"Young man, do you think I'm a fool?"

"Although I am full of curiosity about the spiritual treasure, why should I study the refining method for you for free?"

"Just because of your few compliments?"

Lord Dayan was silent for a moment, then replied with a sneer.

"How can a spiritual treasure be easily imitated?"

"Although your talent is unmatched, I am not sure whether you can research a method to copy it."

"However, if you can really accomplish this feat, then I am willing to meet any request you make in return within my ability. What do you think?"

Chen Yun looked calm and responded in a calm tone.

Hearing Chen Yun's words, Lord Dayan fell silent again, then snorted coldly and said proudly:
"Tongtian Lingbao, I once obtained relevant information from an ancient immortal cultivation site in my early years, and thus learned about the existence of this kind of heaven-defying magic weapon."

"I am naturally very curious about those treasures that even the ancient monks fear. That is why I began to pay attention to such treasures."

"Unfortunately, there is too little information about Tongtian Lingbao, and I have never been able to make any breakthroughs."

"Now that I have fallen to this state, I only have a few decades left to live, and I don't want to leave this world with regrets. Therefore, even though I know you are trying to provoke me, I will gladly accept it."

"What's more, we are only looking for some alternative materials, not starting from scratch to study the method of refining the spiritual treasure."

"How difficult is that? Just remember to agree to one of my requests."

"Okay, it's settled."

Chen Yun smiled calmly and agreed with great anticipation.

With such a genius who could even create the Dayan Jue, Chen Yun naturally would not miss this opportunity.

Although he already has the Xutian Ding, a magical treasure that can reach the sky, in his hands, it is still unknown when he can truly open and use it.

What's more, for a heaven-defying treasure like Tongtian Lingbao, the more powerful it is, the better.

Afterwards, the voice of Lord Dayan disappeared. Presumably, he had already started studying the refining method in the jade box.

Chen Yun's whole body was emitting an even more dazzling aura, and his speed instantly increased a bit as he rushed forward.

……

After a short rest, Chen Yun approached the hill where the purple-striped scorpion's nest was located again.

Nanlong Hou and a senior elder named Lu Weiying were walking in a strange underground corridor.

At this moment, the place was shrouded in darkness and the air was moist and full. Even with their unfathomable cultivation, they could not figure out the situation several feet around them.

"Brother Nanlong, this is really surprising. In a world full of fire and lava, there is actually such a gloomy and cold area."

"As for the legend of the so-called Blood Curse Gate, it seems that it is about 70% true now."

Lu Weiying followed closely behind Nanlong Hou about ten feet away and spoke slowly.

"Brother Lu, it turns out you have always been skeptical!"

"Fellow Daoist, you also know that regarding the matter of the Blood Curse Gate, even when I was searching for the suicide note left by Master Cangkun with the thief surnamed Yun, I never heard a single word about it."

"Otherwise, how could those guys from the Ghost Spirit Sect let this place go so easily? The Blood Curse Gate is a secret that has been passed down from generation to generation in this family."

Nanlong Hou smiled slightly and responded.

"However, if it weren't for the fact that opening the Blood Curse Gate requires the joint efforts of two Nascent Soul cultivators, Brother Nanlong might not have invited me to participate."

The old man surnamed Lu's eyes flickered, and suddenly he smiled and said.

"Brother Lu, you are joking. I have known you for many years. If there is such a rare opportunity, I will definitely not forget you."

"Otherwise, how could we have kept this matter a secret and prevented that kid named Chen from knowing about it?"

Nanlong Hou laughed and answered vaguely.

"Well, I, Lu, would like to thank Brother Nanlong for his kind invitation." After some subtle probing, the old man surnamed Lu quickly understood Marquis Nanlong's intentions and stopped mentioning the matter.

In this environment where there are only two people exploring the treasure together, it is appropriate to remind the other party of one's vigilance and let Nanlong Hou know that he is not defenseless, so as to avoid unnecessary conflicts along the way.

He didn't want to fall out with the other party and engage in a life-and-death battle in this mysterious place.

Nanlong Hou also understood the old man's inner thoughts. On the surface, he looked normal, but deep down in his heart he couldn't help but smile coldly.

