After Magu affirmed the nine moons were indeed related to the secrets of the Taishang Daoism and explained what caused such a strange phenomenon to occur, the cultivators were shocked but incredibly excited and reassured. Of course, there were also those who had their suspicions. Precisely how far had the Xunlong clan managed to search to? Where did they get this theory of the nine moons? And why did the Xunlong clan repeatedly risk themselves when the nine moons hadn’t yet occurred?

　　Magu seemed to know precisely what was on everyone’s mind, and her voice was neither hurried nor anxious as she slowly explained, “Although we the Xunlong clan knew the cause of the nine moons rising, we were never sure if it would truly occur. The Taishang Daoism has been destroyed for countless years; without anyone controlling the formation, why would it open up for no reason at all? Heh, to put it another way, not even I believed the nine moons would rise before I saw this red moon with my own eyes. Or specifically, since it already occurred once before, I believed it might never occur again….” She let out a sigh and continued, “However, if my father had known the nine moons would actually rise, he certainly wouldn’t have chosen to enter the depths forty years ago. He would have instead chosen to rest and prepared for now to enter!”

　　At these words, the cultivators all let out long breaths and finally believed her explanation. At the same time, the white-robed head elder of the Baiyue clan softly replied, “Our condolences to those who’ve passed. Your father and clansmen have done things that are beyond all of us; their courage is incredibly inspiring, and their ambition is worthy of great praise. As cultivators, do we not know well what happens should we go against the heavens? Do not let your sorrow weigh you down. I wonder; the Xunlong clan searched for thousands of years, how far into the ruins’ depths does your knowledge extend?”

　　Magu released a soft sigh. “Thank you, Esteemed Senior Linglong. To tell the truth, Magu wanted to take this chance of the nine moons rising to complete the wish left behind from my deceased senior clansmen to investigate the depths of the Guixu Ruins. However, the Xunlong clan has only me and I am unable to complete this task alone; the only option I have is to ally with all the seniors here. What my ancestors discovered about the Guixu Ruins, Magu will share with everyone without daring to hide anything. However, some secrets are very crucial and cannot be easily revealed in front of everyone, so please do understand, dear seniors.

　　“Magu can tell everyone the paths to enter the Guixu Ruins’ depths, the locations of the powerful peril beast nests within, the method to avoid the chaotic voids, the secret detour from the black thunder swamp, and the method to resolve the Taishang Daoism palace’s outer remnant formation. In other words, we Xunlong clan can do it all….” Magu suddenly paused, and her glistening eyes swept across everyone from behind the veil of her bamboo hat. “Magu is sure to guide everyone to the ruins of the Taishang palace. What everyone needs to consider is how to get inside afterwards….”

　　“Really?”

　　“Miss Magu, you’re not lying to us, right?”

　　“If that’s the case, wouldn’t taking the treasures of the Taishang Daoism be as simple as stretching out one’s hand?”

　　“Are there any methods of leaving the Guixu Ruins within that secret place?”

　　Magu’s words seemed to light a grenade and countless voices with various tones all rose at once. Everyone had been worried about how they’d get into the depths of the Guixu ruins past the peril beasts, chaotic voids, and black thunder swamps, yet Magu had unexpectedly spoken of it all in one go. What else was there to worry about? Once they passed through all these dangers, the nine moons were in the sky, and the Taishang formation was shut down, wouldn’t that mean all they had to do was enter the ruined palace?

　　However, the head elders of the Fengtian clan, Yushou clan, and Baiyue clan all began to slightly crease their brows. They were all extremely experienced and sly to the core and naturally wouldn’t believe such a good thing would land in front of them at no cost, so such words left them suspicious instead.

　　As expected, once the round of questions had calmed down, Magu slowly replied, “I only said I have the ability to guide everyone to the ruined palace, but I did not say I have the ability to guide everyone there safely. In fact, this path is extremely dangerous and perhaps a single startled seventh-tier peril beast will wipe all of us out…. Magu cannot guarantee there will be no accidents!”

　　The joy within the cultivators instantly dimmed and they began to recollect themselves, while the clan head elders all nodded to themselves—this all made a little more sense.

　　Magu gently looked at everyone and continued, “There is another problem Magu must mention to all the seniors here in advance. To us the Xunlong clan, getting into the depths of the Guixu Ruins and even getting to the ruined palace is no difficult task. The most difficult is actually how to pass the Gate of the Foremost Perils in front of the ruined palace. If this issue is not solved, even if we were to safely arrive, we might still end up returning without anything gained!”

　　“Gate of the Foremost Perils?”

　　It was the first time most of the cultivators here had ever heard of this name and they felt a shudder in their hearts. “Miss Magu, did you not say the Taishang formation would be opened?” someone asked. “What is this Gate of the Foremost Perils?”

