" Elder Gu, have you discovered something?"
Inside the stone chamber, Xiao Yan frowned slightly, and his steps forward halted as he silently asked Gu You in his heart.
"Yes, we have indeed discovered something."
Gu You spoke softly, but a sense of seriousness could be discerned in her tone.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan's eyes narrowed slightly, a glint of light flashing deep within them. If Gu You could speak for him personally, then this thing must be extraordinary.
" Elder Gu, what is this thing you are referring to?"
Turning around, Xiao Yan's sharp gaze slowly swept across the stone chamber behind him, but he did not notice anything strange. Therefore, he had no choice but to ask Gu You again.
"See that fragment on that stone pillar? I'm pointing to that thing."
Gu You's calm voice came again, and Xiao Yan looked up. What he saw was a palm-sized, porcelain-white jade-like fragment, gleaming with a precious light, hanging from a thin rope on a platform carved out of the stone pillar.
"That is..."
Xiao Yan frowned slightly, only then realizing that the fragment did indeed seem somewhat strange.
On the fragment, twisted and broken runes appeared in Xiao Yan's eyes, and the shimmering light emanated from those runes.
"This is... a Formation Plate?!"
Upon seeing those runes, Xiao Yan immediately thought of the Formation Plate he had seen before. Those Formation Plate were also inscribed with some difficult and obscure characters. And now, on the fragment in front of Xiao Yan, the runes were also the same kind. Although they were different, Xiao Yan recognized them at a glance.
"Yes, to be precise, this is a fragment from a certain Formation Plate."
Gu You said slowly.
Xiao Yan nodded slightly, his eyes fixed on the fragment of the Formation Plate. He slowly walked closer, reached out, and was about to take it in his hand.
"Mr. Xiao Yan!"
Just as Xiao Yan was about to remove the fragment, Jin Yao's slightly solemn voice suddenly came from behind him.
The invisible intimidation in the voice instantly brought Xiao Yan back to his senses. His expression hardened, and his dark pupils suddenly contracted. Then, Xiao Yan staggered back two steps, turned his gaze, and looked at Jin Yao with a solemn expression.
Xiao Yan detected a hint of hostility in Jin Yao's voice.
Sensing this, Xiao Yan felt a chill run down his spine. If this woman attacked him, things would get really messy!
At the same time, when Jin Yao saw the solemn expression on Xiao Yan's face, her pretty face froze slightly. Then, her cold expression gradually softened, and her slightly fluctuating aura also calmed down.
"I apologize, Mr. Xiao Yan, I was a little too excited just now."
Jin Yao bowed slightly to Xiao Yan and spoke slowly.
"Ahem... Master Jin, I really can't accept your words. Besides, this stuff originally belonged to your Thousand Medicine Pavilion. It was indeed wrong of me to take it without permission."
After coughing twice, Xiao Yan quickly waved his hand with a look of apology, and said cautiously.
The woman in front of him had just shown murderous intent towards him, but in the blink of an eye, she acted as if nothing had happened. This truly made Xiao Yan feel terrified.
"Mr. Xiao Yan Xiao Yan, you're too kind. You helped me revive the Thousand-Fan Tree. If you need anything from here, please don't hesitate to take what you need. But that fragment behind you..."
At this point, Jin Yao paused slightly, but the words she was about to say remained unspoken.
"Hehe, it's alright. I was just curious and couldn't resist taking a look. If it's inconvenient for Master Jin, then I'll take my leave now."
Xiao Yan lowered his eyelids slightly, a sharp glint flashing in the depths of his pupils. He chuckled dryly, then lifted his foot, intending to walk out of the stone chamber.
Upon hearing Xiao Yan's words, Jin Yao's pretty face became somewhat unsettled.
Now, she wholeheartedly regards Xiao Yan as Third-Tier Alchemist. Alchemists of that level are few and far between, even in the entire Western Region. If she can build a good relationship with him, it will be of endless benefits to both her and Thousand Medicine Pavilion in the future. If, at this time, she were to break her relationship with Xiao Yan because of a fragment of an Formation Plate of unknown origin, it would be a great loss!
"Mr. Xiao Yan, please wait!"
Just as Xiao Yan gritted his teeth, beads of cold sweat appearing on his forehead, and was about to leave the stone chamber, Jin Yao behind him also gritted her teeth, made a decision immediately, and turned around to speak to Xiao Yan in a deep voice.
"Call..."
He secretly breathed a sigh of relief, barely wiping the cold sweat from his forehead. Xiao Yan's previously alarmed expression quickly returned to calm. Then, he slowly turned around, smiled at Jin Yao, and deliberately asked:
"Is there anything else, Master Jin?"
Jin Yao narrowed her beautiful eyes, a glint of light flashing in them. She then realized that, judging from his expression, she had probably been tricked by Xiao Yan!
But given the current situation, it seems we have no choice but to make this unprofitable deal.
With a helpless, bitter smile, Jin Yao raised her beautiful eyes, her red lips slightly pursed, revealing a captivating, gentle smile as she looked at Xiao Yan and slowly said:
"If Mr. Xiao Yan wishes to see this fragment, I will hand it over to you. The reason I stopped you earlier was because I personally set up a barrier on this stone pillar."
As she spoke, Jin Yao slowly turned around, raised her jade hand, and quickly formed several hand seals. Sure enough, a thin film-like barrier of Dou Qi qi appeared on the dark stone pillar. As the hand seals on Jin Yao's jade hand dissipated, the barrier slowly disappeared.
Upon seeing this, Xiao Yan's eyes narrowed slightly. It seemed that this fragment was no ordinary object; otherwise, a Dou Di expert wouldn't have sealed it away so carefully.
That barrier was so well hidden that even Xiao Yan's Spiritual Strength couldn't detect it. This alone is enough to prove how well the barrier was concealed. If Xiao Yan had accidentally touched it just now, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
A chill ran through Xiao Yan's heart, and a look of alarm appeared on his face. He then took a few steps forward and arrived in front of the huge stone pillar.
This time, without the protection of the Dou Qi barrier, the fragment was completely exposed to the air.
Jin Yao, standing to the side, looked at the fragment of the Formation Plate in her eyes, then glanced at Xiao Yan. Seeing the same puzzled look in his eyes, she couldn't help but feel suspicious.
Since Xiao Yan doesn't know the origin of this Formation Plate fragment, why is he so determined to see it?
Just as Jin Yao was pondering with suspicion, Xiao Yan reached out and carefully took the fragment from the rope, placing it in his palm.
Looking at the fragment of the Formation Plate in his palm, Xiao Yan's curiosity deepened. He really couldn't see anything different about such a small fragment of the Formation Plate, which was only the size of his palm.