Cen Ba roared fiercely in place. Living Yama didn't want to waste any more time and produced a weapon.
"It's actually a Blood Drop!" Ye Bufan squinted his eyes and quickly recognized the Blood Drop, a magical artifact modified from an ancient martial weapon, in Living Yama's hand.
Living Yama swung the Blood Drop. The Blood Drop opened and was about to be placed on Cen Ba's neck. Cen Ba produced a short saber and fiercely slashed at the Blood Drop, causing it to fly back.
Cen Ba intended to use this momentum to attack Living Yama, but unexpectedly, the Blood Drop suddenly hovered in mid-air and flew back towards him. Cen Ba, who was charging forward, collided with the Blood Drop.
"Not good!" Cen Ba kicked backward, but it was too late.
He felt a chill on his back as Living Yama appeared behind him and struck him with a palm.
"Hmph!"
Cen Ba grunted. He blocked the Blood Drop with his short saber. The Blood Drop spun rapidly in the air, its blades continuously sharpening, like a metal cutting machine, emitting sparks.
"Ugh!"
Facing the Blood Drop in front and Living Yama behind, Cen Ba struggled with all his might. Finally, relying on the interaction between the saber and the Blood Drop, he retreated and leaped into the sky.
Just as Cen Ba began to feel fortunate, he sensed something in the sky. He looked up to see a large foot stomping towards his face.
Cen Ba crashed heavily onto the ground.
Ye Bufan watched from the side and couldn't help but laugh. Cen Ba, lying on the ground, had a footprint on his face. On his throat, a wound inflicted by the Blood Drop was bleeding. It was only a near miss from the Blood Drop severing Cen Ba's throat and causing him to be beheaded.
Living Yama gave Cen Ba no chance to breathe as the Blood Drop descended again.
"Wait a moment!" Cen Ba said, panting. "I can give up my chance to enter the ancient cultivation ruins and the main hall. Let me go."
Living Yama sneered and said, "It's too late to give up now!"
Black gas swirled around Living Yama as he rapidly formed hand seals, so fast that only afterimages were visible.
"Die!" Living Yama unleashed his hand seals. Despair filled Cen Ba's eyes. At this moment, blood mist erupted from his body, and he vanished from his spot.
"He used Blood Escape," Ye Bufan sighed lightly. "I didn't expect Cen Ba to have such resolve."
"As the saying goes, 'Where there is life, there is hope'," Ye Qingyi said. "With his escape, the trouble he's accumulated will likely only increase."
"But that's a problem for later," Ye Bufan exchanged a glance with Ye Qingyi. Meanwhile, the other battle raged on, with the remaining three from Sakura Island fighting Song Mingqin, Qu Fei, and Meng Po to a standstill.
"Not good!" Ye Bufan's expression changed, and he pulled Ye Qingyi, vanishing from their location.
Living Yama stood where Ye Bufan had been, a slight smile on his lips. He muttered, "Ye Bufan, you're lucky, but there's still plenty of time. Your Dragon Emperor Token will be mine."
"Living Yama, you are despicable," Song Mingqin also sensed Living Yama's actions and struck with his sword, severing an arm of the Sakura Island assailant. The assailant, enduring the pain, also used Blood Escape and disappeared.
"I will end this fight first. Whatever I do is my business. Stop me if you can," Living Yama said unabashedly.
Song Mingqin and Living Yama locked eyes, the atmosphere on the scene reaching a critical point. They could erupt into a fight at any moment.
The remaining two, seeing that the tide had turned, prepared to flee, but were locked by the spiritual power of Meng Po and Qu Fei. They were pushed back step by step.
Living Yama glanced at Song Mingqin, moved, and appeared behind the Sakura Island assailant fighting Meng Po. He struck with a palm, and the Blood Drop descended from the sky, clamping onto the assailant's head.
"Crack—"
A crisp sound of bone breaking echoed. The Sakura Island assailant's head was instantly severed, and his body fell to the ground.
On the other side, the Sakura Island assailant fighting Qu Fei, seeing one of his companions fall, was thrown into disarray. Song Mingqin was also preparing to attack. Unexpectedly, Qu Fei left an afterimage and transformed into a blade.
Half a second later, the Sakura Island assailant plummeted rapidly. Qu Fei landed on the ground first, thrusting a saber upwards. The great saber pierced through the assailant's abdomen, and the Sakura Island man died with a gasp.
Ye Bufan arrived at a side hall furthest from Living Yama. Apart from a few statues, it was empty.
"Since everyone received a grand gift, it shouldn't be hidden too obscurely," Ye Qingyi said. "The 'darkness under the lamp' is always a reliable tactic."
Ye Bufan nodded. In this side hall, there were three statues. According to the inscriptions, they were likely ancestors of the Taiyi Sect who had successfully ascended to the Heavenly Realm after overcoming their tribulations since the sect's founding.
"That's strange. If they are these people, why are they placed in a side hall?" Ye Bufan frowned, puzzled.
There must be something unusual about this. Ye Bufan took a deep breath and began to carefully observe the statues.
"The first one should be the founding ancestor of the Taiyi Sect, Daoist Taiyi."
The first statue appeared immortal and transcendent, exuding an aura of a celestial being.
The second appeared younger, a middle-aged man. He exuded an imposing aura and filled with a murderous intent, appearing extremely solemn and majestic at a glance.
As for the third, he was even younger, giving off an aura that made people feel he was unapproachable.
A common characteristic of these three statues was that their eyes all looked towards the east.
Based on the situation encountered in the main hall earlier, Ye Bufan speculated that this might have something to do with Qimen Dunjia. He analyzed the eight gates in this side hall according to the principles of Qimen Dunjia and then analyzed the eight gates of the entire main peak.
"This is not right," Ye Bufan said, frowning at the results. He recalculated, combined with the location of the spiritual ore vein discovered by Bai Zizhen earlier, and the results were still the same as the first time.
"What's wrong?" Ye Qingyi asked.
According to the geomancy of Qimen Dunjia, this location should have been the main hall.
Ye Qingyi found this hard to believe as well and looked at the three statues again.
"Are their eyes looking in the same direction?" Ye Qingyi asked.
Ye Bufan looked up. As Ye Qingyi had said, the three stone statues were indeed looking in the same direction.
The two followed the direction indicated by the statues and found that it led to the back mountain of the main peak.
Ye Bufan and Ye Qingyi decided to investigate the back mountain. Following the direction pointed by the three statues, they entered the back mountain.
Unlike the forest path in front of the so-called main hall, this area appeared overgrown with weeds and looked somewhat desolate.
The more this was the case, the more Ye Bufan and Ye Qingyi felt that this place was extraordinary. The further they walked, the more concentrated the spiritual energy became.
In the back mountain, there was a large stone with three characters carved on it—Tai Xu Cliff.
Although it was called a cliff, the entrance was a cave.
The two hesitated for a moment before finally deciding to enter the cave.
"The spiritual energy here is at least four to five times that of the outside world."
Upon entering the cave, they were not plunged into darkness. The cave walls were illuminated by luminous pearls.
The further they went, the more restless Ye Bufan and Ye Qingyi became. The concentration of spiritual energy doubled and redoubled. The only explanation for this phenomenon was—a spiritual ore vein!
The two couldn't help but quicken their pace and finally reached the end of the cave...