Xiao Heng scratched his head helplessly and looked to Zhang Haobo for help.
Zhang Haobo smiled. "Xiaomei is not foolish in the slightest. In fact, back then, Senior Shuo..." He paused, then corrected himself. "Actually, she is extremely clever. Sometimes her actions may seem impulsive, but she has already weighed the pros and cons in her heart.
"Even you have been fooled by her before. Doesn't that prove how capable our Xiaomei is?"
Su Xiaomei snorted and lifted her chin proudly.
"Well then, it seems our Xiaomei is even smarter than I am!" Xiao Heng quickly chimed in.
After another round of smooth-talking, he finally earned Su Xiaomei's forgiveness.
"Alright, now hurry up and take out the mini cauldron so we can try it!"
Xiao Heng breathed a sigh of relief and retrieved the last remaining Mini Medicine King Cauldron. After a moment's thought, he channeled spiritual power into it.
Stimulated, the small cauldron emitted a faint, green glow.
Xiao Heng brought the cauldron close to the bronze door. Where the light shone upon it, the door—which had been utterly immovable and impervious to all their previous attacks—now seemed to melt, forming a portal within the illuminated area.
"See! I was right!" Su Xiaomei said triumphantly, then ducked inside first.
Zhang Haobo followed closely behind.
Xiao Heng entered last. The moment he passed through the bronze portal, he didn’t forget to retrieve the Mini Medicine King Cauldron.
As the green light faded, the opening vanished, and the bronze door gradually returned to normal.
Though she had entered first, Su Xiaomei did not act rashly. Once the three of them regrouped, they surveyed the space beyond the door together.
A long, narrow, and deep passage stretched before them, with no end in sight. Their divine sense was also suppressed, unable to probe ahead.
"Could there be danger?" Xiao Heng asked.
"Arrays, mechanisms, restrictions...anything is possible," Zhang Haobo said gravely. "It’s best to be cautious."
The three exchanged a glance. Su Xiaomei took the lead, Zhang Haobo guarded the rear, and Xiao Heng was kept in the middle as they advanced cautiously down the passage. Their nerves were stretched taut, none of them daring to relax even for an instant.
Yet to their surprise, the long, narrow passage held no twists or turns at all. They passed through it without incident.
"Such smooth sailing can't be a good thing," Su Xiaomei muttered, glancing left and right as she continued forward.
At the passage's end, the space suddenly opened up.
It was a bright, spacious hall, divided into three levels: upper, middle, and lower. A central area lay empty, while all three levels were ringed with numerous rooms. Beyond this, corridors led deeper into the complex.
"This seems to be some kind of gathering place, but it looks like something happened here," Xiao Heng observed, analyzing the surroundings calmly. "Tables and chairs are strewn about in disorder. Potted plants and decorations are scattered all over the floor."
"This true Medicine King Cauldron is truly miraculous. After so much time has passed, the things inside are still preserved so perfectly. Look at this plant—it doesn't look like it's been alive for thousands of years at all." Su Xiaomei picked up a potted flower that had fallen to the ground, sounding rather amazed.
Hearing this, the expressions of Xiao and Zhang both shifted slightly.
"This is a bit strange," Xiao Heng said, narrowing his eyes and speaking softly. "If even ordinary spiritual objects can be preserved so perfectly... then what about the cultivators inside this Medicine King Cauldron?"
This time, it was Su Xiaomei who answered him.
"It's been over twenty years since the Medicine King Cauldron returned. If there were any active Medicine King Sect cultivators still inside, they would have long since kept this cauldron. They wouldn't be waiting around foolishly like this for us to find them."
Zhang Haobo nodded upon hearing this, expressing his agreement. "Either they're all dead, or they've all vanished."
Xiao Heng added, "What truly scares me are the unnatural existences that are neither fully alive nor fully dead."
The great hall held nothing of value.
The doors to the various rooms on the three levels of the hall were sealed shut, impossible to open.
The trio had no choice but to continue exploring deeper.
The true Medicine King Cauldron was utterly silent, yet the unease in the three hearts grew heavier.
Corridors behind the great hall stretched out in different directions.
Sticking together, the three of them investigated each one in turn.
The ends of the corridors led to different areas. There was a Medicine Hall, a Transmission Pavilion, a Training Ground, and more.
But they were all the same as before, devoid of any human presence. Their great doors were tightly shut.
Even though they knew countless esoteric treasures from the ancient era might lie within, the trio had no way to obtain them.
They could only look on helplessly.
The only fortunate thing was that the interior of the true Medicine King Cauldron wasn't fraught with dangers like other ancient sect ruins.
From beginning to end, they did not trigger any trap arrays or restrictions. Their surroundings merely exuded an aura of strangeness.
Pressing forward, they found their path blocked by a pale gray stone door.
This time, the method of using the Mini Medicine King Cauldron for disguise proved useless.
Moreover, this stone door was several times more solid than the previous bronze doors. The combined attacks of Su Xiaomei and Zhang Haobo couldn't even make the pale gray stone door tremble.
Su Xiaomei, stopping her futile efforts, felt somewhat dejected.
Did we enter a mountain of treasure only to leave empty-handed?
Such a thought inevitably rose in all three of their minds at that moment.
"Let’s keep looking," Xiao Heng gritted his teeth, unwilling to give up.
No cultivator, seeing such treasure right before their eyes, would easily abandon the pursuit.
Turning back, the three conducted another thorough combing of the place.
This time, they were lucky enough to make a discovery.
"Look, this room's door doesn't seem to be sealed shut!" Su Xiaomei called out to the other two.
Xiao Heng and Zhang Haobo hurried over.
Running his fingers over a thin gap in the door, Zhang Haobo nodded. "Correct. It is indeed different from the other rooms."
Seeing they might finally gain something, Xiao Heng also grew somewhat excited. "Does that mean we can open it?"
"Let's give it a try."
With that, Zhang Haobo and Su Xiaomei joined forces once more.
Under the illumination of the Crimson Sun and the Blood Sea, the bronze door emitted a grating, creaking sound as it they pried it open inch by inch.
After a moment, through their combined efforts, they finally managed to open a crack in the door.
"Be careful."
The three communicated via divine sense, then stepped inside.
The anticipated danger did not arrive. Instead, the scene within the room caught them completely off guard.
It was a single-person dwelling. Though the space was not large, it contained a bed, a table, a chair, and a cabinet—all the essentials.
And on the floor lay a cultivator.
His head was facing the door, and from his posture, it seemed he had been trying to close it.
What horrified Xiao Heng and the others was that this person still possessed a vital aura.
His breathing was steady, as if he had simply fallen unconscious.
"What do we do?"
"Do we make a move?"
"He's survived for thousands of years. His strength is unfathomable. If we act rashly..."
While the group was communicating via divine sense, the prone man emitted a low groan and slowly awoke on his own.
With the situation unclear, the three gathered together and hastily retreated.
The Medicine King Sect cultivator climbed to his feet from the floor, first surveying his surroundings with a dazed expression.
Then, as if remembering something, the light of awareness gradually returned to his pupils.
He performed a quick calculation with his fingers and exclaimed in shock, "Has twenty-four years already passed?"
Only then did he finally notice Xiao Heng and the other two in the room.
A flicker of surprise crossed his face, but he quickly regained his composure.
"We pay our respects, Senior!" Xiao Heng and the other two greeted in unison.
"Fellow Daoists, were you the ones who awakened me?" he asked.