313: Shen Nian, look there!

"Breaking it with force..."

"It shouldn't be this easy..."

Luo Xuanyin's brows furrowed slightly, genuinely surprised by Shen Nian's actions, or rather, incredulous at the strength he displayed. However, what shocked her most was how easily this ancient temple was destroyed.

What was Li Qingyuan's strength? He was the foremost Prodigy of the Buddhist Sect during the Ancient Immortal Era. After the fusion of Buddha and Demon, he achieved the Realm of an Immortal Emperor, opening ninety-seven Immortal Veins. Although this wasn't his place of nirvana, it contained his Legacy. It shouldn't have been possible for an ordinary Void Return or even Dao Integration Cultivator to forcibly destroy it.

Even a slight connection to the word 'Immortal' meant it was beyond the reach of Mortals... yet Shen Nian had collapsed it with a single punch. This made Luo Xuanyin unable to resist attempting to deduce the reason, but this ruin restricted many of her abilities, preventing her from seeing the cause clearly.

"Is it because too much time has passed, or because he did it on purpose...?" Luo Xuanyin murmured softly, but she withdrew her gaze and looked behind her.

Lotus flowers bloomed, and aerial pavilions appeared faintly in the clouds, like a mirage. Within them, fairies in gauze danced gracefully.

She didn't linger, taking a step and vanishing from the spot.

Worry-free glanced at Luo Xuanyin's retreating figure, then at Shen Nian, his expression somewhat conflicted. He eventually walked towards Shen Nian, softly chanting a Buddhist prayer: "amitabha, the Buddha said women are harder to deal with than men. It's better to first convert Benefactor Shen..."

At this moment, in front of the shattered ancient temple.

Shen Nian also raised an eyebrow slightly, looking at the chaotic ground, the broken ancient bricks and tiles, and the remnants of the shattered ancient Buddha statue. He couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

"That simple?"

He had been prepared for a big fight, wanting to see how strong the ruins left by a Prodigy of the Ancient Immortal Era could be, and also to indirectly determine what level his current combat strength was at. He walked the thirty-six layer immortal palace path, which was different from ordinary Cultivators.

Whether the seventeen layer immortal palace could compare to Dao Integration, or was stronger than ordinary Dao Integration, Shen Nian himself wasn't sure. After all, he hadn't fought a Dao Integration Cultivator since his Breakthrough.

Whoosh!

"A-meow~"

A white light flashed, and Bai Ze stood in front of Shen Nian, claws behind his back, gazing at the ground in deep thought, wisdom flowing in his large eyes.

"That's not right!"

"Someone broke the Restriction of this ancient temple!"

"Otherwise, it couldn't have been destroyed by you so easily!"

Bai Ze narrowed his eyes, a hint of solemnity in his expression as he said, "Look there, this is a Buddhist Formation, but it's incomplete, missing a corner..."

Shen Nian showed a trace of surprise upon hearing this, and looked in the direction Bai Ze pointed.

It was a lotus-shaped stone carved throne, the place where the Buddha statue, shattered by Shen Nian's punch, had sat. On its surface, brown Sanskrit characters rotated, exuding an ancient aura, revolving around a golden swastika symbol. However, that swastika symbol was incomplete, with one corner dug out...

"Was it done by the Cultivators who entered the ruins earlier?" Shen Nian leaned closer, observing carefully.

After pondering, Bai Ze offered his conjecture: "This corner should have been shattered by some powerful Divine Ability, causing this Formation to be incomplete..."

"Why do I feel like it wasn't shattered by a Divine Ability, but rather dug out...?" Shen Nian said with a frown.

Just then.

Shen Nian felt a tug on his clothes. He turned to see Jun Fengyan clutching him nervously.

"Senior Brother... the Cultivators outside have all woken up..." Jun Fengyan said, lowering her head, feeling uncomfortable all over.

At this moment, outside the ruins, those Cultivators who had been meditating with crossed legs opened their eyes one after another, gradually waking from the illusion. Since Shen Nian had broken the Buddha statue, the illusion naturally ceased to exist.

"Cough cough... what's going on, wasn't I a revered monk? How could I..."

"I actually got lost!"

"Hiss... look, everyone!"

"Heavens, where's the ancient temple? How did it become like this!"

"That is... the new Head of the Shen Family!" A Cultivator recognized Shen Nian's identity and exclaimed in shock.

"He actually came to Tianyuan!!!"

Before long, the Cultivators understood the whole story. They all stood up and bowed respectfully to Shen Nian.

"We Loose Cultivators thank Emperor Shen for saving us. Otherwise, we would have been endlessly lost in this illusion..."

"Yes, if Emperor Shen hadn't acted to break this illusion, we would have surely died!"

"Emperor Shen's strength is terrifying! Is he really Void Return? The Thousand Buddha Ruins is one of the three great ruins!"

Besides gratitude, there was also deep shock in the eyes of these Loose Cultivators as they looked at Shen Nian.

Terrifying!

This ruin had trapped even their group of old Cultivators at Void Return Peak, yet Shen Nian had directly broken it with his absolute strength. This was simply unbelievable.

"Emperor Shen is so powerful, perhaps he can truly fight Mo Ya!" A Cultivator's eyes lit up with anticipation, extremely excited.

Shen Nian merely nodded slightly at everyone's thanks and compliments, then turned back to continue studying the damaged swastika symbol, allowing Jun Fengyan to hold onto him.

"Lord Shen, is it inappropriate for me to stay here any longer?"

"If people misunderstand that Emperor Shen is involved with the Yao Race, it wouldn't be good."

"How about I wait for you in that cave from earlier?"

Teng Xi said with a smile from behind, but she was secretly planning something else.

Hearing this, Shen Nian thought for a moment and then agreed to her suggestion.

"He... he agreed?" Teng Xi was stunned for a moment, her heart filled with wild joy. She hadn't expected Shen Nian to actually agree.

The next second, Teng Xi immediately cupped her hands and said, "Then I... then I shall wait for Lord Shen's triumphant return in the cave..."

After speaking, Teng Xi transformed into a streak of light and flew away, eventually disappearing into the horizon.

"You let her leave like that, aren't you worried she'll run away?"

"Don't say I didn't warn you, a powerful aura flashed within her body just now," Bai Ze said, looking at the swastika symbol.

For Bai Ze to say it was powerful, it must have exceeded the Mortal Realm level.

"Let her run if she wants," Shen Nian said casually, not caring at all. Without Xiao Qing'er by his side, he couldn't gain preaching value, so keeping her was actually useless. Moreover, he had left a mark in her Divine Soul, so he could find her even if she ran to the ends of the earth.

Seeing Shen Nian's indifferent look, Bai Ze merely glanced at him and said nothing more.

She was just a small Yao, not very useful, but he couldn't understand why Shen Nian didn't just kill her.

Immediately after.

The Cultivators outside all walked in and began to look around. Seeing that Shen Nian hadn't left, they assumed there might be some Opportunity here.

Time flew by, and half an incense stick passed.

"Forget it, let's go..."

Shen Nian had looked for a long time but couldn't figure out why the swastika symbol was incomplete. He simply gave up and planned to head deeper into the ruins.

As soon as he looked up, he saw a remarkably handsome young monk about ten thousand meters ahead, grinning foolishly at him and wiggling his thick eyebrows.

This made Shen Nian frown.

But at this moment.

"Shen Nian, look there!" Bai Ze suddenly exclaimed.