260: Going their separate ways

"Thank you for the treasure, Senior!"

Lin Qingxue and Li Linger suppressed the excitement in their hearts and bowed respectfully.

They could feel that these two treasures were a perfect match for their own cultivation bodies.

The others, including Yao Delong, all flashed a trace of envy in their eyes as they looked at these two low-grade heavenly artifacts.

Especially Lin Shishi; she mainly cultivated the water element, and although it was similar to the ice element, her Dao tended more towards the agility and life-nourishing properties of water rather than the extremity and freezing nature of ice. Therefore, she had not received the favor of the artifact spirit and could not help but feel a little disappointed.

Yao Delong's gaze lingered more on the massive Profound Ice Lotus Dao Platform itself.

His eyesight was extraordinary, and he had long since seen that this Dao Platform was the true core of the entire Dao field. Its material, its Dao patterns, and the artifact spirit it nurtured all indicated that it was by no means an ordinary item!

It was at least a supreme grade heavenly artifact, or perhaps even... a quasi-Dao Artifact!

Furthermore, it was clearly integrated with the entire underground ice vein and this Dao field, their Qi connected!

It couldn't be taken away! Yao Delong made this judgment in an instant.

With their team's current strength, wanting to forcibly take this high-grade heavenly artifact that was connected to the earth vein and guarded by a powerful artifact spirit was nothing more than a pipe dream.

The ice needle test that the artifact spirit had casually launched just now could only be barely resisted by Shi Jian, who was at Nascent Soul Perfection, and Yue Shan, who was known for his defensive power. Its true strength was unfathomable. Forcibly making a move would only invite a catastrophe.

"It seems that the truly good things have all been put away by this artifact spirit in advance."

Li Chen also saw the clues and smiled bitterly, transmitting his voice to Yao Delong, his tone carrying helplessness and a trace of relief.

Being able to obtain two low-grade heavenly artifacts was already an unexpected joy.

Just as everyone was lost in their own thoughts, the ice shadow on the Dao Platform seemed to have completed its mission and did not look at anyone again.

Its finger, condensed from pure cold ice energy, gently tapped at the Void Realm.

Hum!

An irresistible, gentle, yet incomparably powerful spatial fluctuation instantly enveloped everyone!

"Senior..." Yao Delong had just wanted to speak, but the scene before his eyes instantly blurred and twisted!

In the next moment, a feeling of the world spinning came over him.

When everyone steadied themselves and looked closely, they were shocked to discover that they were already standing outside the entrance of the ruins, next to the ruins that Yue Shan had moved away!

Behind them was the entrance to the deep, cold stone stair passage.

That heavy stone door had silently closed again at some unknown time, as if it had never been opened.

Only the faint cold air remaining in the air proved that everything just now was not an illusion.

"This... we were just sent out like this?" Xiao Huohuo scratched his head, his face full of astonishment.

"What an overbearing artifact spirit..." Shi Jian looked at the tightly closed stone door, his eyes filled with awe.

The spatial teleportation method displayed by the other party was far beyond his understanding.

Lin Qingxue silently put the Ice Soul Star Pendant around her neck, and a pure power of the Ice Soul Origin instantly surged into her body, refreshing her spirit, and the aura around her became even colder and purer.

Li Linger also caressed the pair of Profound Yin Ice Silkworm Silk gloves, unable to put them down, feeling the Profound Yin power contained within, her little face full of joy.

Yao Delong looked at the re-sealed entrance of the ruins, his eyes deep.

Although this trip did not yield the core Profound Ice Dao Platform, Lin Qingxue and Li Linger each obtained a compatible low-grade heavenly artifact, which could be considered a significant harvest.

More importantly, he had witnessed the power of an ancient artifact spirit and gained a more intuitive understanding of higher-level power.

Li Chen also looked at the passage entrance that had been buried again by rubble and no longer had a single crack, his heart filled with emotion.

Although he didn't get the core treasure on this trip, his sister Li Linger obtained a low-grade heavenly artifact glove that matched her Profound Yin Physique, which was far beyond expectations.

