CHAPTER 232: GEMSTONE PATH

Hearing Selina’s words, everyone instantly became curious and asked for more details.

Selina was completely open and explained, "Some ruins that used to be buried deep underground, places so inaccessible that explorers never had the ability to reach them, have, for some unknown reason, recently started moving outward. On top of that, the conditions that once made them impossible to approach have changed, and now certain ruins can actually be reached."

She mentioned she had been preparing to explore one such ruin and, having discovered it might not be very dangerous, had returned here to retrieve her two disciples left behind, intending to take them along to gain some experience.

"Can we go together to take a look?"

Carlotta asked.

"Of course you can."

Selina didn’t refuse.

That particular ruin wasn’t hidden anyway. Even if she had said no, continuing on their current path, the group would eventually encounter it.

Thus, the six of them immediately headed toward the direction Selina indicated.

Along the way, their figures intermittently flicker in and out of existence.

Selina warned them, "Although our forms disappear and quickly reappear, if we don’t hold tightly together, there’s still a chance that during one disappearance, someone might never reappear."

"Currently, the Central Ruins are filled with intense spatial fluctuations. Spatial forces are continuously at work, this cannot be ignored."

Selina stated seriously.

She and her two disciples each held onto the same alchemical rope, ensuring they wouldn’t be separated.

Carlotta and Amelia held hands, so they didn’t need to worry about such things. The only one potentially at risk of being separated was the High Priestess.

Immediately, the High Priestess produced a rope, holding one end himself while extending the other toward Carlotta.

Seeing this, Carlotta had no choice but to take it.

Not long after, the group arrived before a ruin. This ruin was a city within a valley, emanating an overwhelming sense of decay and antiquity the moment they approached.

The city stood completely empty, devoid of everything, presenting a scene of utter silence and death.

"This is the ruin that previously didn’t exist."

Selina said.

Originally, this place was nothing but an overgrown, grassy valley. Now, an entire city had suddenly squeezed into it.

"Although these ruins appear so suddenly on the outskirts is astonishing, it’s also exciting. Many people have specifically rushed here to explore. After all, before these changes, everyone was unable to explore these ruins."

Selina added.

Amelia looked at the city before them and murmured thoughtfully, "I seem to have heard of this city before."

"It’s normal you’ve heard of it. In the past, many people saw this city deep within, but were unable to approach it. You’re quite lucky, just arriving at the Central Ruins and already being able to enter this city."

Selina smiled.

As she spoke, the group entered the city.

Before entering, Carlotta noticed numerous footprints embedded in the ground’s soil.

Noticing Carlotta’s gaze, Selina said, "The appearance of this city has drawn in many people. Clearly, some individuals entered before us."

Exploring the Central Ruins was inherently dangerous, but anyone who had become a Resonator possessed the capability to explore. Of course, Resonators couldn’t venture too deep, or problems would arise.

But now that deep ruins had moved to the suburbs, it was hard to say whether such exploration still counted as ’going too deep.’

The vast city appeared slightly desolate, yet its buildings remain well-preserved. All vegetation, however, had withered away, leaving only lifeless stumps.

Thin, wispy mists coiled throughout the city, limiting visibility and obscuring distant views.

Suddenly, the group noticed a figure stumbling out from the mist ahead, rapidly approaching them.

As it drew closer, they finally saw it was a man drenched in blood, looking extremely miserable, his injuries appearing shockingly severe.

"Urrraaaaaah!"

The man screamed wildly as he ran, seeming driven mad by some stimulus, his appearance utterly frenzied.

Soon, the man reached right before them, gave the group a ghastly smile, then collapsed with a thud, lifeless.

Frowning, Selina sent her disciple forward to inspect him. The result came back quickly.

"He’s dead."

Selina stated.

To them, this was merely a minor incident. Exploring a place like the Central Ruins, how could there possibly be no danger?

Yet, just as the group prepared to walk past the corpse and continue onward, the High Priestess suddenly stopped.

Seeing this, Carlotta also paused and asked, "What’s wrong?"

At that moment, the High Priestess was staring intently at the corpse, his brows slightly furrowed, as if he had noticed something significant.

Hearing Carlotta’s question, the High Priestess hesitated slightly before saying, "Strange... the injuries on this person don’t seem to have been caused by Magic Path or Knight Path techniques. Rather, they resemble traces left by someone from the Gem Path."

Gem Path?

Carlotta’s expression instantly changed. That was an extraordinary path that didn’t exist in this world, limited only to other worlds.

"Gem Path? What’s that?"

Selina looked over in confusion.

To this, Carlotta and the others found it difficult to explain.

She shook her head and said, "Nothing. Let’s keep going, but we need to be more cautious."

Selina felt that Carlotta’s group was acting mysteriously, but she didn’t press further.

The group continued forward, stepping deeper into the mist, where visibility was once again severely limited.

They hadn’t walked far when another figure stumbled into view.

It was a woman, also covered in blood and looking pitiful, though her condition was slightly better than the man they’d encountered earlier, she was still breathing.

Selina stepped forward and handed her a bottle of alchemical potion capable of healing injuries.

At the same time, she asked, "What happened to you?"

The woman took the potion and gulped it down rapidly. Immediately, her injuries began to ease. The effect was unexpectedly potent, causing a look of surprise to appear on her face.

Then she answered, "I encountered someone I couldn’t handle. She spoke strange words, I couldn’t understand anything she said, but she was truly powerful. Her fighting style was extremely bizarre. I’ve never seen anything like it before. Strange as it was, it was undeniably strong."

Her expression was somewhat shaken, as if that experience had left deep psychological scars.

The woman introduced herself as Testia, an ordinary adventurer from the Wendell Empire. She spoke earnestly about the person she had encountered, her expression still filled with lingering fear.