　　Magu released a soft sigh. “The Gate of the Foremost Perils isn’t related to the Taishang Formation itself, it’s just the gate to enter the palace ruins. When the nine moons rise, the formations inside the ruins will completely open up like a clan welcoming their very important guests, but these kinds of methods of opening the formation reveal only a single path out of many and the remaining areas will become far more dangerous. The reason behind this, I’d imagine you all understand, right?

　　“The entrance in front of the Taishang palace ruins is the Gate of the Foremost Perils. Legend has it that before the Taishang Daoism was struck by disaster, they poured the blood of the Foremost Peril beasts over the gateposts. Those wronged souls of the Foremost Peril Beasts covered the gates and haven’t dispersed ever since, causing anyone who gets close to have their soul dispersed with a curse.. Those who have only their cultivation destroyed are considered the fortunate ones….”

　　Her tone grew heavier as she spoke. “Our Xunlong ancestors searched the depths who knows how many times. Records say they arrived in front of the Gate of the Foremost Perils four times and failed to enter all four times, resulting in the deaths of an untold number of clansmen. Without any other choice, we gave up the idea of trying to enter the palace ruins through the main entrance and instead considered entering from the other areas, but the defensive formations are just too mysterious and difficult. We the Xunlong clan are most proficient in solving formations, but even after studying them for thousands of years, there hasn’t been even an inch of advancement….”

　　From the moment she appeared, Magu had revealed all she knew without hiding anything, causing her to gain the trust of the cultivators present. When they heard how serious she sounded now, even the Fengtian clan’s head elder spoke with great solemnity. “Since Miss Magu has mentioned this gate, do you have any methods of a solution?”

　　“I didn’t before,” Magu gently replied. “The Foremost Perils were the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, and Black Tortoise. They were the most powerful tribes of ancient peril beasts, so how could the forbidden curse formed using their blood be easily resolved? The ancestors of our Xunlong clan once used the blood essence of hundreds of peril beasts, but none were able to resolve the vicious currents over that gate. Without any other options, they gave up wanting to enter the palace ruins from the main gate. Even my ancestors were left without any option, so how could I—Magu—have the ability? However, perhaps it was the wishes of the heavens, as during this once in a three-thousand-years occurrence, Magu heard some news—news that a true dragon has appeared within the Guixu Ruins!”

　　“Eh?”

　　Everyone looked towards Magu in surprise and silence filled the area, whereas Fang Xing who’d been secretly listening in on the discussion from below the altar creased his brows with alarm.

　　“There’s a true dragon within the Guixu Ruins?” the head elder of the Baiyue clan asked in astonished surprise.

　　The smaller clans were chatting even more animatedly among themselves, and their expressions were filled with utter shock as though hearing this for the first time. Only the head elders of the Fengtian clan and Yushou clan showed faces that were serious and without any surprise, as though they’d known this well in advance.

　　Based on Fang Xing’s understanding, when he and the red dragon first entered the Guixu Ruins, he went into seclusion for two years and the red dragon guarded him the entire time without moving too far away. The location also happened to have some powerful peril beasts so no one went to investigate, to the point not even the Hentian clan—the one closest to the location—managed to discover the red dragon’s presence. When Fang Xing entered the Hentian clan, the clan also wanted to keep the news of the red dragon a secret and had prohibited the clansmen from spreading it.

　　There really weren’t many people who knew about the red dragon, but the Fengtian clan and Yushou clan were near the Hentian clan and the relationships between them were complex—It was only natural they would both have spies in the Hentian clan. It wasn’t too unusual for them to have known about the dragon in advance, but Fang Xing was still confused; why had the Xunlong girl mentioned the dragon?

　　“What Miss Magu means is…?” the Fengtian head elder gently spoke, asking the same question on Fang Xing’s mind.

　　“If someone wishes to resolve the Foremost Perils Forbidden Curse, it is only possible through sacrificing the blood of a peril beast,” Magu softly replied. “My Xunlong ancestor tired using the blood of hundreds of peril beasts, but all failed, and my ancestors understood one thing ever since: the Gate of the Foremost Perils cannot be resolved through the blood of ordinary peril beasts. If one wishes to succeed, they must use the blood essence of one of the Foremost Perils themselves….”

　　When the Fengtian and Yushou head elders heard this, their eyes seemed to momentarily flicker with thought.

　　Magu’s words were calm and unhurried. “Hence, if we want to see the secrets of the Guixu Ruins’ depths, we must first find that red dragon. If we do not use the dragon blood essence as a sacrifice, I’m afraid even if we did arrive before the palace in the depths of the Guixu Ruins, we would only repeat the wrongs of my ancestors, making all our efforts in gathering so many people and assets all in vain. What are the thoughts of all esteemed seniors?”

　　Everyone quickly grew silent until only the gentle passing of the wind could be heard, but Fang Xing had already tightly clenched his fists from the shadows.