Don't try to cultivate immortality; mortals live longer than immortals.

Thus, the cultivators of the Azure Sky Realm were surrounded and divided by the two, defeated one by one, and died one after another. The most tragic thing was that they did not know who had killed them until their deaths.

Duan Xuan and Ling Yun were hiding in a cave several miles away, remotely controlling this scene. In the short time it takes to drink a cup of tea, more than two hundred cultivators from various forces had been reduced to very few.

Gu Baizhi was one of the few survivors. Now, after going through countless hardships, he finally arrived deep in the bamboo forest.

As the most outstanding Qi Refining stage disciple in Danxia Pavilion, and one of the five prodigies who entered the secret realm this time, Gu Baizhi's cunning and strength are far beyond those of ordinary people.

At this moment, he had a vague feeling that something was wrong. Were those strange things that just flew out of the soil really magical artifacts?

Several of his fellow disciples died inexplicably at the hands of those things.

This matter is indeed a bit strange.

However, now that things have come to this, he has no time to think it over carefully. As the saying goes, once the arrow is released, there is no turning back. Things have developed to this point, and there is no possibility of giving up.

Never mind all that, let's figure out how to get the treasure first and then make a decision!

With this thought in mind, Gu Baizhi cautiously took a step forward.

……

"This kid is quite strong. No wonder he's one of the five great prodigies. He's even in the Immortal Alliance's database." Ling Yun clicked her tongue in amazement, but her voice carried a hint of teasing.

"He seems to have sensed something is wrong," Duan Xuan said calmly.

"What's so strange about that? The Mirage System, while more useful than ordinary illusion arrays, is not perfect. Just now, when I detonated the Heavenly Fire Thunder, he witnessed several of his fellow disciples being engulfed by the flames. Naturally, he couldn't help but have some doubts. However, this kid's strength is indeed remarkable. At such close range, I made the Heavenly Fire Thunder perform supersonic maneuvers before detonating it, and he actually dodged it all."

Lingyun's voice was clear and melodious, charming yet carrying a strong sense of confidence: "Host, don't worry. Since the other party has stepped into the trap, there is no way he can leave here alive. I have prepared a surprise for him."

"Oh, a surprise?"

Hearing the girl's confident words, Duan Xuan smiled slightly and did not ask for details. In any case, the mystery would be revealed soon, and knowing it in advance would be boring.

Let's just wait and see how things unfold, and treat it like watching an interesting suspense drama.

Duan Xuan was in a very good mood, and at this moment, Gu Baizhi finally arrived at the deepest part of the bamboo forest.

The vision emanated from here.

He swallowed hard, feeling a mix of nervousness and trepidation, but the greed in his eyes was impossible to conceal.

Success or failure hinges on this!

However, this guy truly lived up to his reputation as a prodigy carefully nurtured by Danxia Pavilion. With treasures within his reach, he didn't rush forward to take them. Instead, he looked around and made sure that there were no other cultivators lying in ambush nearby.

The wind and water were calm, and it seemed that all the restrictions in the bamboo forest had been broken.

He still didn't move.

Instead, after a moment's thought, he took out a talisman from his pocket, ignited it with his magic power, and the talisman transformed into a large blue hand about ten feet long, which grabbed at the soil in front of him.

At the same time, Gu Baizhi dodged and retreated instead of advancing, looking for cover to get further away.

Under that large, bluish-green hand, the solid soil was as soft as tofu, and a large hole was quickly torn open, from which a wooden box about a foot in size was pulled out.

The process went very smoothly, without any surprises or crises. Gu Baizhi secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but still did not rashly accept the wooden box. Instead, he had the large hand flick its fingers slightly and open the lid from a distance.

A small porcelain bottle, only a few inches tall, came into view.

Its design is simple and ancient, and it is clearly not an ordinary object.

"call!"

At this moment, Gu Baizhi finally let down his guard completely. Confirming that there was no further danger, he reached out and the porcelain bottle landed in his palm.

"Haha, I finally got the treasure."

He laughed heartily, his face showing relief and pride at surviving a disaster.

"I wonder what this ancient cultivator left behind. With so many restrictions, it must be extraordinary. Could it defy fate and allow me to ascend to the heavens in one step?"

Gu Baizhi muttered to himself, finally unable to resist his curiosity, and reached out to uncork the bottle, wanting to pour out the pills.

However, what happened next left him speechless.

There was no elixir in the bottle, but a small trumpet protruded from it, emitting a sharp, mocking melody: "You've been tricked."

Gu Baizhi's expression changed drastically.

then.

boom!

A loud bang reached my ears.

This time he had no time to dodge and was engulfed by the dazzling flames.

Cough cough cough...

Gu Baizhi was blasted away, and while he was in mid-air, he spat out blood continuously.

At the critical moment, he didn't have time to use his treasures and could only use his protective spiritual light to withstand the impact of the heavenly fire and thunder explosion.

The result was naturally that he was completely dazed and confused. It was only because this kid was truly powerful that he was able to do so. If it were a slightly weaker Qi Refining stage cultivator, they would probably have been completely destroyed by now.

Gu Baizhi's face was extremely ugly.

Now that things have come to this, he clearly understands that there is no treasure here at all; it was all a trap set by people from beginning to end.

"How hateful!"

A hint of resentment flashed in his eyes. He took out a healing elixir and poured it into his mouth while turning to flee.

Whoosh...

A chilling sound of something cutting through the air reached their ears.

Two flying swords shot out from the side at a speed of Mach 7, accompanied by a terrifying sonic boom, heading straight for his head.

"this……"

Gu Baizhi was stunned. He hadn't sensed any magical fluctuations at all. Where did these two flying swords come from?

The change happened hastily, but Gu Baizhi was an outstanding person after all. Even though he had been seriously injured by the Heavenly Fire Thunder, he still instinctively poured his remaining magic power into the protective magic artifact.

"clang!"

With a crisp metallic clang, an aerial sword drone slammed into the magical protective barrier surrounding him.

The impact of the extremely high-intensity metal was far beyond what ordinary magical artifacts could withstand. Under the high-speed vibration, the light wall formed by the magical artifact developed cracks at a visible speed, spreading rapidly in all directions like a spider web...

Gu Bozhi's expression changed drastically.

He had never seen such a strange flying sword before. It showed no signs of spiritual energy fluctuations, yet its power was ridiculously great.

Without a moment to think, he bit his tongue hard and spat out a mouthful of blood.

As it moved, the previously dim magical artifact shone with dazzling spiritual light again, and the dense cracks began to heal.

Just then, a second AirSword drone arrived.