Ancient Cultivator's Remains

Ancient Cultivator's Remains

As Xiao Liang, Qin Long, and Pandora stepped inside.

The candle stands around the hall suddenly lit up. The flames likely drew upon earthfire as well; through some ingenious design, they transformed into birds, peach blossoms, small beasts, and many other shapes.

They were exceptionally rare and fascinating.

As the flames swayed, they illuminated Earthfire Hall.

Xiao Liang looked around. The hall's interior was circular and immensely spacious, and every step echoed.

Twenty-eight crimson pillars entwined with dragons supported the dome. The dragons were exquisitely carved, their scales and feathers lifelike, while their eyes, adorned with emerald jade, watched the newcomers.

Beneath the candlelight, the dragon eyes gleamed as though they might come alive the next moment.

Even the imperial palaces of mortal kingdoms paled in comparison to its grandeur and majesty.

At the center of the hall stood a massive furnace, five or six zhang tall and too large for even ten burly men to wrap their arms around.

Though it was now covered in dust, it still exuded a heavy, desolate antiquity.

"This..."

Xiao Liang stared blankly. What rank of magical artifact was such an enormous furnace meant to forge?

"Looks like the hall is safe for now. Strange..."

Qin Long remained on guard for a moment. When none of the expected danger appeared, she lowered her spirit sword, frowning slightly as though something had occurred to her.

Xiao Liang snickered and teased, "Regretting inviting me now? Maybe there's no danger here at all. You can just happily pick up treasures, like when you found that peak first-rank puppet."

"What I find strange is that this place is too empty. The inheritance I received came with a set of notes describing Earthfire Hall. It said the place was filled with treasures, but danger lurked at every step."

"I remember you saying that your inheritance wasn't found in this ancient battlefield, but in an unnamed mountain range in the Yan Kingdom. The circumstances recorded by that senior might have become outdated."

Qin Long shot him a glare and said coldly, "Those who harbor wishful thinking die the fastest. Of course, it would be best if there were no dangers. I'd rather share some of the treasure with you."

This woman truly had an extraordinary temperament.

Xiao Liang was faintly surprised. He shrugged and stopped dwelling on the subject, turning instead to search the hall for treasures with heated eyes.

"That furnace looks pretty good, but it's too large. One person can't possibly carry it away. Maybe I can give Ten Thousand Demon Cavern the information later and get some benefits?"

"These candle stands, ornaments, and incense burners may not be proper magical artifacts, but they're no ordinary objects either. Once I have a cave abode, I can put them inside. Living is cultivation too!"

"Tsk, even the golden dragons on the pillars are good materials for artifact refinement. Using them as building materials is absurdly extravagant!"

"Huh, that is..."

Xiao Liang's searching gaze suddenly froze. In the shadow beneath the furnace, he seemed to have spotted a strange human figure.

His reaction caught Qin Long's attention as well. She looked in the same direction, and her eyes immediately showed curiosity. She could not help exchanging a glance with Xiao Liang.

"Come on, let's take a look!"

The two slowly moved closer to the furnace, then shifted their angle until they finally saw the figure in full.

It was a long-browed Daoist in a Water-Fire Daoist Robe, sitting cross-legged before the furnace with his eyes closed!

A golden-thread whisk rested on one shoulder. His hands formed a seal and were held properly before his chest. His eyes were slightly shut, but his mouth hung faintly open, as though he were chanting an incantation.

Yet from his utterly withered, moistureless skin and complete lack of aura, it was still clear enough.

The Daoist was not alive.

Following Xiao Liang's instructions, Pandora had already spread her wings and made a circuit around the hall. She reported the results to him.

"Looks like there's only this one... remnant shell in the hall."

Xiao Liang was not surprised by the result. Back then, Heavenly Sun Mountain had poured all its strength into the sect war. Any cultivators capable of fighting would certainly have joined the battle.

The mountain where Earthfire Hall stood clearly had not been at the center of the war. Otherwise, no ruins could have remained; it would have been leveled to the ground like most of the surrounding thousand li.

As for why the cultivators of Ten Thousand Demon Cavern, who had cleaned up the battlefield back then, had not discovered this place.

Xiao Liang could only infer the reason from the outcome. Perhaps the concealment formation outside the mountain had not failed at the time, only gradually revealing itself as the years passed.

"Judging by this Daoist's attire, his status must have been high. He might even have been a great cultivator. Fellow Daoist Ghost Shadow, I'll leave the important task of looting the corpse to you. No problem, right?"

Qin Long smiled at Xiao Liang. He snorted, clearly understanding her meaning without needing words.

There were no other dangers in Earthfire Hall. They had not even found the expected formations or guardian puppets, so the most likely source of danger naturally lay with this unusual remnant shell.

It was hard to say what might happen if they disturbed the remains of someone who might have been a great cultivator.

But Xiao Liang had freeloaded his way into the hall, so he felt too embarrassed to refuse even this little risk.

Besides, he did not need to do it himself.

"Pandora!"

Without any psychological burden, Xiao Liang sent the physically powerful Flying Corpse, who possessed the ability to heal at super-fast speed, in first. He himself retreated a few steps and observed from the side with Qin Long.

Pandora stepped forward, grabbed the whisk, and gave it a light tug, intending to take it away. Yet she discovered that it seemed firmly attached to the Water-Fire Daoist Robe.

Pandora froze, tilting her head as she thought for a moment. Then she changed targets and tried to pull away the meditation cushion beneath the Daoist.

The cushion was no ordinary item either. Even after hundreds of years, it still emitted waves of clear spiritual aura. It seemed to have been woven from some rare spirit herb refined through a special process, perhaps a magical artifact beneficial to cultivation.

Yet Pandora could not drag away even the cushion.

This enraged the Flying Yaksha. A trace of ferocity appeared on her pretty face. One hand gripped the cushion, while her long leg beneath the black robe whipped out with explosive force, striking the ancient cultivator's remnant shell on the shoulder.

Xiao Liang wanted to stop her, but he did not even have time. He could only groan inwardly as he watched the ancient cultivator's remnant shell snap with a crack. Its dried-wood-like spine was most likely broken by that kick.

Then it was torn apart outright, and half its body was flung away.

The upper half, still wearing the Water-Fire Daoist Robe, spun twice through the air like a dandelion before landing right in front of Xiao Liang and Qin Long.

Perhaps it was merely psychological, but the dried face of the half-remnant shell faced upward, its mouth opened wider than before, as though it were venomously cursing the world.

"My sins, my sins. Senior, please do not take offense!"

For some reason, Xiao Liang shuddered as he stared at the remnant shell. He hurriedly drew a cross over his chest, then realized that was wrong and changed the gesture into a respectful bow.

Qin Long was startled as well. She glared at him irritably and patted her chest, seemingly about to say something.

However, at that moment, a sudden change occurred.

The eyes on the remnant shell's face abruptly flew open. Deep within its pupils, two clusters of ghostly green corpse-fire flared back to life, spraying terrifying sparks.

"Hehehe, the Blood Nightmare Technique. So you're one of Ten Thousand Demon Cavern's little demon brats. This ancestor won't blame you, so long as you offer up your fleshly body!"

The collection count has gone up a little. Someone must be reading it.

Heh, I'll write another chapter. I hope those reading can leave a comment and offer some ideas.

(End of Chapter)