His vision blurred for a moment.

When he came to his senses, Han Ning found himself in a vast, empty space.

"Huh? The water’s gone?" He waved his hand. There was no resistance, and the air he breathed into his lungs was dry and fresh.

"What is this?!"

Han Ning followed their gaze and his eyes widened. At the far end of the hall, a tall doorway appeared, pitch-black and leading to some unknown destination.

The sides of the hall, much like the Insect Queen’s Ruins he had seen before, were lined with statues of burly "Soul Beasts" clad in armor and holding various weapons.

Some were humanoid, while others were nothing more than a giant eyeball or a massive tree. Even so, they were all draped in stone armor.

But unlike the statues in the Insect-man ruins, each one here was at least ten meters tall, as if silently watching the creatures that entered the hall.

The four walls and the domed ceiling were all painted with brightly colored murals of a religious nature.

Intricate chandeliers, made from some unknown golden material, hung from the ceiling.

The chandeliers varied in design. Some depicted naked humanoid creatures holding up basins that contained a source of light.

Others were shaped like metallic trees, with light stands at the ends of their branches and leaves.

At the moment, only a few scattered flames were lit on these stands.

The flames were a faint, ghostly green, casting an eerie and mysterious pall over the already dim surroundings.

The flames on the stands had been burning for who knows how many ages, yet their light was enough to push back the impenetrable darkness.

Other than these things, the hall was completely empty. There were no other living creatures, nor were there any legendary treasures.

’Since this place was recorded in the notes of a Yinsaike Race Insect Master, it must have been visited by many Insect-men. It’s highly unlikely any secret treasures would be left behind.’

Han Ning wasn’t in a hurry to enter the open doorway in the center. Instead, he observed the brightly colored surrounding murals with great interest.

The murals seemed to depict a war he knew nothing about.

The protagonists of the war—or rather, of the murals—were difficult to make out, as every creature depicted was covered in a thick layer of silver armor. Come to think of it, they looked remarkably similar to the stone statues on either side.

They gripped different weapons, either slashing or unleashing Soul Techniques to fight off an onslaught of hideous monsters.

Han Ning noticed that one of the monsters looked somewhat similar to the Winged Demon, the Night Demon, he had seen before.

However, the monster in the mural looked countless times more formidable than the Night Demon. Even from the inanimate painting, he could feel a surging killing intent emanating from it.

His gaze shifted, landing on an ugly monster that walked on all fours. The tips of its limbs were like sharp blades, it had a long, scorpion-like stinger for a tail, it sported terrifying fangs, and it possessed six ghastly purple eyes.

’So this is a Shadow Reaper? It’s really ugly...’ Han Ning recalled the Yinsaike Race’s description of the Shadow Reaper and quickly confirmed that the monster’s appearance matched the inherited records.

The mural depicted the Shadow Reaper with striking vividness. Its upward-curving stinger appeared illusory and indistinct, its tip dissolving into a mist-like shape that was difficult to discern.

’It seems the faction of the civilization that built this complex was hostile to the Shadow Reapers...’

Han Ning took out his phone and took pictures of the murals and statues in the hall one by one.

A moment later, with Fei Lin in his arms, he and Yin Yi walked through the pitch-black, open doorway in the center.

If all went as expected, the doorway would lead into the mountain bordering Biyou Lake. As long as they passed through the mountain, the Mist Deep Valley would be on the other side.

TAP, TAP, TAP...

Only the sound of his footsteps echoed through the dark corridor.

The corridor was very spacious, nearly ten meters high and eight meters wide. The walls on both sides were embedded with strangely shaped light stands.

But the fuel in the stands seemed to have burned out long ago; only a few scattered lamps glowed with a faint green light.

The further he walked, the denser the fog ahead became.

After advancing about 500 meters, Han Ning felt the surrounding fog had become as thick as when he first entered the Mist Deep Valley—at least twice as dense as the fog outside, and somehow different.

However, he was now a Beast Master whose Spiritual Power had reached Tier Two, and he could easily resist the hallucinogenic components in the fog.

What also surprised Han Ning was that he hadn’t encountered a single Soul Beast along the way. In an area teeming with them, it was impossible not to see even one.

There was only one possibility: a special power existed here, one that even Soul Beasts feared.

But... Yin Yi hadn’t sensed it, which was very strange.

After walking for about three kilometers, the corridor finally came to an end.

Passing through the thick fog, he found himself facing another hall, similar to the one on the other side.

He walked to the entrance of the hall, pushed open the door, and the scene before him opened up.

He saw that he was on the second floor of a tall building.

A faintly visible, translucent membrane appeared dozens of meters above, and from time to time, large bubbles would pass through it, wobbling as they ascended toward the sky.

Without a doubt, they were still underwater, but the translucent membrane was holding a massive amount of water at bay.

Farther out was an endless darkness that inspired a sense of oppression and fear.

They were still underwater.

The massive, translucent membrane enveloped a cluster of about a dozen buildings of various sizes, all in the same architectural style.

Han Ning walked around the hall. Other than the murals and statues, which were 100% identical to the previous ones, there was nothing else worth investigating.

So, he took Fei Lin and Yin Yi to check the nearby buildings as well.

Strangely, every building was completely empty, as if it had been swept clean. It was terrifyingly neat.

Finding nothing, Han Ning had no choice but to summon Egg Pancake again and swim toward the surface. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

SPLOOSH~

A huge head burst out from a small, mist-shrouded lake.

Standing on the dragon’s head, Han Ning looked around.

They were in a narrow lake less than 300 meters wide. On the land connected to the lake, a dozen pairs of glowing eyes were staring intently in their direction.

"ROAR!!"

Egg Pancake felt the stares, snorted, and glared back fiercely, letting out a low, threatening growl.

Seeing this, the "eyes" quickly scattered in all directions.

WHOOSH~

Egg Pancake shot out of the lake, beat its wings to stir the dense fog, and carried Han Ning to the nearest shore.

Next, he had to figure out how to capture a Shadow Reaper.

The Yinsaike Race’s records on the Shadow Reaper were not clear, containing only vague fragments of information, let alone how to capture one.

’A Shadow Reaper has Undead characteristics... but it isn’t truly an Undead. Based on past experience, the diet of this type of Soul Beast usually consists of Soul Beast Crystal Stones of the same attribute, or the flesh and blood of Soul Beasts with the same attribute...’

’Do Undead Type Soul Beasts even have flesh and blood?’ Han Ning glanced down at Fei Lin, who was quietly sucking her fingers in his arms, and his expression shifted.

’Fei Lin also has the Undead Attribute. I wonder if her blood would work?’

’She’s only an Entry Level Soul Beast. I don’t know if she’ll be enough to attract a Shadow Reaper’s interest, but it’s worth a try.’

It was just a little blood. Han Ning didn’t agonize over it. He constantly reminded himself to distinguish Fei Lin from a normal human little girl.

Despite looking delicate and weak, Fei Lin was actually a strong and sturdy Soul Beast. Squeezing out a bit of blood was nothing to her.

"Fei Lin, this will just take a second," Han Ning said, patting her head. At the same time, he covertly used the ability of his All-Encompassing Spiritual Silkworm to begin drawing her blood.

"Eeeh?"

Before Fei Lin could react, a glob of her blood had already gathered on the tendril at the tip of Han Ning’s finger.