And the five-colored mottled butterfly had to leave the cave gate quickly before each beam of green light dissipated.
Otherwise, the moment the green light dissipated could be when the cave's restriction was triggered.
"Fellow Daoist Yan, be patient. Fellow Daoist Yang's formation skills are very strong. I think she should have no problem."
Song Rongdao glanced at the cultivator surnamed Yan, feeling he was a bit too impatient.
The youth surnamed Bai, however, showed no reaction, still staring woodenly ahead.
In the passage behind the plaza, Xing Ming's group of four had already concealed themselves in a corner, witnessing the scene unfolding in the plaza.
Earlier, Xuan Caijun had gone in to scout first. He too had an unobstructed path to the other end of the passage.
Then he saw the four people in the plaza. Three were standing with their hands behind their backs, while a female cultivator was holding a spirit stone in each hand, meditating cross-legged.
He did not continue to sneak over but retreated a good distance before quietly setting up a small concealment formation.
After waiting for some time and finding that the four in the plaza had not noticed anything, he then sent a voice transmission to Xing Ming and the others to come over.
"The female cultivator who understands formations has a very extraordinary compass, and her attainments in formations are far superior to mine!"
Xing Ming was an Artifact Refining Grandmaster. All Artifact Refining Grandmasters must also be proficient in formations, otherwise, they would be unable to inscribe formations into spirit artifacts and magical treasures.
Even with Xing Ming's discerning eye, he couldn't tell what technique the female cultivator surnamed Yang was using.
He could only tell that the restriction-breaking art she was using should be a relatively ancient art. This was something he could only see with his eye as an Artifact Refining Grandmaster.
In terms of real experience, he was also inferior to Song Rongdao, or rather, Jiang Baibi.
After all, that person was from the same era as Xing Ming's Master. His experience and vision were more seasoned, so he immediately thought of the "Connected Mountains Changing Formation" art.
But Xing Ming could see the extraordinariness of the good compass. Of course, anyone here could see the extraordinariness of that moss-covered compass.
But in Xing Ming's eyes, "extraordinary" was not just an evaluation of an ungradable magical treasure. He could see that the compass seemed to have the ability to cancel out the restriction on the cave gate.
This point was judged by Xing Ming from the perspective of a formation master, but apart from the female cultivator surnamed Yang, no one else here could see it.
Therefore, sometimes, pure skill could also surpass rich experience.
From this, it could be seen that Xing Ming was by no means someone who had gained a false reputation.
As for Li Yan, his knowledge of formations was only superficial. Everything depended on the "Heaven-Stealing Kerchief." If he was lucky, he would succeed; otherwise, he would break it by force.
Li Yan just stood silently to the side, quietly watching everything happening in the plaza.
"When do we make a move? They are all concentrating on waiting for the restriction to be broken. This is a good opportunity!"
Feng Moru's voice transmission echoed in the minds of the other three.
Xuan Caijun's eyes flickered, but he did not reply. He had been invited here to help and had already received many benefits from Xing Ming. He couldn't overstep his bounds and would, of course, listen to the other's arrangements.
Xing Ming's face showed a thoughtful expression. If they were to launch a surprise attack now, it would indeed be a good opportunity.
If the female formation master was forcefully interrupted while controlling her art, perhaps without anyone needing to attack her, this female Golden Core cultivator would at least be attacked by the restriction on the cave gate, with no time to extricate herself.
And they were confident they could spare two people to besiege the mid-stage Golden Core cultivator at the same time, while the other two only needed to hold off Jiang Baibi and the other youth.
That mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, under a sneak attack from two of their own side's cultivators of the same rank, would be dead or severely injured.
And once this plan was decided, the ones to sneak attack the mid-stage Golden Core cultivator would most likely be Xuan Caijun and Xing Ming.
They would use absolute strength to cripple or kill one of them. And Xing Ming also believed that Zhang Ming could definitely hold off either Jiang Baibi or that youth.
