In front of the palace gate, Zhang Dongji, who had just recklessly caused trouble, was thanking Jian Shu.
Jianshu chatted with him casually, occasionally glancing at a corner outside the hall.
Shi Lan noticed his gaze and walked directly towards him.
Seeing this, Jian Shu quickly dismissed Zhang Dongji and walked towards Shi Lan with a smile.
"Junior Sister Shi, did you find anything?"
Shi Lan shook her head.
Jian Shu said, "I heard that Junior Sister has only recently emerged from seclusion, so she probably doesn't know the situation yet." He continued, "Although these magical artifacts are no longer useful, they still retain the insights of the people who crafted them back then. These insights are extremely valuable experience for today's artifact crafters. When we return to the sect, the External Affairs Hall will take them back, and the sect will also give us some corresponding rewards."
Shi Lan blinked.
So there were rewards too. No wonder everyone was rushing to put them in their storage bags. Thinking back to how she had secretly mocked them, Shi Lan couldn't help but feel annoyed. By now, they probably had nothing left.
Seeing Shi Lan purse her lips, Jian Shu guessed what she was thinking. "Junior Sister, there's no need to rush. This is just a place where disciples accept missions and exchange items. There should be better places inside. Don't be modest when you do."
Jianshu jokingly said.
Shi Lan blushed slightly, embarrassed, and turned to look at the crowd that was walking over.
Jian Shu looked at Liu Minde and Li Mingrou as they approached and asked, "Junior Sister, do you know these two people?"
Shi Lan shook her head and said, "I don't know him."
Jian Shu nodded, looking at the two with gentle eyes, but said, "Yunmeng Sect is also a branch of my sect. Now that we are in the same secret realm, there are some things that you shouldn't bring up in the open, even if you feel uncomfortable. It's only for a month, and you'll have a chance to settle accounts when you get out." After saying that, he took two steps forward and blocked Liu Minde, who wanted to come over to talk, in front of Shi Lan, while also dragging away the resentful Li Mingrou.
Shi Lan glanced at his gentle smile and soft whisper, silently thinking to herself, "So this seemingly kind person also has a dark side that no one knows about."
The group gathered again. There was a bluestone path leading up the side of the palace, with overgrown weeds and vines spreading along it, completely covering the originally wide road.
Yun Fang, impatient with the weeds, slashed them with his sword.
Zhang Dongji let out a soft hiss, feeling a pang of heartache.
Shi Lan deliberately lagged behind to avoid those two annoying guys, and just then she saw Zhang Dong carefully picking up the flowers and plants that Yun Fang had split in two.
"What's this?"
Zhang Dongji picked off the small flowers one by one, looked up and saw Shi Lan looking on with interest, and said, "This is Zhiyuan, which can be used to calm the mind."
Shi Lan found it interesting and picked some herself, then asked Zhang Dongji, "What about this one?"
Zhang Dongji knew Shi Lan's influence on JianShu, and seeing that she had asked a question, he didn't dare to be negligent and quickly explained the usage of the name.
Shi Lan thought these things were nice, so she picked some with him and carefully put them into the jade box to store them.
Seeing how much Shi Lan valued this, Zhang Dongji was also very happy. It was rare to meet a like-minded person who was interested in secular medical principles. Zhang Dongji did not hold back and simply introduced the medicinal herbs he encountered along the way to Shi Lan one by one.
As Shi Lan listened, she put away the medicinal herbs and unknowingly fell behind. When she came up, she saw an extremely shocking scene.
The square was at least five times larger than the open space we had seen before. At intervals along the edge, there was a round stone pillar that would take several people to encircle. At the base of the pillar, four people sat cross-legged with their arms outstretched and their fingers pressed on the pillar.
In the center was a high platform, on which sat a figure dressed in gray-white robes and wearing a bright white jade crown. Below the platform sat a crowd of people in the same robes, a dark mass that filled the entire square.
The surroundings were unusually quiet, and the air was filled with a cold, deathly aura that sent chills down everyone's spines. Even Xu Qing and his group, who were known for their courage, were still frightened. Only Qi Gang and his sinister group had their eyes shining.
Xu Qing stiffly turned his head to look at Jian Shu, and after a while he whispered, "It seems that this sect was attacked when it was caught off guard."
Jianshu nodded, his face pale.
A huge sect was wiped out without even a chance to resist; how profound must their magical power be?
Yun Fang considered himself quite bold, but seeing this scene before him still chilled him to the bone.
I can't imagine what would happen if my sect encountered this powerful figure.
Shi Lan watched the scene before her quietly. For some reason, a strange emotion was brewing in her chest, like anger, hatred, and even more like sorrow.
What's going on?
She was certain she had never been here before, nor had she ever seen these people, so why did she want to cry, roar, and seek revenge for them?
Shi Lan pressed her hand tightly to her chest, trying to compress the surging emotions back into her heart, but the emotions were too intense. After trying for a long time, she still couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.
A gentle breeze swept by, and the figure on the platform suddenly moved slightly, its entire body instantly turning into a shimmering white powder.
Then, the same scene repeated itself: the dark mass of people turned into dust, which drifted away in the breeze.
Qi Gang hurriedly reached out to grab it, but the powder was like wisps of smoke, and as soon as it landed in his hand, it was carried away by the wind without leaving a trace.
Qi Gang tried for a long time but couldn't leave a trace, and finally couldn't help but start cursing.
Xu Qing frowned as he looked at the empty square again, a sense of unease creeping into his heart.
What exactly happened here? How could everything, people and objects alike, be reduced to dust?
Everyone present had the same question, but at this moment, no one could answer it for them.
They quickly crossed the square and entered the palace, which was mostly in ruins.
Perhaps due to the great battle, all the furnishings inside the hall had been destroyed, leaving only a wide stone chair standing on a stone platform and a tall stone screen behind it.
"What's this?"
Xu Qing circled the screen, which was covered with cloud carvings, and muttered to himself.
Jianshu glanced at him discreetly, then quickly looked away.
Seeing that there was nothing to take with him, Yun Fang left directly. Qi Gang glanced at the screen with a sinister look, then turned to try his luck, looking for any corpses that hadn't turned to ashes.
You Yue glanced at the screen with amusement, then suddenly noticed Shi Lan standing to the side, looking up at the roof that revealed half of the sky. A wicked grin spread across his face.
"I heard that a genius who displayed extraordinary phenomena recently emerged from the Qingyi Sect. Fellow Daoist Jian, I wonder if that prodigy came along?"
Jian Shu was pondering why the pattern carved on the screen looked so much like the strange phenomenon that appeared in the sky when Shi Lan was building his foundation, when You Yue's words acted as a fuse, instantly startling him.
Remembering the sect leader's deliberate instructions before he arrived, Jian Shu immediately felt needles prickling his feet, making him want nothing more than to leave this place at once.
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