Broken pillar.
Broken pillars were everywhere.
The gray-white stone pillars lay scattered haphazardly on the wasteland. Some were broken into three pieces, while others had only a base buried in the soil, their exposed surfaces covered with fine cracks, like lips parched to the extreme.
There was no sign of human habitation.
Not even a trace of birds or beasts could be found.
But these ruins are not desolate.
Each broken pillar retains a faint trace of Daoist charm, like knife marks polished countless times by time. You can no longer see the person who carved the words, but you can still feel the power contained in those strokes.
"I heard this is just the outer perimeter of the Longevity Ye Clan?"
He looked up into the distance.
At the edge of the horizon, a stone gate, half-hidden by gray mist, stood faintly on the horizon. On either side of the gate stood a complete stone pillar, its surface covered with densely packed runes.
But the moment Lin Fan Double Pupils saw these marks, he caught something.
He stopped in front of a broken pillar.
The pillar lay askew on the ground, with a straight cut at the break, the edges of which were as smooth as a mirror, as if it had been sliced by an extremely sharp weapon.
It's neither a knife nor a sword.
It looks more like a blade of grass.
He shifted his gaze and looked back into the distance.
In the center of the ruins stands a stone tablet.
The stone tablet is about the height of a person, and is dark gray all over. There are no patterns or inscriptions on its surface, only a kind of ancient and simple texture after being polished by the years.
Below the stone tablet is a small altar.
It was also made of dark gray stone, and its surface was covered with densely packed runes.
The arrangement of those runes and totems were different from those of the Three Thousand Provinces Emperor Pass, carrying an extremely ancient trace, as if they came from another era.
Tian Ming stood at the very front, hands behind his back.
Jing Wuxin stood three steps away from him, her gray-white robe fluttering slightly in the wind. Her gaze was fixed on the stone gate, as if counting the number of runes on it.
Yue Linglong stood on the other side.
She wore a moon-white long dress with very faint silver patterns embroidered on the hem. Her face was aloof, her gaze calm, and she stood there like a moon half-hidden by clouds.
"This place was once the outer courtyard of the Longevity Ye Clan."
Tian Ming's voice came from ahead, neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for everyone present to hear clearly. "The true ancestral homeland was sealed away by the last patriarch of the Ye Clan using powerful methods, and only a direct descendant of the Ye Clan can unlock it."
He paused, his gaze involuntarily falling on Ye Tian before shifting away. "Rumor has it that the Ye Clan obtained a priceless treasure back then!"
"It's called the Grass Character Sword Art!"
"That's one of the Ten Ferocious Beasts' Treasure Techniques, comparable to the True Dragon Precious Technique."
Upon hearing this, everyone in the room subtly changed their breathing.
The Ten Ferocious Beasts' Treasure Techniques.
These four words mean the same thing in both the Three Thousand Provinces Emperor Pass... a supreme inheritance powerful enough to change the fate of an entire lineage.
Someone whispered, "Legend has it that the Grass Character Sword Art is ranked alongside the True Dragon, Kunpeng, and Phoenix as one of the ' Four Supreme Techniques ' among the Ten Ferocious Beasts' Treasure Techniques. A single strike can cleave stars and the sun and moon."
He heard someone whisper, "Rumor has it that the Ye Clan brought disaster upon themselves by obtaining the sword Ten Ferocious Beasts' Treasure Techniques..."
"A single Ten Ferocious Beasts' Treasure Techniques could bring about utter destruction? That can't be right, can it?"
"Who knows? That's what everyone's saying anyway."
Someone else asked, "Is the Ye Clan being... targeted?"
Tian Ming did not answer the question.
He simply stood there, his gaze fixed on the gray stone tablet in the distance. He knew everyone had come for the Grass Character Sword Art: "Gentlemen, it's up to yourselves to prove yourselves."
There was a moment of silence in the room.
Lin Fan leaned against the nearest broken pillar, listening to the discussions, and gently tapped the pillar with his fingers.
The Grass Character Sword Art.
He possesses many of the Ten Ferocious Beasts' Treasure Techniques.
He obtained the True Dragon, Kunpeng, and Phoenix gates in succession within the Immortal Ancient Ruins...
Each one was obtained through a near-death experience, snatched from the hands of others.
The Ye Clan was wiped out just because they acquired one branch?
He silently shook his head in his heart.
Something's not right.
He now possesses the Three Fiends Precious Technique; according to this logic, the Lin Clan should have been wiped out long ago.
That's enough to wipe out the Lin Clan several times over, isn't it?
But the Lin Clan is doing well now.
The great ancestors are all still alive and kicking, and his parents even went to the front line of the Emperor Pass for a stroll.
This illustrates one point: a single one of the Ten Ferocious Beasts' Treasure Techniques wouldn't be enough to wipe out an immortal Lineage overnight.
The real reason for the Ye Clan's annihilation must be more than just the four words " Grass Character Sword Art ".
He was convinced that he was determined to obtain the Grass Character Sword Art...
The Four Great Ten Ferocious Beasts' Treasure Techniques Ten Ferocious Beasts' Treasure Techniques!
As he was thinking, he suddenly heard a noise from ahead.
Um?
Lin Fan noticed several gazes directed his way.
Clearly, these guys also remembered that Lin Fan possessed the Ten Fierce Ten Ferocious Beasts' Treasure Techniques Ten Ferocious Beasts' Treasure Techniques, and more than one of them!
A strange look flickered in everyone's eyes.
But when Lin Fan looked at them, an invisible pressure swept over them, and everyone suddenly realized what was happening. These three ruthless people with Immortal Qi dared to mess with them? They wouldn't even know how they died!
"We can begin."
Tian Ming glanced at the sky, then turned to Ye Tian.
Ye Tian stood ten feet directly in front of the stone gate.
He was wearing a dark gray robe today, still not particularly eye-catching, but when he stood between the two intact stone pillars, a subtle change occurred in his aura.
Like a knife that has been sheathed for a long time, finally being grasped by its master.
Young Master Ye!
Jing Wuxin speak, her voice two decibels lower than usual. "Please."
Ye Tian did not answer.
He raised his right hand, fingers together, fingertips touching the palm of his left hand.
Then he made a forceful slash.
A very thin line of blood ran across his palm, and a bead of crimson blood seeped out.
Instead of falling to the ground, it hovered in mid-air, like a ruby held by an invisible thread.
The drop of blood reflected a dark golden light in the sunlight.
Then, the stone gate began to shake.
First came a faint hum, like a string that had been dormant for countless years deep underground being plucked.
Immediately afterwards, the runes on the two intact stone pillars lit up one by one.
Starting from the base, streaks of silver light climbed upwards along the pillar, like lit fuses, growing faster and faster until they finally converged at the top of the pillar into two dazzling beams of light.