When Mu Jinyu casually smiled, completely unfazed by the interruption of his enlightenment, Jian Ruyan and Wen Rou found it regrettable but also breathed a sigh of relief.
Afterward, they quickly followed Mu Jinyu towards the swirling entrance of the light screen.
The three entered one after another, and their figures soon vanished within Kunlun Mountain.
That swirling light screen portal also, after rotating for a while, dissipated on its own again.
…
Accompanied by a moment of dizziness, Mu Jinyu shook his head slightly to clear it and looked up at the sky, which resembled a blue gem embedded above.
He took a deep breath, sensing the spiritual energy dense and fragrant, refreshing his heart and spleen.
The density of the spiritual energy in Kunlun Ruins was indeed much stronger than the outside world. However, with the revival of spiritual energy, Earth's spiritual density was also increasing day by day. It was uncertain whether this isolated Kunlun Ruins could maintain its superior status.
"Screech!"
A bird's cry sounded, and in the sky, an eagle with wings spanning thirty to forty feet flew by. Its feathers glistened like gold, as if cast from gold itself, and its talons and beak sparkled in the harsh sunlight, clearly possessing the power to pierce through gold and split stones.
The golden eagle did not attack Mu Jinyu and the others; perhaps it felt threatened, or it simply ignored them, for it merely skimmed the air and disappeared all at once.
"Roar!"
Suddenly, a loud roar of a massive beast echoed from not far away.
"Boom, boom, boom!"
Soon after, Mu Jinyu and his companions saw a rhinoceros as large as an elephant treading away through the forest. Its heavy steps caused the ground to tremble as if a minor earthquake had occurred, leaving one deep footprint after another as it slowly moved away.
"This Kunlun Ruins seems to have a bit of a wild flavor," Mu Jinyu muttered to himself as he watched several ferocious birds and beasts depart.
"It's not bad. This area hardly sees ferocious beasts above the God Realm. If we're careful, we generally won't encounter trouble, and if we avoid those beast-dense areas, it's actually safer here than in Huaxia," Jian Ruyan said.
In Huaxia, due to the revival of spiritual energy, wild animals had accidentally consumed some Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures and transformed into ferocious beasts, even developing spiritual wisdom. Temporarily, no one could manage them, which allowed them to wreak havoc everywhere, causing endless headaches for the people.
In Kunlun Ruins, there were naturally more ferocious beasts and even demon beasts with intelligence not inferior to humans. However, they knew that if they dared to cause trouble in human cities, they would be powerfully slain by the human race's capable cultivators.
So, they generally each stuck to their own territories, and the two sides did not interfere with each other, which was actually safer than the currently chaotic Huaxia.
Human cultivators, as long as they did not venture into demon beast territories, could live well if they were somewhat capable.
"Mmm."
Hearing Jian Ruyan's words, Mu Jinyu nodded in deep agreement. The two ferocious birds and beasts that had just passed, although terrifying in physique, actually possessed strength that was not very impressive, barely qualifying as at the later stage of Energy Transformation.
He could kill them with a slap.
Mu Jinyu had just been thinking that if the rhinoceros and the eagle dared to come their way, then today's lunch would be settled.
"Where should we go now?" Wen Rou asked softly, her expression somewhat bewildered and slightly complex.
She was thinking about a month ago when she went to find her mother at the old site of the Capital City's Dragon King Hall.
Should she go have a look?
"Yes, now that we are here at Kunlun Ruins, where should we go to gather some information?" Mu Jinyu said, turning his head to look at Jian Ruyan, without looking at Wen Rou.
He actually understood a bit of Wen Rou's thinking as well. In her heart, she somewhat resisted the Chen Family but also wanted to meet the relatives on her mother's side.
However, Mu Jinyu was not going to take Wen Rou to the Chen Family now.
After all, having heard Chen Shuyi speak that day, it seemed the Chen Family had quite a significant influence, and in his anger, he had killed two of Chen Shuyi's guards instantly. If the Chen Family really held a significant position in Kunlun Ruins, daring to take Wen Rou there rashly would be asking for trouble, wouldn't it?
Perhaps Wen Rou would be fine, but he, who had tainted Wen Rou, feared he might meet a terrible end.
Thus, to take Wen Rou to see the Chen Family, he at least needed to know first about the Chen Family's strength and whether he could withstand the pressure for Wen Rou before he would consider taking her there.
As for seeking Jian Ruyan's opinion, it was actually a sort of test.
After all, Jian Ruyan had always concealed her experiences in Kunlun Ruins, as well as some of the grim truths about her parents' deaths she vaguely knew but refused to elaborate even in Xiang Mantang. He knew well that after arriving at Kunlun Ruins, whether Jian Ruyan would reveal anything.
Seeing Mu Jinyu ask for her opinion, Jian Ruyan gently shook her head and said, "I don't know where you want to go either. My knowledge about Kunlun Ruins is also not much…"
As she spoke, her expression flickered slightly and she realized Mu Jinyu's probing; he wanted her to lead him to the "place" where she grew up in Kunlun Ruins.
But this matter, she could not disclose to Mu Jinyu and Xiang Mantang. Given their capabilities, trying to intervene might lead to them dying horribly.
Thus, Jian Ruyan promptly changed her words and shifted the topic, saying, "Right, the place we are in now is within the boundaries of 'Yan Kingdom.' If we go further along, we'll arrive at Shen Cangsheng's sect, 'Tianhe Sword Sect,' and Di Yin's sect, 'Liuyun Sect,' are also nearby. Shall we go and check out these two sects?"
Mu Jinyu heard this, deeply staring at Jian Ruyan, thinking that this woman was really tight-lipped, and one day he would pry her mouth open!
Then, Mu Jinyu nodded slightly, unopinionated, saying, "Sure."
As he spoke, he suddenly thought of a question and asked, "There are nations within the Kunlun Ruins?"
"Yes," Jian Ruyan replied, "there are quite a few nations, though they are relatively small. Some aren't even as powerful as some sects."
Mu Jinyu asked, "How about Yan Kingdom? And how about 'Tianhe Sword Sect' and 'Liuyun Sect'? What kind of sects are they in Yan Kingdom?"
Jian Ruyan thought for a moment, answering, "Yan Kingdom is alright, a middle-upper ranked country. As for 'Tianhe Sword Sect' and 'Liuyun Sect,' they can only be considered minor sects in Yan Kingdom."
As she spoke, Jian Ruyan lightly laughed and said, "Otherwise, why would my brother have directly stormed into Kunlun Ruins and demand 'Tianhe Sword Sect' hand over Shen Cangsheng for your revenge? And their Supreme Elder obediently surrendered Shen Cangsheng? How could a great sect care about the little influence of Dragon King Hall and the benefits Dragon King Hall could offer them?"
"Indeed, in that case, there's no need to go to these two sects," Mu Jinyu said after hearing Jian Ruyan's words and also considering some previously known information—Shen Cangsheng's sect, with its Supreme Elder only in the first or second layer of the God Realm, wouldn't dare to confront Xiang Mantang head-on.
Such trashy sects would be useless to visit; they wouldn't reveal anything about the Heavenly Palace or know how to undo the Soul Snatching Technique.
Thinking this way, Mu Jinyu again asked, "Then, what are the strongest sects in Yan Kingdom?"
Upon hearing this, Jian Ruyan glanced at Mu Jinyu and said, "There are four great sects in Yan Kingdom, namely: Heavenly Sword Faction, Blood Sword Sect, Beixue Mountain Villa, and Mingyue Valley…"