The ancient battlefield was extremely vast. Many places were impervious to perception probes.
Soon, Yi Yun landed in a mountain valley.
According to the Nanxuan family clan's jade slip, this was a herbal valley. The Nanxuan family clansman who recorded the location had once obtained a rather precious herb named the Wind Seeking Grass in the area.
Yi Yun could make use of that herb. Furthermore, the records mentioned other rare herbs in the valley. It also happened that the location recorded on the jade slip was closest to the area Yi Yun had appeared in. Therefore, he immediately rushed over when he saw it on the record.
Yi Yun was now in great need of natural treasures. He had yet to gather any materials for the fourth Dragon Emperor relic.
But Yi Yun was immediately stunned when he arrived at the herbal valley.
"Look over there."
"Did you find anything?"
"I only found a second-grade herb."
Scattered throughout the mountain valley were various herb valleys. There were dozens of warriors searching the herb valleys meticulously.
When the newcomer Yi Yun appeared, the warriors immediately cast their gazes over.
These people immediately recognized Yi Yun and gave looks of astonishment. "It's you? That itinerant cultivator that no one wanted to team up with?"
They had seen Yi Yun fly into the Psyche Vanquishing Desert with their own eyes. And from their point of view, anyone that flew into the desert alone was doomed. But now, here he was unharmed in the valley with them.
Yi Yun sighed to himself when the odd gazes landed on him. From the looks of it, the discovery of the herbal valleys by the Nanxuan family clansman was not a secret. It was obvious that these people had the herbal valley marked on their own maps.
As such, this herbal valley would be swept by warriors every sixty years. Whatever made it to this point were herbs of the lowest grade. These herbs were of no use to Yi Yun. The natural treasures he needed to refine the fourth Dragon Emperor relic were only more precious than the previous ones he gathered. It was a requirement these herbs in front of him could not satisfy.
Upon careful thought, Yi Yun was not surprised. The Nanxuan family clan was quite a formidable presence in the Scarlet Yang continent but it would only be considered a small faction within the entire Sinkhole. The information in the jade slips they obtained could not be better than the truly top factions. With this thought in mind, Yi Yun wanted to leave.
"Fellow Daoist, it's truly unbelievable that you came out of the Psyche Vanquishing Desert safely. Might i know how you did it? I believe you are here for the Thousand Illusion Lotus, right?" a pretty young girl dressed in a light yellow dress asked suddenly.
Yi Yun, who was about to leave, immediately halted when he heard the words Thousand Illusion Lotus.
It was something recorded in the divine alchemist's notes. It was indeed a very good spirit herb and it surprised Yi Yun that the herbal valley had one. However, the herb was similarly of little use to him. It was at the same level of rarity as the Wind Seeking Grass. He would naturally pluck it if he came across it but it was not worth it if he had to spend effort searching for it.
"We have already searched the area once and failed to discover the Thousand Illusion Lotus's location. Legends say that it hides amid illusions and those unfated would not see it even if it were right in front of them. However, if one has an extremely powerful perception or an artifact that specializes in perception, they can find clues of its location. Fellow Daoist, since you were able to cross the Psyche Vanquishing Desert alone, you must have used your perception to avoid those shadows, right? Might you have a treasured artifact that would help in this aspect?" asked the girl with earnest eyes.
"My cultivation technique is a little special," said Yi Yun perfunctorily.
The girl immediately looked pleasantly surprised and pressed further, "Fellow Daoist, you mentioned a special cultivation technique. I believe it must be a cultivation technique that enhances your perception? Why don't you cooperate with us and seek out the Thousand Illusion Lotus together?"
Yi Yun was rendered speechless. Couldn't the girl tell that he showed no interest?
But at that moment, Yi Yun's heart suddenly stirred as he turned to look into the distance. There was a rumbling sound coming from the horizon as though a behemoth was running towards him. At the same time, a primordial aura surged at him, as though it was beckoning for him, urging him to head towards it.
This is…
The girl hesitated for a moment before realizing what was happening. She exclaimed, "Some ancient forbidden ground is opening!"
Yi Yun also recalled the information recorded on the Nanxuan jade slip. The typical reason for such a phenomenon was the opening of a mysterious ground.
"These forbidden grounds are not to be missed. Judging from the commotion, it's not an ordinary one either. I'm sorry but I have to leave first. The Thousand Illusion Lotus is of little use to me and I'm not that interested in it. I won't be able to cooperate with you." Yi Yun cupped his fists at the girl and before she could even say a word, he turned to fly towards the commotion.
"Hey!" The girl watched helplessly as Yi Yun departed quickly like a flash of lightning. She immediately had a look of extreme disappointment.
"Junior Sister Bluejade, that's enough. He might have dodged the attacks of the Psyche Vanquish Shadows not by relying on some artifact, but by simple luck. He's afraid he would expose his lack of capabilities by cooperating with you. It's natural for him to be unwilling," said a blue-dressed man who walked over.
