Seeing the two stone pillars pointed out by Xiao Ji, Feng Yuan was momentarily stunned. After all, these looked similar to the other decorative pillars. However, upon sweeping them with his Divine Sense, Feng Yuan discovered the stone pillars contained a special energy circuit inside.
Could this be utilizing Omeilia’s technology? Feng Yuan was somewhat puzzled. The Yuhe Dynasty belonged to the Divine Land Region. Why would energy circuit technology, widely used in the Omeilia Region, appear here? Still, considering that the Black Sea wasn’t completely isolated and the trade routes of the People of the Great Sea existed, it didn’t seem entirely impossible for the Yuhe Dynasty to have grasped this technology.
Now that he knew what it was, it wasn’t hard for Feng Yuan to locate the mechanism. Borrowing some power from Xiao Ji, he manipulated the stone pillars for a while until faint yellow patterns slowly lit up on the two pillars. A faint yellow spherical Barrier began to form around the ruins, and Feng Yuan was startled upon witnessing this sight.
With a wave of his hand, Delong Tower caused the seawater to retreat from the ruins altogether, leaving the space occupied by the sea back into the sphere’s outer perimeter. Air surged into the area covered by the Barrier, gradually displacing the water.
"What is... happening here?"
Floating above the descending water surface, Qi Chen looked at Feng Yuan with a mixture of astonishment and skepticism. This was becoming quite strange—was this ancient ruin still functioning properly?
"It’s not specifically designed for underwater, but—what exactly is inside this ruin? It still appears to be operational?"
Scrutinizing the ancient rocky structure with suspicion, Feng Yuan furrowed his brow. If it was indeed functioning, the interior of this ruin likely posed considerable danger.
Just as Feng Yuan hesitated over whether to leave, the glowing patterns began to fade, and the yellow energy forming the Barrier flickered uncertainly, as though it could extinguish at any moment.
"Is this... its final flash before burnout?"
Examining the ruins intently, Feng Yuan muttered to himself with uncertainty. Delong Tower glanced at him and said,
"Do you want to go inside and take a look? I feel like this ruin doesn’t seem too dangerous."
Closing his eyes to quietly sense the energy flow here, Feng Yuan paused for a long time before saying,
"Alright, let’s go in and take a look. Follow behind me, Delong Tower, and I’ll rely on you to bring up the rear."
Nodding slightly, Delong Tower glanced at the ancient rocky ruins. Qi Chen hesitated and said,
"How about we just observe from the outside?"
"Are you not interested in this ruin?"
Turning to Qi Chen, Feng Yuan asked. Although he had some interest in the ruins, if Qi Chen and the others didn’t share that interest, it wasn’t a necessity to venture inside. After all, they were traveling together, and there was no reason for them to only cater to Feng Yuan’s excitement.
"It’s not that I’m not interested, but... could it lead to trouble?"
Qi Chen replied hesitantly. When it came to exploring ruins, he was naturally curious, especially ruins deeply submerged beneath the sea—no one knew whether they might contain Spirit Materials helpful for Spirit Beasts. While most Spiritual Medicine wouldn’t last for long periods of time, Spirit Materials were different. As long as the environment was suitable, Spirit Materials from the Mythical Era could still be preserved in modern times.
His real concern was whether he and Dou Yanlan might slow everyone down, as their abilities were somewhat lacking.
"That wouldn’t be the case. If you all have an interest, then we can go inside and take a look~"
Feng Yuan smiled gently and said, not particularly worried. After all, this ruin’s energy wasn’t very strong. Even if there was danger, Agunas and the others would be more than capable of handling it. Scooping Xiao Ji into his arms and pulling it close, Feng Yuan said,
"Let’s go—the door has already opened."
As the water continued to recede, a stone door silently opened. The door had originally been covered by parasitic organisms, so Feng Yuan hadn’t noticed it. It was only now that he realized the entrance was here.
"This design... doesn’t seem much like the Divine Land Region..."
Inside the corridor, Feng Yuan muttered as he examined the smooth walls. Buildings in the Divine Land Region rarely had walls polished to such a degree, as structures mainly consisted of brick masonry, with surfaces coated in materials that couldn’t be smoothed. Yet this ruin was entirely constructed from enormous stone slabs. Without the Dynasty Era-style decorative elements commonly found in the Divine Land Region, Feng Yuan might have suspected Delong Tower had made a mistake.
