The blurry phantom came in the form of a face that was plain yet exuded a thick majesty. When Xiang Shaoyun and the others saw the face, they went on high alert, afraid that the face would suddenly attack.
“For being able to reach here, all of you are fated individuals. You may each take away a saint herb,” said the phantom with a voice that seemed like it had come from bygone times, a voice that had gone through a long passage of time.
Xiang Shaoyun and the others blanked out when they heard what the face said. They could leave with these saint herbs? This was definitely too good to be true. They found it hard to believe. And yet the restriction before them had indeed vanished. They could now freely pluck the saint herbs.
The eight-winged bee was the first to charge forward. A certain saint herb that would help him greatly had caught his eyes. The old man and the fairy hesitated slightly before rushing forth to their respective saint herbs as well. Meanwhile, Xiang Shaoyun was still hesitant. In fact, he felt extremely fearful of the free gift.
“Why are you not taking your saint herb? If you wait, there will be nothing left,” asked the phantom face.
Xiang Shaoyun raised his head and looked at the face. A firm look covered his face as he said, “I don’t want it anymore.”
“Are you sure? It will be quite a pity,” asked the phantom with a sigh.
The moment the phantom spoke, the restriction power returned, alarming the eight-winged bee, the old man, and the fairy as they tried escaping frantically. Unfortunately, they weren’t fast enough. They were soon suppressed by the restriction power.
“Bastard, get lost!” roared the eight-winged bee as a long golden spike appeared from his tail and stabbed at the restriction power.
But when the golden spike struck the restriction, it bounced off and crashed into the ground. The old man demonstrated his might as well. He released his nine-layered soul foundation, combining the strands of sparkling energy around his soul foundation with his astral energy. He erupted with a powerful combat strength as he swung his saint weapon at the restriction.
“Break!” declared the old man confidently as he attacked. This was a proper saint weapon that had helped him greatly in the past. He believed that it would not fail him this time either.
Alas, he was mistaken. When his saint weapon struck the restriction, no miracle was created. His attack was fully blocked, failing to do anything to the restriction. The fairy also made her move.
She formed a seal with both hands and manifested a massive blooming flower. The flower rippled with stunning energy as a flower-shaped arrow appeared in her hand. It shot toward the restriction.
The fairy was actually much stronger than the eight-winged bee and the old man. Even the restriction shook under her attack. Unfortunately, she was still not strong enough to break through the restriction.
“Let’s work together!” the old man roared.
The three joined hands and unleashed a bombardment at the restriction.
Their joint attack was exceedingly terrifying, containing a might to destroy a mountain range in the blink of an eye. The powerful impact alarmed Xiang Shaoyun, and he hurriedly retreated. He definitely didn’t want to be hit by a stray attack when the restriction retaliated against the three. The joint attack might be powerful, but it was still unable to affect the restriction.
“Don’t bother. Just stay,” said the phantom as the restriction started changing.
Behind the stele, the graveyard, filled with spiritual energy, suddenly turned into a zone of blood. The soil, herbs, and buildings transformed into piles of bones, as though time was accelerating rapidly as the entire world shifted.
The three Sovereigns trapped within the restriction also started changing. The old man’s life force started weakening, and his black hair turned white while his skin shriveled until it looked like tree bark. It was a terrifying scene to behold.
“W-what is going on? Why is my life force draining? This is impossible! This must be an illusion!” the old man roared in panic.
Anyone would sink into a panic in this situation.
“Why am I turning old? What is happening? Yes, this must be an illusion! This damn restriction, I need to break it!” The same thing happened to the eight-winged bee, and he started doing everything he could to save himself.
The flower fairy was also aging abruptly. Similarly, she did not sit around doing nothing. She tried shoving the saint herb in her hand down her throat, but then she found that the herb had withered just like her.
“Why is this happening? I don’t want to die!” the fairy howled in alarm.
The three struggled madly, trying to charge out of the restriction.
“Save me! Young brother, save me!” The old man called weakly in Xiang Shaoyun’s direction.
“Please, save us. We will reward you generously,” the eight-winged bee and flower fairy begged as well.
They had no other option, and they viewed Xiang Shaoyun as their final lifeline.
Looking at them, Xiang Shaoyun said indifferently, “You are all stronger than me. How am I supposed to save you? You should beg this thing instead.”
The phantom was still there. Xiang Shaoyun had been standing to the side vigilantly, not daring to be careless. He would not even think of saving the three, as that was basically suicide.
The three turned to the phantom and begged, “Please spare us. We don’t want the saint herbs anymore.”
In the face of death, they could give up even dignity, to say nothing of some saint herbs.
“Haha, I can’t save you. Only he can save you,” said the phantom, who started roaring with laughter.
“I can save them?” Xiang Shaoyun asked as he pointed at himself.
“Yes, you can. You’re the only one. Hahaha!” said the phantom as it laughed before slowly vanishing into the air.
“Young brother, please, save us!” pleaded the old man as he bowed.
“Please, you must help me! I will repay you generously!” shouted the eight-winged bee.
The fairy was too weak to speak, but the way she was looking at Xiang Shaoyun made it clear what she was thinking. Who would want to die if one could continue living? Xiang Shaoyun did not give them blind promises. He used the profundity of earth and tried sensing any formations underground.
Unfortunately, he found nothing. Or perhaps there was a formation here, but it was too sophisticated for him to detect.
After giving it some thought, his gaze landed on the stele as he muttered, “Is the solution on the stele?”
