Han Li looked hesitant at E'kui’s proposal, as if weighing the pros and cons, unsure whether to go. Suddenly, Shi Chuan'kong's voice echoed in his ears:

"Fellow Daoist Li, our transmission seals are fake. Now we can't return to the Holy Region with them. If there's any place in this Accumulation Scale Void Realm that might allow us to return, I'm afraid it's only the depths of this Great Ruins."

Han Li frowned even more upon hearing this.

"What is it, Fellow Daoist Li? Do you have any concerns? Please, speak freely," E'kui asked with a kind expression.

"To be honest, I have Black Tribulation Insects planted in my body, which have always been a hidden danger. Within this Great Ruins, I don't know what changes may occur, and I'm really worried that these Black Tribulation Insects will suddenly act up. If it only hurts me, it wouldn't matter, but if it delays our Profound City plan, I would deserve ten thousand deaths..." Han Li clasped his fist and said.

"Black Tribulation Insects, isn't that Fellow Daoist Liu Hua's method? This is..." E'kui turned to Madam Liu Hua, looking puzzled.

"The matter is a long story... Never mind, I'll remove the insects for him first," Madam Liu Hua said with a slight frown.

With that, she took Han Li out of the hall and into the courtyard.

"You little brat are really slippery, actually using this opportunity to coerce me into removing the Black Tribulation Insects for you?" Madam Liu Hua's face suddenly darkened, she said.

"Senior, please don't misunderstand. This junior heard from Fellow Daoist Gu that you were already planning to resolve the Black Tribulation Insect problem for me after this matter concludes, so I dared to bring it up. Otherwise, how would I dare to speak rashly?" Han Li quickly explained.

"That girl, how could she tell you everything? Isn't she favoring outsiders?" Madam Liu Hua frowned.

"Senior, speaking of which, have you encountered Fellow Daoist Gu since entering this Great Ruins?" Han Li asked, his expression unchanged.

"No… At the time, the situation was chaotic, and I was just trying to make sure she stayed close to me, but in the end… So, you haven't encountered the Gu girl either?" Madam Liu Hua's eyes showed increasing concern as she asked.

"Senior, rest assured, Fellow Daoist Gu has a blessed face and will definitely be fine." Han Li didn't answer directly, but comforted her ambiguously.

"You little brat still have some conscience, able to worry about her safety… Otherwise, even if it was ordered by City Lord E'kui, I might not have been willing to remove them completely for you. Alright, let's begin..." Madam Liu Hua sighed and said.

Han Li smiled wryly in his heart and had no choice but to nod and walk forward.

A moment later, Han Li and Madam Liu Hua returned to the main hall together. The Black Tribulation Insect problem that had plagued him for so long was finally resolved.

"Now that Fellow Daoist Li's insect problem is gone, we can set off, right?" E'kui smiled.

"Thank you, City Lord E'kui and Senior Liu Hua. This junior is willing to follow," Han Li clasped his fist and bowed.

"Good! Let's go."

E'kui waved his hand, giving the order. The group, already assembled, headed out of the main hall.

However, they hadn't gone far when the entire hall suddenly began to shake violently, cracks appearing on the walls and growing larger and larger, with countless stones falling down.

"Not good, this place is collapsing, leave quickly!" Sun Tu's expression changed slightly, and he exclaimed in alarm.

The others' expressions also changed upon seeing this scene, and they were slightly flustered.

Han Li, however, didn't panic. His eyes flashed, and he recalled the scene when he had taken down the blood-red key.

At that moment, he caught a glimpse of Chen Yang, who also had a calm expression, not surprised by the surrounding changes at all. This caused Han Li's heart to stir.

"Don't panic," E'kui said calmly.

His voice was not loud, but it had a stabilizing effect on people, and everyone immediately quieted down.

"Mere falling rocks, what's there to make such a fuss about?" E'kui chuckled, then waved his sleeve.

A white light shot out from his sleeve, soaring into the sky.

As soon as the white light left E'kui's sleeve, it rapidly grew larger and brighter, transforming into a thick white pillar of light, dozens of feet thick, flashing with scorching arcs of electricity, emitting a chilling sizzling sound, and shooting straight into the sky.

Boom!

The roof of the hall collapsed instantly in the white light, and even the ground above was instantly dissolved by the impact of the white light. The entire hall shook even more violently.

In the blink of an eye, the white light disappeared into the sky, and a huge charred pit appeared above everyone's heads, leading directly to the ground above. The thick yellow clouds in the sky could be clearly seen.

Everyone was dumbfounded at the sight, looking at E'kui with a mixture of awe and fear.

A hint of shock flashed in Han Li's eyes as well, and he turned his gaze to Chen Yang.

The arcs of electricity within the white pillar of light were the same as the white lightning aura contained in the earth-yellow short spear that Chen Yang had used earlier. They should belong to the same type of attack.

Chen Yang was staring at the charred pit above his head in a daze, his face slightly pale.

However, everything around was still collapsing in violent shaking, and countless cracks immediately appeared on the pit, threatening to collapse as well.

E'kui's figure flickered, and he flew out of the pit.

