Ling Tian Sword God

"This is the Golden Sand Ancient City. It's remarkable that it hasn't fallen even after a millennium."

The other members of the Baiyue Trade Association were also awestruck. This place was truly an extraordinary sanctuary in the world.

"Let's go. The disturbance from the ancient city's emergence was too great. I'm afraid people within dozens of miles would have heard. We need to move quickly."

Without any hesitation, Ling Chen quickly headed towards the entrance of the ancient city.

"Let's go!"

Lin Ya suppressed the fervent excitement in her heart, waved at everyone, and hurried to catch up with Ling Chen.

As soon as they entered the city gate, they encountered an Array Formation. This formation enveloped the entire urban area, continuously shifting the positions of alleys and buildings, leaving them dizzy and disoriented.

After about half an hour of wandering, the group finally emerged from the Array Formation. Before them appeared a gigantic, eerie corridor. This corridor contained flights of steps leading to an unknown destination.

Lining both sides of the corridor were numerous peculiar exotic beast sculptures, each with a different form. Some resembled avian Exotic Beasts, others various terrestrial beasts, all creating an oppressive atmosphere.

Having come this far, no one would be deterred by this eerie atmosphere. They proceeded cautiously into the corridor.

The corridor was incredibly long. Before they knew it, they had reached its center.

CLICK!

A faint sound echoed.

"What was that noise?" a guard stopped.

"Watch out behind you!"

A few people at the rear looked up. They saw the eyes of the exotic beast sculpture on the stone pillar to the guard's right open, and red light shot out.

BANG!

Before the guard could even turn his head, his skull was smashed like a watermelon, brains splattering everywhere.

"Quick, prepare for battle!"

Terrified by this scene, a few guards turned pale and hastily drew their weapons, slashing at the now-animated exotic beast sculpture.

"Seeing ghosts in broad daylight!" Liu Yi exclaimed, his face a mask of shock. Mere sculptures coming to life! This is simply supernatural, utterly horrifying!

However, just as his words faded, the exotic beast sculptures in the corridor revived one after another, completely blocking the passage and trapping them with no escape.

AH! AH!

A series of blood-curdling screams rang out. In an instant, several people were killed by the exotic beast sculptures, meeting violent deaths.

THUD!

Ling Chen swung his Heavy Sword, sending an exotic beast sculpture flying. However, the sculpture was exceptionally tough. The Heavenly Emperor Heavy Sword only managed to leave a scratch on it, causing no real damage.

"These exotic beast sculptures are too strong!"

Lin Ya also swung her sword to fend off an exotic beast sculpture. Similarly, her sword merely left a white mark on the sculpture, failing to even penetrate its defense.

Even the two Baiyue Trade Association Elders could only struggle to hold their ground, lacking the strength to retaliate.

"No, I don't want to die here! Miss Lin Ya, quickly lead us out of here!"

Faced with such dire straits, Liu Yi's face was etched with terror as he shouted hoarsely.

At Liu Yi's cry, Lin Ya's pretty face darkened. She had brought him along, intending to cultivate him, because he was the son of the Baiyue Trade Association's president, possessed good talent, and was considered young and promising. She hadn't expected him to be so utterly useless. When faced with danger, he completely lost his composure, a complete disgrace.

As she was growing frantic, her gaze fell upon Ling Chen. To her utter surprise, there was no trace of panic on his face. Instead, he seemed to be deep in thought.

Suddenly, his eyes lit up as if he had understood something.

So that's how it is!

A faint smile touched Ling Chen's lips. He had finally seen through the trickery here.

WHOOSH!

Pushing his Sword Intent to its absolute limit, Ling Chen's entire being seemed to transform into a Sharp Sword as he fiercely slashed forward.

SWISH! SWISH!

As this sword strike flew, Lin Ya felt as if the very space around them was torn apart by the blade, shattering into pieces. The next moment, the surroundings reverted to the original appearance of the corridor. The exotic beast sculptures stood motionless on either side, showing no signs of having revived.

"It's an Illusion Technique."

Lin Ya's eyes lit up. So, the scene just now had all been an Illusory Realm, not something that had actually happened.

"This young man actually shattered the Illusory Realm with a single sword strike!" one of the Baiyue Trade Association Elders exclaimed in astonishment. This Illusory Realm had nearly trapped them to their deaths, yet it couldn't withstand a single blow from Ling Chen. This couldn't help but shock him.

"Indeed, none of us could see through the Illusory Realm. Brother Wuchen, how did you know it was an Illusory Realm?" Lin Ya was also extremely curious. None of them could discern it, so why could Ling Chen alone see through it?

"My Mental Power is a bit stronger than an average person's, so Illusory Realms have less effect on me," Ling Chen said casually.

When he had drawn his sword earlier, he had already sensed that something was amiss. His Mental Power was far greater than that of an ordinary person, and his senses were much keener.

I fear it's much more than just 'a bit stronger,' Lin Ya thought. To her, Ling Chen was becoming increasingly inscrutable.

Although the previous scene had been an Illusory Realm, the guards who had supposedly been killed by the exotic beast sculptures had indeed become corpses. They lay on the ground, blood pooling around them.

"They're really dead!" Lin Ya's pretty face turned ashen with horror.

"They were killed by the Illusory Realm." Ling Chen's gaze also fell on the bodies of the guards. He then continued, "They fell prey to an Illusion Technique, were driven mad by the mental assault, and then committed suicide."

Illusion Techniques kill invisibly. The more powerful the Illusion Technique, the easier it is to destroy a person's will.

"Brother Wuchen, we truly owe you our thanks this time. Otherwise, who knows what kind of trouble we would have ended up in." Lin Ya cupped her fist to Ling Chen, a look of gratitude in her eyes.

Ling Chen waved his hand. "Since we're cooperating, there's no need for thanks."

"Regardless, Brother Wuchen, you've helped us immensely. If we truly find any Treasure here, you will have the first pick," Lin Ya stated.

Ling Chen nodded, tacitly agreeing. He then said, "Let's look at the map first. We need to determine our current location and where the Treasure is hidden."

Nodding, Lin Ya took out the structural map of the ancient city. Before doing so, however, she glanced at Liu Yi and shook her head, her eyes filled with disappointment.

"Damn it, it's all because of this Dustless! If not for him, Miss Lin Ya wouldn't be so disappointed in me." His heart filled with gloom, Liu Yi blamed Ling Chen for everything. If Ling Chen had acted sooner to break the Illusory Realm, I wouldn't have been so humiliated! He must have done it deliberately, just to make a fool out of me and laugh at my expense!

"According to the map, the Treasure's location should be just ahead in this corridor," Lin Ya said, putting away the map and pointing forward.

"Let's go then."

Ling Chen took the lead, moving forward. The others followed cautiously, no longer daring to let their guard down in the slightest.

The perilous corridor now lay behind them. Before them stood a magnificent, golden palace. Its great doors were tightly shut, exuding an awe-inspiring aura.

Ling Chen observed that there were no traps on the palace doors. He sent a palm strike towards the gates from a distance.

RUMBLE!

The palace gates, sealed for countless ages, rumbled open in response, as if a door to the past was opening before them. Everyone held their breath, their eyes fixed on the gradually opening palace, afraid of missing the most spectacular moment.