Me? I was transported into a book? And I became a vicious villain?

The ancient ruins stood majestically, like a silent giant, overlooking the land that had experienced countless storms. The wind blew through the ruins, making a low humming sound, like a sigh from ancient times. Chu Mengmeng and Xiao Yichen stood at the entrance of the ruins, looking up at the majestic building, their hearts filled with awe and a hint of uneasiness.

At the entrance, two huge stone pillars stood proudly, with intricate patterns carved on them, and faint patterns of stars, sun and moon could be seen. Between the stone pillars, a transparent barrier flickered, isolating the ruins from the outside world. This barrier seemed fragile, but it emitted a frightening energy fluctuation.

"Is this the protective barrier?" Chu Mengmeng asked softly, reaching out to touch the light curtain. She felt a tingling sensation at her fingertips, as if she were being electrocuted, and she involuntarily retracted her hand.

Xiao Yichen stared at the barrier in front of him, frowning slightly. He drew out the long sword at his waist, and the sword body glowed with a faint white light. A sharp sword energy broke through the air and hit the barrier directly. However, the moment the sword energy touched the barrier, it was like a drop in the ocean, without causing any ripples.

"It's not that easy." Xiao Yichen sheathed his sword and said in a deep voice, "This barrier contains powerful power. I'm afraid it can't be broken by brute force."

Chu Mengmeng took out the ancient bronze mirror from her bosom - the Star-Moon Mirror. The bronze mirror emitted a soft glow under the moonlight, and some ancient words and patterns vaguely appeared on the mirror surface. Chu Mengmeng carefully identified them, trying to find clues to break the enchantment.

As time passed, Chu Mengmeng and Xiao Yichen tried various methods, but they were still unable to shake the barrier. They began to realize that this barrier was far more complex and powerful than they had imagined, and they had to find the right way to break it.

"Are we just going to give up like this?" Chu Mengmeng was a little frustrated. She looked at the seemingly insurmountable barrier in front of her, feeling full of powerlessness.

Xiao Yichen patted her shoulder, signaling her to be patient. "Don't worry, there must be a way." He scanned the surrounding environment, trying to find some clues.

Suddenly, he noticed that there was a groove on each of the stone pillars on both sides of the entrance. The shape was strange and looked like some kind of mechanism. He was moved. Could it be...

"Mengmeng, look!" Xiao Yichen pointed at the grooves on the stone pillar and motioned Chu Mengmeng to come over. "Could these two grooves be the key to breaking the barrier?"

Chu Mengmeng walked closer and also discovered these two strange grooves. They looked at each other and a glimmer of hope ignited in their hearts. However, just as they were about to carefully study the two grooves, a cold voice suddenly sounded behind them:

"Hmph, over your own strength!"

Chu Mengmeng and Xiao Yichen turned around suddenly, and saw a figure in a black robe and holding a skull staff slowly walking out of the shadows...

The figure in the black robe gradually became clear, revealing a pale and thin face. His eye sockets were deep, his eyes were cold, and the corners of his mouth were curled up with a mocking smile, just like a venomous snake staring at its prey. "You dare to get your hands on the sacred relics? You are too naive!"

Chu Mengmeng and Xiao Yichen were alarmed. The dark aura this person exuded was powerful and evil, and was definitely not comparable to the mob they had encountered before. "Who are you? Why are you stopping us?" Xiao Yichen stepped forward, protecting Chu Mengmeng behind him, and asked in a deep voice.

"I am the great dark wizard Cassius, the guardian of this ruin!" The man in black robe, Cassius, raised his head arrogantly, slammed the skull staff in his hand on the ground, and a black energy wave quickly spread out with him as the center. "Foolish mortal, dare to step into my territory, be prepared to face death!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Cassius waved his staff, and several black energy balls whizzed towards them. Xiao Yichen was quick-witted and swung his sword to smash the energy balls one by one, but the shock wave generated by the explosion still pushed him back several steps.

Seeing this, Chu Mengmeng quickly chanted a spell, and a water curtain appeared out of thin air, blocking the subsequent attacks. But she was a new mother after all, and her spiritual power was not stable yet. The water curtain only lasted for a moment before it shattered.

"Hmph, a mere trifle!" Cassius sneered and waved his staff again. This time, he summoned a group of hideous skeleton warriors, holding rusty swords and roaring as they pounced on them.

Xiao Yichen was entangled with the skeleton warriors, swords flashing, and every move was fierce. However, these skeleton warriors seemed tireless and fearless, rushing up one after another, making it difficult for him to cope with them.

Chu Mengmeng tried to attack Cassius with various spells, but they were all easily resolved by him. While resisting Chu Mengmeng's attacks, Cassius mocked her with vicious words: "With your little skills, you want to compete with me? You really overestimate your own abilities!"

In the fierce battle, Chu Mengmeng and Xiao Yichen gradually fell behind. They were all injured and their spiritual power was greatly consumed. On the other hand, Cassius was still unscathed and at ease, as if he was teasing them.

"What should we do? If this goes on, we will be exhausted to death by him!" Chu Mengmeng anxiously sent a message to Xiao Yichen.