The others also hurriedly followed. Although they didn't have Han Li's means of traversing the void, climbing out of a pit was still easy to do. In the blink of an eye, everyone had reached the ground.

The entire altar shook violently and soon completely collapsed, sinking into the ground.

A huge, bottomless pit appeared in the city, dark and eerie, like a terrifying maw.

Everyone stood by the pit, staring blankly at everything before them.

Han Li quickly shifted his gaze from the black pit and looked around, a hint of worry flashing in his eyes.

Earlier, the altar in the ruins collapsed, and then countless puppets appeared. He wondered if the same thing would happen here.

Although many people from Profound City had entered the Great Ruins, they were still too weak in the face of countless puppets.

Shi Chuan'kong also showed a hint of worry on his face and exchanged glances with Han Li.

"Alright. Let's go, to the depths of the Great Ruins," E'kui said in a calm voice, turning and walking forward, with the others hurriedly following.

They hadn't gone far when the ground began to tremble slightly again.

Han Li's eyes flashed, and a wry smile appeared on his lips.

"What's going on? Another earthquake?" Everyone's expressions changed again.

As the nearby ground trembled, one puppet after another emerged from it, in great numbers, just like the situation in the ruins earlier.

These puppets were all crimson in color, humanoid, and quite similar to the red puppets that Han Li and the others had fought before. Each of them held a large red sword, with flame-like light faintly visible on it.

As soon as the red puppets emerged from the ground, they immediately pounced on the group.

"So many puppets! How could this be?" Everyone's expressions changed drastically, and they couldn't help but stand back-to-back in a circle.

Although the number of puppets was large, everyone present was an elite. Although surprised, they were not truly afraid. They each took out their weapons and fought with the puppets.

Han Li waved his curved saber and briefly exchanged blows with several red puppets, killing two of them. His expression sank slightly.

These red puppets also had internal organs, with silver liquid flowing inside their bodies, just like the puppets in the altars. They were incredibly strong and moved quickly, much more powerful than the wolf-headed and tiger-headed puppets in the ruins.

Han Li was secretly worried. These puppets were so powerful and so numerous. This time, it would be much more difficult to leave this place smoothly than before.

However, he caught a glimpse of E'kui, Madam Liu Hua, and the others with his peripheral vision. Their expressions were calm, as if they were confident, which surprised him.

Others also exchanged blows with the red puppets and their expressions changed as well.

"Everyone, don't worry. Mere puppets are nothing to fear, Fellow Daoist Liu Hua," E'kui said calmly.

Madam Liu Hua responded and touched her waist. A gray light flashed in her palm, and a gray incense burner appeared.

Han Li's eyebrows twitched slightly at the sight.

This incense burner seemed to be a Star Device as well, with starlight twinkling on it. Madam Liu Hua chanted a mantra, and a large amount of gray smoke poured out from the burner, quickly spreading out, covering a radius of thousands of feet in just a few breaths.

The red puppets nearby were immediately slowed down when covered by the gray smoke, and their attacks became weak and powerless. However, Han Li and the others were not affected by the gray smoke at all.

Han Li's divine sense swept over the puppets in the gray smoke. After careful probing, his eyes flashed slightly.

The silver liquid in the puppets' bodies had turned silver-gray and become much thicker, seemingly turning into a gel, making the flow several times slower than before.

"I see..." Han Li seemed to understand something and nodded slowly.

Seeing this scene, everyone was overjoyed and hurriedly knocked away or destroyed all the surrounding puppets, clearing out an open space.

The puppets outside seemed extremely afraid of the gray smoke and didn't dare to approach for a while, surrounding the gray smoke and roaring like beasts.

"City Lord E'kui and Fellow Daoist Liu Hua's methods are extraordinary, we truly admire them. I wonder what this gray smoke is, that it can make these puppets so afraid?" Sun Tu exchanged glances with Chen Yang and chuckled.

"It's just a small trick to deal with these puppets, nothing worth mentioning. Let's go," E'kui smiled indifferently and continued forward.

The others followed, and the gray smoke followed them like it had its own spirit, always maintaining a coverage area of nearly a thousand feet, neither dissipating nor shrinking back.

With the gray smoke protecting them, the red puppets in front posed little threat, and the group quickly left the city. Soon after, they left the oasis.

The puppets' activity range was limited to that oasis. After leaving the oasis, the puppets stopped following, allowing the Profound City group to breathe a sigh of relief.

After all, even with the gray smoke protecting them, they were still surrounded by tens of thousands of puppets as far as the eye could see, which was still terrifying.

E'kui seemed to know where the forbidden area was. After leaving the oasis, he led the Profound City group straight along the red river, continuing downstream.

In the blink of an eye, two months had passed, and the Profound City group had finally left the red desert.

The ground in front changed from red to black, the air suddenly became humid, and it even started to drizzle. The astral power wandering in the air was becoming more and more concentrated, and countless plants, both tall and short, grew on the ground, vaguely forming a lush rainforest.

The environment in the Great Ruins was peculiar. Although a rainforest appeared in front of them, the group was not very surprised.

However, a faint black mist floated in the rainforest, covering everything around with a layer of haze, filling the place with a sense of mystery.