377: Having escaped, various forces are now stirring with ambition.

Ye Bai closed his eyes and began chanting under his breath. As the Incantation sounded, the surrounding air began to fluctuate, with faint currents of air swirling around them.

Suddenly, several ancient copper coins flew out of Ye Bai's backpack, spinning in the air and emitting a faint golden light.

The golden light gradually expanded, forming a massive disc beneath their feet. The disc seemed to be composed of flowing light, exuding a mysterious aura.

"Step on it; this is our way out," Ye Bai said.

Yang Mi and Meng Ziyi hurriedly stood on the disc. It rose slowly and flew toward the opposite side of the cliff. During the flight, the wind howled, blowing so hard they could barely keep their eyes open.

"What kind of spell is this? It's amazing!" Meng Ziyi shouted, her voice drowned out by the wind.

"This is an escape secret art recorded in my family's Ancient Book. It consumes a lot of energy; I hope it can last until we reach the other side," Ye Bai said through gritted teeth, his forehead covered in beads of sweat.

Just as the disc was about to reach the opposite side of the cliff...

Suddenly, several bolts of black lightning appeared in the sky, striking toward the disc.

"Watch out!" Ye Bai shouted. He formed hand seals, attempting to change the disc's direction to dodge the lightning.

But the lightning was too fast. One bolt struck the edge of the disc, causing it to shake violently.

"Ah!" Yang Mi cried out, nearly falling off. Meng Ziyi was quick and grabbed her just in time.

"Ye Bai, what do we do?" Meng Ziyi asked anxiously.

Ye Bai didn't answer. He concentrated, took a jade pendant out of his backpack, and threw it forcefully into the air.

The jade pendant emitted a soft glow, colliding with the lightning and neutralizing its power.

The disc took the opportunity to fly to the other side of the cliff and landed slowly on the ground.

"That was close!" Yang Mi said, patting her chest.

"Don't celebrate too early; there might still be danger here," Ye Bai said, looking around vigilantly.

They followed a winding path forward. The surrounding trees were lush and green, as if countless pairs of eyes were hidden within, peering at them.

After walking for a while, they heard the sound of gurgling water.

"There's the sound of water; let's go take a look," Ye Bai said.

Arriving at the stream, the water was crystal clear, but Ye Bai noticed some strange symbols flickering within it.

"These symbols... they seem to be connected to the runes in the Ancient Tomb." Ye Bai crouched down to observe them carefully.

"You mean there are clues here too?" Yang Mi asked.

"Yeah, I feel like we're not far from the exit." Ye Bai stood up and walked along the stream.

As they walked, they saw a cave by the stream, filled with a mysterious aura.

"Let's go inside and see." Ye Bai led the way into the cave. It was dark and damp, with various patterns and characters carved onto the walls.

"I can't read these words. Ye Bai, can you?" Meng Ziyi asked.

Ye Bai studied the wall closely, his brow furrowed. "This is an ancient script. I only recognize part of it. The general meaning is... this is the final trial guarding the treasure. Only by solving the puzzle can one leave."

Just then, a low roar echoed from deep within the cave, as if some massive monster was awakening.

"Prepare for battle!" Ye Bai took out his weapon, standing ready.

A massive Stone Beast slowly emerged from the darkness. It exuded an ancient aura, and its eyes flickered with red light.

"It's a guardian beast. It looks like we have to defeat it to move forward," Ye Bai said.

The Stone Beast charged at them. Ye Bai dodged nimbly, then jumped onto its back and stabbed at its neck with his Dagger, but the Dagger only left a shallow mark on its body.

"Its body is too hard; ordinary attacks are useless!" Ye Bai shouted.

Yang Mi took out her crossbow and fired at the Stone Beast's eye. The bolt hit its mark, and the beast thrashed in pain, shaking its body violently. Ye Bai was thrown off.

"Ye Bai!" Meng Ziyi ran over to help him up.

"I'm fine. We need to find a way to attack its weakness," Ye Bai said.

They maneuvered around the Stone Beast in the cave, searching for a weak point. Suddenly, Ye Bai noticed a stone on the beast's abdomen that was a different color from the rest.

"Attack its abdomen!" Ye Bai shouted.

They concentrated their fire on the Stone Beast's abdomen. After a hard-fought battle, the Stone Beast finally crashed to the ground, turning into a pile of rubble.

As the Stone Beast fell, a bright light appeared in the cave, revealing an exit.

"We did it!" Meng Ziyi shouted excitedly.

They walked out of the cave and found themselves in a valley in the Qinling Mountains. The sunlight felt exceptionally warm on their skin.

Ye Bai took out a satellite phone and contacted their extraction team. Shortly after, a helicopter arrived in the valley to pick them up.

After returning to the city, Ye Bai became the center of public attention.

Every day, Archaeologists, relic traffickers, reporters, and all sorts of people waited outside his door.

As soon as Ye Bai opened his door, he was surrounded by a crowd.

"Mr. Ye, I am Director Zhang from the Archaeological Research Institute. We would like to discuss collaborating on the research of those Cultural Relics," an elderly man said.

"Ye Bai, I'm from the Cultural Relics Protection Association. We hope you can hand the relics over to us for safekeeping; this is of great national significance," another person said.

"And me! I'm the owner of a private museum. I'm willing to pay a high price to purchase the relics in your hands," a richly dressed man squeezed in.

Ye Bai frowned and said, "Everyone, I haven't decided how to handle these relics yet. Please leave for now."

But these people refused to leave, continuing to pester him at the door. At that moment, Yang Mi and Meng Ziyi arrived.

"Stop pestering Ye Bai. He needs time to think," Yang Mi said.

"Hmph, don't think you can keep these treasures to yourselves. This is the wealth of all mankind," an archaeologist said.

"That's not what we mean, but please leave now," Meng Ziyi said.

With Yang Mi and Meng Ziyi's persuasion, the crowd gradually dispersed. Ye Bai went back inside, sat on the sofa, and fell into deep thought.

"Ye Bai, what do you plan to do? These people are not easy to deal with," Yang Mi asked.

"I don't want these relics to be exploited by people with ulterior motives, but I also don't want them to be buried in some museum where no one cares about them," Ye Bai said.

"Then we can find some reliable Archaeologists to cooperate with and establish a specialized research group," Meng Ziyi suggested.

Ye Bai nodded. "That is a good idea, but we must choose our partners carefully."

Over the next few days, Ye Bai, Yang Mi, and Meng Ziyi began the process of selecting Archaeologists to collaborate with.

They went through records, consulted industry insiders, and compiled a preliminary list.

"These people all have good reputations in the archaeological world, and their professional abilities are very strong," Yang Mi said, looking at the list.