Chapter 3437: Dry Yang Immortal Maiden

Wang Changsheng was unsure what was happening, but judging by the name on the palace plaque, it didn't appear to be the control hub.

He slammed his right fist towards the void; the punch generated a thunderous gale, and a colossal blue fist materialized, striking the palace gate with a whooshing sound.

With a loud crash, the palace gate shattered, revealing a spacious and brightly lit hall before him.

Wang Changsheng extended his spiritual sense to probe Qianyang Palace, but the area was protected by restrictions that blocked such probing. Unable to investigate himself, he instructed the humanoid puppet to do so.

Wang Changsheng sent the humanoid puppet inside. It circled the hall several times without encountering any anomalies. After the time it takes to steep a cup of tea, the puppet hadn't triggered any restrictions, and the hall remained undisturbed.

Wang Changsheng then entered, with Wang Liao quickly following behind.

To the left of the main hall was a bluestone corridor. The humanoid puppet strode down it, followed closely by Wang Changsheng and Wang Liao. At the end of the corridor were three tightly sealed stone chambers.

The humanoid puppet delivered a powerful punch, shattering the door of one stone chamber. A chamber several hundred *zhang* in size was revealed, containing a formation array over a hundred *zhang* wide. Within the array, numerous grayish-white spirit stones were visible, with a massive spirit-gathering divine crystal at its center.

Wang Changsheng flicked his sleeve, and the spirit-gathering divine crystal along with all the spirit stones vanished into it. Immediately, the mountain's restrictions ceased to function.

Wang Changsheng then contacted Wang Ruyan, instructing them to ascend the mountain.

Shortly after, Wang Ruyan, Wang Mengli, and Wang Tunian appeared before Wang Changsheng.

Wang Changsheng blasted open the door to the second stone chamber. This chamber was small, containing a stone shelf on which a golden storage bracelet and some artifact-refining materials were placed.

Wang Changsheng released Wang Chan, instructing him to probe the area, primarily to guard against soul possession.

Wang Chan emitted a stream of golden light that spread across the floor. The golden light slowly moved, revealing no abnormalities.

The humanoid puppet then strode into the stone chamber, collected all the materials and the golden storage bracelet, and handed them to Wang Changsheng.

Wang Changsheng took the storage bracelet and gave it a gentle shake. A golden glow swept across the ground, and a large pile of items appeared: some jade slips, top-grade spirit stones, and various artifact-refining materials.

His gaze fell upon a silvery-white piece of wood, five *chi* long, adorned with lightning-like patterns that didn't appear to be carved. It felt incredibly light in his hand, like a thin sheet of paper. He examined it carefully but couldn't identify the type of spiritual wood.

There were no spiritual medicines among the items; most were eighth-tier artifact-refining materials, over thirty thousand top-grade spirit stones, two spirit-gathering divine crystals, and a page from the Heavenly Void Jade Book.

They examined the contents of the jade slips, acquiring a wealth of useful information.

On a green jade slip, they found information about the cave's owner, who identified herself as Fairy Qianyang from the Kunlun Realm. She had entered the cultivation ground to search for treasures but was ambushed by multiple eighth-tier demonic beasts. After a desperate fight to break free, during which her natal magic treasures self-destructed, she fled to this location. Here, she discovered an ancient manor and used natural restrictions to transform the surrounding desert, preventing further infiltration by external enemies.

That spiritual wood was identified as Fei Lei Wood, a thunder-resistant material and a high-grade component for refining flying treasures. Spiritual wood over 100,000 years old periodically secreted a unique spiritual liquid. This liquid could be combined with Fei Lei Wood to craft a Thunder Boat, allowing passage through areas rich in lightning energy.

This material, however, could only withstand ordinary lightning. Against specialized lightning such as Three-Color Divine Thunder, Geng Metal Divine Thunder, or Demon Annihilation Divine Thunder, Fei Lei Wood would not last long. Furthermore, it could not endure the formidable and unique lightning power of a Grand Heavenly Tribulation.

Wang Changsheng's gaze landed on a silver jade bottle. He picked it up, noting that it contained a silvery-white liquid—the very spiritual essence exuded by the Fei Lei Wood.

The contents of the Heavenly Void Jade Book remained unknown. Fairy Qianyang had acquired it from the remains of an ancient cultivator but was besieged by multiple eighth-tier demonic beasts before she could decipher it.

There was also an earth-attribute cultivation technique called the "Kun Yuan Treasure Canon," which allowed cultivation up to the late Mahayana stage, along with numerous formation array classics.

Among them was a formation path cultivation technique, "Myriad Formations Secret Record," though it only contained the cultivation methods for its final three layers.

This was quite normal. Neither Wang Changsheng nor Wang Ruyan would carry their complete primary cultivation techniques with them. Similarly, as Fairy Qianyang came from a major sect in the Kunlun Realm, it was highly unlikely she would carry a complete primary cultivation technique while traveling, unlike certain rogue cultivators.

In addition to the materials, they found a topographical map, significantly larger than the one they possessed. Some areas on the map had written annotations, and the characters "Xuan Ling" were inscribed directly above it.

With these formation array classics and Fairy Qianyang's insights into array deployment, the path for the Wang family's array masters would be considerably smoother. They collected the items from the ground and opened the door to the third stone chamber. In the center of the chamber lay a humanoid skeleton, and a portrait of a woman hung on the wall. Below the portrait was a golden altar, on which three shimmering treasures were displayed—all high-grade Sky-reaching Spirit Treasures. A seven-colored light barrier enveloped the golden altar, with runes flickering across its surface.

The humanoid skeleton's right leg was missing, and several bones were fractured, a condition consistent with the information provided in the jade slip.

Wang Chan emitted a golden glow that enveloped the humanoid skeleton, revealing no abnormalities. The golden light then slowly moved, probing the entire stone chamber, but no remnant souls were detected.

The humanoid puppet strode inside and circled the stone chamber, not triggering any restrictions.

It approached the altar and unleashed a thick stream of spiritual light from its mouth, striking the seven-colored light barrier with a muffled thud.

The humanoid puppet attacked for some time but failed to break through the seven-colored light barrier.

Wang Changsheng then exhaled a stream of Lapis Lazuli Ice Flame, which landed on the seven-colored light barrier, instantly freezing it.

Wang Ruyan struck with her palm, and a burst of immortal music filled the air. A colossal palm, covered in mysterious musical notes, instantly appeared and struck the seven-colored light barrier. Following a thunderous roar, the light barrier shattered into fragments.

The restrictions, having existed for countless years, had significantly weakened.

Three high-grade Sky-reaching Spirit Treasures fell to the ground: a shimmering golden orb, a small silver mirror, and an earthy yellow long nail.

Wang Chan emitted a golden glow that swept over the three treasures. As the golden light enveloped the golden orb, a flash of golden light shot out from within it, heading directly for Wang Tunian.

A blue eye emerged from Wang Changsheng's glabella—it was his Lapis Lazuli True Eye.

The Lapis Lazuli True Eye emitted a blue glow that enveloped the golden light, causing a mournful female scream to erupt as a wisp of green smoke billowed.

Wang Chan then released countless fine golden beams that pierced through the golden light's body before retracting them into his mouth and swallowing. "That was Fairy Qianyang's remnant soul," he explained, "attached to the treasure, waiting to possess a cultivator."

Wang Chan spoke, having gained information by devouring the remnant soul, a process similar to soul-searching techniques.

Wang Changsheng had always known that ancient cultivators were rarely benevolent, and he was fortunate to have exercised caution.