Ai Changyuan lay on the ground, spitting out the blood in his mouth until, unexpectedly, a molar came out along with it. Looking disgustedly at the tooth, he mulled over it, "Should I just progress to Golden Core already? Not being able to chew hard things for years doesn't feel too good. I actually quite like gnawing on nuts."

While looking for a fixed point for Wu Shiqin, he came across a shallow footprint. The rocks on the sea's surface often had a soft layer of lichen, which made it easy to leave footprints. Ai Changyuan was certain his partner hadn't fallen near here. Hence, the footprint must have belonged to the "monkey that escaped from the landmass." After confirming the danger nearby, he abandoned the idea of taking Wu Shiqin deeper into the island and contacted his teammates along the seashore instead. He also used the calculator to communicate, as a means to probe for potential enemies in the vicinity.

"Such minor injuries can easily be healed after returning to Shenzhou," Wu Shiqin said with some frustration. "How are you now?"

"One more rib cracked, but not broken. And then... I'm not sure if there's any internal bleeding," Ai Changyuan moved his neck around, "That damn Dragon Clan... I really want to send my regards to their ancestors. Alerting us about the presence of Ancient Method Practitioners nearby by using a broad-range Spiritual Sense Transmission, now that group of Ancient Method Practitioners knows as well."

This was an unexpected situation. The Giant Dragon infected by the "Eternal True Color" had already lost control of its strength, and half of its final screaming was not aimed at Wang Qi and the other five but was broadcast over a wide area.

"It doesn't look like there's a big problem, though," Wu Shiqin finally felt somewhat relieved.

Ai Changyuan rubbed his face and chest on the ground and then slowly got up. At this moment, both he and Wu Shiqin had their hands bound, even their fingers were tied to prevent them from secretly forming Dharma Seals. Additionally, several needles were driven into their major acupoints, severing their mana inch by inch. Those from Emperor's Extreme Split Sky Dao had placed a "King's Mandate Fails Not" Forbidden Technique on them, thoroughly sealing their mana.

This Forbidden Technique was the one that the Nascent Soul Cultivator from Emperor's Extreme Heaven Splitting Dao used on Wang Qi, who easily broke it upon the first realization that mathematics could be applied to cultivation. However, Ai Changyuan did not know how to break this Forbidden Technique.

"Damn it." Seeing Ai Changyuan was all right, Wu Shiqin felt relieved but then a wave of annoyance hit her. Propping her head against the stone wall, she exclaimed resentfully, "Why on earth did you surrender?"

"My mana was exhausted. You were injured. Against three at the Core Formation Stage, we simply had no chance of winning," Ai Changyuan surveyed the stone cave meticulously as if observing something.

"Aren't you afraid that they might simply kill us?"

Ai Changyuan sighed, "Junior Sister, you passed the Guiyi Alliance exam, your mind can't be that bad, right? If they really wanted to kill us, there would be no need to accept our surrender! We still have value to them!"

"Value?"

"When I cried out 'Mercy, noble ones,' they actually ceased. That shows they didn't intend to kill us," Ai Changyuan said. "Moreover, they bothered to restrain us elaborately rather than simply disabling our powers, indicating they hope we can cooperate. During the interrogation just now, I became even more sure of this."

Wu Shiqin asked doubtfully, "How can you be so sure?"

Ai Changyuan turned his body, showing Wu Shiqin his right hand. Among the five fingers, three were unnaturally bent. "They broke my fingers, not chopped them off. There are many other signs as well. In short, they're avoiding causing me irreversible injuries, to prevent me from becoming desperate and resentful, which might lead to a breakdown in cooperation."

Wu Shiqin puzzled, "What exactly do they want?"

"Information, of course. They want to know why we came here, if their own actions have been exposed, how many Modern Cultivators have arrived here," Ai Changyuan said. "And then there are those things that every Cultivator wants."

Wu Shiqin still puzzled, "You mean Cultivation Techniques? If they are considering converting to Modern Cultivation, why would they…"

"They aren't looking to practice Modern Cultivation techniques. There are similarities between Modern and Ancient Methods on the 'technical' level, which they can learn from," Ai Changyuan said. "But they probably can't understand the Modern Cultivation secret manuals. I've heard that some Sects within the Ancient Methods write their manuals in their own cryptic language. To the Ancient Method Practitioners, our ancestral methods are just such 'secret codes'."

"So they want us to live... to translate the secret manuals?"

"Maybe they want us to directly condense our insights into a True Intent Inheritance?" Ai Changyuan postulated. "Besides, we're now within an ancient ruin. It's possible they intend to use us to disable traps? There could be many reasons."

"Despicable! I wouldn't submit to them even in death," Wu Shiqin exclaimed angrily.

Ai Changyuan lightly cautioned, "Don't speak so absolutely, Junior Sister."

He had a slight smile on his face when he said that, as if he was preparing to trick someone.

Wu Shiqin dropped the matter and asked, "Where are we now, what is this ruin?"

"I don't know," Ai Changyuan gestured with his lips, signaling her to look above: "However, I guess it has something to do with the 'Temple' the Giant Dragon mentioned."

