Chapter 162: Treasures of the Cavern

Chapter 162: Treasures of the Cavern

"This is..."

Chu Ning was still in shock as he recalled the scene he had just "witnessed."

"Could this be the remnants of images left by the powerful cultivators of this ancient sect? But why am I able to see them?"

The vividness of the scene convinced Chu Ning that it was not a product of his imagination. He could even recall the distinct features of the people in the vision.

With caution, Chu Ning stepped forward and approached the last of the chairs. He extended his spiritual sense, carefully scrutinizing it.

There seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary about the chair.

Hesitating for a moment, Chu Ning reached out and gently touched the chair.

"...!"

To his surprise, the primitively styled chair silently crumbled under his touch, turning into a cloud of powder that settled on the ground.

"These chairs must have been crafted from fine spiritual wood, but their extreme antiquity has caused them to completely disintegrate over time," Chu Ning muttered to himself. He turned to leave but then, on a whim, reached out to touch the remaining chairs.

Like the first, each of the chairs turned to powder at his touch.

Chu Ning shook his head as he finished turning all thirteen chairs to dust. He had hoped to find something special on them, especially after witnessing the mystical vision earlier. But it seemed his expectations were too far-fetched.

Chu Ning ascended the steps once more and approached the two main chairs. These chairs were noticeably more intricate than the others. They were adorned with carvings of unfamiliar yet impressive patterns. Each armrest was shaped like a different mythical beast.

One of the chairs had armrests resembling a phoenix-like bird, while the other had armrests akin to a bovine creature.

After examining them for a while, Chu Ning reached out and gently touched the left chair.

Instantly, it, too, turned to powder and fell to the ground.

"Clink!"

A crisp sound caught his attention, and he looked down to see two dark crimson rings, almost black, that had fallen from the chairs.

Upon closer inspection, Chu Ning realized that the rings had dropped from the mouths of the phoenix-like creatures that formed the armrests. The birds' beaks had been slightly open, but he hadn't noticed anything inside until now.

Intrigued, Chu Ning crouched down and picked up the rings. As he held them, he felt a powerful aura, and within it, a distinct fiery attribute.

"This feels similar to..." Chu Ning's eyes narrowed as a gleam flashed in his eyes. The sensation of power emanating from the rings reminded him of the black dagger he had encountered before, when it was activated.

"Could these rings be genuine artifacts, possessing such power even without being activated?" Chu Ning's heart raced with excitement and curiosity. He attempted to infuse his spiritual energy into one of the rings.

However, the energy seemed to be swallowed up by the ring, with no response at all.

Chu Ning paused for a moment, then tried again, holding one ring in each hand and infusing them with his energy.

Once more, the rings remained inert, unaffected by his spiritual energy. Even when he tried to probe them with his spiritual sense, he could not perceive anything within them.

"Could these also be incomplete artifacts, like the black dagger, with limitations on their use?" Chu Ning frowned slightly, realizing that now was not the time to examine them further.

He carefully placed the rings into a jade box and stored it in his spatial pouch. Then, he turned his attention to the remaining chair.

Instead of touching it directly, he leaned closer to examine the armrest. Sure enough, he spotted something within the open mouth of the bovine creature—a spherical object.

Chu Ning reached out and touched both armrests. They crumbled instantly, revealing two spherical items that fell into his outstretched hands.

The spheres were about the size of eggs, deep indigo in color. As he held them, he sensed an incredibly foreign yet violent force emanating from them—a force that seemed to be of the lightning attribute.

"Is this the aura of lightning?" Chu Ning's eyes widened in surprise and curiosity. He cautiously infused a small amount of spiritual energy into the spheres to test them.

As expected, they showed no reaction.

"These items should still be usable since I can infuse them with spiritual energy," he thought to himself. "It's completely different from the black dagger, which was so restricted that it couldn't even accept energy."

