270: You know what, it's just scribbles, you know what?

In an instant, a massive explosion shook the surroundings, deafening to the ears. The green lotus exploded the moment it touched the Ghostly Talismans. Instantly, the Ghostly Talismans were blown to pieces, turning into a sky full of dust that drifted down.

Yet those green lotuses remained perfectly intact, quietly floating in mid-air.

Seeing this, the women were all dumbfounded, marveling at Ye Bai's mysterious and unpredictable methods. They were especially surprised to see the two lotuses hanging in the air, emitting a ghostly, cold, and icy luster.

"This..." Meng Ziyi's eyes widened in shock as she exclaimed, "What kind of treasure is this? To think it possesses such power, it's simply miraculous!"

Ye Bai laughed heartily and said, "This is our China's heirloom—the Five Elements Lotus Pedestal."

"Five Elements Lotus Pedestal?" Everyone was stunned; they clearly hadn't expected such a treasure to be here.

"The Five Elements Lotus Pedestal is formed from the Essence of the Five Elements. These characters aren't in clerical script; they are 'Five Elements' characters from the Arts of the Five Elements. Look at where they are carved, the brushwork, and the direction of the strokes—they all contain hidden mysteries and must be read in a specific order."

Ye Bai explained, "If one tries to read these characters by force, not only will they be unable to understand them, but they will also suffer a backlash. In severe cases, they might even lose their lives."

The women immediately understood. In other words, these characters were specifically left for those skilled in this field. Otherwise, if anyone tried to observe them by force, their heads would likely explode before they could see anything!

"So powerful!" Meng Ziyi praised.

"It is indeed powerful," Ye Bai said. "However, this is a thousand-year-old Mausoleum after all, and these characters might not have been created by them. These so-called ancient characters could actually have come from outsiders."

Everyone nodded, finding his words very reasonable.

"I'll try first." Ye Bai extended his right index finger, slowly approaching those scattered green characters.

Sizzle—

Just as Ye Bai was about to touch the characters, the green lotus suddenly flickered, bursting with a piercingly bright light. Then, the green lotus suddenly soared into the sky, circling in the void and emitting a dazzling green glow.

Boom!

With another loud bang, those green characters began to burn once again.

These flames lasted for a full minute before slowly disappearing into nothingness. At this moment, Ye Bai and the others felt that the surroundings seemed much brighter, and their vision became much clearer.

"It really worked." Ye Bai nodded.

He led everyone up the stone stairs, quickly passing through the Stone Chamber and arriving at the highest point.

At this moment, everyone looked up and saw a green jade stone slab ahead, about three meters high and three zhang wide. A lifelike dragon pattern was carved onto this green jade stone slab, appearing as if it were a living creature.

Besides that, there were eight massive murals.

Each mural depicted a scene; a total of nine images combined to form this green jade stone slab.

"A Nine-Palace Grid pattern..." Ye Bai stared at the murals and murmured, "There really is a Nine-Palace Grid pattern..."

Ye Bai examined it carefully, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face as if he had fallen into deep reflection.

"Brother Ye, do you recognize the characters on this stone tablet?" Meng Ziyi asked in surprise.

"Yes." Ye Bai nodded slightly.

"You know them?"

"I know a thing or two," Ye Bai said.

Hearing Ye Bai say this, everyone's interest was piqued. They were desperate to know how Ye Bai could tell.

Ye Bai pondered for a moment, then walked up to the green jade stone slab and began to study it.

He first looked at the mural right in the center.

This was an ink wash painting depicting a group of armored warriors fighting to the death with an enemy army deep in the ocean. The man in the image was covered in blood, his body swaying as if he could collapse at any moment.

Despite this, no one dared to step forward to help, because more than ten skeletons lay around him, having died miserable deaths.

Beside him, there was also a woman.

The woman had her back to Ye Bai; she had a graceful figure, snow-white skin, and a slender, soft waist.

However, looking from the side, there was a hideous scar on her neck. The blood had long since dried, but one could still faintly see the original appearance of the scar, which must have been terrifying.

After looking for a few moments, Ye Bai turned his gaze to the mural on the right.

This mural also depicted a scene of slaughter, where a group of armored soldiers were fighting bravely. They brandished sharp blades to slay the enemies, but there were simply too many of them.

They couldn't hold out for long before being defeated and killed by the enemy.

"What are all these... it's almost like the armory at my school..."

"They all seem to be cold weapons."

"These soldiers are so pitiful, being chased by the enemy until they're running for their lives..."

Everyone began to chatter and discuss.

Suddenly, Meng Ziyi said, "Have you noticed the weapons that man and woman are carrying?"

"Eh? It really seems to be the case." Everyone stopped their discussion and began to observe carefully. Just as Meng Ziyi had said, the man was carrying a scimitar and a bow and arrow.

After lingering on the mural for a moment, Ye Bai's gaze moved elsewhere.

"Brother Ye, have you discovered anything?" Wang Xiaoya asked.

"Haven't you noticed that there's an aura of Extreme Yin Qi here?" Ye Bai asked calmly.

"Extreme Yin Qi?" Everyone was slightly startled and quickly looked around. Sure enough, the surroundings were filled with a dense Extreme Yin Qi. Moreover, this cold aura was very pure—even denser than outside!

"What is this thing?"

Everyone frowned in thought.

This cold aura was extremely pure, far exceeding other types of spiritual energy, and was several times faster for cultivation than the outside world. Furthermore, absorbing this Extreme Yin Qi also provided significant help in improving physical fitness!

"No wonder Extreme Yin Pearls would be nurtured in here. So that's how it is." A slight smile appeared at the corner of Ye Bai's mouth. "With this pure Extreme Yin Qi present, those Extreme Yin Pearls naturally won't rot or deteriorate."

"Brother Ye, you mean... the Extreme Yin Pearl is hidden inside this stone slab?" Everyone was shocked, and their hearts couldn't help but tremble.

If it were truly as Ye Bai said, then the majestic Yin energy contained within the Extreme Yin Pearl would be enough to make anyone ecstatic!

Although this cave was a tomb and contained an Extreme Yin Pearl, no one could be certain if this represented the birth of some supreme treasure.

"Exactly!" Ye Bai nodded with certainty.

At this moment, Ye Bai's gaze fell upon those stone coffins. His expression changed slightly, and he immediately walked over to two of the stone coffins, reaching out to touch them. He murmured, "They actually still have a temperature? What's going on?"

"Huh? Temperature?"

Hearing this, everyone crowded around.