57: Chapter 57: Wherever it passed, not a blade of grass remained!

Pang Qiandu was astonished.

Half a year ago, he and the person in front of him had joined forces as two Body Integration Stage Cultivators to ambush Yu Lingshuang for the secondary cauldron in her possession, but they ended up being beaten so badly that they had to flee in a panic, utterly humiliated!

That terrifying strength still made him shudder at the thought of it to this day.

Fang Qiushi twitched the corner of his mouth, revealing a trace of coldness: "That is correct. What, do you not believe me?"

"Should I say you are lucky, or are you truly not afraid of death?" Pang Qiandu's tone was complex.

"If that woman were still in her prime, or even if she just had her Nascent Soul Stage cultivation, you would be dead!"

"But I won the gamble, did I not?" Fang Qiushi's expression was indifferent, but a trace of sinister intent flashed in the depths of his eyes.

"Hmph!" Pang Qiandu snorted coldly, "But I fear you have lost everything else you wagered on, down to your very last undergarments, have you not?"

"..." Fang Qiushi's face darkened, his eyes suddenly becoming as cold as ice, and he did not respond.

"I had always thought her Lunar True Essence was truly boundless and peerless, to the point that even the Yin-Corrosion Powder could do nothing to her, but it seems that is not the case..."

Pang Qiandu muttered to himself for a moment, then thought of the current situation, "However, both you and I can currently only barely exert the power of the Nascent Soul Stage. Since she is within the Moonshadow Sect and has that Nascent Soul Cultivator guarding it, it is indeed difficult to take action against her directly."

Suddenly, a dark light flared in his eyes, "Very well! Since she has already fallen to the Golden Core Realm, unless she has some Heaven-Defying Opportunity, her Realm will only continue to decline! What else do I have to be wary of!"

Previously, because Pang Qiandu feared being discovered by Yu Lingshuang, he dared not restore his strength openly and could only do so covertly, utilizing the power of a small Sect like the Huoyan Sect to gather resources.

A hideous smile appeared on his withered face: "Just wait! Once I have recovered most of my injuries, I only need to return to the Soul Transformation Stage... and that will be enough to sweep across this Qing State!"

"At that time, whoever stands in my way, I will kill!"

...

Under the sycophantic guidance of the red-faced Elder, Ling Hao ventured deep into the heart of the volcano. "Sect Master Ling, this way, this way!"

The red-faced Elder bowed and scraped, pointing to an inconspicuous lava fissure, "Hehe, I know of a shortcut here. By taking this small path, we can reach the core area of the treasury faster."

Ling Hao glanced at him without committing, then followed him into the steaming fissure passage.

Before long, the view suddenly opened up. A massive, heavy red copper gate was embedded in the rock wall, with runes flowing across its surface, emitting a scorching aura.

The red-faced Elder hurried forward and took out a token, inserting it into the groove on the copper gate.

The heavy red copper gate slowly opened, and a rich wave of Spiritual Qi, mixed with the scent of metal Ores and Spiritual Plants, rushed towards them.

The interior space of the treasury was extremely vast, divided by Formations into several zones:

Left zone: Piles of Spirit Stones formed several small mountains! The Low-Grade Spirit Stones shimmered with a gentle white light, while the Medium-Grade Spirit Stones emitted a blue-green luster. A rough glance revealed no less than fifty million Low-Grade Spirit Stones and twenty thousand Medium-Grade Spirit Stones!

Right zone: Various Ores piled high like mountains, including Red Flame Iron, Fire Melting Stone, and Golden Crow Essence with magma-like veins flowing through it... every one of them was a superior material for refining fire-type Magical Artifacts.

Front zone: Dozens of tall jade shelves stood in rows, holding Secret Manuals in the form of Jade Slips, leather scrolls, and bone books.

Ling Hao's Divine Sense swept over them, and the names of Cultivation Techniques and Spells such as "Molten Fire Heart Sutra," "Diyan Evasion Technique," "Burning Heaven Palm," and "True Interpretation of Fire Control" entered his mind.

Corner zone: Pill bottles and jade boxes overflowing with spiritual light were neatly stacked in layers, labeled with names like "Fire Nourishing Pill," "Blazing Sun Pill," and "Fire-Repelling Pulse-Protecting Pill."

There were also other zones, with Spiritual Plants, Spiritual Wood, and so on.

In the deepest part, on several independent stone platforms, floated a few Magic Treasures and Magical Artifacts that radiated powerful fluctuations: a long blade with flowing magma patterns, a chest guard engraved with a flaming Phoenix, and a small red flag.

A brilliant light flared in Ling Hao's eyes!

This trip was the right choice! Absolutely right!

With a wave of his large hand, a terrifying suction force instantly enveloped the entire treasury.

