The next morning everyone was fully prepared for the next 2 years and had gathered all of the things that they might need.

Cole and Erika had arranged for the previous head of the Zaria Family to watch over it for the next 2 years as well as asking some of their trusted friends to make sure things keep running smoothly. The 6 Zaria family children that participated in the training over the last month also said bye to their parents as they might be away for the next 2 years. The village women didn’t have family or things to prepare and only gathered the stuff that they currently have with them. Those who had space rings that they had taken from the dead bandits packed them full of food as that is what Mira recommended. Everybody was ready to set off now. Mira stepped in front of everyone to quickly talk to them.

“We are about to set off. Me, Cole, Erika, Maria, and the 6 people from the Zaria Family will leave first. We will do the same thing we did when we first entered the city. Separate yourselves into 50 groups of 10 and leave at different intervals. We will wait for you in the same spot from 1 month ago. Let’s go!” Mira said as they separated into 50 groups of 10 and Mira left with the 9 others.

They made it out of the city relatively quickly and made their way towards the part of the forest they hid at when they were entering the city.

After a while, the groups of 10 started to make their way out of the city. It took several hours for everyone to make it out of the city, but it seemed nobody got stopped by the guards. Mira just nodded and told everyone to follow her.

,m They made their way towards the small cave at the border of the Core and Inner Region of the Forest at a relatively quick pace. There wasn’t anything for them to do in this part of the forest so they didn’t need to stop for anything. Magical beasts also didn’t mess with them while they were in the forest.

They only trekked through the forest for 3 days before they reached the area that the small cave was located. It was still hard to look for even though Mira had memorized the location of the cave. Mira had to look around for a whole day before she was finally able to spot the small cave that led to the ruins.

“That’s the entrance to the ruins where the trial will be held. Look for a golem-looking creature who calls itself the caretaker and he will guide you around the city. He should be expecting around 500 people sometime in the future as I had mentioned to him that you lot will be coming here.” Mira said as she turned to the 500 women that followed her here.

“I will come back to pick you up in 2 years. I expect you all to complete the trial.” Mira said to them as she got out of the way and gestured for everyone to enter the cave. They had to go in 1 by 1 as it was too small for several people to go in at the same time.

“Goodbye, Mom and Dad! I love you and good luck! I will try to make sure that the Zaria Family is taken care of while you are gone. Stay safe!” Maria said to her parents as she hugged them. Maria started to let out small tears as well as she just got back to see her parents, but they are already leaving. Even though she will miss them, Maria knew that this is something that they should do and they are both almost 40 as well. If they wait much longer, they won’t be able to enter the ruins.

“We love you too, Maria. Stay safe while we are gone and if you need to make any important decisions then feel free to consult Ariel and Avery’s Fathers. You can also talk to Mira about it, but if it involves the family then try to stick with asking people within the family.” Cole said as he embraced his daughter.

“That’s right Maria. We both love you. If Mira is still with you, then you can consult with her about any issues. I’m sure that she will be able to come up with logical solutions to any issues you might have. We will be sure to live and see you again in 2 years. Just wait for us, okay?” Erika said sweetly as Maria just nodded.

After they said goodbye to Maria, they started walking into the cave. After they entered, everybody else followed and they were granted a spectacular view. After everyone entered, Mira and Maria turned around and left towards the city.

***

Meanwhile, in the ruins that the people just entered everyone was staring down at a large city that seemed to be empty and devoid of life.

“Wow!” was the only thing that they could say as they took in this magnificent spectacle.

Alicia was amazed that she got to see something like this in her lifetime. She never would’ve thought that she’d be able to look down towards an empty city that was hidden inside of a cave below the ground.

After a while, they had awoken from their stupor as they walked down the path that led to the city. When they reached the end of the path there was a golem-looking thing that was seemingly waiting for them.

“You must be the people that Mira and Maria had talked about. I am the caretaker of this place and keep all of the buildings intact. I will also be the one that will lead you to the trial that my previous Masters set up here for future generations of cultivators. Please allow me to lead you towards your rooms where you can leave anything that won’t be necessary for completing the trial. We can then start the trial tomorrow morning.” The Caretaker said as it brought them throughout the city.

Cole started asking the Caretaker similar questions that Mira had asked before she entered the trial. The Caretaker answered them in a similar fashion as he did for Mira.