Chu Ning stored the spheres in another jade box and placed it in his spatial pouch. After a thorough scan of the hall, he found nothing else of note and decided to move on. He followed the wide passage next to the hall, heading toward the rear.

To his relief, the path was unobstructed, and he soon reached the back of the hall. There, he found a series of cavernous chambers, stacked in eight layers, each layer hundreds of feet tall, with chambers on either side.

The eighth layer soared into the clouds, beyond the reach of Chu Ning's vision.

He turned his attention to the lower layers and saw that the chambers there were mostly dilapidated and decrepit. If not for the names inscribed on each layer, he might not have recognized them as cultivation chambers at all.

"Eight layers... Could this correspond to the fifteen cultivators I saw earlier?" Chu Ning wondered aloud as he began climbing the broad staircase.

Since that was the case, Chu Ning immediately rode the puppet bird towards the cave dwelling on the first level.

The puppet bird circled inside the cave, where everything was in a state of collapse, and found nothing else of note.

There didn't seem to be any artifacts or even spiritual plants and herbs present.

After perceiving that there was no danger, Chu Ning also stepped into the cave dwelling to take a look around.

He even used his spiritual sense to scan the area but still found nothing out of the ordinary.

Ascending the steps, Chu Ning consecutively inspected six or seven cave dwellings, all of which were similar.

He then quickened his pace.

As he reached the sixth layer, Chu Ning abruptly came to a halt.

His eyes flickered with surprise and doubt as he looked towards a cave dwelling on the left.

The area where the name of the cave dwelling was inscribed was already damaged, making it impossible to discern what was written there.

However, Chu Ning was still able to make a rough inference based on its previous position.

"If I didn't guess wrong before,

This should be the cave dwelling of one of the thirteen people sitting below, a black-haired old man with a short beard.

Why does this cave dwelling have a stronger spiritual energy than the previous ones, and why do I vaguely feel a sense of life from it?"

Chu Ning was indeed surprised. He had been walking in this ancient site for so long.

Up until now, he hadn't felt any sign of life, not even a single plant or flower.

But at this moment, under his keen spiritual sense, he was clearly able to sense the uniqueness of this cave dwelling.

Controlling the puppet bird to enter the cave dwelling, Chu Ning held the magical mirror to view the interior.

"Are those spirit herbs?"

The next moment, Chu Ning's eyes lit up.

However, he didn't dare to enter the cave dwelling directly. Instead, he asked Ling Xiaobai, "Little White, are there any restrictions in this cave dwelling?"

Ling Xiaobai poked her head out to sense the surroundings, then jumped directly out of Chu Ning's sleeve and into the cave dwelling.

At the entrance of the cave dwelling, Ling Xiaobai suddenly turned her head.

"Yes!"

Just as Chu Ning was taken aback, Ling Xiaobai's next words reached him.

"There's something to eat!"

Chu Ning couldn't help but feel both amused and exasperated when he heard that.

However, since the little guy had said there were no restrictions, then there definitely weren't any.

Some major event must have occurred here previously, otherwise, these cave dwellings wouldn't be without restrictions.

Even if he set up a cave dwelling himself, he would still arrange some array formations and restrictions.

With that in mind, Chu Ning's figure flashed, and he followed Ling Xiaobai into the cave dwelling.

Soon, Chu Ning saw several spirit herbs in the center of the cave dwelling.

The spirit herbs weren't tall, only about two inches in length, and each had five leaves.

The leaves were a pale green color, shaped like swords, and had golden flower buds at the top.

The flower petals were covered with countless thread-like veins, resembling stars in the night sky.

"The rich spiritual energy and life force I felt earlier should be emanating from these spirit herbs."

As Chu Ning muttered to himself, Ling Xiaobai let out a soft "whine" and transmitted her voice to him.

Upon hearing her, a hint of surprise flashed across Chu Ning's face.

"You said these spirit herbs are called 'Tian Yuan Cao', and consuming them would greatly help your injuries?

