Chapter 5: Royal Armaments (Part 2)

At that moment, Qi Wu Zhen also descended. She asked, “Did you find this? What is it?”
Guo Shier said, “Royal armaments. Hehe, they’re not products of this world.”
Qi Wu Zhen nodded. Having heard many conversations between Li Ran and Guo Shier, she had some understanding of the outside world and knew what they were talking about. Of course, she wasn’t entirely sure about the specifics and didn’t want to figure it out either. She asked, “Are they weapons? Are they powerful?”
Guo Shier replied, “Sister Zhen, these are just average. If used by someone from the Tianling tribe with sufficient energy, they might cause you a little trouble.”
Qi Wu Zhen smiled. “A little trouble?”
Li Ran explained, “That’s only if you’re unprepared. If you’re prepared, there won’t be any trouble at all. This is just a semi-organic combat suit for ground combat. If it were a starfield combat suit, even if you’re prepared, it could still cause some trouble… That’s all. Nothing special.”
Guo Shier said, “This is already quite remarkable. You should know that those who can operate such combat suits are far inferior to us. But once equipped with one, even an ordinary person can pose a slight threat to us. That’s the advantage of having such weapons.”
Qi Wu Zhen fiddled with the combat suit, which had now shrunk to the size of a fist. She asked, “Why is it so small? How do you use it?”
Li Ran replied, “It can’t be used for now—there’s a lack of energy supply.”
Qi Wu Zhen shook her head. “These things are really troublesome. Here, I’ll give it back to you.” She threw the combat suit to Guo Shier.
Guo Shier said, “Hmm, I’ll study it first.” With a flick of his wrist, the combat suit disappeared from his palm and was sent to the altar. The old man seemed quite pleased. He had tried hard for a while without figuring out how to use it, but by observing Li Ran’s actions and seeing how the combat suit contracted, he gained confidence to continue his research.
Cecilin asked curiously, “What kind of energy is needed to activate the royal armaments?”
Li Ran replied, “The energy requirements vary for each type of combat suit. But there’s one type of energy that’s likely universal: energy crystals, or simply ‘energy crystals.’ They’re not naturally formed but are synthesized. Combined with energy crystals and other energy sources, the combat suit can be activated. As for what kind of energy this suit uses, I’m not quite sure yet.”

Guo Shier asked, “Sister Zhen, have you found any treasures here?” He was completely disappointed with this ruin. If not for the death of its owner, he wouldn’t have gained anything from this combat suit.
Qi Wuzhen smiled and said, “There’s nothing too significant. But I got this…” As she spoke, she waved her hand casually, and the ground trembled suddenly. A wall—about eight meters long and four meters high—appeared. She had forcefully cut it out and stored it in space.
Cecilin whispered, “Huh, a wall…”
Qi Wuzhen said, “It’s a pity. It’s just a remaining section of a wall; most of it has been shattered. Only this small piece remains at the crack.”
Li Ran glanced at it and immediately noticed something. He exclaimed in surprise, “Huh, this is… a map?”
Qi Wuzhen replied, “It’s not very useful. We’re here.” She pointed to one end of the remaining wall and sighed. “If I hadn’t seen this spot, I wouldn’t have brought this piece of wall either.”
There were countless lines on the wall—an abstract map with extremely precise proportions and clear markers, making it easy to understand. The location of the ruin was at one end of the remaining wall, with the lower part no longer existing, which was why Qi Wuzhen said the map wasn’t very useful.
After studying it for a while, Li Ran said, “It’s not completely useless. Look here—this thick line… must be the main road. If we head east, there must be a large city!”
Dozens of thin lines converged into the thick line. Guo Shier nodded and said, “Mm, that’s right. This is the main road, the largest one in this area. It’s probably not a road on the ground but an aerial route. This point… is a control base. There are no traces on the ground. I wonder what kind of transportation the Tianling tribe uses.”
The three studied it for a while before Li Ran said, “Let’s follow this road. There’s a high chance we’ll find the ruin. There’s no more value here. Let’s go.”
Cecilin asked, “Should we take this map?”
Guo Shier replied, “No need. As long as we have a direction, it’s fine. Otherwise, we’ll just wander around and get lost easily. With the direction given by this map, it’s sufficient.”
Cecilin said, “It’s a shame we’re too few. If there were more of us, we could search the entire ruin carefully. I’m sure we’d find something.” With such a small team, it was indeed impossible to search thoroughly.

Guo Shier said, “Even if we search carefully, there won’t be many valuable things in a place like this. We don’t need to waste time here. We should find the ancient Gu Tianling tribe’s major city—heh, there must be plenty of valuable things there.” In truth, they weren’t very interested in the Gu Tianling tribe’s possessions. What he and Li Ran wanted to know most was how the Gu Tianling tribe had entered this projected galaxy from the Greater World, and whether that path still existed. That was their most important task.

The damage to the ground became increasingly severe. Countless huge cracks, combined with the erosion from wind and rain, formed various strange shapes. It was common to see newly formed mountains collapse rapidly, as well as molten rock or scorching groundwater gushing out. The rising mist covered the entire sky.

