***"Senior Brother, these are truly fascinating objects."
"Is that so?"
"Yes, look at this."
"Hmm. How was this processed?"
"Moreover, this precision doesn't seem ordinary."
"Oho. It's full of interesting things."
Fang Lunyi showed interest as he looked at the items spread on the floor.
"These are things even I have never seen before."
"If even Senior Brother hasn't seen them, they must surely be extraordinary items..."
"How did he obtain these?"
"Who knows."
Fang Lunyi.
As a direct descendant of the Flame Metal Sect's Grand Elder, he was a member of the Fang Clan, a prestigious cultivation clan. Since childhood, there was nothing he couldn't have, and he had encountered all sorts of precious things.
Yet even for him, these were objects he had never seen before.
"But I cannot seem to figure out how to use them."
"Ah, this seems to work when you press here."
"Hm? What is this used for?"
"I'm not sure."
Of course, Fang Lunyi was curious about the objects before him, but he didn't make a fuss like the junior disciples.
He had his dignity, after all.
He was just satisfying his curiosity by watching the disciples gather the items and touch this and that.
"Senior Brother! Look at this. It seems you pull this ring here."
Ping-
"Huh? What's this? The body and head separated?"
"Let me se-"
At that moment. The round metal object with the pin pulled out caused a slight vibration. It was an extremely short time, barely a fraction of a second.
An intense light exploded, and countless needle-like metal particles burst out as flames ignited.
"Watch out...!"
"Dodge!"
Boom-
Along with a tremendous sound that deafened their ears, their vision turned white.
Their insides were shaken, and their skin was burned, losing sensation.
"Aaaagh!"
"Kuhuk!"
"..."
"Ugh."
As the smoke gradually cleared, three severely injured people and Fang Lunyi, who was barely standing, were revealed.
In that short time, Fang Lunyi's instinctive activation of his defensive Dharma Tool could be said to have been instinctive.
Creak-
However, it was inevitable that everything, including the furniture gathered separately in the cultivation chamber and the nearby herb garden, had become like a beehive.
Moreover, the three who were severely injured were in a miserable state.
"What on earth...!"
What is this?
Fang Lunyi felt the crisis of death for the first time in a long while.
"Aaaagh."
"M-My fingers!"
"Kuhuk!"
He felt unbearable anger at the surroundings that had turned black as if hit by an incendiary bomb.
"This kind of trick...!"
Hot anger welled up, making him feel like his head would explode.
How dare they pull such a prank?
Lunyi vowed to go to that bastard immediately and give him a beating. No, he would wring his neck right now...!
However, something invaded the cultivation chamber faster than that.
A yellow talisman wrapped in blue light.
A Sound Transmission Talisman?
A talisman that stores voice and delivers it to the target.
Lunyi received the Sound Transmission Talisman and infused it with Spiritual Power.
-Come to the Immortal Pavilion immediately.
"!!"
At someone's undeniable command, Fang Lunyi had to postpone his punishment of that punk.
"Damn it! Just you wait."
***Should I have attached a self-destruct device?
Unfortunately, there was no such thing. He didn't expect it to be robbed so easily, after all.
To begin with, Karlstein hadn't thought of putting a detonation device on household items.
Still, I must surely get payback someday.
Hmm. Come to think of it, I don't see the regular grenade I had taken out for experiments.
She couldn't know her Junior Brother’s inner thoughts.
***Boom- Pzzzt-
At the southernmost continent of the world Karlstein had entered...
There were mountain peaks so rugged and high they seemed like they might pierce the sun.
Suddenly, a hole opened in the sky and starlight poured down like a waterfall.
Swoosh-
Through it, a faint human silhouette appeared, passing through the curtain.
"Is this the place?"
It took enormous resources to descend to the Lower Realm.
Although he received some support, his own wealth couldn't help but be involved. However, the reason he accepted the mission to the Lower Realm despite this was because...
"I hope I can find clues here."
Because there was something he was looking for.
"I can finish the mission itself anytime."
The man took out a mirror from his bosom and reflected the night sky.
Rustle- Rustle-
Faint starlight gathered densely and settled on the mirror's surface.
Woong-
The surface moved as if drawing constellations.
"The location has been specified."
There were no particular problems.
The mission itself would be over in an instant.
There was still plenty of time.
He moved to handle his personal matters first.
"I should stop by nearby places first."
A bloody wind began to blow in the direction he moved.
***Meanwhile, Karlstein...
"Ah... Junior Brother, I... my body..."
"Get a hold of yourself! Senior Sister!"
Neck Slice!
Thwack-
Thud.
"Treasures... everywhere. Is this True Silver? A-And t-there are Elixirs over th-!"
"Neck Slice!"
Thwack-
Thud.
"Kyaaak!"
"Neck Slice!"
Thwack-
Thud.
Senior Sister Zhang loses consciousness from Karlstein's hand chops.
"Hmm!"
Every time they passed through a gate, he knocked out Senior Sister Zhang, who was affected by the Illusion Formation, and steadily crossed the Prohibitions.
Of course, Karlstein wasn't affected by mere Illusion Formations.
"Ugh... Where is this?"
"We're almost at the center."
"A-Already? We crossed the Prohibitions?"
She was flustered.
When she closed her eyes for a moment and opened them, their location had changed.
"But why does my neck hurt so much?"
"Who knows."
Karlstein didn't bother to tell her.
"More importantly, look at this."
"This stele is...?"
Senior Sister Zhang fell into deep thought as she examined the Enchantment Characters on the stele.
Karlstein nodded contentedly at this.
Hmm. I did well to bring her along.
I need to know what's what to properly loot, after all.
For him, who lacked common sense in this world, she was like an excellent guidebook.
"It seems to be a warning message."
"Is that so?"
Grin-
Valuable things usually had thorns, wouldn’t they?
"Then we definitely can't stop!"
For some reason, she suddenly protected her neck.
W-Why did I do that?