The crowd gathered before the hidden door, gazing at the black stone gate covered in runes, their hearts filled with both curiosity and tension. Lin Feng reached out and gently touched the runes; a strange energy surged through his fingertips, sending a chill down his spine.

“These runes seem to possess powerful sealing abilities. I wonder what the consequences would be if we rashly opened them,” Xuanfeng said, frowning as he scanned the runes, trying to decipher their mysteries.

“But we’ve already come this far, we can’t just give up halfway.” The female general gripped her halberd tightly, her eyes fixed firmly on the stone gate.

Lin Feng pondered for a moment, then carefully examined the similarities between the runes on the token and the runes on the hidden door. After comparing them, he discovered that although the runes on the hidden door were complex, they seemed to follow the same logical system as the runes on the token.

"Perhaps we can try activating these runes in a certain order, and maybe we can open the hidden door." As Lin Feng spoke, he gently touched the runes on the hidden door with his spiritual power based on his speculation.

As Lin Feng moved, the runes began to glow faintly one by one, gradually spreading from the edges towards the center. When the last rune lit up, the hidden door emitted a deep rumble and slowly opened upwards, releasing an ancient and mysterious aura.

Behind the door was a staircase leading downwards, made of a kind of stone that emitted a faint glow. The light was not bright, but it was enough to make one see the way. The walls on both sides of the staircase were also covered with various strange patterns and characters, as if telling an ancient story.

"Everyone be careful, we don't know what's down there," Lin Feng warned, taking the lead on the steps. The others followed closely behind. The female general and the soldiers of the Zhengyang Army held their weapons, vigilantly watching their surroundings; Su Ran gathered her ice spirit power, just in case; Feng Wu, though still somewhat weak, summoned a five-colored phoenix, letting it circle above as a watchful eye; Xuan Feng carefully observed the patterns on the wall, trying to glean more information from them.

After descending the stairs for about several hundred steps, a vast circular space appeared before us. The ceiling was a dome, inlaid with countless glittering gems like stars, illuminating the entire space. In the center of the space stood a stone platform radiating a soft light, upon which rested an ancient box.

"Is this it? The stone platform and items depicted in the rune pattern earlier?" The Blood Shadow Sect woman said, pointing to the stone platform.

Just as everyone approached the stone platform, a clear voice suddenly rang out from the space: "Outsiders, you have intruded into this place. If you wish to obtain the items on the stone platform, you must pass a test."

The sound echoed through the space, but its origin was unknown. Lin Feng looked around and asked loudly, "What test? We are willing to accept it."

As soon as the words were spoken, stone pillars suddenly rose from the ground, their surfaces covered with intricate runes and patterns. Immediately afterward, a swarm of phantom creatures of various shapes poured out from the gaps in the pillars, baring their fangs and claws as they lunged at the group.

"It's a phantom beast! Everyone be careful. Although these phantom creatures seem illusory, their attacks possess real power," Xuanfeng shouted a warning.

Lin Feng immediately unleashed ice magic, sending ice blades hurtling towards the phantom creatures. The ice blades pierced through the phantoms, but only caused a ripple, without inflicting any real damage.

"Ordinary attacks are useless; we need to find their weaknesses," Su Ran shouted. She conjured a huge ice shield, which stood in front of everyone, blocking the attacks of several phantom creatures.

The woman in white brandished her longsword, the blade flashing as she tried to find a weakness in the phantom creatures. She aimed for the movement of a phantom wolf and thrust her sword at its neck, but the sword merely passed through the wolf's body, failing to harm it in the slightest.

Feng Wu commanded the five-colored phoenix to rush towards the phantom creatures. The phoenix spewed out scorching flames, but when the flames touched the phantom creatures, they were as if they were burning in the air and had no effect whatsoever.

The soldiers of the Zhengyang Army formed a tight square formation, using their shields to defend against the phantom creatures' attacks. The female general wielded her halberd, constantly parrying and counterattacking, but the phantom creatures were numerous and surged in wave after wave, gradually putting everyone in a difficult situation.

"This won't do; we have to think of a solution." Lin Feng frowned, quickly searching for a countermeasure. He looked again at the runes and patterns on the stone pillar, trying to find a way to break the spell.

Suddenly, Lin Feng noticed that the runes on the stone pillar seemed to form some specific array patterns, and these patterns were somewhat similar to a method for breaking an illusion array that he had seen in an ancient book.

"Listen up, everyone," Lin Feng said, directing the group based on his memory and observations. "The runes on these stone pillars form an illusion array. We need to attack the pillars in a certain order, and perhaps we can break the illusion array and defeat these phantom creatures."

"Feng Wu, have the phoenix attack the third stone pillar on the left; Su Ran, you..."