"That person was chasing me just moments ago. I don’t know if they’ve pursued me down here."

Testia glanced back nervously.

"There truly is someone approaching."

Carlotta spoke, gazing into the depths of the mist.

Upon hearing this, Selina froze. She hadn’t sensed anyone’s presence at all. Yet in the next instant, her expression shifted, she truly detected someone rapidly drawing closer from within the weapon’s depths.

Her face changed again, surprised as she glanced at Carlotta. She hadn’t expected Carlotta’s perception to surpass her own.

Everyone turned their eyes toward the mist. Not long after, a silhouette emerged from within, then stepped forward out of the haze.

It was a woman dressed in a simple white robe, neither young nor old in appearance, with purple hair and emerald eyes, giving off a slightly eerie aura.

Seeing the newcomer, Selina was first startled, then let out a breath. "You startled me. I thought some powerful expert had arrived, but it’s just an early tier Resonator after all."

In her understanding, no matter how strong a Resonator might be, they were still only a Resonator. And especially one of the lowest rank.

The recently injured woman, Testia, was also an early tier Resonator.

Seeing that the newcomer had hostile intentions and threatening eyes, Selina immediately ordered her disciple beside her: "Go and capture her. I need to ask some questions."

She had two disciples, one male, one female.

The female disciple was a middle tier Resonator. The male disciple was an early tier Resonator.

Right away, upon receiving the order, the male disciple stepped forward.

Although both were low-rank Resonators, in a same-tier battle, Selina didn’t believe her disciple would lose. After all, this was a disciple she personally trained, and even her father, the First Sword Saint Xavier, occasionally offered a few pointers. Thus, she believed her disciple will never fall in fight against peers of the same rank.

Yet what happened next nearly made Selina’s eyes pop out.

Her disciple, brandishing a longsword and bathed in holy light, charged forward without hesitation. But almost instantly, he was sent flying by a single blow, blood spraying, his appearance pitiful.

The opponent’s method was simple, merely raising a hand and striking the empty air before she was enough to send her disciples flying.

This proved one thing clearly: the gap between them was enormous, the only explanation for such a result.

"I’ll go."

Selina’s female disciple immediately spoke up.

"No."

Selina grabbed her, saying, "I’ll handle this myself."

For an early tier Weaver to confront a early tier Resonator might seem like bullying, but she could clearly see her disciple stood no chance. Not even her middle tier Resonator female disciple would fare better.

This person before them was simply too strange.

"Who exactly are you?"

Selina asked solemnly, stepping forward.

The eerie woman didn’t answer, but her expression turned serious. She raised her hand, and between her fingers appeared several gemstones.

As the gemstones lightly touched each other, an indescribable power ripple spread outward. Then, she released a burst of multicolored light forward. The light carried a destructive wave, rushing straight toward Selina’s face.

Selina couldn’t help but flinch. Could this person really be just an early tier Resonator? Why, with just one move, did she feel her two disciples would be utterly helpless?

Was this truly the destructive power a Resonator should possess?

Although her mind churned with complex thoughts, Selina didn’t hesitate to act. A sword appeared in her hand, which she thrust sharply forward. A dazzling light flashed, slicing through the incoming multicolored rays as if tearing them apart.

Then she advanced quickly, closing in on the eerie woman. No matter what techniques the opponent used next, she easily broke through them all. In the end, her sword settled firmly against the eerie woman’s neck without much difficulty.

The eerie woman wasn’t her match. Yet Selina’s heart pounded wildly.

From this battle, she could tell that although the opponent held only the rank of early tier Resonator, her actual combat strength rivaled that of a peak tier Resonator.

This was utterly unreasonable. Her heart trembled. If not for being a Weaver herself, she might not have won. In other words, if this opponent reached middle tier Resonator, would she still stand a chance? And if she became a peak tier Resonator?

"Who are you?"

Selina asked gravely.

The eerie woman frowned and spoke some words, but Selina couldn’t understand a single syllable.

Selina then called over Carlotta and the others, saying, "This person’s combat strength is severe beyond normal bounds. What do you think is going on?"

Carlotta was momentarily stunned, then instinctively said, "Not really that impressive?"

An early tier Resonator couldn’t defeat an early tier Weaver. To her, it seemed nothing extraordinary. After all, even in her days before returning to the brightest path, she could have beaten such an opponent.

Still, she understood the reason behind the opponent’s strength. The High Priestess also clearly understood.

"It truly is the Gemstone Path."

The High Priestess said softly, his expression solemn.

The world where the Gemstone Path exists as a Transcendent route was long gone. This world had no Gemstone Path. Yet here stood a person walking upon it.

Selina hadn’t heard the High Priestess’s words, but she did hear Carlotta’s, and frowned. "What do you mean ’not really that impressive’? Someone this severely overpowered clearly has a serious issue. We can’t ignore this."

Then she asked the others if they understood what the eerie woman was saying.

In this world, languages are diverse. Selina assumed the woman was simply speaking some language she didn’t know.

Hearing this, Carlotta glanced at the High Priestess. She truly didn’t understand the woman’s language, it wasn’t from World Two.

The High Priestess stared deeply at the eerie woman, then spoke in the same language.

The eerie woman was startled, then began conversing with the High Priestess. As they spoke, reverence appeared on her face. She didn’t even care that Selina still had a sword pointed at her. She stepped back two paces and bowed respectfully, showing her reverence for the High Priestess.

This scene left Selina stunned, her face filled with confusion.

Carlotta explained, "This woman comes from afar. In that distant land, Lady Bova holds a position of great reverence. That’s why she shows such respect. In short, there’s no need for hostility between us."

Hearing this, Selina reluctantly withdrew her sword.