The once-peaceful sky was now blanketed in seven-colored clouds, and a towering Heavenly Palace could be seen faintly in the distance.
The Heavenly Palace slowly descended. At that moment, countless streaks of sword light shot out from the surrounding woods and flew toward it.
It wasn't just the personal disciples who were at the Foundation Establishment Realm; there were several Inner Sect disciples at that level as well.
"Is this the Heavenly Mansion? What a magnificent sight."
Seeing the Heavenly Palace, Ye Lin marveled inwardly. Without another moment's hesitation, he headed toward where it was descending.
By the time Ye Lin arrived, the Heavenly Palace had just touched down. A violently surging vortex of spiritual energy swept outward, and every pore on Ye Lin's body opened wide as he greedily absorbed it.
The entire Heavenly Mansion resembled a fortress, its walls a uniform silvery white. Two silver-white stone lions guarded the entrance, making it look imposing and majestic.
"What exactly is this place? It's so magnificent!"
"Could this... could this be the cave abode of an ancient Golden Core cultivator?"
A disciple exclaimed in shock. At his words, everyone else turned to look at him.
"You know something? Tell us more."
A woman in a white dress asked softly from the sky. She was breathtakingly beautiful, and a cool, aloof aura surrounded her.
"Senior Sister Li."
The disciple bowed to her before explaining at length.
"I don't know the details, either. This secret realm is where a Golden Core cultivator perished in ancient times. They say this cultivator had quite a high status back then. Later, our sect's Founding Patriarch established a sect here—the Azure Cloud Sect."
"Our Patriarch wanted to investigate the place, but discovered that only cultivators below the Golden Core Realm could enter this secret realm."
"After exploring it for a long time, they found no cave abode belonging to a Golden Core cultivator. They only discovered that the secret realm opened once every ten years and was rich in spiritual energy."
"It gave birth to countless treasures, so it became a place where disciples came to hunt for treasure. I never expected a Golden Core cultivator's cave abode to appear now."
When the disciple finished speaking, the other disciples, including the personal disciples, looked eager.
A Golden Core cultivator! The Azure Cloud Sect's Grand Elder was at the Golden Core Realm, and even that was enough to make the sect the overlord of ten thousand li in every direction.
The Golden Core cultivators of ancient times had strength that was worlds apart from those of today. What's more, resources had been abundant in ancient times, and every cultivator had been rolling in wealth.
And this was the fortune of a Golden Core cultivator who had already held high status back then. Just how wealthy would they have been?
While everyone waited expectantly, a streak of light flashed in the distance. Lin Zisheng came flying over atop a Long Sword. When he spotted Ye Lin, a trace of murderous intent flashed in his eyes.
But with so many people around, he couldn't make a move.
Even he wouldn't dare kill an Inner Sect disciple in front of everyone.
Another thunderous boom rang out. The Heavenly Mansion's silver-white gates swung wide open, but not one of the disciples dared take a step forward.
They were all clever enough to know that a Golden Core cultivator's cave abode might hold any number of dangers. Nobody dared go first; they had only one life to lose.
"Hmph. The opportunity's right in front of you, yet you're all so timid. You'll never amount to anything."
An Inner Sect disciple scoffed from the sky, then rushed through the gates. Once they saw that there was no danger, the rest of the disciples hurried after him.
Ye Lin mingled with the crowd and entered the Heavenly Mansion. Inside, five narrow bridges, each half a meter wide, stretched toward five silver-white doorways. Beneath them yawned a bottomless abyss.
"The Heavenly Palace is so close to the ground. How did this bottomless abyss come to be?"
A disciple stepped forward and stared down into the abyss, his face full of shock.
"I don't know. Perhaps it was a method used by a Golden Core cultivator in ancient times. The ancient era was full of mysteries. Even I can't make sense of it."
Senior Sister Li, who had spoken earlier, explained.
"There are five paths, so the choice is yours."
After speaking, the disciple who had rushed in first made straight for the first path. He raced across the bridge and vanished inside the silver-white doorway.
