Upon hearing Lin Yang's command, Ling Feng unhesitatingly raised his sword intent to its peak, his entire being seemingly merging with the longsword in his hand, transforming into a sharp sword shadow, thrusting towards the intersection of the dark power and the ice wall. This sword strike contained his ultimate understanding of the way of the sword, the blade radiating brilliant light, as if it were about to tear space apart.

As Ling Feng drew his sword, Lin Yang thrust out the Star Vortex. The Star Vortex, imbued with powerful stellar energy, crashed into the dark forces like a falling star. Su Ran and Qin Yue, meanwhile, focused all their efforts on maintaining the power of the ice wall and runes, ensuring the dark forces could not find an opening.

"Boom!" The three powerful forces collided, unleashing a deafening roar. A fierce wind swept through the valley, carrying sand and stones, and the powerful shockwave spread outwards. The members of the Xuanfeng Sect and the Yanshen Sect all used their techniques to defend themselves, while the men in black were also knocked off their feet by the aftershocks.

The man in black robes was surprised to see this, but he quickly regained his composure. He rapidly formed hand seals, and the dark power condensed once more, gradually stabilizing itself amidst the impact and even showing signs of pushing back.

Lin Yang and the others felt immense pressure, veins bulging on their foreheads as they fought back with all their might. Just when they were about to give up, a sudden change occurred. A mysterious light shot into the sky from the depths of the valley, containing an ancient and powerful aura that instantly dispersed the surrounding dark energy.

The black-robed man's expression changed drastically. He abandoned his attack on the group and turned to flee towards the direction from which the light had appeared. Xuan Feng'ao, Yan Long, and the others exchanged glances and followed suit. Lin Yang and the others, catching their breath, also followed closely behind.

The group arrived deep in the valley, where an ancient stone gate came into view. Mysterious runes were carved into the gate, and light shone through its cracks. A man in black robes stood before the gate, attempting to force it open.

"There must be an unparalleled treasure behind this stone door, and no one can take it from me!" the black-robed man roared, pressing his hands against the stone door, and dark power poured into it continuously.

Xuan Feng Ao sneered, "You? Such an opportunity is not something our Xuan Feng Sect will give away." With that, he led the Seven Xuan Feng disciples to unleash the Xuan Feng Sect's combined attack technique, and a powerful hurricane swept towards the man in black robes.

Not to be outdone, Yanlong said to Yanhu and his disciples, "Our Yanshen Sect cannot lag behind, let's go!" The Yanshen Sect members unleashed their fire magic, and a sea of ​​fire rushed towards the black-robed man.

Seeing this, Lin Yang and the others realized that what was behind the stone door might be the key to this conflict. Lin Yang said, "No matter what's behind that stone door, we can't let them succeed." Ling Feng, Su Ran, and Qin Yue nodded in agreement.

Just as the various forces were about to clash again, the stone gate suddenly trembled violently. A brilliant light shone forth, and the stone gate slowly opened. A powerful suction force emanated from within, drawing everyone inside.

A flash of light appeared before their eyes, and they found themselves in a vast space. In the very center of this space floated a bead radiating multicolored light. Surrounding the bead were ancient scrolls and several magical artifacts exuding powerful auras.

"This is the priceless treasure that caused the controversy?" Su Ran said in surprise.

Qin Yue carefully observed the surrounding environment and said, "It seems that some unknown secrets are hidden here. These things do not look ordinary."

Ignoring everyone else, the man in black rushed straight towards the five-colored beads. However, just as he was about to touch them, a barrier of light suddenly appeared, repelling him.

Xuan Fengao and Yanlong exchanged a glance and simultaneously attacked, attempting to snatch the bead. However, they were also blocked by the light barrier. Lin Yang and the others also tried to approach, but to no avail.

Just when everyone was at a loss, Lin Yang suddenly noticed that the runes on the scrolls around the bead were somewhat similar to an ancient script he had seen in ancient books. He calmed down and carefully studied the runes.

After much effort, Lin Yang finally deciphered the meaning of some of the runes. It turned out that this five-colored bead was not a simple treasure, but a container sealing a powerful evil force. A thousand years ago, a powerful being sealed this evil force here and set up numerous traps to prevent anyone from accidentally triggering it.

Those men in black were acting under the orders of a mysterious force, attempting to break the seal and unleash evil power for ulterior motives. The members of the Xuanfeng Sect and the Yanshen Sect were lured in by false information deliberately leaked by the men in black, hoping to incite them to fight each other and take advantage of the chaos.

Lin Yang shared his discovery with everyone. Xuan Fengao and Yan Long's expressions turned extremely grim upon hearing it. They hadn't expected to be used as pawns.

Upon hearing Lin Yang's words, the man in black robes burst into laughter: "That's right, you've all been tricked."