He took a deep breath, suppressed the slight regret in his heart regarding the Profound Ice Dao Platform, turned around, and bowed solemnly to Yao Delong:

"Brother Yao, I will keep this life-saving grace and this Opportunity in my heart! I won't say thanks for such a great favor; if there are any dispatches in the future, Duke Rens Estate and the Moyang Sect will definitely do their utmost to help!"

Yao Delong returned the salute, his expression calm: "Brother Li, you are too serious. It was just a small effort, and the Opportunity was also destined by heaven."

Li Chen nodded, his gaze sweeping over the vast, boundless God Burial Abyss Secret Realm, where crises and opportunities coexisted, and continued:

"The Secret Realm is vast and has many Opportunities. We plan to head northwest to try our luck; it is rumored that there are clues to an ancient medicinal garden ruin there. Although there is strength in numbers, it is inevitable to be constrained when sharing Opportunities, so it is better for small teams to act more flexibly. Brother Yao, let us part ways here, we shall meet again!"

"We shall meet again!" Yao Delong nodded.

He understood Li Chen's meaning; the two teams had different goals, and forcing them to travel together would be counterproductive.

The two teams simply bid farewell at the valley entrance.

Li Chen, taking Shi Jian, Zhao Feng, Li Linger, as well as Sun Lie and Wang Yan of the Moyang Sect, turned into several streaks of light and sped towards the northwest.

Before leaving, Li Linger couldn't help but look back at Yao Delong, her little face slightly flushed, before following her brother's team.

Watching Li Chen and the others disappear into the distant horizon, Yao Delong withdrew his gaze and looked at the vast, ancient, and complexly aura-filled Secret Realm land before him.

The mountains rose and fell like dragons, ancient trees towered and blocked the sun, and in the distance, swamps filled with poisonous miasma and blood-red Gobi deserts appeared and disappeared, a prehistoric and desolate aura rushing towards them.

"Senior Brother Yao, where are we going next?" Xiao Huohuo leaned over and asked, his face full of excitement.

Although the trip to the ruins was short, seeing the ancient Dao field and the Heaven-Grade Weapon made him look forward to the Secret Realm even more.

Yue Shan, carrying a giant axe, said in a muffled voice: "I'll listen to you all!"

Han Yun and Lin Qingxue also looked at Yao Delong, while Lin Shishi stood quietly to the side.

Yao Delong frowned slightly. The Secret Realm was too big, with countless Opportunities, but it was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Blindly exploring was too inefficient and easily led to dangerous situations.

Just then, his gaze fell on the little fellow on his shoulder, who was drooping its head, looking depressed, and too lazy to even play with its newly obtained jade ring.

Qiong Shuang was indeed very depressed. After entering the ruins, before she could show off her Divine Might, she was held down by that artifact spirit and couldn't even spit out a mouthful of cold air.

It had finally come out, thinking it could follow Big Brother to eat and drink well, but Li Chen's team had left directly. Judging by this situation, it seemed Big Brother didn't have any clear goals either?

Wouldn't that mean aimlessly wandering around again? The hope of getting benefits today was slim!

"Qiong Shuang." Yao Delong's voice rang out.

"Ah? Big Brother?"

Qiong Shuang raised its little head, its big ice-blue eyes filled with a bit of bewilderment.

"You were born in this Secret Realm and grew up in this Secret Realm," Yao Delong looked at it, a faint smile curling at the corner of his mouth, "Do you know where there are any true rare treasures nearby?"

"Rare treasures?!"

These four words were like a thunderclap, instantly shattering all of Qiong Shuang's depression!

Its little eyes "swished" and lit up like two little suns, and drool almost flowed out directly!

"Big Brother! You asked the right person!"

Qiong Shuang was instantly full of energy, suddenly flying up from Yao Delong's shoulder, hovering in mid-air, its two little claws excitedly rubbing back and forth in front of its chest, and its little tail wagging extremely fast, with a triumphant look that said, "You finally remembered my value."