Zhang Chen most admires Xie Lingyun for her cleverness, not just in assessing situations but also in her self-awareness.
These ancient texts, Xie Lingyun wouldn't know. Unless she invites people from noble families for translation or submits them to the Imperial Palace, how much of the translated content would fall into her hands? Just some superficial bits and pieces.
Instead, it might be better to leave the books with Zhang Chen. Given the relationship between the two, if Zhang Chen can translate something useful, he will surely share it with her.
Zhang Chen did not oppose Xie Lingyun's proposal and instead glanced at the bookshelf before him. Since this place contains the power of Earth's Primordial Magnetism, the books on the shelf have not been eroded by time and remain as good as ever.
But carrying away so many books is a hassle.
Zhang Chen did not focus on the books; instead, he came to the pool. Seeing that the Essence of the Earth in the pool had dried up, he thought for a moment, and the pool's wall began to roll. Then, a pigeon egg-sized object emitting white light slowly floated up.
"What kind of treasure is this?" Xie Lingyun's attention was caught.
"This is the Heart of Primordial Magnetism I mentioned. It's useful if you say it's useful and not if you say it's not. It can attract all metal in heaven and earth, but it's also an exotic treasure." Zhang Chen looked at Xie Lingyun: "I'll take the books, and this Heart of Primordial Magnetism is a gift to you, elder sister."
Xie Lingyun gazed at the Heart of Primordial Magnetism for a moment and then shook her head: "This is useless to me; you should keep it. I'm currently advancing to the Yang God realm and shouldn't be distracted. I'm already satisfied with obtaining that Sun Fragment; I shouldn't be too greedy."
Xie Lingyun's voice was filled with emotion, sighing at the great favor Zhang Chen had shown by letting her have the Sun Fragment.
This place was discovered by Zhang Chen. Even if he had kept it all to himself, she couldn't have objected. Zhang Chen offering it to her was to save her face, but taking it would be unwise.
The most crucial thing is that it's hard to preserve this item. Absorbing metal from everywhere, how could she keep it safe? On the road, she might be impaled by flying metals.
Zhang Chen laughed upon hearing that and didn't insist: "Giving this to you would indeed be useless. I can make use of it, and only Innate Qi can seal the Heart of Primordial Magnetism. Even if I gave it to you, you couldn't take it out."
Zhang Chen mobilized the Innate Yin Yang Qi, and the Innate Yin Yang Grinding Disc turned, absorbing the Heart of Primordial Magnetism. Only Innate Yin Yang Power can suppress its force, even Innate Five Elements Qi cannot.
"Are there more treasures in this secret chamber?" Xie Lingyun's eyes sparkled like a treasure-seeking mouse.
"No more! Common treasures wouldn't catch the eye of the Ancestral Master of Longevity." Zhang Chen shook his head.
"How can we transport these books out? It's quite troublesome." Xie Lingyun looked at the bookshelf, feeling somewhat worried.
Zhang Chen said: "I have a way."
Zhang Chen began to ask Xie Lingyun to move all the books down, stacking them together until a three-meter-high pile was formed. Then Zhang Chen maneuvered the Primordial Magnetism Iron, which flowed like water, enveloping the entire book pile seamlessly like a natural magnet, without any gaps.
"Such a large object, how will you carry it away?" Xie Lingyun asked.
Zhang Chen replied with a smile: "Not difficult! Not difficult! When the time comes, I can naturally take it away."
The magnet can resist water, and combined with the weight of the books, it's less than ten thousand pounds. Zhang Chen's Mountain-moving Technique can easily move it, but he needs to prepare a small boat and avoid detection.
Seeing Zhang Chen's confidence, Xie Lingyun stopped asking. Zhang Chen said: "Follow me; there's another good place here, where we might find unexpected gains."
Zhang Chen thought of Xu Erniu's Alchemy Room, wondering if any elixirs were left behind.
Zhang Chen was the first to leave the underground secret chamber, arriving at the surface buildings, following the memory's direction. Zhang Chen reached Xu Erniu's alchemy room and watched the ruined alchemy room. With a thought, he activated the Water Control Technique, clearing away the earth and sand, revealing a large alchemy furnace before them.
Looking at the broken bottles and jars on the ground, Xie Lingyun's eyes brightened: "This seems to be the alchemy room of a legendary cultivator!"
"Elder sister has good eyes," Zhang Chen smiled: "But with the passage of time, it's hard to say how much heritage remains in the alchemy room."
Zhang Chen walked over slowly, observing the broken bottles and jars on the ground, countless black 'coal balls' rolling on the ground, all the elixirs made by Xu Erniu in the past, now rotted by the ages.
