Chapter 331: Sudden Change Underground!

Ye Yuan's consciousness flickered, but quickly recovered.

Startled, he quickly examined his sea of consciousness and was taken aback.

That black bead was quietly suspended in his sea of consciousness!

And those golden characters were gathered around the black bead, appearing very serene.

What was going on?

Ye Yuan was completely baffled; he had never encountered such a bizarre situation.

What exactly was this black bead, that it could arouse the covetousness of the golden characters?

Clearly, it was the golden characters that had forcibly snatched the black bead from his hand just now.

From this perspective, the black bead was not just extraordinary—it was practically heaven-defying.

However, when Ye Yuan examined his body and found no changes, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, yet also felt a faint trace of disappointment.

If this bead were truly something heaven-defying, it would have been wonderful if it brought some changes to his body!

Letting out a long breath, Ye Yuan left the room with Bai Guang.

Unlike others who searched blindly, Ye Yuan, with Bai Guang's help, sought only top-tier treasures.

An hour later, aside from the Four-Square Cauldron, Ye Yuan's spatial artifact contained many more items: a large number of spiritual herbs, over twenty spiritual artifacts and magical instruments, and a great quantity of primal crystals!

Suddenly, Ye Yuan felt like a nouveau riche.

Bai Guang led him to raid a medicine storehouse, which contained spiritual herbs of various grades, including over a dozen fourth-grade herbs.

Strangest of all, the second level had no danger whatsoever; everyone returned safely to the gathering point, as if this level were specially designed for treasure hunting.

Ye Yuan casually summoned the items from his storage ring—only two or three spirit artifacts and some medicinal herbs he had no use for.

Seeing what Ye Yuan had found, Wu Zhao couldn't help but show a strange expression: "Junior Disciple Ye found only these?"

Ye Yuan sighed helplessly: "Yes, luck wasn't great. I didn't find anything good. In my opinion, there's probably nothing valuable here either, otherwise there wouldn't have been no danger at all."

Wu Zhao was actually quite frustrated too; the best thing he found was that thirty-two restriction spirit artifact, which he had flaunted in front of Ye Yuan.

But something seemed off!

This mysterious sect was clearly very powerful; a thirty-two restriction spirit artifact shouldn't be the best, right?

Thinking this, Wu Zhao couldn't help but secretly check the restriction compass, but it showed no reaction.

This meant Ye Yuan hadn't cheated, which was indeed strange.

Of course, he didn't know that all the good stuff here was quietly lying inside Ye Yuan's spatial spirit artifact!

In the end, after tallying, there were two sixty-four restriction spirit artifacts and seven thirty-two restriction spirit artifacts.

As for eight and sixteen restriction spirit artifacts, there were naturally many.

Besides that, what everyone found most were techniques and martial skills!

Of course, that was because Ye Yuan looked down on them...

Most of these were third or fourth rank techniques and martial skills, which were of little use to Ye Yuan.

Finally, there was the issue of distribution; the Heavenly Qian Sect and the Nether Cloud Sect had the most say!

After intense discussion, the two sixty-four restriction spirit artifacts were split equally between the two sects. As for the thirty-two restriction spirit artifacts, the Heavenly Qian Sect got four, and the Nether Cloud Sect got three!

Additionally, the Heavenly Qian Sect compensated the Nether Cloud Sect with four sixteen restriction spirit artifacts, including the restriction compass.

This was something Ye Yuan had fought for.

This restriction compass was somewhat interesting; it seemed able to replicate restriction formations, which piqued Ye Yuan's interest.

As for the other spirit artifacts, they were divided among the other six major sects.

The Heavenly Qian Sect looked down on these low-grade spirit artifacts, and the Nether Cloud Sect had already gained considerable benefits, so naturally they did not quibble over this.

As for the techniques and martial skills, the eight major sects distributed them according to the previously agreed proportions, and the Nether Cloud Sect also selected several fourth-order techniques and martial skills.

Thus, the Nether Cloud Sect was the biggest winner of this trip to the secret realm!

They had not lost a single person, yet they had obtained the most heavenly treasures and precious items!

In contrast, the Heavenly Qian Sect had sent the strongest lineup this time, but now only ten people remained.

Although all three elders were still alive, after being extorted by Ye Yuan, their gains were probably not as much as those of the Nether Cloud Sect.

Once everything was distributed, a new problem confronted everyone—where was the entrance to the third level?

Now the eight sects had about thirty people left, but all thirty reported that they had not seen the entrance to the third level!

At this point, everyone had their own judgment: during its heyday, the Yonghua Palace must have been a sect with fifth-order experts!

But what the eight sects had found so far was basically fourth-order and below.

So... where had all the fifth-order items gone?

That was the key!

For the eight major sects of the Southern Domain, fifth-order was an enormous temptation!

If they obtained a fifth-order technique, the sect's strength would surely undergo a qualitative leap!

After all, the strongest expert in the Heavenly Qian Sect now was only at the Soul Sea Triple Layer.

"Junior Disciple Ye, do you have any way to enter the third level?" Wu Zhao, now at his wit's end, had to ask Ye Yuan for advice.

Ye Yuan was also clueless at the moment and shook his head, saying, "I don't know. Perhaps there is no third level at all."

Wu Zhao said, "How is that possible? This Yonghua Palace clearly had fifth-order experts, yet from the moment we entered the secret realm until now, we have only seen fourth-order items. Where are the fifth-order items?"

Ye Yuan smiled and said, "What's so strange about that? The Yonghua Palace clearly suffered a heavy blow. Perhaps the fifth-order items were all looted by the enemy."

In fact, Ye Yuan was just saying that; even he himself did not believe it.

The items on the first and second levels were well preserved, at least indicating that this palace had not suffered severe damage, so the third level must exist.

But... where exactly was the entrance to the third level?

Obviously, all the rooms on the second level had been searched by everyone, and no obvious entrance had been found.

Just then, a sense of foreboding suddenly arose in Ye Yuan's heart, as if some danger was approaching!

Yet he looked around and could not find any source of danger.

Ye Yuan couldn't help recalling the content of the broken jade slip. Could it be...

But just as Ye Yuan was thinking, a rumbling sound suddenly came from beneath his feet!

The entire Yonghua Palace trembled at that moment, as if an earthquake had struck!

Many people, unable to keep their footing, fell to the ground.

"Ouch! What's happening? What's going on?"

"Such a violent earthquake—could the secret realm be collapsing?"

"Bah! You jinx! Say that again and I'll tear your mouth apart!"

For a moment, the disciples of the eight sects were in chaos.

Deep underground, a flash of light appeared, and several figures emerged.

These people had very rugged appearances, and their clothing and attire were vastly different from those of Ye Yuan and the others!

"Hahaha... After thousands of years, our Wildwind Realm has finally returned to the Boundless Realm!" a bearded man roared with laughter.