Xiao Yichen swung his sword to block the attack of the skeleton warrior while observing Cassius's movements, hoping to find his flaw. Suddenly, he noticed that every time Cassius cast a spell, he would subconsciously touch the red gem on the top of the skeleton staff.

Could it be... Xiao Yichen's mind moved, "Mengmeng, attack that gem!"

Chu Mengmeng heard this and immediately gathered her spiritual power. A water arrow shot towards the skeleton staff in Cassius's hand with a sound of breaking through the air. Cassius obviously did not expect them to attack his staff, and was caught off guard and could only dodge sideways. The water arrow flew past his arm, and although it did not cause any substantial damage, it did cause the staff in his hand to shake a little.

Now! Xiao Yichen seized this opportunity, and rushed towards Cassius like a cheetah. The long sword in his hand was wrapped in a sharp sword energy, and went straight to Cassius's heart. Cassius was horrified and quickly waved his staff to resist.

"Clang!" There was a loud noise, sparks flew everywhere. Xiao Yichen only felt a strong force coming from the sword, which made his palm numb and he retreated repeatedly. Cassius was not feeling well either. The skull staff in his hand was shaking violently, and the red gem on the top was dimmed.

"Damn it! How dare you..." Cassius was furious and was about to launch another attack, but his face suddenly changed and he covered his chest with a painful groan. He staggered back a few steps, a trace of blood oozing from the corner of his mouth, obviously suffering from internal injuries.

"Lord Cassius!" Seeing this, the skeleton warriors who were originally besieging Xiao Yichen stopped their attacks and surrounded him in panic.

"I'm fine!" Cassius pushed away the skeleton warrior beside him and glared at Chu Mengmeng and Xiao Yichen fiercely, "Just wait, I will settle this account with you sooner or later!" After that, he took those skeleton warriors and turned into a ball of black mist and disappeared.

The crisis was resolved, and Chu Mengmeng and Xiao Yichen both breathed a sigh of relief, collapsed on the ground, and gasped for air. Although the wounds on their bodies were not fatal, they were still painful. More importantly, after a fierce battle, their spiritual power was almost exhausted and they were no longer able to fight.

"Are we... okay?" Chu Mengmeng asked weakly.

"Not bad." Xiao Yichen shook his head, struggled to stand up, walked to Chu Mengmeng and helped her up, "It seems that we still underestimated the danger of this ruins. That Cassius is far more powerful than us."

"Yeah..." Chu Mengmeng looked at the direction where Cassius disappeared, her eyes full of solemnity, "Besides, what he said before he left, it's obvious that he won't let it go. What should we do next?"

Xiao Yichen was silent for a moment, then slowly said: "What we need most now is to improve our own strength. Only by becoming stronger can we defeat those enemies, enter the depths of the ruins, and find what we want."

Chu Mengmeng nodded in agreement. She looked up at the mysterious ruins in front of her, with a hint of determination in her eyes, "I must enter the ruins and find..."

Before she could finish her words, she was interrupted by a sudden gust of wind. The gust of wind blew from the depths of the ruins, making it impossible for them to open their eyes. At the same time, the ground beneath their feet began to shake violently, as if something horrible was about to break out of the ground... The raging wind, flying sand and rocks, the ancient ruins seemed to be issuing a silent warning. Chu Mengmeng and Xiao Yichen were forced to retreat again and again by this sudden change, and finally managed to stabilize their bodies.

"What's going on?" Chu Mengmeng exclaimed and subconsciously grabbed Xiao Yichen's arm, her palms feeling cold.

Xiao Yichen frowned, staring at the depths of the ruins, and said in a deep voice: "This aura... is very strong, we must leave here immediately!"

Without time to think, the two dared not stop for a moment and turned to run towards the entrance of the ruins. The wind was howling behind them, and the ground was shaking, as if some terrifying existence was about to break out of the ground and chase after them.

The escape process was extremely thrilling. Chu Mengmeng and Xiao Yichen were nearly hit by falling rocks several times, but in the end they managed to escape from the ruins safely with their extraordinary skills and tacit cooperation.

Standing at the entrance of the ruins, looking back at the ruins shrouded by the strong wind, Chu Mengmeng and Xiao Yichen were both in a very heavy mood. They were in pain and even more frustrated by the failure of their first attempt.

"We are still too weak." Chu Mengmeng said in a low voice, with a hint of self-blame in her tone.

Xiao Yichen patted her shoulder gently and comforted her: "This is not your fault. We all underestimated the danger of this ruins. However, this is just a small setback. We still have a chance."

Yes, there is still a chance. Chu Mengmeng said to herself silently in her heart. She remembered the purpose of coming here and the person she wanted to find, and a burning fighting spirit ignited in her heart.

"Let's go, let's go back first." Xiao Yichen said, taking Chu Mengmeng's hand and walking towards the town.

The setting sun made the two figures look particularly slender. Although the exploration of the ruins ended in failure, they did not give up hope. They believed that as long as they kept working hard, one day they would be able to overcome all difficulties and find what they wanted.

"Maybe we should go visit the dean..." Chu Mengmeng suddenly said.