Chapter 342: Chapter 342

Within this forbidden land, it was not at all the intense cold that was outside.

Geographically, this place should be underground, but somehow, sunlight still shone through.

Birds chirped and insects called. The vegetation growing around them was clearly that of the tropics; if Ding Fan hadn't known he was in a forbidden place, he would have doubted whether this was a tropical rainforest.

Ding Fan followed behind Zhang Kaizhi, walking deeper into the forbidden land. The ground was littered with white bones, and among them lay various longswords and magic artifacts.

Zhang Kaizhi and Sun Qiang picked up some items, and Ding Fan also found a bone ring.

The bone ring was glossy like jade, and despite being exposed to the wind and sun for who knows how many years, it still gleamed flawlessly without a single blemish.

Ding Fan immediately took the ring for himself.

Upon inspecting it with his Divine Sense, Ding Fan discovered that the bone ring was indeed a Defensive Artifact, and it was of the supreme Spiritual Instrument Grade; it must have belonged to some powerful individual in its day.

Having obtained the bone ring, Ding Fan also found a longsword for Lady Fang. That longsword also wasn't bad, being of the Spiritual Instrument Rank as well.

Each member of the group secured some treasures and continued onward. After walking a little more than a mile, they arrived at a stone house.

"This is the edge of the forbidden land. If we go any further, we'll encounter some powerful Yuan Beasts," Zhang Kaizhi warned everyone.

The mention of the powerful Yuan Beasts caused Sun Qiang and Lady Fang's expressions to darken.

The Four Symbols Giant Beast that they had encountered outside had nearly killed them; who knew what other powerful Yuan Beasts lay within.

"Brother Ding Fan, if we encounter any Yuan Beasts later, we don't need to entangle with them, just follow behind me," Zhang Kaizhi advised Ding Fan. Fınd the newest release on 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵•𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮•𝓷𝓮𝓽

Ding Fan nodded in agreement.

Zhang Kaizhi was reluctant to show him the sheepskin scroll, leaving Ding Fan in the dark about this forbidden land. Thus, for now, all he could do was follow Zhang Kaizhi.

"I have two Lightning Talismans here. Although they won't have an incredible power, they can still scare away some of the more timid Yuan Beasts," Zhang Kaizhi said while handing one of the Lightning Talismans to Ding Fan.

Ding Fan didn't stand on ceremony and simply accepted it.

After sharing a few more instructions, everyone quickly ate some food they had brought with them. Then they left the stone house and rushed toward the core of the forbidden land.

Indeed, just like Zhang Kaizhi had mentioned, they encountered many powerful Yuan Beasts on their journey.

First came the White Elephant Ants—ants the size of elephants but which lived in the same manner as their smaller counterparts, swarming in large, dense groups.

Given their large size and sheer numbers, the ground trembled when the White Elephant Ants moved en masse.

However, these White Elephant Ants were not particularly brave, and a single Lightning Talisman that summoned Mysterious Thunder was enough to send the ants scattering in all directions.

After passing through the territory of the White Elephant Ants, they reached a swampy area.

Surprisingly, there were quite a few Merfolk around the marsh.

The so-called Merfolk were monsters with human bodies but fish heads, all of whom were very powerful—any one of them probably possessed the cultivation of around the Fifth or Sixth Grade of the Human Level.

Thanks to the fierce fighting by Ding Fan and Zhang Kaizhi along the way, these Merfolk didn't pose much trouble for them.

After crossing the Merfolk's domain, they successively passed through the territories of the Giant Arm Mantis and the Giant Silkworm. Despite the dangers, they managed to get through these areas safely.

After about half a day's run, they finally arrived at a place that resembled a palace.

Throughout the journey, Ding Fan carefully memorized the path they took. The forbidden land was vast, and without Zhang Kaizhi leading the way, Ding Fan truly would not have been able to find this place.

The palace was dilapidated due to the ravages of time, but its remaining contours still revealed how magnificent it once was.

However, around the outskirts of the palace was a powerful Prohibition. Despite its age, the Prohibition was still formidably strong.

Upon examining the Prohibition with his Divine Sense, Ding Fan discovered that someone had recently attempted to break through the Prohibition; however, due to its strength, that individual had failed.

"Fellow compatriots, this is the place we were seeking. This is the relic of an Ancient Martial Artist. Inside, there are countless Pills and various magic artifacts, Spiritual Artifacts..." Zhang Kaizhi told everyone.

At the end of his speech, Lady Fang and Sun Qiang's eyes lit up. Just as mortals crave beauty and riches, cultivators desire Spiritual Artifacts, magic artifacts, and Pills.

