If Swampsea Woods is considered the greatest trial ground for low-level cultivators in the Northern Domain, then the largest trial ground in all of Aurora Continent is undoubtedly the Grand Ruins.
The Grand Ruins are located in the Eastern Domain, but it's not just cultivators from the East who come here for trials. Cultivators from all over Aurora Continent come to test themselves in the Grand Ruins, and even Golden Core cultivators venture here in search of cultivation resources.
The Grand Ruins are so famous because they border the continent’s greatest battlefield—the Polar Night Ruins.
Legend has it that long ago, Aurora Continent was once part of the Sheye Starland. For reasons unknown, Sheye Starland suddenly split into two separate continents. One half became Aurora Continent, and the other is called Banmu Continent.
After Aurora Continent and Banmu Continent split apart, a vast and immeasurable Ruins formed between them. Every few years, the Ruins reconnect, and when that happens, cultivators from both continents inevitably clash in fierce battles.
The reason for these battles is simple: the connected Ruins are filled with ley lines and spirit stone mines. Beyond that, there are also rare top-tier artifact materials and some naturally formed high-grade magical treasures.
No one knows how long Sheye Starland has existed, but cultivation resources have always been scarce. Whenever ley lines, spirit stone mines, or natural magical treasures appear, cultivators from both continents fight desperately to claim them.
Once the spirit stone mines, ley lines, and those natural treasures are seized, the two continents naturally split apart again, leaving the original Ruins between them.
Some cultivators who come for the Polar Night Ruins battle, when not fighting, will naturally head to the Grand Ruins to seek cultivation resources.
Swampsea Woods is considered large, but if it were placed within the Grand Ruins, it would probably occupy only a single corner.
Within the Grand Ruins, the landscape is not limited to forests and swamps—there are deserts, barren lands, mountains, volcanoes, and glaciers. Except for the absence of a sea, every imaginable terrain can be found here.
Originally, there was an open-air market at the edge of the Grand Ruins called Edge Ruins Market. With the influx of cultivators over time, this market eventually grew into Edge Ruins City.
At this moment, outside Edge Ruins City, two veiled women gazed in astonishment at a notice posted on the city wall.
The portrait on the notice was remarkably clear, and the message unmistakable: a bounty for Joe Di and Garrett, wanted for robbing the Qi Family Trading House. Anyone who brings accurate information about these two to any Qi Family Trading House will be rewarded with one hundred thousand low-grade spirit stones, fifty thousand mid-grade spirit stones, and ten third-grade spirit pills (Foundation Pills upon request).
If someone captures Joe Di and Garrett alive, the reward is one hundred thousand mid-grade spirit stones, one million low-grade spirit stones, and the option to request Foundation Pills and Ascendant Pills.
Foundation Pills are already extremely rare, but Ascendant Pills—essential for cultivators at the peak of Foundation Establishment to break through to the Golden Core stage—are even more precious. With such a reward, even a needle in the ocean would be found.
Both women understood just how tempting such a reward was. After seeing this notice, they exchanged glances in silence, each lost in thought.
Half an hour later, in a makeshift cave dwelling at the very edge of Edge Ruins City, the woman in gray removed her veil, her eyes still filled with disbelief. "Sister Jade, did I see that right? Is Joe Di really the one being hunted?"
The other woman, addressed as Sister Jade, also took off her veil. If Joe Di were here, he would instantly recognize them—they were Jade Yu and Violet Zane, who had come from Earth just like him.
Both were considered quite talented. On Earth, they had always practiced martial cultivation; only after arriving here did they begin to cultivate the Dao.
Now, nearly two years had passed. Jade Yu had reached the sixth level of Qi Refining, while Violet Zane was at the fifth. Thanks to their martial background, their combat strength surpassed that of most late-stage Qi Refining cultivators.
Jade Yu spoke in a low voice, "It must be true. Joe Di was always mysterious and powerful, even back on Aurora Star. He saved me once, and now that he’s here, I imagine he’ll thrive even more. But to dare rob the Qi Family Trading House—he must be courting death."
"I still owe him something. I really don’t know how I can ever repay him." Violet Zane felt a deep sense of guilt toward Joe Di.
