In the valley.
Han Yue walked on the magma solidified by her own Dou Qi. The surrounding area still retained some high temperature, making Han Yue, an Ice Attribute cultivator, feel somewhat hot.
Arriving at the epicenter of the explosion, Han Yue looked around and noticed that the surrounding terrain was vastly different from before.
Even the edge of the valley had been flattened into a smooth slope by the terrifying energy impact, as if a meteorite had fallen from the sky and crashed into the valley, creating a deep crater.
Such terrifying power to alter mountains and rivers was unimaginable; it was actually possessed by the young man before her, who was even younger than her.
While Han Yue was still reeling from the shock, Xiao Yao had already dug out the Wind Attribute Magic Core that emitted a pale blue light from the charred body of the Wind-Chasing Leopard.
As a peak fourth-tier Magic Core, it possesses extremely terrifying energy, making it an excellent material for alchemy.
Xiao Yao needs a blank Magic Core that has naturally lost its energy to create the Sun Magic Core, but this Magic Core is not suitable.
Xiao Yao collected the materials from the Wind-Chasing Leopard.
Having suffered extremely severe damage at the core of the explosion, there were very few usable materials left on the Wind-Chasing Leopard.
Xiao Yao extracted only a portion of the essence blood from its blood, as well as some of the bones that had not been burned.
Afterwards, Xiao Yao followed Han Yue toward the lair of the Wind-Chasing Leopard.
The valley on the other side, though not directly impacted by the Sun Magic Core, was still affected by the aftershocks and left in a state of chaos.
The Wind-Chasing Leopard's den even collapsed.
Xiao Yao shook his head helplessly, while Han Yue couldn't help but laugh out loud.
This time, she was somewhat convinced that Xiao Yao indeed didn't have a deep enough understanding of his true intentions.
Otherwise, they would have chosen a more distant location to detonate it.
"Alright, stop laughing. Hurry up and dig open the nest, or things might get complicated. There was a lot of noise just now; it's possible that some fifth-tier magical beasts were attracted here."
Xiao Yao said with a hint of helplessness.
The two worked together, using their Dou Technique to blast open the collapsed rocks, revealing a path leading deep into the lair.
Upon entering the lair, one is immediately enveloped by an overwhelming, pungent stench of demonic beasts, making one instinctively hold their breath.
Xiao Yao looked at Han Yue, hoping that Han Yue could find the location of the ruins.
Han Yue shook her head and said with some helplessness.
"Both this map and this information, I actually obtained them from other people. I really don't know any details about the ruins."
Xiao Yao was speechless for a moment. He rubbed his forehead. It seemed that he had followed Han Yue without verifying the authenticity of Han Yue information.
Because of Han Yue's experience of searching for the Earth Core Body Tempering Milk in the original novel, Xiao Yao easily accepted the premise that Han Yue was a treasure girl who could often find treasures, but forgot to verify its authenticity.
"Then let's split up and search separately."
Looking at the enormous nest, Xiao Yao said with a headache.
The two split up to search, with Xiao Yao kicking aside a small mountain of bones and continuing his search.
Not long after, it was actually Han Yue who made a sound.
Xiao Yao followed the sound and rushed to where Han Yue was.
The nest was a maze of interconnected passages, and even with Xiao Yao's ability to sense things with his soul, it would be difficult for him to search the entire nest inside and out in a short time.
It's not surprising that Han Yue found the ruins first.
After rounding a mountain wall, Xiao Yao saw Han Yue's pretty figure.
At this moment, her silver robe was somewhat torn, making her look rather disheveled.
But when Han Yue saw Xiao Yao, she pointed excitedly ahead.
On the stone wall ahead, there were man-made marks, not what appeared to be naturally formed.
The presence of stones bearing human traces in the lair of such a monster is clearly unusual.
Xiao Yao's heart stirred, and he walked to the stone wall, touching it as if deep in thought.
"It seems to be a remnant of mechanical arts, but it's very crude, probably hastily set up."
Xiao Yao shared his thoughts, but Han Yue looked bewildered.
"I know absolutely nothing about mechanisms, what should I do?"
Xiao Yao shrugged and said, "Generally speaking, it's best to find a way to break it; if that's not possible, then we'll break it by force."
Xiao Yao took a look. Although the mechanism was hastily set up, it was not like the cave ruins in Qingshan Town, which could be activated simply by finding a specific switch.
The mechanism before us can only be solved in a specific way.
There's no other way but to break it by force.
A dazzling golden energy ball condensed on Xiao Yao's fist, signaling Han Yue to step back a bit, before he slammed his fist into the stone wall.
Even if this ruin was indeed left behind by a Dou Wang or even Dou Huang expert, after such a long time, the external mechanisms would definitely have weakened considerably.
With Xiao Yao's strength, it's not impossible for him to forcefully break through.
Moreover, even if a Dou Huang expert is not proficient in mechanical arts, the strength of the mechanical arts he leaves behind may not be that high.
Mechanical arts are like alchemy; they are not strongly correlated with one's cultivation level. A Dou Emperor alchemist might only be at the level of a second or third-grade alchemist due to limitations in their Yao Tian.
Xiao Yao landed a punch on the mechanical stone wall, and under Xiao Yao control, all the energy poured onto the stone wall.
With a deafening roar, the ground trembled, and the stone wall in front of them exploded, revealing the space behind it.
It was a rather simple stone chamber, as if someone had simply carved a hole out of the mountain without any renovation.
Upon seeing this scene, Han Yue's heart sank, because it didn't look like the ruins left by a powerful figure.
Xiao Yao immediately probed into it with his soul perception and found only an extremely withered skeleton.
There appeared to be some marks on the ground in front of the skeleton.
Xiao Yao and Han Yue cautiously entered, waving their sleeves to wipe away the dust and dirt on the ground, revealing the writing on it.
Although slightly blurry, it is still clearly visible, seemingly the words left by this skeleton before its death.
Han Yue looked over curiously.
Xiao Yao picked up the Storage Ring on the skeleton's finger, probed it with his mind, and quickly obtained a scroll that looked extremely unusual.
The scroll bore the inscription of several blood-red characters. "Blood-Burning Qi-Combustion Secret Art," which immediately evoked a sense of foreboding.
Han Yue, who had been carefully examining the writing on the ground, noticed Xiao Yao's actions and glanced at the scroll in his hand. She exclaimed in surprise and said:
"The Blood-Burning Qi-Combustion Secret Art —it seems the owner of this ruin perished because of this very technique."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yao, who had initially shown little interest in the last words, immediately turned his gaze towards them.
Upon closer inspection, Xiao Yao realized that this secret technique was actually a method for explosive power, capable of temporarily boosting one's strength.
However, it severely depletes one's own blood and energy, and even Dou Qi.
Xiao Yao seemed thoughtful; if that were true, it might actually suit him quite well.