It wasn't clear how long the fight lasted, but eventually, Ye Cangtian's side fell silent.
At his feet, the stone figures had already piled up into a mountain.
"Holy crap! A war god!"
Watching Ye Cangtian stand proudly atop the 'mountain', Yang Chen couldn't help but swallow.
Although Jian Wusheng had revealed some combat techniques, Ye Cangtian single-handedly wiping out over a hundred stone figures still left him dumbfounded.
Damn, this guy was so strong!
Bai Jing also muttered inwardly, secretly congratulating himself for not continuing to trouble Ye Cangtian earlier.
Otherwise, he would probably be in an even worse state than those stone figures!
"Senior, here's your sword back. Thank you!"
"What a fine sword..."
A short while later, Ye Cangtian returned to the side of the three, reluctantly returning the long sword to Jian Wusheng.
To be honest, despite using it for a relatively short time, he had genuinely taken a liking to the sword.
"This sword is called Xing Yun. It's the heart of the ruins from another ruin. Its power is decent, but the only drawback is that it doesn't have a sword spirit."
Seeing Ye Cangtian staring intently at the long sword, Jian Wusheng introduced it and continued,
"Kid, don't be in a hurry. There are many existences in the Chinese ruins stronger than Xing Yun. You still have a chance..."
Upon hearing this, Ye Cangtian reluctantly withdrew his gaze and then extended his hand to Bai Jing.
Since Xing Yun had been returned to Jian Wusheng, he also needed to get his skull dagger back. Otherwise, if he encountered another fight, he wouldn't have a suitable weapon.
...
After a brief adjustment and recovery of some strength, Ye Cangtian brought his state to its optimal condition.
While Ye Cangtian was resting, Bai Jing and Yang Chen collected all the crystals from the stone figures.
A total of 130 medium-sized white crystals!
The income from here alone far exceeded the income from searching the forest.
According to the conversion rate of crystals in the Chinese ruins, one large crystal could be exchanged for ten medium crystals, and a hundred small crystals.
So, this was quite a substantial income. Even Bai Jing, a young master from the Bai family, was beaming with joy.
However, as Bai Jing was excitedly counting, Yang Chen poured cold water on him.
The reason was simple: these stone figures were killed solely by Ye Cangtian. They hadn't participated, and at most, they were responsible for collecting the crystals.
Therefore, these crystals should belong to Ye Cangtian.
In a single sentence, Bai Jing experienced the feeling of going from heaven to hell, his face instantly turning red with no words to refute.
This guy's character isn't bad.
Ye Cangtian, who had finished adjusting his state, murmured inwardly as he observed Bai Jing's expression.
If it were someone else, seeing so many crystals appear, they might have already had the thought of killing and robbing. But Bai Jing only felt disappointment, not greed.
Of course, it was also possible that the other party was wary of Jian Wusheng.
"Let's go. It's time to enter the courtyard."
Saying this, Ye Cangtian took the lead and walked towards the courtyard in the distance.
Upon reaching the entrance, Ye Cangtian stopped, attracted by the inscriptions on either side of the gate, which resembled couplets.
The left side read 'One axe opened the heavens and earth', and the right side read 'One axe settled the universe'.
With just ten characters, they were vigorous and imposing, with an aura like a rainbow.
Even Ye Cangtian felt a sense of dizziness after looking at them for a few more moments.
Thinking this, he glanced at Yang Chen and smiled, "Perhaps your opportunity has arrived. You might be able to find suitable twin axes here."
Whether it was the stone figures at the entrance of the secret realm or the ones they had previously destroyed, they all uniformly used great axes.
It was evident that this ancient powerhouse also favored this path.
When Yang Chen heard this, his eyes immediately lit up.
He had started as a rustic weapon user. He wasn't accustomed to or proficient with weapons like swords, spears, and halberds. His favorite was the twin axes.