There was a triangular dome. The three sides of the dome were each painted with various strange graphics, resembling hieroglyphics. Ai Changyuan faintly remembered that these depicted beasts that had long since gone extinct—the Qilin, Spirit Sense, Qiongqi, Five Bats, Feiyi, Jingwei, Luoyu Fish, Black Turtle, Dragon Whale... A peculiar design carved in the center of the ceiling went through all three sides of the triangle. It resembled the residual trace of a Giant Dragon swimming or perhaps a monster with multiple tentacles.

"Centrally symmetric... From a topological perspective, it seems this shape could be drawn in one stroke..."

Ai Changyuan and Wu Shiqin were thus crammed into a corner of the great hall. He could see the dome in its entirety. However, he stared at the ceiling with such intensity that to anyone else he would appear completely lost in his thoughts.

"Are these relics of the Primordial Demon Clan, or the Renewal Demon Clan?"

"What are these Ancient Method Practitioners doing here?"

"It's probably not archaeology. Grave robbing and looting is more their style; expecting them to conduct archaeological excavations is out of the question."

"But they shouldn't be digging through the relics of the Demon Clan either. The Renewal Demon Clan's Main God Dao usually relates to divine items. The Renewal Demon Clan has been extinct for over a million years, and their Divine Tao has long ceased to exist. To find items retaining even a tenth of their original power would be impressive."

"Or maybe..."

As Wu Shiqin saw Ai Changyuan's soul seem to drift away, she couldn't help but kick him, "Hey, what are you thinking about?"

"All in all, the important thing is we've survived. Nothing else matters, not at all," Ai Changyuan sounded as if he had truly given up. His body slumped, leaning onto Wu Shiqin. Just as she was about to scold him, she realized her right hand was grasped by Ai Changyuan's left.

Wu Shiqin felt Ai Changyuan scratching in her palm. She roughly knew what this meant and closed her eyes to feel more carefully.

Ai Changyuan was writing, "If you don't have to speak, don't. The more you say, the more mistakes you'll make." He repeated the message, fearing Wu Shiqin wouldn't understand clearly.

Wu Shiqin squeezed his hand and then wrote, "Do you have a plan?" She also wanted to thank him a few times but Ai Changyuan caught on after she wrote it once. He replied, "For now, none. Wait."

Wu Shiqin drew a "Doubt" Operator.

Ai Changyuan chuckled, "Don't underestimate them."

After finishing this sentence, Ai Changyuan released Wu Shiqin's hand and muttered under his breath, "Can't you let me have one last thrill before I die?"

This guy could really act... No, he was truly getting into character... Didn't he realize we were in a life or death situation?

At this moment, the confusion and slight disdain on Wu Shiqin's face weren't feigned.

With a resentful grunt, Ai Changyuan wriggled against the wall and squeezed out a small cloth bag from his clothes. The Ancient Method Practitioners had taken away their Storage Bags and Magic Artifacts, allowing them only to keep items with an obvious response to Spiritual Power on their persons. Ai Changyuan nudged the cloth bag open with his nose; inside were some more advanced fruits and snacks, many of which had been crushed.

But Ai Changyuan acted as though he didn't care at all, lying his face on the pile of mush and slowly eating.

Wu Shiqin exclaimed in urgency, "What are you doing... how can you act like this?"

"How else to endure the beating coming our way without eating something?"

Ai Changyuan, not at all ashamed but rather prideful, continued eating.

"You're a descendant of a Yuanli Master, after all..."

"A collateral line. The Yuanli Master never married in his lifetime, much less had descendants. My ancestor, to be exact, was the Yuanli Master's uncle."

Wu Shiqin wanted to say something else but when she saw apple fragments among the food Ai Changyuan swallowed, she held back her words.

"Is he preparing a counterattack? But so soon? Couldn't he wait until his injuries improved?"

Ai Changyuan carefully searched through the pile of crushed and smashed food. "Newton's Apple" was an artifact resulting from the Yuanli Master's enlightenment, influenced by the Sign of Becoming. It contained intrinsic Spiritual Power, but very faint. Those Ancient Method Practitioners, not having practiced Cultivation Techniques like the Wanxiang Heavenly Attraction, would not recognize the true nature of this fruit without close inspection.

"Old Wang mentioned before, calculators can save lives. When I was pushed here by the self-destruction of the Giant Dragon, I felt some power emanating from the calculator. But when Wu Shiqin and I fell into the hands of Ancient Method Practitioners, it didn't react at all. From the looks of it, it's just a last resort. Besides ensuring we won't die, it does nothing else. Probably some Great Power from the Immortal Alliance used the Ten Thousand Immortals Illusion Realm to protect Wang Qi."

"Which means, to escape, we must rely on ourselves."

"This fruit will regenerate, and keeping it on me risks discovery. If they find it, I'll probably be beaten more, and our last hope will be taken away. I must consume it quickly."

"However, the power of this fruit isn't very strong. It can add the finishing touch but can't provide critical aid. Among these Ancient Method Practitioners, there is at least one Nascent Soul and over ten Golden Cores. If my Power were still with me, naturally, I wouldn't fear them, and with this fruit, I might even defeat them easily. But without any Mana now, just with the power of the fruit, I can't beat them."

"For now, the only option is to refine the power of this fruit."

"Not into Mana, but into a Strength that can't be bound."

(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, I welcome you to vote for it with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)