The tendency to bully the weak and fear the strong is vividly demonstrated in [N O V E L I G H T] these ancient mutated plants.

Not only did they refrain from attacking again, they even parted the dense foliage that blocked their view, allowing the jet-black dragon to swagger across the rainforest.

After flying dozens of kilometers, they penetrated deep into the heart of the ancient city of Simon.

Finally, a huge sinkhole came into view. At the bottom of the sinkhole, an ancient, dilapidated stone ruin, exuding a strong sense of wilderness, lay quietly.

However, at this moment, the entrance to the ruins was already completely covered by layers upon layers of eerie, dark green vegetation that pulsated like blood vessels, so tightly that not even light could penetrate it.

Just as Zhou Huai was about to control Xiao Hei to unleash another burst of dragon breath to forcefully clear a path—

A sudden change occurred.

The moment the dragon descended upon it, the tough vegetation covering the entrance to the ruins, several meters thick, seemed to possess an independent consciousness. It emitted a rustling sound and then retreated rapidly into the shadows and crevices of the rock walls on both sides at a speed visible to the naked eye!

In just a few breaths, the previously sealed gate to the ruins was completely opened up!

A dark, enormous cave entrance was exposed to Zhou Huai's eyes without any concealment.

On the dragon's back, Zhou Huai looked down.

What does this mean?

Looking down at the wide-open gate of the ruins, he did not immediately order a landing, but instead felt a strong sense of vigilance.

Willing to give way? Or are they luring you into a trap?

The other party's proactive and cooperative attitude made Zhou Huai hesitate.

Having experienced the devastating defeat of the Skeleton King in the Abyss of Mist and the humiliating experience of having his three double S-rank clones instantly killed by Mr. Duan of the Dawn Guild, Zhou Huai knew better than anyone that none of these ancient races hidden deep within the ruins were easy to deal with. If he rashly charged in on his dragon and fell into some ancient killing formation or ambush, he would truly be left with no one to turn to for help.

Just as Zhou Huai hovered in mid-air, looking down at the dark entrance and wondering if there was an ambush inside.

The other party saw through his thoughts.

rustle--

Beside the entrance to the ruins, a huge ancient tree that had long since withered suddenly burst forth with an extremely terrifying vitality!

On its bare treetop, a thick, emerald-green vine shoots out, and then, at the very top of the vine, a blood-red flower, as big as a millstone and extremely beautiful, completes the entire process from bud to full bloom in a second!

The moment the flower blooms, a pale green mist bursts forth from the center of its stamen.

Within the mist, a pale green humanoid phantom slowly coalesced into form.

That was the figure of a woman.

Although her entire body was composed of green energy light and shadow, obscuring her specific facial features, her high, prominent breasts, her incredibly slender waist, and her long, straight legs all highlighted her extremely hot figure in life.

The illusory woman crossed her arms over her chest, slightly raised her chin, and looked up at the black dragon that blotted out the sky above her head. Instead of showing any fear, she let out a silvery laugh.

Hehehe...

The laughter was crisp and clear, yet it echoed above the empty ruins, carrying a strange, almost magical power that penetrated straight to the soul.

"how?"

The illusory woman stopped laughing, her tone tinged with mockery and ridicule: "A dignified SSS-rank professional riding a quasi-god-level dragon, possessing such an awe-inspiring presence, doesn't even dare to enter the gate of this small ruin?"

"Or are you afraid of something?"

Faced with this obvious provocation, Zhou Huai sat upright on the dragon's back, not even blinking.

He looked down at the alluring phantom below and readily and confidently admitted it.

"You're right, I really don't dare."

Arthur's deep voice boomed down from mid-air, without a trace of embarrassment at being exposed.

Zhou Huai knew perfectly well that the reason he dared to ride a giant dragon to the Simon City ruins to show off was purely because the combination of Arthur and Little Black was simply too overwhelming in terms of appearance and imposing presence. But what was the reality? Arthur's SSS-level clone was only at level 1! Although Little Black had been elevated to quasi-god level, his main body was only a little over level 30!

This setup is fine for scaring the mutated vegetation on the periphery and crushing regular troops, but if they really charge into the core of the ruins and encounter a top-tier old monster like the Skeleton King who is infinitely close to transcendence, or a high-dimensional being like Mr. Duan, the two of them will definitely have no choice but to flee in panic!

"I'm just here today to familiarize myself with the area and see what kind of monsters are lurking in this forest that drove the Great Xia army to the brink of defeat. As for actually taking action against this ruin... now is not the time."

"Just consider this a visit to say hello."

Upon hearing this completely unconventional answer, the female phantom below was visibly taken aback.

Then, she burst into laughter again without any restraint.

Hehehehe...

This time, her laughter was extremely exaggerated; Zhou Huai could even see clearly from mid-air what true hysteria looked like. Her fiery body, composed of green light and shadow, heaved violently with her laughter, as if it might collapse at any moment.

After laughing enough, the woman straightened up and exclaimed in a tone as if she were looking at a rare animal:

"You're quite the honest kid. You possess such terrifying power, yet you act with such shrewdness and caution. It's really quite interesting."

She gently raised a hand in a reassuring gesture: "Don't worry, put away your ridiculous vigilance. I have no hostility towards you, and I will not hurt you. There are no ambushes behind this door. If I really wanted to kill you, those mutated plants that filled the sky just now would not have retreated an inch."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Huai was so angry he laughed.

"Save your breath."

Arthur smiled, but his eyes turned cold. "Don't embarrass yourself by spouting nonsense that even a three-year-old wouldn't believe!"

"I know better than you what kind of people the ancient races are. If you didn't want to kill me, why did you lure me in?"

"Could it be... that she's attracted to my appearance?"

A brief silence fell over the air.

Immediately afterwards, the green phantom giggled again.

What you said isn't entirely wrong.

The woman's voice suddenly became erratic, carrying a chilling penetrating power: "I do... see some very familiar shadows in you."

"Of course, I'm not referring to your current blond, blue-eyed, muscular, and vulgar body."

The woman's tone suddenly turned cold, and she said, word by word, "It's hidden inside this body...that interesting, unpredictable soul."