Chapter 207: The Formation Gate of the Palace Pavilion

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The actions of the Earth Burrowing Rat caught the attention of the gathered cultivators. However, the two Fake Dan Immortals paid it little heed.

Every corner of this path had been thoroughly investigated by them multiple times, yielding little of value, with few omissions.

Scritch~

The Earth Burrowing Rat lifted its paw and lightly scratched the half-crumbled wall, producing a sound that sent shivers down the spine.

A faint crack appeared on the ancient wall.

The hardness of the wall surpassed that of ordinary magical weapons.

Upon seeing this, Tan Immortal's eyes gleamed with a hint of mockery.

“The materials used in the ancient structures of this ruin are relatively hard, but they aren't high-grade. They're simply low-grade ores that were refined and compressed through spells,” Hu Immortal explained, slightly annoyed.

“Hmm.”

Lan Chang'an had already discerned as much.

The materials of the buildings here, including the floor, were just purely tough but lacked the spiritual essence needed for refining weapons or secondary use.

“I trust the Earth Burrowing Rat’s sense of smell,” Lan Chang'an said with a faint smile as he walked to the half-crumbled wall.

In reality, the Earth Burrowing Rat’s actions were guided by Lan Chang'an’s subtle commands.

Lan Chang'an retrieved a pickaxe-shaped magical weapon, infused it with mana, and began striking at the wall.

The Earth Burrowing Rat, seeing this, also raised its paw and started pounding on the wall.

Bang bang!

A rhythmic knocking and patting echoed as the wall slowly began to crumble and crack.

The expressions of the five cultivators varied from strange to disdainful.

Until...

At a certain point, Lan Chang'an’s pickaxe struck a spot on the wall that caused his hand to go numb from the recoil.

The same happened to the Earth Burrowing Rat.

Both man and beast avoided that small section of the wall.

"Huh?"

Hu Immortal's expression shifted, and he sent his spiritual sense to carefully probe the area. Finally, he discovered something unusual.

Upon closer inspection, he determined that this particular section of the wall was far tougher, impervious even to the attacks of a late-second-rank demonic beast.

Additionally, this section of the wall seemed to partially block spiritual sense, making it easy to overlook.

Lan Chang'an and the Earth Burrowing Rat quickened their pace, stripping away the surrounding wall.

Soon, a grayish-white stone slab, about the size of a washbasin, fell into Lan Chang'an’s hands.

Part of the gray-white stone revealed a faint dark metallic sheen.

“What kind of material is this? It even blocked my spiritual sense?” Tan Immortal narrowed his eyes, staring at the stone in Lan Chang'an’s hand.

“This is Shadowstone! It can obscure spiritual energy and block spiritual sense—an excellent material for crafting stealth and shadow-related magic treasures.”

The long-haired Lady Wei scanned the stone with her spiritual sense and exclaimed in surprise, her eyes gleaming.

"Shadowstone?"

“At the very least, this stone is third-rank. Considering how it repeatedly concealed itself from us, it’s likely a superior-grade third-rank material, suitable for crafting mid-grade magical treasures.”

Tan Immortal and Hu Immortal exchanged glances, their eyes flashing with desire.

“Little Friend Lan, we’re not entirely sure whether this is truly Shadowstone. Let me examine it,” Tan Immortal said, raising his hand.

“There’s no need for verification. It’s definitely Shadowstone. Lady Wei’s keen insight speaks for itself,” Lan Chang'an replied with a smile.

“Bring it to this Immortal for a look,” Tan Immortal demanded, his face darkening.

“Haha! It seems that this stone was destined to find its way to me,” Lan Chang'an said as he stored the Shadowstone, ignoring the oppressive Fake Dan spiritual pressure emanating from Tan Immortal.

Hu Immortal held Tan Immortal's arm, giving him a meaningful look.

“Don't act rashly. While Shadowstone is rare, it doesn’t hold the same appeal for us Fake Dan cultivators as it does for a True Dan cultivator.”

Hearing this transmitted through spiritual sound, Tan Immortal suppressed his dissatisfaction.

Fake Dan cultivators could barely utilize the lowest-ranked magical treasures, and even then, they couldn’t wield them to their full potential.

