Lin Tian stood quietly at the exit of the valley. A gentle breeze swept across his cheek, bringing a hint of coolness. After several days of recuperation, his spiritual power had returned to its original state. Even due to the battles with those monks and the adaptation with the precious treasure, there seemed to be an imperceptible improvement in his realm. However, a trace of unease persisted in his heart, as if suggesting that the road ahead would be filled with unknown challenges. "This place cannot be lingered on for long." Lin Tian pondered secretly and decided to leave this place of disputes as soon as possible. However, just as he was about to depart, he sensed a familiar aura, which belonged to those several monks he had fought with before. "Could it be that they haven't given up yet?" Lin Tian frowned slightly, and his heart instantly became vigilant. He knew that since those monks could find him once, they could find him a second time. Not to mention, with the precious treasure in hand, it was bound to attract countless covetous people. He had to be even more cautious. Lin Tian took a deep breath, quickly concealed his own aura, and chose a circuitous path to leave the valley. He knew that a direct confrontation might not be the best option for him. Only by acting in the dark could he avoid those dangers. However, just as Lin Tian was about to leave the valley completely, his gaze suddenly fixed on a ruin not far away. The ruin seemed ordinary, but it faintly emitted a weak fluctuation of spiritual energy, as if inviting him to explore. "This ruin... seems to be related to the previous valley." Lin Tian thought secretly in his heart and decided to investigate. Although he knew that doing so might once again get him into danger, his curiosity drove him not to ignore this anomaly. Lin Tian approached the ruin cautiously and discovered that it was filled with broken stone pillars and collapsed buildings. It seemed that this place was once an ancient palace, but over time, it had long been destroyed by years. Those stone pillars were engraved with strange runes. Although most of them were blurred, one could still faintly discern the power contained within. "These runes... seem familiar." Lin Tian stared at the runes on the stone pillar, and a sudden flash of inspiration crossed his mind. These runes were extremely similar to the ancient runes he had seen deep in the cave before, seemingly from the same period or even left by the same group. "Could there be some connection between this place and that altar?" Lin Tian was puzzled in his heart, but he knew that to solve this mystery, he had to explore every corner of this ruin thoroughly. Lin Tian searched carefully in the ruin. Each step was extremely cautious to prevent triggering any possible traps or restrictions. As he explored, the fluctuation of spiritual energy in the ruin became more and more obvious, as if guiding him towards a specific direction. Finally, Lin Tian discovered a damaged stele in the center of the ruin. The stele was already broken, with only half of it buried in the soil, but the runes on its surface were still clearly visible. Lin Tian bent down to inspect and found that these runes were extremely similar to, or even exactly the same as, the runes on the precious treasure in his hand. "This stele... actually has such a close connection with the precious treasure." Lin Tian was greatly shocked. He didn't expect that such an important clue was hidden in this seemingly abandoned ruin for a long time. Lin Tian gently brushed away the dust on the stele and found that there seemed to be a hidden mechanism at the bottom. He carefully triggered the mechanism and only heard a soft "click". The stele slowly moved, revealing a secret passage leading underground. "It seems that there are deeper secrets hidden beneath this ruin." Lin Tian's heart stirred, and he entered the secret passage without hesitation. He knew that this passage was highly likely to lead to the core area of the ruin, and there, perhaps the true secret of the precious treasure could be uncovered. The air in the secret passage was exceptionally damp, and the walls all around were covered with moss, but Lin Tian did not retreat because of this. He activated his spiritual power and illuminated a night pearl in his hand. The faint light illuminated the path ahead. As he delved deeper, the fluctuation of spiritual energy in the secret passage became increasingly intense. He could even sense an intangible force flowing in the passage. Lin Tian faintly felt that this force had some connection with the ancient force he had sensed before. Finally, Lin Tian reached the end of the secret passage. What appeared before him was a huge underground space. This space was filled with an ancient aura. The walls all around were engraved with complex runes, and in the center stood a huge stone platform. On the platform, a jade stone that was extremely similar to the precious treasure in his hand was suspended. "This jade stone... there's actually another one?" Lin Tian was extremely shocked in his heart. He didn't expect that there was a jade stone so similar to the precious treasure in his hand hidden beneath this ruin. Could it be that this jade stone and the precious treasure in his hand were originally one? Lin Tian slowly stepped forward and carefully observed the jade stone on the stone platform. He could sense that this jade stone contained an extremely powerful force, even purer than the precious treasure in his