Mortals cultivate immortality, I have a Chaos Tower

After going through many trials in Storm Mountain, Lin Fan and his party finally arrived at the other side of Storm Mountain. A vast expanse of ruins suddenly appeared before their eyes. This was the Holy Ruins they had been searching for.

The sight of the Holy Ruins was awe inspiring. The sky was filled with gray mist, and the air was filled with heavy pressure and ancient atmosphere. Ruined stone pillars and remnant city walls could be seen everywhere, as if they were the marks left by countless years of accumulation. In the Holy Ruins, there was silence, as if even time had frozen here.

"Is this the Holy Ruins?" Zhong Ling'er couldn't help but murmur in a low voice, her eyes full of shock.

Lin Fan stood quietly at the entrance of the Holy Ruins, his eyes were sharp, and his heart was also shocked by the vicissitudes and mystery of the ruins. Although this place has long been a ruin, the ancient pressure is still frightening. He whispered: "This place... is not a simple test place as we imagined. I am afraid it hides unknown secrets."

Jiang Shuiling nodded gently, with deep doubt in her eyes: "Sacred Ruins... Why do I feel so depressed? It seems that there is some powerful force buried here, which does not even belong to the human world."

"This place is really not simple." Jin Buk clenched his sword tightly, his expression alert, "It seems we have to stay vigilant at all times."

They stepped into the area of ​​the Holy Ruins carefully. Although the surrounding buildings were in ruins, ancient runes were engraved on every stone and every broken wall. Those runes exuded a mysterious power, as if silently telling the secrets of the ancient times. As they walked deeper, they gradually discovered that the arrangement of the buildings in the Holy Ruins was not chaotic, but seemed to be built according to a certain formation, faintly revealing extremely strong spiritual power fluctuations.

Suddenly, Lin Fan's eyes were attracted by a huge stone tablet. The stone tablet stood in the center of the Holy Ruins. It was engraved with dense ancient characters, which seemed to record the history of the Holy Ruins. He walked forward, gently stroked the rough surface of the stone tablet with his fingers, and his eyes became solemn.

Jiang Shuiling also stepped forward and carefully examined the words on the stone tablet: "This is the language of ancient times, recording what happened here."

Zhong Ling'er looked at the stone tablet, then looked at Lin Fan: "What's written on it?"

Lin Fan's eyes were deep, and he said softly: "What is recorded above is the origin of the Holy Ruins. It turns out that this is not just a place for cultivation, but a holy place where ancient cultivators awakened their golden elixir. The golden elixir stage is not the end of cultivation as we imagine, but only the starting point of the road of cultivation."

"Golden Core is just the starting point?" Jin Buke frowned slightly, with a puzzled tone, "Is there a higher realm after that?"

"Yes." Lin Fan said in a deep voice, "The trials in this holy ruins are not only a test of strength, but also an improvement of the mind and soul. Only cultivators who have truly passed these tests can understand the path after the Golden Core."

Jiang Shuiling nodded slightly: "It seems that we have not yet touched the true secret of cultivation."

Lin Fan was about to continue interpreting the words on the stone tablet when suddenly, the air around him began to vibrate violently and the ground began to shake slightly. With a low roar, the ancient formation in the Holy Ruins began to slowly activate, and a powerful spiritual power wave gathered from all directions, as if the entire Holy Ruins had awakened.

"Oh no! We seem to have triggered the restriction of the Holy Ruins!" Jiang Shuiling exclaimed and hurriedly retreated.

Lin Fan reacted quickly, pulling everyone back a few steps, staring at the front. As expected, countless black shadows began to appear in the center of the Holy Ruins, and those black shadows gradually condensed into a group of thin, dark ghosts holding black blades. These ghosts had no entity, as if they had merged into the void, but every movement was filled with fierce murderous intent.

"Shadow Blade Ghost!" Lin Fan whispered, his heart sinking. These Shadow Blade Ghosts were the guardians of the Holy Ruins.

Jiang Shuiling looked solemn: "We have fought with the Shadow Blade Ghosts outside the Holy Ruins before, but this time their aura seems to be even stronger."

Jin Buk drew out his sword, the blade flashing with a cold light: "No matter how strong they are, we must defeat them!"