The two explorers continued on in silence, and soon a faint light appeared ahead.

They were all delighted at the same time and immediately quickened their pace and entered a spacious stalactite cave.

This cave is more than thirty feet wide. The top and floor of the cave are covered with conical stalactites with a diameter of several feet, and the surrounding walls emit dazzling white light.

However, the most eye-catching thing is the emerald green pool of water more than ten meters in size located in the center of the cave.

The clear water in the pool was a light emerald green hue and seemed to be nothing special.

“Is the Blood Curse Gate really hidden in this place?”

The old man surnamed Lu looked around and did not find any signs of restrictions. Finally, he couldn't help but ask.

Looking at the old man who had just vowed that he had 70% trust in him but now began to have doubts, Nanlong Hou glanced at him with a half-smile on his face.

"It is definitely here!"

"However, the Blood Curse Gate is such an important place that Master Cang Kun must have used restrictions to cover it up again before leaving. We just need to remove these restrictions."

Nanlong Hou replied calmly, turning his gaze towards the pool of water in the center of the cave.

The old man surnamed Lu was stunned for a moment, then he looked at the pond carefully again as if he had suddenly realized something.

At this moment, Nanlong Hou gently waved his sleeves, and a small blue flag flew out from his sleeves, followed by a "plop" sound.

The small flag sank directly into the pool and disappeared without a trace.

Immediately afterwards, Nanlong Hou formed seals with his hands and muttered something.

Suddenly, something strange happened on the surface of the originally calm pond. Subtle waves began to stir, and the water began to rotate, increasing in speed until a huge whirlpool was formed.

At the core of the vortex, there seemed to be some invisible force vibrating, and a faint buzzing sound was heard.

"Water-Dividing Flag? I really didn't expect that you actually possessed such a precious and rare magic weapon!" Seeing the scene in front of him, the old man surnamed Lu felt a little shocked and surprised.

Nan Longhou replied nonchalantly: "It's just a simple auxiliary tool."

Then, he uttered a low call, and while dancing his hands, he performed two magical spells, all of which were injected into the depths of the vortex.

After the pool calmed down for a while, it suddenly rose several feet, revealing a passage leading to an unknown place. Nan Longhou did not hesitate, and turned into a beam of golden light and rushed into the water quickly.

The old man surnamed Lu thought for a moment, then turned into a white light and followed him into the passage.

Not long after, the old man surnamed Lu's face began to look pale.

This pool of water is very deep, even unfathomable.

He had already flown down about two or three hundred feet, but still could not see the bottom. He looked up at the mouth of the pool, which had become a tiny point of light.

His heart was full of doubts, and at the same time he felt an indescribable sense of oppression.

Fortunately, after flying for more than a hundred feet, he finally saw Nanlong Hou below suddenly stop, slowly descending with a flashing light, and finally arrived at the bottom of the pool.

The tension in the old man's heart eased a little, and he also retracted his escape light and floated down gently.

The bottom of the pond was more than ten feet in size, and was circular in shape, seemingly wider than the mouth of the pond. The ground was extremely moist, and covered with huge bluestone slabs, which looked exceptionally smooth.

On the bluestone slab in the center, the water-dividing flag was inserted, deeply embedded in the ground, and the flag emitted a soft blue light.

It is surrounded by a circle of tall green water curtains that extend directly to the mouth of the pool, which is magnificent.

"If this blood curse door is really hidden here, it is indeed an extremely hidden place."

"Ordinary people probably can't go hundreds of feet underwater."

"But how did Master Cang Kun know about this place? This is really puzzling."

The old man surnamed Lu frowned and said after carefully observing the surrounding environment.

"Regarding this question... perhaps it is because Master Cang Kun's spiritual awareness is far superior to that of ordinary people, and he is able to use his spiritual power to explore the bottom of the pool."

Nanlong Hou was slightly stunned and guessed uncertainly.

He had never thought about this question before, and now a trace of doubt arose in his heart.

"Perhaps that is the case!"

The old man stroked his beard, his eyes revealing a thoughtful look.

Nanlong Hou was silent for a moment, then shook his head, temporarily put aside the doubts in his heart, and suddenly reached for the storage bag at his waist.

