A Mortal’s Journey to Immortality: Wang Yu’s Rebirth as the Reincarnation Dao Ancestor - Chapter 78

Chapter 78 Cheating, Looting

“Why did the Lord of the Forbidden Land leave behind so much essence of metals?”

What kind of magic treasure would require so much magic treasure metals?

He couldn’t figure it out.

Following the principle that the largest is often the least valuable,

Han Li began to examine other items.

There was another small box.

Inside were three small jade slips placed together.

These were message jade slips.

They contained information that others wanted to convey.

Han Li probed them with his divine sense, quickly reading through them, and soon learned that the jade slips contained information related to the ancient demonic calamity and this blood-red forbidden land.

One jade slip recounted the demonic calamity that Tiannan had suffered and described the possible future development trends of Tiannan. Just as this jade slip predicted, the cultivation world of Tiannan had fallen into ruin.

In ancient times, there were more than seven Nascent Soul cultivators existing in Tiannan at the same time.

The Nascent Soul stage was as numerous as hairs on a cow.

This place was once one of the holy lands of cultivation in the human world; the current Fallen Demon Valley, the former Spirit Misty Garden, was even more famous than the Kunwu Immortal Mountain of the Great Jin Dynasty.

The so-called “South of the Sky” signifies the south of the heavens, a meaning far superior to that of the Great Jin Dynasty.

However, a demonic calamity destroyed a large portion of the Lingmiao Garden, severing numerous lineages and turning this sacred cultivation ground into the now-forbidden Demon Valley.

To suppress the boundless demonic energy of the Boundless Sea, the surviving Nascent Soul cultivators ruthlessly extracted pure spiritual energy from the spiritual veins of the South of the Sky to prevent the realm from becoming demonic. This further exacerbated the drastic deterioration of the cultivation environment.

The second jade slip primarily recounts the origins of the demonic path.

Initially, cultivation consisted of only four schools: Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and

Demonism. Later, the demonic path emerged.

It evolved during the demonic calamity, created by human cultivators seeking knowledge and alternative paths, and also fueled by the machinations of powerful figures in the demon realm.

The person who left the jade slip warned future generations that the demonic path could be cultivated, but not mastered; otherwise, one would ascend not to the Spirit Realm, but to the Demon Realm.

The third jade slip recounts the origins of the Crimson Forbidden Land.

This place was originally the Daoist temple of a rogue Nascent Soul cultivator.

However, that Nascent Soul cultivator suffered severe injuries during the Demonic Tribulation. To ensure the continuation of his lineage, to find a destined successor in future generations, and to allow future generations to witness the ancient environment and its potential to aid their future Nascent Soul cultivation, he sealed this place with a wind-attribute array in his final moments.

The spiritual herbs within the forbidden area will be known to those with the right affinity.

Many of the spiritual beasts within are ancient and exotic species, worthy of use.

He then explained the wondrous uses of the golden treasure chest and the golden token inside.

“Upon reaching the late Nascent Soul stage, one can use the token to control the outer array, easily defeating ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators? One can also use the token to penetrate the core area and receive the most essential inheritance? The restrictions there are even more ferocious; they can even kill ordinary mid-Nascent Soul cultivators?”

What a boastful tone!

But in ancient times, the lord of the forbidden area, possessing mid-Nascent Soul cultivation, certainly had the right to say such things.

Not to mention, he was also a master of array formations.

“No wonder Elder Tianfu suffered a crushing defeat.”

“No wonder the great cultivators of Tiannan throughout history, including those at the Nascent Soul stage and Xiang Zhili here, didn’t force their way in to seize the treasure.”

These people must have recognized the danger of this place.

Therefore, to delve into the core of the forbidden area and receive the inheritance, one needs the cultivation or strength of the late Nascent Soul stage, and also possess a golden token. Lacking any one of these, entering would be fraught with peril.

Taking out a beautifully carved, intricately patterned golden token from the third small box and holding it in his hand, Han Li felt a renewed sense of confidence in his future path.

…

Afterwards, there was another slightly larger box.

Inside were three pill bottles.

