The commotion in the courtyard naturally alerted the three-realm cultivator, who was currently using his divine sense to probe the surroundings.
In the blink of an eye, a powerful aura could be felt approaching at extreme speed.
Ji Yuan turned his head to look up, and immediately saw a stream of light diving straight down. His divine eyes penetrated the layers of light, falling upon one of the white-bearded elders.
Undoubtedly, this was the three-realm cultivator of this place, the one who had attempted to force Xue Yang and the others to make vows and voluntarily accept the implantation of restrictions through potent poison.
A fierce glint flashed in his eyes; the other party's actions had already stirred a wave of anger within him.
"You all leave first and go meet up with Zhao Yuansong and the others."
Ji Yuan spoke calmly, then stomped his foot heavily on the ground.
The next moment, he transformed into a streak of light and shot into the sky, radiating an astonishing aura. In an instant, he collided with the stream of light descending from the sky.
*Boom!!!*
Under the clear sky, a deafening roar erupted, and a powerful spiritual pressure spread in all directions!
Witnessing this, Xue Yang and the others did not hesitate, rushing towards the foot of the mountain. They no longer had any reservations and, if any cultivator dared to block them, they would immediately attack with full force!
"Who dares intrude upon my cultivation ground!"
The white-bearded elder, standing in mid-air, let out a roar like that of a lion.
Hearing this, Ji Yuan did not respond. He simply pointed a finger towards the elder.
Silently, a beam of sword light tore through the air. It was only upon approaching the elder that it unleashed its full power.
Countless sword energies surged out, like a small river, flowing forward. The entire sky echoed with the hum of swords.
"A trifling skill, daring to show off before me?"
The elder let out an angry roar and, with a flick of his sleeve, a circular ring dropped.
As he rapidly formed hand seals, streams of potent spiritual power gushed out, pouring into the ring. Its size immediately swelled, transforming into something the size of a millstone.
The ring spun in mid-air, unleashing a powerful suction force. Within the ring, a black void appeared, swallowing all the sword energies!
Even Ji Yuan's natal flying sword, caught off guard, was swallowed by the ring, and the connection between them immediately became faint.
In just a few breaths, the anomaly in the sky subsided, leaving only the slowly rotating ring.
"Since you've come, you shall stay here!"
A smug look flashed in the elder's eyes, and he immediately shouted.
He changed his hand seals, manipulating the ring to descend, as if intending to swallow the intruder before him into the black void within the ring.
Seeing this, Ji Yuan showed no panic. A faint curve even appeared on the corner of his lips.
"Break!"
He suddenly let out a low roar, swiftly forming several sword seals in his hand.
The ring, which had been falling rapidly, suddenly stopped in mid-air. The black void within the ring flickered, and then surprisingly spat out wisps of sword energy.
A sound like a rushing river emanated, and before the elder could react, he saw a white jade flying sword dart out from the black void within the ring.
Behind it trailed countless sword energies, gathered together like a flowing river.
*Crack!!!*
A crisp sound rang out, and the elder's expression instantly changed.
He hurriedly sent out streams of spiritual power to protect the ring. However, as his spiritual power approached, he saw the artifact suddenly shatter into countless fragments!
*Puff!*
The elder's face immediately turned red, and he coughed up several mouthfuls of blood. For a moment, his aura weakened.
Clearly, the destruction of a precious artifact had also caused a significant backlash.
Anger surged in his eyes. With a flick of his sleeves, several streams of light shot out.
In an instant, several artifacts, infused with spiritual power, unleashed powerful and unmatched auras, exuding a pressure that seemed capable of crushing the world.
"Truly wealthy!"
Ji Yuan's expression stirred as he immediately sensed the extraordinary nature of these artifacts.
A total of seven artifacts, each of excellent quality, cast from precious materials, and each containing at least four layers of acquired restrictions.
In the outside world, the price of such an artifact would deter most second-realm cultivators. Without a miraculous encounter or the backing of a powerful sect, they would never be able to afford one in their lifetime.
And so many precious artifacts now originated from one person.
Moreover, Ji Yuan had plundered the other party's treasury and could feel just how incredibly rich this person was!
"Interesting..."
A thought flickered through his mind, and a phantom image appeared within his body.
The phantom image rapidly enlarged, then quickly shrank, finally solidifying and transforming into a nine-story small pagoda above his head.
Instantly, countless streams of pure light descended, shielding Ji Yuan's figure. A faint golden radiance emerged, emanating an aura of invincibility against all arts.
"Seal!"
With a sharp shout, the dense streams of pure light surged outwards.
The next moment, the several artifacts in mid-air were caught by the pure light and truly immobilized. No matter how the elder urged his spiritual power, they could not move an inch.
Moreover, a powerful devouring force emanated from the countless streams of pure light, violently plundering the spiritual power and spiritual energy contained within the artifacts.
In an instant, the seven artifacts of excellent quality became dim and their spirituality was severely damaged.
This sight caused the elder immense heartache, and he quickly tried to recall his artifacts.
However, no matter how he tried, all the spiritual power he sent out and the divine sense he released were like stones sinking into the sea, receiving no response.
Instead, it made the pure light released by the nine-story pagoda shine even brighter and become more solid.
"How dare you, brat!"
The elder roared and decisively severed his connection with the several artifacts.
Then, he opened his mouth and spat out a stream of light that transformed into a stone mirror in mid-air.
As soon as the mirror appeared, Ji Yuan felt immense pressure from it, immediately determining that it was an artifact of considerable power.
As expected, in the next moment, more than a dozen restrictions appeared from within the stone mirror.
On the rough mirror surface, a halo of light gathered, seemingly capable of reflecting the heavens and earth.
"Heaven and Earth Reversed! Mountains and Rivers Overturned!"
The elder chanted, his hands forming countless afterimages of seals.
At the same time, under the boost of his spiritual power, the halo on the stone mirror projected a beam of light that enveloped Ji Yuan, who stood beneath the Xuan Tian Soul Devouring Pagoda!