The Lingxu Market alliance slowly approached the source of the deep roar through the narrow passage. A tense atmosphere permeated the passage; everyone gripped their weapons and magical artifacts tightly, their nerves stretched to the limit. The roar grew clearer, as if a slumbering beast was being awakened, foreshadowing an impending crisis.

As the group finally reached the end of the passage, a massive cavern came into view. A thin layer of mist filled the cave, and within it, a colossal figure could be vaguely discerned. As they drew closer, the figure became clearer—a ferocious beast as large as a mountain. Its body was covered in black scales, each shimmering with a metallic sheen, as hard as armor. The beast's head resembled a lion's, but it possessed three enormous eyes that now emitted an eerie green glow, filled with vigilance and hostility. Its limbs were thick and powerful, its claws digging deeply into the ground, as if to tear the earth apart.

"What kind of ferocious beast is this? I've never seen such a powerful aura before," a member of the Linghe Merchant Guild murmured, a hint of fear in his eyes.

Lin Yang's expression was solemn as he stared intently at the ferocious beast. He said, "Whatever it is, we must be careful. Every danger in these ruins could be a matter of life and death."

The elder of the Spirit Sword Sect drew his sword, its blade gleaming with a cold light, and said, "Sword cultivators, listen to my command! Maintain the sword formation and do not panic!" The sword cultivators quickly formed a sword formation, and sword energy flowed within it, creating a solid defensive barrier.

The disciples of Wanbaoge manipulated their magical artifacts, ready to launch an attack at any moment. Flames blazed fiercely within the "Flaming Dragon Cauldron," poised to strike; the "Nine Heavens Thunder Pearl" shimmered with light, its power of lightning surging within.

Just then, the ferocious beast let out a deafening roar, causing rocks to fall from the cave walls. It swung its enormous claws fiercely, sweeping towards the group. The claws created a gust of wind, their power astonishing, seemingly capable of destroying everything in their path.

The sword formation of the Spirit Sword Sect shone brightly as the sword cultivators did their best to defend against the attack. However, the power of the ferocious beast was too great, and the sword formation shook violently under the impact. The sword cultivators all felt a powerful shock, and their arms went numb.

"Hold on, we can't let it break the sword formation!" shouted the elder of the Spirit Sword Sect.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the disciples of Wanbaoge launched an attack. The flames spewed from the "Flame Dragon Cauldron" resembled a giant fire dragon, rushing towards the ferocious beast; the lightning released by the "Nine Heavens Thunder Pearl" transformed into thick bolts of lightning, striking the beast. The flames and lightning struck the beast, sending sparks flying, but the beast seemed to be largely unharmed. It only paused slightly before launching another attack.

This time, the ferocious beast opened its blood-red maw, and a black beam of light shot out from its mouth. The beam of light contained powerful dark energy, and wherever it passed, the air seemed to be corroded, emitting a "sizzling" sound.

The experts from the Linghe Merchant Guild quickly cast defensive spells, forming a multicolored spiritual energy shield around everyone. The black beam of light struck the shield, causing it to flicker violently and tremble constantly, as if it would shatter at any moment.

"This dark power is too strong; our shields won't last long!" shouted an expert from the Linghe Merchant Guild.

Lin Yang circulated his spiritual energy, trying to find the beast's weakness. He discovered that the beast's three eyes would glow even brighter when it launched an attack, seemingly the convergence point of its power.

"Attack its eyes!" Lin Yang shouted.

The sword cultivators of the Spirit Sword Sect immediately adjusted their sword formation, concentrating their sword energy towards the beast's eyes. The disciples of the Myriad Treasures Pavilion also manipulated their magical treasures, focusing their attacks on the beast's eyes. The flames of the "Flaming Dragon Cauldron" transformed into three fire swords, flying towards the beast's three eyes; the lightning power released by the "Nine Heavens Thunder Pearl" condensed into three lightning spears, following closely behind.

