Divine Artifact?
Dugu Jian's heart skipped a beat.
Yes, Bai Ziqiu possessed the Xuanyuan Sword, and he was indeed no match for him currently. Besides, the sword immortal had disappeared somewhere.
Dugu Jian could die.
But he would absolutely not allow himself to die by Bai Ziqiu's hand.
"Hmph..."
Thus, Dugu Jian immediately concealed his aura.
Little did he know, at this moment, the nascent soul within his dantian had darkened by another shade.
Once they were completely fused, he would be the darkness, and the darkness would be him. At that point, his will would no longer be Dugu Jian's will.
Instead, it would be greatly influenced by the will of the dark entity!
Filled with jealousy, becoming irritable, ruthless, and greedy!
"Hmm?"
Bai Ziqiu didn't understand why Dugu Jian had suddenly voluntarily concealed his aura upon seeing him, as if worried about being discovered.
Moreover.
Bai Ziqiu indeed had a feeling.
Dugu Jian seemed different from before, yet he couldn't pinpoint exactly where the difference lay.
It was just an intuition.
So.
Bai Ziqiu inquired in his mind, "Little Tower, can you sense what has happened to Dugu Jian?"
"No..."
Although Little Tower possessed immense divine abilities, it wasn't omnipotent. After all, Bai Ziqiu's strength was still too low to unleash the full potential of the divine artifact.
Bai Ziqiu nodded and said no more.
"However..."
Little Tower continued, "If you feel something is wrong with him, then stay away from him and be cautious."
"You are now the Earth Saint Body and the Water Saint Body. You are naturally sensitive to certain things. When you truly awaken the Chaos Body one day, you will become even more perceptive. Nothing will escape your senses, and their true nature will be revealed before you."
Bai Ziqiu slowly nodded.
Yes.
Since awakening the Water Saint Body, his cultivation speed by the water had noticeably increased. After awakening the Earth Saint Body, he felt a sense of kinship when standing on the ground.
"Whoosh..."
The next moment, Dugu Jian glanced at Bai Ziqiu and then left.
He had arrived before Bai Ziqiu.
The dark entity in his mind had already informed him that he could not take more than three items from this place, otherwise, a curse would befall him from the heavens.
Of course, the curse wasn't absolute.
But with his current strength, he couldn't withstand it.
"Whoosh..."
Bai Ziqiu flickered and appeared inside the treasure hall, asking, "Little Tower, is there any way to take all these items?"
Besides Long Bai.
Bai Ziqiu believed Little Tower was the only one who could help.
Little Tower's voice was clear but its words were exasperating: "These items are not worth taking. Let's go, there's no need to waste time."
"When you break through to the Chaos Saint Body and can open the Chaos Treasure Box..."
"These trinkets can be easily destroyed and created with a single thought of yours, not worth wasting time on now."
Bai Ziqiu was reluctant.
But since Little Tower said so, he could only give up.
Afterward...
Bai Ziqiu also followed and exited the ancient ruins.
"Buzz..."
"Dong..."
As soon as he emerged, Bai Ziqiu heard the bell of Xuanyuan Palace ring out.
It was long and urgent.
Signifying that something significant had occurred.
Therefore, Bai Ziqiu rushed without delay towards the direction of the Xuanyuan Palace main hall.
Not long after.
Bai Ziqiu arrived at the Xuanyuan Palace main hall.
"Hmm?"
At a glance, Bai Ziqiu saw quite a few people.
Foremost among them, sitting in the first position on the right-hand side below, was the Sword Immortal Long Bai, who had also come here.
To the left were the senior sisters.
After such a short time,
Bai Ziqiu suddenly noticed that the temperament and appearances of his senior sisters had undergone subtle changes, which greatly surprised him.
And...
Besides that, Bai Ziqiu also discovered.
Among the senior sisters, the previously weakest Fifth Senior Sister was now in the mid-stage of the Mahayana realm, which was terrifying.
Such cultivation speed...
Was much faster than his cultivation in the Haotian Tower.
In addition to this.
Even Zhuge Sheng had arrived, which was somewhat surprising to Bai Ziqiu. Zhuge Sheng was, at most, the Son of Heaven of the Great Xia secular world; how could he be here?
Could it be...
Bai Ziqiu suddenly realized that it was highly likely that something major had happened in the secular world.
"Junior Brother..."
"Junior Brother..."
"Junior Brother!"
"Brother Bai!"
As Bai Ziqiu entered, many people greeted him in low voices.
Ji Xianyuan and Long Bai above also gave him slight nods of acknowledgment.
Dugu Jian was also present.
However.
At this moment, he sat in a corner, not having much presence.
Yet, when he saw Bai Ziqiu with his senior sisters, especially interacting intimately with Ji Xianyuan, the dark energy in the depths of his eyes became even more intense.
"Junior Brother, you've arrived just in time."
Ji Xianyuan stated directly, "In the days you were in the ancient ruins, the dark entities have appeared all over the world."
"The hinterlands of Miao territory in our Great Xia, the northeastern lands, coastal regions, the South China Sea, and so on, have all seen the appearance of dark entities, though they are currently in small numbers."
"Therefore..."
Ji Xianyuan surveyed the surroundings and said solemnly, "I plan to act now and eliminate some of the dark entities."
"When the day of reckoning for the dark entities truly begins, we won't be scrambling everywhere and facing enemies from all sides..."
Bai Ziqiu was slightly startled.
He had only wandered around in the ancient ruins, and the dark entities had already emerged? Moreover, it was enough to make Eighth Senior Sister so solemn, indicating that it was definitely not a trivial matter.
"So..."
Ji Xianyuan looked at everyone and said slowly, "Among you, is there anyone who volunteers to suppress the dark entities in one of these regions?"
Everyone looked at each other, no one speaking.
"I'll go."
Bai Ziqiu stood up first, "Eighth Senior Sister, can I choose my location?"
According to Little Tower.
The opportunity to activate the other three Saint Bodies he needed to awaken was in the hinterlands of Miao territory. Coincidentally, there were large-scale dark entities there, so Bai Ziqiu planned to go to that area.
As for the Metal and Fire elements...
He would deal with them upon his return.
"Yes."
Ji Xianyuan stated directly, "Junior Brother, where do you intend to go?"
"Miao territory."
Bai Ziqiu then asked, "Eighth Senior Sister, how should we investigate the dark entities, and how do we determine if they have been cleared?"
"Also..."
"What if, during a fight with the dark entities, someone's soul is infiltrated by them, wouldn't that be even more dangerous?"
Bai Ziqiu's concerns were not unfounded.
He didn't know the terrifying nature of the dark entities at first, but he had always been on guard, so he didn't suffer any harm during his two encounters with them.
But if others were unprepared and were infiltrated by the dark entities, wouldn't that be like a lamb walking into a tiger's mouth?
Everyone in the hall was stunned for a moment.
Yes.
Bai Ziqiu's considerations were very thorough.
A group of people looked at Ji Xianyuan, waiting to see how she would respond.
Especially Dugu Jian.
He was already being infiltrated by the darkness and was very worried about being discovered.