In the world of cultivation, magical treasures, like magical weapons, were commonly categorized into low, mid, superior, and top grades.

They were primarily used by Core Formation cultivators and most Nascent Soul stage cultivators.

Low-grade magical treasures were most often used by early-stage Core Formation and Fake Dan cultivators.

Mid-grade magical treasures were generally wielded by mid- to late-stage Core Formation cultivators.

Therefore, this superior-grade third-rank Shadowstone, though valuable and rare, was more useful for trading with a True Dan cultivator than for their own personal use.

“Well, let him hold onto it for now.”

Tan Immortal quickly came to terms with the situation.

For the two Fake Dan cultivators, their greatest hope within the ancient ruins was to find an opportunity to break through from the Fake Dan stage. Such opportunities were exceedingly rare in the current cultivation world and often required the assistance of a Nascent Soul True Monarch.

However, in the ancient world of cultivation, opportunities for Fake Dan cultivators to advance were relatively easier to obtain than today.

...

“Little Friend Lan, it’s your fortune to have found this Shadowstone. I won’t pursue it further. But any treasures we find while working together to break the formations will be divided based on cultivation level and contribution.”

Hu Immortal stepped forward, reminding Lan Chang'an.

“Thank you, Hu Immortal, for your magnanimity.”

Lan Chang'an cupped his hands respectfully.

He had been prepared for Tan Immortal to forcefully seize the Shadowstone.

If that had happened, Lan Chang'an wouldn’t have minded handing it over temporarily.

After all, the Shadowstone wouldn’t be of much use to him until he reached the Core Formation Realm.

That said, he did have a personal interest in crafting stealth-related magic weapons, such as the Invisible Needle or Shadow Split Sword, both of which were suitable for his style.

In his previous life, when Lan Chang'an reached late-stage Core Formation, he had spent a considerable sum to acquire a piece of Shadowstone. Although it was also superior-grade third-rank, it was smaller than this one.

Because he had worked with Shadowstone before, he was familiar with its properties. That’s why, upon scanning the wall with his spiritual sense earlier, he had sensed something off.

According to the records of the cultivation world, the highest-rank Shadowstone could reach fifth rank and was known as Shadowstone Essence, a material rumored to be used in crafting legendary spiritual treasures.

...

"Go search the area."

After witnessing Lan Chang'an's discovery, Tan Immortal and Hu Immortal ordered the other three Foundation Establishment cultivators to scour the nearby ruins.

“This section of the ancient buildings was once home to a blacksmithing workshop.”

“Perhaps the Shadowstone Lan Chang'an found was hidden away by a blacksmith working here.”

The two Immortals were full of theories.

But in the end, nothing significant was found—just a few scraps of metal in the underground ruins, worthless leftovers from past refining efforts.

Lan Chang'an immediately understood. That location was likely where Qi Immortal had fallen into the formation’s trap and met his end.

“That six-sided palace pavilion is the eye of the formation within the ruins. Judging from its architectural style, it likely dates back to the original ancient civilization that built these ruins. Later, it was modified by a more recent Nascent Soul sect to serve as a sanctuary.”

Hu Immortal's sharp gaze quickly identified the palace pavilion as the key to the ruins.

He had a guess in his heart, based on the layout of the formation and the buildings, the pavilion seemed like a prime candidate for a treasury or storage vault.

...

On their way to the pavilion, they passed through several ancient buildings, all of which were empty.

Of course, it wasn’t a total loss.

In certain rooms and corners, they found miscellaneous items that had been abandoned long ago. Most were so weathered by time that they held little value.

Lady Wei picked up a set of chess pieces in a courtyard. After cleaning off the dust, she found them to be completely intact.

The chessboard didn’t seem to be a magical treasure but rather some kind of strange artifact.

Lan Chang'an, meanwhile, noticed something unusual on the top floor of a pavilion.

One of the rooms was still protected by a restriction that had yet to degrade, sustained by the remnants of the ancient formation.

Boom! Boom!

Lan Chang'an sent two puppets to probe the area. Before they could even touch the door, they were shredded into dust by an invisible force.

“Don’t waste your time. You can’t break that restriction,” Tan Immortal said sternly.

