"What a magnificent palace!"
After bidding farewell to Yue Mingchi and entering the side hall to the right of the Shangkou Palace, Li Xuan couldn't help but be awestruck by the furnishings before him.
Within the palace, there were nine massive pillars, each intricately carved with totems of dragons and phoenixes playing with pearls. Perhaps due to the spiritual energy they had absorbed over the years, the dragons and phoenixes on each pillar appeared as lifelike as living creatures.
Li Xuan peered closely and discovered that within each pillar lay a small yet complex formation.
"What kind of formation is this, so exquisite!" Li Xuan's curiosity was instantly piqued after a careful observation. Upon closer examination, Li Xuan realized that the formations within these nine pillars absorbed spiritual energy and converted it into spiritual power, which was then injected into the dragons and phoenixes on the pillars.
As a result, the dragons and phoenixes on these nine pillars showed faint signs of transforming into reality.
Meanwhile, Yue Mingchi and others who had entered the palace, after collecting spirit core source crystals, had also discovered numerous opportunities. Each of them set up sensing barriers before entering their own period of contemplation. xxs壹贰
Fortunately, after leaving the Shangkou Palace under Wu Pengfei's leadership, the Sheng Sect team did not return, leaving ample time for the Xuan Sect members.
"According to my previous inspection, there should be treasures here." Li Xuan's eyes flickered as he gazed at the golden-yellow wall before him. A surge of divine sense shot into the wall. The central section of the wall instantly sprang open under the force of the divine sense.
Within it lay a white porcelain bottle.
With a wave of his hand, Li Xuan seized it. Removing the stopper and taking a sniff, he recognized it as the Barrier-Breaking Meteor Pill he had obtained before.
"There are ten of them!" Li Xuan's heart filled with joy as he counted. Previously, the Xuan Sect, a major power, had held a martial arts competition for just one Barrier-Breaking Meteor Pill. Now, in this mere side hall, there were ten, an undeniable great harvest.
"I wonder what other treasures are within," Li Xuan put away the Barrier-Breaking Meteor Pills and, after confirming that there were no longer any traces of treasure spirit energy within the palace, his gaze shifted towards the depths of the palace.
Li Xuan believed that if treasures like the Barrier-Breaking Meteor Pills existed in the side hall, there must be even more precious treasures in the deeper sections. With this thought, Li Xuan moved and shot into the depths.
*Boom!*
With a resounding boom, Li Xuan, who had just shot into the depths of the palace, suddenly stopped. With a thought, his gaze shifted towards the direction of the sound.
"Junior brother Li Xuan, come and regroup quickly!" Hearing Yue Mingchi's telepathic message, Li Xuan did not hesitate for a moment and swiftly dashed towards where the sound had originated.
That location was the central, deepest part of the Shangkou Palace.
"Li Xuan pays his respects to all senior brothers and sisters." By the time Li Xuan arrived, Yue Mingchi and the others had already gathered. Li Xuan cupped his hands in greeting and then looked towards Yue Mingchi.
Seeing Li Xuan's arrival, Yue Mingchi nodded slightly and then asked, "Junior brother Li Xuan, have you discovered anything unusual here?"
As Yue Mingchi finished speaking, Fu Yaohui and Xie Yushan also turned their gazes to Li Xuan. Li Xuan noticed a hint of anticipation in their eyes.
Seeing this, Li Xuan did not answer directly. His gaze shifted slightly, and he looked towards a stone pagoda behind Yue Mingchi and the others. The area was surrounded by city walls, and this stone pagoda was the only structure.
Since Yue Mingchi and the others had gathered here, this stone pagoda must be unusual. Although the stone pagoda appeared ordinary at first glance, given that Yue Mingchi and the other Saint Sons of the Xuan Sect were here, it was certainly not simple.
With this thought, Li Xuan's divine sense moved again, shooting towards the stone pagoda.
*Bang!*
The moment Li Xuan's divine sense touched the stone pagoda, a dense aura suddenly erupted, instantly repelling Li Xuan's divine sense.
Startled, Li Xuan tried again, refusing to give up. The result was the same; his divine sense was repelled again.
There was even a faint hint of a backlash.
"Even divine sense cannot penetrate it. This stone pagoda is quite interesting," Li Xuan retracted his divine sense and said to Yue Mingchi and the others with some surprise.
"This stone pagoda seems to possess some kind of rule-based power that isolates all divine sense probes. An entity capable of this must contain considerable treasures within," Yue Mingchi nodded slightly.
It was clear that they had already attempted to investigate it using various methods before Li Xuan's arrival.
"But now we cannot break this restriction. Are we to return empty-handed?" Fu Yaohui asked with some reluctance.
Everyone fell silent. Force could not break it, and no solution could be found. To have a mountain of treasures but no path to enter was the most unbearable situation.
"Young master, try using your master's sword," at that moment, the voice of the Heavenly Dao Brush suddenly sounded in Li Xuan's mind.
Li Xuan frowned slightly upon hearing this, but he then took out his master's sword. Yue Mingchi and the others, who had been about to speak, stopped themselves.
Since Li Xuan's arrival, he had brought them numerous surprises. Perhaps he could create another miracle now.
As Li Xuan thrust his sword forward, the space around the stone pagoda instantly cracked.
Everyone present was stunned, and then their faces lit up with joy.
The stone pagoda had been opened!
"Little Brush, what's going on?" Li Xuan was also surprised, clearly not expecting his casual sword strike to break the stone pagoda's restriction.
The Heavenly Dao Brush remained silent for a long time before replying, "Your master gave you this sword; it disregards rules."
"Disregards rules?" Li Xuan frowned upon hearing this.
The Heavenly Dao Brush continued, "Previously, your master had sealed most of the functions of this master sword. As your strength increased, and with the passage of time absorbing the sword qi your master left in the Ten Directions World, this master sword can be considered unsealed.
"Besides disregarding rules, this master sword can also absorb souls to strengthen itself. Coupled with the increasing compatibility between the master sword and you, its abilities naturally become stronger."
The Heavenly Dao Brush paused and added, "However, I suggest that young master try to avoid using the master sword as much as possible in the future. After all, this master sword is already somewhat defying the heavens for you. If this continues, it might cause you to overestimate your own strength."
Li Xuan nodded slightly, "I understand."
Although the Heavenly Dao Brush did not say it explicitly, Li Xuan knew that the brush was worried about him becoming overly reliant on the master sword. This was also something Li Xuan himself was concerned about.
"Junior brother Li Xuan?" Seeing Li Xuan's prolonged silence, Yue Mingchi and the others exchanged glances before finally calling out.
"My apologies, I was momentarily distracted," Li Xuan said apologetically, returning to his senses.
"Junior brother Li Xuan, let's go inside," Yue Mingchi said with a smile.
Li Xuan nodded, "Alright."