He wondered what kind of restrictions were placed on the pill bottles, as he couldn’t open them with his current cultivation level?!

This puzzled him greatly.

“The pills inside must be extremely precious, but unsuitable for my current level? To prevent future generations from wasting them, did that ancient predecessor set these restrictions?” Han Li stroked his chin thoughtfully: “Alright, I’ll try to open them after I reach Foundation Establishment.”

Following this was the fifth box, and the only jade box.

Opening the jade box, Han Li found three pages of a special material inside.

He barely tested them with his magic power, and felt a surge of energy being drained by the pages. Fortunately, he stopped in time, avoiding a major mishap.

“What are these?”

“Could they be something like the golden pages of the Xuanjian Sect’s inheritance?”

Putting down the pages and closing the jade box, his gaze fell on the sixth box.

Inside were dozens of slips of paper, a picture book, and a thick book.

Initially, Han Li didn’t pay much attention to the slips, perhaps because he had already received enough surprises today. But soon, his breath caught in his throat. These slips of paper were actually ancient pill formulas, recording the methods for refining various ancient pills.

Most importantly, the ancient herbs mentioned in these formulas could all be found within the Crimson Forbidden Land.

And they had everything.

Foundation Establishment stage and Core Formation stage herbs were all available!

As for the picture book in the box…

It was the most complete map of the Forbidden Land from ancient times, containing the distribution locations of various spiritual flowers and herbs.

The thick book was an illustrated guide to various ancient spiritual herbs of the Forbidden Land, as well as a collection of introductions to many ancient elixirs. It even included information about various ancient spiritual herbs from the former Spirit Misty Garden.

“So that’s how it is, so that’s how it is…”

The Lord of the Forbidden Land had created such a vast central area; it had this hidden meaning.

This was paving the way for future generations with the right destiny…

For a moment, Han Li, clutching the elixir formulas, was stunned.

…

The seventh box.

Inside was a rare treasure.

To be precise, an ancient treasure.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t use it now.

The eighth box contained several rare wind-attribute spiritual materials, which could be used to forge top-tier wind-attribute magic weapons. In his knowledge, each one was priceless. It definitely shouldn’t be in the hands of a mere Qi Refining stage cultivator like him.

“Are these all magic weapon materials specially prepared for their successors?”

“How generous!”

The Lord of the Forbidden Land was indeed not a stingy person.

Or perhaps, the cultivation resources in ancient times were far more abundant than in this era.

…

“Now, it’s time to witness a miracle.”

Han Li emptied the golden treasure chest, then placed all the spiritual herbs and medicines he had inside. There weren’t many herbs, and they weren’t large, so they took up very little space.

Done.

He closed the treasure chest.

As the chest closed, a golden light spontaneously flowed across its surface, forming a golden halo that isolated the inside from the outside.

“Little thing, come out and sniff around.”

The Spirit-Sniffing Rat was summoned from its spirit beast pouch.

It was only a foot away from the golden treasure chest, but after sniffing for a long time, the little thing didn’t find anything.

“The treasure chest itself can isolate the internal and external energy? That makes sense. This thing was left behind by the Lord of the Forbidden Land, specifically for sneaking through the outer wind-attribute array. If it can’t even bypass the sense of smell of a spirit-sniffing rat, how can it bypass the detection of the Forbidden Land’s array?”

“This saves me from having to rely too much on the silk handkerchief fragment.”

The golden treasure chest can isolate the internal and external energy, preserving the items inside, and is undetectable by external divine sense. It has maintained its effect for tens of thousands of years, from ancient times to the present. Even the divine sense of a Nascent Soul stage cultivator cannot detect it; it can only be seen with the n*ked eye.

But unfortunately, the silk handkerchief fragment is specifically designed to conceal traces, making it undetectable by either the n*ked eye or divine sense.

Thus:

the over ten-foot-long treasure chest contains spirit herbs, responsible for masking their fragrance.

The storage bag contains the treasure chest, solving the space problem.

The silk handkerchief fragment hides the storage bag, making it invisible to others.

The three work together, multiple layers of insurance, a perfect “cheating.”