hand. As he approached, the light of the jade stone gradually intensified, as if responding to his arrival. "Could these two jade stones really have some connection?" Lin Tian's heart was filled with doubts. He took out the precious treasure in his hand and gently brought it close to the jade stone on the stone platform. Instantly, he felt a strong attraction, as if there was an inseparable connection between the two. As Lin Tian brought the two jade stones closer, the entire underground space suddenly trembled. The runes all around lit up one after another, emitting a dazzling light. Lin Tian felt an intangible force surging from all directions, as if it wanted to surround him. "What's going on?" Lin Tian was startled in his heart, but he knew that he could not retreat at this moment and could only forge ahead bravely. As the two jade stones gradually approached each other, the attraction between them became stronger and stronger. Eventually, under Lin Tian's control, they began to merge slowly. The light of the two jade stones interwove, forming a dazzling pillar of light that shot straight into the sky, and the entire underground space was shrouded in this force. Just at the moment when the two jade stones were about to merge completely, Lin Tian suddenly felt a powerful force burst out from the jade stones, directly attacking his sea of consciousness. He only felt a sharp pain in his mind, as if countless thunderbolts were rampaging in his sea of consciousness. "This is... a soul shock!" Lin Tian instantly understood and knew that this was the ancient force in the jade stones resisting the merge. However, this force was extremely powerful and even began to pose a threat to his sea of consciousness. Lin Tian did not dare to be careless. He quickly circulated the true essence within his body, attempting to stabilize the fluctuations in his sea of consciousness. However, the force in the jade stones was too powerful. His true essence was somewhat unable to resist, and the pain in his sea of consciousness became more and more intense, as if it could collapse at any moment.
"Never give up!" Lin Tian gritted his teeth in his heart, clenched his teeth, forcibly stabilized the soul fluctuations in his sea of consciousness, and continued to urge the fusion of the two jade stones. He knew that this fusion was the key to determining the true power of the precious treasure. If he gave up halfway, not only would he not obtain the true power, but it might even cause both jade stones to burst simultaneously, with unimaginable consequences. As Lin Tian continuously injected his true essence, the light of the two jade stones gradually stabilized, and the pain in the sea of consciousness began to slowly subside. Lin Tian knew that he had passed the most dangerous moment, but the fusion was still ongoing, and he had to go all out to complete this transformation. Finally, after an unknown period of persistence, the two jade stones finally merged completely into one, turning into a crystal-clear jade stone that hovered in Lin Tian's palm. This jade stone emitted a soft yet powerful light, as if it were the purest source of power in the world. Lin Tian felt an extremely powerful force flowing into his body from the jade stone, and his entire aura was instantly greatly enhanced. He knew that this precious treasure had completely awakened, and he had thus obtained even more powerful strength. However, just as Lin Tian felt delighted, there was a vague sense of unease in his heart, as if behind this power, there was some kind of great crisis hidden. Just as Lin Tian was immersed in the joy of the awakening of the precious treasure, a cold and gloomy aura suddenly emerged in the underground space. This aura carried an indescribable sense of oppression, as if it were a terrifying existence from another world. "Who is it?" Lin Tian suddenly looked up, vigilantly looking around. He knew that this aura was by no means ordinary and might even be more dangerous than all the opponents he had encountered before. As the cold and gloomy aura gradually intensified, a blurry black shadow appeared in the corner of the underground space. That black shadow seemed to condense from the void, carrying endless darkness and indifference, slowly approaching Lin Tian. "You... actually managed to awaken this precious treasure..." The black shadow's voice was low and hoarse, as if coming from the netherworld, carrying endless coldness. Lin Tian's hairs all stood on end instantly. He could sense that this black shadow contained extremely powerful power, even exceeding his current tolerance range. However, Lin Tian did not retreat. He knew that retreating at this time would only be more dangerous. "Who are you? Why are you here?" Lin Tian asked coldly, while raising his true essence within his body to the limit, ready to deal with any possible danger at any time. The black shadow did not answer but just coldly stared at Lin Tian, as if sizing up a insignificant plaything. After a moment, it slowly said, "This precious treasure is an ancient object, containing endless power... And you, actually dare to attempt to control it?" Lin Tian's heart trembled, realizing that this black shadow might have some connection with the precious treasure, or even might be some powerful existence left over from ancient times. However, he knew that at this time, regardless of the identity of the black shadow, he had to go all out to save his life. "This precious treasure has fallen into my hands, and it is my