After a brief daze, others also leaped forward, rushing into the scripture depository pavilion. They might not get a large share, but obtaining even one or two ancient sect manuals would be worth it.
Murong Wu's eyes widened as he mustered all his elemental force to ascend. Unfortunately, his strength was already drained, relegating him to the third wave of entrants.
Then came Yan Jinghong, Nangong Yu, Shen Lang...
One by one, each genius disregarded their exhaustion and rushed madly into the scripture depository pavilion.
However, none noticed the ancient array barrier around the pavilion gradually restoring itself. Ling Feng had managed to breach the array's barrier but hadn't affected its foundation. With no further attacks, the barrier was slowly healing. At this rate, they'd only have about an hour before it closed completely, risking entrapment unless they could break through again to escape.
Once inside, Ling Feng wasted no time. With a wave of his hand, he swept entire shelves of books into his spirit storage ring, aiming to clear out the pavilion.
Occasionally, a few books fell from the shelves, left as scraps for the martial artists trailing behind him—he'd get the main share and leave a little behind for others to scramble over, sparing himself the hassle of being chased.
Not only could he cultivate with these manuals, but they would also bolster the Divine Ling Sect's library.
With these ancient sect techniques, the Divine Ling Sect would undoubtedly grow even stronger!
In just a few swift moves, Ling Feng had emptied most of the shelves and moved toward the left side of the pavilion. His true goal was the mysterious treasure emitting the golden vortex.
Right after Ling Feng left, the second wave of martial artists arrived, led by Feng Yan. To their surprise, the third floor was almost empty, with only a few scattered manuals left on the floor.
Feng Yan smiled wryly and, not wasting any time, swept up the remaining valuable manuals.
As for Yue Yunlan and others, knowing Ling Feng had already taken the bulk, they didn't contest Feng Yan and instead headed straight for the golden vortex's location.
Although the lower floors likely contained some manuals, they wouldn't compare to the treasures on the third floor, so they hurried to try their luck near the golden vortex.
After only a short stop, the second wave quickly headed toward the vortex, showing little interest in the lower floors.
The last batch of martial artists finally arrived, only to find an empty third floor. Feng Yan had been even more thorough than Ling Feng, leaving none of the remaining manuals on the floor.
"There are still two floors below!"
"Fuck, let's check the lower floors!"
Those aware of their relative weakness knew they couldn't compete with Feng Yan and the others, so they settled for the lower floors, hoping the second floor's manuals would be of higher quality than the first's.
As for Murong Wu and others, they had no interest in the ordinary materials below and quickly headed to the golden vortex instead.
Now, they sought greater gains, which left them with only two options.
One was the manuals on the left side and the secrets of the golden vortex.
The second was to catch up to Ling Feng and steal his loot!
It was a serious affront to have their hard work taken by a no-name figure like Ling Feng!
This was simply a great shame and humiliation!
Yan Jinghong trembled with anger. Had Feng Yan or Murong Wu taken the lead, he'd have accepted it, but Ling Feng's success was intolerable!
"I planned to save your life for the finals of the Royal Sword Team's tournament, but now, you must die!"
Yan Jinghong bellowed, launching himself like a missile toward the golden vortex.
When Ling Feng arrived before the golden vortex on the left side of the pavilion, he found that much of the pavilion had already been reduced to ruin.
The three levels were now covered by the golden vortex, and its violent cyclone had destroyed everything within it, turning bookshelves and manuals into scattered debris.
"What kind of power could be this terrifying?"
Ling Feng took a deep breath and, looking down from above, spotted a faint shape resembling a treasure box at the vortex's base.
"This golden energy is powerful, but it doesn't seem to be particularly aggressive."
He gritted his teeth and activated the Mountain Destroying Transformation of the Eight Desolations Body Refinement Art, maximizing his defenses. Without hesitation, he leaped directly into the golden vortex from above.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained.
To uncover the vortex's secret, he had to get close.
As he descended, Ling Feng felt a mysterious force enter his mind. Then, the surrounding space seemed to distort, as if he'd entered another world.
Meanwhile, Feng Yan and the others finally arrived.
Jiang Xiaofan, seeing Ling Feng's figure floating in the vortex, leaped in without hesitation to rescue him.
Unfortunately, a flash of golden light entered his mind, and his eyes closed as he appeared to fall into a trance.
"This guy's impulsive!" Li Bufan frowned, staring at the golden vortex below with an uncertain look.
"Ye Yi, go down and help him!"
Mu Qianxue bit her lip and released Ye Yi from her arms, hoping that perhaps the golden light would affect only humans. Unfortunately, she miscalculated; Ye Yi, too, was hit and curled up, falling into a deep sleep while rotating within the vortex.
Tuoba Yan pulled out a whip from her waist, throwing it into the golden vortex to pull them out. However, as soon as her whip entered the golden vortex, a terrifying force pulled her in instead.
Another golden light struck Tuoba Yan, rendering her unconscious and in the same state as Ling Feng and the others.
"What is this golden vortex?"
Feng Yan squinted his eyes, seeing multiple people fall under its influence. Cautiously, he refrained from any rash moves and chose to observe.
It was then that Murong Wu, Yan Jinghong, and others arrived.