News of the Ruins

At once, the cave abode was lit brilliantly by the spiritual radiance of the mountain of spirit stones.

A cursory glance revealed as many as three hundred thousand Low-Grade Spirit Stones, over five thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, and even more than a hundred extremely precious high-grade spirit stones.

Besides the spirit stones, there were vast quantities of demonic beast materials, all manner of sinister treasures belonging to evil cultivators, and dozens of spirit herbs that exuded rich blood energy.

"Is this... Blood Spirit Coral? And supreme-quality Blood Spirit Coral over a thousand years old, at that!"

Qin Chen's eyes lit up. From the pile of miscellaneous items, he picked up a piece of coral, translucent throughout, as though carved from red agate.

This was an excellent primary ingredient for refining high-tier body-tempering pills. To him, a practitioner of the Heavenly Cycle Star Body, its value was immeasurable.

After sorting and putting away the spirit stones and herbs, Qin Chen's gaze fell upon a jade box in the deepest recesses of the one-eyed elder's Storage Ring.

Three spirit-sealing talismans had actually been affixed to the jade box. Clearly, its contents were no trifling matter.

Qin Chen carefully peeled off the talismans and opened the jade box.

Inside lay an ancient bronze fragment and a dark red jade slip.

Qin Chen picked up the jade slip and extended his spiritual sense into it.

A moment later, his eyes snapped open, two sharp beams of light bursting from them.

"The cave abode where a Nascent Soul stage Paragon cultivator passed away?!"

The information recorded in the jade slip made Qin Chen's heart beat a little faster despite himself.

According to the jade slip, the owner of this cave abode was named Blood Sea Mad Saber, a mighty independent cultivator whose fearsome reputation had resounded throughout the Chaotic Star Sea eight hundred years ago. His cultivation had reached the Nascent Soul stage Paragon level, leaving him only one step away from the Soul Formation stage.

He had slaughtered countless people throughout his life and plundered the accumulated wealth of untold sects and clans. In the end, after failing to break through to the Soul Formation stage, he suffered a backlash from the Heavenly Dao and passed away in a great undersea rift deep within the Blood Reef Sea.

It was only through a chance encounter that the Three Blood Fiend Elders had obtained the jade slip recording the cave abode's location and the bronze fragment that served as the token to open it.

"No wonder those three old bastards went on a killing spree around the outskirts of the Blood Reef Sea, collecting living souls and blood essence."

Qin Chen sneered.

The jade slip mentioned that Blood Sea Mad Saber had laid an exceedingly vicious formation around his cave abode-the Nine Nether Blood Fiend Grand Formation. Anyone attempting to force their way through it would suffer its backlash and sustain serious injuries, even if they were a mid-Nascent Soul cultivator.

Because the Three Blood Fiend Elders knew nothing of formations, they had devised a crude method: gather a hundred thousand living souls and an enormous quantity of blood essence, then attempt to forcibly corrode the formation's foundations with these foul substances, opening a passage.

Qin Chen tightened his grip on the bronze fragment, his decision already made.

The lifetime collection of a Nascent Soul Paragon cultivator would certainly contain enormous quantities of supreme-grade spirit stones, ten-thousand-year-old spirit herbs, and perhaps even legendary rare treasures of heaven and earth.

For Qin Chen, who urgently needed vast resources to ignite the micro star-dust within his body, this was sweet rain after a long drought. He could not miss it, no matter what!

"Still, before I go, I must prepare for every eventuality. The cave abode of a Nascent Soul Paragon cultivator is certain to have danger lurking on every side. The slightest carelessness could mean death and the end of my cultivation path."

Qin Chen drew a deep breath, forcibly suppressed his excitement, and began making preparations in an orderly fashion.

The first step: artifact refining!

With a wave of Qin Chen's hand, a dark gold artifact-refining cauldron, its surface carved with nine lifelike divine dragons, landed in the center of the cave abode with a boom.

This was the Supreme-grade Spirit Artifact his system had returned to him-the Nine Dragon Cauldron.

