Let him say whatever he wants. Yu Qing did not make eye contact with him, nor did he pay him any mind. Explaining was useless anyway, so he did not expect to leave any way out for himself with these people. The most important thing now was how to avoid potential danger.
Since it was not about them anyway, Nan and Mu pretended they had heard nothing.
The three martial brothers were now worried about whether the sleeper might also have something like a ring to ward off the poisonous gas of the illusion ants. If that were truly the case, it would be very troublesome.
The group had their respective duties. While keeping watch to guard against anyone approaching, they continued to drive the poisonous gas of the illusion ants.
After about a quarter of an hour, there was still no reaction from the temple hall. Everyone felt it was about time, so they stopped and continued moving forward.
Wu Xieshan was still being escorted by Nie Pinlan. The sword point remained pressed against his neck as she pushed him to the very front.
The temple hall remained brightly lit. When the group cautiously sneaked inside, the rows of oil lamps on the shelves were still burning. However, since no one had trimmed the wicks for a long time, the flames had grown quite dim.
In the centre was a statue of a man in a seated position, holding a long halberd. Below it was a pile of spirit tablets. Unlike the tablets in a typical ancestral shrine, these were the spirit tablets of the past masters of the Rift Valley Manor. The tablets clearly stated which generation of master they represented.
Qie Er, who wanted to follow them inside, was grabbed by the arm and pulled back by Yu Qing. Qie Er looked at him, confused, only to find that the three of them had no intention of going in either. They were all cowering stealthily outside the main gate, cautiously peeking inside.
Qie Er naturally did not understand their thoughts. The three were prepared to flee immediately if anything changed, so how could they rush to the front?
Another reason was to make Ning Chaoyi and the others believe that they did not know what was going on with the halberd, leading those people to mistakenly think they had no interest in it.
The people who went inside looked around but could not see where the halberd was hidden. Since they had a live captive on hand, they could not be bothered to search slowly. Nie Pinlan had already pressed the question: “Speak, where is the thing?”
Wu Xieshan glanced at her, then raised his hand and pointed at the statue, specifically pointing at the halberd held in the statue’s hands.
Nie Pinlan was instantly furious. “We do not want the stone carved one…”
She stopped halfway through her sentence and froze, looking back at the stone statue as if she had realised something.
Ning Chaoyi waved his hand and thrust a finger forward through the air. A burst of force struck the halberd of the stone statue. With a loud crack, the stones shattered, but the halberd did not break. Something was revealed inside, a brilliantly golden object.
Illuminated by the lights in the temple hall, the exposed object shone with a brilliant golden glow, making it highly conspicuous.
Although only a part of the object inside was exposed, with most of it still wrapped in the outer shell, everyone could tell that what was wrapped inside should be a halberd.
Everyone’s eyes lit up. It turned out that the Rift Valley Manor had hidden the thing in plain sight, right inside the worshipped statue.
Ning Chaoyi flashed forward, snapped off the statue’s hand holding the halberd, and retrieved the stone half wrapped halberd. After flipping back to the group’s side, he channelled his energy with a shock, causing all the wrapped stone to fall to the ground, revealing a golden halberd that looked as bright as new.
Everyone’s gaze followed the golden halberd in Ning Chaoyi’s hand as it moved.
The people outside the door also had their eyes light up upon seeing it. Nan Zhu could not resist the urge to go in and take a look. Just as he moved his foot and poked his head out, he was grabbed and pulled back by Yu Qing.
Nan Zhu looked back and whispered, “It seems like nothing is wrong.”
However, Yu Qing raised his chin and pursed his lips towards the seated statue of the figure.
Qie Er did not understand. Nan and Mu followed his gaze and understood immediately. After all, they had been martial brothers for so many years, and they instantly realised what Yu Qing was trying to convey.
Was it not said that the halberd was by the sleeper’s side? The halberd had been found, so why was the sleeper nowhere to be seen? The halberd was found inside the statue, so could the same be deduced about the sleeper?
Realising this, and seeing that the possibility seemed quite high, the pupils of Nan and Mu contracted sharply as they stared at the stone statue, their inner tension rising to a high level.
“How about we retreat first?” Nan Zhu turned his head and whispered.
Qie Er blinked, still not understanding.
Yu Qing replied in a low voice, “Retreat to where? The outside is definitely guarded by the people of the Rift Valley Manor. These guys ran in and messed things up recklessly, throwing everything into chaos. We have also been forced into a situation beyond our control.”
Nan Zhu paused, thinking it made sense. If they retreated, they would definitely have to engage directly with the people of the Rift Valley Manor. They would either have to fight their way out or battle to the bitter end. Once they retreated, they would be the first to bear the brunt of the attack.
Just then, Ning Chaoyi inside turned around and shouted at them, “Why are you hiding outside so stealthily? Do you not want to come in and take a look at this thing?” The halberd in his hand struck the ground with a thud. A metallic vibration seemed to hum and echo along the blade of the golden halberd, which looked incredibly dazzling in the firelight.
Yu Qing’s beard and eyebrows were almost knitted together. He could not figure out what was going on with these guys. Did they really consider them part of the same group? He noticed that the other group truly had no qualms about being open in front of them.
What should he do? He was still a bit worried, so he pursed his lips towards the stone statue again.
Ning Chaoyi and the others turned to look in that direction. At first, they did not understand, so they looked back at Yu Qing. After Yu Qing repeatedly pursed his lips towards the stone statue and then gestured towards the golden halberd, Ning Chaoyi looked at the golden halberd, then looked at the golden halberd again, seemingly understanding something.
He suddenly grabbed the golden halberd and hurled it at the stone statue.
There was a loud, booming crash.
The seated stone statue was blasted into pieces, and the golden halberd that had pierced through it was now embedded in the stone wall.
