The ancient return was exposed by his sister's live stream.

"Some viewers said that this might be the place where Grand Tutor Wen Zhong passed down his teachings."

"Wen Zhong?" Ying Wenjie sprang to his feet. "The legendary Grand Tutor Wen Zhong?"

"A grand-disciple of the Tongtian Sect Leader, and a disciple of the Golden Spirit Mother," Qin Xiaoyu continued. "His mount is a black Qilin, his magic weapon is the Flood Dragon Double Whip, and he has the Tongtian Divine Eye on his forehead. He is a top-tier fighter in the Investiture of the Gods."

Wu Tian swallowed hard: "Then this Black Kirin..."

He didn't finish his sentence.

Because the eyes of the black unicorn lit up.

Two blood-red beams of light shone from those dark eye sockets, like two lamps that had suddenly been lit.

Everyone's hair stood on end at the same time.

"Back off!" Chen Siyao shouted.

All six people jumped backward at the same time.

The black unicorn slowly raised its head.

The sound of the mechanical joints turning was exceptionally clear in the silence—click, click, click.

Then, it took the first step.

The ground shook.

The ten-meter-tall metal behemoth carried the weight of a thousand pounds with every step. Its movements were slow, but the oppressive feeling was like a mountain walking towards you.

The live stream chat went completely crazy.

It moved!!! It really moved!!!

[Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap, this isn't a model! This is a real mecha!!]

Run!

[The ancient mechs have activated!! I could brag about this for the rest of my life!!]

Chen Siyao did not run away.

She watched the black Qilin's movements and quickly assessed the situation—it wasn't fast, but it was enormous, and being touched by it would result in serious injury. Moreover, it was blocking the entrance to the hall; anyone wanting to enter the main hall had to get past it.

"We might have to defeat this mechanical beast to get into the main hall," she said.

No one backed down.

We've survived three hours in the minefield, there's no way we're going to give up here.

Chen Siyao fixed her phone to a rock in the distance, adjusted the angle, and made sure she could capture the entire process.

Then she turned around to face the black Qilin.

The six people spread out, forming an encirclement.

The black Qilin's red eyes swept over them, its head turning slightly as if locking onto a target.

Chen Siyao drew her magic sword.

Yang Wanqing raised the Heavenly Thunder Halberd.

Wu Tian clenched his fists, and energy condensed on his knuckles.

Ying Wenjie, Qin Xiaoyu, and Ye Chendong each brandished their weapons.

A dark red light began to condense in the mouth of the black Qilin.

Chen Siyao's pupils suddenly contracted.

"spread--!"

A dark red beam of light shot out from the mouth of the black Qilin, with a diameter of more than one meter, sweeping across the spot where the six people had just stood.

A half-meter-deep trench was plowed into the ground, and the edges of the rocks were glowing red from the heat.

The six people rolled and dodged, looking disheveled but not injured.

"It can attack remotely!" Ye Chendong shouted.

"Nonsense!" Ying Wenjie scrambled to his feet. "Who couldn't see that!"

Without pausing after landing, Chen Siyao charged directly towards the side of the Ink Kirin. She needed to observe its structure up close—mechanical creations always have weaknesses, they definitely do.

The black Qilin turned its head towards her, its red eyes locking onto her.

The light in his mouth coalesced once more.

"Attract it!" Chen Siyao shouted.

Wu Tian was the first to respond. He charged forward and punched the black Qilin in the front leg.

"clang--"

The dull thud of metal colliding.

Wu Tian's fist was deflected, his hand went numb, but the black Qilin's attention was indeed drawn to it. It lowered its head, its red eyes fixed on Wu Tian.

Chen Siyao took the opportunity to move to the side.

Upon closer inspection, the armor of the Black Kirin is even more intricate. The gaps between each armor plate are extremely narrow, almost too narrow to insert a needle.

The joints contain mechanical components similar to hydraulic structures, which emit a low humming sound when in motion.

Where are the weaknesses?

Mo Qilin kicked Wu Tian.

Wu Tian dodged to the side, but the shockwave from that leg still sent him flying.

He did two somersaults in the air, crashed heavily to the ground, and rolled several meters before coming to a stop.

"Wu Tian!" Ying Wenjie shouted.

"He's not dead!" Wu Tian got up from the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood. "That thing is really strong."

Yang Wanqing launched an attack from the other side. The Heavenly Thunder Halberd struck down, and purple lightning slammed into the hind leg of the Ink Qilin.

An electric arc exploded, scattering purple light in all directions.

Mo Qilin paused for a moment.

It was only a momentary pause, but everyone saw it.

"Lightning works on it!" Qin Xiaoyu shouted. "Senior sister, continue!"

Yang Wanqing didn't need anyone to remind her. She unleashed three consecutive halberd strikes, each carrying intense lightning power.

Purple arcs of electricity spread across the surface of the Black Kirin's armor, and the mechanical joints emitted a piercing creaking sound.

But the black Qilin only paused for a few moments and did not stop moving.

It turned around and swept its tail horizontally.

The tail was made of solid metal, and its sweeping speed far exceeded expectations given its size.

Yang Wanqing had no time to dodge and was thrown over by the shockwave from the tail, crashing into a rock more than ten meters away.

"Senior Sister!"

"I'm fine—" Yang Wanqing crawled out of the rubble, blood at the corner of his mouth, but he gripped the Heavenly Thunder Halberd tightly. "This thing is too thick-skinned. Lightning can only make it pause briefly."

Chen Siyao observed the entire process from the side.

Lightning is effective, but not enough. The armor is too thick; external attacks are unlikely to cause substantial damage.

Then we can't fight from the outside.

We need to find the key internal structure.

Her gaze swept over the entire body of the black Qilin—head, neck, torso, limbs, and tail. Every part was tightly covered by armor, without any obvious gaps or openings.

and many more.

Chen Siyao's gaze lingered on the belly of the black unicorn.

When it raises its forelegs to attack, the armor on its abdomen will briefly open—there is a horizontal gap, about two fingers wide, lasting for less than a second.

"I found it!" Chen Siyao shouted, "Its abdomen! There's a gap in its abdomen when it lifts its leg!"

"How big?" Qin Xiaoyu asked.

"Two fingers' width, less than a second!"

Ying Wenjie asked with a pained expression, "Who can possibly break through here?"

"I'll lure it to lift its leg." Wu Tian wiped the blood from his face. "You guys find an opportunity to attack its abdomen."

"Not enough." Chen Siyao shook her head. "A gap only two fingers wide won't do much damage with a normal attack. We need to use lightning—Qingqing, can your halberd compress lightning into a thin line?"

Yang Wanqing thought for a moment: "I haven't tried it, but I can give it a try."

"That's settled then—" Chen Siyao quickly gave the instructions, "Wu Tian will draw its attention from the front, Ying Wenjie and Ye Chendong will harass it from both sides, forcing it to raise its front legs. Qin Xiaoyu will use magic to restrict its movement speed. Wan Qing and I will find an opportunity to break through from its abdomen."

"clear!"

The six people dispersed.

The black Qilin's red eyes scanned back and forth between them, as if calculating the level of threat.

Wu Tian was the first to move.

He charged forward, his fist brimming with energy, and slammed it into the foreleg joint of the Ink Kirin.

"clang!"

The black unicorn looked down at him, raised its front legs, and prepared to step down.

"Now!" Chen Siyao shouted.

Ying Wenjie and Ye Chendong attacked the Mo Qilin's hind legs from both sides at the same time, forcing it to lose focus.

Qin Xiaoyu formed a hand seal, and an energy chain wrapped around the hind leg of the black Qilin, slowing down its movements.