Chapter 263 Buying Time

As he made this move, Ji Changlin and the others around him subconsciously stepped forward by half a step.

From the cloudy eyes of these people, a trace of panic could be seen flashing and then disappearing, as if they were afraid of something.

Ji Yuan naturally knew that what they feared was not the power of the item, but the concern that he would directly destroy it.

Even if this was an item of a Sage, containing profound Dao principles, it was still forged from mortal materials. Even a cultivator of the First Realm could probably destroy it completely.

After all, it was not an item personally carried by a Sage. Although it contained the aura of a Sage, it did not have even a trace of Sage power. To cultivators, it was very fragile.

And once this item was destroyed, all their plans would naturally fall through, and all their schemes would turn to naught.

"What exactly do you want?"

Ji Changlin asked coldly.

At this moment, infinite killing intent had already emerged in his heart. If he had not been wary of the other party destroying the unsheathed small knife, he would have already attacked in anger.

Upon hearing this, Ji Yuan maintained his smile and, in front of everyone, infused a trace of extremely pure spiritual power into the Sage's item in his hand.

He was using his thoughts to tell the few people around them that if they dared to make a move, he would destroy the item in his hand at the first moment!

"Whatever your plans are, or whatever you intend to do, it has nothing to do with me."

After a moment of thought, he slowly said, "As long as you can provide something that matches the value of this item and satisfies us."

Regardless of their individual calculations, no one would easily give away an item belonging to a Sage.

Upon hearing this, Ji Changlin fell silent, his cloudy eyes flashing with light, but it was impossible to discern his expression.

After a full quarter of an hour of silence, he slowly spoke, "A magical treasure containing eighteen layers of innate restrictions."

Lin Yubai's expression stirred, and he couldn't help but marvel inwardly at the other party's grand gesture at this moment.

A magical treasure with eighteen layers of restrictions was already a top-quality item. Not only did it possess immense power, but it could also suppress the luck of a sect and even become an heirloom.

Ordinary spirit stones of gold and silver could no longer measure its value. Apart from bartering, it could only be acquired with Spirit Coins.

However, a magical treasure of such quality typically required at least one hundred thousand Spirit Coins!

Not to mention that the restrictions within were not artificially inscribed, but had evolved from innate sources!

This point alone was enough to multiply the value of such a magical treasure several times over. If the materials used in its forging were rare heavenly treasures, its value would be immeasurable.

However, after hearing this, Ji Yuan shook his head, "Not enough, we are two people."

He gave the other party a deep look, his eyes showing a smile that was not a smile, as if telling the other party not to play any tricks.

A magical treasure containing eighteen layers of innate restrictions would surely fetch an unimaginable exorbitant price if sold.

But if one were to refine and use it themselves, it could be nurtured as a natal item, allowing even a hermit cultivator to ascend to heaven with its help.

Given enough benefit, some people would even sell their closest relatives, let alone friends who clearly were not fellow disciples?

Ji Yuan absolutely did not believe that the other party had no ulterior motives in doing this. They had been so stingy earlier, and now they were suddenly so generous. They must have some other plan.

"Add another magical treasure with fifteen layers of acquired restrictions."

Ji Changlin's eyes flickered, and after a long pause, he spoke again, sternly warning the two in front of him that it was enough.

The value of a magical treasure with eighteen layers of innate restrictions and another with fifteen layers of acquired restrictions was already comparable to this unsheathed small knife.

Moreover, the other party had stated that the entire Floating Life Hall did not have many magical treasures, and these two were the meager accumulation of their past few thousand years.

After all, as the lost ones, magical treasures and other spiritual items were useless to them. Having lost all their cultivation and realms, they were unable to refine or even activate them.

Not to mention that most spiritual items were either destroyed in the great battle of that year or ruined over the long passage of time. The remaining ones were few.

Of course, Ji Changlin added that if the two were willing to wait, they could explore some ruins and search for sealed treasures, and they might even obtain more powerful and precious items.

Ji Yuan and Lin Yubai directly ignored this suggestion, as they could not give the other party enough time to prepare countermeasures against them.

"If you agree, I will have someone fetch them now."

Ji Changlin said in a low voice.

Hearing this, the two nodded one after another, signifying their agreement to the transaction.

Immediately, two people broke away and galloped rapidly into the distance, their direction indeed being towards the Floating Life Hall.

"Since there is still some time, senior, why not answer a few questions for this junior, as a small bonus to this transaction?"

As the two figures gradually disappeared from sight, Ji Yuan suddenly turned his head, his gaze falling on the person in front of him.

Gazing into his cloudy eyes, a strange glint flashed in the depths of his pupils.

Since the Sage's item had not yet been obtained, and to prevent the young man in front of him from suddenly turning hostile, Ji Changlin naturally could not refuse. He nodded, signaling him to ask whatever he wished.

"May I ask senior, have any outsiders truly entered this Xuanhuang City in the past few thousand years?"

Ji Yuan spoke slowly, his face now wearing a solemn expression.

Upon hearing this, Ji Changlin did not seem surprised at all. In fact, neither did the few people around him. Within their cloudy eyes, a look of 'as expected' flashed.