He doesn’t even know how much he can hide this time!

With a newfound confidence, Han Li looked forward to his future gains even more.

He placed the golden treasure chest into his storage bag, then concealed the bag with a fragment of a silk magic artifact before tucking it into his robes.

The flat storage bag didn’t bulge his clothes.

…

Night fell.

The forbidden area grew much darker.

Many green eyes darted about in the forest.

Han Li rested overnight, and the next day, feeling refreshed, he checked on the Ink Dragon’s condition.

Little Six’s injuries had healed, but its severed tail wouldn’t grow back. It was fortunate that it hadn’t been strangled by the vanished passage and had only lost half its tail.

“Little Six, how are you feeling?”

Han Li initiated a conversation with the Ink Dragon.

“Woo woo woo…”

Master, my lovely tail.

The Ink Dragon’s large eyes were filled with tears.

“Huh? Your hind legs…”

At this moment, the two protrusions on the Ink Dragon’s lower abdomen had sprouted two small claws.

Originally, the spiritual power accumulated by the black dragon itself was insufficient for such a perfect evolution upon transformation. It would only grow its hind legs when it truly advanced to level 3. However, Han Li invested a Foundation Establishment Pill and a large number of low-grade pills, especially the Foundation Establishment Pill, which played a crucial role. A round of Yi Jing cleansing and marrow transformation actively facilitated the early formation of its hind legs, making the black dragon’s transformation process easier and more perfect.

“Woo woo…”

The black dragon affectionately rubbed against Han Li.

“Heh, look at your spirit, not bad at all. Alright, let’s take you to find some demonic beasts to vent your anger.”

Unfolding the newly enhanced map, based on the routes planned last night, Han Li locked onto the inner fifty miles of the forbidden area’s central region.

The demonic beast nests or stone halls there grew higher-quality forbidden area spiritual herbs. Correspondingly, they were guarded by top-tier level 1 or even level 2 demonic beasts.

If it were just his previous team, he wouldn’t have taken the risk.

But now it’s different.

Beneath his feet, the Ink Dragon flew low.

Beside him, the Jade Mantis flapped its wings in accompaniment.

High in the sky, the Howling Eagle issued a warning.

On the ground, the Ice-Fire Wolf and the Ganglibo chased after him at full speed.

“Awoo…” The Ice-Fire Wolf on the ground let out a long howl, full of momentum. “

Awoo…” The Ink Dragon in mid-air also let out a howl, but the tone was a little strange. As soon as the sound came out, the small demon beasts in the surrounding mountains and forests trembled in fear. Who dared to show their faces?

Ice-Fire Wolf: “Awoo awoo…”

Ink Dragon: “Awoo awoo…”

On the third day after the forbidden area opened, the harvest began.

Inside a stone house, the Ink Dragon squeezed through the door.

Behind the door, several high-level fire wolf spiders the size of washbasins and a top-level fire wolf spider almost the size of a millstone felt the momentum that was approaching and was close to that of a level 3 demon beast. They immediately shrank into the corner and handed over the small herb garden they were guarding.

After Han Li took four mature spiritual herbs, he left.

He didn’t touch the few docile fire spiders, leaving the family to continue guarding the herb garden.

In an underground cavern, guarded by two top-tier level 1 black-scaled pythons, when the black dragon arrived, the two snaked up as if paying homage to their new king.

However, upon seeing Han Li behind the black dragon, they were filled with murderous intent and launched an attack.

Then,

the two living ones became two dead.

The black dragon tore them into several pieces in a few swift movements, one claw at each.

It was truly impossible to tell who the king and queen were.

In this underground cavern, he dug up six mature spiritual herbs and took an ancient wooden box from a pavilion.

Compared to the golden treasure chest, the contents of the wooden box were trash.

They were really just some small items suitable for the Qi Refining stage.

For example, materials for forging top-tier magic weapons.

There were also some second- or third-rate ancient cultivation manuals.

Of course,

for Han Li, the contents of the wooden box were insignificant. But for most other Qi Refining stage cultivators, this wooden box was still a treasure chest. The contents of the treasure chest could easily fetch two or three thousand spirit stones if sold. Three sets of top-tier materials were enough to forge three exquisite or even rare top-tier magic artifacts.

