Only three seconds? He's already the Lord of All Realms, so it doesn't matter.

Zhang Bazi raised an eyebrow at this moment, "See, I told you the outer barrier had been broken."

"Senior brother, what do you think we should do? We can't let the brothers make a wasted trip."

Before he could finish speaking, Tang Zhao turned and glared at him, which terrified Zhang Bazi.

"Who's your brother?"

Tang Zhao unleashed his full cultivation power, immediately overwhelming the disciples who were registered with the sect, making them unable to breathe and daring not to say another word.

After pondering for only a moment, he pointed to one person and said:

"Go and take a look."

"I?"

Under Tang Zhao's pressure, the disciple with the lowest cultivation level among the six had no choice but to step forward tremblingly and approach the bronze coffin.

The closer one gets to the coffin, the heavier the chilling aura becomes.

He craned his neck to look through the crack in the coffin, but saw nothing but darkness and nothing unusual.

The disciple, now emboldened, took two steps forward and placed his hand on the coffin lid.

"what!"

Upon hearing the man's scream, the people hiding behind him quickly pulled him away, but nothing happened in the center of the hall.

Tang Zhao strode forward, grabbed the disciple's robe, and at the same time moved a corner of the coffin lid open with his right hand. There seemed to be nothing inside.

"What are you yelling about if you have nothing to show for it!"

"Senior brother, I... I'm scared..."

However, just as the two were talking, the rubble that had been scattered around the hall suddenly moved.

The shattered stone statues began to float in the air and gradually reassemble themselves.

Before long, the four stone statues returned to their original appearance—four Taoist statues, some holding swords, some holding seals, some holding books, and some holding banners, with lifelike faces but empty and lifeless eyes.

"What the hell is that?"

Tang Zhao was fairly familiar with these four Taoist statues; he had been besieged by them the last time he visited this ancient cultivation site.

But he couldn't understand how the shattered stone statue could be put back together. There was probably only one possibility.

"It seems there are still some remnants..."

"Zhang Scarface, get to work on these stone statues! Take them down one by one, don't let them team up!"

However, Tang Zhao's reminder came too late.

After being reassembled, the stone statues immediately launched an attack. The Taoist statue holding a sword and the one holding a seal rushed towards Zhang Bazi and his group, while the other two came towards Tang Zhao.

Seeing this, Zhang Bazi and his companions hurriedly activated their magical artifacts, each facing the oncoming stone statues holding swords and seals.

However, despite the barrage of attacks from the crowd, the two stone statues, though their movements became slightly sluggish, did not lose any of their imposing presence.

The swordsman raised his stone sword high, its chilling sword energy tearing through the air as it slashed straight at the disciple who was charging at the front.

The disciple hurriedly raised his shield to block, but with a loud "clang," the spiritual light on the shield shattered, and he was sent flying, crashing into a stone pillar and spitting out blood.

Those who held the seal formed a hand seal, and the spiritual energy in the hall suddenly surged. An invisible pressure descended like a mountain, causing them to stagnate and making it even more difficult for them to cope.

"Don't fight head-on! Play hit-and-run tactics!"

Zhang Bazi gritted his teeth and roared, his long sword flashing with crimson light as he barely managed to cleave through the oppressive force, then dodged another sweeping attack from the stone sword.

On the other side, the disciple with the plaque next to Tang Zhao was the first to be thrown away, leaving him alone to face the two stone statues holding a book and a banner.

Tang Zhao's face was gloomy at this moment, and his spiritual power erupted, revealing his complete Foundation Establishment cultivation without reservation.

Faced with the successive attacks from the two stone statues holding a book and a banner, he swept his black sword horizontally, the sword energy surging like waves of ink, cutting off all the incoming magic power.

But the stone statues were inanimate objects. Unlike humans, they did not feel fatigue; they fought on with increasing ferocity and showed no sign of backing down.

The disciples of the Holy Sect were unable to destroy the stone statues in a short time, and the battle reached a stalemate.

Tang Zhao knew that a prolonged battle would be disadvantageous, so he scanned the various parts of the hall and finally his gaze fell back on the bronze coffin.

"It must be the coffin that's causing the trouble."

His mind raced, and with a sudden slash, he sent the stone statue holding the book flying backward, his body instantly rushing towards the coffin!

The stone statue holding the banner sensed the intention, and the banner shook more rapidly. The yin wind transformed into dozens of ghostly shadows that pounced on it. Tang Zhao neither dodged nor avoided it, but instead threw out three thunder talismans.

