When Ling Chen and Xu Ruoyan appeared in the square, nurous figures were already darting about, scattered throughout the area.
Those who could make it here were all individuals of considerable strength. After all, any diocre or underpowered individuals would have either perished on the outskirts or voluntarily withdrawn long ago.
"So many experts."
Xu Ruoyan’s pretty face was grave. Among these people were renowned experts from the Young Master List, established Grand Masters, and pillars of various sects. The younger generation was, in fact, the weakest group here.
"There are six palaces nearby, and people should have entered them already, but it’s unclear which one houses the Human Emperor’s Treasure," Ling Chen said, leaping to the top of a stone pillar with his Light Skill and looking down.
"The six palaces look almost identical from the outside, making it difficult to determine which one is the main palace," Xu Ruoyan added, also flying to a high vantage point to survey the square’s surroundings. "The Human Emperor’s Treasure is unique; I fear it won’t be easy to discern its location."
"Indeed," Ling Chen stroked his chin, musing aloud, "unless one is extrely well-versed in Array Formations. Only a Saint-level Array Master could possibly see through the intricacies of these six palaces."
"That’s as good as saying nothing. In other words, no one in the Martial World can decipher it. Basically, everyone here is just fumbling around blindly, leaving it to luck." Xu Ruoyan shook her head. A figure as formidable as the Human Emperor is far beyond our reach. Even powerhouses like those Sky Apex Realm magnates of the Martial World are no different from children before the Human Emperor. The disparity is too vast; those magnates are hardly any better off than we are.
"Yes, it’s all about luck..." Ling Chen nodded, a hint of helplessness in his voice.
But the next mont, his eyes suddenly lit up.
"Then let’s try our luck as well." A smile touched the corners of Ling Chen’s mouth. "Trying our luck is exactly what we should be doing."
"What do you an?" Xu Ruoyan asked in surprise, noticing that Ling Chen seed to have had a sudden realization.
"People blessed with good fortune naturally rely on it, don’t they? Since everyone else is fumbling about blindly, and our luck is better than theirs, doesn’t it stand to reason that if we trust our intuition, our odds of choosing correctly will be slightly higher than most?" The smile on Ling Chen’s face deepened.
"Yes!" A bright light suddenly flashed in Xu Ruoyan’s beautiful eyes. How had she not thought of that?
"Then, on the count of three, we’ll both choose based on our intuition. How about that?" Xu Ruoyan looked at Ling Chen with pleasant surprise.
"Alright." Ling Chen nodded, then closed his eyes and began to count aloud, "Three, two..."
"One!"
"I choose that one."
Almost simultaneously, Ling Chen and Xu Ruoyan raised their fingers. Although they pointed from different positions, their target was, shockingly, the exact sa location.
It was a palace situated closest to the center.
"Let’s go!"
Ling Chen and Xu Ruoyan exchanged a smile, then activated their Protective True Qi shields and shot straight towards the entrance of that grand hall.
A Grand Master’s True Qi shield not only provided defense but also reduced air resistance, thereby increasing movent speed.
「Inside the palace.」
Apparently, Ling Chen and Xu Ruoyan were not the first to enter. The dark hall before them had already been illuminated by torches, casting a bright light upon the originally gloomy and somber palace.
Ling Chen and Xu Ruoyan were not surprised by this. Although they had been among the earliest to enter the greater Palace complex, they had been delayed by Li Wushuang and Xiang Feng, and subsequently spent considerable ti healing their injuries. During this period, many people must have surpassed them and arrived earlier.
Passing through the brightly lit hall, they saw two huge sculptures standing guard on the left and right. Between these two statues stood a tightly closed gate.
After a quick scan, Ling Chen approached the right statue, placed his hand on a protruding section, and pressed down.
BOOM!
The chanism activated, and the gate imdiately swung open to both sides.
This type of chanism was fairly basic, likely intended only to obstruct those with insufficient strength. For true powerhouses, the Human Emperor had evidently not planned to use such simple devices as a limitation.
Exiting the hall, Ling Chen and Xu Ruoyan entered a dim courtyard.
The courtyard was incredibly spacious, surrounded by lush woods. All the trees planted in the forest were green pines, dense and verdant.
In this courtyard, shadowy figures could be vaguely seen, and the auras of nurous powerhouses could be sensed from afar.
Unsurprisingly, Ling Chen and Xu Ruoyan remained alert. It seed that quite a few people had also stumbled into this palace by chance. Among them were so with formidable auras, a few of which were clearly at the peak Grand Master level—individuals they could ill afford to provoke.
The powerhouses who had entered earlier glanced at Ling Chen and Xu Ruoyan as they ca in, but seeing that they were juniors, paid them little mind.
Generally, unless there was a significant feud, no one would rashly make a move here.
"The air here is thick with the scent of Spiritual dicine!" Xu Ruoyan remarked. Before they had gone far, she squatted in front of a blue herb and carefully dug it out.
"Blue Heart Grass!" Ling Chen was sowhat surprised. Blue Heart Grass was a Grade 3 Herb with calming and qi-nourishing properties, not sothing easily encountered. Yet, here in this courtyard, they had so easily stumbled upon one.
"There’s more over there!" Just after Xu Ruoyan had collected the Blue Heart Grass, and only a few dozen steps away, she found another Grade 3 Herb, the Divine Sky Grass.
"My goodness, is this the Human Emperor’s dicinal garden?" Ling Chen exclaid in astonishnt. Grade 3 Herbs weren’t common cabbages; usually, they were a rare sight, yet here they seed to be everywhere.
Moreover, the others in the woods were clearly also busy searching for dicinal herbs, scurrying about with great enthusiasm. The allure of Grade 3 Herbs was certainly nothing to scoff at.
Ling Chen also carefully searched the vicinity and managed to dig up two Grade 3 Herbs.
BUZZ! BUZZ!
At that mont, a vibrating sound emanated from the center of the courtyard. It sounded like bees, but it was ten to a hundred tis louder, intermingled with the distinct tremor of tal.
The buzzing grew increasingly louder until it seed to fill the sky. Everyone froze, staring wide-eyed in the direction of the sound.
Gold—dazzling gold. Countless dazzlingly golden flecks rushed towards everyone, moving with the speed of golden lightning.
AHHH!
Several of the nearest Grand Master Level Powerhouses, their eyes wide with terror, fell backward. Their bodies were riddled with countless holes, their skin taking on a pale golden hue. Through so of the wounds, golden stingers, each the length of a little finger, could be seen. These golden stingers had pierced through their Protective True Qi shields and their bodies.
"Damn it, it’s the Third Grade Exotic Beast, the Golden Bee! Run!" soone shrieked, desperately scattering to escape. The others, jolted to their senses, felt their scalps tingle with fear as they turned and fled.
If it were an ordinary Third Grade Exotic Beast, it might have been manageable. But the Golden Bee was an ancient, supposedly extinct Exotic Beast, notorious for its extre ferocity. It was ten tis more dangerous than an ordinary Third Grade Exotic Beast.
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