The two Immortals were more interested in the six-sided palace pavilion, guessing that it, being the core of the formation, held the most valuable opportunities.

The surrounding buildings were likely to contain only remnants of minor value, not worth the risk or effort.

Lan Chang'an agreed, for the time being, deciding to leave the area.

In fact, he had several high-quality Restriction-Breaking Talismans, including some treasure talismans.

These were among the reasons he felt confident enough to explore the ancient ruins.

Before long, the group of seven arrived at the foot of the six-sided palace pavilion, which stood over twenty to thirty zhang tall.

The surface of the pavilion glimmered with obvious formation ripples, exuding a powerful spiritual pressure that made even the two Immortals hesitate to approach.

“Six gates? The formation here seems to have six entrances? Could they each lead to a different path?”

From a distance of nearly ten zhang, Hu Immortal observed the pavilion closely, his gaze fixed on the bronze doors.

Above the six bronze doors were formation gates, visible only to those with formation expertise.

“Little Friend Lan.”

Hu Immortal glanced behind him.

He frowned slightly, realizing that Lan Chang'an was actually standing behind the crowd?

If not for the fact that the formation fissure had already sealed after the bridge had been crossed, leaving no retreat, the two Immortals would not have allowed such behavior.

“Understood.”

Lan Chang'an summoned another expendable puppet, this one the size of a small child, and sent it forward to the bronze door indicated by Hu Immortal.

The puppet touched the door.

In an instant!

A bolt of blue lightning shot out, leaving a charred patch of remains where the puppet had stood.

The two Immortals felt a chill in their hearts.

Even though the ancient formation had only retained a fraction of its original power, a single strike could still kill a True Core cultivator outright.

Lan Chang'an exchanged a puzzled glance with Fairy Shi.

How had Qi Immortal managed to temporarily open a formation gate back then?

Although Qi Immortal was also a formation master, his skills were far below those of Hu Immortal.

Fairy Shi shook her head slightly, equally mystified.

...

“This gate is the one.”

After much discussion with Fairy Shi, Hu Immortal selected one of the gates, where the formation’s power had weakened the most.

The gate was located just above one of the bronze doors.

Time passed slowly.

Occasionally, Lan Chang'an would manipulate a puppet to assist in probing the formation, while still finding time to cultivate daily.

Another month slipped by.

By this time, Lan Chang'an had exhausted his supply of expendable puppets.

The other cultivators had also damaged several of their backup magical weapons.

Through various methods of breaking the formation, the flaw in the formation gate expanded, and the formation’s power continued to weaken.

“It’s too slow! The other five formation gates are linked to this one, supplying it with power for recovery.”

Hu Immortal was dissatisfied.

With the cultivation world of the Liang Kingdom embroiled in war, the longer it took to break through the ruins, the greater the potential for unforeseen complications.

“Little Friend Lan, you’re a well-known talisman master in the Liang Kingdom. Do you have any high-quality Restriction-Breaking Talismans?”

Hu Immortal asked, his tone softening as he turned to negotiate with Lan Chang'an.

“Restriction-breaking talismans are incredibly difficult to craft and extremely rare. I only have a few second-rank mid- to superior-grade ones, and some purchased from the Immortal City.”

Lan Chang'an responded, sounding troubled.

“Very well, everyone, use whatever restriction-breaking talismans you have. Follow my timing to launch a coordinated attack.”

Hu Immortal quickly organized the group, ensuring that each person had something capable of breaking the formation.

Hu Immortal himself had a restriction-breaking orb, a superior tool for the task, more effective than talismans of the same grade.

Tan Immortal had a quasi-third-rank restriction-breaking talisman.

The other cultivators had at least second-rank superior-grade restriction-breaking talismans.

Boom! Boom!

The distorted beams of light from their restriction-breaking tools struck the formation gate one after another, growing stronger with each successive hit.

Above the bronze door, layers of white shadows rippled and trembled until, at last, they collapsed with a loud crack.

“It’s open!”

A powerful gust of wind surged forth, throwing the Foundation Establishment cultivators off balance.

The two Immortals stabilized themselves and looked ahead.

The bronze door, which was as stable as a mountain, had loosened, revealing a narrow gap that emitted a soft, pearl-like glow.

...

(End of chapter)