Another underground stone palace.

Flames soared into the sky.

A group of fire lizards frolicked by a lava lake.

Because of the array formation here, the area maintains a consistently high temperature, and the magma has never dried up or cooled. Within the magma grows a vast expanse of lotus leaves. Among them are over thirty buds about to bloom, twelve already open, ten red, and two turning from red to orange, very close to orange.

These lotuses are a very famous type of Flame Lotus from ancient times.

Lotuses over three hundred years old will bloom, their petals a deep crimson, and can be used as the main ingredient in two superior Foundation Establishment stage pills. They can also be used as an auxiliary ingredient in over ten other types of pills.

Flame Lotuses over a thousand years old have petals that turn from red to orange, and their medicinal power is even more astonishing, suitable for refining various pills for the Core Formation stage.

Flame Lotuses over ten thousand years old have petals that are orange-gold, and can be used to refine a miraculous pill that is highly beneficial to practitioners of fire-based techniques.

“Two Flame Lotuses nearly a thousand years old, ten Flame Lotuses over three hundred years old…”

Han Li cracked his knuckles.

“Moreover, the lotus root of the Flame Lotus is also a spiritual material that aids in body refinement, enhancing a cultivator’s physical resistance to flames.” Lotus root is indeed a valuable resource.

Furthermore,

lotus seeds aged over a hundred years are equally precious.

“If I can gather enough auxiliary ingredients, I can refine the ancient Lotus Heart Pill.”

“One Lotus Heart Pill can save a Foundation Establishment cultivator a year’s worth of arduous cultivation.”

Directly consuming a hundred-year-old lotus seed can similarly save three to five years of arduous cultivation.

Therefore, he came.

“As long as I can collect enough lotus seeds, or refine dozens of Lotus Heart Pills, reaching the third stage of the Refined Yuan Realm is not difficult at all.”

This reminded him of Bu Xu, the dual-spiritual-root cultivator in the Chaotic Star Sea who luckily consumed an “Ancient Yuan-Dividing Pill,” thus gaining a “hundred-year-old cultivation power.”

One of the auxiliary ingredients for refining the Yuan-Dividing Pill was the lotus seed of a thousand-year-old Flame Lotus.

Unfortunately, considering the timeline, the other party had already consumed the Yuan-Dividing Pill for many years and would likely have become a Core Formation cultivator by now.

Within this underground lava lake, only one lotus pod, devoid of petals, contained lotus seeds. This pod was located at the very center of the flaming lotus field.

It held seven lotus seeds of

varying colors .

As for the guards?

A group of fire lizards.

“There are actually such powerful individual beasts appearing in large numbers within this forbidden area? No wonder they can guard such a treasure trove and such spiritual herbs.”

The fire lizards were quite numerous; over fifty were visible, making it a sizable group.

Among them were two level 2 and thirteen top-tier level 1 beasts.

They were not easy to deal with.

“Little Six, let’s lure them out…”

For such a powerful group of beasts, a direct assault would likely result in heavy losses. Therefore, Han Li decided to lure them out one by one or in small groups, first weakening the fire lizard group’s strength.

Once they had completely overwhelmed their opponents, they could then decisively defeat them.

And so,

the Ice-Fire Wolves appeared first.

With elegant steps, he entered the room, then unleashed a breath of icy cold air at several sleeping fire lizard sentinels by the lava pool.

The high-ranking fire lizards, sound asleep, were immediately awakened.

Upon seeing the Ice-Fire Wolf,

they flew into a rage. How dare it tease them with ice?

The next instant,

six fire lizards charged forward menacingly, including one top-tier level 1 fire lizard.

The Ice-Fire Wolf said nothing, turned, and fled.

After rushing out of the stone hall’s main gate, it circled around to the back of the hall.

While the fire lizards weren’t particularly fast, they could barely keep up with the Ice-Fire Wolf, who was holding back.

