Chapter 1154: Core Legacy of the Five Dragon Palace

After some negotiation, they reached a consensus: each party would send one Foundation Establishment cultivator to open the restriction, and the spoils would be divided into three parts.

The Wang family dispatched Wang Xianbin, while the Rogue Cultivator Alliance and the Golden Saber Sect each sent a representative.

The three simultaneously unleashed their magic tools to attack the restriction. Having existed for an unknown number of years, its power was significantly depleted. Before long, the restriction was broken, revealing a cave entrance several zhang wide before them.

Wang Xianbin released a small dog-shaped puppet beast, which rushed into the cave, and nothing unusual was detected.

The cave was only about a hundred zhang in size. On the ground lay a human skeleton, draped in a tattered green robe and seated cross-legged. Its left arm was missing, and the bones around its heart were fractured.

Wang Xianbin surmised that the cave's former owner had suffered severe injuries before their death. They had likely sought a place to heal but unexpectedly succumbed to their injuries.

A green storage bag was tied around the skeleton's waist. In the cultivation world, very few cultivators still used storage bags, having switched to storage beads instead. This indicated that the cave's owner was certainly not a cultivator of the current era.

The small dog-shaped puppet beast rushed to the skeleton. It bit the storage bag and gave a gentle tug, causing the skeleton to crumble into a pile of white bones that scattered across the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

They carefully examined the cave, finding nothing else, and then left together.

Back outside, in front of everyone, Wang Xianbin grasped the green storage bag. He inverted it and shook it, and after a flash of green light, a large pile of items appeared on the ground, including demonic beast materials, artifact refining materials, jade slips, and talismans.

They carefully examined the items and found that the spiritual herbs and elixirs were no longer usable. This was quite normal, as the vessels used to store the spiritual herbs were ordinary, and after so many years, the spiritual energy of the herbs and elixirs had long since dissipated.

The magic tools' spiritual light was dim, their surfaces were heavily corroded, and they were also unusable.

They examined all the jade slips, discovering that the cave's owner was a Foundation Establishment cultivator named Long Yaotian. He had died from severe injuries, but he had left behind a map. According to his account, the Five-Dragon Palace's legacy was hidden within the secret realm.

The Five-Dragon Palace once dominated its era, occupying most of the islands in the Five-Dragon Sea. After its destruction, most of its legacy was seized by major powers. However, before its demise, the Five-Dragon Palace had placed its most core inheritance within the Five-Dragon Secret Realm. Only the most core disciples of the Five-Dragon Palace knew this secret, which was completely unknown to the outside world.

Long Yaotian's ancestor was one of the Five-Dragon Palace's core disciples. By a stroke of luck, he entered the secret realm, intending to obtain the Five-Dragon Palace's legacy. Unfortunately, his luck was poor; he was teleported into a demonic beast lair. Though he managed to fight his way out, he also suffered severe injuries and eventually died.

"The Five-Dragon Palace's core legacy!"

Wang Jiyu and the others' gazes grew fervent. During its peak, the Five-Dragon Palace had as many as ten Nascent Soul cultivators, and the entire sea region was consequently renamed the Five-Dragon Sea. After the Five-Dragon Palace was destroyed, its legacy was divided among various major powers. They had never imagined that the Five-Dragon Palace would place its most core inheritance within the Five-Dragon Secret Realm.

This was truly an unexpected fortune! If they could obtain the Five-Dragon Palace's core legacy and bring it out, it would undoubtedly be a great achievement.

"The Five-Dragon Palace's core legacy is within the Five-Dragon Secret Realm. I believe all fellow Daoists are interested, aren't you?" Sun Rongrong asked with a faint smile, looking towards Ouyang Mingyue and the black-shirted young man. "I suggest we cooperate to retrieve the treasures. What do you say?"

Ouyang Mingyue, a disciple of the Ouyang family's Sword Hall, was proficient in sword control techniques and possessed a complete set of puppet beasts, making his strength exceptional. Although the Rogue Cultivator Alliance had fewer members, their strength was also not weak. Their leader, a black-shirted young man named Hu Biao, was a body cultivator.

