After Elder Hong Tian departed, Zhao Yuansong and others from a distance converged around Ji Yuan.
The group exchanged glances, and then Wu Chengqing spoke up, inquiring what the two had discussed. However, regarding their curiosity, Ji Yuan simply shook his head. Some matters, once heard, must be kept secret and not revealed, even to Zhao Yuansong, with whom he shared a very close relationship.
Seeing his cautious avoidance of the topic, the others naturally did not press further and let it drop.
After a few casual remarks, they resumed discussing the details of exploring the ancient cultivator's dojo. This was not the first time they had discussed the matter; they already had a general plan and had determined their respective roles within the team. However, as it was an ancient cultivator's dojo, no amount of preparation was too much, and a certain degree of caution was always warranted. Especially after Ji Yuan heard some intelligence from Elder Hong Tian, he gathered the people around him and repeatedly deliberated on the details and deduced more potential scenarios.
Several days later, the Nine Profound Sect's Sky Crossing Warship appeared in the sky north of Feiyun County. The group had already considered most of the variables that could arise. Gazing at the distant mountains and forests, even Ji Yuan's composure stirred slightly. Knowing about the Little Profound Yellow True Scripture and the existence of treasures capable of rivaling powerful beings, it was impossible for him to be completely indifferent. Although this cultivation technique did not align with his own elemental affinity, handing it over to the Nine Profound Sect would undoubtedly bring unimaginable benefits. Not to mention an ultimate artifact; if used as the core of the Xuan Tian Peak formation, and with sufficient spiritual energy to sustain it, even a powerful cultivator would be unable to breach it.
However, Ji Yuan merely indulged in such thoughts and did not genuinely intend to try his luck. Such items appearing would at least require a Golden Core Great Cultivator to have the qualifications to contend for them. With his meager cultivation, even a residual ripple could kill him countless times over.
Before long, the massive Sky Crossing Warship slowly stopped and descended to an altitude of about a hundred feet. A cloud ladder descended from the sky, connecting the warship to the ground. Hundreds of figures descended, and within the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn, they had gathered on a flat area. This time, the Nine Profound Sect had gathered hundreds of disciples, over a hundred inner disciples, over six hundred outer disciples, along with eighteen elders of the Three Realms, and a renowned Golden Core Great Cultivator, Xu Chengfeng, the Peak Master of Lei Ze Peak.
"Is that Xu Qiqi's father?" Ji Yuan looked up slightly, observing the middle-aged man who descended from the warship and hovered in the air. Zhao Yuansong nodded beside him, confirming that this was indeed the Peak Master of Lei Ze Peak, known for possessing the highest destructive power in Feiyun County, and Xu Qiqi's father. At this moment, Xu Chengfeng hovered in the air, his gaze fixed on a mountain forest more than ten miles away. He suddenly raised a hand, and a dark cloud abruptly gathered in the sky, crackling with lightning that resembled dragons weaving through the clouds. The vast, dark clouds covered the sky and obscured the sun, making the area for more than twenty miles seem enveloped in night, with only the sound of thunder visible.
"Thunderfall!" Xu Chengfeng uttered softly, and then dozens of powerful bolts of lightning descended simultaneously!
With a deafening roar, the mountains and earth trembled. The hundreds of Nine Profound Sect disciples watched in awe at the world-ending spectacle in the distance, many feeling their mouths dry. Even the Heavenly Talents ranked within the top thirty-six of the inner sect had no confidence in their ability to survive the onslaught of these dozens of lightning strikes. It took a full quarter of an hour for the thunder and lightning in the heavens and earth to gradually dissipate, and the dark clouds that had covered their heads also dispersed. As sunlight once again shone upon them, the disciples seemed to awaken from a dream. Looking back at the figure of the middle-aged man, their eyes were filled with respect and deep longing. Could they ever reach such a realm in their lifetime and wield such earth-shattering power? This thought appeared in the minds of almost all the disciples present.
Ji Yuan felt the same, but he had no doubts about himself and was convinced he would eventually reach such a realm! And along with him, more than ten Heavenly Talents ranked in the top thirty-six harbored the same belief, each utterly convinced that one day they would become individuals like the Peak Master of Lei Ze Peak.
"The lightning before has opened an entrance!" Zhao Yuansong looked towards the mountain forest more than ten miles away. The ground there had been bombarded by lightning, collapsing into a crater spanning two to three miles. And beneath that crater lay the buried dojo!
Before long, after a nod from several elders, the hundreds of disciples were divided into two groups. Two-thirds of the inner and outer disciples, forming teams with their fellow disciples, moved in a great procession towards the giant crater more than ten miles away. As for the remaining disciples, they gathered around the elders, setting up camp in the area and dispersing to patrol the surroundings.
Seeing the disciples depart, Xu Chengfeng nodded slightly, then turned and flew back to the Sky Crossing Warship.
"Peak Master!" Two elders stepped forward and respectfully saluted.
Xu Chengfeng gazed at the two before him and then said in a deep voice, "From today onwards, you will be stationed at the core of the warship's formation. If any Golden Core Great Cultivator approaches, activate all formations immediately!" The core formation etched onto this Sky Crossing Warship was a treasure of the Nine Profound Sect, a set of nine consecutive lightning-element formations. With two elders from Lei Ze Peak presiding over it, its might could be further amplified by ten to twenty percent.