"So many elixirs, but they're all ruined." Xie Lingyun looked at the discarded elixirs on the ground, a trace of regret in her eyes.
Zhang Chen laughed upon hearing that: "With your current cultivation, even if the elixirs survived, they'd be useless to you."
At this point, Zhang Chen paused and suddenly said: "But that's not quite right..."
Later, Xu Erniu achieved great success and returned to the Daoist temple, likely refining elixirs there. By then, Xu Erniu's cultivation was inconceivable. Even the Twelfth Tier senior brother was worn down by Xu Erniu. If she refined elixirs, they'd be extraordinary.
Zhang Chen thought to himself as he arrived at the alchemy furnace, noticing that it was still sealed with no breath escaping. To put it in modern terms, the items within hadn't been exposed to the outside air and hadn't oxidized yet. If he could refine the elixirs before they oxidized...
Zhang Chen's heart raced, and he carefully examined the alchemy furnace. The furnace was sealed, so there must be some elixirs inside that hadn't been finished or had been completed but not taken out yet.
"This is the alchemy furnace, it's sealed, and there may be elixirs inside," Xie Lingyun said as she circled the furnace.
"Sister, with your Yin Spirit Emergence, can you pass through the barrier of the furnace?" Zhang Chen asked.
Xie Lingyun touched the furnace with her finger, then shook her head after a moment: "No! The furnace contains mysterious power, and my Yin Spirit cannot pass through."
"Do we have to open the furnace from outside then? If done poorly, the elixirs inside might rot, and it would be a waste," Zhang Chen felt conflicted.
He lacked the skill to create a vacuum.
So Zhang Chen turned to Xie Lingyun, with a hint of probing in his eyes: "Do you have any ideas, sister?"
Xie Lingyun shook her head at the question: "I'm helpless too, you're overestimating me."
What else could Zhang Chen say at this point?
The furnace was too large for two people to move; it weighed tens of thousands of pounds, and Zhang Chen's Mountain-moving Technique was of no help. Better to break it open than risk someone else discovering it here.
"We'll have to force it open then," Zhang Chen said.
"We must be cautious. If there's a curse inside, it could be disastrous," Xie Lingyun recalled their unpleasant experience in the Empress Tomb with a lingering fear.
Zhang Chen hesitated slightly at her words: "It shouldn't be, right?"
He understood Xu Erniu, who seemed not the type, but perhaps Xu Erniu left some precautions hurriedly, or if any Five Villages Temple cultivators survived, they might have rigged the furnace — anything was possible.
Who knew what psychological trauma that past incident left on Xu Erniu?
What if it twisted Xu Erniu's fragile mind, making her insane over eight centuries, then opening the furnace could spell doom for them.
"Let's clear the debris first; we might find some clues or a pill formula," Xie Lingyun suggested to Zhang Chen, noticing his hesitation and conflict.
Zhang Chen nodded: "That's reasonable."
The two then began clearing the debris, and soon Xie Lingyun held a damaged calligraphy guide in her hand, saying to Zhang Chen, "Zhang Chen, come quickly; there's a major discovery."
Hearing this, Zhang Chen looked at the guide, which was two meters long and one meter wide, already damaged, filled with dense small characters. The strokes emanated a murderous aura as if they were sharp swords, ready to pierce the sky.
"Ah..." Xie Lingyun screamed, dropping the guide, her Yin Spirit turning pale, becoming somewhat ethereal:
"This calligraphy guide is deadly! Just a glance felt like swords transcending time and space, almost shredding my soul," she said.
The Yin Spirit, being a spiritual body, is exceptionally sensitive to various Qi mechanisms, and it was even harmed by the guide.
Zhang Chen cautiously glanced at the guide on the ground, with a serious look in his eyes. Knowing Xie Lingyun's cultivation was almost akin to a Yang God, yet she couldn't even glance at the guide — evidence of an overbearing will.
Picking up the guide from the ground, Zhang Chen blankly stared upon realizing the handwriting was familiar — it was Xu Erniu's script. Each stroke bore immense resentment, seemingly capable of severing heaven and earth, and overturning the cosmos.
The guide contained thousands of words, the repeated content: Why!
"Why?" Zhang Chen looked at the guide, bewildered, noting not just an overwhelming grudge in the strokes but also a malevolent spirit intertwined.
Gazing at the guide, unease welled in Zhang Chen's heart: "Xu Erniu is entering a demonic path! And not just slightly, a Celestial Demon is forming in her heart."
"But why did she write so many whys?" Zhang Chen wondered: "Why delve into madness?"