"Go!" The gap in the illusion formation yawned open, and without a moment's hesitation, everyone rushed inside, vying to be first.
True Person Yuan Mu also breathed a sigh of relief. He turned back to send a message talisman to Iron-Face True Person and Scholar Yu in the distance before following the others inside.
Upon entering the breached illusion formation, Mo Tiange raised an eyebrow in surprise.
This treasury was actually an ice cave!
The entire space was irregularly shaped, filled with glittering ice everywhere, with no trace of man-made structures.
Just as everyone finished taking in their surroundings, Scholar Yu and Iron-Face True Person squeezed in, looking rather disheveled.
Mo Tiange couldn't help but glance back at the gap in the illusion formation. The Corpse Puppet seemed to be devouring the illusion talismans Scholar Yu had left behind. Once it finished devouring them, it suddenly lost its two targets and wandered in confusion for a moment before drifting away.
She felt a weight lift from her heart. This illusion formation was truly formidable. Even with such a gap, their auras hadn't leaked out. A dead thing like the Corpse Puppet simply couldn't distinguish them.
"Scholar Yu, you've worked hard," True Person Yuan Mu said politely upon seeing his return.
Scholar Yu, his face pale, replied, "Since I accepted Fellow Daoist Yuan Mu's token, naturally I had to see it through." Then, with a hint of unwillingness, he added, "Hmph! I didn't take Fellow Daoist Yuan Mu's token for nothing. Luring away that Corpse Puppet cost me dearly!"
Mo Tiange thought of the illusion talismans Scholar Yu had thrown out—each batch worth tens of thousands of spirit stones. Given how long he'd tangled with the Corpse Puppet, the loss must have run into hundreds of thousands. While hundreds of thousands of spirit stones weren't unbearable for a Late-Nascent Soul cultivator, the talismans used by Late-Nascent Soul cultivators were hardly ordinary goods. They were probably impossible to buy anywhere.
After a few casual remarks, everyone's attention returned to the treasury.
Following the ice cave for a while, they finally arrived before a stone door. On this door were painted strange golden spell patterns, emanating an intense pressure that made it difficult to approach. This was the treasury's defensive restriction.
"Such a restriction... no wonder Fellow Daoist Mo said it was impossible!" Sensing the unfathomable power of the restriction, True Person Yuan Mu sighed. With his knowledge, this restriction definitely surpassed the God Transformation Stage. It seemed this ancient great sect had once possessed high-level cultivators beyond the God Transformation Stage. However, after the great war between the righteous and demonic paths, they likely declined significantly, so their elders were only at the God Transformation Stage.
Looking around, they discovered a small indentation in the center of the spell patterns, matching the size of the treasury tokens in their hands.
Mo Tiange turned to the group and said, "Seniors, the promise you made to this junior earlier... does it still stand?"
True Person Yuan Mu glanced at her and said indifferently, "Naturally." In front of so many people, he wouldn't stoop to breaking his word and damaging his reputation.
Hearing this, Mo Tiange smiled. "Then this junior will take the first step."
With that, she stepped forward, took out her token, and was about to place it in the indentation on the stone door.
"Wait." Qin Xi pulled her back and said in a low voice, "I'll go first."
Mo Tiange paused, obediently stepping aside, feeling somewhat frustrated. Limited by her cultivation level, she often had to stay behind in many situations.
Taking the treasury token from his Qiankun Bag, Qin Xi gently placed it in the indentation on the stone door. The restriction on the door flashed with white light, covering the token. A point of white light lit up on the token, resonating with the restriction on the door. Then, the white light flashed and vanished. The token fell off, and the stone door opened silently.
Qin Xi caught the token, looked left and right, and cautiously took his first step.
The restriction on the stone door showed no reaction. After a slight hesitation, he stepped inside.
He turned around, about to speak, when the stone door immediately closed behind him.
Seeing him safely inside, everyone felt relieved. This proved the treasury token was indeed effective; their efforts this day weren't wasted.
Seeing this, Mo Tiange followed the same method.
"Fellow Daoist Mo!" Scholar Yu suddenly spoke up.
Mo Tiange paused, somewhat tense. "What advice does Scholar Yu have?"
Scholar Yu shook his head. "Although we had an agreement, you can't stay inside indefinitely and waste everyone's time. How about a limit of half an hour? If you haven't come out in half an hour, we'll enter."
Mo Tiange didn't answer immediately. For such a great sect, the treasury's size went without saying. It was absolutely impossible to understand all its holdings in half an hour. But Scholar Yu's words weren't without reason. Although they'd agreed to let her enter the treasury first, they couldn't ignore their own interests and let her waste time.
Her gaze swept over True Person Yuan Mu and the others. Though they remained silent, they tacitly agreed with Scholar Yu's proposal.
She hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded. "Alright." She had already secured the right to enter the treasury first. If she raised further objections, these Late-Nascent Soul Great Cultivators would likely take issue.
Seeing her compliance, Scholar Yu smiled and waved his folding fan. "Please."
Mo Tiange turned back, retrieved her token, and also stepped inside.
Next was Jing Xingzhi.
The stone door closed silently behind them. The three reunited inside the treasury.
"So big!" Jing Xingzhi looked around, astonished.
This treasury was also a massive ice cave, almost bottomless. Countless treasures floated in mid-air, emitting a faint, luminous glow. These treasures were enveloped in spiritual energy, shimmering with a faint light—likely defensive restrictions that only the tokens in their hands could open.