He was already very displeased when he saw Bluejade invite Yi Yun. Thankfully, Yi Yun had rejected her. While feeling secretly delighted, he took the chance to console her.
"Perhaps." Bluejade felt disappointed. The Thousand Illusion Lotus was very useful to her. In truth, the herb was not of a very high grade but it was rather rare. Furthermore, it was very difficult to search for. She had originally wanted to rely on Yi Yun's perception cultivation technique…
"Let's head there quickly too. That forbidden ground that suddenly appeared might hold some benefits. Such forbidden grounds typically only last for months. We should rush there as soon as possible too," added the man, his eyes filled with excitement.
By then, Yi Yun had already flown a great distance away.
He really had no time to cooperate with the girl. As for the Thousand Illusion Lotus, he could easily find it himself if he wanted it. There was no need for him to cooperate with others if he did decide to look for it.
In addition, the primordial aura that called out to him boiled over Yi Yun's lifeblood. His instincts told him that it was definitely something extraordinary; therefore, he immediately rushed over.
Soon, Yi Yun saw a gigantic hall. Clouds lingered around it, only allowing portions of the hall to be seen from a distance. However, what could be seen seemed to extend straight up into the firmaments. It had an extremely magnificent feel to it.
The moment he approached, the bountiful primordial aura inundated him. It even made Yi Yun feel like prostrating in front of it.
There were already many warriors gathered in front of the palatial hall. Streams of light were streaming in from every direction as well.
It was obvious that the herbal valley was not the only direction in which the beckoning effect reached. Warriors from all areas had sensed this primordial beckoning.
As the streams of light landed, there were about twenty thousand warriors who soon gathered in front of the hall.
At that moment, a few streams of light were rapidly approaching and one of them was glaringly bright. It resembled a meteor that streaked across the sky. Once it landed, it revealed a handsome red-robed man. His aura was deep and unfathomable with more than a hint of danger.
He looked at the hall and scanned through all the information he had stored in his memories. He revealed a look of shock. "The Divine Perish Hall has appeared."
"It's Li Fire Divine Lord!'
"Although Li Fire Divine Lord had his cultivation level lowered by the ancient battlefield, his aura still makes others feel apprehensive."
Yi Yun took a look at Li Fire Divine Lord and immediately sensed a cold gaze stare back at him. The few streams of light that had accompanied Li Fire Divine Lord had also landed and one of them was Wan Qing.
"You actually managed to make it out alive!" Wan Qing had already long written off Yi Yun, thinking that Yi Yun was definitely doomed. He never expected to encounter Yi Yun all fine and well. It felt like a figurative slap in his face.
While feeling astounded, his hatred for Yi Yun only deepened.
"Fine, no matter what fleeing technique you used, you are still extremely lucky to be here. But your good luck will come to an end in this ancient battlefield," said Wan Qing coldly. He retrieved a short saber from his interspatial ring.
Yi Yun held Mirage Snow without a word as a wary look flashed in his eyes. His wariness was directed at Li Fire Divine Lord for he could tell that Li Fire Divine Lord was an expert that had fused Divine Lord Royal Seal. Since he was with Wan Qing, he likely came from the Hongyu continent. Perhaps Li Fire Divine Lord shared the same surname of Wan too.
If a fight broke out, Yi Yun definitely had to be wary of Li Fire Divine Lord. But this did not mean Yi Yun was afraid.
Many people heard Wan Qing's words. They looked at Yi Yun in astonishment for they never expected him to pass through the Psyche Vanquishing Desert alone.
However, the 'fleeing technique' that Wan Qing mentioned reduced the astonishment in their eyes. From their point of view, Yi Yun must have made adequate preparations ahead of time to have the courage to step into the Psyche Vanquishing Desert alone. Perhaps it really was a simple fleeing technique as Wan Qing claimed.
In that case, even if the fleeing technique was extraordinary, it was not something that was worth being astonished over.
Li Fire Divine Lord glanced at Yi Yun with a hint of interest in his eyes. However, his eyes were similar to Wan Qing's. They held an extremely gloomy look that made Yi Yun feel uncomfortable.
"Wan Qing, there's no hurry. The Divine Perish Hall is more important," said Li Fire Divine Lord indifferently.
He did not forbid Wan Qing from taking action but only advised he curb his eagerness. His tone fully belittled Yi Yun.
Wan Qing felt a little disappointed but he did not say another word. He put away his short saber before sneering at Yi Yun.
At that moment, a rumbling noise sounded from underground as an unadorned stone monument rose suddenly in front of the hall.
The stone monument increased in height before stopping along with the rumbling sounds. However, its top had completely disappeared into the clouds.
And people could see that there were names inscribed on the top. Most of them had weathered with the times and the most recent ones were probably more than ten thousand years old.
"The Recognition Monument!" Everyone's eyes lit up.