When Ling Feng and his companions finally arrived at the Scripture Pavilion of the Ancient Imperial Gate, about twenty people had already gathered there.
Besides the Feeng Yan squad and Ding Peng’s trio whom they had encountered earlier, Shen Lang, Murong Wu, and even Yaan Jinghong were also standing by with cold expressions.
What surprised Ling Feng the most was that even the Eleventh Prince of the Tianyang Empire, Nangong Yu, was present!
However, the aura emanating from his body had clearly increased significantly from before, and he seemed to have already broken through to the Divine Origin Realm.
Given his substantial background and consistent suppression of his realm, Ling Feng was not at all curious about Nangong Yu’s rapid advancement to the Divine Origin Realm.
Still, the cost of such a swift breakthrough was a shallow foundation, but for the sake of this opportunity at the God Demon Battlefield, he had impulsively rushed it this time. At worst, he could return later to properly strengthen his foundation by spending some time and resources, so the problem wasn’t too big.
As Ling Feng and his group approached, Feeng Yan greeted Ling Feng with a fist and a bow.
Ling Feng nodded back at him, walking over to Feeng Yan’s side with his companions. Officially speaking, they were still temporary allies.
"Brother Ling, why didn’t I see you during the fight for the Supreme Divine Elixir?" Feeng Yan asked in a quiet, lowered voice.
"Heh, actually I was there too, but seeing Brother Feeng had already made a move, I figured it was hopeless to obtain that Supreme Divine Elixir, so I had to settle for less and just wandered around, but unfortunately, I found nothing."
Ling Feng shrugged his shoulders, a look of frustration on his face.
"You’re wise, kid. With Mr. Feeng making a move, you definitely wouldn’t have had a chance," Fatty Huang lifted his head and said with pride.
Ling Feng touched his nose, but he chuckled inwardly. Feeng Yan was strong indeed, but ultimately, he himself was the winner.
Feeng Yan nodded, not suspecting anything else, but Yaan Jinghong and Nangong Yu kept glancing at Ling Feng and his companions, seemingly doubtful about Ling Feng’s explanation.
Fortunately, Ling Feng’s companions, Lee Bufan and Tuoba Yan, with their ice-cold expressions, were inscrutable. Yue Yunlan, an actress at heart, acted as if she had never even heard of the Supreme Divine Elixir.
And Mu Qianxue, occasionally petting the little black cat in her arms, looked perfectly harmless.
As for Jiang Xiaofan, although he wasn’t very smart or good at acting, he just kept scratching his head and laughing foolishly, so basically, no one paid him much attention.
"Brother Ling, we meet again!"
The Eleventh Prince of the Tianyang Empire, Nangong Yu, approached calmly, seemingly not holding a grudge about the last time Ling Feng had snatched his Xuanhuang Flame from him.
Ling Feng pursed his lips and returned the gesture with a fist and a bow, inwardly surprised: The guy was seeing him again and hadn’t tried to punch him immediately—his endurance was quite impressive.
"Last time in the Sky White Imperial City, I really must thank Brother Ling for his ’care.’ Thanks to Brother Ling, I ended up losing both my bride and my troops!"
The Eleventh Prince stared at Ling Feng, his words tinged with a grudging tone.
What he referred to, of course, was his failure to marry Yue Yunlan and the substantial loss of elites he had suffered, eventually leading to a compensation of three cities to the Sky White Empire!
Although they were just three insignificant towns, the Empire had completely lost face!
After returning to the Tianyang Empire, his father, the emperor, was so furious that he nearly slapped him to death!
"Hehe, it should be, it should be," Ling Feng smirked and laughed, "It’s not a big deal, your Highness shouldn’t take it to heart."
Suddenly, Mu Qianxue and Yue Yunlan could not hold back their laughter anymore, as Ling Feng’s sharp-tongued wit had not diminished at all!
"Hahaha... I’m dying of laughter, oh my, my stomach hurts!"
Beside them, Lan Yingying was holding her belly, laughing heartily, surprised that Ling Feng, who seemed so serious, was actually quite humorous when he spoke.
The face of the Eleventh Prince immediately darkened, and he glared fiercely at Ling Feng, his robes billowing as he stormed off angrily.
He also noticed that Ling Feng seemed to have a good relationship with Feeng Yan. He didn’t think himself a match for Feeng Yan of the Prison Heaven Finger, and he still needed everyone’s effort to have a chance to enter the Scripture Pavilion, so he could only endure it for the time being.
Ling Feng touched his nose, not taking the Eleventh Prince’s animosity to heart. After all, many wanted him dead; where did this prince rank among them?
His attention turned to a grand hall in front of them—this was the "Scripture Pavilion" of the Ancient Sect.
However, the scene inside the Scripture Pavilion took Ling Feng by surprise. This tall pavilion was half destroyed, with a huge hole in the left half of the roof, through which blinding golden light shone through.
Ling Feng focused his eyes and saw that the golden light was emitted by a spherical golden vortex, which was indeed rupturing the roof of the Scripture Pavilion.
Outside the Golden Light Vortex, a terrifying energy storm raged, rendering the entire pavilion teetering on the brink of collapse. If not for an Ancient Formation outside the Scripture Pavilion, it might have been completely destroyed by now.
"What is going on here?" Ling Feng narrowed his eyes and asked Feeng Yan and the others.
"I’m not quite sure either," Feeng Yan shook his head. "By the time we arrived here, we found a very special energy seeping out from inside the Scripture Pavilion. Unfortunately, the Ancient Formation around it had already activated automatically, preventing anyone from breaking through directly. Therefore, everyone is stuck here, hoping to combine our forces to destroy the Ancient Formation."
Ling Feng’s brow lifted as he could feel the violent energy of the Golden Light Vortex, even through the Ancient Formation. It must be another incredible treasure!
But, inside the Scripture Pavilion, weren’t they supposed to store only secret manuals and the like? What was with this glaring golden light?
About half a day later, more people arrived continuously. When around fifty elite warriors from the Four Great Empires had gathered, Murong Wu could no longer contain himself. He leapt down from a broken wall and exclaimed, "We have enough people now. Let’s join forces and break through the Ancient Prohibition of the Scripture Pavilion first!"
With that, he waved his Golden Spear and slowly walked towards the damaged grand hall.
The Ancient Formation was certainly formidable, but after tens of thousands of years, its power had substantially weakened. Everyone present was a prodigy capable of fighting above their level. Joining forces, there was still a chance to break the Great Formation.
The golden vortex on the left side of the Scripture Pavilion had probably destroyed many Secret Technique Manuals, but the right side of the building was still relatively intact. Inside, just grabbing any Cultivation Technique could represent a massive opportunity for a heavenly rise!