And he would definitely be fine for more than ten breaths. Zhang Ming was a poison cultivator, the most troublesome kind of opponent. If the opponent was not careful, they would be poisoned, and their combat power would be greatly reduced.
But after several breaths had passed, Xing Ming still shook his head.
"Let's wait. Let's see if they can break the restriction. It's best to make a move the moment they break the restriction. Listen for my voice transmission at all times. At that time, control that female formation master, don't kill her."
Everyone immediately understood his meaning.
Xing Ming wanted to use the power of the other party's formation master to see if there were any treasures in those few caves.
Xuan Caijun and Feng Moru also showed approval in their eyes. In fact, when they discovered that Jiang Baibi and his group were on a treasure hunt, they had already had the idea of killing them and then taking the treasure.
And the restriction here was obviously very difficult to break, which was why the other party had invited a very strong formation master over. With such free labor, they certainly wanted to make use of it.
Of course, they wouldn't wait for the other party to break the restrictions of all three caves before making a move. At that time, the treasures in at least two of the caves would be in the other party's hands.
Some magical treasures might not need blood refinement to be used. Xing Ming and his group did not want to cause trouble for themselves.
As long as the other party broke one cave's restriction, they would immediately make a move, not giving them any chance to get the things in the cave.
Therefore, Xing Ming also mentioned his intention to control that female formation master. That time would be when the other party had finished casting her spell.
At that time, not only could they get one cave first, but they could also continue to coerce the female formation master to continue breaking other restrictions.
Li Yan also agreed in his heart, but if he were the only one here, he would make a move now. After all, he had the "Heaven-Stealing Kerchief."
Although this item was not omnipotent, there was at least a fifty percent chance, so he would still prioritize killing the enemy...
Forty-nine beams of green light, each dissipating in one breath. So, in just a few dozen breaths, the forty-nine beams of green light had completely dissipated.
The female cultivator surnamed Yang had already retrieved the five-colored mottled butterfly and was staring at the cave gate with the compass in her hands.
"What? Fellow Daoist Yang, can't you break the restriction?"
This time, it was the youth surnamed Bai who spoke first. In fact, just by looking at the female cultivator surnamed Yang's expression, they knew she hadn't broken it, but they still wanted to hear her confirmation.
The female cultivator surnamed Yang seemed to be startled by his words. She indeed nodded lightly.
Disappointment immediately appeared on the faces of the other three, while the cultivator surnamed Yan's face showed an "I knew it" expression.
Now, if even the female cultivator surnamed Yang couldn't break it, then they would have no choice but to forcefully attack the restriction.
But after Song Rongdao had attacked the outer restriction before and was attacked by a "Dark Spirit Demon Bat," they all understood that the restriction here must be even stronger than the outer one. If they forcefully attacked the restriction, no one knew what the consequences would be.
But before Song Rongdao could speak, the female cultivator surnamed Yang had already put away the compass and the five-colored mottled butterfly.
In the next moment, a light flashed in her hand again, and more than ten bamboo slips flew out.
"Fellow Daoist Yang, this..."
A keen light flashed in Song Rongdao's eyes as he stared at the dozen or so bamboo slips.
These things had been taken out by the female cultivator surnamed Yang before when she was breaking the outer restriction, but they had not achieved anything. In the end, it was the compass that broke the restriction.
Obviously, the ability of these bamboo slips was not as good as the compass.
Now, after the compass failed to break it, why did she take out these dozen or so bamboo slips again? For a moment, they were at a loss, thinking she had lost her composure out of anger.
But seeing that the female cultivator surnamed Yang's face had returned to calm and she had already started to cast a spell, Song Rongdao swallowed his words and decided to watch first.
With a series of finger movements from the female cultivator surnamed Yang, the dozen or so bamboo slips, some up, some down, formed the shape of a shield and then began to fly around the cave gate.