How do you know their name?"

After Chu Ning asked, Ling Xiaobai shook her head.

Thinking that this little guy might have some innate knowledge and memories, such as the Xuan Ming Jue, Chu Ning wasn't too surprised.

"Are there any special requirements for harvesting these spirit herbs?"

Chu Ning asked again. Ling Xiaobai directly approached the spirit herbs, took a bite, and devoured most of one of them.

Before Chu Ning could say anything, she grabbed the remaining half, pulled it out of the ground, and gobbled it down, roots and all.

Watching Ling Xiaobai's simple and violent approach, Chu Ning was left stunned.

However, seeing that the little guy didn't seem interested in eating any more, Chu Ning carefully harvested the remaining Tian Yuan Cao plants and placed them in a jade box.

At this moment, Chu Ning began to examine the cave dwelling.

He noticed that compared to the previous ones, this cave dwelling was noticeably less damaged.

It just seemed like it hadn't been tended to for a long time.

Perhaps because of this, spiritual plants were still able to grow here.

Moreover, the stone rooms were all intact.

Chu Ning entered three consecutive stone rooms, finding them mostly empty.

Occasionally, there would be items in one of the rooms, but due to the passage of time, they had weathered away.

As he entered the last stone room, Chu Ning's eyes brightened.

This stone room was quite spacious, and in the center was a stone table with a pill furnace on it, indicating that it was a pill refining room.

Chu Ning walked over to the stone table next to the pill furnace and looked at the items on it with a sense of surprise.

The table was covered in dust, but he could vaguely make out a jade slip, a jade box, and several stone-like objects.

Chu Ning carefully cast a spell to remove the dust, ensuring there were no other restrictions before reaching out to pick up the jade box and open it.

Inside, there was a completely withered and dried-up spirit herb.

Chu Ning gently touched it, and the spirit herb instantly turned to powder.

"It's been too long. Even the preservation of the jade box couldn't prevent this."

Chu Ning shook his head and picked up the jade slip that was lying next to it.

As he took a cursory look inside, his eyes lit up.

"Ling Dan Ji Yao - Yi Changfeng"

After a brief glance, Chu Ning withdrew his gaze, a smile of excitement on his face.

"I don't know if Yi Changfeng was the name of that black-haired, black-bearded old man, but this is a systematic pill refining technique he authored.

It not only includes pill refining techniques ranging from low to high levels but also covers fire control methods, selection of spirit herbs, and various other aspects.

For someone who had just started dabbling in pill refining, if not for the unsuitable location, Chu Ning would have loved to devour the entire Ling Dan Ji Yao in one go.

Carefully storing the jade slip in his spatial pouch, Chu Ning marveled at the treasure he had found.

He couldn't help but speculate about the circumstances back then.

Perhaps that senior was refining pills right here when something unexpected happened, causing him to abruptly stop and leave the items on the table as they were.

With these thoughts in mind, Chu Ning's gaze turned to the pill furnace in front of him.

"This pill furnace is also of high quality. Not only can it use earth fire, but it can also be used with firestones, unlike my own pill furnace which can only use earth fire."

As Chu Ning casually wiped away the dust from the pill furnace, he muttered to himself.

Of course, he was also aware that this high-grade pill furnace had far more advantages.

In terms of heat conduction and controlling the overflow of spiritual energy, it performed much better.

It was like a good talisman pen that could increase the success rate of pill refining.

With a casual wave of his hand, Chu Ning opened the lid of the pill furnace.

Then, leaning forward, he peered inside and noticed some faint traces of pill residue.

This seemed to corroborate Chu Ning's earlier conjecture. It appeared that something unexpected had occurred back then, causing the senior to abruptly halt his pill refining, resulting in the pill-in-progress turning into pill residue.

Without further ado, Chu Ning closed the lid, then stored the entire pill furnace and the firestones from the table into his spatial pouch.

