Chapter 1054: Five Yang Tough Wood

"Smashed to death?"

Zhang Xuan was startled and quickly looked under the Golden Origin Cauldron. Sure enough, he saw a pile of Otherworldly Demonic Tribe members lying crisscrossed below.

Most of these individuals were only at Saint 1-dan, with only one tall figure reaching Saint 4-dan. Even so, they couldn't withstand the full impact of the Golden Origin Cauldron. With just one blow, they were flattened into meat paste, tightly stuck to the ground and impossible to peel off.

"Aren't you going to move?"

Seeing that the Golden Origin Cauldron was still on top of the pile of corpses after speaking, Zhang Xuan raised an eyebrow.

"Yes!"

The cauldron quickly jumped away. Zhang Xuan lowered his head and counted; indeed, it was the same as what he had seen before, not one more, not one less.

These guys never dreamed that the violent energy would rebound downwards. Already injured from the initial attack, they didn't even have time to escape before being directly smashed to death by the enlarged Golden Origin Cauldron. It was quite a tragic end. However, their deaths were quick and decisive, with no suffering.

"I originally wanted to capture them and ask how they got in and what this portal is... now how can I ask?" He rubbed his temples.

Not only had the formation diverted energy and destroyed all the buildings in the relic, but the Golden Origin Cauldron had also smashed all these individuals to death. How could he interrogate them now?

"Purpleleaf King, do you recognize any of these guys?" After a moment of hesitation, he mentally communicated with the Myriad Ants' Nest.

The Purpleleaf King's spiritual sense swept over them, and its voice immediately came through: "Young Master, I don't recognize those at Half-Saint 1-dan, but the one at Saint 4-dan is... Fireleaf King, one of the Top Five Kings!"

"Fireleaf King?" Zhang Xuan was stunned.

The esteemed Fireleaf King, one of the Ten Kings of Qing Tian and famously one of the Top Five Kings, was directly smashed to death upon his appearance, without even a single line of dialogue... This was simply too tragic!

"Yes, Fireleaf King can control heat and flames. In this scorching place, he can unleash combat power far beyond his usual limits, even more terrifying than a peak Saint 4-dan expert... How did you kill him?" The Purpleleaf King was filled with surprise.

Each of the Top Five Kings possessed unique skills and immense power. Yet, the Young Master killed him, and judging by his tone, he didn't even know who it was... It was quite sad to think about. As of now, it seemed six of the Ten Kings had already fallen by his hand. This guy was practically the bane of the Qing Tian royal family.

"Oh, I accidentally killed him..." Zhang Xuan shook his head helplessly.

Since the other party was already dead, there was no point dwelling on it. He reached out and took the storage rings from everyone's bodies. After a quick scan, he found no useful clues. Then, he looked at the group: "Although this place has collapsed... if it really is a relic, there should be something to find. Let's look around first!"

Even if it had collapsed, there should still be some identifiable objects here. If the old principal and the others had truly been here before, they could thoroughly investigate it.

"Mmm!" The others nodded and swiftly flew in all directions.

"Aren't you going to look?" Seeing that the girl was still standing there motionless, Zhang Xuan looked over.

"If there was anything, these Otherworldly Demonic Tribe members would have surely plundered it all!" Luo Ruoxi shook her head. "These people were concentrated here simultaneously, which should be related to this portal. Perhaps, we still haven't entered the true relic..."

"This..." Zhang Xuan was startled. He looked at the girl again, filled with admiration. As expected of an expert from a prominent family, her insight and perception were extraordinary.

Indeed, if this were a relic, it was unlikely that so many Otherworldly Demonic Tribe members would have painstakingly attacked the seal on the portal. Moreover, even if there were any remaining treasures here, they were probably among the many storage rings he had already taken. It was impossible for them to have left anything for future generations to find.

Sure enough, it wasn't long before everyone flew back.

"This building, only a few hundred meters in diameter, was constructed inside a rock cave. There's nothing left; not a single trace remains..." Teacher Wu came forward and shook his head.

After more than two hours of recuperation and adjustment, his strength had fully returned to its peak. With his spiritual sense, he could thoroughly examine the entire rubble-filled area without missing anything.

"No need to search further. If I'm not mistaken, the secret lies with this portal!" Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

Everyone acknowledged simultaneously and looked towards the portal before them.

The portal wasn't particularly large, about five meters in both length and width. It was enveloped in a seal that occasionally emitted heart-palpitating heat, making it difficult to approach.

"When the power surged through earlier, I took a glance. These Otherworldly Demonic Tribe members were all attacking this seal, seemingly trying to open it!" Zhang Xuan explained. He didn't dare say that his Soul Dimension had seen it, only that the energy surge had.

"Attacking the seal?" Everyone approached. Teacher Wu raised his palm and fiercely struck the seal.

"Don't—"

Seeing his action, Zhang Xuan's scalp tingled. He wanted to stop him, but it was too late. He quickly shouted, "Everyone, retreat quickly!" Without stopping, he immediately fell back at high speed.

Seeing his urgency, the others also retreated quickly. They hadn't gone far when they saw the seal flash with light. A vast power surged upwards, tearing through the magma and shooting into the air.