As they flew, the bamboo slips would occasionally change positions, and each one would burst out with a dazzling white light, so bright that the others had to turn their faces away to avoid the light.
For a moment, a strange silence fell over the plaza again, and time passed bit by bit.
Just when Song Rongdao and his group felt that she would never get a result, the female cultivator surnamed Yang suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
Immediately, the dazzling light on the dozen or so bamboo slips quickly faded, and she grabbed them back from the void.
Her face instantly became bloodless, and her aura was extremely chaotic.
"Stagger, stagger, stagger..." She took several steps back before she stabilized herself.
"Fellow Daoist Yang!"
"Fellow Daoist Yang, are you alright?"
Song Rongdao and the youth surnamed Bai's expressions changed, and they hurried forward. Only the cultivator surnamed Yan's eyes showed a trace of disdain.
The female cultivator surnamed Yang's body swayed, and she waved her hand.
"I'm... I'm alright. I think maybe... maybe I've found a way to break it!"
The female cultivator surnamed Yang wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth but said something that astonished everyone.
"What did you say?"
Song Rongdao had already appeared in front of the female cultivator surnamed Yang. Fortunately, he managed to suppress his excitement and did not reach out to press her fragrant shoulders.
"I... I have just determined the... location of the Gate of Life in the restriction. But... but, I must recover first."
The female cultivator surnamed Yang gave a bitter smile.
Only then did Song Rongdao realize that she had been injured while trying to break the restriction just now. He seemed to have lost his composure.
He quickly became concerned about her injuries.
"Yes, yes, yes, I was so happy that I lost my composure a bit. I have a top-quality healing pill here..."
In the passage far away, the few of them were also communicating via voice transmission.
"That female formation master really found the Gate of Life in the restriction. Truly amazing. We'll make our move the moment she breaks the restriction."
Song Rongdao's eyes narrowed slightly.
"You and I will attack at the same time and kill or severely injure that mid-stage Golden Core cultivator first. Fellow Daoist Feng will deal with that black-robed youth, and Elder Zhang will deal with that female cultivator."
"Fellow Daoist Song, we only have one breath to severely injure or kill the opponent. Then one of us must quickly split off to deal with Jiang Baibi."
Xuan Caijun then suggested.
The numbers on both sides were equal. They had to find a way to make the opponent lose at least one combatant first. But as long as they surrounded them, one of the opponents would be left free. He chose to leave Jiang Baibi free.
They had to take care of that mid-stage Golden Core cultivator within one breath, otherwise, when Jiang Baibi reacted, Zhang Ming and Feng Moru would be in danger.
There was actually nothing wrong with his arrangement. Feng Moru and Li Yan were about to nod in agreement.
But Xing Ming shook his head.
"Although that female cultivator has a pill to recover from her injuries now, when she breaks the restriction later, she will be hit by the backlash from the formation's restriction to some extent. She will have to divert some of her power to resist the restriction's attack."
"So the most dangerous ones are actually the other three who have been on guard all along. So, Fellow Daoist Feng should be fine dealing with the black-robed youth."
"Hmm... Elder Zhang, can you hold off Jiang Baibi for five breaths? If so, Fellow Daoist Xuan and I are seventy percent confident we can kill that mid-stage Golden Core cultivator in a sneak attack!"
Xing Ming turned to look at Li Yan. His voice transmission made the other two stunned. They both looked at Li Yan with suspicion.
Since Xing Ming could say this, it meant that the other party should be able to do it. But Zhang Ming was two minor realms lower than the opponent.
And Jiang Baibi was a veteran Golden Core from the same era as Xing Ming's Master. Could Zhang Ming's true strength have reached such an astonishing level?
Zhang Ming had never explained whether he was a body cultivator, a dharma cultivator, or the legendary poison cultivator.
That was his secret. They couldn't ask on the way and could only judge his strength from some of his actions.
Li Yan only pondered for a moment and immediately nodded and sent a voice transmission.
"Five breaths should be possible!"