Although this look was difficult for outsiders to capture, with the powerful spiritual senses of the two, it was not difficult to detect.

"Indeed, no outsiders have ever entered. You are the first group of guests here in thousands of years."

Ji Changlin's voice slowly sounded, and compared to his earlier eagerness, it had become extremely calm, even cold.

Ji Yuan nodded thoughtfully, then suddenly put on a strange expression, appearing somewhat puzzled.

"If that is the case, why are there people wearing current fashion among the fallen ones in the inner city?"

His expression slightly darkened, and his gaze slowly swept over the few people in front of him.

Over the past few thousand years, the fashion styles in the world had changed countless times. Even cultivators with longer lifespans were no exception.

After all, even powerful cultivators with immense spiritual power had a normal lifespan of only about eight hundred years. Even with the consumption of longevity-extending spiritual items, it would at most increase to fifteen hundred years.

And this dojo had a history of at least four to five thousand years. Even powerful cultivators would have changed three to four generations!

In a place where no outsiders had entered for thousands of years, the appearance of people in current fashion clearly indicated a major problem.

"Perhaps you saw incorrectly."

Ji Changlin replied, but did not admit it.

However, in silence, the atmosphere in the place suddenly became somewhat tense, and killing intent began to surge between the two sides.

"In the past thousands of years, indeed, no one has entered. At least we have never heard such news."

His tone was steady, with no discernible fluctuation.

Hearing this, Ji Yuan sneered in his heart. The other party seemed to have them cornered, and their casual lies and denials showed that they had no intention of truly concealing anything.

However, he was not in a hurry. Before leaving the inner city, he had already made arrangements with Lin Yubai.

"Second question, how did you know about the situation in the inner city?"

He no longer lingered on the previous topic and directly raised another doubt.

Initially, Ji Yuan and Lin Yubai thought that some of the lost ones must have entered the inner city and returned safely, thus bringing out detailed intelligence.

Otherwise, how would Ji Changlin know the specific details of those fallen ones, and many things about the inner city?

But upon recalling the pervasive power of heavenly punishment within the inner city, this speculation was also dismissed.

In the presence of such dense heavenly punishment, let alone the lost ones who were already trapped for thousands of years because of it, even normal cultivators would have problems within a short period of time.

Even the two of them, protected by the Profound Heaven Spirit Devouring Pagoda, had accumulated quite a bit of heavenly punishment aura within their bodies, which could condense into form if they were not careful.

"This is naturally deduced."

Ji Changlin said slowly, his tone becoming increasingly impatient.

Seeing this, Ji Yuan sighed silently. He had originally hoped to elicit some news from the other party.

However, judging by the other party's current attitude, it was clear that even if he continued to press, he would not gain any information.

"I told you not to bother with these useless things. Do you believe me now?"

Lin Yubai shrugged, looking as if it was all as expected.

However, Ji Yuan did not think that all of this had been in vain. Even though the other party had not revealed anything useful, he had not gained nothing.

The other party's attitude, and some unintentional subtle expressions, had already confirmed many of his suspicions.

Not to mention that now that they had tricked away two people, it would lessen the pressure when they made their move later.

"What, not delaying any longer?"

Seeing the expressions of the two in front of him change, Ji Changlin immediately spoke.

From the beginning, both sides understood that they would not actually conduct any transaction with the other party. Everything was just a ploy to delay time.

The two people he had sent away were not to fetch magical treasures, but to return to the Floating Life Hall to call for reinforcements. Even though he and the elder beside him could exert power comparable to the Third Realm, and there were several other people assisting them,

When facing cultivators with spiritual power, their strength, though great, was inevitably lacking in many means.

Ji Yuan and Lin Yubai also wanted to delay time and see if they could extract useful information from the other party. However, at least from Lin Yubai's perspective, this idea seemed to have ended in failure.

"Hand it over, and I can consider letting you live."

Ji Changlin sighed, and his tone suddenly became much gentler.

However, who would believe his words?

"Full power!"

Ji Yuan suddenly adopted a stern expression. The Profound Heaven Spirit Devouring Pagoda in his hand immediately erupted with beams of light, protecting him.

At the same time, countless bolts of lightning flashed around Lin Yubai. With a stern shout, more than a dozen lightning bolts shot out.

Ji Changlin and the others, who had been well-prepared, were not surprised by this scene at all. As the thick bolts of lightning struck, the eight people around them did not even bother to dodge.

They allowed the thick lightning to strike their bodies. Only the weaker ones retreated by more than ten steps, while the other three or four remained motionless, their legs sinking into the ground at most.

Their chest garments were shattered, but under the clinging dense death qi, they quickly recovered. Their physical bodies exuded a treasure-like sheen, and not even a single patch of skin was broken.

Lin Yubai had already anticipated this outcome and did not expect his casual attacks to cause any harm to these people. His task was merely to distract them.

Now that his mission was accomplished, he immediately reached out and grabbed Ji Yuan's shoulder, and lightning began to flow around both of them.

Just as they transformed into lightning, Ji Yuan flicked his wrist. With a flash of brilliant light, three figures suddenly appeared between them.