Hearing Lin Feng's command, Feng Wu, despite her physical discomfort, urged the five-colored phoenix towards the third stone pillar on the left. The phoenix cried out, its body engulfed in flames, and like a burning meteor, it slammed into the pillar. The flames instantly enveloped the pillar, and the runes flickered erratically under the intense heat.

At the same time, Su Ran quickly formed hand seals, and the power of ice spirit surged towards the fifth stone pillar on the right like a raging tide. In the blink of an eye, the stone pillar was covered with a thick layer of solid ice, and ice shards spread and grew along the patterns of the runes.

The female general led the Zhengyang Army soldiers, shouting in unison, as they charged towards a stone pillar directly in front of them. Their weapons struck the pillar heavily with dull thuds, each attack carrying an indomitable momentum.

Xuanfeng then used wind magic to create powerful whirlwinds within the group of stone pillars. The whirlwinds swirled around the designated stone pillars, their force constantly increasing, making the runes appear to tremble in the wind.

The woman in white and the woman from the Blood Shadow Sect also unleashed their unique skills, their spiritual energy flashing as they attacked the other two stone pillars. In an instant, the entire space was filled with intertwined magical lights and colliding forces, producing deafening roars.

As everyone attacked the stone pillar according to Lin Feng's command, the runes on it began to undergo strange changes. The previously stable light of the runes became flickering, and they seemed to have formed some kind of chaotic connection with each other. The actions of the phantom creatures were also affected; their attack rhythm became disordered, their forms became increasingly illusory, and they were no longer as aggressive as before.

However, just when everyone thought victory was in sight, the entire space suddenly trembled violently. The runic light on the stone pillars reconverged, transforming into beams of black energy that rebounded towards the group.

"Not good! Everyone, defend!" Lin Feng shouted, quickly conjuring a thick ice wall in front of him. The ice wall had just taken shape when the black energy beam slammed into it, instantly causing countless cracks to appear. Lin Feng was also forced back several steps by the impact.

Seeing this, Su Ran immediately added several more layers of ice shields behind Lin Feng's ice wall, while simultaneously spreading ice spirit power to the feet of everyone, forming a solid layer of ice to stabilize their bodies. Feng Wu commanded the five-colored phoenix to protect everyone with its body, the flames and black energy beams resisting each other, emitting a "sizzling" sound, and a pungent smell filled the air.

The female general led her soldiers to form a shield wall, infusing their spiritual power into the shields in an attempt to withstand the impact of the black energy beams. Xuanfeng, meanwhile, manipulated wind magic to redirect some of the black energy beams in other directions, reducing the pressure from the front. The woman in white and the woman from the Blood Shadow Sect joined forces to create a spiritual barrier, which twisted and deformed under the impact of the black energy beams, but they persevered through gritted teeth.

"Don't give up! We're almost there! Let's try one more time!" Lin Feng shouted, encouraging everyone, his eyes filled with determination and unwavering spirit. Inspired by Lin Feng, the group rallied, gathering their spiritual energy once more and launching an attack on the stone pillar.

This time, the attacks were even more ferocious, and the output of spiritual power was even more coordinated. Feng Wu's phoenix flames, Su Ran's ice spirit power, the power of the female general and the soldiers, Xuan Feng's wind magic, and the spiritual power of the white-clothed woman and the Blood Shadow Sect woman were like five rushing rivers, converging into a powerful force that impacted the runes on the stone pillar.

The runes on the stone pillar finally succumbed to the immense power, and their light instantly went out. Then, the pillar collapsed with a deafening roar, scattering into countless fragments across the ground. As the pillar crumbled, the phantom creatures vanished into thin air, and the entire space returned to calm.

The group looked at each other wearily, but a relieved smile appeared on their faces. The fierce battle they had just experienced had exhausted a great deal of their spiritual energy, but the joy of successfully breaking the illusion array made them temporarily forget their fatigue.

"Lin Feng, you're amazing! If you hadn't come up with a solution, we would have been in real danger today," Feng Wu exclaimed sincerely, her eyes filled with admiration.

"Everyone deserves credit; it was our collective effort that led to this success," Lin Feng replied with a smile, then turned his gaze to the stone platform located in the center of the space.

The group slowly walked towards the stone platform. The closer they got, the stronger the mysterious aura became. When they arrived at the platform, they discovered that the surface of the ancient box on it was covered with exquisite patterns. These patterns seemed to have a life of their own, shimmering with a faint light.

Lin Feng cautiously reached out and gently touched the box. The instant his fingers touched the box, a surge of information flooded into his mind. Lin Feng closed his eyes tightly, focusing all his energy on receiving this information.

After a long while, Lin Feng slowly opened his eyes, a hint of surprise flashing in them: "This is an ancient inheritance, recording a powerful cultivation technique and some secrets about this ruin."

"Really? Tell us what it is!" Everyone crowded around, their faces full of anticipation.