Then

, upon seeing the Ink Dragon, the arriving fire lizards’ legs went weak. Not one of them managed to escape. All of them had their limbs broken and were imbued with mind-stabilizing talismans.

Afterward, they were all packed up

and stuffed into an empty spirit beast bag.

These were excellent materials for crafting “lizard puppets” in the future.

“Continue.”

Han Li gave the order to the Icefire Wolf.

It could only be said that the Icefire Wolf’s icy breath was too conspicuous, too easily provoking the fire lizards’ anger. If they had simply greeted it with fire, it wouldn’t have caused such a commotion; the fire lizards might even have welcomed the Icefire Wolf to their table.

Subsequently, this happened several times, until the fire lizards themselves realized something was wrong, noticing that too many of their companions were missing, even seven top-tier level 1 individuals were gone, before they stopped making any rash moves.

Monsters also possess intelligence.

Even if their intelligence isn’t high, they

still understand some principles.

“Useless?”

Han Li looked at the Icefire Wolf, which had failed the first time.

The Icefire Wolf rolled on the ground, revealing its fluffy white belly.

It was truly out of options.

“Alright, this time don’t attack the fire lizards. Try using your icy breath to attack one of the Flame Lotuses. The kind of red lotus in lava pools, understand? By the way, be careful not to actually hurt the Flame Lotus.” Han Li began to advise.

The effect was immediate.

It was like stabbing the fire lizards in the backside; they immediately erupted in chaos.

“Roar…”

“Roar…”

A swarm of fire lizards chased after them.

Even a level 2 fire lizard, over three zhang long, joined the pursuit.

Seeing this, Han Li didn’t act rashly. Looking at the several top-tier and upper-tier fire lizards accompanying them, he summoned all his spirit beasts and hid, sending a telepathic message to the black dragon in his spirit beast pouch, telling it to remain calm:

“Don’t rush, stay calm, time is on our side.”

He only reappeared after the fire lizards retreated. Afterwards, he sent the Icefire Wolf   to provoke the fire lizards

