The two pushed the door open and stepped through a short passageway into a massive courtyard. Several spirit fields were laid out in a grid, but all were barren. Judging by the chaotic footprints stamped into the dirt, demon beasts had long ago ravaged whatever grew here.

Rows of rooms lined either side of the courtyard. Wang Wenmei checked the nearest ones, finding shelves lined with jade bottles. However, as soon as she uncorked one, the pills inside crumbled into ash.

Wang Hao shook his head, sighing. “Too much time has passed. The medicinal efficacy has completely dissipated. Upon contact with fresh air, they oxidized instantly.”

“Huh?” Wang Wenmei blinked. She understood the basic idea, but Fifth Brother’s specific phrasing was strange.

“Don’t just stand there dazed. Let’s go deeper,” Wang Hao said, pulling the bewildered Wang Wenmei along.

They followed a long corridor for over a hundred zhang until it ended at a sheer cliff face. Two tunnels had been excavated into the rock.

Wang Hao looked up at the large characters carved into the stone ceiling.

“Earth Fire Hall,” he read aloud. “If we find nothing here, we’re unlikely to find anything elsewhere in this section. We’ll have to move on.”

They chose a tunnel and walked along the stone path. The passage wasn’t long, illuminated by crystals embedded in the walls. Despite the countless years, these stones still emitted a faint, ghostly glow.

Reaching the end, they found several stone chambers with doors standing wide open. The interiors were stripped bare. Wang Hao noticed dragon-head sculptures mounted along the perimeters of some rooms, their mouths slightly agape. They were clearly outlets for channeling earth fire, but the geological veins had long since dried up.

Other rooms contained more jade bottles, but like before, the contents turned to dust at the slightest touch. It was impossible to tell what miraculous pills they might have once been.

“Nothing here. Let’s check the other passage.”

They retraced their steps and entered the second tunnel.

At the end of this passage stood a circular stone door covered in intricate runes. Unlike the others, these runes still shimmered with fluctuating spiritual light.

“There’s a formation here,” Wang Wenmei exclaimed, her eyes blazing with excitement. “There must be something good inside!”

Wang Hao observed the seclusion of the area. “An alchemy hall in a sect like this would likely have a Core Formation cultivator overseeing operations. This should be that elder’s private residence.”

His expression grew serious. “A Core Formation cultivator’s dwelling isn’t easy to breach. Even if only one or two-tenths of its power remains, it’s not something we can underestimate.”

Wang Hao tested the door with a quick strike. The restrictions merely rippled like water before returning to a calm state.

“We attack together,” Wang Hao ordered. He summoned the Chaos Earth Seal and stepped back. Wang Wenmei drew her flying sword.

They mustered their full strength and struck the stone door simultaneously.

BOOM!

A thunderous echo rolled down the tunnel. The stone door shook, but the restrictions held firm.

“It’s having an effect! Keep going!”

Wang Hao released his spirit beasts. “Xiaobai, Yaya, listen closely. This place is dangerous. Keep your movements quiet, but attack that door with everything you have!”

Xiaobai and Yaya chirped in acknowledgement. Two humans and two beasts began a fierce assault on the ancient barrier.

Purple lightning, cold white flashes, crimson fireballs, and cyan sword lights bombarded the blue energy shield. The roar of impacts was continuous, sending waves of displaced air rushing back down the tunnel.

Half an hour later, both cultivators were pale and drenched in sweat, their Qi dangerously low.

The runes on the stone door flickered weakly, the light tattered and on the verge of collapse.

Wang Hao felt a wave of frustration. His Divine Consciousness attacks were useless against inanimate objects, and his sword techniques lacked the raw destructive weight needed for breaking formations. If he weren’t a body cultivator, they would have been forced to retreat and seek help.

“Step aside,” Wang Hao gritted his teeth.

Golden light flowed around his body as he channeled his physical strength. He took heavy, thudding steps toward the door and slammed into it with his shoulder.

CRASH!

With a deafening noise, the stone door shattered. The restrictions dissipated into motes of light.

Wang Wenmei collapsed to the ground, exhausted. Wang Hao wasn’t much better off. He quickly swallowed several recovery pills, waiting for his pale complexion to regain some color.

He then took out a monkey puppet. “Let it scout ahead.”

The puppet cautiously peeked into the dwelling before scurrying inside. Seeing no traps trigger, the two followed.

They stepped into a main cavern about a hundred square meters in size. Wang Hao immediately sensed the lingering purity of fire spiritual energy—the result of centuries of high-level pill refining. Suppressing his excitement, he walked further in.

The cave dwelling wasn’t luxurious; the walls were rough-hewn stone, lit by the same enduring crystals. A single stone table and several stools sat in the center. To the left and right were additional stone doors.

Wang Hao walked to the left. Finding no restrictions, he pushed the door open.

In the center of the room stood a blue pill furnace, taller than a man. Three coiling dragons formed its legs, clouds billowing from their open mouths. It was majestic. Beside it were piles of jade boxes, likely for storing spirit herbs.

Against one wall stood a stone shelf holding jade bottles, more boxes, slips, and raw minerals. The shelf looked sparse; Wang Hao guessed that organic materials like wood or cloth had disintegrated over time, leaving only stone and metal behind.

Jade boxes could preserve herbs for a long time, but even the best seals failed over millennia unless they were top-tier treasures. The fact that these were casually piled here suggested the owner didn’t consider them vital.

“This must be the alchemy room,” Wang Hao murmured, staring at the blue furnace.

It radiated the aura of a Magical Artifact—likely Tier 3. Whether it was high-grade or low-grade was impossible to tell without a deeper inspection, and he lacked the spiritual power to test it now.

“We’ve lingered too long. Grab everything first, examine it later.”

Wang Wenmei nodded. They split up, sweeping the shelves clean and stuffing everything into their Storage Bags.

They moved to the next chamber, finding only a master bedroom. It was empty save for a red jade bed that emitted pure fire spiritual energy. Wang Hao promptly stored the entire bed.

After a meticulous search of all three rooms, they found no personal Storage Bags. Presumably, the original owner had carried their valuables with them when the sect fell. Still, obtaining a Tier 3 pill furnace and the jade bed was a massive harvest.

They exited the Earth Fire Hall quickly, heading toward another building. Suddenly, the communication talisman at Wang Hao’s waist grew warm.

He checked the direction and signaled Wang Wenmei. Shortly after changing course, they ran into Wang Yanping and Wang Yanlang.

“Nineteenth Uncles, did you send the message? Any discoveries?” Wang Hao asked.

Wang Yanping shook his head. “Not us. We found some jade slips in the Beast Taming Hall but hadn’t examined them when we got the signal. We came right away.”

“Must be the Li family then. Let’s hurry.”

Jointly discovered resources required sharing, but speed was critical.

Moments later, the foursome found Li Derong and her group standing before a building enveloped by an intact formation.

Wang Wenwu stepped forward to report. “Fifth Brother, Nineteenth Uncles, the formation here is still active. Our four-person assault couldn’t break it! Even if it’s not the Scripture Pavilion, it’s definitely an important location. We can’t miss this.”

The implication was obvious: intact formation meant intact treasures.

Li Derong nodded at them. “Since everyone is assembled, let’s act swiftly. We don’t want the other groups finding us.”

Wang Hao assessed the grand formation. It was likely a Tier 3 array originally, but due to lack of maintenance and drained energy reserves, its defensive power had degraded significantly. It was now inferior to even a high-grade Tier 2 formation.