"Seniors, why not be direct and tell me what you need us to do."
Ji Yuan sighed, putting on a somewhat helpless expression.
In reality, however, his guard never let down, and he had already assessed the current situation.
With the strength of himself and Lin Yubai, it was not impossible to break free forcefully. However, doing so would inevitably worsen their injuries and trigger some immeasurable variables.
Besides, he also wanted to hear what the other party was planning, hoping that two cultivators merely at the second realm would do within the inner city.
"Since the young friend is so straightforward, then we shall not beat around the bush."
Ji Changlin's voice carried a hearty laugh, but after his words fell, he took half a step back, yielding the central position to Su Zimou.
This middle-aged man, who had once possessed Golden Core realm cultivation, let out a sigh after a long period of silence.
"The first matter is to ask the young friend to transmit the news from this place."
Su Zimou's statement was not beyond their expectations. The matter they cared about most was likely this.
Since someone could enter, it meant that this place was not impenetrable. As long as the news was spread, they believed that with the treasures here, it would be enough to attract a large number of cultivators to swarm in.
"As for the second matter, we would like to ask the two young friends to go into the inner city to retrieve an artifact for us."
As soon as these words were uttered, a sharp glint flashed in the cloudy eyes of the four people beside him.
Ji Yuan did not feel the slightest surprise. With their powerful physiques, where in Xuanhuang City could they not go except for the inner city?
Even the remaining powerful formations and restrictions could be forcefully broken through with their physiques, which were comparable to magical artifacts, leaving almost no power that could kill them.
The only things that could make these people ask for favors were spreading the news outwards and retrieving an item from the inner city.
"Spreading the news is not a difficult matter. This junior will agree."
Ji Yuan pondered for a moment before slowly saying, "But I wonder what the senior wants us two to retrieve from the inner city?"
Regarding this second request, he did not immediately refuse but showed a thoughtful expression, waiting for the other party's next words.
Seeing this, Su Zimou's voice immediately sounded, "In a residence within the inner city, which was once the property of a sect, there is a 'Yin Yang Cai Dao' capable of severing life and death."
This item was not a powerful magical artifact or treasure. It was rumored to have been a paper-cutting knife of a Confucian sage. It had accompanied the sage for a long time, thus becoming spiritual, and contained boundless righteousness, capable of severing yin and yang and life and death.
However, although it sounded impressive, the power of this item was not as strong as imagined.
The so-called severing of yin and yang and life and death could only take effect on inanimate objects and could not affect living beings.
After listening to Su Zimou's description, Ji Yuan immediately understood why the people in front of him wanted them to go into the inner city to find this paper-cutting knife used by the sage.
Under normal circumstances, this Yin Yang Cai Dao was indeed somewhat useless. However, for the people present at this moment, it was far more tempting than a top-grade magical artifact.
Because Su Zimou and the others, affected by the power of heavenly punishment, had their life force cut off from their physical bodies, and they could already be considered a form of 'inanimate object.'
As long as they could obtain the Yin Yang Cai Dao, they could use it to sever the death qi within their bodies, ensuring that their spiritual power would not be used for suppression.
"Although the young friend also has the ability to refine death qi, you will eventually have to leave this place. With this Cai Dao, we will no longer have to worry about death qi."
Su Zimou said so.
At the same time, he also clearly stated that the sect that was most skilled in formations back then had set up countless formations in its residence.
Even after the great battle of that year and the passage of thousands of years, a large number of formations should have remained, preserving the most complete spiritual items of all kinds.
"If the two young friends are willing to make a trip, whether the Yin Yang Cai Dao is intact or not, you will receive a considerable reward."
He told the two that the residence was considered the sect's warehouse, storing goods from its various shops in Xuanhuang City. Even if there were losses over the long years, about thirty to forty percent should still remain.
If converted into actual value, it would be at least two to three thousand Lingyun coins, and if any precious spiritual items were preserved, the price would certainly increase.
Ji Yuan and Lin Yubai exchanged glances, a hint of contemplation appearing in their eyes. Such a reward was already quite substantial for them.
Currently, one Lingyun coin could be exchanged for a little over one hundred taels of gold. At least two to three thousand Lingyun coins was an astronomical sum that ordinary cultivation sects could hardly imagine.
"The location of this sect's residence is on the edge of the inner city," Ji Changlin said from the side, stating that there was not too much risk.
Finally, after some deliberation, the two decided to make the trip and see the specific situation first.
If it was impossible, they would naturally retreat without hesitation. But if it were possible, they naturally would not want to miss an opportunity.
Thus, after half an hour, Ji Yuan and Lin Yubai, led by Ji Changlin and an elder with a youthful appearance despite his white hair, rapidly headed towards the inner city.
The group from Fusheng Hall clearly valued this item greatly. The strongest five people directly used two of them, and eight people with strength comparable to the middle to late stages of the Spirit Nurturing realm accompanied them.
With such a force, even if that old demon at the third realm pursued them, they would be able to repel him with ease.
At this moment, Ji Yuan even hoped that the old demon would break through to this place and appear before them. Perhaps with this power, he could eliminate this mortal enemy!
It was a pity that after more than two hours, the journey was calm and uneventful.