“The power of these Shadow Blade Ghosts… has merged with the Holy Ruins.” Lin Fan felt the spiritual power fluctuations around him getting stronger and stronger, and his face became more serious. “It seems that this battle is not just a competition of strength, but also a confrontation with the Holy Ruins itself.”

Zhong Ling'er gently grasped the staff, with a determined light flashing in her eyes: "No matter what, we must go all out!"

As the shadow blade ghosts gradually took shape, they launched their attack silently. The black blades passed through the air, silently, but with deadly killing intent. The shadow blade ghosts were extremely fast and rushed in front of the four people almost instantly.

Jin Buke shouted loudly, and swung his sword suddenly. A sharp sword energy burst out from the sword body and rushed straight to the shadow blade ghost in front. The moment the shadow blade ghost collided with the sword energy, a sharp sound of breaking through the air was made. However, the shadow blade ghost was like a black mist, easily dodging Jin Buke's sword energy attack, and turned into several black shadows again to attack him.

"Their bodies are too illusory to be attacked by conventional means!" Jin Buke frowned and retreated quickly.

Lin Fan reacted quickly, and the Chaos Tower appeared in his hand, releasing a circle of golden light, instantly protecting the four people. Under the light, the Shadow Blade Ghost's attack paused slightly, as if it was afraid of the power from the Chaos Tower.

"These shadow blade ghosts seem to be afraid of light." Jiang Shuiling quickly noticed their weakness and reminded them in a low voice.

Zhong Ling'er immediately raised her staff and chanted a spell. A dazzling aura shone from the tip of the staff. The light spread in the air, illuminating the entire center of the Holy Ruins. The Shadow Blade Ghost was forced by the light, and its body began to twist slightly, as if it was gradually being dispelled.

"Now is a good opportunity to counterattack!" Lin Fan shouted, urging the power of the Chaos Tower. The golden light quickly spread out, turning into countless golden rays, directly hitting the shadow blade ghosts. Under the illumination of the light, the shadow blade ghosts let out a low roar, as if struggling in pain, and their bodies became weaker and weaker.

However, just when everyone thought the battle was over, the aura of the shadow blade ghosts suddenly became stronger again. Their shadows merged with the ground of the Holy Ruins, as if they had absorbed the power of the Holy Ruins, becoming even more difficult to deal with. The shadow blade ghosts that were originally dispersed by the golden light actually restored their previous forms in an instant, and their speed and strength were significantly improved.

"They are using the power of the Holy Ruins to revive!" Jiang Shuiling said anxiously, "We will never be able to defeat them completely if we continue like this!"

Although Jin Buke's sword was fast, it could not cause any real damage to these ghostly beings. He panted and said angrily, "Their power is endless. We must find a way to break it."

Lin Fan's eyes flashed, and he suddenly realized something. He said in a deep voice: "These shadow blade ghosts... may not be simple guardians. Their appearance may be a ritual."

"Ceremony?" Zhong Ling'er asked puzzledly.

Lin Fan nodded: "The Holy Ruins has been a holy place for cultivators to awaken their golden elixir since ancient times. These shadow blade ghosts, as the guardians of the Holy Ruins, may not want to kill us completely, but to test our will and soul. Only after passing this trial will the Holy Ruins truly open its doors to us."

Jiang Shuiling nodded thoughtfully: "If that's the case, then maybe we should change the way we fight."

Lin Fan looked determined, put away the Chaos Tower, and signaled the others to put down their weapons. He walked towards the Shadow Blade Ghost step by step, without releasing any spiritual power fluctuations, but instead showing a calm and determined expression.

The Shadow Blade Ghosts seemed to have noticed Lin Fan's changes. They were no longer as aggressive as before. Instead, they gradually stopped attacking and stared at Lin Fan, as if waiting for something.

"We are not your enemies..." Lin Fan whispered, his voice calm but firm, "If you are the guardians of the Holy Ruins, then I ask you to allow us to pass. We are not here to destroy, but to seek the true way of cultivation."

The shadow blade ghosts remained silent, but their figures gradually faded, as if they had merged into the air of the Holy Ruins. A breeze blew by, and the originally hostile black shadows gradually dissipated, and the atmosphere of the Holy Ruins became much calmer.

"It seems you succeeded." Jiang Shuiling said softly with a relieved smile on her face.

Lin Fan breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, "This is not a battle of life and death, but a dialogue between the mind and the soul."