opportunity." Lin Tian said solemnly, and the light of the precious treasure in his hand intensified again. It was obvious that he was ready for battle. The black shadow sneered coldly, and there was a hint of mockery in its voice: "Opportunity? In the face of absolute power, everything is futile." Before the words finished, the black shadow suddenly waved its hand, and a black light blade flew out from the void, directly heading towards Lin Tian. Lin Tian did not dare to be careless and promptly urged the true essence within his body, injecting the power of the precious treasure into the protective true qi, forming a solid protective barrier. However, the power of the black light blade was extremely powerful, instantly piercing through Lin Tian's protection and directly approaching his chest. Lin Tian's entire body shuddered, feeling a cold power invading his body, as if it wanted to completely freeze his soul. He promptly circulated the true essence within his body, attempting to expel this power, but found that this power seemed to be everywhere and was actually difficult to completely eliminate. "What exactly is this power?" Lin Tian was extremely shocked in his heart. He had never encountered such strange and powerful power before, and even the power of the precious treasure he mastered could not fully resist it. However, Lin Tian did not give up because of this. He knew that only by going all out could he survive this crisis. He gritted his teeth and injected all his true essence into the precious treasure. Instantly, the precious treasure emitted a dazzling light, instantly forcing back that cold power. "Not bad. You can actually hold on until now." Seeing this, the black shadow's tone carried a hint of approval, but more of it was cold killing intent. Lin Tian's entire spiritual power erupted again, forming a huge light curtain, attempting to block the attacks of these light blades. However, the power of the black light blades was truly too powerful. Cracks gradually appeared in the light curtain under the violent impact, and finally, it shattered with a loud bang. Just at the moment the light curtain shattered, Lin Tian felt a shock throughout his body, and his vision turned black. His entire person seemed to be swallowed by endless darkness. He knew that he had reached a critical juncture of life and death. With the slightest carelessness, his soul would be scattered. "Never give up!" Lin Tian roared in his heart, using his last bit of strength to firmly hold the precious treasure in his hand, attempting to trigger the power of the precious treasure again. However, at this moment, the precious treasure seemed to be greatly suppressed, and its light gradually dimmed, as if it could no longer provide sufficient power. Just as Lin Tian was about to despair, a low rumble suddenly came from the underground space. The entire space seemed to be activated at this moment, and the runes all around began to light up one after another, emitting a dazzling light. Seeing this, a hint of surprise flashed in the black shadow's eyes, but then it snorted coldly, obviously not caring about these runes. However, those runes seemed to have their own consciousness and began to quickly gather together, forming a huge pillar of light, directly charging towards the black shadow. The black shadow immediately felt a strong sense of oppression and hurriedly retreated, attempting to avoid the attack of the pillar of light. However, the speed of the pillar of light was extremely fast, instantly hitting the black shadow. Instantly, the black shadow let out a painful howl, and its entire person seemed to be bound in place by an invisible force. "This... This is the sealing power of ancient times!" There was a hint of fear in the black shadow's voice, obviously extremely afraid of this power. Seeing this, Lin Tian immediately understood that these runes were obviously existing to seal this black shadow, and now, they were fulfilling their duties and sealing the black shadow again. Lin Tian did not hesitate and promptly injected all his true essence into the precious treasure, attempting to use the power of the runes to defeat the black shadow in one fell swoop. Instantly, the light of the precious treasure erupted again, forming a huge sword light, directly heading towards the black shadow. Seeing this, a hint of despair flashed in the black shadow's eyes. It knew that it had no escape in this space and could only brace itself to fight. However, the sealing power of the runes was extremely powerful, and the black shadow's movements were greatly restricted. Eventually, that sword light directly pierced through its body. The black shadow let out a shrill scream, and its entire person gradually disintegrated under the impact of the sword light, finally turning into a cloud of black fog and dissipating in the air. And with the disappearance of the black shadow, the entire underground space gradually returned to calm, and the light of the runes slowly extinguished, as if nothing had happened. Lin Tian stood in place, gasping for breath, feeling that the power in his entire body was almost exhausted. He knew that he had just experienced a life-and-death test, and the result of this test not only gave him a deeper understanding of the power of the precious treasure but also made him understand that the path of cultivation was full of unknown crises. "It seems that the power of this precious treasure is far more complex than I imagined." Lin Tian sighed secretly in his heart.