Mortal: My name is Ma Liang, and I also possess a magic brush.

If Ma Liangruo heard their explanation, he would probably be so angry that he would yell, "You two are truly of one mind!"

Fortunately, he had prepared a backup plan.

Seeing that they couldn't get any useful information, the Core Formation stage elders from various sects planned to wait a little longer to see if any more disciples would come out.

But as soon as they looked toward the exit, it suddenly closed.

Everyone sighed in unison; it seemed that the secrets within the forbidden area would be difficult to uncover any longer.

At this moment, the Core Formation elder of the Giant Sword Sect spoke up: "Why don't we reopen the restriction in five years and send a disciple in to check if the pillar of light is still there?"

At this moment, Ni Chang paused for a moment, then quickly glanced at Nangong Wan out of the corner of her eye, and advised, "I think we should stick to the previously agreed-upon sixty-year period. Perhaps we've activated it too frequently, and the restriction has been severely damaged. If activating it too often causes the forbidden area to collapse, then we'll suffer a great loss."

The others could only nod in agreement, though only they themselves knew what they were really thinking.

At this moment, Li Huayuan walked up to Fuyunzi and said, "Our bet still stands."

Only six cultivators emerged from the forbidden area this time, with one each from Qingxu Sect and Huangfeng Valley.

Fu Yunzi snorted coldly and called over the disciple from Qingxu Sect: "How many spiritual herbs did you collect? Hand them over."

Li Huayuan also called Han Li over and asked him to take out the spiritual medicine he had obtained.

Han Li and the Qingxu Sect disciples had no choice but to take out all the spiritual herbs they had picked.

This comparison clearly shows the difference in quality.

The Qingxu Sect disciples only took out a few plants, but Han Li kept taking them out. When he stopped, there were more than 20 spiritual herbs on the ground.

Li Huayuan laughed loudly as he looked at Fuyunzi.

What happened next was pretty much the same as the original story.

Among the crowd, one person seemed preoccupied, glancing at Han Li from time to time before quickly looking away, seemingly deep in thought.

……

On the flying boat of the Hidden Moon Sect, Ni Chang led Nangong Wan into the cabin and immediately set up a restriction.

"Junior sister, why did you insist that I refute Yue Zhanchen of the Giant Sword Sect? What exactly happened in the forbidden area?"

Nangong Wan walked to the table and sat down. "Someone is breaking the formation in the forbidden area."

"Break the formation? Break what formation?"

"Naturally, it's the grand formation that covers the pagoda at the core of the forbidden area."

Upon hearing this, Ni Chang shook her head repeatedly: "Impossible! Our sects have studied that great formation for nearly a thousand years, yet we haven't been able to budge it even a fraction. Who on earth has such ability?"

Nangong Wan took out a healing pill from her storage bag and swallowed it. After a short while of recuperation, her spiritual power recovered slightly.

"I don't know who they are, but they are wearing the clothes of Yellow Maple Valley."

"Could it be that Yellow Maple Valley is behind this?"

"That's not true at all," Nangong Wan shook her head decisively. "They must have disguised themselves and infiltrated Huangfeng Valley."

Ni Chang was even more puzzled. "Since you know someone broke the formation, why did you make me refute Yue Zhanchen? It would be more logical for us to open the formation five years later and retrieve the treasure."

Nangong Wan sighed, "I had contact with them in the forbidden area, trying to use my divine sense to explore their method of breaking the formation, but I was severely injured as soon as I probed with my divine sense."

"Although I suppressed my cultivation level, my spiritual strength is still at the Core Formation stage."

"This shows that their strength is far more complex than it appears on the surface."

"After all, we have studied that great formation for thousands of years and still haven't been able to shake it, but it is very possible that they could break it."

"So you mean, keep them trapped inside for sixty years?"

"No, I actually hope we can trap them inside and kill them. But that's not up to us. We can't say what the other sects will think! We can only try to trap them for as long as we can."