, using its speed and agility to annoy them. This continued   until the level 2 fire lizards stopped appearing, and the chasing top-tier and upper-tier fire lizards were defeated and captured alive; until a level 2 fire lizard appeared with only three level 1 fire lizards, he finally sent the black dragon, Xiao Liu, to fight it.   It was time for a showdown:   ”Charge…”   He dealt with the three level 1 fire lizards, along with the Jade Mantis, Ice-Fire Wolf, and Ganglizard Boar, not letting any escape. He didn’t want to attract new ones and ruin the excellent situation.   The Ink Dragon, on the other hand, fought the level 2 fire lizard one-on-one.   Both were level 2.   However, in terms of bloodline, the fire lizard was definitely inferior to the Ink Dragon. Physically, the three-zhang fire lizard was completely suppressed by the six-zhang Ink Dragon. Most importantly, their attributes were water and fire respectively, and the fire lizard’s fire was completely countered by the Ink Dragon’s water.   This was the most direct advantage.   During this time, the fire lizard unleashed a powerful attack, spewing out a pillar of flame from its innate spell.   The Ink Dragon responded with a pillar of water.   The flames quickly died down, but the water pillar continued to rage, its powerful attack drenching the fire lizard from head to toe, extinguishing its spontaneously combusting flames and leaving it feeling extremely cold.   Excellent puppet material +1.   From this point on, the overall strength of the underground lava lake was slightly inferior to that of his side.   However, considering the shifting environmental factors, he still tried to lure out the other level 2 fire lizard. No matter how precious time was, he didn’t want to be caught off guard.   Initially, unsurprisingly, it didn’t work.   The fire lizards remained still, no longer acting rashly.   It wasn’t until he had the hyena boar act tough, dragging the level 2 fire lizard, which was like a dead dog but still breathing but barely alive, appear, wander around near the entrance of the lava lake, and then run away, that the fire lizard horde was enraged, luring out all the remaining fire lizards from the lava lake.   A dozen or so charged out aggressively.   The scene was quite intimidating.   Without the Black Dragon’s protection, Han Li wouldn’t have dared to provoke them even if he had ten times the courage.   But with the Black Dragon, the situation reversed.   When the fire lizards surged out of the stone palace gate, the Black Dragon Xiao Liu descended from the sky, stepping on its protective black clouds, and landed at the entrance of the stone palace, blocking the fire lizards’ way home.   The next battle was inevitably brutal.   ”Give me back my home…” one of the fire lizards cried out, something like that, before charging towards the black dragon despite the pressure.   ”I want to go home…” another fire lizard seemed to be saying, also charging towards the black dragon.   They were like a group of fearless warriors.   Unfortunately, under Xiao Liu’s iron claws, weakness was a cardinal sin.   A dozen fire lizards were quickly crippled.   The level 2 fire lizard, without the buff from the lava lake, was no match for Xiao Liu. Its protective fire cloud, unable to be replenished, dissipated quickly, unlike Xiao Liu, who, thanks to the recovery pills provided by Han Li, continuously generated a protective black cloud, maintaining its condition.   This ebb and flow meant that a prolonged battle would inevitably become a death trap.   The four top-tier level 1 fire lizards could offer some help, but the effect was minimal. It could only barely deplete a little of the protective dark cloud of the sixth-ranking black dragon, ultimately failing to significantly weaken its defenses for their level 2 fire lizard patriarch.   The battle ended, and the sixth dragon had fought to its heart’s content, releasing all its pent-up energy.   Han Li, however, was somewhat troubled.   The battle had consumed nearly a third of his mana-restoring pills.   In other words,   this level of combat should be avoided in the future.   ”There should be a better way.”   For example, blocking the gate before the fire lizard horde rushed out, temporarily dividing the horde in two.   This would reduce the pressure on the black dragon,   allowing for better control over its pill consumption.   ”Still lacking practical experience…”   Although he had done a decent job   , Han Li felt it wasn’t refined enough.   After all, every spirit stone he possessed wasn’t easily obtained.   He needed to conserve resources.   While increasing his income, he also needed to be mindful of cost-cutting.   …   Entering the underground lava lake.   Standing on the shore.   A wave of heat hit, and Han Li was drenched in sweat: “It’s so hot.”   Even the sixth-generation Ink Dragon hated this environment and felt very uncomfortable.   ”Bear with it, just in case there are still fire lizards lurking.”

He, a fragile human, couldn’t withstand the attacks of those level 1 top-tier or even level 2 fire lizards.

In short, he only felt a little more at ease with Xiao Liu by his side.

“Let’s go, Cai Lian.”

The Icefire Wolf, upon receiving the order, transformed from its fiery red flame form into a bluish-green ice form.

The release of icy blue energy made Han Li and the Ink Dragon feel incredibly comfortable.

The icy breath exhaled, and a patch of ice, about ten feet long and wide, quickly condensed on the surface of the lava lake.

However, it showed signs of melting.

Forcibly creating an ice passage was impractical

, given the distance of several dozen feet.

Condensing an ice passage in the lava environment would likely exhaust the Icefire Wolf.

Therefore, he decided to fly.

He took out two low-level high-grade flying talismans, one for the Icefire Wolf and the other for himself. In this way, during the time the flying talismans were active, he and the Icefire Wolf would possess the flight abilities of Foundation Establishment cultivators.

After using the flying talisman, he deliberately took out a Foundation Establishment Pill and waved it in front of the Icefire Wolf, while also making a promise:

“Little Three, you’d better work hard, work diligently, work desperately, and only if you achieve results will I reward you with one.”

Seeing this, the Icefire Wolf licked its fangs repeatedly.

After a howl, the chill emanating from its body intensified.

Han Li was very satisfied.

A short while later,

he obtained ten red-petaled Flame Lotuses and two nearly orange Flame Lotuses.

He didn’t pick the lotus pods without petals, but kept them. He only picked five of the seven lotus seeds inside.

The seven lotus seeds were of different colors.

Two were green, these were lotus seeds less than a hundred years old, and picking them was pointless.

Three were light red, these three were over a hundred years old. They could be used to refine ordinary Lotus Heart Pills.

