Chương 33: Chapter 34: The Treasure Within the Stone Wall

"Fellow Daoists, these two puppets possess strength comparable to cultivators at the Early Foundation Establishment stage," Chu Dian warned, his voice low and gravelly. His countenance had hardened into a mask of grim determination, radiating a palpable, sharp killing intent.

"Though they lack the finesse of spells, they are unfeeling husks of stone and mechanism—fearless and incapable of pain. They are incredibly troublesome to deal with. We five must hold nothing back. We must dismantle these constructs immediately, lest any further complications arise."

"Strike!" As the command left his lips, Chu Dian reached into his storage bag and withdrew a massive greatsword, nearly half a meter wide. With a sharp flick of his fingers, he formed a complex hand seal and swung the blade downward with crushing force. The heavy steel erupted in a blinding auric radiance, unleashing a half-meter-wide crescent of golden sword-qi that whistled through the air toward the two automatons. Beside him, Wu Shengli's expression was one of intense focus.

In his hand appeared a narrow, elongated flying sword, no wider than two fingers and as thin as a transparent cicada's wing.

"Go!" he hissed. With a sharp cry, the thin blade transformed into a streak of silver light, darting forward like a vengeful spirit. Meanwhile, the Di brothers, who practiced identical cultivation techniques, struck in unison. They executed a combined-strike art, weaving their spiritual energies together into a surging wave of power that was not to be underestimated. Reyn's eyes flickered with a cold light. A sudden, powerful aura erupted from his frame.

With a casual wave of his hand, dozens of crimson fireballs materialized in the air before him. They aligned themselves in a dense, rapid-fire chain, radiating a blistering heat that caused the very air in the corridor to warp and shimmer. The sheer intensity of the temperature immediately drew every eye in the room. Chu Dian and the others felt their pupils contract sharply. A wave of silent shock washed over them as they reassessed Reyn's hidden depth. Boom! Boom! Boom!

The Fireball Technique was a foundational spell of the Xuanxiao Sect, a basic art that any disciple could learn within the Library of Scriptures. However, in Reyn's hands, this simple spell carried a destructive force that rivaled high-tier, specialized battle techniques. While the combined assaults of Chu Dian and the others managed to chip away at the puppets' stone carapaces, their impact paled in comparison to Reyn's explosive barrage.

The two puppets let out a mechanical, guttural roar, their artificial hatred immediately locking onto the most significant threat: Reyn.

"Fellow Daoists, move ahead!" Reyn shouted over the roar of the flames, his aura surging even higher. His fingers danced through more seals, conjuring another several dozen fireballs that surged toward the puppets like a tide of lava.

"I will hold them here and keep them occupied!" Chu Dian and the others were momentarily stunned, their eyes reflecting a mix of surprise and relief. Chu Dian's voice, however, was filled with a veneer of sincere gratitude.

"Daoist Shu Yun, you only need to distract them for a moment. Do not engage them in a test of brute strength! We shall go ahead! Rest assured, if we find any treasures, we will certainly reserve a portion for you!" With those words, the group exchanged a quick glance and, without a shred of hesitation, bolted deeper into the corridor. As the Di brothers passed, they cast a strange, almost pitying look at Reyn.

In their minds, they mocked him; though his cultivation was formidable, he lacked the cunning necessary for survival. They assumed that even if he managed to destroy the puppets, he would be so grievously wounded that he would be forced to withdraw from the treasure hunt entirely. Once his Divine Sense confirmed that the group had moved a significant distance away, the facade of intensity vanished from Reyn's face.

He blurred backward several yards, his hand sweeping over his storage bag to produce a thick stack of talismans, which he hurled forward in a single motion. Boom! A hundred fireballs manifested simultaneously. Though each individual sphere was weak, the cumulative effect of a hundred-fold explosion was a cataclysm. Even a Foundation Establishment puppet could not emerge unscathed from such a concentrated blast. As the dust kicked up, Reyn's eyes gleamed with a calculating light.

He reached back into his bag and withdrew a stack of pale blue talismans. Whoosh! A sudden, frigid chill permeated the tunnel. Dozens of water spheres, radiating a bone-chilling frost, condensed and surged into the wake of the fire. Crash! Sizzle! Crack! The puppets' eyes flashed with frantic red light as they crossed their stone greatswords in a defensive posture. However, the hundred fireballs had already scorched their bodies to a glowing, molten red.

Just as the stone reached its peak temperature, the water spheres slammed into them. The instantaneous transition from extreme heat to biting cold shattered the structural integrity of the stone bodies. Spiderweb fractures raced across their limbs with the sound of breaking glass. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"Die!" Reyn's voice was cold. He swept his hand through the air, manifesting two massive blades of pure spiritual energy that swung in a horizontal arc. CRACK! The puppets, rendered brittle by the thermal shock, offered no resistance. They disintegrated into a pile of shattered rubble, the red light in their ocular orbs flickering once before fading into darkness. Reyn nodded in satisfaction.

The idea to follow the fire talismans with water had been a sudden inspiration, and the results were better than he had anticipated. He stepped over the debris, using a blade of qi to crack open the puppets' heads. Inside, he found two fist-sized stones emitting a soft, ethereal glow.