He could use them for chopping wood, cooking, and fighting beasts. Most importantly, among all weapons, the twin axes were the most formidable in their attacks!
It was a pity that his twin axes had been ruined in the previous battle, and he was worried about gathering materials to forge another one in the future.
Now, everything was saved!
"I hope your words come true. I hope so."
Although excited inwardly, Yang Chen remained rational. After all, this was just speculation, and there was no guarantee that because the stone figures used twin axes, one would find twin axe weapons in the ruins.
The next moment, Ye Cangtian didn't say anything further and directly stepped forward to push open the courtyard gate.
As the courtyard gate opened, everything inside the courtyard came into view.
There were houses on the front and both sides, and in the central courtyard stood twelve human-shaped wooden dummies. White crystals were embedded in their chests, and they held twin axes in their hands.
Ye Cangtian understood that these twelve human-shaped wooden dummies were likely the guardians set up by the ancient powerhouse.
"Same as usual, you two protect yourselves, leave the rest to me," Ye Cangtian said indifferently.
"Ah? Something else! Take us with you this time."
"Since they appeared here, they must be more troublesome than the stone figures. We can help you share some of the pressure."
The one speaking was Bai Jing. His gaze was fixed on the large crystals on the wooden figures.
He had already missed out on the medium crystals before, and he didn't want to miss out on this opportunity as well.
"Whatever you want."
Ye Cangtian replied indifferently.
He didn't have time to bicker with Bai Jing. As soon as the courtyard gate opened, the wooden dummies had already started moving.
They spread out like a net, waiting for people to enter the courtyard before killing them together.
As expected, when Ye Cangtian entered, all the wooden dummies moved again.
They didn't attack Ye Cangtian directly but instead covered each other and attacked in turns.
This made Ye Cangtian frown. He had anticipated that these wooden dummies would not be simple and would be more difficult to deal with than the stone figures.
But he hadn't expected their strength to exceed his imagination.
Not only were their coordination exceptionally默契 (mòqì - tacit understanding/perfect coordination), making it difficult for him to land an attack, but their speed also far surpassed the stone figures, almost matching his own.
As for their attacks, each axe swing was incredibly precise and difficult to dodge, with immense power.
Overall, each of these wooden dummies possessed a strength of the Profound (玄) level or above, and their combined efforts were like adding wings to a tiger.
"Damn it!"
As Ye Cangtian fought and analyzed, Bai Jing at the entrance looked somewhat pale.
He had intended to fight desperately and get a share of the spoils, but seeing the coordination of the wooden dummies and Ye Cangtian's clumsy evasions, he chose to wait at the entrance.
On the other side, Yang Chen, witnessing everything, was more direct. He walked straight to Jian Wusheng and said,
"Senior, I think you should make a move."
Although Ye Cangtian was currently fighting on par with the wooden dummies, this might not remain the case as time went on.
After all, Ye Cangtian was still mortal, and his stamina would gradually be depleted. If he sustained any injuries, the situation would only worsen.
Those wooden dummies, however, were different. They had infinite stamina, and even if their arms and legs were severed, they could still fight him.
"Let's wait a bit longer."
Jian Wusheng continued to observe Ye Cangtian and replied indifferently.
He could naturally see that Ye Cangtian was on the verge of breaking through to the Earth (地) level. Achieving this breakthrough wouldn't just be a matter of effort.
After all, many powerful individuals in the ruins were stuck at the peak of the Profound (玄) level, unable to break through their entire lives!
It could be said that to break through this barrier, talent, perseverance, effort, and accumulation were all indispensable.
The only external force that could potentially help was combat in life-or-death situations, which might stimulate one's full potential and break through the barrier.
"This..."
"What's wrong with him? Does he dislike the crystals being too heavy and affecting his speed?"
Suddenly, Bai Jing asked with confusion.
During the fight, Ye Cangtian, for some reason, was throwing out crystals while battling.
Those crystals were also strange; as they fell, they embedded themselves directly into the ground.