Upon hearing Xiao Yan’s words, everyone nodded in agreement. Since the Dragon Phoenix Origin Fruit had already been retrieved, there was no point in staying any longer. Seeing that no one opposed, Xiao Yan took another look at the plain where an ancient Heavenly Phoenix and a primordial Void Dragon had fallen. With a light tap of his foot on the stone platform, he appeared at the edge of the beast spirit shield. Behind him, Zi Yan casually drew a tear in the space, and Xiao Yan and the others swiftly rushed out through the tear.
In the forest, a golden light flickered, and several figures appeared out of thin air. As soon as they materialized, their battle aura surged. It was only after sensing no changes around them that they gradually retracted their aura. “Those guys have already fled. It seems the old man’s injuries are quite severe…” Xiao Yan breathed a sigh of relief as he looked at the empty forest and said with a smile. “Mm.” Little Healer Immortal and the others also nodded, their eyes scanning the surroundings. Faintly, they could hear intense fighting and roars from within the forest, likely from treasure hunters who had intruded. “Let’s leave this place. The commotion is getting bigger, and sooner or later, it will attract the powerful magic beasts in the deeper parts of the forest. If we get caught, it’ll be troublesome,” Xiao Yan said. Without lingering, he moved his body and followed the path he came from, with Zi Yan and the others quickly following behind.
As they dashed through the forest, they encountered many treasure hunters who were not weak. They seemed surprised to see Xiao Yan’s group dashing out of the forest. Some of the more cautious ones, seeing them emerge from the deep forest, had some thoughts flashing in their minds, but, deterred by the strong lineup of Xiao Yan’s group, they suppressed any bad ideas.
Following the direction they came from, although they attracted many curious gazes, they encountered no obstacles. After about twenty minutes, Xiao Yan and the others arrived back at the stone gate where they had entered earlier. Throughout this journey, Xiao Yan and his team still did not find Feng Qing-er and the others; they must have left through another direction. This made Xiao Yan a bit disappointed. Now, due to the black-robed elder’s injuries, it would have been a good time to strike.
“Boom boom!” Slowly moving the stone gate aside, Xiao Yan and the others took one last look at the ancient forest behind, faintly sensing some extremely fierce auras gradually strengthening. It seemed that some unfortunate ones had intruded into the territory of some very powerful beings.
After a silent moment of mourning for those unlucky fellows, Xiao Yan and the others quickly scrambled out and tightly shut the stone gate. In the spacious corridor, everyone looked at the closed stone gate and the chaotic hall and adjacent pavilions, and couldn’t help but shake their heads and smile bitterly. These guys were too savage.
“Now, where do we go?” Little Healer Immortal turned to Xiao Yan and asked.
“Let’s head inside. The real treasures should be at the center of the great hall,” Xiao Yan pondered for a moment before identifying the direction and heading towards the other end of the corridor. Seeing this, Zi Yan and the others hurriedly followed.
When Xiao Yan and the others entered the ancient forest, it was evident that the place had been thoroughly plundered. The surroundings were in chaos, and the originally neat pavilions now lay in ruins, causing all to shake their heads in disbelief.
Seeing the destruction, Xiao Yan and the others lost interest and sped up toward the center of the great hall. Along the way, they encountered many groups searching for treasures, and Xiao Yan found it odd that most were heading in the same direction.
Xiao Yan and the others exchanged glances, nodding slightly, and followed these groups. “It’s medicinal herbs…” Following these groups through several corridors, Xiao Yan suddenly smelled a familiar scent. He murmured softly, “And a very strong scent of pills. It seems there are quite a few, and if I’m not wrong, it’s a storage room for these pills.”
“Oh?” Hearing the word “pills,” everyone’s hearts stirred. Pills always had immense allure, especially here, where the pills were left by a Dou Sheng-level powerhouse, making the temptation even greater.
“Hehe, let’s go. I’m also curious about these ancient pills, and it’d be a good chance to see them,” Xiao Yan chuckled, seeing the anticipation on their faces. With a light tap of his foot, he increased his speed, overtaking the other groups. Behind him, Little Healer Immortal and the others also pushed their speeds to the limit, spurred on by the allure of the ancient pills.
