It is worth mentioning that the urgent communication talismans received by Zhang Yiyi and Zhang Tongtong did not come from their fellow sect member Mo Yan of the Yunxian Sect.

The one who sent a message to Zhang Yiyi was Senior Sister Yuan Ying from the Lishan Sect, while the message to Zhang Tongtong came from the rogue cultivator Chen Fan.

It wasn't too surprising that Yuan Ying contacted Zhang Yiyi at this time, but Chen Fan's action clearly carried a hint of goodwill towards Zhang Tongtong.

Given that he had previously helped her in the desert, Zhang Tongtong couldn't help but think more about his intentions, leading her to be more cautious of him.

When Zhang Yiyi found out, she didn't comment, as this matter was none of her business. Furthermore, interactions between the male and female protagonists were expected. However, if Chen Fan knew that his gesture of goodwill had instead caused the woman who had started to like him to become wary of him, he might feel a bit regretful.

After exchanging information, the two of them didn't waste any time and headed straight for their destination.

Even though it was Zhang Yiyi's first time flying on her sword by herself, her powerful spiritual sense made it easy for her to adapt, and she did so extremely well.

The place where the immortal artifact appeared wasn't too far, but it wasn't close either. Even at the fastest speed, it would take nearly half a day of sword flight to reach it.

Zhang Yiyi's initial prediction had been correct—the location where the immortal artifact appeared was indeed the direction she had indicated to Mo Yan. Had they not been delayed for three days by the Spirit Stone Cave, they likely would have been among the first to discover traces of the immortal artifact.

Although they didn't know if the immortal artifact would still be there when they arrived, they couldn't afford to think too much at the moment; everything would depend on luck.

After half a day, the two finally arrived at the location indicated by the communication talisman and found the rumored mysterious river.

At a glance, what puzzled them was that there was indeed something floating in the air above the river, but it was obvious that it couldn't possibly be the immortal artifact.

"Senior Sister!"

Zhang Yiyi quickly found Senior Sister Yuan Ying from Lishan Sect by the river and immediately went over to meet her.

Beside Yuan Ying were not only Yuan Xiaoqi, but also Chen Fan and Luo Qiheng from the Qingcheng Sword Sect. The four of them clearly formed a small group.

Seeing this, Zhang Tongtong naturally followed and nodded to each of them in greeting, her gaze finally landing on Chen Fan, who had sent her the urgent communication talisman. She smiled slightly.

"You're not too late," Yuan Ying said without wasting any time. She pointed to the air above the river and asked, "Take a look at that. Can you see anything?"

She didn't ask why Mo Yan, a member of the Yunxian Sect, was absent. Whether they had parted ways halfway or had decided to split up after receiving the respective messages didn't matter. The important thing was that Mo Yan wasn't included in their original plan, so this situation was more than satisfactory.

"Are the items mentioned in your communication talisman referring to those?"

After examining the scene, Zhang Yiyi pointed at the five peculiar bronze pieces floating in the air, which clearly lacked any spiritual energy or fluctuations, and asked.

"That's right. The immortal artifact we mentioned earlier indeed referred to those," Yuan Ying nodded. "But as you might have realized, these objects are probably not immortal artifacts. Yet, they appeared exactly where the immortal artifact was supposed to, which is perplexing."

Normally, only one immortal artifact would appear, and although these five objects were identical, it was obvious at a glance that they weren't a set.

Moreover, whether using conventional methods of investigation or specialized treasures to repeatedly verify, these five bronze pieces didn't even resemble ordinary magical artifacts, let alone immortal ones.

Yet, since they appeared here, they couldn't be ordinary items.

"These look like keys," Zhang Tongtong suddenly said. She didn't seem disappointed that they weren't immortal artifacts. On the contrary, she was intrigued.

"I think so too. Five identical keys? For what? And what's their use?" Zhang Yiyi mused to herself. "But in any case, these items must be valuable and not simple. So why hasn't anyone tried to snatch them?"

There were more than just Senior Sister Yuan and her group by the river. Not far away, there were two other groups, and counting themselves, there were a total of about sixteen or seventeen people present. However, Mo Yan wasn't among them. Whether he had encountered trouble along the way or was still searching in the wrong direction, they didn't know.

"How could no one try?" Chen Fan interjected to clear things up. "We found this place two days ago, and since then, more than twenty people have gathered around this river. When those objects first floated up from the river, nearly half of them rushed over to fight for them."

At this point, Chen Fan paused, helplessly spreading his hands. "But although these things aren't dangerous and won't harm anyone, no matter what method you try, you can't take them away."

Yuan Ying nodded to confirm Chen Fan's account. "That's right. So, these five objects have been here for over half a day. Apart from those few who fought and died early on due to their haste, everyone else here has tried multiple times to retrieve them, but no one has succeeded."

"My senior sister and I didn't rush in right away, but we were unlucky and almost got caught up in the chaos caused by some reckless fools. Fortunately, Brother Chen and Brother Luo stepped in just in time, and we avoided the fallout," Yuan Xiaoqi added, explaining how the four of them ended up together.

Their time working together in the desert hadn't been for nothing. Chen Fan and Luo Qiheng had proven themselves to be reliable enough to be temporary allies once again.

Hearing this, Zhang Yiyi and Zhang Tongtong easily understood why Senior Sister Yuan and Chen Fan had sent communication talismans to inform them of the artifact's location.

Since no one could figure out what these five objects were, nor could anyone take them away, it made perfect sense to do them a favor by letting them know. Who knows? Maybe with more people, they might be able to figure out how to break the mystery.

After all, if the items here were truly immortal artifacts that could be taken, no sane person would alert rivals from other sects, no matter how good their relationship was.

"Yiyi, why don't you and your cousin give it a try?" Yuan Ying suggested after a moment. In her view, no matter how much they talked, nothing compared to personally experiencing it.

If either Zhang Yiyi or Zhang Tongtong were lucky enough to take the items, it would be their own fortune. And unless someone could take the items away, no one by the river would recklessly expend their strength to attack others.

As they spoke, someone in the distance attempted a new method to retrieve the five identical bronze pieces floating in the air. Unsurprisingly, they failed once again.

"I'll go first," Zhang Tongtong said with a smile, before flying up into the air.