William Harris had been observing all along. Brian Brooks was growing impatient, but he didn’t dare rush things. He had a major weakness: his understanding of formations was extremely poor.

Now, seeing the barrier lake, Brian Brooks finally understood that there must be many powerful formations within the ruins—otherwise, it would be impossible to collapse a mountain. Grace Morgan hadn’t been wrong just now; he really had been too hasty.

Although Grace Morgan had called him brainless, once Brian Brooks realized what was going on, he was no longer angry. He said, “So what do we do? Just stand here and watch?”

William Harris smiled and said, “Of course not. Let’s find a suitable spot and carefully observe the ruins.”

This time, the three of them flew quite slowly. William Harris’s target was a snow-capped mountain.

This mountain was extremely tall. In the eyes of the local natives, it was a sacred peak—Gagong Snow Peak. “Gagong” means “sacred peak.”

Even though they were flying slowly, to ordinary mortals it looked like three blurry figures shooting rapidly toward the snow peak. In just a few breaths, the three landed atop Gagong Snow Peak.

A biting cold wind whipped their robes, making the hems flap loudly. The three looked down, each one dumbfounded.

Chapter Six: Charles Bennett

Before them lay a complete ruin, stretching several kilometers, covered by a massive crimson barrier. No wonder even the sky here was red—the clouds above were illuminated by the red glow, looking like a dazzling sunset.

Even someone as rough as Brian Brooks couldn’t help but exclaim, “Magnificent! Damn… it’s beautiful!”

Grace Morgan murmured to herself, “Is this the ancient Chao Xian Sect? Truly remarkable! So beautiful!”

There were two layers of clouds: one above the mountain peak, one around its waist. The lower layer was thin, allowing them to glimpse part of the barrier through the clouds.

“What I see isn’t beauty… but a deadly killing intent!”

A trace of seriousness appeared in William Harris’s eyes. He was an expert in restrictive formations, and with just one glance, he recognized that the grand formation below was intact.

Within the formation, countless smaller restrictive arrays were nested layer upon layer—many of them rare killing arrays, with all sorts of traps and dangers. The most terrifying thing was that all of this was fully activated.

Brian Brooks didn’t have this level of understanding. Grace Morgan was a bit better; her knowledge of formations was only slightly above Brian Brooks’s, but she was extremely sensitive to traps. After a brief observation, her expression also turned cold. “It’s definitely dangerous!”

“Let’s go down and take a look, shall we? Maybe we can just break in!” Brian Brooks said impatiently, feeling that William Harris was wasting time.

But William Harris refused to leave, replying calmly, “The scenery here is nice. Let’s enjoy it for a while.”

With that, he found a relatively flat spot and sat down. From this position, he could see the whole ruin—though for now, clouds blocked part of the view, so only a portion was visible.

Grace Morgan was very clever. Knowing that William Harris wanted to observe the grand formation, she giggled and said, “Hehe, I’ll rest for a bit too. Old Two, if you want to go, you go first!”

That “Old Two” almost made Brian Brooks roar, but seeing William Harris lost in thought as he gazed at the ruins, he didn’t dare shout. He grumbled, “Who’s Old Two? Who’s Old Two… You’re Old Two… Is it so hard to call me Old Bear?”

Grace Morgan just kept giggling, as if teasing Brian Brooks had become her way to pass the time.

William Harris paid no attention to their bickering, focusing all his attention on the ruins. Because of the clouds, he could only see parts through the gaps; only when the clouds moved could he see new areas.

He always liked to have a clear grasp of the situation, so his task was not only to study each restrictive formation, but also to memorize the terrain. Once inside the ruins, it would be impossible to see the whole picture, and he needed to identify key locations to plan his route.

The clouds weren’t moving quickly, so William Harris had to wait. During this time, he silently analyzed and memorized everything.

Grace Morgan closed her eyes to meditate.

Brian Brooks was bored out of his mind, his huge head swaying from side to side. He was extremely impatient, but couldn’t rush things, which made him feel very stifled.

Suddenly, he saw a few black dots flying in from the distance—other cultivators were approaching. He couldn’t help but stand up.

He glanced at the still-entranced William Harris, then at the meditating Grace Morgan. Unable to hold back, Brian Brooks leapt from the mountain peak, and halfway down, suddenly took flight.

Despite his burly build, Brian Brooks was as nimble as a yellow oriole in the air. In an instant, he flew into the forest below, then dashed off in the direction he remembered.

In no time, Brian Brooks saw those black dots land—right at the edge of the restrictive formation, where the red glow was even more intense up close.

Brian Brooks stealthily perched on a branch of a towering ancient tree, peering through the gaps in the leaves to spy on the newcomers.

He recognized the leading cultivator—it was Brian Brooks’s nemesis. “It’s actually Charles Bennett! That bastard came too…” he muttered to himself, scheming how he might trip the guy up.

Charles Bennett’s strength was about equal to Brian Brooks’s. The two were arch-enemies; whenever they met, a fight was inevitable. But since their abilities were evenly matched, their battles usually ended in a draw, with both sides suffering. That’s why Brian Brooks didn’t jump out to start a fight—there was no point, and the other side had backup.