And these treasures, without needing close inspection, were clearly beyond the reach of present-day cultivators.
After joining them, though Jing Xingzhi had been playing the invisible man, his shrewdness had already figured out the situation. He had guessed that being with these Late-Nascent Soul cultivators meant they'd found an astonishing opportunity, but he still hadn't expected such a magnificent scene. Any single item here, taken out, would cause a sensation in the cultivation world!
"Fellow Daoist Jing?" Mo Tiange now looked at him with a smile.
Jing Xingzhi curled his lip, tossing his token back to her. "Afraid I'll go back on my word?" he muttered.
"That's hard to say," Mo Tiange said bluntly. "Dare you claim you aren't tempted looking at these things?"
"..." Jing Xingzhi rolled his eyes helplessly but couldn't deny it. How could he not be tempted? In fact, upon seeing these things, the thought of claiming the token for himself had indeed crossed his mind! He had roamed the cultivation world for nearly three hundred years, visited many secret lands, and seen more treasures, but only the spirit treasures he and Qin Xi obtained when they first met could compare to what lay before him. Fortunately, his reason remained. Not only could he not defeat Qin Xi, but even if he could, there were so many Late-Nascent Soul Great Cultivators outside. Without sufficient strength, how could he hope to leave safely?
"Half an hour. Hurry up," he said. Since none of this was destined for him, he simply found a corner to sit cross-legged and meditate, ignoring them.
Mo Tiange and Qin Xi exchanged a glance. Not wasting time, they quickly began searching for treasures.
"Seven-Treasures Heart-Gathering Lotus," "Soul-Slaying Immortal Execution Sword," "Holy Spirit Soft Jade," "Vajra Cold Iron," "Heavenly Thunder Great Method."
The two were dazzled. Every treasure floating in mid-air was an ancient spirit treasure utterly unattainable in the present cultivation world.
"Senior Brother," Mo Tiange called out to Qin Xi after most of the half-hour had passed and they still hadn't finished viewing all the treasures in the treasury. "Only a quarter-hour left. We won't finish. We need to decide quickly."
Looking at the countless treasures ahead, Qin Xi sighed regretfully and nodded. "Yes, time is short. Finishing is impossible."
"What do you think we should choose?"
Qin Xi thought for a moment. "You have many magic treasures, but lack powerful offensive methods. How about choosing this 'Heavenly Thunder Great Method'?"
Mo Tiange looked at it. Beside this 'Heavenly Thunder Great Method' was a simple introduction: Thunder-element spells. Can be cultivated by those with Metal Spirit Roots. Most effective for those with Thunder Spirit Roots. At the highest level of cultivation, its power rivals heavenly thunder.
Heavenly thunder! This was the most powerful spell in the cultivation world. After a moment's thought, Mo Tiange agreed. Qin Xi was right. Most of her magic treasures had peculiar uses, but their inherent power wasn't great. Her life-bound treasure, the Heaven and Earth Fan, also wasn't adept at attack. And sometimes, a thunderous strike was needed.
This 'Heavenly Thunder Great Method' was placed in the treasury, not the Scripture Pavilion, indicating it was definitely a top-tier technique. And thunder spells were renowned for their power. She possessed all five Spirit Roots. Cultivating thunder spells might not match a pure Thunder Spirit Root, but with the aid of pills, it shouldn't be a problem.
"And the second item..."
"Go to the very back!" A voice suddenly rang in her mind.
Startled, then overjoyed, Mo Tiange asked, "Master, have you rested enough?"
"Mn." Fuyaozi's tone was indifferent. "At the very back of the treasury, there's a book. You must obtain it."
"Tian Ge?" Qin Xi called out, noticing her sudden silence.
Without explanation, Mo Tiange took his hand and headed in the direction Fuyaozi indicated. "Come on!"
After entering the Immortal Palace, such situations had become common. Qin Xi was used to it and didn't ask further, simply following her to the very end.
The third spirit treasure from the back was a book. On the beast-skin cover appeared a line of ancient golden characters: Jade Bone Puppet Technique. Beside it was an introduction: Using jade bones as the frame and Holy Spirit Soft Jade as the body, craft a puppet. The puppet's highest realm can reach the God Transformation Stage.
Though brief, the introduction made both of them gasp. A God Transformation Stage puppet—if crafted, wouldn't it run rampant in the human world? And the words "jade bones" immediately made them think of the crystal skeleton they had obtained from the ancient cultivator's cave abode.
Mo Tiange asked, "Master, when you told me to keep the skeleton, was it for this?"
Fuyaozi chuckled. "This master saw you had great interest in mechanism arts, so I thought you'd be interested in this too."
"But," she hesitated, "can this Jade Bone Puppet really be crafted? The required materials must be extremely precious, right?"
"So, it depends on whether you want to gamble." Fuyaozi said lightly. "Jade bones as the frame, Holy Spirit Soft Jade as the body. This treasury also has Holy Spirit Soft Jade. If you want this puppet technique, the third item must be the Holy Spirit Soft Jade. As for other materials, this master hasn't read the book and doesn't know if they can be collected. You decide!"
"What's wrong?" Qin Xi asked.
Mo Tiange sighed, relaying Fuyaozi's words to him. Finally, she said, "We only have two chances left. If we want this puppet technique, the third must be the Holy Spirit Soft Jade. But whether we can actually craft the puppet is completely unknown now."
This was a gamble! If they won, they would obtain a puppet of extraordinary strength. But if they lost, they would have wasted two chances.