In retrospect, it was understandable. The blood sacrifice war thousands of years ago had already caused widespread devastation in the city. Apart from some cultivators who had transformed into 'living dead' due to the power of heavenly punishment, there were no other living beings left.
And these cultivators were scattered throughout the vast city, and it might take half a day to encounter one.
"Is that the inner city?"
When everyone stopped, Ji Yuan gazed at a ruin in the distance and murmured to himself.
Several miles away, within a collapsed city wall, streams of black heavenly punishment power filled the air, flickering like lightning, densely covering two to three hundred miles.
"We can only escort you this far. Any closer and the heavenly punishment power within us will be affected."
Ji Changlin's voice echoed, filled with much helplessness.
The inner city before them was an absolute forbidden zone for beings like them. Let alone entering it, even just approaching it would cause the heavenly punishment power within them to go berserk.
However, this berserk state would not harm their lives. It would only turn them into mindless beasts, plunging them into an almost eternal state of muddle-headedness, which was more terrifying than being tormented by death qi.
"We cannot guarantee whether the Yin Yang Cai Dao can be obtained. We can only say we will do our best."
Ji Yuan emphasized again, not wanting any misunderstandings between the two parties.
Hearing this, Ji Changlin nodded stiffly. They had already prepared themselves to return empty-handed and did not feel that they would definitely gain something.
After confirming some details, the two immediately darted out, swiftly traversing through the ruins, and soon arrived outside the inner city.
Stopping outside the collapsed city wall, Ji Yuan's mind moved, and the Xuantiān Shìlíng Tower floated above his head, casting strands of light that protected him and Lin Yubai within.
Then, he formed a hand seal, and from his six acupoints, heavy water beads flew out, slowly swirling around his body, emitting a faint watery glow.
Lin Yubai did not take out his natal magical artifact, as some heavenly punishment power had been injected into it, and he was afraid of any accidents due to the environment.
After a slight pause, he patted the Shānhé Bag at his waist, took out a bronze seal about the size of a fist, and held it in his palm.
Ji Yuan merely glanced at it and could ascertain that it was at least a magical artifact containing eight or nine restrictions. As for whether they were innate or acquired restrictions, it was not something that could be easily seen with the naked eye.
After making their preparations, the two exchanged glances and then strode towards the inner city.
As soon as they stepped into the inner city, streams of heavenly punishment power surged towards them, like black lightning, containing an astonishing destructive force.
Seeing this, Ji Yuan's expression immediately became solemn. He formed hand seals one after another and fully activated the Xuantiān Shìlíng Tower to emit light.
Fortunately, although these heavenly punishment powers contained extremely astonishing strength, they were not aggressive and were easily blocked by the streams of light.
Seeing this, the two could not help but breathe a sigh of relief. After confirming that there was no danger, they continued to walk further into the inner city.
Several miles away, upon seeing the figures of the two slowly venturing into the inner city, Ji Changlin and the others could not help but exhale, even though they had not breathed for thousands of years.
"Father, their cultivation is only at the Spirit Nurturing realm, and their physical bodies are not as strong as ours. Can they really succeed in retrieving the Yin Yang Cai Dao?"
After a long while, Ji Wenwen's voice suddenly rang out, with a hint of worry.
However, what she worried about was not Ji Yuan and the other one, but whether they could successfully retrieve the item they needed.
After all, having existed for thousands of years, it was impossible for her to waste so much emotion on people she had just met. Even the lives and deaths of the two held no value for her to care about.
If it weren't for their ability to refine death qi, she would not have been polite to these outsiders.
"Let's hope they succeed."
Ji Changlin shook his head. In reality, he did not hold much hope.
There was one thing he had not told Ji Yuan and Lin Yubai: the longer they stayed in the inner city, the more they would be affected by the power of heavenly punishment.
Even with various means to block the pervasive black lightning, it was extremely difficult to block the erosion of the Great Dao.
In fact, this erosion was difficult to detect and was a manifestation of the rules of the Great Dao. By the time any clues emerged, it would be too late.
Over the past thousands of years, it was not that no one else had come to this place. In total, there had been dozens of people.
Most of them were at the second or third realm, and there was even a great cultivator who had just advanced to the Golden Core realm. However, these people either perished due to various reasons or were tricked into the inner city, eventually becoming beings like them.
That's right, the longer one stayed in the inner city, the deeper the influence of the heavenly punishment Dao principles accumulated within their bodies, and eventually, they would turn into 'living dead,' possessing an alternative form of longevity, but losing all their cultivation realms and constantly suffering the torment of death qi.
According to past experience, cultivators at the early to middle stages of the Spirit Nurturing realm, even if only at the edge of the inner city, could only last for about half an hour at most with their own cultivation.
If they possessed extraordinary treasures or had powerful means, they might be able to last another half an hour, which would be considered extremely astonishing.
Exceeding this time limit would turn them into 'living dead' like themselves. If they did not exit the inner city within a short period, they would directly lose their sanity and become bloodthirsty beasts that only knew how to kill.
(PS: My old ailment has acted up these past two days. My heart has been aching faintly, and I've been feeling drowsy and unenergetic, so the update time will be a bit unstable. Please forgive me, my dear esteemed readers. I will never fall short of a daily update of ten thousand words!)