23: Relics and Secrets, Fragments of the Five Elements

The moment they stepped into the relic, a rustic aura, sealed for ten thousand years, assailed them. The stone walls on both sides of the passage were covered with carvings of star trajectories, and a faint yellow glow seeped from the patterns, casting flowing light spots on the ground, as if they were treading upon the entire galaxy. Liu Qingluan curiously reached out to touch the stone wall; as her fingertips brushed the patterns, the light spots suddenly flared, coalescing into a fleeting golden lotus in her palm.

"The energy here is so pure." Su Qingyue brushed over the carvings on the stone wall, a look of surprise flashing in her eyes. "These aren't ordinary star maps; they look more like some kind of energy circulation Formation."

Lin Yang's attention, however, was drawn to the faint light at the end of the passage. The chaos star core in his Sea of Consciousness trembled violently, and a familiar pulling sensation came from ahead, resonating with the Five Elements True Essence within him. He quickened his pace and turned the corner, where his vision suddenly opened up—this was a stone chamber tens of feet wide, with three ten-foot-tall stone steles standing in the center. The surface of the steles was covered with peeling golden patterns, and two yellowish beast skin scrolls floated on a stone platform in the very middle, emitting faint Metal and Earth Element energy fluctuations.

"Hahaha! We've truly found it after searching high and low!"

Arrogant laughter came from the entrance as Feng Kun and Sun Futong rushed in with four White Cloud Sect Disciples, each holding a weapon, their eyes greedily fixed on the beast skin scrolls on the stone platform. Sun Futong's right arm was wrapped in a bandage, clearly indicating his previous injuries had not healed, and his gaze towards Lin Yang was even more venomous: "Lin Yang, I never thought a good-for-nothing like you could find this place! Hand over the treasure if you know what's good for you, otherwise don't blame us for being impolite!"

Feng Kun, clutching his still faintly aching severed arm, sneered, "Senior Brother Sun, why waste words with him? This kid is only at the first layer of the Innate Realm. The six of us are all at the ninth layer of the Acquired Realm; crushing him is like crushing an ant!"

Lin Yang shielded Liu Qingluan and Liu Hongluan behind him, giving Su Qingyue a meaningful look. Su Qingyue understood, quietly retreating to the left side, her fingertips condensing ice-blue True Essence to form three ice walls, protecting their retreat.

"You want the treasure?" Lin Yang's lips curved into a cold arc, and the Five Elements True Essence within his Dantian circulated simultaneously. "Then come and get it with your own abilities."

"You're courting death!" Feng Kun charged first, his short blade, imbued with Earth Element True Essence, slashing towards Lin Yang's face. He was confident that Lin Yang's Wood Element True Essence would counter Earth Element, but he didn't expect Lin Yang's left shoulder to move slightly, as Metal Element True Essence had already surged through his Meridians to his fingertips.

"Sharp Metal Sword Qi!"

Lin Yang pointed his fingers like a sword, and a faint golden sharpness burst from his fingertips, actually surpassing Feng Kun's blade light. With a crisp 'clang', the short blade was split in half by the Sword Qi, and the sharpness, undiminished, grazed Feng Kun's neck, drawing a string of blood beads. Feng Kun was so scared that his Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, and as he stumbled backward, he was tripped by his own people, falling head over heels in a sorry state.

Sun Futong, seeing this, roared and thrust his sword straight, the blue light of the Startling Lightning Sword even more intense than last time, six sword shadows weaving into an electric net covering Lin Yang's entire body. Lin Yang, instead of retreating, advanced, his left palm condensing Water Element True Essence, instantly transforming into an ice shield, freezing all the sword shadows in mid-air; his right hand, meanwhile, ignited Fire Element True Essence, and crimson flames spread along the ice surface, even burning along the sword shadows towards Sun Futong's wrist.

"Ah!" Sun Futong hurriedly abandoned his sword and retreated, his wrist already scorched, revealing charred marks. He looked at the melting ice shards on the ground, his eyes full of disbelief: "How can you use two types of True Essence simultaneously?!"

"More than two types." Lin Yang's voice was as cold as frost, and dark yellow Earth Element True Essence suddenly surged from beneath his feet, instantly raising three earthen walls that trapped the remaining four White Cloud Sect Disciples within them. "Earth Element, trap!"

The moment the earthen walls closed, Lin Yang's fingertips flashed golden again, and three streams of Sharp Metal Sword Qi shot out, accurately striking the stone walls on the inside of the earthen walls. Amidst deafening roars, the earthen walls exploded, sending shattered stones mixed with the Disciples' screams flying, and the four instantly lost their combat ability.

The three stone steles in the center of the stone chamber shook violently from the impact, and the golden patterns on their surfaces suddenly lit up. Countless Metal and Earth Element Origin energies surged out like a tide, sweeping towards Lin Yang. The chaos star core spun wildly in his Sea of Consciousness, greedily devouring these pure energies. Lin Yang only felt the Metal and Earth Element dantian cores within his Dantian swell madly; the dantian cores, originally the size of pigeon eggs, actually expanded to the size of fists, with intricate patterns appearing on their surfaces.

"Crack!"

The Metal Element dantian core suddenly cracked, and what surged out was no longer simple golden True Essence, but sharp Sword Qi condensed to an inch long, swirling endlessly around his body—the "Sharp Metal Sword Qi" had completely formed! At the same time, the Earth Element dantian core emitted a heavy glow, forming an offensive and defensive stance with the Metal Element Sword Qi, and an even more magnificent power erupted within his body, forcefully pushing Lin Yang's cultivation to the second layer of the Xiantian Realm!

"This... this is the aura of the Xiantian Realm?!" Sun Futong slumped to the ground, his face drained of color. He simply couldn't understand how this good-for-nothing, who could barely withstand a few of his moves a month ago, could now fight six opponents alone and even Break through to the Xiantian Realm.

Lin Yang ignored him, his gaze drawn to the beast skin scrolls on the stone platform. The energy emitted by the two beast skin scrolls resonated with the Metal and Earth Element dantian cores within him. He reached out, took them down, and unrolled them, seeing two Cultivation Techniques recorded in ancient seal script: the "Geng Metal Art" and the "Thick Earth Art," which perfectly completed the Five Elements Incomplete Manual he had previously obtained!

The moment the beast skin scrolls came into his possession, the chaos star core suddenly burst forth with dazzling light, and a walnut-sized grey-gold space appeared on its surface, inside which the beast skin scrolls he had just collected could be clearly seen—the prototype of the "Small World Evolution" had been unlocked!

"Let's go." Lin Yang put the beast skin scrolls into the star core space, signaling to Su Qingyue and the twins. After the energy baptism just now, the walls of the stone chamber began to peel, clearly indicating an imminent collapse.

As he passed by Sun Futong, Lin Yang stopped, looking down at him: "Go back and tell the White Cloud Sect people that if they want revenge, they can come find me at the Star Moon Sect anytime."

Sun Futong's lips trembled, unable to utter a complete sentence. Feng Kun had long since fainted from fright, and the remaining Disciples cowered in the corner, not even daring to look up.

As they left the stone chamber, Liu Qingluan suddenly pointed to the stone wall behind them: "Young Master, look! There are other passages there!"

Lin Yang looked back and indeed saw an entrance, just wide enough for one person, revealed behind the collapsed rubble, from which a richer energy fluctuation faintly emanated. He clenched his fist, the throbbing of the chaos star core growing stronger—the secret of this relic was far deeper than he had imagined.