Chapter 68

"Since my Qingcheng Sword School has lost three battles, according to the agreement, you may freely move around the mountain. Please make yourselves at home."

Yu Zhenzi had originally planned to wait until Liu Dawei won a match before going up to cultivate some connections with the Piaohua Palace. However, with the Qingcheng School, which boasted of being the largest sect in the Qingyun Mountain Range, being defeated by the Piaohua Palace disciples, his old face had nowhere to hide. Now, he only wanted to quickly send these people away and never see them again.

"Senior, please forgive me for speaking frankly, but your sect probably hasn't been hunting spiritual beasts in the mountains," Nangong Ling suddenly said. "The lockdown of the mountain gate today is likely due to this Senior Brother Qi, isn't it?"

Qi Dayuan's face changed, and his eyes darted away from Yu Zhenzi.

"Ah, Dayuan, you tell them what happened," Yu Zhenzi, not expecting Nangong Ling to seize on this issue, sighed and questioned his disciple.

"Master, it's all my fault. A group of people had already come to the mountain, and I accepted some benefits from their leader, agreeing to guard the mountain path for a few days," Qi Dayuan knelt before Yu Zhenzi, repeatedly kowtowing. "It's all because of my greed that I brought trouble to the sect. Please punish me, Master."

Nangong Ling's eyes revealed a look of "as expected," and she smiled. "Senior Brother Qi, I'm not trying to blame you. To be honest, those people are enemies of the Piaohua Palace. We came here not for sightseeing but to settle some grudges. Senior Brother Qi, you were likely used by a villain and made to be a scapegoat."

"What?" Qi Dayuan was first stunned, then suddenly furious. "No wonder he gave me so many spirit crystals for such a small matter. He was trying to harm me. How despicable!"

"Let's go!" Yu Zhenzi covered his face, feeling that his disciples were one more embarrassing than the last. He didn't even bother with polite words and turned to leave.

Seeing their master depart, the Qingcheng Sword School disciples, who dared not stay to face Shen Dachui, the Heaven Wheel expert, also ran up the mountain. Even Liu Dawei, who was in a daze, was dragged away by Qi Dayuan.

"Senior Sister, we don't even know the people who entered the mountain earlier. Why did you say they were enemies of the Piaohua Palace?" Liu Qiqi couldn't help but ask when the Qingcheng Sword School people were far away.

"Qiqi, we've already shown our powerful strength. If we were allowed to wander around the mountain freely, do you think Yu Zhenzi would be at ease?" Nangong Ling smiled in response.

Liu Qiqi shook her head.

"So, the Qingcheng Sword School will definitely send people to keep an eye on us," Nangong Ling continued. "Since we're here to find the ancient relics, it would be inconvenient if we were being tailed."

"I see." Zhong Wen suddenly understood. "If we say it's a personal grudge, Yu Zhenzi would likely not want to get involved and would instruct his disciples to stay as far away from us as possible. Sister, you have a good plan."

"Exactly." Nangong Ling looked at Zhong Wen with a hint of approval. "If I'm not mistaken, the people who entered the mountain earlier were also after the ancient sect's relics. Otherwise, they wouldn't have bribed this Qingcheng Sword School disciple to guard the mountain gate. If we don't speed up, we might be beaten to the punch."

"What, what should we do!" Shen Dachui's face changed dramatically.

"Follow me. I've memorized the location of the ruins," Zhong Wen pointed to his head. "I won't let Old Shen return empty-handed."

He took the lead, rushing up a mountain path, with Shen Dachui and the others closely following, heading quickly toward their destination.

Following the ancient sect distribution map in his mind, Zhong Wen skillfully navigated the forest, turning left and right, leading the way with ease.

Shen Dachui followed closely behind, holding an old map and occasionally comparing it to the terrain. He noticed that Zhong Wen always found the right path, giving him a sense that Zhong Wen's knowledge of the ancient sect's relics exceeded what was depicted on the map.

After about half an hour, the group followed Zhong Wen through a winding path, and at the other end, a mountain spring appeared. Above the spring was a small waterfall, with water gushing down and merging into the bubbling stream below. The surroundings were a tranquil green, and the gentle sound of water and the pleasant bird songs intertwined, creating a unique force that could soothe restless hearts.

"The entrance should be in the cave behind this waterfall," Zhong Wen concluded after carefully observing the terrain.

"We might be too late," Nangong Ling sighed, pointing to the ground leading to the waterfall.

Despite the water splashing and wetting the ground, the outlines of dozens of footprints, large and small, leading to the cave entrance behind the waterfall, were still visible.

