"Senior, doesn't the Hidden Organization have an orphanage?"
"No matter what, weren't the parents of these orphans also killed while investigating the ruins? They should have made some contribution, right?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Cangtian's brows furrowed. He then turned to Jian Wusheng beside him and inquired.
"It does," Jian Wusheng replied, then explained.
These children came from different families, sects, and even hermits. Some, from childhood, were unwilling to be bound by the Hidden Organization.
Some were scattered across various regions, making them difficult to find.
Therefore, the orphanage could only assist a limited number of people.
Just like in the cities, no matter how affluent a city was, there would always be vagrants; it was impossible to eradicate them completely.
...
After a brief chat, Ye Cangtian arrived at the stone door.
He intended to push the stone door open with force, but it felt as if it were an illusion, and his push went through empty air.
His body, due to the excessive force, plunged through the stone door.
"This..."
Everything before his eyes astonished Ye Cangtian.
It felt as though he had entered another ruin.
However, the scale of this ruin was very small, several times smaller than the Saudi ruins.
In the distance, there was a courtyard residence, not occupying a large area, perhaps the size of a few football fields, with many houses within it.
Besides that, there were stone figures kneeling outside the courtyard wall, densely packed, numbering over a hundred.
It was upon seeing this that Ye Cangtian's expression turned grim.
More stone figures meant more crystals could be obtained, but the problem was, could Bai Jing and Yang Chen withstand so many stone figures!
"Be careful."
"The most troublesome aspect of secret realms is the presence of manor-like buildings," Jian Wusheng's voice came from behind. He had already brought Bai Jing and Yang Chen into the secret realm.
"Why?" Ye Cangtian asked curiously. He had seen similar scenes in other ruins, but hadn't found them concerning.
Why was Jian Wusheng so tense here?
Jian Wusheng glanced over and explained simply.
Many secret realms were private territories of ancient powerful individuals. If there were no manor-like buildings, one would at most encounter demonic beasts, stone figures, and the like.
These beings lacked intelligence, making them relatively easier to deal with.
But in a secret realm like this, it was different.
Ancient powerhouses would set up formations within their territories to prevent petty individuals from disturbing them.
Their formations possessed immense destructive power, and some even had the effect of clouding the mind, making them extremely dangerous for intruders.
Especially now, formations had long been lost arts, and very few people understood them.
Compared to the ancient powerhouses, what they understood of formations was perhaps not even the tip of the iceberg.
Upon hearing this, Ye Cangtian frowned and asked, "Senior, how do the formations here compare to those in the island ruins and the Saudi ruins?"
Jian Wusheng pondered for a moment, then replied, "The formations in the island ruins were mere trash. In ancient times, they wouldn't even qualify as amateurish, let alone be considered elegant..."
While the formations in the island ruins were somewhat troublesome, they had little effect on a strong individual like Jian Wusheng.
As for the formations within the China ruins, even Jian Wusheng could risk death if he ventured in rashly.
However, speaking of formations, the trapping formation in the Saudi ruins was indeed impressive. At least he had been trapped within it for a long time and could not escape.
Hearing this, Ye Cangtian felt a mixture of awe and secret delight.
Awe at the fact that the China ruins contained formations that even Earth-grade powerhouses feared.
Secret delight that, in the Saudi ruins, he had obtained the Zhenxin Stele, which allowed him to cultivate formations.
However, his current mastery of the Zhenxin Stele was still superficial.
"The idle chat time is over, let's start killing!"
"Senior, could you lend me your long sword?" Ye Cangtian said, lost in thought.
Although his skeleton dagger possessed blade qi attacks, its range was quite limited.
For a colossal stone figure like this, it would take three to four chops just to sever its neck, which would be too time-consuming.
Jian Wusheng glanced at Ye Cangtian and then asked, "Aren't you going to let me help?"
"Huh?" Bai Jing and Yang Chen were taken aback. They had heard Jian Wusheng's intention to intervene.
But since Jian Wusheng wasn't paying attention to them, they could only exchange glances with Ye Cangtian.
If Jian Wusheng were to act, they could not only quickly end the battle with less exertion but also face less risk.
"Heh, you expect me to make a move against these small fries? Wouldn't that be too embarrassing for me?" Ye Cangtian's words utterly astonished Bai Jing and Yang Chen.
However, before they could say anything, Jian Wusheng had already taken out his long sword and handed it to Ye Cangtian.
It was clear that Jian Wusheng had made up his mind, and no amount of their persuasion could change it.
"Big Brother, you're a man of courage, a hero, can't you consider our feelings!" Bai Jing said to Ye Cangtian indignantly.
"The two of us teaming up to deal with one stone figure is already a struggle. With so many stone figures here, won't we be smashed into dust!"
"It's so dangerous, why not let Senior Jian Wusheng handle it?"
To him, Ye Cangtian was simply foolish. This wasn't about grudges; it was simply extreme dissatisfaction with Ye Cangtian's choice.
Hearing this, Ye Cangtian directly tossed his skeleton dagger over.
"I didn't expect you two to intervene, but still, protect yourselves and don't drag me down if you can." With that, Ye Cangtian turned and walked towards the throng of stone figures.
There was no fear on his face, only a smile of extreme confidence.
As the long sword entered his hand, an aura surged into his body, not only refreshing him but also giving him a sense of oneness with the sword, as if it were an extension of his own body.
Just from this sensation, Ye Cangtian understood that this sword was far superior to his skeleton dagger.
As expected.
When he slew the first stone figure, the feeling was like slicing through tofu, so effortless that he could hardly believe it.
How could there be such a divine weapon in the world!
Boom, boom, boom...
As the first stone figure fell, all the stone figures stood up. They picked up their giant axes and charged furiously towards Ye Cangtian.
In the next moment, Ye Cangtian was engulfed by the stone figures.
"Uh... can this guy hold on?" Yang Chen's mouth twitched as he watched the scene before him. It was too terrifying.
He couldn't see the specific situation; his vision was blocked by the massive stone figures and the flying stones, only hearing some rumbling sounds.
"Reckless bravery. It'll be difficult to survive." Bai Jing had fought with stone figures before. The stone figures at the entrance were already hard for him and Yang Chen to deal with together.
And the stone figures before them were dense and even stronger than those at the entrance, undoubtedly difficult to handle.
Even if a person were immensely strong, how many attacks could they withstand?
Despite saying this, Bai Jing still held his dagger, preparing to move forward.
Putting aside everything else, Ye Cangtian's act of saving his life previously, coupled with the trust shown by leaving him the skeleton dagger for self-defense, meant he couldn't retreat.
"You shouldn't go up and cause more trouble. He can handle it himself!" At this moment, Jian Wusheng said indifferently, his eyes gazing with interest into the chaotic mass of stone figures.
While the stone figures were numerous, they were not insurmountable.
A simple point was the issue of attack space.
The stone figures were colossal. In their presence, Ye Cangtian was like a sesame seed or a tiny mung bean.
Despite their swarm-like advance, only four or five stone figures could attack Ye Cangtian simultaneously.
And with Ye Cangtian's current strength, blocking their attacks and counter-attacking was not difficult.
In fact, the situation was not entirely as described.
Ye Cangtian could evade the stone figures' attacks, but contrary to Jian Wusheng's words, he didn't evade. Instead, he adopted a more violent approach, using offense as defense.
Jian Wusheng's long sword was incredibly sharp. It could effortlessly cleave through the bodies and weapons of the stone figures, thereby neutralizing their attacks.