Tang Dynasty Demon Suppression Division

"It seems our cultivation level is really not enough here," Chu Yunhe said with a wry smile.

"It's alright, we're not here to fight anyway," Li Yuan said with a smile. "This place is not safe to stay for long; we need to find a way to leave."

He vaguely felt that this city, including the underground palace, seemed to be inextricably linked to the bronze palace.

……

Meanwhile, deep within the dimly lit ancient palace.

Led by Zhao Lingyun, Tian Ce charged recklessly and broke into a large complex of side halls behind the main hall.

This appears to be the location of the palace's weapon-making workshop and armory.

The hall displays dozens of refining furnaces of varying sizes. Although they have long since cooled down, the runes remaining on the furnaces still emit a faint spiritual light.

The weapon racks around the room displayed a number of relatively well-preserved ancient weapons, including knives, swords, spears, halberds, axes, hammers, and more. Although most of them were covered in dust, they still exuded a restrained sharpness and were clearly not ordinary items.

There were even a few weapons of unknown material that appeared to have reached the level of magical artifacts.

"Hahaha, we've struck it rich this time! It's all ours!" Zhao Lingyun's eyes gleamed with joy as he rallied his team, "Quick, take everything you can! Leave nothing behind!"

The Tian Ce team members were also very excited and began to search frantically, taking away all the weapons, trying to open the sealed weapon-refining furnaces, and even starting to pry open the gems embedded in the walls, leaving the entire hall in a mess.

"Captain, we're taking so much, what if we get out of here..." one of the team members hesitated slightly.

"What's there to be afraid of? Treasure hunting in secret realms is all about skill; whoever finds it keeps it." Zhao Lingyun raised an eyebrow and sneered. "Those two cowards, Wanxiang and Taixu, all they know is rummaging through scraps. They deserve to go hungry!"

"Once we equip ourselves with these ancient divine weapons, our strength will greatly increase, and the final treasure will surely be ours!"

Thinking of the frustration of being suppressed by Shenwu and looked down upon by Taixu since the start of the competition, Zhao Lingyun finally felt relieved.

It was as if I could already see myself wielding an ancient divine weapon, sweeping through the secret realm, winning the championship, and being the center of attention.

……

On the other side, after passing through several empty side halls, Taixu and Wanxiang finally found a huge stone chamber that appeared to be a scripture pavilion.

The stone chamber was extremely spacious, with rows of tall jade bookshelves neatly arranged, filled with various jade slips, bone fragments and animal skin scrolls, and even some strange crystals.

A faint spiritual aura permeated the air, invigorating the spirit.

"It's a cultivation manual!" Qian Junlin's eyes lit up.

Everyone rushed forward to examine it, but upon opening it, they discovered that the writing inside was extremely ancient and completely unfamiliar.

Occasionally, a few can be barely recognized, but they cannot be pieced together to form a complete meaning. What's more troublesome is that many booklets themselves have reached the end of their lifespan; with a light touch of a finger, they turn into a puff of ashes with a "poof."

Occasionally, a few relatively intact jade talismans would be found, and attempts would be made to probe them with spiritual sense, only to discover that they were completely empty.

"Alas, time... truly is the most ruthless thing." Wen Ruoxu sighed again, looking at the roll of animal hide in his hand that had turned to dust.

These ancient cultivation manuals, any one of which, if circulated, would have caused a huge uproar, but now they were reduced to dust right before their eyes.

Leng Ningshuang frowned slightly and tried to carefully lift a jade talisman with her spiritual power. The talisman trembled slightly, but then its light dimmed completely and it did not react at all.

"It seems the true inheritance doesn't lie here," Wen Ruoxu judged with a frown.

However, they still selected some relatively intact jade slips and carefully put them away. Even a mosquito's leg is meat, and they would take them back to their teachers for research. Perhaps they could decipher the mystery.

Just as they were about to leave the Sutra Repository, a vast, cold, and terrifying pressure erupted from the deepest part of the palace, sweeping across the entire palace like a tsunami.

Everyone's faces turned deathly pale instantly, their minds trembled violently, and their magical power almost froze. This oppressive aura carried a pure, deathly will, as if it wanted to crush all life.

"puff!"

Several team members with weaker cultivation levels coughed up blood and collapsed to the ground. The other team members also staggered backward, their blood churning, their eyes filled with horror.

"What is it?"

What lies deep within the palace?

"Hurry up!"

Both teams were instantly thrown into panic. This was something they were not capable of fighting at their level, nor was it a secret they could even begin to uncover.

"what!"

"Boom!"

Almost simultaneously, Zhao Lingyun's fierce roar came from afar, accompanied by the chaotic and loud crash of a wall collapsing.

Inside the weapon-refining workshop.

While the Tian Ce group was immersed in the ecstasy of looting ancient divine weapons, Zhao Lingyun held a bronze battle halberd, feeling the power contained within it, and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Hahaha, what a weapon! With such a divine weapon, how can we not win the championship! Move it! Empty everything out of the furnace and let us see!"

The team members worked even harder, even resorting to brute force to chop at the sealed furnaces, attempting to force them open.

"Huh? What's that?"

One of the team members saw an ancient cauldron with rust on its surface deep inside the main hall, and without thinking, he picked up the back of his knife and smashed it.

"clang--!"

A deep, muffled bell rang out, and the dim runes on the surface of the cauldron suddenly lit up, as a terrifying energy filled with destructive power shot into the sky from the cauldron.

"roar--!"

A towering phantom of a monstrous beast, several meters tall, materialized in the air. It had a dragon's head, a scorpion's tail, eight legs, and was wreathed in crimson lightning.

Although not a physical entity, it still exuded a terrifying pressure, and its pair of leaping blood-red eyes were fixed on the Tian Ce group below.

It's an ancient restriction!

This cauldron was protected by powerful protective restrictions, but Tian Ce's brutal actions completely activated this ancient, dormant killing formation.

"Oh no! Retreat immediately!"

Zhao Lingyun felt a chill run down his spine, and roared sharply as he instinctively thrust his bronze halberd towards the illusory image of the demonic beast.

The illusory beast merely flicked its scorpion tail, and a thick bolt of blood-red lightning crashed down.

"Boom!"

The lightning struck the bronze halberd with pinpoint accuracy, instantly paralyzing Zhao Lingyun's arms. The halberd flew out of his hands, and he coughed up blood as he flew backward, crashing heavily into the weapon rack behind him.

With just that one blow, his sternum fractured and his internal organs were severely injured, instantly rendering him unable to fight.

"team leader!"

The other team members were horrified and rushed over to help, but the monstrous phantom swung its eight legs, creating a sky full of blood-red claw shadows.

"ah--!"

"Help!"

Screams rose and fell as the Tian Ce team members were sent flying like leaves swept up by a whirlwind. Some suffered broken bones and tendons, while others were critically injured and on the verge of death, uttering mournful howls.

In just a few breaths, the scene transformed into a battlefield of carnage.

Zhao Lingyun's eyes were bloodshot with rage, overwhelmed by boundless fear. He knew that if they didn't retreat now, everyone would die here.

"Walk!!"

With his last ounce of strength, he roared and crushed the teleportation talisman at his waist.

Om-!

A soft white beam of light erupted from the runes, enveloping all the team members. The beam of light ignored the monster's attack and flashed away.

The next moment, Zhao Lingyun and four seriously injured teammates disappeared from the spot.