Chapter 98 Treasure Hunt

Little Black obediently stood guard by his side, its eyes scanning the surroundings vigilantly, as if worried something might pounce out from the shadows.

The reality was exactly as Ye Fan had guessed; the seemingly peaceful Heavenly Demon Palace was actually fraught with hidden dangers.

With no one having set foot here for a hundred years, this place had long since become a paradise for Yao Beasts.

Under the constant washing of resentment, they were even more terrifying than the Yao Beasts of the outside world; faced with the sudden intrusion of human Cultivators, their bloodthirsty nature was about to be completely unleashed.

In such a perilous situation, Ye Fan didn't dare waste time. He exerted all his strength to refine the power of the Medicinal Pills, and after an hour, he had recovered fifty to sixty percent of his injuries.

"As expected of the secret medicine stored at Pill Cauldron Peak; its effects are likely no worse than those from Medicine King Valley."

For the sake of Ye Fan, the Sect's Dao Seed, Qing Mingzi had truly spared no expense, giving him many benefits both openly and secretly.

If he hadn't failed to find a suitable Magic Treasure in time, he would have prepared several for Ye Fan no matter what.

Ye Fan let out a long breath. Seeing Little Black still on high alert, he patted its head dotingly.

Ye Fan swept his Divine Sense outward, attempting to find traces of others, but the result made him furrow his brows.

"My Divine Sense is being obstructed and can only extend less than a few dozen meters?"

Ye Fan had noticed this earlier, but he had thought it was because his injuries were too severe. Now, it seemed it was caused by the special environment of this place.

"Damn it, in this situation, finding Wan'er will be harder than ascending to heaven."

During its peak, the Heavenly Demon Palace was the overlord of the Southwest. The land occupied by the Sect was vast beyond imagination; even ten Joyous Union Sects might not be as large.

If luck was bad, ghost knows when he would find Murong Wan.

Ye Fan composed his thoughts and cautiously felt his way around. Judging by the dilapidated buildings nearby, he should be somewhere inside the Sect, certainly not in the peripheral areas.

Even though a hundred years had passed, traces left by that great war were still visible everywhere.

Countless Sword Qi and blade marks were carved into the floors and collapsed buildings, and withered white bones lay scattered all over the ground.

Ye Fan had walked less than a few dozen meters when he saw at least a hundred corpses. From this, one could imagine how tragic that great war had been.

Just as Ye Fan turned a corner, a hideous Yao Beast suddenly lunged from the shadows behind him, pouncing with lightning speed.

But Ye Fan acted as if he hadn't seen it. In the next second, a sturdy python tail swept out fiercely, sending the opponent flying with a single strike. It collapsed on the ground, struggled a few times, and then breathed its last.

"Well done."

Little Black flicked its tongue smugly, wearing a look of great pride.

Ye Fan looked at the creature that had ambushed him. It was a Yao Beast resembling a lynx, but its strange appearance was completely different from anything recorded in the Compendium of a Hundred Yao. It seemed to be a new species mutated by the resentment in the Heavenly Demon Palace.

"Do you want to eat it?"

Seeing Little Black constantly drooling, Ye Fan seemed somewhat speechless and finally gave in to its wishes.

Little Black opened its large mouth and swallowed the lynx whole. Its long tail patted its belly contentedly, though it didn't look full yet.

"Glutton, don't run too far."

With Ye Fan's permission, Little Black happily ran off to hunt, leaving him to search the area alone.

Before Ye Fan was a dilapidated small plaza, surrounded by various collapsed halls. It looked like some kind of departmental office.

Ye Fan's Divine Sense swept through these halls, and he soon made a new discovery.

"Is this a Pill Chamber?"

A Pill Chamber, as the name suggested, was a place for refining and storing Medicinal Pills, an indispensable facility for any large Sect.

Ye Fan entered the Pill Chamber to search. In just one hall, he found over a hundred foundation establishment pills, more than the Joyous Union Sect produced in ten years.

If they hadn't lost their medicinal efficacy due to improper preservation, this haul could have earned him at least several million Spirit Stones.

From this point alone, one could see just how powerful the Heavenly Demon Palace was back then.

Ye Fan continued searching several other Pill Chambers, but the results were the same without exception—all had lost their efficacy because the storage jade bottles were cracked.

"It seems the Heavenly Demon Palace was completely unprepared back then, but the Righteous and Demonic Factions don't seem to have gained much either; at least, they didn't have time to clear out the spoils of war."

Thinking of this, Ye Fan became increasingly puzzled. He couldn't understand what could have happened to make the Righteous and Demonic Factions flee in such a hurry.

However, from the current situation, Ye Fan could more or less guess what the Five Demonic Sects intended to do.

Medicinal Pills were difficult to preserve, but Divine Abilities, Cultivation Techniques, and even Magical Artifacts and Magic Treasures were different.

If these things weren't deliberately destroyed, they would remain as good as new even after being stored for hundreds or thousands of years.

Evidently, neither the Righteous nor Demonic Factions had time to gather the spoils during that great war. Thus, the Demonic Path Sects were likely here for these items.

If they really found the techniques and Divine Abilities left behind by the Heavenly Demon Palace, their strength would surely surge. At that time, the Nine Great Sects would be in real trouble.

Ye Fan finally cleared his thoughts. Although he might not be entirely correct, he was likely close to the mark.

Ye Fan continued to feel his way deeper into the palace. Soon, he heard the sounds of spiritual explosions, feeling as if someone was engaged in combat.

Ye Fan thought for a moment, then used the Heaven Concealing Art to hide his presence. He moved silently toward the source of the spiritual explosions, only to see an unexpected scene.

In a half-collapsed hall, six Cultivators from the Righteous and Demonic Factions were actually working together to attack a barrier.

Enveloped within was an ancient banner wreathed in black Qi; even from such a distance, one could feel the terrifying power it radiated.

"Is this a top-grade magic treasure?!"

Ye Fan's pupils shrank suddenly, and he immediately understood what was happening.

Judging by the nearby battle traces, these six people most likely discovered this place by accident during a fierce fight.

Initially, they all wanted to kill each other to take the Magic Treasure for themselves, but they soon realized that a single side's power was not enough to open the barrier. Out of desperation, they could only choose to join forces.

Don't be fooled by their seamless cooperation now; once the barrier's light screen shattered, what awaited them would be another tragic slaughter.

Although this barrier was extraordinary, its power had long since been severely depleted by a hundred years of erosion. It simply couldn't withstand the bombardment of six Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivators.

Almost the instant the light screen shattered, both sides suddenly attacked.

Ye Fan originally wanted to lend a hand to the Nine Sect Disciples, but the development of the situation far exceeded his expectations.

The slaughter between the two sides ended almost instantly. All three from the Demonic Path were dead, and one of the Nine Sect Disciples had also fallen.

The two survivors were both dressed as Disciples of the Qingtian Sword Sect. Before one of them even had time to celebrate, a sharp sword pierced through his body from behind.

"Junior Brother, you..."

The man turned his head in disbelief, unable to believe that the Junior Brother he usually took great care of would actually launch a sneak attack on him.

"Senior Brother, if you want to blame someone, blame this Magic Treasure for being too tempting. This is a good item that even a Core Formation Realm Expert would envy. I don't want to stay in the Foundation Establishment Realm for the rest of my life."