60: Reward your underlings with precious elixirs at will, and your bragging rights will increase by 500!

"What are you all standing there for?" Lin Fan turned around and looked at everyone. "Clean up the battlefield and loot the bodies."

"Ah... yes!" Wang Xiaoming was the first to react, hurriedly leading people forward and enduring the nausea as they searched the four corpses.

Soon, the loot was laid out before Lin Fan.

Four Storage Rings; there were many miscellaneous items inside, but few were valuable.

"Is the Sanctuary this poor?" Lin Fan frowned.

"God Fan," Wang Xiaoming whispered, "these should be standard-issue equipment. The good stuff is likely on their captain... oh, that John from just now."

Only then did Lin Fan remember. He walked over and kicked John's corpse, sliding a ruby-encrusted ring off his finger.

He projected his Mental Energy inside.

Whoa!

The space was more than ten times larger than the previous four!

Inside, hundreds of Mid-Grade Spirit Stones were neatly stacked, along with dozens of bottles of Medicinal Pills, several spare combat uniforms, and a pile of miscellaneous Materials.

Most importantly—in the corner lay a short sword wrapped in silk, its scabbard engraved with intricate Sanctuary patterns.

Lin Fan took out the short sword and unsheathed it.

Buzz!

The blade was entirely silver-white, emitting a faint Holy Light, with a sharp aura that was overwhelming.

[Detected Earth Rank High Grade Holy Light attribute short sword: Blade of Judgment (Imitation)]

[Traits: 200% damage bonus against dark and undead creatures; comes with the skill "Holy Light Slash" (limited to once per day)]

"It's alright." Lin Fan casually tossed it to Qin Yue. "It's suitable for you."

Qin Yue caught the short sword and was stunned. "For... for me?"

"You don't want it?" Lin Fan raised an eyebrow.

"I do!" Qin Yue quickly hugged it tight, a slight blush appearing on her face. "Thank you."

Su Muyu watched from the side, her lips twitching, but she didn't say anything.

[Ding! Casually rewarding others with an Earth Rank High Grade divine weapon, prestige value +500!]

[Current prestige value: 25,870 points!]

Lin Fan rummaged through the ring again and found a parchment map inside John's ring.

The map was crude, marking only some areas on the periphery of the ruins. Several spots were marked with red crosses, with "Danger" or "Explored" written in English next to them.

One of the red crosses was near the palace ruins where they were currently located, labeled "Ancient Alchemy Room (Abandoned)."

"An Alchemy room?" Lin Fan's eyes lit up. "Let's go take a look."

...Half an hour later.

Deep within the ruins, a stone door blocked by a huge boulder was blasted open by Lin Fan's punch.

As the dust settled, a small stone chamber was revealed.

In the center of the stone chamber stood a half-man-high bronze Pill Furnace. The body was covered in verdigris, but exquisite cloud patterns could be vaguely seen.

Beside the Pill Furnace lay a long-weathered skeleton, with a dull ring on one of its fingers.

"There really is something." Lin Fan stepped forward and first picked up the ring.

He projected his Mental Energy inside.

The ring's space wasn't large, containing only three items: several scrolls of damaged Pill Formula Jade Slips, over a dozen empty jade bottles, and a palm-sized black token.

The token was neither metal nor wood, feeling heavy in the hand. The front was engraved with a primitive character for "Pill," and the back featured a pattern of continuous mountain ranges.

[Detected Ancient Pill Sect Identity Token: Core Disciple Token]

[Effect: Can open specific Alchemy room Restrictions; perhaps it can be used in the Pill Sect ruins deep within the site.]

Lin Fan put away the token and looked at the bronze Pill Furnace.

The surface of the Pill Furnace seemed ordinary, but upon careful inspection with his Mental Energy, he found that the inner walls were covered with miniature Spirit Gathering Formations and Fire Control Formations. Although neglected for years and the Formations were incomplete, the foundation was excellent.

"This Pill Furnace..." Su Muyu also saw its extraordinary nature. "It's at least Earth Rank Medium Grade, and in a complete state, it might reach Earth Rank High Grade."

"Just right." Lin Fan grinned and stored the Pill Furnace in the System space. "My purple cloud furnace can retire now."

The purple cloud furnace he had previously bought from the System was only Earth Rank Medium Grade; though this one was damaged, its potential after repair was greater.

"Keep searching."

