Chapter 416: Countless Treasures
Sun Lingtong confirmed the target's death by using his Innate Spirit Eyes.
Of course, he was well aware that, as a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator, the gap between his cultivation and a Nascent Soul-level being was like heaven and earth.
But he had the Wanli Dragon's scouting ability.
This puppet construct was of Nascent Soul grade, and its ability to investigate someone of the Soul Formation level was far superior to Sun Lingtong himself.
Sun Lingtong stared at the stone sphere before him, feeling uncertain in his heart.
“A Soul Formation-level existence… has already perished.”
He quickly recalled the group of hooded black-robed cultivators he had been tracking and rapidly reconstructed the truth in his mind.
“Looks like these people came here to pay respects to the mountain, hoping to meet or awaken this Soul Formation cultivator.”
“This cultivator clearly wasn’t a righteous cultivator, which is why those people outside the cave would set up a formation and even sacrifice their own.”
“Except, they never expected that the Soul Formation-level being had already passed away.”
Cultivators were powerful, but there were many cases of death in meditation.
For example, low-level cultivators might become so absorbed in cultivation that they forgot to eat and starved to death. In ancient times, such occurrences were frequent, which eventually led to the development of Fasting Pills.
Or like when Ning Zhuo once delved too deeply into Dao comprehension. Immersed too long, his mind overstrained, his brain fried—lightly, he’d become mentally disabled; in severe cases, he could die on the spot.
There were also many high-level cultivators who, upon encountering bottlenecks, tried everything to no avail and resorted to a “death seclusion.”
As the name implied—if the goal wasn’t reached, they wouldn't come out.
Either the cultivation broke through, or they perished.
This typically happened near the end of a cultivator’s lifespan.
“Could it be that this Soul Formation cultivator also reached the end of his life?”
Sun Lingtong secretly speculated.
His heartbeat gradually accelerated, and he muttered under his breath,
“Thrilling—this is really too thrilling.”
Outside the massive cave, only four black-robed cultivators remained. They were communicating via spiritual sense.
After a brief discussion, one of them stepped forward.
He retrieved a crimson command token from his robes and infused it with mana.
Next, he pulled out a piece of talisman paper, wrote on it at once, and crafted a Message Bird.
At the end of the message, he raised the command token and fired a talisman onto the message, marking his identity.
Risking his life, the cultivator sent the Message Bird into the massive cave.
Once done, he dropped to both knees, pressed his forehead to the ground, and performed a grand ritual of worship.
The remaining three black-robed cultivators also did the same, tense and solemn.
The Message Bird flew swiftly, arriving at the cave’s bottom and circling around the stone sphere.
Sun Lingtong took a light breath and immediately commanded the Wanli Dragon to swallow the message.
The black-robed cultivator who maintained the connection with the message instantly felt a jolt in his heart.
He could feel the message hadn't been destroyed—but it had disappeared.
This was even more terrifying than destruction.
It was like tossing a pebble into a bottomless abyss—no echo, no response.
Sun Lingtong, on the other hand, was growing anxious.
“These black-robed cultivators are willing to make sacrifices to pay homage to this Soul Formation-level being.”
“Clearly, there’s someone powerful pulling strings behind them!”
“This Message Bird might be just the beginning. Next time, someone might come in person.”
“I don’t have much time. I need to find the Soul Formation inheritance quickly.”
However, even after maneuvering the Wanli Dragon through several circuits around the cave bottom, he found nothing.
The cave was completely empty. Not a single shadow of treasure.
Just rocks.
Everywhere—rocks!
The Puppet Dragon continued monitoring outside the cave.
The four black-robed cultivators had gathered at the entrance.
They were clearly itching to enter, yet riddled with hesitation and fear.
Sun Lingtong sighed.
He didn’t want to kill them.
Not to mention that all four were Foundation Establishment-level; they were many in number, and their means were unclear.
They surely had powerful backers.
If he killed them, he’d provoke those big figures!
Anyone who dared visit a Soul Formation cultivator had to be at least Nascent Soul level.
