Deep in the treasury, the chaos continued to spread.
Most of the cultivators who had broken in did not linger in the outer corridors.
Everyone knew the truly valuable treasures were hidden in the chambers at the treasury's heart.
They smashed through the guards along the way and raced toward the depths, each desperate to get there first.
Among them, one figure moved far faster than the rest.
The man's movements were elusive, his aura shifting several times. He avoided every head-on fight and advanced without obstruction.
He was Wei Ming, a disciple of the Heaven-Stealing Sect and the mastermind behind the assault on the Qian Treasury.
The instant the outer formation cracked, he had rushed inside and made straight for the innermost chamber.
He was more desperate than anyone.
He had not come for the scattered spirit stones and Gu materials inside the treasury.
His target was the Golden Money Gu Spiritual Molt, a treasure the Qian Household had recently placed in its deepest chamber.
The Golden Money Gu was the core Gu that safeguarded the Qian Clan.
It could neither attack nor defend.
The Qian Household kept its cultivation method and growth path under such tight wraps that not a scrap of information had leaked out.
Outsiders knew only one crucial fact.
Every so often, the Golden Money Gu shed a layer of Spiritual Molt.
That molt had an exceptionally rare, all-purpose support effect. Added during pill refining, it improved the yield of finished pills.
Incorporated during artifact refining, it strengthened the foundations of weapons and Gu artifacts.
When a cultivator reached a bottleneck, refining the molt could also calm their mind and lessen the backlash of a breakthrough.
One material, countless uses. It suited every aspect of cultivation.
It was a treasure as versatile as a cure-all