Ni Chang paced around the room a few times, then stopped and looked at Nangong Wan. "Besides you, who else knows about this?"

Nangong Wan paused, as if she remembered something, but quickly composed herself. "No, only I know."

Seeing her expression, Ni Chang knew that she must be hiding something, but she didn't press the matter further. She simply sighed and said, "It's good that you know what's going on in your heart. After returning to the sect, I will report this matter to the patriarch and see what decision he makes. Besides, even if you didn't tell the other sects, they will never pretend that nothing happened after they go back."

"Alas, these are truly troubled times."

……

Li Huayuan's return journey was very quiet, with only Han Li following behind him.

He rubbed his temples. "This forbidden area trial is probably the most embarrassing one I've ever had. How am I going to explain this when I get back..."

He suddenly asked, "What's your name?"

Han Li respectfully replied, "Respectfully, Grandmaster, your disciple is Han Li."

Li Huayuan looked at Han Li, "How about I accept you as a disciple?"

"Thank you, Master, for choosing me! I will serve you wholeheartedly and never dare to fail to live up to your great-grandfather's kindness!"

Li Huayuan nodded. "Alright. Now that you are my disciple, tell me the truth: what exactly happened to you in the forbidden area?"

"Master, I have already informed you that the pillar of light that shot into the sky rose out of nowhere in the forbidden area. I really know nothing else."

"Hmph! Do you think I'm so easily fooled? You think you can just brush me off with a mere mention of a beam of light?"

Seeing Han Li's troubled expression, Li Huayuan said, "Don't worry, I have a long-standing relationship with Nangong Wan of the Hidden Moon Sect. No matter how she threatened you before, you can speak freely. Now that you are my disciple, she will never do anything to you."

Li Huayuan actually thought that he was being coerced by Nangong Wan into not speaking, but that was not the case.

Seeing that Han Li still remained silent, they said, "Even if you insist on not telling us, the other factions will never let this go. Only if you tell us the truth can our Yellow Maple Valley seize the initiative and prepare in advance."

As he spoke, he took out a sword manual from his storage bag and tossed it to Han Li: "I suspect that the cultivation technique you are currently practicing is far from superior. Take this Qingyuan Sword Manual and study it first."

Han Li accepted the sword manual. "This disciple thanks Master!"

After a quick internal struggle, he finally decided to tell the whole story.

As Li Huayuan listened to the narration, his expression grew increasingly grim. When Han Li finished speaking, he revealed a look of shock, and couldn't help but slap his thigh and stand up: "Good heavens! I never expected Huangfeng Valley to be hiding such a figure! Why didn't you say so sooner, kid!"

He hurriedly urged the silver-armored horned python beneath his feet, its speed suddenly increasing several times over. Carrying the two of them, it transformed into a blur and sped towards Yellow Maple Valley.

At the same time, the elders from various factions who had been sent to the Crimson Forbidden Land all activated their fastest escape techniques and rushed back to their sects. Several impatient ones even took out their communication jade talismans early on to send the news of the unusual activity in the forbidden land back to their sects.

They wouldn't be reassured by Nangong Wan's few words; this matter should not be taken lightly.

……

Inside the forbidden area, Ma Liang, having finished looting the spoils, sat on a large rock and couldn't help but laugh out loud.

He was holding three Foundation Establishment Pills in his palm. "I've searched high and low without finding them, and now they've come to me without any effort at all."

Ma Liang looked at it for a moment, put the Foundation Establishment Pill into his storage bag, and then looked back at the pillar of light in the distance.

"I wonder how much longer it will take to break the formation..."

He muttered to himself, then thought, "Why don't I go explore other parts of the forbidden area first?"

Having made up his mind, he leaped onto the top of the venomous python's head and shouted towards the pillar of light, "Senior, I'll go and wander around the forbidden area first. There are no cultivators here now, so no one will disturb you."

There was no response from the beam of light, but Ma Liang didn't care. He urged the venomous python to swim towards a certain direction in the forbidden area.