Chapter Sixty-Four: Why Is It So Simple

Nangong Lingyue herself was at a loss for words, unable to fathom how she had ended up following this scoundrel here.

At this moment, the area above them was teeming with hundreds of thousands of birds, flying back and forth. These birds, under the command of certain demon clans, were transporting all manner of goods.

Time was tight, the tasks urgent—clearly, ever since Zhuyuan had passed through and the area had been covered by the mutated thunder tribulation, they had been working on this. Now, it was the final hour.

There were energy crystals, rare herbs and treasures, and many special medicinal ingredients.

The region Lin Qingyun had arrived at was home to the largest flying demon beasts in this relic world. Dozens of them, working together, were using special ropes to haul massive stones carved with mysterious runes.

At this moment, Lin Qingyun was pulling Nangong Lingyue along, hiding within a mound of earth, a shield of earth above their heads—a treasure once belonging to Tu Yichen, now refined by Lin Qingyun.

In Lin Qingyun’s hands, it was wielded with even greater ease and power than Tu Yichen ever could. After all, his strength far surpassed Tu Yichen’s, and his soul and will were stronger as well; his understanding of earth magic was beyond comparison.

“Do you see anything?” Lin Qingyun asked as he observed, turning to Nangong Lingyue.

“About twenty-eight minutes left…” Nangong Lingyue glanced at the time, an urgent fire burning within her, barely contained.

At such a critical moment, this guy had dragged her here to watch the demon beast transport teams…

If she hadn’t suffered defeat at Lin Qingyun’s hands before, and learned he wasn’t the frivolous noble he appeared to be, she would have knocked him out and pressed forward on her own pace long ago.

“This region seems to be transporting items of a single system. Earlier, there were foundation stones for formations, as well as stones inscribed with formation runes. It looks like an ancient formation has been dismantled somewhere else. The formation is old—not something these demon clans or beasts could have created. It’s likely something passed down from ancient times. The formation is ancient, but the stones themselves aren’t particularly old…” Though anxious, Nangong Lingyue’s upbringing gave her knowledge and insight beyond most. Upon Lin Qingyun’s inquiry, she immediately voiced her observations.

“Impressive, worthy of the Wind King’s daughter. You’re absolutely correct. But…”

Hearing Lin Qingyun say “but,” Nangong Lingyue immediately looked at him, eager to know what she’d missed.

“You didn’t notice this—look up there…” Lin Qingyun pointed overhead, where a group of flying demon beasts carried a massive stone foundation carved with runes. “There are holes, and they connect to each other and to the ground. We could actually tunnel inside and hide within. Then, they’d carry us straight into the core area. That way, if you need to burst forth, you won’t have to fight from the outskirts—you’ll be right in the center.”

“I…”

At that moment, Nangong Lingyue felt murderous rage, her chest tight with frustration.

If this guy weren’t so serious, and if the idea weren’t so clever, especially at a moment critical to their survival, she’d have thought he was toying with her.

“This is indeed a good plan, but how do we get in?” Nangong Lingyue nodded. You’re right—everything you say is right. Let’s see how you do it.

She’d already decided: in the last five minutes, no matter what, she would forcibly drag Lin Qingyun out with her.

She would not linger. When she unleashed her father’s power, five minutes was her limit, and their only chance to escape.

“Follow me…” Lin Qingyun said, and led Nangong Lingyue, tunneling swiftly underground.

Though he had an earth-type treasure, earth escape wasn’t simply a matter of possessing such an artifact; Lin Qingyun could only dig tunnels, albeit much faster and with greater ease.

Reaching a dead volcano crater, Lin Qingyun had Nangong Lingyue hide at a distance while he descended quickly.

“Twenty-six minutes left. What is he planning?” Nangong Lingyue found herself unable to predict Lin Qingyun’s thinking, uncertain what was going on in his mind.

A few minutes passed.

Thunder rumbled suddenly, without warning. The dead volcano erupted in a burst of fire, and the ground below trembled.

The explosive force of the sudden flames was immense and completely unexpected. More than a dozen demon birds hauling the massive formation stones were injured, causing the stones to plummet downward.

These were the last batch, with demon clan escorts behind. The escorts, seeing trouble, shouted angrily.

“Let’s go.”

Lin Qingyun, already cloaked in smoke and surrounded by a layer of flaming, red-tinted shield, charged through the eruption toward the massive formation stone, five meters tall and over ten meters long.

In the chaos, he and Nangong Lingyue slipped inside, using the fire and smoke to conceal themselves.