"No matter how you look at it, this doesn’t seem typical. Could the Yuhe Dynasty have..."
Veronia cast a skeptical glance at Agunas. Being uninterested in history, it naturally didn’t know what was significant about this area, but Feng Yuan’s expression seemed strange.
"Let me check. This situation feels unusual."
Pulling out a book, Agunas began flipping through it. Even it was puzzled by these developments. How could the culture of the Yuhe Dynasty possibly match that of Omeilia? Unless...
"Were there spies infiltrating from Omeilia during the Dynasty Era? They certainly did this sort of thing quite often."
Scanning the surroundings casually, Delong Tower spoke without concern. Having experienced that period in history, how could it not know what had occurred? Back then, nations frequently infiltrated one another with spies. Whenever internal conflicts erupted, one or two peculiar countries would always emerge.
Initially, there were efforts to weed them out, but later, they were largely left unchecked. Though actions taken weren’t proactive, it was never too challenging to eliminate them once a suitable excuse arose.
"Indeed, the Yuhe Dynasty did have connections to Salontia—or perhaps this was their espionage outpost established in the Divine Land Region. However, the dynasty’s collapse was so abrupt that they were wiped out before they could capitalize on it."
Closing the book in hand, Agunas said. Delong Tower glanced at Agunas and remarked,
"That’s typical. Having too many nations using spies overwhelmed them, and once the right opportunity arose, dealing with them became relatively simple."
"What happened to their citizens afterward?!"
Suddenly recalling something, Qi Chen asked anxiously. Next to him, Dou Yanlan pondered aloud,
"So that’s the origin of destroying nations without harming civilians?"
"Destroying nations... without harming civilians?"
Before Delong Tower could respond, Dou Yanlan spoke. Qi Chen looked at her in disbelief. Nodding, Dou Yanlan sighed and said,
"That’s correct. It was mentioned in history lessons. Though it seemed odd, this practice was upheld as evidence of the Divine Land Region’s high level of civilization at the time. Wars, yet minimal harm to civilians—it seems almost incredible."
If these were spy agencies masquerading as nations, the rationale was clear. Perhaps the monarch was an Omeilian, but the lower-class civilians were undoubtedly ordinary people. Once the truth was uncovered, ordinary subjects wouldn’t defend their monarch’s actions.
After all, such spies rarely managed their kingdoms well. No one truly knew their intentions—it wasn’t unusual to suspect them of ulterior motives. An Omeilian laboriously establishing a kingdom in the Divine Land Region? Hardly convincing that there wasn’t some hidden agenda. Follow such rulers, and one might end up sold off without realizing.
"Crystal Power Crystals? Is this what’s powering the energy here? No wonder."
After wandering around for a while, the group arrived at the Energy Core. Upon seeing the faintly glowing massive crystal suspended mid-air, Feng Yuan immediately understood. No wonder the ruin had soaked in the Black Sea for so long and still retained excess energy—it utilized Crystal Power Crystals as its energy source.
"This... seems quite special?"
Scratching his head, Qi Chen struggled to recall. He vaguely remembered his teacher introducing similar topics, but the passage of time had wiped it from his memory. Dou Yanlan glanced at Qi Chen and explained,
"Crystal Power Crystals are created by Spirit Beasts compressing energy elements into a solid state using their unique abilities. The production method is simple, but the energy supply is stable, making it the primary energy source used in Omeilia for a significant period. However, with the advent of electric power and reusable Charged Energy Storage Devices in modern times, these were completely abandoned."
"In terms of energy stability, few modern technologies can rival these. Yet their fatal flaw lies in energy output efficiency. Its efficiency is too low—even current City Defense Systems would fail to operate. Therefore, it was phased out."
Regretfully observing the massive crystal, Feng Yuan said. The low energy output efficiency was its Achilles’ heel. Otherwise, such crystals could still find use in the modern age. Even within its optimal usage domain, cheaper alternatives existed. For applications requiring stable power, Crystal Power Crystals remained impractical.
"Should we take it with us? Leaving it here doesn’t serve much purpose~"
Smirking mischievously, Feng Yuan made the suggestion casually. Rolling his eyes, Agunas retorted,
"What purpose would it serve if you took it? Besides, you’re capable of making such things yourself, aren’t you?"

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