Ning Beichen's heart accelerated. As he had expected, this place was protected by a restriction.
Moreover, the complexity of this restriction was unprecedented. Even Ning Beichen was not confident that he could break it.
However, Ning Beichen was not one to give up easily. At least, he could see the restriction, unlike others who couldn't even perceive it, which already put him far ahead of them.
"Come on, it's just a puzzle. I don't believe that after thousands of years of human heritage, we still can't decipher what the ancients laid down!"
Ning Beichen spurred himself on with great ambition in his heart. Then, he explained to Chen Mingyue that he had discovered the restriction, mainly to reassure her.
Next, Ning Beichen began to carefully examine the lines.
However, the complexity of the lines this time far exceeded his expectations.
The restriction seemed to integrate things like the Bagua Zhou Tian and star charts. Just to clearly see these lines, Ning Beichen spent nearly five hours.
From daytime to nighttime, and then into the next day, Ning Beichen finally made his move, starting to break the restriction.
The star chart used in this restriction also incorporated the Bagua, which in turn contained the Zhou Tian, and the Zhou Tian contained other elements. The number of lines involved was at least tens of thousands.
Let alone those who couldn't see the restriction, even Ning Beichen, who could, found it incredibly troublesome.
Ning Beichen had never seen such a complex restriction before. If he could break it, it would greatly benefit him.
At the very least, it would provide him with a lot of experience and reference for setting up or breaking restrictions in the future.
After a few hours, a deafening boom echoed from the room, making Chen Mingyue tremble with fear, thinking that enemies had broken in.
At this moment, she saw that the room had undergone a drastic transformation, even the layout had changed.
The more than a hundred medicine bottles had all disappeared, but in another place, an ancient shelf had appeared, with only three white porcelain medicine bottles on it.
Ning Beichen's eyes lit up. He picked up one of the white porcelain medicine bottles and shook it. He heard something rattling inside, which made Ning Beichen's heart pound uncontrollably.
Ning Beichen uncorked the bottle, and immediately, a rich medicinal fragrance wafted out. He saw about ten thumb-sized pills inside.
"Po Zong Dan!"
Ning Beichen recognized it at a glance. All ten pills in this bottle were Po Zong Dan, and they were high-quality pills whose efficacy had not diminished.
Following that, Ning Beichen picked up the second bottle. This second bottle was also Po Zong Dan, and the number of pills was the same as in the previous bottle.
Then Ning Beichen picked up the third medicine bottle and examined it.
This bottle was no longer Po Zong Dan, but a black pill about the size of a soybean, and its medicinal aroma was much stronger than the previous two bottles of Po Zong Dan.
The description of this pill was also written on the bottle.
This pill was a more advanced medicinal pill than Po Zong Dan, called Li Qi Dan. It was for cultivation by those above the Zong Shi realm, not for those at or below the Zong Shi realm.
Ning Beichen immediately put away the Li Qi Dan, took out the two bottles of Po Zong Dan, poured out more than half of one bottle, leaving only three Po Zong Dan.
Then Ning Beichen put away the Li Qi Dan and the more than ten Po Zong Dan, and gave the remaining three Po Zong Dan to Chen Mingyue.
It wasn't that Ning Beichen was greedy, but he knew that giving Chen Mingyue too many Po Zong Dan would not be a good thing, especially since the Chen family currently lacked the ability to protect such a treasure. The more she had, the more dangerous the Chen family would become.
Besides, Ning Beichen had done all the work this time. Giving her three Po Zong Dan was already quite generous.
Chen Mingyue, upon receiving the three Po Zong Dan, profusely thanked Ning Beichen with excitement.
In her opinion, being able to get even one Po Zong Dan this time would have been enough to satisfy her. She never expected to get three, which far exceeded her expectations.
"Ning Beichen, now that the Po Zong Dan is secured, I plan to leave here and return. This place is too dangerous, and with my abilities, I cannot continue exploring."
Chen Mingyue said to Ning Beichen.
Having explored this far, Chen Mingyue was very aware of her own situation. To be precise, without Ning Beichen, she would never have made it this far.
Even if she continued to explore, she would only be a burden to Ning Beichen. Moreover, even if she found any treasures later, she would feel too embarrassed to ask for them since she hadn't contributed.
"It's good to leave. It's too dangerous here, and there are things that are beyond our reach at the moment."
Ning Beichen also had no intention of continuing to explore. Although he possessed the Bronze Ancient Sword and the Song Shan Sword Art, his current strength might not be enough to explore this place.
Even if there were better things later, they would be meaningless if they were not suitable for him to use.
To be honest, what Ning Beichen needed now was not something for after the Zong Shi realm, but a method to break through to the realm of the unity of heaven and man.
Moreover, Ning Beichen had a feeling that it would be more beneficial for him to explore this place after he broke through to the Zong Shi realm and reached the unity of heaven and man.
However, before leaving, Ning Beichen said to Chen Mingyue.
"Chen Mingyue, I think it's better for you to consume the Po Zong Dan here. If you take it out, there might be unforeseen circumstances. Of course, this is just my suggestion. How you choose to proceed is entirely up to you."
Chen Mingyue thought for a moment, nodded to Ning Beichen, and took out a Po Zong Dan to consume.
Although the Chen family had an ancestor, the ancestor alone could not maintain the safety of the Chen family.
If she could also become a Zong Shi, then even the Zong Shi Alliance would not dare to provoke the Chen family, which would have two Zong Shi.
After Chen Mingyue consumed the Po Zong Dan, a large amount of internal energy surged from her dantian, like a breach in the Yellow River, incessantly impacting the meridians within her body.
Chen Mingyue did not dare to delay and immediately began to circulate the cultivation technique she practiced, while Ning Beichen guarded her.
Breaking through to the Zong Shi realm was not easy. Without Po Zong Dan, to advance to Zong Shi, one either had to accumulate foundation slowly or consume a large amount of various medicinal pills to improve.
However, both of these methods were not ideal.
The first method required a large amount of time and effort, and one might not even become a Zong Shi by the time they died.
Moreover, among martial artists, being older was not necessarily better. On the contrary, the older one got, the less hope there was, as qi and blood would not keep up.
The second method was also the one commonly used by the ancestors of various families.
It was to use a large number of medicinal pills to improve one's cultivation.
However, the drawback of this method was that although one could advance to Zong Shi, they would only be a half-step Zong Shi, and it would become very difficult to advance to a true Zong Shi later on.