Shen Dachui immediately pounded his chest in frustration.

"Don't worry, Old Shen," Zhong Wen pointed to the footprints outside the cave and smiled. "There are only footprints going in, but none coming out. If the ruins have only one exit, these people are likely still exploring inside."

"Little Brother Zhong, you mean..." Shen Dachui's eyes lit up.

"The ancient relics are unclaimed. While we won't take what others have already found, exploring on our own is reasonable," Zhong Wen said with a mischievous smile. "If they refuse, we'll see whose fists are harder."

"Exactly, exactly." Shen Dachui suddenly understood and chuckled. "Let's hurry in and get our share."

"Wait, the people inside are unknown, and their strength is uncertain. A conflict might arise soon," Zhong Wen said, taking out a bottle of "Rejuvenation Pills" and giving everyone a pill. "Remember, if you get injured, take this pill immediately. As long as your head isn't cut off and your heart isn't shattered, you can be saved."

Preparations complete, Shen Dachui and Zhong Wen, the two men, took the lead, with the women following at a distance. They split into two groups and entered the waterfall cave.

The cave entrance was small, and Zhong Wen thought it would gradually widen as they went deeper. However, it only got narrower, and they eventually had to crawl forward.

Why did we insist on going first? If the girls had gone ahead, it would have been a beautiful sight!

Zhong Wen looked at the old man's wiggling buttocks in front of him, feeling depressed and regretful.

After crawling for about half an hour, a ray of light appeared at the other end of the cave. Shen Dachui, excited, suddenly sped up and quickly crawled out of the cave.

Zhong Wen followed closely behind and also crawled out. As soon as he left the cave, he felt the air become much richer in spiritual energy, which was refreshing and invigorating, though not as strong as in the Medicine King Valley, it was still quite close.

In the distance, a tall and magnificent black building rose from the ground, resembling a pagoda, with layers extending into the clouds.

"Yes, yes, this is the place, exactly as my ancestor described," Shen Dachui, trembling with excitement, muttered to himself.

At this moment, Nangong Ling and the others also crawled out of the cave and marveled at the grand building.

Approaching the massive structure, they could see that the base of the pagoda was extremely large, about five to six times the size of a regular building. At the entrance of the black pagoda, three golden Chinese characters "Leiyin Valley" shone brightly.

"Follow me." The outer area of this relic was well-remembered and passed down through generations in the Divine Forging lineage. Shen Dachui, who knew it by heart, led the group directly to a specific location inside the pagoda. "My ancestor explored the outer area of the relic but couldn't enter the inner area due to the spirit pattern restrictions. He didn't understand spirit patterns and had to return in disappointment. However, he recorded the pattern and sought a solution from the Holy Land."

Rushing to the location of the spirit pattern restriction, Shen Dachui suddenly opened his mouth in surprise.

"What's wrong, Old Shen?" Zhong Wen asked curiously.

"The spirit pattern has already been solved," Shen Dachui said with a mournful face.

Zhong Wen's brows furrowed. "It seems these people are not simple."

Nangong Ling asked, "Old Shen, if you were to solve this spirit pattern, how long would it take?"

Shen Dachui was taken aback and replied honestly, "I'm not good at spirit patterns, but the solution was obtained from the Holy Land by my ancestor. I wouldn't need to think, and it would take about half an hour to solve."

"In that case, although they arrived earlier than us, they didn't have the solution provided by the Divine Forging lineage's ancestor. They must have spent a lot of time here and likely just entered," Nangong Ling comforted.

"That's true. They've done the groundwork for us," Shen Dachui said, laughing happily. "We shouldn't waste time. Let's hurry up and catch up with them."

Zhong Wen, witnessing Shen Dachui's reactions along the way, found him to be simple and childlike, and couldn't help but chuckle inwardly.

Sure enough, as Nangong Ling predicted, when they reached the second floor and turned right, they encountered over twenty strangers.

These people were dressed in gray, looked weary, carried weapons on their backs, and pushed transport carts, clearly well-prepared for exploring the ancient relic.

Among the gray-clad people stood a handsome, slender man in white.

The white-clad man had a strange black pattern on his chest, resembling a swastika in the center, surrounded by flames. Below the pattern, in Chinese characters, was a large "An."

"I didn't expect to meet others in this 'Leiyin Valley,'" the white-clad man's voice was soft and chilling, sending shivers down their spines.

Zhong Wen and the white-clad man locked eyes, and he felt bloodshot eyes and a sinister aura emanating from the man...