“We just arrived at the Thousand Peaks Forest, and already we’re messing with Nascent Soul and Soul Formation cultivators? That’s really not a smart move!”
If Sun Lingtong had already found the Soul Formation inheritance, it would’ve been one thing.
But he hadn’t.
No gain—yet he'd offend a big shot for nothing. That was just foolish.
“Aiya!” Sun Lingtong scratched his head, incredibly unwilling.
This was clearly a heaven-shaking opportunity, but it looked like he was going to leave empty-handed.
“A little risk isn’t so bad, right?”
Sun Lingtong thought for a moment, clenched his teeth, and commanded the Wanli Dragon to approach the only massive stone sphere at the cave bottom.
At first glance, the stone sphere looked entirely ordinary.
But under the Wanli Dragon’s investigation, Sun Lingtong discovered that the sphere was filled with layers of Dao Rhyme.
The Wanli Dragon opened its little mouth and shot out a magical artifact.
This was released by Sun Lingtong himself.
The artifact struck the stone sphere and instantly caused a web of cracks.
“Eh?!”
The surface defense of the stone sphere was weaker than Sun Lingtong had imagined.
In the next moment, stone flakes fell away, and dazzling treasure light burst out.
Sun Lingtong's mouth hung open in shock.
Even inside the Puppet Dragon, his face and body were bathed in radiant hues.
“Struck it rich! I’ve struck it rich!!”
Sun Lingtong couldn’t help but cheer in his heart.
Just from this one broken section, he saw:
A piece of Primal Earth Mother Stone
A handful of Earth Core Spirit Soil
A piece of Fallen Star Marrow
A chunk of Amethyst Profound Rock
The Primal Earth Mother Stone carried the texture of the earth and exuded dense earth aura.
It was a fragment of the Earth’s root, extremely defensive and inherently stable.
Earth Core Spirit Soil contained the essence of the earth veins and could only be found deep underground or at the intersections of earth veins. It was exceptional planting soil—any spiritual herb grown in it would grow faster and have vastly enhanced medicinal properties.
The Fallen Star Marrow and Amethyst Profound Rock were equally rare and precious, details to be explained later.
“These four materials are all Nascent Soul-grade!”
Sun Lingtong was so excited that he nearly drooled.
He quickly released more magical tools and began excavating.
One after another, treasures were dug out and absorbed into the Wanli Dragon.
Rainbow Radiance Jade, Blood Fiend Demon Stone, Great Rock Essence, Nether Black Soil...
All of these materials shared two characteristics:
First, they were all Earth Attribute—either stone, jade, or soil.
Second, they were all Nascent Soul-grade!
“This Soul Formation cultivator probably specialized in Earth techniques. He might have been an Earth-based spirit creature!”
“The outer layer of this stone sphere is all Nascent Soul-grade material. If I dig deeper, could there be Soul Formation-grade ones?”
Sun Lingtong licked his lips and kept digging.
This feeling was simply divine to him.
Of course, he didn’t get carried away—he kept watch on the black-robed cultivators outside.
With such valuable treasures before him, if those people dared to intrude, Sun Lingtong would strike ruthlessly!
However, contrary to Sun Lingtong’s expectations, the four hooded black-robes ultimately didn’t enter.
After much hesitation, they all saluted and turned away.
During his excavation, Sun Lingtong naturally used various means to conceal all sound and light, so they had no idea what was happening below.
Sun Lingtong dug out the entire outer layer of the stone sphere, obtaining massive amounts of treasure—he had soared into fortune, become rich overnight!
But when he tried to dig further into the inner layer, he hit a major obstacle.
No matter what method he used, he couldn’t shake the now-shrunken stone sphere.
Moreover, the sphere began to tremble slightly, absorbing massive amounts of Earth-element spiritual energy.
This energy condensed around its surface, forming new layers of stone.
The stone gradually covered the treasure light and thickened at a visible rate.
Sun Lingtong’s eyes gleamed with brilliance.
“Could it be these stone layers are transforming into Nascent Soul-grade materials?”
He immediately resumed excavation.
But the freshly formed stone layers were weak. Once scraped away, they turned out to be ordinary rock—leaving Sun Lingtong disappointed.
