While the five members of the Five Elements Dao Sect were struggling in this Domain of Silence using the crudest methods, trying to break the stalemate through visual memory and simple gestures—
High upon the platform, Bu Qingwei's resonant voice rang out once more, breaking the silence of the plaza.
"The fifteen-minute limit is up! Water Moon Sect team—ascend the bridge!"
The moment the words fell, the restriction representing the Water Moon Sect's permission to ascend the bridge was lifted.
The Water Moon Sect team, which had been waiting for a long time, immediately sprang into action.
This time, the leader, Lu Tingyun, did not hesitate for a second. His gaze locked directly onto the Heart-Probing Bridge immediately to the right of the central bridge held by the Five Elements Dao Sect!
In the previous round, the Hehuan Sect had chosen the bridge to the left of the Five Elements Dao Sect under Li Nanzhu's hint. Although it was unclear what specific benefits they had gained, the staggering speed at which the Five Elements Dao Sect broke through the trials was a solid fact!
With the Hehuan Sect making a similar choice, this was no coincidence!
Lu Tingyun's mind worked rapidly as he made a decisive call: follow the footsteps of the Five Elements Dao Sect!
Regardless of what methods they used, being close to them would surely bring no harm. Perhaps they could reap some benefits, or at the very least, observe their movements more quickly!
"Move!" Lu Tingyun barked softly. Leading four core disciples of the Water Moon Sect, they transformed into streaks of light and shot toward the bridge on the right without hesitation!
"The Water Moon Sect chose the middle as well!"
"Why are they all crowding around the Five Elements Dao Sect?"
"They must be trying to copy the Hehuan Sect, thinking there's an advantage to being near the Five Elements Dao Sect!"
The disciples below began to whisper again.
The disciples of the Sword Heart Sect and other sects looked even more displeased. The 'leader effect' of the Five Elements Dao Sect was already beginning to manifest!
Within the illusion, inside the Domain of Silence.
The five members of the Five Elements Dao Sect were completely unaware of the changes on the high platform or in the outside world. All their energy was concentrated on how to break through this 'silent' predicament.
The method of observing by zone, memorizing, and communicating through gestures was hopelessly inefficient. After trying for a long time, their gains were negligible, and exhaustion was beginning to show on their faces.
"This can't go on!" Li Nanzhu was anxious. While time was an advantage, they couldn't consume it indefinitely. They had to find a more effective method!
She looked at Zhu Yinxi, made an 'attack' gesture, and then pointed at the wall.
Zhu Yinxi understood and nodded.
He needed to test the 'tolerance' and 'reaction' of this space.
He took a deep breath. Without using his full strength, he condensed spiritual energy roughly at the mid-stage of the Golden Core stage. His jade flute transformed into a sword, and he lunged at the nearby bronze wall!
Ssh!
The sword qi sank into the wall soundlessly, failing to stir even a ripple. It was as if a clay ox had entered the sea; the wall remained completely undamaged, and no counterattack was triggered.
Zhu Yinxi's brows furrowed as he increased his power—late-stage Golden Core, peak Golden Core...
The result remained the same. The attacks were like stones sinking into the ocean, completely absorbed and swallowed by the wall without any feedback.
This space was unimaginably sturdy and seemed capable of absorbing all energy attacks. Conventional methods of breaking through by force were clearly unviable.
Duan Xianxing also tried attacking the ground, with the same result.
The test was over: this path was blocked.
The space itself could not be destroyed by force.
Li Nanzhu was not discouraged; she had long expected this outcome. She touched a jade bell hanging from her waist—the Soul-Sound Bell.
In a place where even divine sense transmission was completely blocked, could the essence blood resonance between these Soul-Sound Bells serve as a glimmer of hope?
All five members of the Five Elements Dao Sect gripped their Soul-Sound Bells almost simultaneously.
They did not shake them, as there would be no sound.
Instead, they carefully infused their own spiritual energy into the bells and concentrated their entire minds, trying to establish a faint connection through the sect essence blood marks contained within the bells.
Initially, there was no reaction. The suppression of the space was too strong.
But the five did not give up. They continued to infuse spiritual energy, their minds highly focused, striving to sense one another's presence.
Gradually, an extremely faint resonance—nearly imperceptible but originating from the depths of their bloodlines—linked them like five gossamer threads persisting through the absolute silence!
Through the Soul-Sound Bell, Li Nanzhu tried to transmit a simple thought to Zhu Yinxi, who was closest to her—'Ground.'
Zhu Yinxi gripped the Soul-Sound Bell tightly. Suddenly, his heart trembled slightly. A vague but definitely present mental fluctuation traveled along that thread of essence blood resonance. Almost instinctively, he lowered his head to look at the ground!
It worked!
Although the transmitted information was extremely blurry and consumed a massive amount of mental power—far less clear than divine sense transmission—in this absolute Domain of Silence, this faint resonance brought a breakthrough of hope!
Li Nanzhu was ecstatic. She immediately used the same method to transmit her intent to the other three.
Jiang Yifan, Feng Weilan, and Duan Xianxing all felt that thread of resonance guidance from their sect essence blood one after another!
Upon the high platform, before the water mirror.
The heavyweights of each sect had been closely following the movements of the Five Elements Dao Sect.
When they saw the five members grip an inconspicuous jade bell at their waists simultaneously, and then adjust their observation points as if moved by some unspoken understanding, expressions of surprise and curiosity appeared on their faces.
"Hmm? That bell... seems unusual?" Bu Qingwei let out a soft sound of surprise. "It can actually produce a reaction in that place?"
The other sect leaders and elders also exchanged confused glances. They could not understand how it was achieved. The bells made no sound and emitted no spiritual light, so why did they have such an effect?
"It isn't divine sense transmission, nor is it spiritual energy resonance," Liu Changhe muttered thoughtfully. "It seems to be... a more obscure connection?"
"Regardless, the object did not trigger any rejection from the spatial rules, which means its effect is within the permitted range. It cannot be considered a violation," Bu Qingwei finally concluded, though the curiosity in his eyes only deepened. "I just wonder how far they can get with such a weak connection."
Inside the illusion.
The five members of the Five Elements Dao Sect relied on the Soul-Sound Bell's weak resonance to painstakingly coordinate their observation points.
But the resonance was too faint. Passing simple directional thoughts was barely manageable, but complex communication was impossible, and the mental power consumption was enormous.
In just a moment, sweat appeared on their foreheads, and their faces turned pale.
"No... at this rate, our mental power will be exhausted first." Li Nanzhu made a gesture to pause and rest.
Her gaze swept across this deathly silent bronze hall once more. The flowing runes on the walls, the subtle patterns on the ground, and the absolute silence of the environment—the rules prohibiting all information transmission kept revolving in her mind.
Feng Weilan and Jiang Yifan were not idle either.
Taking advantage of the break in the Soul-Sound Bell resonance, they began to take various magic tools and array disks from their storage bags to experiment.
Feng Weilan took out a compass-like magic tool, attempting to detect the flow of spiritual energy in the space, but the compass needle spun wildly without any pattern.
Jiang Yifan tried several different types of detection tools. However, without exception, every method of investigation that relied on external spiritual energy or divine sense failed in this place.
Li Nanzhu watched their movements, feeling as though she had... missed something.
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