Crossing through the restriction formation, Li Ye's life-bound puppet entered the heavily sealed ruins of what seemed to be part of a Secret Pavilion.
Li Ye split a portion of his consciousness to observe through the puppet, immediately halting its movement the moment it got inside he dared not let it advance recklessly.
"Not just the exterior... the internal formations are just as heavily fortified," he murmured with a slight frown, instantly becoming more cautious.
Although their intrusion hadn't triggered any immediate response from the inner restrictions, being deep inside was a completely different matter. Should anything provoke a backlash, there'd likely be nowhere left to run!
As he explored further, his eyes gradually lit up.
The structure was unique though severely damaged, it seemed to be just a fragment from the corner of a larger building.
Yet the spatial divisions maintained by the restriction formations inside still preserved a certain level of sealed integrity. Despite the small area, its defenses were every bit as solid as those outside.
Leaving would also require some effort and a few more Formations-breaking talismans.
But that was secondary.
The important part was within this building, numerous compartments had been sealed off individually by formations, each holding a scattered item.
That alone was enough to confirm this place was indeed part of the Secret Pavilion. Li Ye's judgment had been correct!
However, a single glance revealed that the vast majority of the compartments were empty.
Only three or four still held items out of what must've been dozens of compartments formed by separate formations in the grand hall. The retention rate was incredibly low.
The place felt downright barren.
"Tch... with so few items left, they were either used up when the place was besieged by multiple factions, or taken by high-ranking elders or top disciples when they fled…"
"Is there even a chance the Profound Fire Essence remains?"
Surveying the scene, Li Ye rubbed his chin and muttered, his mood surprisingly calm.
Finding this place meant he had pretty much exhausted every possible lead. Even if there was no Profound Fire Essence, he could still attempt Core Formation using a fallback method like the Golden Core Condensation Technique.
There was no need to become overly obsessed such fixation might even hinder his breakthrough.
These restriction formations, thankfully, didn't obstruct spiritual sense. Each compartment had a marker that, when touched by a spiritual probe, would emit a glow and reveal its contents directly to his mind.
Li Ye extended his spiritual sense and began checking the four remaining items.
"Soul-Subduing Wood, Profound Fire Essence, Ironfeather Essence Gold… Profound Fire Essence…"
"Two portions of Profound Fire Essence?!"
At the entrance of the subterranean lava passage, Li Ye couldn't help but let out a low exclamation, his expression showing a rare hint of loss of composure.
He had just managed to calm his mind and even felt his state of heart had subtly improved only to be suddenly hit with two portions of such a rare treasure.
The Profound Fire Essence, a core-forming spiritual item coveted by countless Foundation Establishment cultivators, had remained buried for so many years in this lightless, ruined Secret Pavilion!
"It seems this item was a stable resource for the Heavencraft Hall back in the day... Even at the very end, they still had such reserves left," he muttered.
"But if word of this gets out, the Chidi Mountains will be swarming with people again…"
Li Ye murmured to himself, his expression still tinged with a bit of disbelief.
Years ago, many cultivators had flocked to the newly revealed Lava Palace in search of fortune. Though a few lucky ones managed to gain some opportunities, most were blocked by the chaotic restriction arrays and could only circle the outskirts much of which had already been explored by Li Ye, leaving behind little of value.
Over time, the danger outweighed the potential gains, and interest waned especially after the emergence of the Golden Core Fire Beast that slaughtered members of three major sects. That incident had dampened the greed in many hearts.
But if today's discovery were to become known… things would be very different.
"Of course, there's no way anyone else will find out," Li Ye said with a smile, shaking his head.
Now that he had the Frost Condensate Water, obtaining this Profound Fire Essence would raise his odds of a successful breakthrough significantly.
And that extra portion also an incredibly rare treasure would certainly have many uses in the future.
With that in mind, he sent his puppet forward to begin probing the restrictions in the area.
From his earlier observations, he had already determined that the formations here were primarily protective, meant to preserve the contents of the compartments rather than actively attack intruders.
Otherwise, his intrusion earlier would have triggered a response.
The puppet moved toward various compartments, revealing there was still decent room for movement. Even when it tried to touch the restriction arrays forming the compartments, it was merely repelled nothing more severe or dangerous occurred.
"These are third-tier formations. If they lack autonomous offensive measures, the only danger might be a retaliatory strike when attempting to forcefully breach the restriction and seize the treasure…"
"Then again, it could also be that when the Heavencraft Hall built this Secret Pavilion, they didn't see the need to protect third-tier spirit materials too heavily…"
He pondered silently while instructing his puppet to run tests on the empty compartments trying different methods to trigger and observe any responses from the restrictions.
Li Ye was cautious of potential self-destruct mechanisms hidden within the array. To retrieve the spirit items as safely as possible, it was best to run trials on empty compartments first.
"These aren't complex structures. Their power is quite ordinary the main functions are protection and preservation. Their formation principles are quite similar to those recorded in the Heavenly Craft Scripture… Cracking them shouldn't be a problem. I'm confident I can take everything here."
As he thought this, his life-bound puppet took out an array of formation tools, inserting them into the empty compartments and gradually adjusting them based on the reactions of the restriction formations.
This trial-and-error process continued for several hours.
Buzz… Buzz…
Several formation tools embedded into the restriction nodes began to tremble slightly, resonating with the key points of the array and steadily destabilizing the formation guarding the compartment.
The spiritual light suddenly dimmed and then quickly faded away most of the formation dissipated in an instant. If there had been a spiritual item inside, it could have been taken freely at that moment.
This state lasted for about a single breath before the surrounding array began self-repairing, quickly reconstructing the formation and restoring the barrier.
"So it does have a self-repair mechanism. But a single breath… that's more than enough time for me," Li Ye said with satisfaction.
Now that he had succeeded once, he had a better grasp of the restrictions' nature.
These formations were part of a larger array. Though capable of running independently, they lacked some functionalities and power. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy to break through.
That said, several of his puppets had still been destroyed during the repeated trials those retaliation surges weren't exactly gentle.
But compared to the Profound Fire Essence he was about to obtain, such losses were negligible.
With the successful method in hand, Li Ye repeated the process on the four compartments containing spirit items.
Without much trouble, he retrieved them all smoothly.
Peeling off the sealing talisman from a small black-gold cauldron that held the Profound Fire Essence, Li Ye opened the lid and immediately, a surge of black-red, searing energy rushed out. Inside was a lava-like liquid, active and pure, swirling with vitality.
"Just as the ancient texts described... Its spiritual essence is completely intact."
Li Ye's gaze softened with emotion. "Now that the Profound Fire Essence is in my hands, the final piece of the puzzle for my Golden Core path is complete!"
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