The ferocious beast seemed to sense the danger; its body swayed slightly, attempting to dodge the attack. However, the sword cultivators' sword formation was extremely precise, their sword energy raining down like a storm towards the beast's eyes. One of the sword energies successfully struck one of the beast's eyes, causing it to let out a painful roar as green blood flowed from that eye.

However, the wounded beast became even more ferocious, charging recklessly towards the group. Its enormous body was like a moving mountain, smashing and shattering the cave walls wherever it went.

The experts of the Linghe Merchant Guild were doing their best to maintain the spiritual energy shield, their clothes soaked with sweat. But under the impact of the ferocious beast, cracks appeared in the shield.

"Everyone, let's work together! We can't let the shield break!" Lin Yang shouted. Everyone poured their spiritual energy into the shield, trying to stabilize it.

Just as the shield was about to shatter, the sword cultivators of the Spirit Sword Sect unleashed a new sword formation variation. The spiritual energy of the sword cultivators within the formation merged, forming a massive spiritual energy blade. This blade, radiating a powerful aura, slashed towards the head of the ferocious beast.

Sensing the immense threat, the ferocious beast ceased its charge, opened its jaws once more, and unleashed an even more powerful beam of black light. The beam collided with the spiritual energy blade, erupting in a dazzling display of light. The light illuminated the entire cave, and the powerful energy shock caused the cave to shake violently, as if it were about to collapse at any moment.

After the light faded, everyone was surprised to find that the ferocious beast swayed a few times before collapsing to the ground with a thud. A deep wound had been slashed into its head by the spiritual energy blade, and blood was gushing out.

The group breathed a sigh of relief after successfully defeating the ferocious beast. But they knew that even greater dangers awaited them within the ruins.

After a short rest, the group continued their exploration of the cave. They discovered that the cave walls were covered with strange patterns and characters. The experts from the Linghe Merchant Guild carefully studied these patterns and characters, attempting to decipher their meaning.

After some effort, they discovered that the patterns and writings seemed to be guiding them to the core of the ruins. Following the patterns, the group passed through the cave and arrived at a huge plaza.

The plaza was paved with a white jade stone, covered with various runes. In the center of the plaza stood a massive stone platform. On the platform rested a box radiating golden light.

"This box might contain the treasures of the ruins," said the head of the Wanbao Pavilion.

However, as the group approached the stone platform, the runes on it suddenly lit up, and a powerful spiritual barrier appeared before them.

The experts from the Linghe Chamber of Commerce took out their detection magic weapons to probe the spiritual energy barrier. "This spiritual energy barrier is extremely powerful, and it's different from any of the restrictions we've encountered before. It seems that a specific method is needed to break it," one of the experts said.

The group began searching for clues to break the spiritual energy barrier. Just then, a sword cultivator from the Spirit Sword Sect discovered a hidden passage in a corner of the plaza. The entrance to the passage was partially blocked by a large rock, making it difficult to spot without careful observation.

Together, they pushed the boulder aside, revealing an ancient aura permeating the passage. The passage was extremely narrow, allowing only one person to pass at a time. Lin Yang decided to lead a few agile swordsmen and Wanbaoge disciples into the passage to explore, while the others remained in the plaza to continue their research into breaking the spiritual energy barrier.

Lin Yang and the others carefully made their way through the passage. The passage was dark and damp, with occasional glowing moss on the walls that emitted a faint light, barely illuminating the path ahead.

As they continued their journey, they discovered that the walls on both sides of the passage were covered with fragments of cultivation techniques. Although these fragments were incomplete, they contained profound cultivation philosophies.

“These fragments of cultivation techniques might help us break through the spiritual energy barrier,” Lin Yang said. The group continued forward, carefully studying the fragments, trying to find clues to break the barrier.

As they ventured deeper into the passage, a massive stone gate appeared ahead. The gate was covered in intricate runes, which shimmered with a mysterious light. The gate remained tightly shut, seemingly concealing some secret.

Will Lin Yang and his companions be able to find a way to decipher the runes on the stone gate and enter to explore its secrets? And will those who remain in the plaza be able to successfully break through the spiritual energy barrier and obtain the treasure on the stone platform? Everything is fraught with unknowns and challenges.