Ye Ling's words fell silent for a moment within the Tomb-Swallowing Abyss's treasure land, after which a cyan phantom materialized before him.
Ye Ling gazed at the now corporeal Gate of Rebirth and asked, "Who took the stone tablet from this treasury?"
The Gate of Rebirth replied faintly, "Humans, one should always leave a sliver of room for others. The treasures within… you have already taken two, which in itself breaks the rules. If you now wish to snatch others' treasures, not even leaving a drop for them to taste, isn't that a bit too much?"
"You do have a point there," Ye Ling nodded, then immediately bound the phantom of the Gate of Rebirth with his Origin Force.
"Human! What are you doing?" The Gate of Rebirth exclaimed in alarm as Ye Ling suddenly attacked it, fear flashing in its eyes.
Ye Ling smiled at the terrified Gate of Rebirth, "Since you like to leave room for others, then the price for leaving room should naturally be borne by you."
"I am not a patient person. Since you are unwilling to speak, I will have to dig it out from your mind myself."
As Ye Ling's words fell, dark Origin Force, like worms, burrowed into the phantom of the Gate of Rebirth, touching its consciousness.
"Wait, wait!"
The Gate of Rebirth felt its life threatened and immediately cried out in panic, "I'll tell you! I'll tell you everything! Just don't do anything!"
Seeing the Gate of Rebirth's attitude undergo a complete 180-degree turn, a hint of amusement flashed in Ye Ling's eyes, "If you had adopted this attitude earlier, you wouldn't have to suffer like this."
"Speak."
The Gate of Rebirth glanced at the black energy entwined around it, now completely cowed. It cautiously requested Ye Ling, "Sir, could you withdraw your power first? I can barely withstand it."
Ye Ling shook his head, "I am truly sorry, but until I get the information I want, you will have to remain in this state. After all, I gave you a chance, but you did not cherish it."
Hearing Ye Ling's reply, the Gate of Rebirth was filled with endless regret for provoking Ye Ling.
It had not expected Ye Ling to be such a ruthless individual, acting decisively without any regard for reason!
Even more critically, Ye Ling was so brazenly breaking the rules, yet the Hidden Ruins showed no response!
However, regret was useless for the Gate of Rebirth now. It could only honestly state, "The ones who took the stone tablet were a man and a woman. Their auras did not seem like they were here to participate in the ranking matches of the Hidden Ruins; they were more like external invaders."
"However, the Hidden Ruins do not stipulate that only participants can obtain treasures. Both of them were able to reach here, and their strength was above mine, so I let them choose for themselves and take the stone tablet."
Ye Ling: "Have they already left the Tomb-Swallowing Abyss?"
The Gate of Rebirth shook its head, "Not yet. Those two were very interested in the bottom of the Tomb-Swallowing Abyss. After obtaining the stone tablet, they proceeded together into its deeper reaches."
Ye Ling then asked, "What is at the deeper reaches of the Tomb-Swallowing Abyss?"
The Gate of Rebirth continued to shake its head, "I am also unclear about that. I am only responsible for guarding this treasure land. The bottom of the Tomb-Swallowing Abyss has immense pressure, and I cannot get close."
This statement from the Gate of Rebirth was consistent with what Long Yu had said, so Ye Ling did not doubt its veracity.
However, Ye Ling's intuition told him that the Gate of Rebirth definitely harbored more secrets.
Since Ye Ling now had the Gate of Rebirth in his grasp, he naturally would not miss the opportunity to extract more information.
Seeing Ye Ling fall into silence and say nothing, the Gate of Rebirth became extremely uneasy. Finally, it couldn't help but ask Ye Ling, "Sir, I've told you everything I know. Can you let me go?"
"All the treasures here belong to you. You can take whatever you want!"
"Have you truly told me everything?" Ye Ling leaned closer to the Gate of Rebirth, his eyes narrowing slightly, "I must remind you, what you say yourself and what I dig out of your mind are two different matters."
The Gate of Rebirth trembled under Ye Ling's dangerous gaze, "Wh-what do you want?"
"What do I want? What do you want? I'll give you three seconds to consider."
As Ye Ling spoke, the phantom of the Gate of Rebirth's legs went weak. If it had any weight, it would have probably knelt before Ye Ling on the spot.
With no time to think, the Gate of Rebirth quickly said, "I, I know a hidden path that leads directly to the bottom of the Tomb-Swallowing Abyss. I can tell you, sir!"
Ye Ling chuckled, "Since you know the path to the bottom of the Tomb-Swallowing Abyss, why did you say you didn't know about the situation at the bottom? Aren't you deceiving me?"
"It's a misunderstanding, sir! I truly do not know the situation down there. There is extremely powerful spiritual pressure. I suspect an unimaginable existence is hidden within, and I dare not approach!"
"Sir, I am truly not lying to you! I am just an ordinary guardian beast. My duty is to guard the treasures here; nothing else concerns me!"
At this moment, the Gate of Rebirth's voice was tinged with tears. Ye Ling did not continue to pressure it. After obtaining the hidden path to the bottom of the Tomb-Swallowing Abyss from the Gate of Rebirth, he withdrew his Origin Force and spared the Gate of Rebirth.
"Th-thank you, sir!"
Upon regaining its freedom, the Gate of Rebirth dared not remain in place. It thanked Ye Ling fearfully and then vanished.
Ye Ling paid no mind to the hiding Gate of Rebirth. He briefly glanced at the two treasures in his hand, then put them away.
Based on the accounts of the Gate of Rebirth and the Scythe Beast, Ye Ling could easily deduce that the two individuals who took the stone tablet were also bounty hunters from the Void Darkness.
The immediate priority was to find those two bounty hunters and retrieve the stone tablet. As for the pill and the token, it would not be too late to study them after retrieving the stone tablet.
After storing the treasures, Ye Ling walked out of the Gate of Rebirth. The waiting crowd immediately surrounded him, and Ye Ling proceeded to inform them about the situation in the treasure land.
"That's roughly what happened. Those two bounty hunters took the stone tablet and headed for the bottom of the Tomb-Swallowing Abyss, so I have to pursue them."
"The further down the Tomb-Swallowing Abyss you go, the more dangerous it becomes. Therefore, only the Scythe Beast, who knows the bounty hunters well, and I will go down. The rest of you should return to the surface and wait for us."
Speaking of this, Ye Ling looked at Long Yu, "I'll entrust the care of Little Fire and Little Jade to you."
Long Yu smiled, "No problem, boss. It's on me!"
Little Jade, however, suddenly stepped forward and requested Ye Ling, "Sir… please take me with you too!"