The demon clans and beasts possessed intelligence; under normal circumstances, they would have inspected carefully, especially since the eruption was abnormal. But now, with the delay and distant passage sensing the weakening vortex at the entrance, the great kings issued harsh commands.

The last batch of transporters dared not linger, racing desperately.

“We’re in…” Nangong Lingyue could hardly believe it.

Just like that, they were carried by the demon clans and beasts to the passage entrance of the relic world.

Thunder rumbled. Like a blood-burning frenzy, in less than ten minutes, the demon birds had delivered the last batch of formation stones. As they set them down, most erupted, bodies exploding.

Blood flowed onto the foundations, seeping into the runes and holes.

And not just here—other demon clans and birds, burning themselves out in frantic transport, met the same fate without exception.

Around the passage, a massive formation was at work, absorbing spirit stones, treasures, blood. In addition, an ancient, gnarled tree was activated, and an ancient sword radiating age was being fueled by tens of thousands of demon clans blood-sacrificed by the Nine-Tailed Cat.

The great formation had originally been controlled by Zhuyuan, the most domineering of them all.

Usually, they could only resist Zhuyuan by joining forces.

Each had their trump cards. This time, all were deployed—including the mobile assembly transmission formation Zhuyuan had developed, which could traverse short distances. He guarded an ancient teleportation array, constantly researching and replicating it, and managed to create this short-range formation.

A roar echoed—Zheng’s shout rang out, and with it, the other great kings prepared themselves.

They were gambling everything, especially to activate the formation Zhuyuan had left behind. Over a hundred thousand demon beasts were blood-sacrificed into it.

Such proximity to the passage—Nangong Lingyue felt a strange illusion: even if she hadn’t come to rescue, Lin Qingyun might have returned by this method.

The enemy was clearly trying to bring the formation through—if so, he could simply follow them.

At that moment, Nangong Lingyue felt dazed. The once desperate situation seemed to have suddenly become simple. She wasn’t sure how to react—what was this?

She had entered with the resolve to die, even with her father’s power as backup…

“Hey, are you insane? Now is not the time to daydream. Leave immediately—they’re about to activate the formation. If we don’t get out in time, we might be crushed and annihilated…”

As Nangong Lingyue drifted, Lin Qingyun grabbed her, his soul and will transmitting a scolding voice.

Nangong Lingyue’s face flushed—she didn’t know how she had zoned out. Following Lin Qingyun, they slipped underground—only in such chaos could they manage it.

After landing, Lin Qingyun used the earth-type treasure to burrow further with her.

Though they were right at the passage, the situation was complex. The strongest figures were all here, preparing their items. If they erupted, they could briefly possess powers on par with the highest realm—even if not innately, they could burst forth temporarily.

At such a moment, even knowing Nangong Lingyue had a trump card, Lin Qingyun chose caution.

A roar sounded—the great kings issued commands.

Countless special flaming stones shot out, each carried by fire-type demon clans.

As they crossed the passage, with the fire-type clans self-detonating, the compressed, condensed flaming stones exploded, the force rivaling peak self-detonation of the highest realm, and the sheer numbers battered the area.

Not only that, many brought special plants and poisons to self-destruct as well.

This last phase was as desperate as it could be—within minutes, hundreds of thousands of demon beasts and clans self-detonated in frenzied assault.

Even in past relic openings, the madness within was known, but never to this extent.

General Qin, Minister Feng, and Nan Yutong were all shocked. If not for the Desert Wind King Nangong Aoshi holding the line, they would have lost control.

Even so, as the shockwaves stirred space, the Desert Wind King had to retreat, yielding ground, using powerful wind magic to seal the surroundings, gathering everyone’s strength to suppress and resist the frantic assault from within the relic.

When countless lives and explosive relic attacks forced open space, Zheng, Nine-Tailed Cat, and Ice Dragon erupted in full force, the five great kings carrying Zhuyuan’s replica teleportation array and blood-fueled treasures, charging forth.

As they burst out, Lin Qingyun grabbed Nangong Lingyue.

“Go!”

The vortex passage was at its limit, collapsing.

A thunderous boom.

On their own, if they showed themselves, they would be instantly destroyed. In that instant, a figure appeared on Nangong Lingyue, her bloodline and inherited power erupting, instantly granting her strength of the ninth cloud realm.

If she wished, she could unleash power beyond the limits. Faintly, as Nangong Lingyue and Lin Qingyun pushed her power to its peak, striving to ascend further, they felt a suppressive force from the heavens and earth.

Just as they erupted, countless demon clans and beasts sensed something amiss, unleashing a barrage of attacks.