No one knew what lay at the location of the core inheritance. The best choice was to cooperate in seeking the treasure; even if it came to a life-and-death struggle, it should only happen after the treasure was sighted. Before that, unity and cooperation would increase their survival rate.

"We have no objections," Wang Xianbin and the other four conveyed through a voice transmission, "but we must state upfront: if you try any more tricks, it will be a fight to the death."

Sun Rongrong and Hu Biao agreed. Until the core legacy of the Five-Dragon Palace was found, this alliance remained relatively stable.

After reaching an agreement, Wang Jiyu and the thirteen others divided into three teams. They walked side-by-side, with no one daring to let others walk behind them, fearing an ambush.

Before long, the thirteen of them disappeared into the dense forest.

In a certain dark, dense forest, Lu Jiaojiao and Liu Wuya walked slowly, both with wary expressions on their faces.

After the great battle ended, the number of demonic beasts sharply decreased, and the income from hunting them also declined. For their livelihood and future prospects, they joined the Rogue Cultivator Alliance.

The Rogue Cultivator Alliance was rife with factions. For better prospects, they pledged allegiance to Rogue Cultivator Qingyue, whose master was a Nascent Soul cultivator.

The Rogue Cultivator Alliance sent people into the secret realm to seek treasures. Each faction wanted to send more people, leading to heated arguments. In the end, three Nascent Soul cultivators made the final decision, selecting twelve Foundation Establishment cultivators through sparring matches. Lu Jiaojiao, a sword cultivator, and Liu Wuya, a saber cultivator, successfully qualified without using talisman treasures, prototype magic treasures, or third-tier talismans.

They had been in the secret realm for several days and had gathered many spiritual herbs. Unfortunately, most were only three to four hundred years old; they had not yet found any spiritual herbs aged five hundred years or more.

Suddenly, a huge roaring sound came from ahead.

"Someone is fighting up ahead!" Liu Wuya said. "Let's go take a look."

Liu Wuya and Lu Jiaojiao concealed their auras and carefully moved towards the source of the roaring sound.

After a short while, they stopped and hid behind a patch of bushes. Following their gaze, a team of cultivators was engaged in a fierce battle a thousand zhang ahead. Three corpses lay scattered on the ground, and one corpse's clothing was embroidered with a blue lotus flower.

Ten second-tier puppet beasts of various designs surrounded seven Foundation Establishment cultivators. Opposite them, Wang Youwei and three others stood close together, enveloped in a thick golden light screen. Their gazes were grim, and their faces were filled with murderous intent.

The seven Foundation Establishment cultivators were enveloped by an earthy yellow light screen. Everyone's expression was extremely grim; despite their numerical advantage, they were no match for their opponents.

In the distance, Lu Jiaojiao and Liu Wuya frowned slightly.

"It's actually him!"

They recognized Wang Youwei. The last time, Wang Youwei had paid double the price to purchase the artifact refining materials they wanted. Since Wang Youwei was a descendant of the Azure Lotus Immortals, both of them had a deep impression of him.

Of the seven Foundation Establishment cultivators, two were from the Rogue Cultivator Alliance, and five were from the Golden Saber Sect. Not far away was a lake several mu in size. Several translucent, light blue lotus flowers floated on its surface, with wisps of mist rising above them, making them appear quite extraordinary.

Two enormous black crocodiles lay by the lake, their heads severed.

"Profound Water Lotus," Liu Wuya murmured. "By their appearance, they are nearly a thousand years old. No wonder they're fighting."

Liu Wuya suddenly understood. Although he belonged to the Rogue Cultivator Alliance, he did not want to get involved in this mess. At the end of the day, they had joined the Rogue Cultivator Alliance midway and didn't feel much sense of belonging. No matter how good the spiritual herbs were, one needed to be alive to enjoy them.