Xie Lingyun never cultivated Magical Power, nor had she seen the Dragon Vein's Earth Immortal Dao, so she naturally wouldn't understand the formation of such a Jade Bone. Zhang Chen cultivated in the Five Villages Temple for ten years, and although he never practiced specific Techniques, he was already very familiar with the key points of cultivation within the temple.
Within the Five Villages Temple, cultivators gather Earth Qi, replacing the mysterious Qi Mechanism between Heaven and Earth to complete their cultivation. This aura from the earth could transform people into Jade Bone, gradually imbued with the earth's characteristics.
Many Cultivation Techniques result in phenomena or characteristics; the cultivation techniques of the Five Villages Temple were among the best in this regard.
"These bones can be ground into medicine," Xie Lingyun's eyes shone as she stared at the bones on the ground.
Zhang Chen shivered when he heard this. Using human bones for medicine? That's crazy, isn't it?
"Human bones can also be turned into medicine?" Zhang Chen asked incredulously.
Xie Lingyun glared at Zhang Chen: "What's so surprising about this? Tiger bones, Dragon Bones can be used as medicine, not to mention the Jade Bone refined by cultivators, which contains the essence of Heaven and Earth and can certainly be used as medicine."
Zhang Chen shook his head; he couldn't bring himself to swallow human bones. However, if it were immortal bones, he wouldn't mind tasting them to see if they could make him stronger.
Zhang Chen ignored Xie Lingyun, who was contemplating the Jade Bone, and instead lifted his head to look at the distant palace, stepping towards the next palace to see if there were any treasures left behind.
In the past, the Five Villages Temple had countless powerful cultivators, with four cultivators at the Twelfth Tier, and those below the Twelfth Tier were innumerable.
He wanted to find clues from the ruins of the Five Villages Temple that could trace the truth from years ago.
After clearing a ruin, Zhang Chen found some clothes and a few swords. Unfortunately, the clothes were weathered, and the swords were corroded, making them difficult to use.
Zhang Chen picked up a sword, only to see that the once hair-shaving, mountain-cleaving Treasure Sword had turned into rusty scrap iron.
No matter how powerful the mystery, it cannot withstand the power of time and change.
Zhang Chen tossed the sword hilt to the ground and then stepped forward to continue clearing the ruins.
Walking past each palace, ruins were continuously cleared out, but unfortunately, there was not much to gain.
Zhang Chen felt a bit disappointed and decided not to waste any more effort, directly heading to the backyard to see the things in the Ancestral Master's backyard. If anything could withstand the passing of time, it would likely be the items left by the Ancestral Master.
"Sister, let's go. Stop studying those dead things," Zhang Chen shouted to Xie Lingyun.
Watching Zhang Chen's distant figure, Xie Lingyun hurriedly caught up with small steps: "Any findings?"
Zhang Chen shook his head at her inquiry: "No findings whatsoever."
"Could these grand palaces have only left these two treasures?" Xie Lingyun felt a bit disappointed.
Zhang Chen ignored Xie Lingyun's words and hurried toward the backyard. Upon reaching the backyard, Zhang Chen was momentarily stunned to see a clear palm print left in the ruins, encompassing the entire backyard, pressing the rock three meters into the mountain, flattening the entire yard.
The palm print was lifelike, with every detail from fingertips to joints, even down to the subtle skin texture in the palm, vividly captured, as if photographed with high resolution.
"This person has a very high cultivation, at least beyond the Tenth Tier!" Xie Lingyun said seriously, staring at the palm print.
"What do you mean?" Zhang Chen asked.
"A strong cultivator of the Tenth Tier could easily smash the mountain, but leaving a clear palm print is not so simple. It shows an incredible understanding of the Law of Heaven and Earth and mastery of one's power, with the body having undergone an astonishing transformation to endure such vast magical power," Xie Lingyun explained.
Listening to Xie Lingyun's analysis, Zhang Chen nodded in agreement.
Zhang Chen's eyes swept over the palm print, finding it somewhat familiar for some reason, like recalling a certain girl: "Xu Erniu doesn't have such strength."
Zhang Chen's mind activated the Authority of Earth Element, smoothing out the palm print, as stones on the ground began to arrange according to a pattern. Just as Zhang Chen was about to clear the entire backyard, his Earth Control Technique suddenly stopped: "Something's wrong!"
He detected the breath of life!
"Impossible! How could there be life here?" Zhang Chen's eyes were filled with disbelief. To his knowledge, from ancient times to the present day, countless eons have passed, and except for mysteries, there are no powerful life forms left. Even those ancient gods have perished, so how could ordinary beings possibly survive?
Zhang Chen halted his manipulation of sand and stones, and his eyes turned to a certain part of the building's ruins. If he remembered correctly, shouldn't that be the bedroom of the Ancestral Master?
