"So it's Miss Qingzhu. My greetings to you."
In the sky, Qin Shi saw Ling Qingzhu standing barefoot on a green lotus and immediately smiled, cupping his hands in greeting.
Judging by his manner, Qin Shi clearly knew something of Ling Qingzhu's identity.
"Hehe... I never expected Miss Qingzhu to take an interest in the treasures of our Great Yan Dynasty."
Wang Yan looked at Ling Qingzhu with undisguised heat in his eyes. A beauty like her would probably stir any man's heart; he simply had no intention of hiding it.
Compared with Wang Yan, Lin Langtian was more restrained. An almost imperceptible flicker of heat crossed his eyes, but he was nowhere near as brazen as Wang Yan.
Ling Qingzhu noticed both men's gazes, but she had long since grown accustomed to such looks and paid them no heed.
"Since everyone is here, let's tear open the seal."
Ling Qingzhu's voice was ethereal, yet beneath its outward warmth lay a cold, distancing air.
"Hehe, business comes first. Let's act together." Qin Shi nodded amiably and called to the others.
"Mm."
Standing barefoot on the green lotus, Ling Qingzhu began mobilizing the Yuan Power within her.
"Attack together!"
With that, Wang Yan struck first. He stamped his right foot hard against the Great Luo Golden Spear beneath him, making its shaft tremble violently. Brilliant golden light rapidly gathered at its tip before transforming into a golden spear ray over a hundred feet long that shot forward!
As Wang Yan attacked, Lin Langtian and the other two followed suit.
The attacks of four experts in the Three Realms of Creation sent the Yuan Power throughout the surrounding world into a furious boil!
Countless people at the foot of the mountain watched with flushed faces.
Ling Feng, of course, was an exception. As his eyes flickered, the mighty barrage in the sky slammed into the area surrounding the mountaintop beneath countless watching gazes.
As the four attacks approached, the sky itself began to distort.
Then an energy barrier slowly materialized, its surface crisscrossed with patterns resembling strange runes.
Bang!
Under the combined attacks of the four Three Realms of Creation experts, the long-sealed barrier clearly could not bear the strain. With a thunderous bang, it dissolved into wildly violent Yuan Power that swept outward, leaving devastation in its wake.
"The seal's broken! Charge!"
Seeing Ling Qingzhu and the other three break open the Ancient Tomb Mansion, the crowd below erupted with delight. Yuan Power howled into motion as figures threw themselves forward with all their strength, streaking toward the mountaintop like rays of light.
"President, let's get moving too!"
Watching this, Xuan Su grew eager and spoke to Xia Wanjin. Just then, Ling Feng suddenly shot ahead, his voice echoing through the air.
"Su'er, the four of them will keep you safe. I'll go in first to look for treasures and meet up with you later."
As his voice faded, the Sound Four landed in front of Xuan Su. Clearly, Ling Feng had assigned them to protect her.
Before Xuan Su could react, Ling Feng was already gone. His speed was astonishing; in an instant, he left the four great families behind and set off after Ling Qingzhu and the others.
"There's another Three Realms of Creation expert?!"
The leaders of the four great families clearly noticed Ling Feng's presence, and all four immediately looked startled and grave.
They could not come close to matching his speed, however, and he became the fifth person to enter the Ancient Tomb Mansion.
The Ancient Tomb Mansion had more than ten passageways, but Qin Shi and the other three seemed to know which offered the fastest route to the innermost hall. All four flew into the ninth passage.
Seeing this, Ling Feng plunged in after them, following quietly. He knew that the truly good treasures were all in the innermost hall, and naturally, he would not miss them.
They traveled through a winding passage. Though they passed treasure chambers along the way, Lin Langtian and the others made no move to open them, heading straight past.
"Byakugan!"
Ling Feng used the Spirit Imbuement skill of his newly created Creation Character, Neji Hyuga, activating the Byakugan to inspect the chambers. He discovered that some were empty, while others held Pure Yuan Pills or Demon Spirits.
To Ling Feng, however, these were all things he could take or leave. Without much thought, he likewise abandoned the idea of opening the treasure chambers and continued following the four.
Soon, they reached the end of the first passage, and a Wooden Stake Array made up of towering wooden posts came into view.
The thick wooden stakes stood packed tightly together, with tall Rune Puppets filling the gaps between them.
These puppets were all defunct. Lin Langtian and the others did not even glance at them as they continued onward. Following the four, Ling Feng passed through without difficulty.
Upon reaching the other end of the training ground, Ling Feng saw Lin Langtian and the others stop and look ahead. Before them lay a lake so clear that its bottom was visible.
At the center of the lake stood a small pool built from jade. Numerous spirit herbs grew within it, and judging by their appearance, none were of low quality.
Even from a distance, Ling Feng could clearly smell their rich medicinal fragrance.
"Finally, something good!"
Inhaling deeply of the fragrant air, Ling Feng felt delight rise in his eyes. After sweeping his gaze around, he darted to the edge of the Medicine Pool, where his eyes settled on a black spirit herb.
The herb looked much like a small coiled snake. An intensely cold yin aura seeped from it, covering even the nearby water with a layer of chilly mist. It looked quite peculiar.
This should be the Extreme Fiendish Yin Dragon Saliva Lin Dong is looking for...
Ling Feng silently speculated as he examined the strange herb with his Byakugan. Then his gaze shifted to the center of the Medicine Pool, where four black-and-white grass leaves lay in a somewhat tangled cluster like dragon whiskers. A cold medicinal fragrance shimmered over them, making them seem exceedingly strange.
Below, the four whisker-like leaves joined the same stem, clearly forming a single plant.
The herb at the center of the Medicine Pool was plainly its most precious treasure, giving off the strongest medicinal fragrance.
For a moment, heat flashed in the eyes of Lin Langtian, Qin Shi, and Wang Yan.
Lin Langtian knew how to handle people. He quickly withdrew his gaze and turned to Ling Qingzhu beside him with a gentle smile. "Miss Qingzhu, this eighth-tier Yin-Yang Dragon Whisker Grass has four leaves. Why don't we take one each?"
"I have no objections," Qin Shi said first.
Perhaps hoping to show off in front of the beauty, Wang Yan smiled generously at Ling Qingzhu. "Miss Qingzhu, there are exactly four of us, so we can each take a leaf. Once divided, its medicinal potency may only equal that of seventh-grade spirit medicine, but it will still benefit us. Of course, if you feel that isn't enough, you can have my share as well."
After speaking, Wang Yan gave Lin Langtian a meaningful smile. Their eyes met, and Lin Langtian smiled back, though inwardly both were cursing the other. Shameless bastard! Bootlicker!
"That won't be necessary."
Ignoring their covert rivalry entirely, Ling Qingzhu said evenly, "I have no objections."
"Sorry, but I do! I've got my eye on this Medicine Pool. Don't even think about taking a single herb..."
Barely had Ling Qingzhu finished speaking when another voice suddenly rang through the space, disrupting their plans.
Lin Langtian and the others frowned and turned toward the voice. A silver-haired young man came into view, followed by four hulking iron contraptions that drove up beside him without anyone operating them. Behind those four iron contraptions, four sword-shaped objects rose upright.
The silver-haired young man rested each hand on an iron contraption and looked at Lin Langtian and the others with a wicked grin, loudly declaring,
"This is a robbery! Hands up! Don't make me open fire!"