As the explosion rang out, lightning crackled, and the ghostly figure vanished with a shriek.

Taking advantage of the brief moment, Tang Zhao leaped to the side of the coffin and slapped the coffin lid with his palm.

"open!"

The coffin lid slid open halfway, releasing even more chilling energy. Tang Zhao peered inside and saw a shriveled corpse lying there, its features so intricately detailed that they were no longer recognizable.

Inside the chest of that dried corpse, there was a vibrant willow sapling!

"Fang Zhenge?!"

Tang Zhao's peripheral vision wandered inside the coffin, and he finally saw the token hanging from the waist of the mummified corpse, on which was clearly engraved the name "Fang Zhenge".

Just as he was filled with doubt, the two stone statues behind him rushed in front of him again, and Tang Zhao had no choice but to put aside his thoughts and concentrate on fighting.

However, he was outnumbered by his own two fists and couldn't defeat the two stone statues even with all his strength.

At this moment, Tang Zhao was furious. Seeing the stone statues rise up again and again after he had driven them back, he didn't know when it would end. Finally, he decided to fight to the death!

He took out a specially made thunder talisman from his pocket, and just as he was about to activate the talisman, another unexpected event occurred.

A faint cracking sound suddenly came from the dome of the hall, and a figure floated down like a falling leaf, landing precisely between Tang Zhao and the stone statue.

"Zhao...Zhao Wu?!"

Tang Zhao stared wide-eyed, as if he had seen a ghost.

Zhang Bazi, who was fighting in the distance, was also distracted by this sudden change. He was violently struck by the other two stone statues and sent flying against the surrounding rock walls, gradually weakening.

Ye Xuan glanced at him, then raised his finger and shot out four white beams, which floated towards the four stone statues.

When the white light drifted into the crevice of the rock, there was no overwhelming sound; the four stone statues collapsed with a crash and then fell silent.

His gaze returned to Tang Zhao. "Senior brother, what a coincidence, you also know this place."

"It's been so long since we last met! I hope you're doing well, Senior Brother."

"You're not Zhao Wu? You... are you a human or a ghost!"

Tang Zhao's face turned deathly pale. He had thoroughly investigated Zhao Wu's information over the past few days, so how could he not know his methods? Besides, the aura emanating from the person in front of him was not Zhao Wu's.

But regardless, the only fact before them was that Ye Xuan had casually destroyed those guardian statues... The difference between them was self-evident.

The hall fell silent again. Tang Zhao slumped to the ground, staring blankly at Ye Xuan, then at the rubble scattered on the ground. His lips trembled, and he couldn't utter a single word.

"Thankfully, thanks to my senior brother, I almost died."

Ye Xuan spoke calmly, his gaze sweeping over Zhang Bazi and the others, "Who are these people?"

"Yes, I invited them to help explore the ruins..."

Tang Zhao shuddered, scrambled to his feet, and forced a smile that looked more like a grimace.

"Junior Brother Zhao, you, you're not dead?"

Previously in Qingxia Town... the situation was truly urgent. Your senior brother didn't expect you to be drunk and run onto the altar. He intended to help, but thankfully, good fortune smiled upon you.

Ye Xuan looked at Tang Zhao quietly for a long time before letting out a soft sigh and saying:

"Senior brother, you're always in such a hurry. Even if I don't die, you'll still kill me."

If we return to the sect now, the bills will be overdue, and won't my junior brother still be exiled to the back mountain?

Tang Zhao trembled and quickly said:

"No, no, no, your senior brother has already settled your score. For this reason, shouldn't you..."

Before he could finish speaking, a white light condensed at Ye Xuan's fingertip. Its light was calm, yet it exuded a chilling aura.

"Brother who lied to you, I know about this. So, in that case, I should thank you, shouldn't I?"

"No, we're all fellow disciples, we should help each other out. Please, junior brother, show me mercy and spare my life!"

Seeing Tang Zhao mention the bond between fellow disciples, Ye Xuan felt a pang of regret. He lamented that the Holy Sect was not a place of love, so how could there be any bond between fellow disciples?

"Senior brother, do you remember something I wanted to tell you before we set off for Qingxia Town?"

Ye Xuan straightened up, took the Fang Zhen Ge token from the coffin behind him, and threw it in front of Tang Zhao.

"Actually, when Senior Brother Fang visited my residence, he sat on that stone bench just like you."

He went on a mission with me, and ended up like this. I wonder what Senior Brother Tang thinks about this?