Xiao Yan's gaze swept over the object resembling a cicada cocoon and then swiftly returned. Now, he had little time to waste! "The crystalline walls here seem unusually solid, even more vivid in hue than those encountered earlier..." With a thoughtful expression, Xiao Yan took a deep breath, stepped forward, and his body seamlessly merged with the gathering fire dragon. As he swung his right fist, a sharp, piercing roar of intense heat echoed loudly through the corridor. "Boom!" His right fist quickly converged with the fire dragon and then struck out powerfully, crashing hard against the emerald-like crystalline wall. A deep, resonant boom erupted instantly, sending out a rapidly expanding ripple of force centered on Xiao Yan's fist, causing the entire corridor to tremble... "Crack!" Under the intense gazes of all present, a subtle crack suddenly appeared on the crystal wall, swiftly widening until, to everyone's astonishment, it finally burst open with a loud "pop." As the crystal wall shattered, Xiao Yan suddenly reached forward, grasping a cool, jade-like object among the scattered crystal shards. Without pausing to examine it further, he promptly stored it within his storage relic. "Let's go!" "Shattering the final crystalline barrier, Xiao Yan heavily planted his foot upon the ground, and his body surged forward immediately. Behind him, Gu Qinqiang and the others, who had already been prepared, swiftly followed, rushing toward the massive opening Xiao Yan had created. Xiao Yan's speed was astonishing—he had already burst through the corridor in an instant, and before him stretched an endless expanse of gray land. "This must be the third level of the Heavens' Tomb..." The group stared around them with joyful expressions, the sense of relief after a near-disaster making every breath feel deeply eased. "Hum! Just as we were relaxing, a sudden, intense hum erupted from the vast luminous screen stretching all the way to the sky's edge—this startled everyone, prompting Xiang and his companions to quickly retreat. "Hum!" As Xiang and his team retreated, waves of snow-white light surged forth from the previously shattered crystalline archway, crashing upon them with thunderous, resonant hums. "The ancient insect-devouring creatures have finally caught up!" Seeing this, Gu Qingyang and the others immediately grew pale, swiftly retreating. "Hum!" "A white tide surged forth, sweeping over everything. Yet, as these ancient insectoids just began to charge their energy barriers, their bodies suddenly halted mid-motion, and then, in the midst of everyone's astonishment, they exhaled in a soft 'puff' and turned into a fine white powder, drifting gently away... 'Puff, puff, puff!' For the next minute, one after another, the ancient insectoids surged out of the passage with unwavering courage. But as soon as they reached a distance of one zhang beyond the light curtain, they seemed to be met by an unseen force, quietly bursting into white powder. By the time the process had continued, a pile of this powder had accumulated nearly several meters high before the energy curtain. 'What are these ancient insectoids doing?' the crowd stared in bewilderment at these creatures, fully aware that the path beyond was a death sentence, yet still persistently rushing forward. Their brows furrowed in growing confusion. 'Are they trying to prevent us from escaping?' one person remarked with a wry smile." "He doesn't want us to escape, nor is he really trying that hard—this is pure suicide, completely futile suicide..." Gu Qingyang shook his head, frowning. Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan also regained his composure and suddenly turned around, scanning the surroundings. His brows furrowed immediately, as he noticed that the two from the Soul Cliff had already fled early—while everyone else had been stunned by the frantic self-sacrifices of the ancient insect-eating beings. "These two are truly cunning," Xun'er remarked, noticing their absence as well, her brows slightly furrowed. "Heh, Xiao Yan, thanks to you this time. Since we've reached the third level, we won't stay here any longer. We'll find a suitable place to train and then simply wait for the three-year period to pass." Huo Xuan bowed politely to Xiao Yan and smiled. Xiao Yan nodded in return, bowing as well, "Then I wish you all the best on your journey, Huo Xuan." "Goodbye, we'll meet again in three years," Huo Xuan said with a smile, then turned with Huo Zhi and swiftly flew off toward the distance. After Fire Xuan had departed, the four members from Stone Clan and Thunder Clan also bid their farewells and left. As for Yao Xingji, he merely glanced at Xiao Yan once, saying nothing formal, and with a sweep of his sleeve, took the graceful maiden from the Medicine Clan and departed. In just a few minutes, the hall had become nearly empty, with only Xiao Yan and his companions remaining. Hearing this, Gu Qingyang shook his head helplessly and looked at Xiao Yan, saying, "You truly intend to go to Xiao Xuan's tomb estate. It lies deep within the Heavenly Tomb, where eight- and nine-star energy bodies are quite common. If you encounter just a few, that would be manageable. But if you meet many, the situation will become extremely dangerous. Moreover... deep within, there might even be energy bodies at the Battle Saint level. Should you encounter any of those, it would truly be a matter of life or death." Xiao Yan nodded slightly, saying, "I know." Seeing that Xiao Yan still showed no signs of giving up, Gu Qingyang felt a bit helpless. After a brief pause, he turned to the silver-robed man and the three elders of Gu, asking, "What are your plans? Will you simply pick a place and train there for three years?" "Do you think that's possible? When I entered the Heavenly Tomb, I was informed by Tongxuan Elder to protect Xun'er. I believe this instruction wasn't just passed on to me." Gu Zhen looked up and smiled. "I'm also..." The man in silver robes shrugged and then turned to Xiao Yan, smiling, "We've never had the chance to introduce ourselves. Gu Hu, Second General of the He Yan Army. I've always wondered why Xun'er has been so devoted to you. Now, perhaps, I see some answers...." "I've also received..." The taller, more robust man, appearing somewhat straightforward and earnest, smiled as well. "Gu Xing, Third General of the He Yan Army. Thank you very much for your help just now." Xiao Yan bowed politely. The three men—Gu Qingyang—hadn't shown much hostility toward him, especially after the events within the light screen, where they now treated him with greater warmth and friendliness. Thus, Xiao Yan did not treat them coldly. "It seems this is how it always is..." Gu Qingyang spread his hands, smiled, "Then, let's go together. With all of us working in unison, as long as we don't encounter energy beings at the level of Battle Saint or above, we shouldn't face any major obstacles. As for whether we can ultimately reach Xiao Xuan's tomb estate—that's entirely up to you. My ancient clan has had strong members reach that place, yet none of them could enter, no matter what methods they employed. So, you should be prepared for that possibility—perhaps your ancestors didn't wish for anyone to disturb them." Xiao Yan smiled slightly, nodded, and said, "My intuition tells me I'll gain something valuable." "Well, that's hopeful," Gu Qingyang didn't seem overly concerned. He looked up at this gray-brown land, exhaled deeply, and smiled, "Then, let's set off. I've always wanted to see just how formidable the third layer of the Heavenly Tomb truly is!" "Hmm, let's go..." Xiao Yan smiled and glanced at Xun'er. With a subtle tap of his foot on the ground, his figure transformed into two beams of light, swiftly heading toward the third floor. Behind him, the four members of Gu Qingyang quickly followed.