"Since the treasures are all here, why don't we go in and take them?" Sun Qiang said eagerly to Zhang Kaizhi, his eyes gleaming with greed.

Zhang Kaizhi shook his head slightly. "The Ancient expert was very powerful. There is an extremely strong Prohibition outside this palace. If we want to enter, we must first break the Prohibition. To break this Prohibition, we need to work together."

"No problem, that's what we came here for—to get the treasures inside. We've already come this far, so how can we go in if we don't break the Prohibition?" Sun Qiang said.

Lady Fang also nodded in agreement.

"I have a number of Explosive Talismans here. The four of us will split up and place these Explosive Talismans in four different directions. When the time comes, wait for my command. When I say 'detonate', everyone detonates their talismans together. Remember, this Prohibition has a self-repairing mechanism. If we don't detonate together, we won't be able to break through in one fell swoop.

Once the Prohibition repairs itself, we won't have another chance to break it in the short term, meaning our trip here will have been for nothing."

The others nodded in agreement.

Although Ding Fan didn't say anything at this point, he had already noticed the problem.

According to Ding Fan's analysis, the person who had recently touched the Prohibition must be Zhang Kaizhi.

He came to this conclusion for two reasons.

Firstly, the Prohibition was extremely mysterious. Even he had been unable to use his Divine Sense to discover that it had a self-repairing function, so how could Zhang Kaizhi possibly know? There was only one explanation: Zhang Kaizhi had attempted to break the Prohibition before.

Secondly, the number of Explosive Talismans that Zhang Kaizhi had brought out was quite substantial, with each person receiving more than twenty.

On Earth, Explosive Talismans were not so easy to come by, yet Zhang Kaizhi had brought so many all at once—clearly, he came prepared.

From these two points, Ding Fan was certain that Zhang Kaizhi was the one who had tried to break the Prohibition before.

With Zhang Kaizhi's cultivation at only Earth Level First Grade, it would be impossible for him to enter here alone. He must have brought helpers with him.

Considering the evil aura emanating from Zhang Kaizhi, Ding Fan could tell that if Zhang Kaizhi had indeed come here with others, then he most likely wouldn't leave with them. His companions had likely been killed by Zhang Kaizhi using some other means.

"Alright, let's get ready, everyone. Take your positions in the four directions," Zhang Kaizhi said to Ding Fan at this moment.

Ding Fan nodded indifferently.

Now, Ding Fan finally understood why Zhang Kaizhi had risked his life to save Sun Qiang outside.

It was because four people were needed to break the Prohibition. With Wu Gang already killed, if Sun Qiang also died, then their operation would have been a failure.

However, even though Ding Fan had seen through Zhang Kaizhi's intentions, he still pretended to be unaware of anything.

Ding Fan himself couldn't break the Prohibition. Once the Prohibition was broken and the treasures obtained, if Zhang Kaizhi tried anything, Ding Fan could kill him.

He had already memorized the way back. By that time, killing Zhang Kaizhi wouldn't be a problem.

Right now, Ding Fan carried Lady Fang to the southeastern corner and had her sit down. Then he went to the southwestern corner himself.

After about five minutes, Zhang Kaizhi's voice finally came through the void.

"I'm going to count down, and then we'll all detonate the talismans simultaneously..."

In that moment, all four people were completely focused.

After all, the palace was an Ancient Martial Ruins. It was sure to have countless treasures inside.

"Ten...nine...eight...three...two...one!"

Following Zhang Kaizhi's count, everyone activated the Explosive Talismans in their hands.

The simultaneous explosion of nearly a hundred talismans was incredibly powerful.

The ground began to tremble violently. Although Lady Fang and Sun Qiang were not mobile, they had Earth Escape Talismans. So, during the big explosion,

Ding Fan, Zhang Kaizhi, along with Lady Fang and Sun Qiang, had already taken shelter a mile away.

Creak creak... amidst the fierce explosions, a series of piercing noises followed.

Zhang Kaizhi's expression was intensely focused as he stared at the Prohibition. Victory or defeat hinged on this moment. Once the outer Prohibition was broken, all the treasures inside would be his.

Boom... A final, clean and crisp noise sounded.

Crash... A sound like shattering glass erupted.

"It worked!" Zhang Kaizhi was filled with surprise and excitement, his eyes gleaming greedily.

While paying attention to the palace Prohibition, Ding Fan's Divine Sense remained alert to Zhang Kaizhi.

Now that the palace Prohibition had been opened, these people were useless to him. He might attempt to strike at them at any moment.

If Zhang Kaizhi dared to make a move, Ding Fan wouldn't hesitate to kill him.

"Brothers, it's time for us to enter the palace and collect the treasures..." Zhang Kaizhi said to everyone.