“Seems like it takes a long time for the stone to evolve into treasure. It can’t happen overnight.”
Even as he reached the inner core, Sun Lingtong still had no solution.
“Hehehe.”
“Let’s call Xiao Zhuo out and see what he can do.”
“That big head of his always works wonders!”
“I’m really curious—no matter how hard this stone sphere is, can it be tougher than the Serpent Scythe?”
Just as the thought crossed his mind, the Puppet Dragon suddenly blared with an ear-piercing alarm.
Sun Lingtong’s expression changed dramatically.
He jerked up his hands—only to see a layer of lime covering them, rapidly turning to stone!
“W-What’s going on?!”
Sun Lingtong quickly surged his mana into his hands to resist the petrification.
The speed of petrification slowed significantly, but it still persisted stubbornly, continuing to spread.
He hurriedly swallowed a pill and tried all sorts of spells—but to little effect.
“Could this be… a massive trap?!”
Stone structures densely covered the surface of the Sky-Pillar Giant Tree, with towering buildings and low houses, primarily in shades of grey and black.
A layer of dark purple Poison Fog perpetually shrouded the sky, blocking out sunlight.
The four black-robed cultivators dared not linger and walked directly onto the main path, hastening their ascent toward the mountain peak.
Along the way, they occasionally encountered other disciples of the Six Caves Sect. These cultivators were nearly all clad in black or grey robes, bearing expressions either cold or vicious. Many had lion or tiger beasts trailing behind them, while others played with poisonous scorpions, centipedes, or other types of Gu insects.
At the mountainside, Sun Lingtong gazed into the distance and saw an enormous Martial Arena.
Within the Martial Arena, a large group of cultivators were locked in brutal combat, blood splashing in the air as spectators roared with excitement, the sound waves rippling outward. From time to time, a cultivator would fall completely, losing their life.
Clearly, the internal competition within the Six Caves Sect was far more vicious than within the Myriad Medicines Sect!
The four cultivators passed through the gate tower and stepped onto the mountain peak, entering a grand hall.
They were intercepted by guards, and one of them turned to report inside.
Before long, the guards allowed them through.
The four black-robed cultivators exchanged glances, braced themselves, and walked the grand path, eventually stepping into the vast main hall.
The hall’s interior was exceedingly spacious, with a high dome, and its walls were painted with various murals. Some depicted fierce mountains and deadly waters shrouded in mist, others showed countless cultivators engaged in bloody battles, and still others illustrated scenes of gory sacrificial rites. The figures in the murals all shared a common trait—whether crying or laughing, their expressions were grotesquely twisted.
The floor of the hall was paved with pitch-black Mysterious Iron, cold and unyielding.
A faint fragrance lingered in the air, tinged with a nauseating metallic stench.
At the center of the hall stood six pitch-black stone pillars.
Each stone pillar had a unique design.
Near the upper-middle sections, they were hollowed out and carved into seats or Cloud Beds.
The four cultivators walked to the center of the six pillars and prostrated themselves in worship.
Among the stone pillars, three of the seats were empty, while the other three were occupied by cultivators, either sitting or reclining.
These three individuals all exuded the surging aura of Nascent Soul, each accompanied by strange phenomena.
One sat upright on a Throne. He had a tall, broad frame, his upper body bare and covered in black-purple scales. His eyes were closed, and he sat perfectly still like a stone statue.
Another sat cross-legged on a Meditation Cushion, his entire body shrouded in a bloody glow, his figure vague but his aura surging, echoing like crashing waves.
The third reclined on a bed, back turned to the others. She wore translucent purple gauze, the lines of her back and waist graceful and alluring—but from her lower back grew a massive scorpion tail, its venomous stinger gleaming with a chilling light.
The four cultivators performed a grand ritual of worship.
From their words, Sun Lingtong and Ning Zhuo immediately understood the identities of the three Nascent Soul cultivators before them.
The towering man covered in scales was the Demon Heart Cave Lord.
The one enveloped in the bloody glow was the Blood Shadow Cave Lord.
