It turned out the group had discovered the remains of a powerful senior cultivator deep within the Flame Abyss.
Before passing, this senior had clearly suffered severe injuries and set up a protective formation within the Flame Abyss. However, he eventually succumbed to his injuries. Despite having died hundreds of years ago, his body remained intact, and even his storage pouch was well-preserved.
A Golden Core late-stage cultivator of such immense strength likely lived for nearly a thousand years, amassing an extraordinary fortune. It was almost certain that his storage pouch contained priceless treasures.
Qingci and his wife, enticed by the potential treasures, had repeatedly ventured into the formation seeking to claim them. They even enlisted their friend Yu Qingyan for assistance but were still unable to succeed.
This was because the deeper parts of the Flame Abyss were home to Flame Spirit Demons. Specifically, the area where the senior cultivator's remains lay was a spiritual vein nexus guarded by seven or eight Purple Mansion-level Flame Spirit Demons.
Purple Mansion-level demons are highly intelligent and naturally understand the value of a Golden Core cultivator's remains and treasures. However, lacking knowledge of formations, they had been unable to break through the protective array.
With the formation weakening over time, it was only a matter of time before the Flame Spirit Demons breached it.
Fearing that the treasures would fall into the demons' hands, Qingci sought out Elian, inviting him to join them in defeating the Flame Spirit Demons and claiming the inheritance.
"A late-stage Golden Core's treasures," Elian's eyes glimmered with anticipation. After some thought, he said, "I can agree to this, but the division of the spoils must be based on our individual contributions."
"Agreed," Qingci nodded. A Purple Mansion late-stage combatant could contribute as much as five or six early-stage ones; splitting the spoils equally by headcount would indeed be unfair.
After swearing a blood oath of mutual trust and signing a contract, smiles spread among the group.
Qingci furrowed his brows slightly and said, "I need to return to Peach Blossom Mountain to break through to the late stage of the Purple Mansion. We'll delay the exploration slightly."
"Understood," Elian replied with a faint smile, "Let's meet at the Flame Abyss in a year."
"Agreed…"
The group set a date for the expedition and then parted ways.
Elian traveled to Yuan Kingdom's renowned rogue cultivator city, where he rented a third-grade spiritual pool cave estate to begin cultivating the Solar True Aura.
This defensive technique, which he had developed to a profound degree, now had all the necessary resources thanks to the Sun Crystal.
In just one month, Elian mastered the entry stage of the Solar True Aura using the Sun Crystal. Over the following year, he refined large quantities of Metal and Flame energy, converting them into solar energy to integrate into the technique.
One year passed quickly during his cultivation.
"It's done."
One day, Elian swallowed the final wisp of solar energy and exhaled deeply.
After a year of effort, he had fully mastered the Solar True Aura. With this technique, his defensive capabilities would improve significantly, granting him better survival odds.
Emerging from seclusion, he realized the agreed time for the ruin exploration was approaching. He quickly mounted his sword and flew toward the Flame Abyss.
In just over ten days, Elian arrived to find that Qingci and the others had already been waiting for some time.
In the year since their last meeting, Qingci had broken through to the late stage of the Purple Mansion, with his mana now forty percent stronger than before.
As Qingci noticed Elian's arrival, he smiled and said, "You've finally made it."
"Congratulations on reaching the late Purple Mansion stage. You're surely destined for a Golden Core in the future," Elian said warmly, offering his congratulations.
Now at the late Purple Mansion stage, Qingci was in good spirits.
A dual-root cultivator in Metal and Wood, he had been taken in as a legacy disciple by a late Purple Mansion rogue cultivator, Daoist Qingyuan.
Highly regarded by his master, Qingci had even married Qingyuan's daughter, Fairy Qingyan.
With decent talent, abundant resources in his early years, and a diligent work ethic, Qingci advanced quickly in cultivation, reaching the Purple Mansion stage just past a century old.
He refined two life-bound treasures to polish his mana, significantly enhancing its purity. As a result, he overcame the bottlenecks of the mid and late Purple Mansion stages with just a Creation Cloud Pill and a Purple Qi Cloud Pattern Pill.
Now in his early two-hundreds, he had already reached the late stage of the Purple Mansion. It seemed likely he would achieve late-stage perfection before three hundred—a rarity among rogue cultivators.
However, after progressing this far, the wealth Qingyuan had accumulated over hundreds of years was now depleted. Qingci and Fairy Qingyan faced a difficult future.
Without the support of a clan or sect, sustaining two Purple Mansion cultivators on a single lower third-grade spiritual mountain was challenging.
Moreover, the resources required to break through to the Golden Core stage were astronomical—easily exceeding a million spirit stones.
This dire need for resources was why Qingci, despite knowing the dangers, was determined to claim the treasures hidden within the Flame Abyss.
Seeing that everyone had gathered, Yu Qingyan smiled and said, "Now that we're all here, let's proceed."
"Agreed."
Elian nodded as the group of four mounted their swords and flew into the Flame Abyss.
Though the Flame Abyss was a treacherous wasteland devoid of life, it was paradoxically home to unique beings—Flame Spirit Demons.
The million-mile expanse of the Flame Abyss birthed many Flame Spirit Demons, most of which were second-order creatures, with a rare few reaching the Purple Mansion stage.
Rumors even spoke of Golden Core-level Flame Spirit Demons dwelling in its depths.
During his previous venture into the Flame Abyss, Elian had only penetrated ten thousand miles into its outskirts, avoiding encounters with Purple Mansion Flame Spirit Demons.
This time, however, was different. The group intended to delve thirty thousand miles in—a far more perilous journey.
Led by Qingci, they flew for about seven or eight days, covering nearly thirty thousand miles.
As they ventured deeper, the number of Flame Spirit Demons they encountered increased.
"Up ahead is Crimson Flame Mountain. Be cautious," Qingci warned gravely, summoning his life-bound celestial sword to slay a second-order demon beast in their path.
Elian adopted a serious expression. The ancient ruin was close.
The ancient cultivator had died atop a third-grade spiritual vein, leaving behind a fourth-grade formation to protect it.
After hundreds of years, the formation had weakened, attracting many Flame Spirit Demons to the area.
The group slowed their pace, advancing cautiously for several thousand more miles until they reached Crimson Flame Mountain.
Upon arrival, Elian immediately noticed eight Purple Mansion Flame Spirit Demons patrolling the mountain, two of which were at the late Purple Mansion stage.
...
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I need POWAAA! Gimme Power Stones :D