"Drink it!"
Jiang Yun uttered a low drink as the Nine Li Divine Technique rapidly circulated, compressing the three strands of sword qi into one place, and slowly converting them into his own spiritual energy.
Under the compression of the Nine Li Divine Technique, the sword qi gradually became more condensed. With each compression, Jiang Yun felt his meridians swell, as if his body was on the verge of exploding from the intense impact of the concentrated sword qi.
"Buzz!"
Jiang Yun's meridians trembled slightly, and the last trace of sword qi within his body was finally refined by the Nine Li Divine Technique. The solidified spiritual energy flowed slowly within him, seemingly ready to erupt at any moment. At this moment, the Nine Li Divine Technique also broke through from the seventh layer to the eighth layer.
With a firm gaze, Jiang Yun took another step, the sword qi emitted by the stone sword hitting him without causing any sway. He stood firm.
"Seems like someone mentioned eating a bottle," Lin Feier glanced at Wang Qiyuan sideways.
Wang Qiyuan stared blankly at Jiang Yun, Lin Feier's words felt like a hard slap to his face, leaving his face flushed. He clenched his teeth, activated his spiritual power, crushed the medicinal bottle in his hand, and swallowed it.
"Sly!" Lin Feier scoffed at Wang Qiyuan. He was really good at being sly, actually crushing the bottle. Even though it was not a pleasant experience, eating a shattered ceramic bottle was no different from eating a mouthful of mud.
"I'm not being sly. I said I would eat the bottle, but I didn't say I would swallow the whole thing. I bet he definitely wouldn't dare to approach within three steps of the stone sword."
In the end, Elder Qin stopped at the three-step range of the stone sword. Wang Qiyuan would never believe that Jiang Yun could surpass his master's abilities. So, he said those words with full confidence.
"Oh? Don't you want to eat something?" Lin Feier mocked.
"If he can approach within three steps, then I'll eat this," Wang Qiyuan said firmly, pointing at a centipede that happened to crawl by on the ground.
Lin Feier was startled by the centipede. "Why are you so disgusting!"
At this moment, Jiang Yun was joyfully absorbing the benefits brought by the sword qi. After the Nine Li Divine Technique broke through to the eighth layer, it continued to grow. He could clearly feel that his physical explosiveness had doubled compared to before. In terms of physical strength alone, Jiang Yun should now be comparable to the first level of Qi Martial Arts.
Although his Inner Strength from the Yi Jin Jing hadn't been enhanced, Jiang Yun was already quite satisfied with the improvement of the Nine Li Divine Technique. Most importantly, after absorbing several strands of sword qi, he clearly felt that the enmity between him and the stone sword was not as deep as before.
Taking another step forward, there were only five steps left to reach the stone sword. Elder Qin had previously stopped at the eighth step. Jiang Yun cautiously moved forward step by step.
One step, two steps, three steps.
Jiang Yun took three consecutive steps, and to everyone's astonishment, time trembled but no longer attacked him. The onlookers outside the arena were left dumbfounded.
Previously, when Elder Qin reached this point, he was repelled by the radiant light emitted by the stone sword. But why should Jiang Yun be an exception? The stone sword remained indifferent to his approach.
"You can eat it now," Lin Feier, suppressing her disgust, glanced at the centipede on the ground and turned to Wang Qiyuan.
"Why? Why isn't the stone sword attacking him?" Wang Qiyuan stomped in anger. Jiang Yun had somehow walked safely to the side of the stone sword right under everyone's eyes.
Under Lin Feier's watchful gaze, Wang Qiyuan swallowed nervously as he looked at the centipede on the ground. He closed his eyes, gathered his courage, and threw it into his mouth.
The reason why Jiang Yun was not attacked by the stone sword was that, after absorbing the sword qi, he also emitted a trace of sword qi. The stone sword, being an inanimate object, couldn't discern the faint sword qi emanating from Jiang Yun.
After Jiang Yun successfully approached the stone sword, he felt a bit relieved but also a little apprehensive. He speculated that the stone sword's hostility towards him might have dissipated because it only attacked if it sensed a different aura within these ten steps. After emitting the sword qi, Jiang Yun might have fooled its judgment.
However, it was a close call, and Jiang Yun didn't dare to waste any time. He reached out and pulled the stone sword, but it didn't budge. After contemplating for a moment, he placed his hand on the hilt of the stone sword and exerted force downwards.
"Crack!"
The stone sword sank into the ground, and the stone door behind it slowly began to rise until the stone sword was completely submerged, and the door opened.
"The door is open!"
The crowd cheered. After enduring countless hardships, they finally opened the entrance to the cave, and everyone was overjoyed.
Jiang Yun was the first to enter the cave. As he looked around, he realized that the interior was not as magnificent as he had imagined. Instead, it appeared relatively simple and monotonous.
With a single glance, he took in the scene inside the cave. At the top, a skeleton sat cross-legged against the wall, and in front of the skeleton lay an ancient bamboo slip. Additionally, there were three stone chambers inside the cave, and their doors were all open.
As the sound of wind filled the air beside Jiang Yun, Elder Qin had already stood up at some point and rushed into the stone chamber ahead of Jiang Yun. Once inside, he immediately made his way towards the bamboo slip in front of the skeleton, his expression filled with excitement as he picked it up and examined it carefully.
After a while, Elder Qin's face changed, and a deep disappointment spread across his features. After confirming that the bamboo slip wasn't what he was looking for, he angrily threw it to the ground.
"So many martial arts manuals!"
While Elder Qin was engrossed in examining the bamboo slip, the others had also entered the cave. Jiang He was the first to enter one of the three stone chambers and excitedly exclaimed upon seeing a whole bookshelf filled with martial arts manuals.
"Over here, it's all medicinal pills! This is a great find!" Xiao Wanshan, who entered the second stone chamber, discovered a pill furnace and a shelf displaying various medicinal pills.
"What's this? Weapons?" Lin Shenhe also found the third stone chamber, which contained a collection of weapons. It was hard to determine their grade at the moment, but being treasures of Heavenly-ranked warriors, they shouldn't be of low quality.
Inside the first stone chamber, Jiang He couldn't resist reaching out to take one of the martial arts manuals from the bookshelf. At that moment, Elder Qin's figure flickered, and he appeared beside Jiang He, grabbing his outstretched hand.
"We agreed before the operation began. You four major families can take everything in this cave, but you must not touch anything until I find what I'm looking for."
Elder Qin's face looked grim as he glanced at everyone present. The aura of a True Martial Realm expert spread out, and a moment later, the pressure filled the entire cave.
"Elder Qin, how imposing! Could it be that this Qingyang Cave belongs to your family?"
At that moment, a young voice suddenly echoed at the entrance of the cave, and everyone's eyes lit up as a young man with a long sword on his back and handsome features appeared at the doorway.