The inner guardians rarely appeared outside the ruins, creating a narrow but real safe zone between the inner and outer areas. This was the only reason the first ancestor survived.

When Lan Ling'er called for everyone to enter the ruins to avoid the thousands of Near-Internal Force Realm puppets, everyone hesitated. However, Su Shiyi immediately recalled the information left by the ancestors and remembered the safe zone. The other four Internal Force Realm experts of the Su family, who had also read the information, remembered the safe zone and quickly ordered the Su family members to follow. Hao Qi and Zhang Heng also followed the group.

Thus, Su Shiyi carried Lan Ling'er and led the group forward, with everyone carrying as much water and food as possible. They ran around the oasis in a certain direction, and after a few miles, someone noticed thousands of rapidly moving figures behind them. They had indeed left the oasis and entered the desert. If they had ridden the dromedary beasts into the desert, they would have been surrounded and surely dead.

"Quick! Sister Su, do you see that sandstorm area ahead? We need to break through it; the ruins are behind it!" Lan Ling'er, looking back at the approaching puppets, pointed to a dark sandstorm area ahead.

The oasis itself was a unique and magical landscape, with sunny and pleasant surroundings, but a dark sandstorm area surrounded it, acting like a barrier. This phenomenon was almost impossible in nature but existed around the oasis, likely a trace of the ancient sect ruins.

Su Shiyi, hearing Lan Ling'er's words, looked at the dark sandstorm area and, without hesitation, rushed in. Upon entering, she felt something strange. The sandstorm area was actually calm inside, a vast desert stretching out before them. Not far away, there was a large, spiral-shaped pit. From a distance, it was hard to see, but as they approached, everyone was stunned. The pit was at least ten kilometers wide and deep, filled with layers of metal structures. The amount of metal required was astounding, a true marvel.

Everyone was stunned by the sight of the pit. Lan Ling'er, growing more anxious, shouted, "We can't stop! Enter the pit; once inside, these dangerous puppets can't follow. Only the more powerful puppets can enter the outer area of the ruins. Hurry!"

Without delay, everyone rushed into the outer layer of the pit, entering the metal zone. The Near-Internal Force Realm puppets broke through the sandstorm barrier and followed, but most people were terrified. Only Lan Ling'er, breaking free from Su Shiyi, stood still, looking back at the puppets.

Sure enough, the puppets stopped at the edge of the metal zone, standing like statues, unable to advance. Lan Ling'er, standing less than fifty meters from the puppets, faced them with a serious expression, despite the danger.

Lan Ling'er studied the puppets for a long time, recognizing some of them from their past lives. After a while, she sighed and turned to the others, saying, "Everyone, let's go. I think I know where the remaining people of the Sutuka tribe have fled. They must be in the living area, right in the..."

"Inside these ancient sect ruins. I'll take you there."