The other two were dark red, like two drops of fresh blood. These two medicinal pills are at least three hundred years old and can be used to try refining superior Lotus Heart Pills, which should greatly improve their effects.

“Should we go down into the lava lake to dig for lotus roots?”

His divine sense probed, but it was difficult to penetrate deep enough. The initial exploration by the black dragon showed that it was at least twenty feet deep.

Therefore, after thinking about it, he finally shook his head.

He didn’t have any treasures that could resist lava. His

only water-attribute intermediate-level defensive talisman was also difficult to use to go deeper, and he didn’t want to risk his life.

The black dragon could withstand the lava, but was he going to remotely control the black dragon to learn how to dig for lotus roots?

“What a pity.”

“Never mind.”

He had gained so many benefits here, it was time to stop.

However, at this moment, the Spirit-Sniffing Rat crawled out of a spirit beast pouch in his arms and poked its little head out.

After sniffing its nose, it excitedly stretched out its little paws and pointed to the area further inside the lava lake: “Squeak, squeak…”

“What’s wrong?”

Although Han Li was confused, seeing the Spirit-Sniffing Rat’s agitation, he actually had some guesses in his heart.

He looked closely.

There stood a natural boulder.

It seemed to be blocking something.

As he flew higher and closer, he immediately saw a clearing behind the boulder further inside the lava lake, and on that clearing stood a stone pavilion. Previously, due to the angle and air distortion, he hadn’t noticed the pavilion behind the boulder. Now, because he was flying and closer, he could see it clearly.

Inside the pavilion, there was a faint, shimmering light, as if a glowing box existed.

Outside the pavilion, some flowers and plants grew.

“A treasure chest, spirit herbs?”

Was there something else to be found here?

Han Li’s spirits immediately lifted.

When he landed,

the Ice-Fire Wolf and the Black Dragon were both blocked by an invisible, transparent spiritual energy barrier. But he, the human cultivator, passed through the invisible, colorless barrier without any hindrance.

“Huh? Is this a barrier specifically designed to prevent demonic beasts from approaching?” The Black Dragon,

Xiao Liu, was somewhat uneasy outside.

The Ice-Fire Wolf was also a little anxious.

Han Li casually stepped out of the protective barrier, flew into the air, and reassured the two beasts, “It’s alright, it’s alright, I can come in and out.”

After re-entering, he ignored the unfamiliar spiritual herbs and opened the treasure chest. Inside, besides a communication jade slip and a thin book, it was empty.

After examining the jade slip, he understood what had happened.

It turned out that long ago, a top-tier expert from the human realm had taken advantage of the weakened state of the forbidden area’s array to enter, harvest the only ten-thousand-year-old lotus seed, and take the contents of this treasure chest. Taking everything without leaving, plundering every last drop, and stealing every last feather were not the style of cultivators of that era. Therefore, that senior casually tossed some seeds of spiritual flowers and herbs suitable for growing in this environment outside the stone pavilion and set up a defensive barrier. Only human cultivators were allowed to enter; demonic beasts were forbidden.

If the seeds could take root and sprout, it would be a blessing for future generations.

If the spiritual herbs couldn’t grow, the senior expert said he had done what he could and couldn’t have predicted everything.

Fortunately, most of the seeds sprouted and grew into spiritual herbs.

And because of the barrier, the forbidden area’s demonic beasts didn’t ruin them.

The information about the spiritual herbs was all recorded in that thin book, along with a pill formula.

“Fire Source Pill? A superior spiritual pill that helps Core Formation cultivators increase their magical power?”

Then, he began to carefully observe the spiritual herbs outside the pavilion, and immediately gasped.

“Ten thousand, ten thousand, ten thousand… ten thousand years of spiritual herbs?”

Thirteen ten-thousand-year-old spiritual herbs?

That senior expert, what era are you from? Are you serious?

Han Li was utterly filled with admiration for their noble character.

Inside the tower in the core area of the forbidden area, a skeleton said: You’re welcome, it’s my pleasure.

o(╥﹏╥)o

Thirty thousand years.

Thirty thousand years!

Someone please collect his corpse, thank you.