He surveyed the entire pill refining room once more, but upon finding nothing else of note, he left the cave abode.

At this moment, a flicker of confusion crossed Chu Ning's eyes.

If this ancient sect had met with some unforeseen battle in the past, why were the lower cave abodes completely damaged, while this layer remained untouched?

He turned his gaze to the cave abode on the right, releasing the puppet bird to fly inside.

Finding that it, too, was undamaged, he entered once more.

According to his earlier conjecture, this should have belonged to one of the thirteen people, a middle-aged-looking cultivator.

As Chu Ning stepped into the cave abode, he found it similarly intact.

However, the stone rooms within were empty, and he made no new discoveries.

When Chu Ning reached the last stone room and attempted to enter, he paused momentarily.

"There's a restriction?"

Upon discovering the restriction on the stone room, Chu Ning immediately called out to Ling Xiaobai.

Ling Xiaobai sensed the restriction's fluctuations and, in a flash, darted into the stone room.

Before long, the little guy reappeared, carrying something in his mouth.

"What's that?"

Chu Ning looked at the item in Ling Xiaobai's mouth, a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

He reached out to take it, and to his surprise, it turned out to be a piece of armor, crafted from an unknown supple material.

However, it didn't emit any significant spiritual aura, and Chu Ning, using his method of identifying artifacts, couldn't discern its grade.

His eyes narrowed slightly, and Chu Ning placed the armor on the ground, then casually cast a fire spell, sending a bolt of crimson flame at the armor.

The armor, devoid of any spiritual energy fluctuations, remained completely unscathed.

"Hmm!"

Chu Ning pondered for a moment, then took out his Fire Phoenix Feather Spear.

Channeling his spiritual power, he thrust the spear forcefully at the armor.

Much like before, the armor vest showed no reaction to the attack.

Yet, it also remained undamaged.

"What a great item!"

Chu Ning exclaimed in admiration, then reached out and took the armor in his hand, intending to store it in his spatial pouch.

However, he changed his mind and directly put it on under his robe.

After asking Ling Xiaobai and confirming that there was nothing else in the stone room, Chu Ning continued upward.

Climbing the last flight of stairs of the sixth layer, he was about to enter the seventh layer.

"Bang!"

Suddenly, an invisible wall repelled Chu Ning, forcing him to take a step back.

"There's a restriction? Little White, didn't you say it would be easier to leave if we went up? Why is there a restriction here?"

The little guy's expression also carried a hint of bewilderment.

"I didn't sense any restrictions just now!"

Hearing this, Chu Ning's eyes flickered.

"Didn't you sense any restrictions as you went up?"

Ling Xiaobai nodded.

"Yes, there were no restrictions as I went up."

"No!" Chu Ning shook his head immediately.

"If you didn't sense the restriction on this layer, then it's highly likely that it's a special restriction beyond your spiritual sense's capabilities.

If you couldn't detect the restriction on this layer, then it's even less likely that you could sense anything above.

We definitely can't leave from this direction."

"Whine!"

Hearing this, Ling Xiaobai let out a soft whine, clearly unhappy with the situation.

In its understanding, there wasn't any restriction it couldn't overcome.

"Let me try."

As he spoke, Ling Xiaobai leaped out of Chu Ning's sleeve and charged toward the restriction.

"Bang!"

Along with the fluctuations of the invisible restriction, Ling Xiaobai was bounced back.

The spiritual ability that had always been infallible failed to work against this restriction.

"No wonder the two cave abodes we saw earlier were intact. It's likely that they were protected by restrictions.

Perhaps due to the passage of time or some other reason, the restrictions on the lower layers lost their effectiveness?"

As these thoughts crossed Chu Ning's mind, he sensed fluctuations in the restriction before him and quickly took two steps back.

At the same time, a yellow shadow burst out from within the restriction and pounced toward Chu Ning.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end