"With the display you showed earlier, Peak Master, it should be enough to deter ordinary Golden Core Great Cultivators!" one of them said with reverence.
Hearing this, Xu Chengfeng's expression turned solemn. He turned and looked towards the distant horizon, his gaze filled with complexity. He knew that the display he had deliberately shown earlier would only have a limited deterrent effect, and some cultivators would still take risks, gambling on the "slight chance."
The distance of more than ten miles, without any burdens, took the Nine Profound Sect disciples just over an hour to cover. As hundreds of them arrived at the edge of the giant crater, they saw an immense mess buried underground. Beneath the dozens of feet deep crater, the view was mostly scorched black. Towering trees had turned into charcoal, mountains had collapsed, and countless ravines crisscrossed the ground. This scene naturally caused murmurs among the disciples, who felt as if this dojo had undergone a great battle thousands of years ago.
Only Ji Yuan and a few others who knew the inside story now had solemn expressions. Whether it was an illusion or not, they felt a faint tremor more than others. A moment later, a Nine Profound Sect elder arrived on his artifact, took out a magical artifact, and tossed it down. Infused with spiritual energy, it continuously enlarged, connecting the edge of the giant crater to a broken mountain peak below.
"The elder even brought out this imitation artifact!" Wu Chengqing subconsciously exclaimed upon seeing this. He then told the others that this artifact was a replica of a sect treasure, named the "Rainbow Cloud Ladder," which contained nine layers of innate restrictions and possessed divine effects such as suppressing restrictions and breaking formations. Legend also had it that it could connect two places and shrink space.
"When venturing out or exploring ruins and caves, having such an artifact would be incredibly convenient," Ji Yuan's eyes lit up, showing great interest. However, he also knew that such an artifact must be astonishingly expensive, and as a replica of a sect treasure, it would never be circulated. Even disciples of the sect would find it difficult to obtain one.
As they stepped onto the Rainbow Cloud Ladder, they felt a flash of colorful mist before their eyes. In just over ten breaths, they had landed on the broken mountain peak within the giant crater. Ji Yuan and the others dared not linger for too long, quickly descending the mountain to make way for the other disciples to land. After descending the mountain, the group of ten casually found a direction and quietly separated from the crowd. From this moment on, it was time for everyone to explore the dojo and seek their own opportunities.
When they reached a place where no one was around, the group stopped and gathered around Ji Yuan. He looked around, then patted the spirit beast bag at his waist. With a flash of light, a palm-sized gray-furred rat appeared before them. It looked unremarkable, causing Zheng Wanrong and the other two to frown slightly, but it was a valuable treasure-seeking rat. This treasure-seeking rat was naturally sensitive to spiritual objects and was drawn to places rich in pure spiritual energy, possessing an uncanny intuition for them. As soon as it was released from the spirit beast bag, without needing to be urged, it sniffed the air and immediately ran off in one direction.
"Let's go, follow it!" Ji Yuan whispered, taking the lead behind the treasure-seeking rat. The others naturally followed closely, their eyes vigilantly scanning their surroundings, wary of any sudden changes. As they delved deeper into the underground dojo, the group also activated their spiritual eyes, as it was extremely difficult to see in the pitch-black darkness underground.
Perhaps due to the underground environment, several luminous plants had grown here, appearing almost everywhere. At short intervals, one could find a patch. Thanks to these luminous plants, even with their spiritual eyes open, it would have been difficult to see in the utter darkness, and they might have had to generate their own light sources. In that case, if there were any living creatures in the underground dojo, they would inevitably be attracted.
After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, the treasure-seeking rat suddenly stopped before a collapsed mountain peak and then attempted to dig through the rubble to find a crevice to enter. Seeing this, Ji Yuan picked it up, fed it a piece of spirit beast meat, and then put it back into the bag.
"Be careful," he turned back to the group and whispered a warning. The few exchanged glances and did not immediately clear the rubble before them. Instead, they dispersed, cautiously observing their surroundings. Then, Wang Xiaoxuan took two steps back, took out three sets of formation flags, and handed them to Zheng Wanrong and Lin Miaoyi. Together, they set up the formations there, taking nearly a quarter of an hour.
"Let me do it," Zhao Yuansong stepped forward, his internal spiritual energy surging. He rapidly formed more than a dozen hand seals. After returning to the Nine Profound Sect, he had visited the sect's library and selected nearly twenty types of techniques. Apart from some offensive and defensive ones, the rest were auxiliary spells. What he was now performing was a spell for moving mountains and shifting earth. Although at his current level, he couldn't truly move a mountain, it was more than enough to clear the rubble before them.
Before long, the group saw Zhao Yuansong emit streaks of earthy yellow light, and then pieces of earth and stone loosened and rolled to the sides. Instantly, there was constant sound, and a passage two to three zhang wide gradually appeared before them. As the earth and stones were cleared, a faint fluctuation of spiritual energy quietly seeped out from the gaps in the rubble. Sensing this pure spiritual energy, the group's expressions immediately changed, and a sense of anticipation arose in their hearts.