Taking the opportunity of traveling through books

A sudden change occurred in the ruins

The cracking noises overhead intensified, as if the entire ruins were about to collapse. Huge rocks crashed down from above, hitting the ground with a deafening thud. I clutched Hao Yang's hand tightly, my heart pounding so hard it threatened to burst out of my throat.

"Haoyang, we have to find a safe place!" I shouted, my voice almost drowned out by the noise around me.

Hao Yang also realized the urgency of the situation. He pulled me around to avoid the falling rocks, and anxiously searched the surrounding environment, trying to find a place where we could take temporary refuge.

"Over there!" he shouted, pointing to a depression not far away.

We stumbled over, risking the danger of falling rocks. Just as we were about to reach the depression, a fist-sized rock suddenly flew from the side and hit Hao Yang's arm hard.

"Ah!" Hao Yang groaned, and a bloody wound instantly appeared on his arm.

I supported him distressedly: "Hao Yang, how are you?"

He gritted his teeth, his face pale: "I'm fine, just a minor injury."

Even though he said that, I could tell he was in pain. I took out some medicine from my storage bag and carefully bandaged his wound.

"The system is still not responding?" he asked me while enduring the pain.

I shook my head, my heart filled with anxiety: "No reaction at all, just like last time in the secret realm."

The tremors in the ruins continued, becoming increasingly intense. Cracks began to appear in the depressions, threatening to collapse at any moment.

"We can't stay here," Hao Yang said solemnly, looking at the crumbling stone walls around him, "We must find a way to leave here."

I nodded, but at that moment, I felt powerless. The system was disabled, we had no idea what was going on around us, and we couldn't even find the source of the vibrations.

Just then, I felt a faint presence coming from behind me. I turned around and saw that it was the mysterious spirit. She was floating in the air, looking at us with a serious expression.

"You have to leave here," she said in a clear voice. "It's dangerous here."

"Do you know what happened?" I asked anxiously.

The elf shook her head. "I don't know, but this power is very strong. I feel..." She paused, a trace of fear flashing in her eyes. "I feel like some ancient seal is loosening..."

Her words startled both Hao Yang and me. An ancient seal? What was that? The elf slowly descended to the ground, gazing solemnly into the depths of the ruins, as if sensing something. Suddenly, she raised her head, her gaze settling on my hand—or, more precisely, the spirit bead in my hand…

The spirit's gaze was fixed on the orb in my hand. The flickering light seemed to resonate with her. She slowly spoke, "This orb... might be the key." Before I could elaborate, she flashed and soared lightly into the air, darting through the crumbling ruins like a nimble swallow.

"Where did she go?" Hao Yang asked worriedly, holding his injured arm.

I looked up at the direction the elf disappeared in, and I had a vague premonition in my heart: "She seems to have gone to investigate the situation."

We waited anxiously, the shaking around us showing no signs of abating, and the rubble above us continued to fall. As the seconds ticked by, my heart grew heavier.

Finally, the elf reappeared. She quickly flew back to us, a look of fear on her face. "I see it! In the center of the ruins, there's a powerful energy wave, like a giant vortex..."

"Whirlpool?" My heart tightened. "What is that?"

"I don't know," the elf shook his head, "but I feel like some ancient seal is loosening. This power is very strong. I don't know whether it is good or bad..."

The ancient seal... The elf's words plunged Hao Yang and me into deep thought. What secrets did this relic hide? What did the awakening of this power signify?

"We have to go and take a look." Hao Yang said with a firm look in his eyes.

I know he's right. We can't just sit there and wait for death. Even if the road ahead is filled with unknown dangers, we have to face them.

"Okay." I nodded and clenched the spirit bead in my hand.

We cautiously walked towards the center of the ruins. Along the way, the ruins shook more violently, and various traps were triggered. The ground suddenly cracked, spewing out scorching flames; sharp arrows shot out from the walls; and even huge stone balls fell from the sky...

We relied on our own agility and reaction to avoid these deadly traps. However, I was not careful and a protruding spike scratched my leg. I staggered and almost fell down due to the sharp pain.

"Wei Yao!" Hao Yang quickly supported me, "How are you?"

I gritted my teeth and shook my head: "I'm fine, let's keep going."

We continued on, getting closer and closer to the center of the ruins. Finally, we saw the energy vortex the elves had mentioned. It was a huge, swirling body of energy, emitting a terrifying aura, as if it was about to devour everything.

Looking at the vortex before our eyes, we all hesitated. We didn't know what would happen if we entered the vortex, and this unknown force made us feel terrified.

I turned to look at Hao Yang. His eyes were also full of worry, but more of it was determination.

"We..." Hao Yang took a deep breath, as if he had made a decision. He held my hand tightly, a glint flickering in his eyes. "Together," he said, and then took the first step toward the vortex...