Chapter 35

Su Chen walked back to the main karst cave, his gaze scrutinizing the jade-like skeleton.

"Offense taken, predecessor."

He said softly, then carefully extended his hand, preparing to move the remains of this Canglang Loose Practitioner to another place.

However, just as his hand was about to touch the skeleton.

His gaze was attracted by a corner of the meditation cushion beneath the skeleton.

Because of the long passage of time, most of the cushion had rotted, but the spot where the skeleton sat cross-legged had been preserved relatively well because it had been suppressed by the immortal body for years.

And in the gap where the cushion met the ground, something seemed to be pressed.

Su Chen's heart stirred; he did not move the skeleton but gently pulled the already tattered cushion out from under the skeleton bit by bit.

As the cushion was moved away, a small formation carved into the ground appeared before his eyes.

This formation was very small, only the size of a palm, with complex and precise formation patterns; at its core was a small groove.

"So that's it; the real treasure is hidden here."

Su Chen carefully studied this formation.

This was a small storage formation that required a specific "key" to open.

He cast his gaze toward the skeleton.

He extended his hand and carefully groped around the jade-like skeleton.

Soon, he discovered an anomaly in the skeleton's right hand.

The skeleton's right hand was in a mudra gesture, and between its thumb and index finger, it seemed to be pinching something.

Su Chen carefully pried open the skeleton's fingers, and a jade ring with a simple and ancient design broke and fell out from within.

This ring was clearly the key to opening the formation.

Unfortunately, the owner had died and vanished, and this storage ring, which served as the key, had also collapsed with the passage of time.

Su Chen picked up the broken half of the jade ring, looked at the runes on it, and then looked at the formation groove on the ground; he already had a plan in mind.

Although the key was broken, the formation was still there.

With his current attainments in formations, breaking this small storage formation was not a difficult task.

He placed the half of the jade ring into the groove of the formation, then drove his immortal essence, simulating the rune fluctuations remaining on the jade ring, and slowly injected it into the formation.

"Click."

With a soft sound, the light of the formation on the ground flashed and slowly split open, and a hidden compartment half a foot square rose from the ground.

Inside the hidden compartment lay three things quietly.

A book, a bottle of elixirs, and a black token.

Su Chen's breathing quickened slightly.

He first picked up the book.

The book was not made of paper, nor was it a jade slip, but was crafted from some unknown golden metal, feeling slightly heavy in his hand.

On the cover were written four ancient seal characters—"General Outline of Alchemy."

Su Chen opened the pages, and after just a few glances, his eyes lit up.

This "General Outline of Alchemy" was not any specific elixir recipe, but a summary of the Canglang Loose Practitioner's lifelong alchemy experience.

From the most basic identification of medicinal properties to the combination of various spiritual herbs, and then to the heat control and pill-forming techniques for different elixirs, it could be said to be all-encompassing and exhaustive.

This was simply an encyclopedia for alchemists!

For Su Chen, the value of this gift even exceeded that of the "Cangming Immortal Art."

Although he had learned some basics of alchemy from Patriarch Puti, it was ultimately not systematic.

With this "General Outline of Alchemy," he had the confidence to become a qualified alchemist in a short period of time.

He suppressed the joy in his heart, carefully put away the "General Outline of Alchemy," and picked up the jade bottle.

This jade bottle was much more exquisite than the ones he had found in the alchemy room earlier.

The bottle body was warm and moist, and spirit-gathering runes were carved on it.

He gently pulled out the bottle stopper, and a refreshing fragrance instantly permeated the entire cave dwelling.

Just by smelling this fragrance, Su Chen felt his primordial spirit become clear, as if it had been washed once.

He tilted the bottle mouth and poured out an elixir the size of a pigeon egg, which was emerald green all over and emitted a glowing treasure light.

On the surface of the elixir, three naturally formed pill patterns circled.

"Three-Turn Golden Elixir!"

Su Chen exclaimed in shock, his eyes filled with awe.

Legend has it that Taishang Laojun could refine Nine-Turn Golden Elixirs; taking one could directly prove the Heavenly Immortal fruit.

And this Three-Turn Golden Elixir was considered a low-profile version of the Nine-Turn Golden Elixir; although it could not make a person directly prove the Heavenly Immortal fruit, it could give an Earth Immortal two more chances to break through to the Heavenly Immortal Realm.

He never expected that this Canglang Loose Practitioner would actually have one, and that it had been preserved intact until now.

He put the Three-Turn Golden Elixir back into the jade bottle and stored it away.

Finally, his gaze fell upon the black token.

This token was about the size of a palm; one didn't know what material it was made of—it was neither gold nor iron, and it felt cold to the touch.

On the front of the token was carved a simple and ancient character for "Water."

On the back was a pattern of surging waves.

Apart from this, there was nothing else.

Su Chen injected his immortal essence into it, but the token had no reaction at all.

He probed it with his spiritual sense, but it was like a stone sinking into the sea, unable to detect any information.

"Strange thing."

Su Chen frowned slightly.

This token was placed in the final hidden compartment along with the "General Outline of Alchemy" and the Three-Turn Golden Elixir; its preciousness was likely no less than the other two.

But he had studied it for a long time and couldn't make heads or tails of it.

With a thought, he summoned the Heavenly Secret Tianji Baojian.

"Please deduce the origin of this token."

He made his request to the treasure mirror.

【Insufficient Heavenly Secret Points.】

【Hint: Deciphering the origin of the token requires consuming 400 Heavenly Secret Points.】

"Huh? 400 Heavenly Secret Points?!"

Su Chen was stunned.

Back then, deducing the remains of Yang Mei Daxian out of thin air had only cost him 300 Heavenly Secret Points.

Now that the token was right in his hand, just deducing its origin required 400 Heavenly Secret Points!

"Hiss..."

Su Chen gasped, looking again at the unremarkable black token in his hand; his gaze had completely changed.

What exactly was the background of this thing?

Unable to figure it out, Su Chen stopped thinking about it.

He stored the mysterious black token separately.

The secret of this token could be studied slowly in the future.

The most urgent task was to explore the rest of the cave dwelling.

He walked to the end of the main cave, where there was still a tightly closed stone door.

This stone door was thicker and heavier than any he had seen before.

Complex formation runes were carved on it; it was clearly the most important place in the entire cave dwelling.

Su Chen extended his hand and gently pushed against the stone door.

"Rumble..."

Accompanied by a dull sound, the stone door slowly opened inward.

A rich medicinal fragrance mixed with pure spiritual energy rushed toward him.

Su Chen took just one breath and felt all 36,000 pores on his body relax, and the immortal essence in his body became a bit more active.