Jade Yu said, "He also saved my life. But with our current cultivation, there’s no way we can help him. To truly be of help, we’d need to reach Foundation Establishment. There’s an ice river in the Grand Ruins, and within it grows the Frost Lotus—a treasure even more effective for Foundation Establishment than Foundation Pills. If we train a while longer and reach late-stage Qi Refining, perhaps we should try our luck at the ice river?"
"Isn’t it said that few who enter the ice river ever return? Even those rare ones who do, hardly ever obtain a Frost Lotus." Violet Zane hesitated.
Jade Yu replied, "Violet, we still haven’t found a suitable sect to join. I’ve heard sects rarely recruit disciples here, and searching for one could take a year or two, not counting the dangers along the way. But if we reach Foundation Establishment, we can leave the Grand Ruins whenever we wish. Without it, we’re just waiting for death. What difference does it make if we die a few days earlier or later?"
When the plaza on Aurora Star was breached by fiend beasts, Jade Yu had come to terms with everything.
People are destined to die eventually. If you spend your life hesitating and fearing, you might as well act decisively and pursue what you truly desire.
"Sister Jade, I’ll follow your lead," Violet Zane decided without hesitation. If she couldn’t reach Foundation Establishment, every day she lived was one less. It’s said that after Foundation Establishment, one’s lifespan increases by a hundred years, even exceeding two hundred. Maybe one day, she could return to Earth and see it again.
...
"Slash! Slash! Slash!" Joe Di’s long blade transformed into a twisted arc of blade light, crashing down upon a peak second-tier Swamp Lion.
Blood sprayed from the Swamp Lion’s body as it let out a wretched scream, trying to flee. But after only a few steps, it collapsed, its life force ebbing away.
Joe Di’s heart soared—this was his fifth strike. Like his fourth, the Wind Howl Blade, it did not rely on the Di Family’s Seven Blades. Yet this fifth strike drew upon the second punch, Waves of Fury, which he had comprehended months ago.
When he unleashed that second punch, the force seemed to become a continuous tide. His fifth blade strike mirrored those waves, slashing down in a pattern like surging water—not the initial impact, but what followed.
When waves crash against rocks, they inevitably break apart, scattering into countless droplets. His fifth blade strike, upon hitting its target, would burst open like those waves, splitting into countless shards of blade energy that exploded within the opponent’s body.
Just like with the Swamp Lion just now—his blade hadn’t killed it outright. But when the strike exploded at the wound, countless shards of blade energy tore through the lion’s flesh and meridians, ending its life. That was the true power of his fifth blade.
From now on, he would call this move the Cracked Pattern Blade. Joe Di was increasingly glad he’d made this decision.
Six months ago, he decided to leave the Swamp Sea Forest with Garrett and Sprout. Along the way, they had slain countless fiend beasts. In just half a year, Garrett had reached the third level of Foundation Establishment. Joe Di himself was at the peak of the third level, just a step away from the fourth.
Thunder rumbled in the distance—Joe Di knew it was Garrett wielding the Thunder Sword against another fiend beast.
"Garrett, finish up quickly. Let’s find a place to rest for the night and continue on tomorrow," Joe Di called out, estimating that in another month or two, they’d leave the Swamp Sea Forest.
At their current pace, by the time they left the Swamp Sea Forest, both would likely reach mid-stage Foundation Establishment. Even Sprout would become a mid-tier second-level fiend beast.
Garrett had just responded when both felt the ground beneath them begin to tremble.
"Big Brother, I have a bad feeling about this..." Sprout looked anxiously at the shaking earth.
Joe Di swept out his spiritual sense. When he saw what was happening, his scalp tingled with dread.
A limitless tide of Swamp Lions seemed to have gone mad, charging straight for their location.
"Garrett, fall back to my side!" Joe Di shouted desperately.
He’d read in the jade scroll introduction to the Swamp Sea Forest that, on rare occasions, the Swamp Lions would riot en masse. When that happened, almost no cultivator survived.
Joe Di and his companions had spent two years in the Swamp Sea Forest, but this was the first time they’d ever encountered a Swamp Lion riot.
[Irrelevant reading prompt omitted.]