Translated by XephiZ

Edited by Aelryinth

Mo Fan was intrigued!

The Essence Orb was clearly telling Mo Fan that there was a magical, ancient energy here, and now they had discovered an artificial magic ward...

"This is some ancient lightning magic! Come, let's go deeper!" Nanyu seemed more excited than Mo Fan. She was now leading the way!

"Can you all stick closer to me if you're planning to go deeper? I won't be able to save you if you're blown away by the wind!" exclaimed Zhao Manyan.

Zhao Manyan was the only Magician with defensive spells in the group. His defensive spells had turned him into a sturdy turtle shell protecting the others as they continued on...

"Don't leave the coverage of my spells. The wind is as strong as an Intermediate Spell now!" Zhao Manyan reminded them.

"It's just an Intermediate Spell..." Mo Fan began arrogantly.

"You try being hit by an Intermediate Spell every second," Zhao Manyan cut him off.

Mo Fan hesitated for a moment, and decisively shut his mouth.

A wind with the strength of an Intermediate Spell did not necessarily mean its damage was the same as being struck by an Intermediate Spell, but being blasted by a team of Intermediate Magicians non-stop. That concept was rather shocking!

"Can we go any further?" asked Nanyu in a serious voice.

"Yes," Zhao Manyan nodded.

"You've grown a lot stronger!" complimented Mo Fan.

"Hehe!" Zhao Manyan smiled as if he had been waiting for Mo Fan to say that for a long time. Even though he was a shameless person on the surface, what was more satisfying than being complimented by a close friend he had gone through lots of battles with?

------

Under the turtle shell… ahem, Zhao Manyan's protection, the group successfully arrived at the area protected by the yellow lightning.

From the outside, the pitch-black storm had concealed the color of the lightning bolts, only giving off a sense of destruction. However, as they went into the storm, they were shocked to discover that the wild and dense lightning was a part of the yellow magic ward.

"Can you crack the Ward open?" Mo Fan asked grimly.

The magic ward was a wall of aggressive magical energy. It could only be destroyed by an energy several times stronger. However, the ward also had its designated keyhole and key. If they could find the keyhole and the key, the magic ward was not really that terrifying or impassable.

"I can, the broken walls at the ruins provided me with some tips. I just need some time," answered Nanyu firmly.

"Hurry up; Zhao Manyan can't hold on for much longer," said Mo Fan.

Jiang Yu and Jiang Shaoxu were excited, too. It seemed like the real treasure of the ancient ruins was hidden inside the magic ward!

"I will let you know if I can't hold it much longer. Just hurry up, the wind is really strong here," Zhao Manyan told them all.

----

The others did not dare say a word as they patiently watched Nanyu crack the magic ward of yellow lightning open.

That being said, as a Magician specialized in cracking Magic Wards, Nanyu did not just take out a little wire and twist it around to crack the Ward. Her hand was hovering in front of the fierce lightning as she listened carefully to the rhythm of the magic ward with her heart, learning how it was operating and where its energy came from; was it repeating the same loop, or was its sequence random? If it was in a loop, when was its weakest period…

---

Time gradually passed. Zhao Manyan's face was slowly covered in sweat, as if he was struggling.

He never stopped casting spells; Water Barrier, Rock Barrier, Light Protection, Plummeting Rays, the rate of his energy consumption was rather shocking. If it weren't for the blue seals strengthening the defensive spells, he would have given up ten minutes ago.

"Nanyu, are you done yet?" Zhao Manyan finally asked.

"It's a bit tricky, if you can't hold on for much longer, let's go back first… mmm, why is your face so pale?" said Nanyu.

"My energy is almost depleted, why do you think my face is pale?" replied Zhao Manyan in an unpleasant voice.

Initially, no one realized there was something wrong with Zhao Manyan's sentence. However, Nanyu's question immediately froze the team.

"Didn't you preserve enough energy to go back?"

Didn't you preserve enough energy to go back!?

They had consumed a huge amount of energy as they ventured deeper into the storm. The journey was not short, either. Even though on the journey back, the wind would gradually weaken, they still needed the same amount of energy they consumed to come this far into the storm. Otherwise, the team would not last for more than half a minute in the storm!

Oh! My! Heavens!

This was nuts, everyone was about to go crazy!

Zhao Manyan was the only Magician with defensive spells on the team. The others would surely be killed within ten seconds judging how strong the wind was, but the idiotic Zhao Manyan did not preserve energy for their return journey, meaning that the group would simply be wiped out halfway!

"What the heck is wrong with you, Zhao Manyan?!" Jiang Shaoxu was the first to scream.

"Me? Didn't you all ask me to tell you when I'm about to run out of energy… I thought we could surely crack the Ward open!" Zhao Manyan was stunned.

Mo Fan felt like crying. It was his first time discovering that Zhao Manyan's intelligence was so heart-warming!

"What...what...what...what can...can we do...do!" Jiang Yu was so nervous that he was stammering.