After releasing some high-tier and a few top-tier level 1 fire lizards back to his lava lake home, Han Li turned and left

.

What’s it like to possess a ten-thousand-year-old spiritual herb that can make even Core Formation and Nascent Soul cultivators furious?

The original owner of this body, with the dark green bottle in the original timeline, had experienced it firsthand and had long since become indifferent to it.

He could remain calm and composed.

But Han Li couldn’t stay calm at all.

Right now, he felt like everyone was about to snatch it from him.

“Sigh…”

“Sigh…”

“Sigh…!”

Who understands this feeling of being both happy and troubled?

Once the ten-thousand-year-old spiritual herb on his body was exposed, he felt like he wouldn’t have enough lives to survive.

Okay, let alone the ten-thousand-year-old spiritual herb, even if those Flame Lotuses were exposed, it would be enough to attract the attention of Core Formation experts from the sect several times.

Should he stop here?

After thinking for a while, he felt that he should “keep up the good work” or even “go all out”!

“If I can find a ten-thousand-year-old spiritual herb, what’s wrong with finding some spiritual herbs and medicines that can help Foundation Establishment and even Core Formation cultivators improve their cultivation?”

After reading some information in the golden treasure chest, he learned a lot about the potential operating rules of the forbidden area.

Within the forbidden area, there are no high-level demonic beasts above level 4.

Even level 4 demonic beasts are rarely seen.

If a demonic beast above level 4 appears, it will be forcibly teleported to a certain dimensional space by the special sensing array that periodically scans the forbidden area. It’s similar to the mechanism of the Void Heaven Palace.

This is why there are no traces of high-level demonic beasts here.

Otherwise, the spiritual herbs in the forbidden area would have long since nurtured high-level demonic beasts; why would low-level human cultivators need to come in every five years to collect herbs?

In other words, the Ink Dragon, although only level 2, possesses strength comparable to a level 3 demonic beast, making it the near ceiling of individual combat power among the demonic beasts in the forbidden area.

As long as it avoids provoking the level 3 demonic beasts and individuals with strength comparable to level 4 demonic beasts within a twenty-mile radius of the core area, and avoids provoking the large and individually powerful demonic beast groups, it can roam freely and take whatever it wants.

Its main strategy is “bullying the weak and fearing the strong.”

…

On the third day in the forbidden area, over a hundred spiritual herbs over a hundred years old and thirteen ten-thousand-year-old spiritual herbs were collected.

On the fourth day in the forbidden area, he harvested over a hundred century-old spiritual herbs and was fortunate enough to obtain a millennium-old spiritual fruit—a millennium-

old spiritual fruit snatched from the jaws of three level-2 demonic beasts. In the first three hours of the fifth day, he harvested dozens more century-old spiritual herbs. During this time, on a towering peak, he repelled a flock of demonic birds and obtained three ice lotuses at least eight hundred years old.

Unfortunately, time was running out.

Less than three days was too rushed.

In about three days, he explored the inner fifty-mile radius of the central ring mountain range, discovering over eighty basins, stone palaces, stone houses, underground caves, and more, as well as two towering peaks and over thirty mountains several hundred feet high. He gained some or less from each.

However, this exploration efficiency didn’t even cover a quarter of the inner fifty-mile radius of the central area.

For the remaining two or three hours, he didn’t continue his exploration but withdrew from the central area, retreating to the outer perimeter to find a place to hide.

This time, he truly knew when to stop and quit while he was ahead.

However…

He wanted to lie low and avoid the final turmoil.

But some people might not do as he wished.

In the central area, in the basin stone hall where the Ink Dragon had once resided, a beam of azure light suddenly burst forth from the once empty corner of the basin.

The azure light shot out, soaring dozens of feet high before dissipating.

In its place, a gap appeared.

Looking down through the gap, in the darkness, four or five feet below, four figures were panting heavily as they used their respective tools to break through layers of rock walls.

The four were covered in dust and grime.

Their white clothes were now stained gray.

Once pristine and elegant, they were now disheveled and wretched.

These people were undoubtedly the survivors of the Hidden Moon Sect.

(End of Chapter)