Ning Chaoyi flashed forward and leapt onto the altar. He pulled out the golden halberd and swept the statue’s pedestal into complete ruin. There was nothing there, just the stone statue. They found absolutely nothing else.
Yu Qing was stunned. The three martial brothers looked at each other, realising that they had worried too much.
The halberd was actually not by the sleeper’s side. Was that person in black lying?
The three martial brothers were filled with shock and doubt.
On the altar, the spirit tablets of the past masters of the Rift Valley Manor had naturally been overturned as well. It was a complete mess, which was no different from smashing someone’s ancestral tablets.
Even though his own life was in their hands, Wu Xieshan said with a face full of anger, “Are you not going too far? You have already obtained the thing, so what is the reason for destroying our manor’s ancestral altar?”
No one paid him any attention.
Standing on the altar, Ning Chaoyi shouted at Yu Qing, “Pointing blindly, what are you doing, what is the meaning of this?”
Was there no sleeper here? Yu Qing finally sneaked in cautiously. He did not know how to answer the other party, so he remained highly vigilant, looking around.
Nan Zhu and the others followed cautiously behind him, their hands already resting on their sword hilts.
Afterwards, Yu Qing took the lead, tapping and checking all over the stone walls. They did not even spare the floor and the dome, climbing up and down with great effort.
Ning Chaoyi and the others watched their reactions closely.
After tapping and checking the entire temple hall, the few of them gathered together and shook their heads, indicating that they had not found any anomalies.
Yu Qing suddenly felt it was strange. Was the person in black really lying? Then what about the claim that the sleeper consumed heart blood? Although he felt the person in black was hiding many things from him, he did not think the other party had any reason to tell such a lie. Where was the problem?
After searching the room, he slowly wandered over to the altar and looked at the halberd in Ning Chaoyi’s hand.
Ning Chaoyi casually tossed the golden halberd to him, and then jumped down from the altar himself.
Catching the golden halberd, Yu Qing was a bit bewildered. What was the meaning of this? Was he giving it to him?
Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie, who were walking over from the other side, were also dumbfounded. What was going on? Could such an important thing be given away so casually?
“Giving it to me?” Yu Qing asked tentatively.
Ning Chaoyi rolled his eyes. “What are you thinking? Why on earth would I give it to you?”
Yu Qing hefted the object in his hands. “Then what do you mean, sir?”
Ning Chaoyi said, “In consideration of the fact that you saved our lives, if you want to look, just look. There is no need to hide in the corner and act sneakily like a thief. Once you are done looking, return it to me honestly. This Rift Valley Manor is located in a desolate area, and there is nothing here worth the attention of cultivators. You came all the way here acting coy and always following behind us. Do not tell me you are not here for this golden halberd.”
Yu Qing was speechless for a moment. He did not say yes, nor did he say no. He just felt that the other party’s reaction was abnormal. Logically, someone who knew the secret would not easily give this thing to others. So he countered, “Mr Ning, you came for this halberd of the Rift Valley Manor and risked your lives. There must be a reason for it, right?”
Nie Pinlan spoke up, “There is a hidden rumour in the cultivation world that a secret is hidden inside the halberd on the Rift Valley Manor’s clan emblem. It is said that whoever finds this halberd will become rich. We did not believe it at first, but later we accidentally learned that many people who came to explore this secret eventually disappeared without a trace. To some extent, does this not confirm the rumour? Are you not here because of this rumour?”
The three martial brothers looked at each other again, feeling a bit bewildered. Was it possible that the secret they prided themselves on knowing had long been rumoured in the outside world?
Wu Xieshan was also clearly a bit bewildered and could not help but speak up, “How come I do not know about this rumour in the cultivation world?”
Nie Pinlan said, “Stop pretending here. We have already found the thing.”
“…” Wu Xieshan opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but he swallowed his words back, and a puzzled expression began to appear on his face.
Yu Qing looked highly suspicious and asked tentatively, “Is a mere rumour enough to make figures like you join forces and come here?”
Ning Chaoyi said, “What kind of figures are we? Are we not human? Do not be so surprised. We have known each other for many years, and we have secretly joined forces to do many things. This is no different. Why are you being so long winded? Are you going to look at it or not? If not, give it back to me.”
Was it really like that? The three martial brothers, including Wu Xieshan, were left speechless, muttering in their hearts, is this true or false?
However, there was no way to confirm it at the moment.
Previously, they had all suspected who could possibly bring these figures together into one group. After all this commotion, it turned out they were secretly a gang that had known each other for many years. Where could one even go to reason about this?
“I will look, I will look.” After agreeing, Yu Qing hefted the halberd in his hands again and asked tentatively, “Then what secret is hidden inside this halberd?”
Ning Chaoyi said indifferently, “I do not know. Anyway, the rumour says that whoever solves the secret on the halberd will become rich. Since the thing really exists, we just need to find a way to solve the secret on it. In consideration of you saving our lives, if we find the treasure, you will get a share as well. Are you not here to get rich? If not, if you are not on our side, then pretend I said nothing and give the thing back to me!” He reached out his hand to demand the golden halberd.
Yu Qing widened his eyes, gripped the golden halberd tightly, and nodded repeatedly, saying, “Yes, yes, yes, we are indeed here to get rich.”
Nan Zhu smiled with narrowed eyes and chimed in, “We might as well be honest. We are indeed here to get rich. Our little schemes really cannot escape Mr Ning’s sharp eyes.”
Mu Aotie on the side was also nodding. The three martial brothers exchanged glances and all breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out that the secret the other party knew was completely different from what they knew, which had caused them to be overly suspicious.
What made the three of them inwardly exclaim with joy was that they no longer had to figure out how to get this halberd from these people.