While Cole was asking the Caretaker questions, the rest of the people were looking around the ruins in amazement. The buildings were beautiful and everything about this place screamed superiority and regality. Just looking at this place alone was enough for the journey and to think this wasn’t even the tip of the iceberg that this place had to offer for them.

After a while, the Caretaker had finally arrived at the places where they would be able to sleep for the night as well as store their stuff. After they decided on their rooms, most of the people went out to explore the city. They wanted to look around before it was time for them to sleep so they can prepare their mind and body for tomorrow.

The girls started to look around the city and even tried to open the doors to the buildings, but found that they couldn’t even open a door here. They thought that the buildings might be locked, but when more of them tried, they realized that the doors were just extremely heavy. A large group of them decided to come together to try and open one of the doors and had to spend a good hour just to open it enough for them to enter. They entered the building and found that it was completely empty. They felt extremely dejected and left the building. They decided that looking around this city that seemed to be forgotten in time was enough for them.

After walking around the city, soon it came time for them to rest as they wanted to prepare for the next day. The start of their never-ending hell.

***

Mira and Maria were making their way back to the city when Maria started asking Mira some questions.

“What are you going to do next, Mira? We have pretty much completed our journey into the forest and we aren’t quite strong enough to traverse the dangers of SkyTop Mountain.” Maria asked curiously.

“Hmm. The first thing I want to do is hatch the beast egg that I got. That is my highest priority right now. The next thing is to cultivate and get to the Foundation Realm, but this might take a bit longer. Plus I have a feeling that all of the Spirit Stones I have right now will be used up when that happens, so I will need to find a way to get some more. There are a couple of options that I am considering. I can either join a sect as sects generally have the resources necessary to forge strong cultivators or I can go to the mission halls in the city and take missions there to get rewards. I can then spend time trying to look for any lucky encounters as there are more areas around Lunar Fox City other than the Dark Moon Forest and SkyTop Mountain. They are just a bit farther away.” Mira explained to Maria.

“I see. I also want to see what kind of beast is in the egg. And I never would’ve expected you to be thinking about joining a sect. You seem like you are more of the loner type. You also like your freedom. Won’t a sect take this away from you?” Maria asked more questions as she tried to learn more about Mira.

“I do prefer to be by myself, but the only thing I know how to do is fight. I don’t have the skills to gather various resources other than taking missions that involve fighting. Alchemy, Arrays, Inscriptions, Forging, and the other sub-skills are things that I know very little about. My knowledge is also very limited. I’m close to reaching the extent of my knowledge about the cultivation world. A sect can help improve these aspects that I lack as well as provide resources for cultivation. Sects may impede a bit on my freedom, but they are the ones that hold a monopoly over the resources. The only job of the disciples in the Sect is to get stronger and defend the sect in times of need or fight against other Sects in tournaments to determine who gets more resources. The resources that are allocated aren’t just for disciples either. They are for the Elders of the Sect as well. If I don’t want to rely on blind luck to progress through the Realms of Cultivation then joining a sect is the number 1 way to go. Doing random missions and looking for lucky encounters can also be done if you are in a sect as well, but the rewards will better since they are sent to a sect rather than the Mission Hall in the city. I also don’t have a problem with defending a sect as long as they defend me in my time of need as well. If they have enemies that they want to be eradicated then I don’t have a problem being the one to slaughter. As long as I get what I want and need out of it.” Mira tried to explain her general idea of sects to Maria as Maria just nodded. She’s heard of the sects in the city, but never thought much about joining one.

“Can I join one with you if you join a sect? I want to continue following you!” Maria asked with expectation.

“Feel free to do whatever you like. But you better make sure that it doesn’t conflict with the interests of your family. I’ve spent all of this time training you, it would be a huge waste of my time if you didn’t come with me to a sect. I can also continue to train you in unarmed combat. I won’t let you stop practicing that until you become a master at it.” Mira said with a smirk on her face.

Maria just froze when she heard that Mira will continue training her even in a sect. She knew it would be a while before she ever mastered any of the martial arts that Mira taught. Her affinity with that style of combat was even less than it was with a sword. It was like her body rejected fighting without a weapon.

“Joining a sect will also be good for you too. You might be able to find something you are actually good at there. Anyway, we will discuss this more after my beast egg hatches.” Mira said as they continued their journey back to the city at a leisurely pace.

It took them 3 days to get back to the city where they immediately went to the Zaria Family and Mira continued to provide energy and blood to her beast egg.