"Be careful, there seems to be a living presence here," Zhang Chen warned Xie Lingyun.
Upon hearing this, Xie Lingyun immediately became tense. "A living presence? Is it strong?"
Given the ability to hide in such ancient ruins, no matter how powerful the entity might be, Xie Lingyun didn't find it surprising.
Zhang Chen did not reply but walked forward cautiously, observing the cleared ruins until he discovered a large door on the ground.
A door embedded in the ground.
"Is this the secret chamber of the Ancestral Master's bedroom from years ago?" Zhang Chen calculated silently based on the layout of the courtyard: "The secret chamber left by the Ancestral Master of Longevity wasn't destroyed by that handprint. Someone managed to hide inside, and even survived, deceiving the powerful entity that destroyed the Five Villages Temple—an achievement truly akin to outwitting the powerful."
Of course, there was another possibility. The powerful entity might have disregarded or ignored whoever was hiding in the basement, believing they would be trapped and perish there. Alternatively, the entity might have severely injured the basement dweller, assuming they couldn't survive, which allowed them to narrowly escape death.
In any case, they were a survivor against the odds.
"This is the door to a secret chamber," Xie Lingyun said, looking at the stone door before them. "And this isn't just ordinary stone. The material of these two stone doors seems to be the legendary Earth's Primordial Magnetism Stone, containing strong magnetic forces that make the two sides attract each other, making it impossible to open."
Zhang Chen was unimpressed by Xie Lingyun's comment about it being 'impossible to open.' After all, he was Zhang Chen, the master of the Authority of Earth Element—what stone could possibly be beyond his control?
In his domain, he could command all Earth Element Laws.
With a thought, Zhang Chen witnessed the two doors twisting like water, creating a pathway. The passage leading into an inexplicably eerie darkness.
"Impressive!" Xie Lingyun was shocked to see how the Earth's Primordial Magnetism Stone twisted like clay under Zhang Chen's control. Despite her efforts to overestimate Zhang Chen, he still surprised her. Twisting the Earth's Primordial Magnetism in this manner was beyond the reach of even a Tenth Tier powerhouse.
As Zhang Chen looked down the dark passage, he removed his garments, fashioned a torch out of a wooden stick, and lit it. He turned to Xie Lingyun, "Let's go take a look inside."
Zhang Chen took the lead, stepping into the passage. As the torchlight moved, he saw the structure inside the passage, and his heart trembled: "No wonder there's someone alive in this chamber. It's built from Earth's Primordial Magnetism Stone and constructed underground, allowing it to withstand an attack from that powerful entity without deforming."
"An entire chamber built from Earth's Primordial Magnetism Stone! How extravagant were these ancients? If we could transport all this Earth's Primordial Magnetism, we would strike it rich," Xie Lingyun said with fervor in her eyes.
Zhang Chen did not respond to Xie Lingyun's remark. The Ancestral Master of Longevity had mastery over the Qingcheng Mountain Range and established the Earth Immortal Dao, earning the title Ancestor of Earth Immortal. His cultivation surpassed the Twelfth Tier, reaching the legendary Fruit Realm. Using Earth's Primordial Magnetism Stone was hardly surprising.
"Given the Ancestral Master's stature, there might be more than just Earth's Primordial Magnetism Stone here. Perhaps there's even the legendary Heart of Primordial Magnetism," Zhang Chen thought excitedly.
The Heart of Primordial Magnetism had utility—it could attract all metallic objects in the realm, including metal-made Magical Treasures. Yet its usefulness was limited beyond these abilities.
But it was immensely useful to Zhang Chen.
As Zhang Chen moved through the Earth's Primordial Magnetism passage, unaffected without any iron on his person, Xie Lingyun, unburdened by ironware herself, was similarly unaffected.
After traversing over thirty meters of the corridor, they came upon a small door that opened into a twenty-meter-square chamber.
The chamber was illuminated by gleaming pearls, making it as bright as daylight.
On the chamber's walls were rows of bookshelves, while the center featured a pool. The pool measured three square meters, filled with milky white liquid, with the silhouette of a person submerged within, obscured from clear view.
Zhang Chen cast his gaze over the books on the shelves, through their gaps, at the chamber walls made of Earth's Primordial Magnetism Stone, noticing countless fine cracks like a spider web, indicating that although the chamber withstood destruction, it suffered severe damage.
At the chamber's top hung large pearls, radiating a gentle light to brighten the whole space.
"Zhang Chen, there's someone in the pool!" Xie Lingyun, following Zhang Chen, cautiously alerted him.
Zhang Chen had naturally noticed the figure in the pool, and his interest piqued to identify the person, to ascertain if it was an acquaintance, but the milky white liquid obscured their features too much for clarity.