Chapter 573: Reaching the Outer Walls of the Ancient City Ruins

"Finally... The ancient ruins! I never expected that it would take so long for me to reach them..." As his master was busy teaching Bai Ning, Chu Yang let out a sigh of relief as he finally spotted a few ancient ruins further up the small river he had been following.

Not to mention taking a few days to reach, it had taken him more than a week to find the ancient ruins that the three cultivators from the Explorer Union had told him about!

Although... He had ended up quite unlucky, as he only found the correct river leading to the ancient ruins after having followed the other small rivers all the way to their source... If he ended up following the correct river from the start. Not to mention it taking a few days to reach, Chu Yang doubted it would even take him a day with his current speed!

"No use thinking about it! At least I managed to reach the ruins!" Muttering this to himself as he no longer thought about the pain he had gone through over the past few weeks; Chu Yang began making his way towards the ancient ruins he had spotted in the distance, while at the same time keeping an eye out for any demon beast that might be lurking in the surroundings.

After all, the main reason why he wanted to find the ruins mentioned by the cultivators from the Explorer Union, was not to seek out any treasures that might still be left in the ancient ruins, but instead to hunt down the Core Formation Realm demon beast that he had been told were around the ruins.

This way, he should be able to gain some real combat experience with opponents who had reached the Core Formation Realm just like himself! As for the bandit he had fought during the escort mission? It was far from enough for him to gain a clear understanding of his current strength after having reached the Core Formation Realm...

...

Continuing towards the ruins he saw, Chu Yang soon found himself in front of what had once been some kind of stone house. Now, all that was left was the foundation of the house, with only parts of the walls still being intact.

Observing closer, Chu Yang did not take long to find signs of several people having searched through the ruins in the past. Not too surprising considering that the ruins had been discovered long ago and all the treasures and artifacts that might be hidden there had already been looted by the members of the Explorer Unions that had once frequented the ruins upon its first discovery.

"That should be the outer wall of the ancient city..."

Looking into the forest just a short distance away from the ruins of what had once been a relatively large house, Chu Yang barely managed to make out the broken down, mossy walls of what had once been a large city.

The rest, hidden by the large forest located beside the small stream he had followed.

The ruins themselves were an ancient city, the history of the city and who inhabited it was a mystery according to what little information he had managed to gather from the locals while making his way out of the Small River Town.

Not only that, but the ruins had first been discovered a little over three hundred years ago and along with its discovery, a branch of the Explorer Union had quickly been established in the Small River Town.

Back then, the ancient ruins and the Small River Town were a hotspot for members of the Explorer Union looking for lost artifact or other treasures that might be hidden away inside such a large ancient city.

However, things did not last for long and slowly the number of explorers coming to the Small River Town began rapidly decreasing. Soon, most of the explorers inside the Small River Town were locals who were looking to make a living, or step onto the path of cultivation.

This was not too hard, as there was a small library inside the Small River Towns Explorer Union contained a few cultivation mantras that one could access and learn after becoming a member of the Explorer Union.

Although... Thinking back, Chu Yang did not remember seeing the small library mentioned by the locals...

Did it perhaps get torn down to expand the gambling den...?

Understanding what had happened to the small library storing most of the cultivation mantras that could be found inside a small town like the Small River Town, Chu Yang decided not to think too much about it.

After all, the matter of the gambling den did not have anything to do with him, it was a problem for the Explorer Union, and they would have to eventually deal with it themselves!

Ching~

Having slowly made his way towards the mussy broken-down outer wall of what had once been an enormous city in the past, Chu Yang pulled out his spear to make sure he was ready for battle in case anything happened.

After all, the ancient city had become home to demon beast over the years, with the weaker ones having reached the Foundation Establishment Realm in the outer part of the city and the stronger having reached the Core Formation Realm being located at the core of the ancient city ruins.

However, from time to time, demon beast at the Core Formation Realm could still be found roaming around the outer edges of the city looking for prey.

With all this considered, it would not be difficult to predict that he would encounter a demon beast after entering the city.

Crack~

Stepping over a few branches on the ground, Chu Yang could not help feeling amazed as he looked up at what remained of the outer walls of the ancient city.

Just standing in front of them, he could clearly feel a terrifying pressure enveloping him. Allowing him to understand that the walls in front of him had once been part of some sort of powerful protection formation that had likely been instrumental in protecting the city that stood before him.

As for just how strong the formation had been, he had no idea...

Given how terrifying the presence still left behind in the outer walls was, Chu Yang believed that it should at least be someone in the later stages of the Nascent Soul Realm. Maybe even stronger than that!

In the end, his cultivation realm was too weak to properly pinpoint the strength of the presence that was still present inside the outer walls of the ancient city.

Rustle~

"Hm?"

Just at this moment, the sound of something moving behind the outer walls could be heard, causing Chu Yang to tighten his grip around his spear-

Swish~

Before jumping on top of the barely standing outer walls of the city to get a better view of what had caused the sound.

Rustle~

Looking down towards the crown of a small tree that had almost merged together with the tall section of the outer wall he was standing on top of, Chu Yang could not help smiling a bit wryly to himself upon discovering the source of the rustling sound.

Chirp chirp~

The source in question being a pair of normal birds which had not even reached the Qi Condensation Realm!

"Looks like I'm already on edge knowing that there could be a Core Formation Realm demon beast waiting in ambush on the other side of the wall..." Muttering this to himself as he lowered the spear, he had unintentionally been pointing towards the still unaware birds hard at work making a small nest in the tree crown below him, Chu Yang took a deep breath before calming himself down.

Even if he ended up encountering a Core Formation Realm demon beast, he was still more than strong enough to deal with and was not the thing he was worried about.

Instead, the thing he was worried about, was a Core Formation Realm demon beast catching him off guard in an ambush!

If that really happened, it didn't matter how much stronger he was compared to the demon beast! Even a Foundation Establishment Realm could potentially fatally injure him in a successful ambush where he had let down his guard, let alone a Core Formation Realm demon beast!

For this reason, Chu Yang did not dare lower his guard even the slightest bit after having entered the ancient ruins of the city.

"Well... At least this will help training my senses as well..." Muttering this to himself with a slightly wry smile on his face, Chu Yang turned away from the small birds in the tree crown below him before taking in the small part of the city that he could see from on top of the outer wall.

Unfortunately, the forest was way too dense for him to see much of the city itself from his current location.

"Demon beasts..."

At least he did manage to spot a few demon beasts at the Foundation Establishment Realm roaming around what had once been the roads of the ancient city ruins.

As for Core Formation Realm demon beasts? He did not manage to spot a single one...