Along the way, among these piles of bones, the group discovered quite a few magical treasures or artifacts that still retained a bit of spiritual energy.
This undoubtedly proved that the cultivation levels of the deceased were not low during their lifetimes. With so many cultivators having died tragically in this place, the five felt a little apprehensive, wondering what had happened here.
Before long, they stepped onto a broken bluestone path, with the central area of the ruins just twenty or so yards ahead. The few stone pillars that still radiated spiritual light stood right before them, their spiritual patterns clearly visible.
After observing, they all realized that these pillars were merely the outermost components of an altar, about thirty yards in length and width.
And within that altar, one object caught their attention, with Zhang Ling noticing that the others' breathing had become somewhat rapid.
In the very center of the altar, an area radiated intense spiritual energy fluctuations, with strands of spiritual light constantly entwining, enveloping a bronze cauldron about ten feet in size.
Within the cauldron, a stream of five-colored spiritual light circulated, as if some treasure was sealed inside.
The group's divine senses immediately probed towards the cauldron.
Zhang Ling naturally did the same. In his divine sense, the cauldron was engraved with some ancient patterns of flowers and birds, as well as spiritual lines. The spiritual energy fluctuations on it were several times stronger than ordinary magical treasures, indicating that it was no ordinary object.
And the layer of five-colored light repelled divine sense upon contact.
"This treasure has such intense spiritual pressure, it seems to be an ancient treasure, and beneath the spiritual light, there seems to be something even more powerful."
"Fellow Daoist Long, what do you think?"
Ding Ruozhao was the first to regain her senses, turning to ask Elder Long.
Greed also appeared on Elder Long's wrinkled face, as he stared unblinkingly at the bronze cauldron.
Hearing the inquiry, he returned to his senses, chuckled dryly a couple of times.
"What看法 can this old man have? Like all of you, this cauldron must be an unusual treasure. Since we've encountered it, we naturally can't let it go. However, so many corpses seem to have perished because of this treasure. This treasure won't be easy to obtain."
"Fellow Daoist is right."
Elder Long chuckled coldly and began to investigate the array formations in this area.
First, he used several array disks to examine the giant pillars, and after determining that there were powerful array restrictions here, Elder Long released the white ape puppet, which walked directly towards the altar.
As the puppet stepped onto the altar with a clattering sound, its speed immediately slowed by more than half, and its body was filled with creaking noises.
Elder Long's expression darkened, and he cast several spells on the puppet. Immediately, the puppet's body flashed with spiritual light, and a layer of white light appeared, protecting it. It then lifted its feet again and slowly walked towards the cauldron in the center of the altar.
As it advanced, its speed became slower and slower. After only walking five or six yards, the white ape puppet could no longer hold on. The spiritual light on its body flickered and went out, and its entire body was crushed to the ground.
"Hmm, it's actually a Heavy Mountain Restriction."
Elder Long's eyelids twitched a couple of times, and he muttered with an unsightly expression. Then, with a wave of his hand, a golden pearl flew out from his sleeve and landed directly on the puppet's head, emitting a layer of azure light that illuminated the puppet.
With a thought, the puppet stood up again.
Everyone was secretly amazed by this scene. The pearl on the puppet's head was a defensive magical treasure. The defensive power it emitted seemed to be able to withstand the surrounding pressure.
With the blessing of the magical treasure, the white ape puppet strode forward, but when it approached within ten yards of the cauldron, a layer of condensed yellow sand swirled up from the nearby ground.
The yellow sand swept quickly, instantly forming a tornado that enveloped the cyan puppet.
A sound of metal clashing rang out, and Elder Long's expression changed. He quickly waved his hands, pinching out spells. With a muffled sound, a streak of cyan spiritual light suddenly appeared from within, transforming into the pearl, which Elder Long caught in his palm.
The spiritual light on the pearl dimmed, and this magical treasure also suffered some damage. Elder Long's expression became extremely ugly.
Looking at the altar, the yellow sand stopped in an instant, leaving only a pile of puppet wreckage on the ground.
This scene caused the faces of the group to darken. Even the defensive magical treasure could not protect the white ape puppet, indicating the strength of the yellow sand's attack.
Elder Long's face was gloomy. With another flip of his hand, he released a black iron wolf puppet. This was also a second-order puppet, but it was much shorter than the white ape puppet.
Elder Long placed several array disks on this puppet, and finally activated several layers of spiritual light shields. The iron wolf puppet leaped out and walked towards the center of the altar again.
But this puppet was the same as the previous one. Within ten yards, another cloud of yellow sand appeared.
This time, with the blessing of the array formation, it only lasted for a dozen breaths. Although the iron wolf puppet successfully retreated, its entire body became pitted and uneven, as if it had been hit by countless stones.
It looked like it was about to be scrapped.
Elder Long's eyes twitched wildly at this, and he also destroyed several array disks. These types of array disks were not easy to refine.
Next, Elder Long used several other methods, but the results were minimal. Zhang Ling and the others were not just watching, and they each took action.
But their attempts to obtain the treasure out of thin air all failed.
Within ten yards of the bronze cauldron, whether approaching from the ground or from the air, as long as there was a foreign object approaching, whether it was a magical treasure, artifact, or spell technique, a large amount of yellow sand would instantly scatter around, and the closer it got, the stronger the attack became.
After a flurry of activity, they spent more than two hours.
The group was helpless, somewhat disheveled, and feeling depressed. The most painful thing was having a treasure so close yet being unable to obtain it.
The group then each found a crevice to recover the consumption from earlier.
Zhang Ling sat cross-legged on a large rock, looking at the bronze cauldron on the altar, pondering. Although he was also very envious of this treasure, he had recently obtained a separate storage bag with many items inside.
He had even found cultivation techniques, and he actually had the intention of retreating now. He was not as enthusiastic about other treasures as the others were.
He had just advanced to the Golden Core stage, and although he had two magical treasures to protect himself, he was still somewhat inadequate compared to the others. Zhang Ling was aware of his own limitations. He had already achieved his purpose in coming here. The deeper he went into this kind of place, the more dangerous it would be.
However, this idea only flashed through Zhang Ling's mind. Even if he wanted to leave now, the others would not agree.
Looking at the bronze cauldron on the altar, Zhang Ling thought of what Elder Long had said.
This person had not recognized what array formation this was, only that the cauldron was where the array eye was located. The pillars outside were all similar to Zheng Qi's array arrangement tools.
As long as the cauldron was taken away, the array formation could be broken.