"Could these be... High-grade Spirit Stones?" Reyn's eyes brightened. To power a puppet capable of fighting a Golden Core cultivator (in its prime), nothing less than High-grade Spirit Stones would suffice. Though these two had been largely depleted over the eons, their residual value still far eclipsed that of Mid-grade stones. He carefully placed them into a jade box and stowed them away. After a thorough search of the rubble to ensure nothing else remained, he sat cross-legged on the floor.

He swallowed two Peiyuan Pills and closed his eyes to meditate. In this ancient abode, maintaining his spiritual energy at its peak was his only guarantee of survival. Half an hour later, the medicinal power had been fully refined. Reyn opened his eyes, a faint, sharp light glinting within them. He was back to his peak state, his spiritual energy feeling even more condensed than before. Standing up, he approached the skeleton of the Golden Core cultivator.

After a moment of silent observation, he withdrew a Spirit Tool he had recently acquired, infused it with energy, and began to dig into a specific section of the stone wall. To his delight, while the wall looked identical to the rest, the texture here was significantly softer. After fifteen minutes of digging, his tool struck something with a different resistance. He reached into the cavity and pulled out a hidden storage bag. Scanning the contents with his Divine Sense, a smirk touched Reyn's lips.

Over three hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones, twenty thousand Low-grade stones, one Top-grade Spirit Tool, and two High-grade ones. There were also a dozen or so Mid and Low-grade tools. However, there were no pills or talismans left. Reyn surmised that the senior must have exhausted his consumables in a desperate, final stand against the puppets. He searched the bag once more, finding only a few unidentified crafting materials.

"Where is it?" Reyn muttered, a hint of confusion crossing his face. He stowed the bag and resumed digging deeper into the hole. Clink! Clink! The sound of metal on stone echoed through the silent tunnel. The inner walls were made of an incredibly resilient material; even with his spiritual energy reinforcing the tool, the progress was agonizingly slow.

"Could someone have taken it already?" he wondered, his expression darkening. Ping! A sharp, metallic ring echoed. Reyn's face transformed with joy, and his movements accelerated. Half an hour later, he pulled out several fragments of a shattered, silver small-sword. He looked at the broken pieces with profound satisfaction. At the Qi Condensation stage, one used Spirit Tools. At Foundation Establishment, one used High or Top-grade Spirit Tools. But at the Golden Core stage, one wielded Magic Treasures!

A Magic Treasure was an existence on an entirely different plane. Even a low-level Magic Treasure possessed power far beyond the finest Spirit Tool. What Reyn had been searching for was the life-bond treasure of the skeleton's owner. Even as broken shards, the materials and residual power were of incalculable value. Though he hadn't yet found a method to break through to Foundation Establishment, the harvest thus far made the trip worthwhile.

He swallowed a few more pills and sat back down, a cold sneer playing on his lips. Since the others were so eager to clear the path ahead, he would let them—and then he would reap the final harvest. Far from the corridor, in a breathtakingly beautiful garden, Chu Dian and the other three were meditating.

"The restrictions here are terrifying," the Di brothers remarked, their faces pale but their eyes burning with greed.

"Even a Golden Core cultivator would struggle if they blundered in here. And this is with the wards weakened to less than a tenth of their original power. In their prime, they could likely obliterate a Nascent Soul monster."

"Do not worry, Senior Brothers," Chu Dian said smoothly, though a strange light flickered in his eyes.

"With your family's expertise in ward-breaking and our combined caution, we will emerge safely. I only wonder how Daoist Shu Yun fares."

"Haha, Brother Chu is truly a man of sentiment," Di Meng laughed, his eyes flashing.

"But Shu Yun is no fool. He wouldn't have stayed behind if he didn't have a way to survive. Once we secure the treasures, we'll just give him a small share as promised."

"I hope so," Chu Dian nodded, falling silent. Moments later, as they rose to continue, Wu Shengli opened his eyes, his face looking particularly haggard.

"Fellow Daoists, please go ahead. I took a heavy blow from that last restriction. I need to stabilize my injuries before I can follow." Seeing his sorry state, the others didn't suspect a thing. After a few brief words of caution, they pressed on. Once their figures vanished into the shimmering mist of the garden's wards, Wu Shengli's eyes snapped open, a cold, predatory light replacing his exhaustion. Back in the tunnel, Reyn was meditating when his eyes suddenly flew open. A look of mockery crossed his face.

After a moment's thought, he bit his tongue and forced out a mouthful of fresh blood. His complexion instantly turned ashen, and he suppressed his spiritual pressure until it was barely a flicker, making him look like a man at death's door. He slumped against the wall, panting weakly. A few moments later, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed. Wu Shengli's Divine Sense swept over Reyn, and a flash of triumph crossed his features. He rushed forward, his face a mask of frantic concern.

"Daoist Shu Yun! How are your injuries?" Wu Shengli cried out, his voice trembling with feigned emotion.

"My heart has been in turmoil knowing you risked your life for us against those puppets! Are you alright? Do you need my assistance?"