The mountains of Spirit Stones, piles of Ores, shelves of Secret Manuals, pill bottles, along with the Magic Treasures and Magical Artifacts on the stone platforms, all rushed into the storage space at his waist like a hundred rivers returning to the sea!

Within a few breaths, the massive treasury had been swept clean, not even leaving behind a speck of dust!

Feeling the mountain of resources in his storage space, Ling Hao sank his consciousness into the core of his Grotto-Heaven.

Looking at the progress bar representing the growth of the Grotto-Heaven, he pondered for a moment: "The current Sect construction cannot use this many resources for the time being... it would be better to feed them directly to the Grotto-Heaven!"

With a thought, over seventy percent of the Ores and spiritual items were instantly poured into the Grotto-Heaven core.

The Grotto-Heaven core vibrated violently, emitting a brilliant radiance! The progress bar visibly surged upward by a large chunk!

But as expected, the further the Grotto-Heaven grew, the more terrifying and massive the resources required became.

This massive investment ultimately only pushed the progress bar from the Early Stage to one-third of the way into the Middle Stage. Subsequent growth became visibly extremely slow.

"Let's go, lead the way. To the next location." Ling Hao wore a smile, still feeling unsatisfied, and looked at the red-faced Elder.

Looking at the empty treasury, the red-faced Elder's eyelids twitched violently, and he felt extreme pain in his heart, but he dared not show the slightest bit of it, and could only force a smile as he continued to lead the way.

"Yes! Yes! The Sect still has several secret treasuries and medicinal gardens..."

Next, under the guidance of the red-faced Elder, Ling Hao swept clean the several secret treasuries, precious medicinal gardens, and Artifact Refining material storage rooms that the Huoyan Sect had accumulated over many years!

Everywhere he passed, not a blade of grass remained!

Finally, when the last corner had been looted, the red-faced Elder looked at Ling Hao cautiously: "Sect Master Ling... I have... I have taken you to all the places. May I... may I leave now?"

Ling Hao stopped in his tracks, turned around, and smiled half-heartedly: "What is the rush? Wait for one more person."

"Wait... wait for whom?" A feeling of ominous foreboding rose in the red-faced Elder's heart.

As soon as he finished speaking, a pink figure drifted over like light smoke and landed beside Ling Hao; it was none other than the mature and charming Deputy Sect Master, Chi Shuying.

Ling Hao did not even glance at the red-faced Elder and casually instructed Chi Shuying: "Kill him."

Having said that, he turned and left on his own.

The red-faced Elder was struck as if by lightning and screamed in terror: "No! Sect Master Ling! You said you would not kill me! You said it yourself!"

Chi Shuying's beautiful eyes were cold as she approached step by step.

Ling Hao did not turn his head back, his indifferent voice drifting over: "What I said was 'I will not kill you,' but I never said... I would not let someone else kill you."

The red-faced Elder's desperate roar came to an abrupt end.

Tianhuo Sect, a cliffside pavilion shrouded in Spiritual Qi.

The Grand Elder of the Tianhuo Sect stood in the pavilion, facing the Young Lord, Song Qingfeng, who was sitting on a stone stool: "Young Lord, something has happened to the Huoyan Sect."

Song Qingfeng, who was holding a teacup, paused abruptly. "What? Something happened to the Huoyan Sect?!"

Mo Cangming's expression remained unchanged as he continued his report: "Several days ago, the Moonshadow Sect Master, Ling Hao, led a group to launch a surprise attack on the Huoyan Sect. The two Golden Core Elders left behind have both been killed in battle. The Sect's treasury has been looted clean."

Crack—! The white jade teacup in Song Qingfeng's hand was smashed violently onto the stone table by him! Tea splashed everywhere, and the bottom of the cup shattered!

"Ahhh—! Moonshadow Sect!" Song Qingfeng's handsome face was twisted with rage, "Just an upstart who got lucky! Where did he get the audacity to attack my Huoyan Sect?!"

The Grand Elder stood with his hands behind his back and added: "According to reports, Liuyun Temple seems to have formed an alliance with the Moonshadow Sect."

He stopped there, offering no further speculation.

"Liuyun Temple?" Song Qingfeng's angry expression stiffened, a sharp light flashed in his eyes, and then it turned into a cold realization.

He slowly sat back down on the stone stool, his fingers tapping the tabletop unconsciously, the corner of his mouth curling into a mocking arc: "Heh... that is not strange at all, that is not strange at all!"

Suppressing the raging fire of his anger, Song Qingfeng looked up at Mo Cangming, his voice carrying a suppressed urgency: "Grand Elder, according to your observations, how much longer will it take for my parents to return to the Sect?"

The Grand Elder stroked his beard and pondered for a moment, his gaze cast toward the distant Demon Subduing Plains, and he replied calmly: "The Sect Master and the Diyan Sect Master have gone deep to investigate the Immortal Cave of the Demon Subduing True Venerable. Based on the last transmission, their return... will take three more months."