"The horn and scales of that One-Horned Blackwater Python, along with the evil cultivators' treasures left behind by the Three Blood Fiend Elders, will be just right for refining a set of formation-breaking banners and a protective inner armor."

Qin Chen formed hand seals with both hands, then opened his mouth and spat out a mass of dark gold core flame.

Fused with the domineering dragon energy of the Primordial Ancestral Dragon Art, this core flame was frighteningly hot. The moment it appeared, the rocks inside the cave abode began showing signs of melting.

"Go!"

Qin Chen tossed all the One-Horned Blackwater Python materials and evil cultivators' treasures into the Nine Dragon Cauldron at once.

Under the dark gold core flame's fierce heat, the foul yin energy within those treasures instantly evaporated, leaving behind the purest metal essences.

The Blackwater Python's horn and scales were also refined into drops of ink-black liquid that radiated astonishing water spiritual power.

"Condense!"

Qin Chen's hands blurred into afterimages as intricate artifact-refining seals poured into the cauldron like a raging storm.

Three full days and nights passed.

When Qin Chen cast the final finishing seal, the Nine Dragon Cauldron's lid blasted into the air with a boom.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Thirty-six palm-sized, pitch-black formation banners, their surfaces inscribed with complex silver formation patterns, shot out and hovered before Qin Chen.

"Thirty-Six Heavenly Gang Barrier-Breaking Banners, complete!"

Qin Chen nodded in satisfaction.

Although this set of banners was only at the High-Grade Spiritual Artifact level, it specifically countered all kinds of trapping and killing formations, making it sufficient to tear open a safe passage through the Nine Nether Blood Fiend Grand Formation.

Immediately afterward, a dark gold suit of close-fitting inner armor, as thin as a cicada's wing, also flew out of the storage pouch.

The Blackwater Dragon Scale Armor.

Wearing it would be enough to withstand a full-power strike from an early Nascent Soul stage cultivator.

With artifact refining complete, next came the second step: pill refining!

Qin Chen put away the Nine Dragon Cauldron and replaced it with a small bronze cauldron specifically intended for pill refining.

He took out the thousand-year-old Blood Spirit Coral and all the dozens of rare spirit herbs seized from the Three Blood Fiend Elders.

"Exploring the ruins will inevitably involve fierce battles. I must prepare enough pills to restore true essence and blood vitality."

His gaze focused, Qin Chen placed the spirit herbs into the cauldron one by one in sequence.

Pill refining demanded even finer control of spiritual sense than artifact refining.

Like countless invisible tendrils, Qin Chen's spiritual sense precisely controlled every minute change in temperature within the cauldron, perfectly melding the medicinal properties of the different herbs.

Another two days and nights passed.

Hum-

The small bronze cauldron suddenly began trembling violently. An extraordinary fragrance, so rich it seemed almost tangible, wafted from within. Just a single breath of it made one's blood surge and filled the entire body with strength.

"Open!"

Qin Chen slapped the cauldron, and nine crimson pills the size of longan fruit, with faint blood-colored dragon silhouettes coiling over their surfaces, flew into the jade bottle he had prepared.

"Perfect-grade Blood Dragon Creation Pills!"

A smile curled Qin Chen's lips. These Blood Dragon Creation Pills could not only instantly replenish depleted blood vitality and true essence in a short time, but also unleash the body's latent potential at a critical moment, producing strength beyond its limits. They were absolutely a life-saving trump card.

Afterward, Qin Chen used the remaining materials to refine two batches of Clear Spirit Pills, which detoxified the body, cleared the mind, and sharpened vision, in case there was miasma or an illusion formation within the cave abode.

At this point, all his preparations were finally complete.

"Whew..."

Qin Chen let out a long breath of turbid air. After five consecutive days and nights of intensive artifact and pill refining, even with his formidable Heavenly Cycle Star Body, he felt a trace of fatigue.

He sat cross-legged, swallowed an ordinary recovery pill, and closed his eyes to regulate his breathing.

Half a day later, Qin Chen opened his eyes again. The fatigue in their depths had vanished completely, replaced by a keen light that seemed almost tangible.

His essence, energy, and spirit had all been brought to their absolute peak!