The corridor in the great hall was like a labyrinth, but luckily, Xiao Yan relied on the scent of the pills. After about ten minutes, they gradually slowed down. In front of them stood a grand, ancient building with two majestic characters inscribed at the top: “Pill Hall!”
Xiao Yan murmured the name, and his gaze shifted downward. The doors of the Pill Hall were already smashed open, and he could faintly see many figures frenziedly searching within.
“Let’s go!” Xiao Yan called out, leading the way into the vast hall. On the first floor, everything was in disarray, with people behaving like bandits, raiding the alchemy rooms and scavenging anything they could find. Occasionally, battles erupted due to conflicts over the loot.
Xiao Yan glanced around the first floor without much interest, and then led the group to the second floor. Upon entering the second floor, Little Healer Immortal’s face changed slightly, and she whispered, “Xiao Yan, if you have antidote pills, give them to everyone. The air here is poisonous.”
Hearing this, Xiao Yan and the others were stunned. Taking a few deep breaths, they indeed sensed something off. “No wonder there are fewer people here. Someone must have been affected.” Xiao Yan’s gaze fell on some corpses in the distance, clearly victims of poisoning.
Taking out a few antidote pills from his storage ring, he handed them to the group, instructing, “This Pill Hall has three floors. This is only the second floor, and the real treasure should be on the third. However, if the second floor is toxic, the third floor won’t be easy either. Everyone, be careful.”
Acknowledging Xiao Yan’s warning, everyone nodded. Only Little Healer Immortal smiled, as being a Calamity Poison Body, poison and toxins posed no threat to her.
After a cursory search on the second floor, they only found low-grade pills, confirming that the better ones had already been taken. Finding no further gain, they decided to search the third floor. Entering the much larger and more lavishly decorated third floor, they were immediately aware of the concentrated and corrosive poisons in the air.
Little Healer Immortal, highly sensitive to poisons, warned, “Be very careful. The toxic air is dense and corrosive to internal battle aura.”
Everyone nodded, looking around, spotting several figures, all of whom were quite strong. The weakest among them were at the Battle Sect level, and anyone weaker would be risking death.
Xiao Yan’s group, newly arrived, drew much attention, but no one approached them. All were wary of each other. “I wonder if there are any legendary Tier Nine pills on this third floor. That would be amazing,” the Heavenly Fire Venerable said, scanning the numerous pill rooms with a smile.
“Tier Nine pills are unlikely, even for a Dou Sheng they would be rare,” Xiao Yan replied, entering a pill room that was still unscavenged. He found an ancient medicinal formula and, after a quick glance, stored it. He didn’t have time to examine it now.
Besides the formula, there was an unopened bottle of pills, likely Tier Seven, based on the subtle scent. However, he couldn’t discern its properties just yet.
Finishing the search, they moved on, checking several more rooms. Though they didn’t find much, they gathered some ancient formulas which piqued Xiao Yan’s interest. For an alchemist like him, formulas were often more valuable than the pills themselves.
Pushing open the door to a corner pill room, Xiao Yan and the others stepped in. Their eyes scanned the room, noting its narrowness and disorder, suggesting it had already been scavenged.
“Let’s go,” Xiao Yan lost interest and waved to leave. Suddenly, a white figure darted across the room.
The sudden appearance startled Xiao Yan and the others, readying their battle auras. Looking at the source of the white flash, they were shocked to see a small, white-furred creature. It looked like a large, plump cat, harmless and energy-free, appearing to be an ordinary beast.
Relaxing, Xiao Yan and the others took a closer look at the little critter. Just as they were about to leave, Xiao Yan’s heart jolted. Why would a powerless, cute, and plump creature be in an ancient ruin? His brows furrowed, and he scrutinized the creature. After a moment, he realized something, his eyes bulging like a frog’s.
Seeing Xiao Yan’s reaction, Little Healer Immortal and the others were stunned. Before they could ask, Xiao Yan blurted out, “Damn, this thing is actually a pill?!”
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