Chapter 3436: Qianyang Palace

"Can you see a mountain peak? It's not far from here," Wang Changsheng asked, pointing at the void ahead.

Wang Tun Tian's eyes lit up, then he frowned deeply, shaking his head and saying, "Master, I don't see any mountain peak." As he was only at the Integration stage, he naturally couldn't compare to Wang Ruyan.

Wang Changsheng looked towards Wang Mengli. Wang Mengli was a descendant of a Mirage Dragon, skilled in illusion arts, so perhaps she could help. Wang Mengli performed an incantation, and a dragon's roar resonated through the heavens and earth. A colossal phantom of a Mirage Dragon appeared in the sky above. With another incantation, the Mirage Dragon phantom opened its mouth and spewed a stream of golden light, striking a certain part of the void. Ripples spread through the void, and the faint outline of a mountain peak became visible.

Wang Ruyan lightly tapped her finger towards the void in front of her. A bluish halo swept out, striking the void, which then tore open, revealing numerous cracks. The void twisted and deformed, and after a moment of distortion, a lush green peak appeared. On its summit, a sprawling estate could be seen, enveloped by a massive black light barrier.

"What a powerful illusion array! If I hadn't brought Mengli and my wife, we might have truly been fooled," Wang Changsheng exclaimed.

"This illusion array has been operating for many years; not much of its power remains. Without Master's reminder, I wouldn't have been able to detect anything unusual," Wang Mengli humbly replied.

"Mengli, you're too modest. Only someone like you could have revealed it; even a Mahayana cultivator might not have been able to make it visible," Wang Ruyan praised. A Mirage Dragon is a true spirit adept at illusion arts, so making a weakened illusion array visible was not a significant feat.

"It seems to be a cultivator's cave dwelling, with some spiritual herbs, but the restrictions are too strong; I can't see clearly," Wang Tun Tian said, his eyes flashing with a dazzling yellow light.

Wang Ruyan performed an incantation, and the talisman-soldier strode towards the mountain. The moment it appeared on the mountain, a stream of golden flames erupted from the ground, turning all vegetation to ash and rushing directly towards the talisman-soldier. Wang Ruyan tried to command it to retreat, but its legs seemed to be filled with lead, unable to move. She performed another incantation, and the talisman-soldier's body glowed with a bright yellow light as it retreated. The golden flames vanished with its departure.

"Gravity restriction!"

Wang Changsheng's face showed a thoughtful expression. He summoned his Dharma Idol and merged with it, then strode towards the mountain. As soon as he stepped onto the mountain, a powerful gravitational force appeared, and simultaneously, golden flames emerged from the ground, heading straight for Wang Changsheng. Wang Changsheng continued his ascent, and the golden flames, upon touching the Water of the Underworld River, produced a cloud of white mist and could not harm him.

Before long, Wang Changsheng reached the halfway point of the mountain. His legs trembled, and his face was flushed. His physical body was strong, but the gravity restriction here was simply too powerful. Wang Changsheng performed an incantation, and a series of "crackling" sounds came from within his body as his physique expanded by a full size. The pressure lessened, and he quickened his pace. After a while, he reached the entrance of the estate, and the pressure eased further. Wang Changsheng let out a long sigh of relief. He moved his fists and struck the black light barrier, causing it to indent. He opened his mouth and spewed out Glazed Ice Flames, which landed on the black barrier. The barrier's surface began to freeze. With his fists glowing brightly, Wang Changsheng shattered the black light barrier, and a surge of pure spiritual energy gushed forth.

He flew into the air and looked towards the estate, spotting a spiritual fruit tree and a lush spiritual field. Wang Changsheng conjured a humanoid puppet and sent it ahead, following behind. Along the way, he saw several empty spiritual fields where the spiritual herbs had all withered and died.

Less than fifteen minutes later, Wang Changsheng arrived at the entrance of a standalone small courtyard with green tiles. Inside, there was a half-acre spiritual field, covered by an earthy-yellow light barrier. Within it stood a golden fruit tree, bearing over twenty blood-red fruits. The surface of these fruits had natural golden patterns.

"Golden-Veined Blood Apricot Fruit!" Wang Changsheng's eyes lit up, his expression excited. The Golden-Veined Blood Apricot Fruit had the same growth cycle as the Ren Water Immortal Apricot Fruit. It was the main ingredient for brewing Blood Apricot Rejuvenation Wine, which had excellent healing properties. Even raw consumption offered significant healing benefits. Blood Apricot Rejuvenation Wine was an eighth-tier spiritual wine, but the Wang family lacked its recipe. With these Golden-Veined Blood Apricot Fruits, even if Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan were severely injured, consuming these fruits would allow them to recover relatively quickly.

Wang Changsheng's fists glowed brightly as he smashed them against the yellow light barrier. After a series of muffled thuds, the yellow barrier shattered into pieces. He took out a pair of white gloves, woven from the silk of a seventh-tier Ice Silkworm, specifically for picking the Golden-Veined Blood Apricot Fruits. If touched directly with the palm, the fruit would instantly turn into juice. He picked the Golden-Veined Blood Apricot Fruits and stored them in multiple jade boxes. With a flick of his wrist, Wang Liao flew out from his spirit beast bracelet.

"Transplant this fruit tree," Wang Changsheng instructed, handing a set of array formations to Wang Liao. He then worked with Wang Liao to transplant the Golden-Veined Blood Apricot fruit tree.

After a while, Wang Changsheng arrived at a small courtyard with an arched gate. Inside, there was a half-acre spiritual field, covered by a pale green light barrier. Growing in the field was a pale golden vine, bearing over twenty golden fruits. Each fruit had a distinct, natural crack on its surface.

"Golden Mulberry Fruit!" Wang Changsheng's expression was excited. The Golden Mulberry Fruit had an even longer growth cycle than the Golden-Veined Blood Apricot Fruit and had the effect of enhancing magical power, making it suitable for Mahayana cultivators. Consuming Golden Mulberry Fruit could save a Mahayana cultivator a significant period of arduous cultivation; the more consumed, the greater the increase in magical power. Wang Changsheng put on his gloves and carefully picked over twenty Golden Mulberry Fruits. Most rare spiritual fruits cannot be touched directly with bare hands; some extremely rare spiritual fruits and herbs require treasures crafted from special materials for harvesting. He placed the Golden Mulberry Fruits into jade boxes, then stored them in his storage bracelet. He then worked with Wang Liao to transplant the Golden Mulberry vine.

About fifteen minutes later, Wang Changsheng appeared at the entrance of a yellow-glowing palace, his expression solemn. He had toured the estate but found nothing particularly valuable beyond the Golden Mulberry Fruits and Golden-Veined Blood Apricot Fruits, which were already a considerable harvest. The plaque above the palace entrance bore three large golden characters: "Qianyang Palace." The main gate was tightly shut.

"Qianyang Palace! Could this be the abandoned cave dwelling of another Mahayana cultivator?" Wang Changsheng wondered. Many Mahayana cultivators entered the Dao Field to seek treasures, and some had died within it. This might be a relic left by another Mahayana cultivator. What puzzled him, however, was the existence of this estate. If someone were severely injured, it would be impossible for them to spend time building an estate here. This was a Dao Field, which would close after a certain period. Mahayana cultivators entering this place would surely prioritize scavenging for treasures. How could they have the leisure to build an estate here? Could it be that a Mahayana cultivator used great divine abilities to enter the Dao Field in advance and settled there? Or perhaps a transformed demonic beast from the Dao Field acquired a cultivator's legacy and established a cave dwelling here for residence and cultivation?