This was no time for a joke. They were currently at the spot where the wind was the strongest. Even Advanced Magicians would be torn to pieces in seconds, and even their Magic Equipment would not last for long!

"What other choice do we have? Nanyu, open the Ward, hurry up and open the Ward! Going back now is only going to get us killed!" said Mo Fan.

Nanyu could feel cold sweat running down her face. She could not even understand the structure of the magic ward before when she was perfectly calm, let alone with the pressure she was feeling now when the death timer started to tick.

However, Nanyu was clearly aware that she had to crack the magic ward. Otherwise, they were all going to die here!

Nanyu did not waste any more time. She gathered all her focus on the magic ward.

"Let's not preserve our strength any longer. Hurry up and take out anything that can protect us, to buy Nanyu some time," Mo Fan ordered the others.

The trump cards that everyone had could mostly last for a little longer. It was surely not enough to protect them on their way back. Their only hope was to see if Nanyu could crack open the magic ward...

"I...I can last a little longer, but the rest is up to you all," said Zhao Manyan with a twisted expression.

The group consisted of rational people. It was meaningless to blame one another in a situation like this. The only thing they could do was to try their best to buy some time!

"I have a Triangular Water Mirror here, the energy of every Element can be used to support it, but the problem is, the rate of conversion isn't as effective. If we pour all our energy of non-defensive Elements into it, it might buy us another minute," said Jiang Yu.

"Two minutes," said Mo Fan.

Mo Fan had many Elements, and three of them had reached the Advanced Level. His supply of energy was enough to buy them another minute.

"No no no, Mo Fan, you should preserve your energy first. Once Nanyu cracks open the magic ward, there might still be danger inside. If we all use up all our energy, we'll be dead too. You should only pour your energy into it if we've emptied our energy..." said Jiang Shaoxu.

"Ugh, you're right, your intelligence is completely the opposite of Zhao Manyan's," Mo Fan nodded.

Zhao Manyan was on the verge of bursting into tears. He seriously thought Nanyu would crack the magic ward open, so he only gave his promise to hold on because of that...

"Take my spot for a while, I'll try replenish my energy, we'll take turns," Zhao Manyan quickly sat on the ground and activated a Magic Tool capable of replenishing his energy. He had to try his best to recover as much energy as he could. Otherwise, the others on the team would not even bother being his friends if they ended up in Hell.

----

Sweat poured down like rain. The sense of danger gradually grew stronger as the energy in their bodies slowly depleted.

However, none of them dared to say a word, as they were afraid that it would disturb Nanyu. They were staring at each other with wide-open eyes, and could see the nervous look and uneasiness in one another's eyes.

Mo Fan began to panic, too. -Hasn't Nanyu cracked the Ward yet?- Even if he poured all his energy into the Triangular Water Mirror, it would only buy the team another minute. The others were basically at their limit. Their faces had turned extremely pale.

Jiang Yu already had a sad face. He never thought he would die a horrible death in a place like this at such a young age...

"Follow behind me!" Nanyu realized time was of the essence. She ordered the others behind her without caring if the magic ward had been cracked open.

The others immediately followed Nanyu and stuck closely to her.

The group was surrounded by yellow lightning, sweeping past their skin by inches. Some just missed them above their heads. Their hearts immediately pounded heavily.

The yellow lightning was stronger than the wind. It would blast them into pieces of meat in seconds...

A yellow, fierce lightning bolt struck on the ground before Nanyu's feet, forcing her to pause in her tracks.

"It doesn't seem to be this way..." murmured Mo Fan.

The group was currently inside the area protected by yellow lightning. They could see lightning flickering everywhere around them. Their minds had gone blank from being worried about being turned into ashes at any second. They were purely following Nanyu on instinct.

"It should be this way," Nanyu turned to a specific direction and started moving that way.

"Should?" the four blurted out simultaneously.

"I haven't solved the ward yet. Instead of waiting for our death outside, we should just come in here and take it a step at a time. Just stick close to me, and follow my steps," said Nanyu grimly.

Mo Fan's face was as dark as it could possibly be. Why did he keep finding himself in crappy situations like this!?

----

"It looks like we've taken the right path. There won't be any problem from here onward," Nanyu's words were like gospel in the nervous atmosphere. Everyone immediately uttered a relieved sigh.

As they continued to follow Nanyu, the number of lightning arcs slowly decreased. The group suddenly felt like they had walked through a waterfall. The scene ahead cleared up after they overcame a slight resistance...

The place was green, and covered in flowers. A scenery that looked like one from a painting was in front of them. The group was stunned by the sight of it.

"Look, there's a city!" exclaimed Zhao Manyan, pointing further ahead.

At the end of the field of flowers stood a brightly colored small city. It did not look ancient even the slightest. It resembled a magical city inside a painting!

"How is this possible? We've clearly entered the eye of the storm. How did we end up in such a spacious place that looks like a paradise?" Jiang Shaoxu blurted out in disbelief.

"This must be a separated space. I believe... we've found the real ancient ruins!" exclaimed Mo Fan.