However, it wasn't long before this power swept back again, directly impacting the spot where they had just been standing, causing the pile of corpses on the ground to bounce like rubber balls. These individuals had already been disfigured by the Golden Origin Cauldron's impact. With a twist of the power, they immediately shattered into countless fragments scattered across the ground.

"This..." Seeing this scene, everyone wiped cold sweat from their brows, especially Teacher Wu, whose face turned pale.

If Teacher Zhang hadn't reacted quickly and ordered everyone to retreat, more than half of them would likely have been directly pulverized by that impact. Even if they weren't killed, they would have been severely injured. They had thought it was just an ordinary seal, never dreaming that a single attack would trigger such a massive energy fluctuation. The most crucial point was... there was also Teacher Zhang's Reversal Array of Returning Heaven above. As long as energy was released, it would be reflected back exactly as it was... The thought alone was terrifying.

"This seal is so sturdy, and once attacked, it reflects the power... How do we break it?" Daring no further actions, everyone returned to the portal, still shaken, and exchanged nervous glances.

The fact that there was nothing else around meant that the true entrance to the relic was related to this portal. But now, even the seal couldn't be touched... What were they to do? Any collision would trigger energy, which would then... attack themselves. The current situation was even more difficult to deal with than before.

"These Otherworldly Demonic Tribe members have been here for who knows how long, yet they haven't fully understood it and couldn't break it. It will certainly be very difficult for us too!"

"The seal looks considerably weaker. If we truly want to break it through attacks, it would take several days at least..."

Just thinking about several days of continuous attacks made everyone's scalps tingle.

"Teacher Zhang, do you have any ideas?" After discussing for a while to no avail, President Han looked over.

After what had happened, everyone had developed deep admiration for this young principal. Even President Han had to admit that this individual's knowledge of formations and general insight far surpassed his own.

"Let me think about it..." Zhang Xuan's brow furrowed.

Under normal circumstances, if he could approach and touch the seal, he could identify the problem and solve it completely. But... the heat emanating from the portal was simply too intense. With his current strength, he couldn't get close at all!

As for the previous attack, Teacher Wu's power wasn't enough to make it vibrate; it could only wear it down at best... Therefore, standing far away, he couldn't form a book either.

"Let's see if I can get closer..." Gritting his teeth, he walked forward.

As long as he could do it, relying on the Library of Heaven's Path, he would definitely be able to find the flaws and resolve this seal. However, it all depended on how close he could get.

He slowly advanced, circulating his *zhēnqì* throughout his body, but still felt the relentless heat assailing him, causing sweat to break out on his forehead.

Although his soul had just been tempered, his physical body and *zhēnqì* hadn't changed much. Getting closer was still impossible. He stopped.

He looked up and shook his head helplessly. At this distance, he was still over twenty meters from the portal. Forget touching it; without the Eye of Insight, he couldn't even see it clearly.

"My physical body is still too weak. Unless I cultivate now and strengthen it..." He sighed inwardly.

Although his soul had been strengthened enough to get close, he couldn't just release it in front of so many people. As for his *zhēnqì*, without the Seven-Colored Earth Quintessence Liquid, it couldn't break through in a short time. The only method was to strengthen his physical body, then touch the seal very quickly before retreating to a safe distance.

Thinking this, he retreated to the others and looked around.

"Does anyone here happen to have Five-Yang Toughwood?"

"Five-Yang Toughwood? You mean... that special plant that grows above ground fire and can only survive by being exposed to intense sunlight?" Teacher Wu frowned.

Five-Yang Toughwood is a very rare and unique plant. It can only survive on ground permeated with subterranean fire and requires constant exposure to intense sunlight to grow. Even a little rainwater will cause it to instantly burn to ashes. Because of this, it is even rarer than a Saint artifact.

"That's right!" Zhang Xuan nodded.

Five-Yang Toughwood was precisely the treasure needed for the final stage of cultivating the Five Splendors Golden Body. As long as he could find one and absorb its scorching yang energy, he could truly achieve grand completion with this body cultivation technique!

Although the fourth and fifth stages were only one minor level apart, it marked the difference between minor completion and grand completion. With the fifth stage fully mastered, the heart's yang, lung's yang, spleen's yang, liver's yang, and kidney's yang—all five yang energies—would circulate without hindrance, forming a continuous loop. His physical strength would absolutely increase severalfold compared to now!

If successful, he might be able to easily crush peak Saint 1-dan experts, or even Saint 2-dan experts, with his physical body alone. Even Saint beasts of the Purple Sun Beast's caliber wouldn't be able to contend with him.

"This item is extremely rare. If you had asked me a few days ago, I definitely wouldn't have had any. However... a few days ago, while I was strolling around Fire Origin City, I happened to come across one and bought it... See if this is what you're looking for!" President Han smiled faintly, took out an arm-thick piece of wood, and handed it over.

Five-Yang Toughwood was almost impossible to find elsewhere, but in a unique environment like Fire Origin City, it wasn't too difficult. And since he coincidentally found one, he bought it.