A dazzling white light shot out from the mouth of the bag, and the white jade pendant that had been used at the entrance to the inner valley was raised into the air and kept spinning.

Nanlong Hou overlapped his two fingers and made unpredictable gestures, continuously casting out colorful talismans and spells, all of which were thrown towards the crystal clear jade pendant.

In an instant, all the spells were quickly absorbed by the jade pendant.

Then, with brilliant light, the jade pendant suddenly stopped rotating in front of a water curtain facing it, and at the same time made a clear sound like the singing of a phoenix.

Nanlong Hou silently raised his important arm and pointed at the jade pendant without hesitation.

With this tiny vibration, the jade pendant released a large amount of overwhelming brilliant light, which rushed forward.

A jaw-dropping scene suddenly appeared before my eyes.

Wherever the white light passed, the surrounding water curtain twisted and cracked like a tattered painting, and disappeared as the light dissipated.

However, a new scene emerged.

Replacing the water curtain was an arched stone gate more than three meters high, its surface flashing with scarlet light and gradually becoming clearly visible.

On the stone gate is carved a lifelike, huge one-horned ghost head, which occupies most of the surface of the stone gate. It is extremely vivid, lifelike, hideous and terrifying.

“Could this be the legendary blood curse door?”

The old man surnamed Lu's eyes twitched slightly, and he whispered to himself.

For some reason, when he saw the door, an inexplicable fear surged up from deep in his heart, making him feel extremely uneasy.

"Without a doubt, it is indeed this stone door."

Nanlong Hou stared at the rather narrow stone door in front of him, with a hint of thought between his brows. Finally, he took a deep breath and said affirmatively.

"The bloody smell emanating from this door seems too strong, and seems to carry a strong demonic quality. Does it bring potential risks?"

After observing carefully for a moment, Lu Weiying couldn't help but raise questions with concern.

"This gate was sealed by an ancient cultivator who exhausted all his blood and energy. Its restrictions are naturally different from ordinary restrictions. This is reasonable. Could it be that Brother Lu is afraid of the battle now?"

Nanlong Hou glanced sideways and responded in a cold tone.

"Running away from the battlefield? I'm already here, how can I give up so easily? However, just in case, it's better to act cautiously."

Lu Weiying shook his head in denial and said calmly.

"After listening to Brother Lu's words, it does make sense logically. This door does give people a strange and uncomfortable feeling."

"Then, should we set up a few layers of prohibitions on the periphery to protect the defense line? If any abnormal situation occurs, it will also be convenient for timely evacuation."

Nanlong Hou pondered over it again and again in his mind, gradually spreading a faint smile and suggested.

"This is a very good move. Let's do it according to your suggestion."

Lu Weiying nodded in agreement without hesitation and gladly accepted the plan.

So, Nanlong Hou and Lu Weiying took out several sets of formation tools from the storage bags they carried with them and began to carefully arrange the formation at the bottom of the pool.

……

However, just as Nanlong Hou and Lu Weiying were preparing to lift the ban on the Blood Curse Gate, in another corner deep in the inner valley, a group of people were slowly climbing towards the top of the mountain.

The leader of the team was a middle-aged cultivator with a gloomy face. Next to him stood an old man in a green shirt. They were the leader of the Ghost Spirit Sect and Wei Wuya, two big figures.

Wang Tiangu fell about ten feet behind the team.

Behind the three of them, there were four Ghost Spirit Sect monks in the Jindan stage following closely.

"This place is so weird that it makes people shudder. Such a remote place actually has a no-fly zone with a radius of 100 miles. Even flying several feet above the ground is impossible."

Wang Tiangu looked up at the blood-red clouds above his head and suddenly whispered to himself.

"The more this is the case, the more it proves that we have found the right place. If I were an ancient monk, I would also choose to place an important place in such a place."

"Because of this restriction, I'm afraid few monks are willing to spend a day or two walking here."

The leader of the Ghost Spirit Sect looked calm and responded calmly.

"We have made such great efforts. I just hope that our search this time is not in vain. We have lost three outstanding disciples along the way." Wang Tiangu looked quite helpless. (End of this chapter)