Top-Grade Pill Furnace, Purple Gold Gourd!

Inside the alchemy chamber, Li Qingshan quickly swallowed a healing elixir, calming the blood and qi that had been slightly roiled by the activation of his talisman treasure. Soon, his aura returned to its peak state.

His gaze burned as he fixed it upon the dark golden, third-tier supreme-grade alchemy furnace.

The furnace stood about half a person's height, supported by three legs. Its design was ancient and imposing, with carvings of the sun, moon, stars, dragons, and phoenixes faintly visible beneath a layer of dust. It seemed to resonate with the surrounding spiritual energy, forming a small world unto itself.

The majestic spiritual pressure and profound Dao aura it emitted were far beyond that of any spiritual tool; it was a true Dharma Treasure!

Moreover, it was a supreme-grade Dharma Treasure that even a Golden Core cultivator would dream of possessing!

Li Qingshan stepped forward, attempting to communicate with it via his divine sense to claim it, only to find the furnace as heavy as a mountain. It seemed to retain some extremely powerful restrictions within, faintly connected to the earth's veins and the entire Mysterious Sky Palace. With his Foundation Establishment Realm cultivation and divine sense, he could not budge it in the slightest.

"As expected, how could such a precious treasure be collected so easily?"

Li Qingshan's brows locked together, and he could not help but feel a sense of urgency.

This place was not meant for lingering. Although the commotion of the battle had been somewhat muffled by the alchemy chamber, there was no guarantee it wouldn't attract others.

Just as he was struggling, a bold thought suddenly flashed through his mind: "Since the Wish-Fulfilling Gourd can contain all things and enhance their quality, I wonder if it could... collect this furnace?"

Thinking of this, he communicated his intent to the Wish-Fulfilling Gourd within his dantian.

The seemingly ordinary Yellow-Skin Gourd at his waist grew slightly warm, then detached from his body, hovering in the air as it began to spin rapidly, growing larger at a speed visible to the naked eye!

In the blink of an eye, the originally fist-sized Wish-Fulfilling Gourd had become a circle larger than the alchemy furnace. Its mouth aimed at the furnace, emitting a chaotic, hazy, dark light that seemed capable of devouring everything.

"Collect!" Li Qingshan shouted in a low voice, pushing the Wish-Fulfilling Gourd to its limit.

Hum!

An irresistible suction force erupted from the mouth of the gourd, instantly enveloping the third-tier alchemy furnace!

The furnace shook violently, the remaining light of the restrictions upon it flickering frantically as if trying to resist, but under the heaven-defying collection power of the Wish-Fulfilling Gourd, all resistance proved futile!

Whoosh!

The incredibly heavy furnace, connected to the earth's veins, rose from the ground as if it were weightless. It rapidly shrank into a streak of light and was pulled into the Wish-Fulfilling Gourd!

"Success! Hahahaha! It really can be collected!"

Li Qingshan was overjoyed, unable to contain his excitement! The Wish-Fulfilling Gourd had given him another massive surprise! Not only could it enhance quality, but it could even forcibly store such heavy treasures that were otherwise impossible to move!

He hurriedly retrieved the Wish-Fulfilling Gourd into his hand and probed it with his divine sense. He saw the shrunken furnace floating quietly within the gourd's space, the fragrance of pills still lingering within it, completely undamaged.

"Good treasure! Truly a good treasure!"

Li Qingshan caressed the gourd, unable to put it down, his heart filled with immense satisfaction.

Having secured the furnace, he dared not linger and immediately left the alchemy chamber, continuing to follow the guidance of the Wish-Fulfilling Gourd deeper into the side hall.

Along the way, he found several scattered jade slips in some ruined quiet rooms and alchemy dens. Judging by their material and the residual fluctuations, they did not seem to contain ordinary cultivation techniques, but he had no time to examine them closely and gathered them all.

Finally, he arrived at the deepest part of the side hall.

The atmosphere here was completely different—solemn and grave, permeated with a scent of sandalwood intertwined with the passage of time.

This was an extremely spacious hall, where rows of ancient spirit tablets were neatly arranged, crafted from fine spirit wood or beautiful jade, each inscribed with a name and title.