Everyone searched the stone chamber once more and found a small jade box in a hidden compartment in the corner.

The jade box was opened to reveal three longan-sized, entirely crimson Medicinal Pills.

The Medicinal Pills had golden pill veins on their surface; even after who knows how many years, they still emitted a faint medicinal fragrance.

[Detected Grade Four Medicinal Pill: Dragon Blood Body Tempering Pill (Approximately 30% residual medicinal efficacy)]

[Effect: Tempers the Physical Body and strengthens blood qi; significant effect on those below the Martial Ancestor level]

"Good stuff." Lin Fan's eyes lit up, and he immediately picked one up and popped it into his mouth.

The Medicinal Pill melted instantly, turning into a scorching torrent that surged into his limbs and bones!

Lin Fan's skin instantly turned crimson, white steam rose from his body, and his blood qi churned uncontrollably!

[Consumed Dragon Blood Body Tempering Pill (Damaged), blood qi value +0.8! Physical Body strength slightly improved!]

[Current blood qi value: 13.2!]

Refreshing!

Although only 30% of the efficacy remained, it was a Grade Four Medicinal Pill after all, which was of no small help to his current cultivation.

"The remaining two, you guys split them." Lin Fan tossed the jade box to Wang Xiaoming.

Wang Xiaoming caught it fumbling, his voice trembling with excitement. "Tha... Thank you, God Fan!"

A Grade Four Medicinal Pill!

Even with only 30% efficacy, it was enough to make Great Martial Masters fight tooth and nail for it!

God Fan just rewarded them with it so casually?

"God Fan is so generous!"

"Following God Fan was definitely the right choice!"

The students flattered him one after another, their eyes looking at Lin Fan with even more fervor and awe.

[Ding! Casually rewarding underlings with precious Medicinal Pills, prestige value +500!]

[Current prestige value: 26,370 points!]

Lin Fan waved his hand. "Less talk, hurry up. Let's explore two more spots before dark."

...Over the next few hours, Lin Fan led the team to explore two more marked spots on the periphery of the ruins.

One was an abandoned armory where most of the weapons had rusted and decayed; they only found a few usable Artifact Refining Materials.

The other was a small Spirit Medicine garden. Unfortunately, the Spirit Medicines had long since withered, leaving only a few barely surviving ones of low rank, which Lin Fan casually distributed to the injured students in the team.

And Lin Fan's prestige value also rose accordingly.

[Current prestige value: 28,070 points!]

The sky gradually darkened.

The dark red sky became deeper, and a cold aura began to permeate the air.

"The ruins are very dangerous at night," Su Muyu looked up at the sky. "Ancient records state that Ruin Beasts emerge at night specifically to hunt living things."

"Ruin Beasts?" Lin Fan raised an eyebrow.

"Monsters condensed from resentment, remnant souls, and special energy within the ancient ruins," Qin Yue added. "They have no intelligence, only killing instincts, and are very difficult to kill completely."

Just as she was speaking...

From the distant ruins came a tooth-gritting "creak."

It was as if something was crawling while dragging a heavy object.

Then came a low, inhuman roar.

"It's here." Lin Fan's eyes lit up. Instead of being afraid, he was somewhat excited.

He was just worrying about having no place to test his newly practiced "Great Desolation Heaven Imprisoning Finger."

"Everyone, form a defensive Formation!" Wang Xiaoming reacted quickly, immediately commanding the students to form a circle back-to-back.

Su Muyu and Qin Yue also drew their weapons, standing ready.

In the darkness...

Several distorted figures slowly crawled out from the shadows of the ruins.

They were three... indescribable monsters.

They were generally human-like but on all fours, with rotting gray-green skin covered in pustules and cracks.

Their heads had no facial features, only a large mouth that split all the way to the ears, filled with dense rows of sharp teeth.

They emitted a nauseating aura of decay, and wherever they passed, even the stones sizzled from corrosion.

"It's Rotting Corpse Ruin Beasts!" a knowledgeable student cried out in alarm. "They have the strength of the Martial Ancestor Middle Stage. Watch out for their venom and corrosiveness!"

Before his voice had even faded...

The three Rotting Corpse Ruin Beasts moved simultaneously!

Their speed was as fast as a phantom, turning into three gray shadows pouncing toward the crowd!

"Seeking death."

Lin Fan took a step forward, blocking the way at the very front.