"Roar—"
As five people were speeding forward, a deafening roar erupted. Ye Bufan and the others looked back to see the pseudo-dragon rapidly approaching them, actually chasing after them.
"It's too vengeful," Ye Qingcheng sighed. At this moment, Ling'er suddenly stopped and hovered in mid-air.
Just as Ye Bufan was about to stop, Ye Qingyi shook her head at him, urging him to go ahead.
"Ling'er can handle it. We should leave first," Ye Qingyi said.
Having spent long periods with Ling'er and Xun'er, Ye Qingyi understood their strength the best. Since Ye Bufan heard Ye Qingyi say this, he followed her arrangement and galloped madly in the direction she pointed.
The group saw a deep pool here, with a stone tablet beside it inscribed with the words "Lotus Pond" in seal script.
Beside the Lotus Pond was a giant rock face. Seeing this, Ye Bufan and Ye Qingyi rushed into the cave. To their surprise, as soon as they took a step inside, they were all repelled by a surge of energy.
Outside the cave, several large characters appeared out of thin air: "Lotus Pond Restricted Area, Unauthorized Entry Prohibited."
The group exchanged glances, then took out their map and discovered that this location was precisely where another teleportation scroll was located.
"We can't get in. How are we supposed to get the scroll?" Ye Qingcheng, unwilling to believe it, took another step into the cave. Instantly, a barrier appeared, sending Ye Qingcheng flying back several meters.
Ye Qingyi seemed to be seeing this for the first time. The group could only wait quietly outside the cave.
"Roar—"
From afar, a pseudo-dragon's pained cry could be heard. A few minutes later, Ling'er, covered in blood, rushed towards them.
"How is it?" Ye Qingyi asked.
Ling'er nodded, her expression as stoic as ever. She confidently said, "The pseudo-dragon has been dealt with, and I've dug this out."
Ye Bufan looked at Ling'er's hands and saw a round object.
"Is this the pseudo-dragon's inner core?" Ye Bufan was somewhat bewildered by Ling'er this time. Ling'er was at the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage, while the pseudo-dragon was a genuine Core Formation stage cultivator, yet Ling'er had actually killed it.
It was clear that Ling'er must have secrets, as her combat power was immense. It was no wonder Ye Qingyi brought her along this time; she could deal with Core Formation stage cultivators in critical moments.
Ye Bufan speculated that either Ling'er herself had already reached the Core Formation stage and used some technique to disguise her aura as late Foundation Establishment, or she possessed some powerful artifact, spiritual talisman, or the like. Only then could she defeat opponents of a higher cultivation level, though the latter would still be quite challenging.
Ye Qingyi took the inner core and handed it to Xun'er, saying, "This inner core is for you. Refine it and meditate on it. It will help you improve your strength."
"Sister! You're biased!" Ye Qingcheng immediately became unhappy.
"I'm your own sister, why did you give it to Sister Xun'er?" Ye Qingcheng said aggrievedly.
Ye Qingyi was slightly taken aback. "You don't need it. Your strength will improve when it's time for it to do so."
Hearing Ye Qingyi's words, Ye Bufan's eyes suddenly lit up. He recalled the scenes he had seen that night in Fayuan Temple, involving the Eight-Headed Serpent and the Ye Qingyi sisters, and seemed to understand something.
"Alright, fine. For Sister Xun'er's injury," Ye Qingcheng said.
Ye Qingyi looked at Ye Qingcheng and shook her head helplessly. How could Ye Qingcheng be so childlike?
After speaking, Ye Qingcheng, still unwilling to give up, began to study how to break the restriction on the cave.
"Do you think this restriction might have some hidden switches or mechanisms?" Ye Qingcheng probed the sides of the cave, and Ye Bufan also started to examine it.
"If we can't find anything here, we'll move on to the next location. Don't waste too much time," Ye Qingyi reminded Ye Bufan and Ye Qingcheng.
Ye Bufan nodded. Just then, he heard a "snap," the sound of something breaking, followed by the sound of a large stone or similar object slowly moving.
"Found it?" Ye Qingcheng jumped up excitedly, ready to walk into the cave, but the barrier reappeared, once again sending Ye Qingcheng flying back.
Ye Bufan and Ye Qingyi both rushed out of the cave. At this moment, the scene outside in the Lotus Pond stunned everyone.
The Lotus Pond was backed by a rock face. Including the area where the cave was located, there were actually two rock faces that slowly moved in different directions, opening a narrow passage.
"Roar—"
As the crack widened, the water in the Lotus Pond began to flow backward along the opening.
Ye Bufan was astonished by this miraculous creation. Then, the Lotus Pond released a massive stone statue.
"This is... Xuanwu..."
On the back of the Xuanwu stone statue rested a sword, with runes swirling around it.
"He who pulls out the sword may enter the cave."
Above the sword, seven large characters appeared.
Ye Bufan took a deep breath and leaped into the center of the Lotus Pond. The Xuanwu stone statue moved without warning and soared into the sky. Ye Bufan followed closely behind, and the stone statue expelled a significant amount of water, which then flowed back into the Lotus Pond.
"This is a timer. As long as the Lotus Pond is full, it won't count," Ye Qingyi called out to Ye Bufan.
Ye Bufan nodded and approached the Xuanwu stone statue, gently reaching out towards the sword on its back.
"Buzz—" The long sword sensed Ye Bufan and let out a series of sword hums. The hilt vibrated on its own, showing resistance towards Ye Bufan.
"Resistance is useless, Ye Bufan, come out!" Ye Bufan grasped the long sword with one hand and began to lift it.
The sword also began to struggle, emitting sword energy from its hilt to attack Ye Bufan.
This was a piece of cake for Ye Bufan. He used his own sword energy to suppress the long sword, but surprisingly, the sword struggled more and more, eventually causing Ye Bufan's face to turn red.
"Rise for me!" Ye Bufan roared. The Broken Sword instantly appeared, hovering behind him, emitting a sharp sword aura. At this moment, the long sword sensed the presence of the Broken Sword and restrained its aura.
Ye Bufan looked back at the Broken Sword in disbelief. It emanated a trace of supreme dominance.