As they went down the hole, they eventually reached a massive underground cave beneath the treasure hall. The place was dark and quiet, with only faint green crystals along the walls giving off dim light.
Isshin slowly descended from the opening above and immediately saw the creature below.
A gigantic jade-colored python was lying in the center of the cave. Its body was covered in scars and old burn marks, and enormous chains wrapped around it tightly, extending deep into the surrounding walls. Each chain was several times larger than Isshin himself.
Even weakened, the beast gave off terrifying pressure.
At minimum, Saint Realm.
The python looked exhausted, almost lifeless, but Isshin could still sense the terrifying amount of qi inside its body.
He carefully stayed hidden while observing it from a distance.
"So what exactly am I supposed to do?" Isshin quietly asks in his mind.
Raijin stared at the beast through Isshin's senses before replying.
"I honestly don't know," Raijin says. "The Skeleton King got dragged into your sea of consciousness after invading your soul. Same with me. I never actually tested how that necklace works."
A second voice suddenly echoed inside Isshin's sea of consciousness.
"Wait boss!" the Skeleton King interrupts quickly. "When I tried taking over your body before, I saw that invisible necklace around your neck for a moment."
Isshin frowned slightly.
"The necklace you can't normally see," the Skeleton King continues nervously. "I think it reacts depending on your intentions. If you genuinely try capturing a beast, it might activate automatically."
Raijin immediately sounded annoyed.
"You are seriously trusting this idiot?" he asks.
Isshin shrugged slightly.
"If something goes wrong, at least we know who to blame."
"WAIT HOLD ON!" the Skeleton King immediately panics. "I never guaranteed anything!"
Isshin ignored him and carefully started approaching the giant python.
The closer he got, the larger the creature felt. Its scales alone were bigger than his entire body. Despite that, the python still hadn't reacted.
Isshin slowly raised his hand while taking a deep breath.
Then he placed his palm against the beast.
A giant eye suddenly opened beneath his hand.
Isshin froze.
He had accidentally touched its eyelid.
The massive jade eye immediately locked onto him.
Before the python could react further, the invisible necklace activated on its own.
The beast instantly disappeared into Isshin's sea of consciousness.
The moment it happened, Isshin violently vomited blood onto the ground.
The pressure from the python entering his sea of consciousness was overwhelming.
"Wait hang on!" Raijin immediately says.
Isshin stumbled backward while blood continued pouring from his mouth. Inside his sea of consciousness, the giant python had already collapsed unconscious near the others, but the damage caused by its sudden arrival was still tearing through Isshin internally.
At the same time, the entire cave started shaking violently.
The giant chains that once restrained the python began breaking apart, pulling huge chunks of rock down with them.
The cave was collapsing.
Isshin tried forcing himself to stand, but his body barely responded anymore.
Raijin couldn't recklessly interfere himself, but the Skeleton King reacted quickly.
Inside the sea of consciousness, he summoned the Strix.
The giant bird immediately appeared and grabbed Isshin onto its back before flying upward through the collapsing cave.
Massive rocks crashed down around them while the Strix barely avoided the falling debris.
"We are definitely dying because of that stupid snake!" the Skeleton King yells in panic.
Isshin could barely even respond.
The pain inside his head felt unbearable.
As they neared the hidden opening again, the Strix slowed down. It was too large to fit through the chest opening.
The bird immediately returned to the sea of consciousness, leaving Isshin to climb the rest himself.
Barely holding on, Isshin dragged himself back into the treasure hall.
The moment he collapsed onto the floor, more blood spilled from his mouth.
The pain still hadn't stopped.
Inside his sea of consciousness, Raijin was already trying to stabilize the damage while the unconscious python remained completely motionless.
Isshin looked around desperately for something useful.
Then Raijin suddenly noticed one of the treasures nearby.
"Quickly, grab that bottle and drink it!"
Isshin immediately turned toward a small bottle filled with crackling blue liquid.
"Thunder Numb Saint Liquid," Raijin explains quickly. "It helps thunder cultivators recover and strengthen their qi. Normally I would've told you to save it, but you need it now."
Isshin grabbed the bottle without hesitation and drank the entire thing.
The moment the liquid entered his body, violent thunder qi spread throughout his meridians. Isshin immediately sat down and began cultivating.
The liquid slowly stabilized the damage inside his body while also strengthening his cultivation.
Several minutes passed before the pain finally started fading away.
Isshin let out a long breath while wiping the blood from his mouth.
Inside the sea of consciousness, the giant python was still unconscious.
"This python is heavily injured already," Raijin says calmly. "Even if it wakes up, making a worm obedient wont be hard for me"
Isshin slowly stood back up.
There weren't any other treasures worth taking, so he decided to leave the hall.
The moment he stepped outside, he noticed people running around everywhere.
The entire estate was in commotion.
As Isshin approached the clan leader, he calmly asks, "What happened?"
The clan leader looked toward him and sighed.
"I assume you were focused on cultivation," the man replies, "but there was a huge earthquake a few minutes ago."
Thankfully, no buildings collapsed and nobody died.
Of course, Isshin already knew the real reason behind it.
The underground cave had collapsed after the python disappeared.
Still, there was no reason to explain any of that.
"I see," Isshin replies casually. "I didn't really notice it haha."
The clan leader simply nodded.
"I already picked and used my treasure," Isshin adds afterward.
The clan leader didn't question him further. He trusted Isshin enough to believe he only took one item.
"That's great," the clan leader replies with a smile. "You can rest here until we leave for the Nether Cave."
Meanwhile, Rune and Karin were both unknowingly heading toward the same destination near the border between the Crimson Kingdom and Bailu territory.