Ye Lin looked toward the third path. The panel showed that Lin Zisheng had taken it and found a Mystic Grade High-Tier Foundation Establishment Pill.
Without the slightest hesitation, Ye Lin stepped onto the third path, dashed across, and disappeared through the doorway.
The surrounding disciples began searching for paths of their own, setting out on their treasure hunt.
After seeing Ye Lin head down the path, Lin Zisheng followed the countless disciples and casually chose another.
There were too many people around to kill him now. Once they left the secret realm, he'd have plenty of opportunities. He refused to believe Ye Lin could hide in the Azure Cloud Sect forever.
Beyond the doorway lay an enormous space, with countless statues lining its sides: dragons, tigers, bears, unicorns, and birds. Ye Lin couldn't tell what kind of animal some of them were.
"Dragon Statue, Tiger Statue."
Ye Lin murmured to himself, then walked straight to the Tiger Statue. He crouched in front of it and felt around the base with his right hand. Sure enough, he found a wooden box.
In an instant, Ye Lin stored the box in his Spatial Ring. Later disciples saw him crouching and feeling around the statue's base, and they couldn't help glancing his way.
But Ye Lin pulled out an empty hand the next moment, and they looked away.
Ye Lin then went beneath the Dragon Statue. Just as he'd expected, he found an ancient book and stored it in his Spatial Ring.
The Azure Cloud Sect might have been the overlord within ten thousand li, but it was still only a small sect. Inner Sect disciples simply didn't have things like Spatial Rings.
Only the Inner Sect Elders had a few. Every Spatial Ring had been made by a Spirit Transformation expert or someone even more powerful; disciples from small sects weren't qualified to own one.
"Brother, I saw you feeling around beneath those statues. Did you find something?"
A disciple who had searched for a long time without finding anything looked at Ye Lin and asked.
"I thought the statues looked unusual, so I figured they might be treasures. I wanted to test how heavy one was and see if I could move it. Even if it wasn't a treasure, it'd still fetch a good price if I sold it."
Ye Lin smiled as he spoke. The other Inner Sect disciples nodded; his explanation made sense.
"But when I tried, I found that this statue weighs at least a hundred thousand jin. Looks like only a Foundation Establishment senior brother could try lifting it."
Ye Lin shook his head with feigned regret.
"Don't lose heart, brother. An ancient Golden Core cultivator's cave abode must be full of mysteries. There's bound to be some sort of mechanism here. We'll find it if we search carefully."
After speaking, the other disciples turned toward the statues and circled them, hoping to find something.
"True enough. How could an ancient Golden Core cultivator's cave abode contain so little? Lin Zisheng's opportunity must have refreshed again, right? What a pity he didn't come here."
As he walked, Ye Lin mused to himself.
"Look out! What is that?"
An Inner Sect disciple shouted from ahead. Everyone turned around, and Ye Lin also looked back in curiosity.
A swarm of densely packed silver-white bugs had appeared before the disciple. Each one was about the size of a palm, and they radiated the aura of Qi Refining Level 5.
If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, Ye Lin wouldn't have believed that such a tiny bug could have the cultivation of Qi Refining Level 5.
"Th-these bugs actually contain Pre-Heaven Spiritual Qi?"
A disciple stared at a bug he had just killed, his face full of shock.
He had casually killed the bug in front of him, only to feel a stream of pure spiritual energy enter his body. His cultivation had improved a little as a result.
Spiritual energy was divided into Pre-Heaven and Post-Heaven. Pre-Heaven Spiritual Qi was the purest, and cultivators who cultivated with it could completely overwhelm those who used Post-Heaven Spiritual Qi. After the world was shattered in the ancient war, however, all spiritual energy had become Post-Heaven Spiritual Qi.
In ancient times, Spirit Stones had no grades; they were all the same. That had changed.
The higher a Spirit Stone's grade, the more spiritual energy it contained, and the closer that energy came to Pre-Heaven Spiritual Qi.
The spiritual energy in a Top-Tier Spirit Stone came infinitely close to Pre-Heaven Spiritual Qi, making such stones incredibly precious.
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