Yiren Accompanies Me

It was truly strange that the imperial palace of the Great Yin Immortal Dynasty appeared within the Dragon Ridge Immortal Treasury.

The Dragon Ridge Immortal Treasury had been quite small during the primordial era, but it had gradually evolved to its current size, remaining dormant within the Dragon Spine Mountain range all the while.

As for the Great Yin Immortal Dynasty, although it was also located in the eastern part of Cang Province, it was not near the coast, but hundreds of thousands of miles away. Even now, many ruins of the Immortal Dynasty remained there, and cultivators often went to explore them, hoping to unearth some treasures of the dynasty.

Xu Yan listened, sweeping his gaze across the imperial throne hall.

It was towering and majestic. Even after over a million years, although it was dilapidated, its imposing aura remained undiminished, especially the massive dragon throne at the center, which still faintly exuded a sense of imperial majesty.

"As for the way out, I only arrived here an hour ago myself. I was just practicing, so I haven't searched for one yet," Qin Yiren said. She possessed a Primordial Yin pulse, so this place was a treasure trove for her.

"Many thanks to fellow Daoist Qin for sharing this."

Xu Yan turned around, focused his mind, and asked, "Fellow Daoist Qin, this place is exceptionally treacherous, and there may be demons or ghosts lurking about. Should we travel together so we can look out for one another?"

Qin Yiren pondered for a moment, seemingly weighing the pros and cons.

"Very well."

She finally nodded.

This woman appeared indifferent by nature, but like him, she was extremely cautious. From the very beginning, her hand had remained pressed against that small sword case; if Xu Yan had made any move that crossed the line, those black needles would have already been fired.

Xu Yan thought to himself, not daring to rashly use his divine sense to probe her cultivation.

However, judging by that one move earlier, this woman had to be at least at the fifth level of Pulse Opening. Having her as a companion would make for a powerful ally.

The two fell silent, each searching the imperial hall.

In less than the time it took for an incense stick to burn, they had thoroughly combed through the area, but there were no spiritual treasures or artifacts to be found.

Broken walls and ruins were everywhere.

The two crossed the ruined hall and continued to walk cautiously into the depths.

Heaven only knew how large this underground space was. The distance ahead was vast and distant, with stone walls over three hundred zhang apart on either side. The ground was damp, and black moss crawled everywhere.

From deeper within, a howling, chilling wind emerged, making one's scalp tingle.

There was only one path here.

However, they hadn't gone far before a fork in the road appeared.

Xu Yan stopped and quietly activated the Miaoyuan Edict in his palm. His divine sense rippled out into the fork, sensing the subtle energy of heaven and earth.

"Let's take the left path. The right side is devoid of any life force; it seems to be a dead end," Xu Yan said, concentrating.

In the right-hand path, Xu Yan had not sensed a shred of energy from outside the world. It was clearly a sealed dead end, and Xu Yan had even sensed an unsettling, ghostly aura.

Qin Yiren paused, then nodded. "Very well!"

This woman was cautious to a fault; she only followed after Xu Yan had stepped in first.

The path on the left was also a hundred zhang wide, stretching into the distance, leading to who knew where.

The further they went, the narrower the passage became.

In the end, it was only ten zhang wide!

The two walked cautiously for half an hour until a dripping sound reached their ears, standing out sharply in the silent underground.

Xu Yan sensed the surroundings and discovered that the energy in the air had become several times denser.

Qin Yiren, beside him, clearly sensed it as well.

They immediately moved forward.

They arrived at another ancient hall. This structure was smaller in scale, far inferior to the two Xu Yan had passed earlier.

The hall was arched, and a tattered, black-colored beaded curtain hung at the entrance.

In the center of the hall, a pool had been dug by human hands. It was unclear what material it was made of, but it was milky white, and after over a million years, it showed no signs of decay.

The pool was steaming with spiritual energy, and the water was about half a zhang deep. The dripping sound came from the stone wall above.

Many white bones lay here.

Even within the pool, several skeletons rested. These bones were like fine jade, forming a stark contrast to the horrifying skeletons Xu Yan had seen earlier.

"This... is likely where the concubines of the Great Yin Immortal Dynasty bathed?" Xu Yan glanced at Qin Yiren beside him and said casually.

"It appears so."

Qin Yiren spoke indifferently, her cold gaze fixed on the spirit pool, a hint of brilliance appearing in her eyes. "The energy in this spirit pool is pure and unblemished, refined from the essence of the earth's veins, having settled for endless years."

Xu Yan nodded.

This spirit pool water was even more precious than the Earth Treasure Spirit Spring; it was the refined essence of the earth, extremely rare.

Qin Yiren seemed lost in thought, then spoke again, "Fellow Daoist Xu, how about we cultivate here for a few days?"

Xu Yan frowned upon hearing this and looked at her.

Shouldn't their top priority be finding a way out?

They could just collect the spirit pool water in a green bottle; cultivating here seemed like an unnecessary step.

"Is it really appropriate to cultivate here?"

Xu Yan thought, observing Qin Yiren. A trace of discomfort seemed to flicker across her face—a discomfort she had displayed several times along the way.

Seeing this, Xu Yan frowned slightly and observed her with his divine sense. Having traveled together for a while, both had lowered their guard. They might even be fellow disciples of the Ziwei Dharma King in the future; there was no need or reason to be wary of each other, let alone resort to killing one another.

"Are you injured?"

Xu Yan discovered that the meridians in her body seemed damaged. Not only did she have internal injuries, but external ones as well. No wonder her face was pale; Xu Yan had assumed it was due to her Primordial Yin constitution.

"Yes."

Qin Yiren raised her eyes to glance at Xu Yan, her cold face showing a hint of exhaustion as she nodded in response.

She had been so cautious earlier precisely because she feared that if Xu Yan knew she was injured, he would seize the opportunity to attack and kill her for her belongings.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, you should have said so earlier. Let's recover your injuries first," Xu Yan said.

Qin Yiren remained silent for a few moments, looking troubled. Her voice grew much softer as she glanced to the side. "Fellow Daoist Xu, could you please step aside for a moment? I need to apply medicine to my external wounds."

"Oh, right!"

Xu Yan didn't dally and stepped out of the hall.

After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, Qin Yiren's voice came from inside, saying he could enter.

When Xu Yan walked in, he saw she had already put on her silver Daoist robe and was sitting cross-legged in the spirit pool, half her body submerged in the water.

Beside her on the edge of the pool lay a pungent medicinal paste.

What kind of external injury was this, that even her internal energy and magic power couldn't heal it, requiring such external medicine?

Few cultivators prepared this kind of external wound ointment.

But then again, she was a direct disciple of the Heavenly Capital City. The opening of this Immortal Treasury was no small matter and concerned their cultivation at the Dao Academy; Qin Yiren was well-prepared, with everything one could need in her Qiankun Bag.

Xu Yan thought to himself.

In the spirit pool, Qin Yiren was circulating her cultivation technique. The massive energy within the pool gathered toward her body, and the Yin energy from the surrounding world was also drawn in by her spiritual pulses, rolling toward her.

With her talent and foundation, cultivating here was like a thousand miles a day.

At this moment, Xu Yan also sensed her cultivation level: the sixth level of Pulse Opening, complete, with signs of a breakthrough.

As he watched, Xu Yan's gaze suddenly flickered, locking onto her left palm, which was holding a familiar jade pendant.

"Isn't this... the Primordial Yin Treasure Jade!"

Xu Yan's expression was one of astonishment; he was deeply surprised.

The Primordial Yin Treasure Jade he had sold to the Langya Treasure Pavilion had actually ended up in her hands.