The seductive female cultivator lying with her back to the crowd was the Poison Scorpion Cave Lord.
The Demon Heart Cave Lord opened his eyes. His pupils were clearly forged through secret arts, for within his eye sockets swirled only a rotating blood-red vortex, not normal irises.
Upon hearing the subordinates’ report, the Demon Heart Cave Lord slowly spoke, his voice low and rumbling:
“Hmph. You sacrificed more than ten fellow Qi Refining disciples, and you didn’t even get to meet Old Monster Within the Stone. Useless. Die, all of you.”
The four cultivators knelt on the ground, just about to plead for mercy.
Bang, bang, bang.
A series of explosions rang out—their chests burst open, and four hearts flew out.
The still-beating hearts floated to the Demon Heart Cave Lord. The scales at the center of his chest suddenly parted, revealing a vertical slit the size of a palm.
The slit opened to reveal a blood-red heart, dense black veins coiling over it like dragons or twisted roots.
With each beat of the demonic heart, one of the offered hearts exploded.
The essence from the shattered hearts was successively absorbed into the chest slit, devoured by the demonic heart.
Off to the side, the Blood Shadow Cave Lord let out a cold laugh.
A portion of the bloody aura surrounding him split off and enveloped the four corpses.
The bodies, each with shattered chests, visibly shriveled, their vital blood swiftly drained and absorbed into the Blood Shadow Cave Lord’s bloody aura.
As for the Poison Scorpion Cave Lord, she merely gave a small flick of her scorpion tail.
A glint of icy light flashed through the air.
Then, the shriveled corpses melted into four puddles of purple poisonous liquid.
The liquid rapidly evaporated into purple smoke, which rose and gathered around the scorpion tail.
The Poison Scorpion Cave Lord laughed:
“With war imminent, we’re slaughtering our own sect disciples to cultivate demonic techniques. When the Grand Cave Lord returns and sees a hundred-some cultivators missing, he’ll surely fly into a rage. Hehehe.”
The Blood Shadow Cave Lord snorted coldly:
“The vanguard of the Dynasty’s punitive expedition is already pressing toward the Thousand Peaks Forest, and more forces are arriving in waves. Even if the Grand Cave Lord is angry, what can he do at this juncture? A few Foundation Establishment cultivators can’t compare to our Nascent Soul-level power.”
The Demon Heart Cave Lord spoke in a low tone:
“Even Old Monster Within the Stone couldn’t be summoned. What use are those wastes? Their only value is to serve as resources, to help us gain a sliver more cultivation.”
“With war upon us, that tiny bit of difference in cultivation could mean life or death!”
The Poison Scorpion Cave Lord laughed again:
“Hehe. That Old Monster Within the Stone is a Ten-Thousand-Year Earth Essence, prefers solitude, and is the most ancient of all. Getting it to leave seclusion was always the hardest task. Second Cave Lord, you’ve already wiped out many of the sect’s rising stars with this method. I think you should slow down. Without those cannon fodder, will we be the ones forced to take the field early?”
The Blood Shadow Cave Lord snorted:
“Poison Scorpion Girl, you speak so nobly. The real reason is your Emotion Poison has hit a bottleneck and needs time to refine before progressing.”
“You’re just afraid we’ll keep cultivating like this and you’ll miss out.”
The Poison Scorpion Cave Lord, exposed, didn’t care:
“Hehehe. So what if you’ve seen through me?”
“My Emotion Poison requires harvesting the freshest emotions. That terror, dread, panic, and fury right before death—those are prime ingredients for poison refinement.”
“You two backing off for a while, what harm is there?”
“The hearts and blood essence of those Foundation Establishment cultivators hardly help you anyway. They're dispensable.”
The Blood Shadow Cave Lord snorted:
“You and I are both leaders of the Six Caves Sect. Helping one another is natural. So—what’s the compensation?”
The Poison Scorpion Cave Lord flicked her tail and tossed out two items.
One was a fist-sized Blood Fiend Demon Stone, the other a segment of a mechanical carriage compartment.
“A Blood Fiend Demon Stone of Nascent Soul grade—not bad, not bad.”