This was actually the ancestral hall of the Mysterious Sky Sect!

At the very center of the deepest part of the hall, in the highest position, sat the largest purple-gold tablet, inscribed with ancient and noble seal script: The Spirit Tablet of the Mysterious Sky Ancestor!

In front of the tablet, instead of an incense burner or offerings, sat a purple-gold gourd about a foot tall!

The gourd was entirely purple-gold, its surface smooth and warm, naturally formed with profound cloud patterns and Dao marks. It emitted an indescribable aura that felt ancient, deep, and as if it contained the very origin of the Great Dao!

The Wish-Fulfilling Gourd in Li Qingshan's dantian was currently trembling violently at an unprecedented frequency; the intense sense of summons and resonance originated precisely from this purple-gold gourd!

"It's this one!"

Li Qingshan's heart raced, his eyes locked onto the purple-gold gourd. His intuition told him that the value of this gourd far exceeded that of the third-tier alchemy furnace; it might even be one of the core treasures of the entire Mysterious Sky Palace!

He suppressed his excitement and stepped forward cautiously.

Sure enough, when he was still ten feet away from the purple-gold tablet and the gourd, a soft yet incredibly tough screen of light appeared out of thin air, blocking his path.

The screen looked thin, but the runes flowing upon it were complex and profound to the extreme, emitting energy fluctuations as vast as the sea and unfathomable!

Even after ten thousand years of erosion, its residual power was definitely not something a Foundation Establishment cultivator could shake. It was at least a restriction set by a Golden Core master, or perhaps even a Nascent Soul ancestor!

Li Qingshan tried to activate his Ice Sword and gave it a light poke.

Clang!

With a soft sound, the Ice Sword was sent flying. The light screen remained unmoved, but the rebounding force made his arm go numb.

"Such a strong restriction!"

His expression turned grave, and he could not help but feel anxious and disappointed. The treasure mountain was right before his eyes, yet he could not collect it?

Unwilling to give up, he tried several other methods, even using two attack talismans, but the light screen remained as steady as a mountain.

Was he to return empty-handed?

Li Qingshan's brows locked together as his gaze shifted back and forth between the purple-gold gourd and the Wish-Fulfilling Gourd.

Suddenly, a thought struck him again: "Since the Wish-Fulfilling Gourd could collect that furnace, I wonder if it could... collect this purple-gold gourd through the restriction?"

This idea was quite bold, perhaps even absurd.

But he possessed an inexplicable confidence in the Wish-Fulfilling Gourd.

He summoned the Wish-Fulfilling Gourd once more, causing it to enlarge, and aimed its mouth at the Purple Gold Gourd behind the light screen, channeling his power to the limit!

"Collect!"

This time, the reaction of the Wish-Fulfilling Gourd was completely different!

Its entire body erupted with a hazy, chaotic radiance, and the dark light at its mouth no longer exerted mere suction, but instead emitted a peculiar Dao resonance that seemed capable of piercing through any obstacle!

Hum!

That incredibly sturdy barrier of light, which even a Golden Core cultivator might not be able to break, was bypassed as if it were nothing in the face of this strange Dao resonance!

And the Purple Gold Gourd, enshrined before the spirit tablet, trembled violently as if it had received a supreme summons!

Whoosh!

In the next instant, amidst the mix of surprise and joy in Li Qingshan's eyes, the Purple Gold Gourd transformed into a streak of light, effortlessly passed through the Nascent Soul restriction, and vanished into the Wish-Fulfilling Gourd in a flash!

"It worked! It actually worked!"

Li Qingshan was so excited he nearly cheered aloud.

The miraculous nature of the Wish-Fulfilling Gourd had once again exceeded his imagination!

He could hardly wait to examine what kind of treasure the Purple Gold Gourd truly was.

However, the moment the Purple Gold Gourd was taken—

A sudden change occurred!

The spirit tablet of the Mysterious Sky Ancestor, which had originally enshrined the Purple Gold Gourd, suddenly burst into blinding light, followed by an unbearable "crack" as a fissure split right down its center!