The essence on Qing Hua's deputy dean's body converged back, transforming her into an eighty or ninety-year-old old woman once again.

  She said to the ten young disciples sitting on the back of the lion-eagle: "There are many powerful beasts living in the Tianmo Ridge, some of which even I encountered can only escape."

  "The deeper you enter the Tianmo Ridge, the more powerful the beasts you encounter will be. From now on, if you enter the Tianmo Ridge for training, don't venture too deep, as there are many restricted areas within the ridge that are not suitable for you."

  The lion eagle flapped its wings and continued flying towards the direction of the Red Sky Secret Mansion.

  Half a day later, they arrived at a desolate region.

  It is said that in those days, the human army and the four-winged earth dragon fought a great battle, leaving this land in ruins, where not even an inch of grass grows to this day.

  On the ground, a huge canyon with a length of thousands of kilometers and a width of 200 meters was torn apart, straight down, bottomless, as if it were the mouth of the earth, which could swallow everything in the world.

  Standing at the edge of the canyon and looking down towards the ground, it's pitch black, only seeing strands of black mist rising from the bottom.

  On the edge of the canyon, a narrow stone ladder was carved out, leading all the way down to the depths of the earth.

  It is said that the underground was once the nest of the four-winged earth dragon, Chi Kong's secret mansion.

  Qing Hua, the deputy head of the Western Academy, brought ten students from the Western Academy to the top of the canyon. By the time they arrived, all the students from the Eastern, Northern and Southern Academies were already standing at the edge of the canyon.

  Dongyuan Deputy Dean's cold smile sounded, saying: "Qinghua Deputy Dean, you Western Courtyard people have come too late, everyone has been waiting for you for a very long time."

  Qing Hua, the deputy head of the institution, grasped his wooden staff and walked with a limp, saying: "On the way here, I encountered a black dragon, which delayed me by one step."

  "According to the old rules, the order of entering the intermediate ruins must follow the order in which we arrived here. Therefore, this year's students from the Western Academy will be fourth in line to enter."

  "No problem," said Qing Hua, deputy director of the institute.

  The first to arrive at the canyon entrance were the disciples of the East Wing, so the tenth-ranked disciple of the East Wing was the first to enter the intermediate ruins.

  The tenth-ranked disciple of the East Wing was Dugu Lin.

  Dugu Lin stepped onto the stone stairs leading to the underground and exerted his body technique, rapidly rushing towards the underground.

  About three minutes later, standing at the edge of the canyon, Du Gu Lin's figure was no longer visible.

  The tenth-ranked disciple of Beiyuan also entered the canyon and charged towards the ground.

  Next is the tenth-ranked disciple of the Southern Institute.

  When the tenth-ranked disciple of Nanmen disappeared into the ground, Zi Qian, the tenth-ranked disciple of Ximen, walked towards the ground.

  Students participating in the intermediate ruin exploration exam must enter the underground one by one. Moreover, students with lower rankings go in first and those with higher rankings go in later.

  It's actually also a way to avoid mutual slaughter among students.

  Low-boundary disciples can go in advance and immediately head to the depths of the Red Empty Secret Mansion or hide.

  If a high-level student goes first, they may wait at some entrance on the ground and kill lower-level students who come later.

  Xun Guihai stood among the disciples of the East Courtyard, his eyes coldly staring at Zhang Ruochen, not hiding the killing intent in his eyes. He was extremely angry and said, "Zhang Ruochen, even if you are engaged to the Yunchen Princess, so what? As long as you die in the Red Sky Secret Pavilion, by then, the Yunchen Princess will already be my woman."

  He glanced at Guo Haidong, the fifth-ranked disciple of Dongyuan Academy, and said in a low voice: "Guo Haidong, you enter the Chi Kong Secret Mansion before Zhang Ruochen. Wait for him underground and kill him at all costs as soon as he enters."

  Guo Haidong received the five and a half sacred true liquids given to him by Xun Guihai, and has promised to help Xun Guihai kill Zhang Ruochen.

  Guo Haidong smiled confidently and said, "Xun Shixiong, I am a master ranked 874th on the Mystic List. Killing Zhang Ruochen is absolutely an easy task."

  "You mustn't be careless, Zhang Ruochen's martial arts realm may not be as good as yours, but his sword intent realm has already reached the peak of 'the sword follows the heart'. If you find yourself no match for Zhang Ruochen, try to hold him back as much as possible. Just wait until Lang Xing arrives, and with both of you attacking from front and back, Zhang Ruochen will be unable to escape."

  Xun Gui Hai glanced at Lang Xin standing beside him.

  Lang Xing nodded and said: "Zhang Ruochen actually dared to snatch Master Xun's woman, that is to go against our East Wing."

  Lang Xing ranked fourth in the Dongyuan ranking and 580th in the Xuanbang ranking.

  Du Mu Xingling stared at the disciples of Dongyuan, his eyes narrowing slightly as he reminded him, "Younger brother, after you enter the Chi Kong Secret Mansion, be careful of Dongyuan's Guo Haidong and Lang Xin. They are both Xuan Bang warriors with extremely strong abilities. One entered the Chi Kong Secret Mansion before you, while the other entered after you. If they join forces to deal with you, it will be very difficult for you to escape even if you want to."

  Zhang Ruochen followed Duanmu Xingling's gaze and saw the two young disciples standing beside Xun Guihai, taking note of their appearance. He said, "Entering the Chi Kong Secret Mansion will be quite dangerous, Duanmu Shijie, you should also be careful."

