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**
Crack, crack, crack~
A fluctuation came from behind.
"Hm?"
Ah Da quickly turned around. Behind him, the space was slowly twisting and cracking apart, like an overinflated balloon about to burst.
Boom!
With a muffled explosion, the Beast Spiritual Barrier that shimmered faintly with golden light shattered instantly, breaking into countless fragments of space that swept out in all directions.
Ah Da waved his sleeve, sweeping away all the incoming space fragments.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Several figures shot out from within. Rolling waves of scorching heat surged forward. Beyond the shattered Beast Spiritual Barrier lay a massive crimson magma lake. Like a ruby, it glimmered in the very center of the forest.
"Master." Ah Da stepped forward and bowed slightly.
"How is it?" Wei Yang stepped through the air, his gaze sweeping around briefly as he asked calmly.
"The people from the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan have already left." Ah Da explained what had happened earlier, then added, "Seeing that they were determined to retreat, I didn't stop them."
"Mm." Wei Yang nodded.
"Guess they ran fast enough." Xiao Yan snorted.
"So, where are we going now?" Zi Yan asked, looking around at the empty forest.
"Let's head to the center of the ruins and see what's going on." Wei Yang said with a smile.
"Since we're already here, naturally, the next step is to look for that legendary Heaven Grade Dou Technique." Xiao Yan also chuckled. He too was quite curious about such a technique.
"Then let's pick up some rare medicinal herbs along the way." Wei Yang waved his hand and took the lead, flying off in the direction they came from. Behind him, Xiao Yan and the others followed closely.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Several figures glided leisurely above the forest. Whenever they spotted some herbs below that caught their eye, they would descend and harvest a few. Among them, the happiest of all was none other than Zi Yan.
Following at the back, she held a thick, arm-sized ginseng-like herb in her left hand and a blood-red spirit mushroom in her right, munching on them like carrots — crunch, crunch, crunch — her little mouth never stopped moving, cheeks puffed out adorably. Her eyes squinted into crescent moons, filled with pure bliss.
Wei Yang placed a starlit Nine-Leaf Grass into a jade box, sealed it with a casual hand seal, and stored it away. His gaze then swept across the surroundings.
In the distance, faint sounds of fierce battles and beastly roars echoed through the forest. It seemed the treasure seekers who had ventured in were clashing with the local magical beasts.
Wei Yang lightly shook his head, not paying them any mind. With a flicker of his figure, he continued swiftly along their original path. Xiao Yan and the others immediately followed close behind.
As they flew, they encountered quite a few powerful treasure hunters along the way. When those people saw Wei Yang's group heading out toward the forest's edge instead of deeper in, they couldn't help but look surprised.
So many rare medicinal herbs — things scarcely found outside — yet someone was in a hurry to leave?
Some sharp-minded ones noticed they were coming from the direction of the forest's inner region. Their eyes flickered slightly, as if they had vaguely guessed something. But, seeing Wei Yang's group's formidable lineup, they had no choice but to suppress any greedy thoughts that arose.
Gurgle, gurgle~
The magma lake bubbled, releasing the occasional small explosion of gas.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~
Several figures flew in from afar and landed at the edge of the massive lake.
It was none other than Feng Qing'er and her group.
Unwilling to give up, they had circled around and secretly approached again from another direction. Now, staring at the vast magma lake before them, every one of them frowned slightly.
"The Beast Spiritual Barrier is gone. Our clan's remains must've been taken away by them." The black-robed elder leading the group spoke coldly, his face still somewhat pale.
Feng Qing'er closed her eyes slightly, sensing carefully. After a moment, she opened them again and shook her head helplessly. "This place has been completely destroyed. There's no trace of any lingering aura left."
"Such a grand move." Hearing that, Feng Xuan glared at the massive magma lake ahead and said angrily, "They went so far as to turn this entire area into magma just to erase the traces and keep us from finding any clues."
"To turn land into a lake of magma… the power of a Heavenly Flame truly is extraordinary. Black Sun Burning Heaven Flame?"
The black-robed elder sighed with emotion, then spoke in a low voice, "But the more he tries to cover it up like this, the more certain I am that the remains left behind by our clan must be extraordinary!"
"For even someone like Wei Yang, a Five-Colored Tier 8 Alchemist Master, to go through such trouble—he even dared to offend our Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan for it. From that alone, this old man can say with certainty—the ancient remains must belong to a powerhouse above the Dou Zun level!"
"Above Dou Zun!" Upon hearing that, everyone from the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan couldn't help but have their expressions turn extremely grim.
"Send word back to the clan. Let the Elders decide what to do." The black-robed elder instructed helplessly, "With our current strength, there's nothing we can do about them within these ruins."
"Let them be arrogant for a little while longer." The white-robed man, Feng Xuan, gritted his teeth, his voice filled with hatred. "How dare they lay their hands on our clan's remains…? I'll make sure they pay for it!"
If it had only been the remains of a Rank 6 or Rank 7 clansman, then even facing someone like Wei Yang, the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan could have chosen to turn a blind eye.
But the remains of a Dou Zun-level and above expert were a completely different matter—especially one left behind from the distant ancient era. Back then, they weren't called the Heaven Demon Phoenix Clan, but the Ancient Heavenly Phoenix!
Following the same route they had come from, Wei Yang's group continued walking while collecting herbs along the way—especially those rare or nearly extinct outside the ruins.
It wasn't until they reached the outer region, passing the small lake where they had obtained the Soul Baby Fruit, which Wei Yang's group finally began to pick up speed.
About an hour later, they arrived once more before the massive stone gate where they had first entered this place.
Rumble~
As the stone gate slowly pushed open, Wei Yang and the others, before leaving, couldn't help but glance back one last time at the ancient forest behind them.
In their eyes, there was a faint trace of regret. So many rare medicinal herbs—having to just leave them behind like this—it really was painful to watch.
But there was no helping it. If they truly tried to harvest everything, even if they worked themselves to exhaustion for ten days and nights, they wouldn't be able to gather even one percent of what was here.
Time was limited.
They could only focus on collecting the most valuable ones—those rare or even extinct herbs that couldn't be found elsewhere.
Still, thinking about it, their gains from this trip weren't small at all. That alone was some comfort. As their figures stepped through the stone gate and vanished, the gate slowly began to close once more.
Rumble~
In the wide corridor, Wei Yang and the others turned to glance back at the now tightly shut stone door.
As the faint spatial power covering its surface rippled slightly, the moss coating the door slowly faded away, concealing the entrance entirely until it was indistinguishable from the surrounding stone walls.
The group withdrew their gaze and looked around at the corridor and the surrounding pavilions—now reduced to a mess of debris—and couldn't help but shake their heads with a wry smile.
Those guys had been far too rough. They had practically dug three feet into the ground everywhere they went. Now, standing in what looked like ruins, the group exchanged glances.
"Where to next?" Qing Lin turned to Wei Yang and asked.
"Deeper inside. The real treasure should be at the center of this great hall." Wei Yang tilted his chin slightly toward the depths of the corridor.
"Let's go."
He raised his head, identified the direction, and strode ahead toward the other end of the passage. Behind him, Xiao Yan and the others quickly followed.
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