The Blood Shadow Cave Lord put it away, clearly satisfied.
The Demon Heart Cave Lord, however, was displeased:
“Poison Scorpion, you think a segment of magical tool-grade carriage is enough for me? Do you know you’re provoking me? Insulting me?”
The Poison Scorpion Cave Lord giggled:
“How could I dare? Second Brother Demon Heart, look closely—this carriage segment may appear to be a magical tool, but it's actually a treasure-grade item, just cleverly disguised.”
“Back when we schemed against the Ning Family, we seized a trove of their wealth. All of us misjudged this compartment and handed it out as a magical tool.”
“One day, I accidentally discovered its secret, so I framed that disciple and seized the item.”
“Second Brother Demon Heart, your son Lin You has always coveted the Pale Savage Elephant, hasn’t he?”
“That’s not good.”
“The new Elephant King is extremely protective. With enemies nearing, we need to ally with the White-Tusk Elephant Herd.”
“Lin You just wants a flashy mount to show off. Modify this compartment slightly and he’ll be satisfied.”
Only then did the Demon Heart Cave Lord smile faintly and reach out to take the mechanical carriage compartment.
“Alright. Lately, that boy You’er has indeed been noisy.”
“Poison Scorpion, you’ve shown thoughtfulness.”
The Poison Scorpion Cave Lord giggled,
“As long as Second Brother is satisfied!”
The Blood Shadow Cave Lord snorted,
“You really got a lot done with very little, Poison Scorpion. I’m impressed.”
Within the Puppet Dragon, Ning Zhuo trembled with rage!
He had recognized that mechanical carriage compartment—it was the very one his mother once described, used during pregnancy for nourishing the fetus.
“Could it be… that Mother was forced into arduous travel after this compartment was taken, and that’s what stirred her womb?”
“Poison Scorpion… and Demon Heart!”
“Six Caves Sect!”
“I swear—I will reclaim that mechanical carriage compartment!”
Just as Ning Zhuo made this vow, the Demon Heart Cave Lord suddenly showed a change in expression.
This Nascent Soul demon cultivator spoke:
“Something’s wrong.”
“What is it?” the Blood Shadow Cave Lord asked.
The Poison Scorpion Cave Lord chuckled,
“If Second Brother isn’t satisfied, I can always offer more.”
But the Demon Heart Cave Lord shook his head solemnly:
“After consuming these hearts, I sensed something foreign—like they were tainted with something.”
At that, he immediately activated a spell.
In an instant, demonic energy surged outward, flooding the entire hall in a forceful scan.
The scan returned no results.
Unwilling, the Demon Heart Cave Lord cast another spell.
Demonic energy roared forth like massive waves, shaking the entire hall.
In the Dragon Head Cabin, Sun Lingtong clenched his teeth, his whole body drenched in sweat from tension.
Outside the cabin, Ning Zhuo’s Mechanical Ring suddenly tightened.
“Not good!”
“Boss—run!!”
Ning Zhuo instinctively shouted.
Hearing Ning Zhuo’s voice, Sun Lingtong jolted. His mind hadn’t caught up, but his body moved first. He immediately activated the Wanli Dragon, dashing for the hall’s exit.
Boom!
The next moment, the grand hall’s doors slammed shut.
The Demon Heart Cave Lord burst into wild laughter. His aura surged like a giant reaching the heavens, slowly rising to his feet.
The red mist in his eyes spun faster, locking firmly onto the Wanli Dragon with invisible power.
“Hahaha, vermin spying on my Six Caves Sect—how bold!”
“All of you—die!!”
His demonic heart thudded loudly within his chest.
Inside the Puppet Dragon, Ning Zhuo and Sun Lingtong simultaneously coughed up blood.
At the brink of life and death, the Wanli Dragon slipped into the void.
But the Blood Shadow Cave Lord’s blood light shot after it, striking the puppet dragon’s body and rapidly dyeing it red.
Run, run, run!
Every hair on Sun Lingtong’s body stood on end. His mind was filled with only this one thought.
As for Ning Zhuo, his heart nearly exploded. He collapsed to the floor, completely unconscious.