  At this moment, Guo Haidong, who was ranked fifth in the East Court, walked towards the valley entrance. Before walking down the stone steps, he glanced at Zhang Ruochen and curled his lips slightly, revealing a cruel smile.

  Right after the fifth student of Beiyuan and the fifth student of Nanyuan entered the canyon, it was finally Zhang Ruochen's turn.

  Zhang Ruochen had just walked to the edge of the canyon when he felt a little dizzy, which was a sign of poisoning.

  The miasma in the canyon was very severe, fortunately Zhang Ruochen wore the poison bead on his body, blocking most of the miasma. Otherwise, even if he had only inhaled a mouthful of miasma, Zhang Ruochen would have fainted due to poisoning.

  Zhang Ruochen mobilized the Jade Pure True Qi, running it through his meridians for a complete cycle, immediately purifying the toxic air within his body and recovering once again.

  Unfolding the Wind Dragon Shadow step, Zhang Ruochen's speed reached its fastest, like a jumping spirit ape on a steep cliff wall, rushing towards the ground.

  There are only three minutes left, and after three minutes, Lang Xin, the fourth master of Dongyuan, will enter the underground.

  If the fifth master of Dongyuan, Guo Haidong, was really waiting for him underground, then he had to take out Guo Haidong within three minutes. Otherwise, once he was sandwiched between the two Xuanbang warriors, it would be quite unfavorable for Zhang Ruochen.

  Although Zhang Ruochen was confident in defeating Guo Haidong and Lang Xingzi, who could guarantee that they didn't have a killer move up their sleeves?

  Once inside the Red Sky Secret Mansion, any means can be used, it's no longer just a simple martial arts competition.

  The canyon was extremely deep, and Zhang Ruochen followed the stone steps, rushing down for over a thousand meters, still without reaching the bottom.

  Standing on the ground, surrounded by darkness.

  Zhang Ruochen raised his head to look, the original thousands of meters long canyon mouth, became only as big as a needle eye, emitting a faint white light. The feeling it gives people is like the dark night sky, cracked open a tiny white seam.

  To Zhang Ruochen, he now felt as if he had been swallowed by the earth, never to see the light of day again.

  If someone has poor mental quality, they will feel extremely frightened at this time, and may even collapse.

  Zhang Ruochen looked down towards the bottom, and from the depths of the earth, a dark red color appeared, and a wave of heat surged up.

  "If it's true that many evil people and demons are being locked up underground, then for them, it is indeed a very torturous thing."

  Zhang Ruochen directed his true energy to his eyes and continued to charge towards the bottom of the earth. The temperature in the air grew higher and higher, and the rocks were also extremely hot.

  Fortunately, Zhang Ruochen had bought a Cold Jade Pendant in advance and hung it around his neck. Not only did he not feel the heat, but he also felt very cool.

  Nor did he know how deep he had reached the bottom, and finally came to the bottom, a huge stone gate appeared in front of him.

  The Shimen Foot is one hundred and thirty meters high and twenty-seven meters thick, with a surface inlaid with dark iron, forming the shape of an iron dragon.

  Two huge stone gates, weighing tens of thousands of kilograms, have now opened a two-meter wide gap.

  Zhang Ruochen placed his palm on the stone gate and circulated all his true energy, pushing it with force.

  The stone gate is motionless, without even a thread of movement.

  "What a heavy stone gate, I estimate that only a Tianji Realm expert from the Wushi Academy can push this stone gate."

  Zhang Ruochen stared at the two-meter-wide gap in the door, his eyes narrowing slightly as he became more cautious.

  "Time-Space Domain"

  Zhang Ruochen released the time-space domain, covering an area of eighty meters in diameter, and with the help of the time-space domain's power, he probed to see if Guo Haidong was hiding behind the stone gate.

  After a moment, Zhang Ruochen detected Guo Haidong's aura in the time-space domain.

  Zhang Ruochen took out Xue Long Sword and dragged the long sword towards the stone gate.

  Boom

  Just as Zhang Ruochen stepped through the stone gate, a scarlet long spear, accompanied by a wave of scorching flames, stabbed towards his back.

  Zhang Ruochen had long been prepared and his body shot up, easily dodging the spear's attack.

  He leaped up five meters high and stabbed a sword towards Guo Haidong's neck.

  Guo Haidong felt a chill on the back of his neck, his face changed, and he immediately withdrew his long spear, rapidly retreating backwards, narrowly avoiding Zhang Ruochen's sword.

  After dodging this sword, Guo Haidong was still a little frightened and secretly thought to himself, how did he know I was hiding behind the stone gate?

  Zhang Ruochen sheathed the Snow Dragon Sword, gazed at Guo Haidong and said: "The previous sword was a warning to you. If you still want to kill me, I won't be polite."

  Guo Haidong held his long spear, putting aside the shock he had just felt. He recalled what Xun Guihai had told him: if he couldn't defeat Zhang Ruochen alone, he should stall for time until Lang Xin arrived, and then together they could take down Zhang Ruochen.

  Guo Haidong smiled slightly, cupped his hands and bowed, saying: "You live up to being the first of the new students in the Fourth Academy. Your martial arts skills are admirable. Actually, I just wanted to test your skills, I didn't really mean to take action."

  Zhang Ruochen could see through Guo Haidong's intentions and said, "If you still don't give up, I guarantee that you will not be able to leave the Chi Kong Secret Mansion alive."

  Seeing Zhang Ruochen's eyes, the smile on Guo Haidong's face also disappeared. Although he was afraid of Zhang Ruochen's swordsmanship, he also had a trump card. Even if he wasn't Zhang Ruochen's opponent, holding off Zhang Ruochen for a few minutes was definitely doable.

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