Following the diagrams on the remaining walls, the four of them flew eastward. Although they encountered no dangers along the way, the changing terrain gave the impression of an impending apocalypse. Fortunately, they weren’t trekking on the ground; otherwise, they would have never been able to pass through this area.

One day, the four of them were blocked outside an extremely deep ravine.

Li Ran said, “We can’t get through!”

A huge spatial crack ran across the land. What was even more terrifying was that it was an unstable spatial crack. Around it, there were countless other spatial cracks that appeared and disappeared from time to time. With Li Ran, Qi Wuzhen, and Guo Shier’s keen eyes, they could clearly see them, as well as the violent air currents within the space. If those forces spilled out of the spatial cracks, they could instantly turn all matter they touched into nothingness—utterly terrifying.

The ravine was bottomless. The four of them were over a thousand meters away from it and didn’t dare to approach rashly. There was nothing around the ravine. Most of what remained on the ground were huge rocks; soil and debris had long disappeared. As for plants and animals, there wasn’t even a trace—this was no place where life could exist.

Purple light screens hung in the sky, emanating from the spatial cracks. They were beautiful, yet harbored deep murderous intent.

Li Ran frowned. After a long while, he said, “I’m not sure… This could be a passage.”

Guo Shier was shocked and said, “Brother Li Ran, do you mean… this spatial crack can… can lead to the Greater World?”

Li Ran gave a bitter smile and said, “I’m not sure, but it’s an opportunity…” He hesitated whether to try it. Sometimes, his recklessness was beyond ordinary people’s imagination.

Guo Shier knew of the immense danger involved and advised, “There’s no need to rush. We still have time to prepare. If we go that way… the chances of getting out are extremely low.”
Li Ran thought it over and agreed—it was true. They weren’t ready yet, and forcing their way through the spatial rift now would be too dangerous; the chances of escaping were indeed small, with serious consequences. Even Qi Wu Zhen advised, “We should first find a way to enter the Ancient Tianling Clan’s territory. That way, our chances are a bit higher. Going against the flow… is extremely dangerous.” With experience in crossing boundaries comparable to Li Ran’s, she certainly understood the peril.
Li Ran nodded. “I was being hasty. Hehe, fine. First, we need to find a way to cross this spatial rift. We can’t just charge through—it’s impossible unless we use Break Boundary.”
Guo Shier said, “Don’t use Break Boundary.” Each use of Break Boundary consumed a great deal of spiritual energy, which they couldn’t afford to waste recklessly.
Sericeline looked at the massive spatial rift. This time, she could see it clearly. Previous rifts were so tiny that her vision couldn’t detect them, but this rift split the land in two, allowing her to see it plainly. Though she was a master of the Blade Clan, she still feared this rift greatly—the apocalyptic danger made it hard even for her to breathe.
Guo Shier noticed Sericeline’s pale face, her eyes filled with fear. He comforted her, “It’s okay. As long as we stay away, there won’t be much danger.”
Sericeline forced a smile, but it looked even uglier than crying. Trembling, she said, “This… this is too terrifying…”
Guo Shier said, “We need to break through through the gap.”
Sericeline gritted her teeth and stood up. “If you can make it, so can I.”
Li Ran smiled. “Good. That’s the spirit of a Blade Clan master.”
Qi Wu Zhen said, “Flying along this ravine should help us find a weak spot. If this rift isn’t too long, maybe we can go around it.”
Li Ran agreed. “Mm. Spatial rifts can’t be infinitely long; otherwise, this entire space would collapse. Let’s go!” He flew toward the left, with the others following.
The four of them retreated a distance before flying left. In moments, the huge rift on the ground gradually shrank, becoming narrower. Guo Shier rejoiced, “The spatial rift is changing…”
Li Ran said, “Mm. There’s hope we can go around it.”

This spatial rift descended from great heights, splitting the earth in two. It was a terrifying sight, and from time to time, it emitted forces of void that shattered and annihilated anything they touched. This was a death zone, unsuitable for any form of life to exist.

Spatial rifts, like sharp blades, appeared around the massive rift, cutting anything they came into contact with. No matter how hard the material was, it would instantly turn to nothingness upon being touched. Countless such marks could be seen on the rocks along the huge chasms. Some of the spatial rifts penetrated deep into the rocks, leaving the cut areas smooth as if polished, even reflecting light.

Li Ran and the others were flying along a relatively safe route, but they still encountered small spatial rifts from time to time. Li Ran, who was leading the flight, would issue warnings from time to time.

Three hours later, the spatial rift, which resembled a screen of light, finally shrank. Many fracture zones could be seen—these were the incomplete parts of the rift, and also places where passage was possible. However, these fracture zones also contained many small spatial rifts that appeared suddenly and then vanished just as quickly, making them unsuitable for forcing a passage through.

Guo Shier said, “We need to find a relatively stable place; otherwise, it’s too dangerous.”