Chapter 368: Exploring the Cave Mansion

Before the towering stone gate, there were hundreds of dense, tiny black dots; looking closely, they were clearly human figures, each of whom possessed the vast, immense power to easily destroy a small country or annihilate a city with a mere gesture.

Yet, these existences, mysterious and powerful in the eyes of the world, were gathered here at this moment, gazing at the stone gate before them with longing, and...

The five figures at the very front!

"Inject Dou Qi into the Ancient Jade, then aim it at the entrance of the cave mansion." To Xiao Han's left, Zhu Kun was pointing out the method to open the cave mansion entrance; his expression was calm, but if one observed closely, his body was slightly trembling.

Xiao Han, holding the Ancient Jade, nodded gently, examined the jade for a moment, then took a deep breath, his gaze focused and his aura surging; within his body, there was a faint sound like a rising tide, and then...

His entire body's Dou Qi surged crazily toward the Ancient Jade in his palm.

With the infusion of Dou Qi, the originally ordinary, translucent white jade ring suddenly erupted with a brilliant beam of light, which then shot straight onto the gate that had remained unchanged for ten thousand years.

"Click!"

A faint, barely perceptible sound reached everyone's ears, and then, under the ecstatic and expectant gaze of all, the ancient stone gate opened a crack, and the entrance slowly began to open toward both sides from the center.

"Hum!"

The moment the entrance opened, a violent fluctuation suddenly erupted from within the cave mansion.

"Boom—"

"Watch out!"

Everyone only felt a massive force slam into them; many whose strength was insufficient were even sent flying backward on the spot...

In the end, less than half of the original hundred Dou Saints remained standing steadily in mid-air.

"This..."

The people who had been knocked down looked at each other with bitter smiles, their cheeks burning, and they couldn't help but shake their heads. They had not expected that they, who were enough to serve as the foundation of powers on the continent, would not even have the qualifications to stand before the gate of the Ancient Emperor Cave Mansion.

Just then, the scene changed once again!

The sea of magma beneath the cave mansion churned violently, then suddenly erupted into heaven-shaking waves, and the earth suddenly split into cracks of various sizes.

"Hum!"

A faint vortex suddenly twisted on the ancient stone gate; the vortex gradually solidified, condensing into a nearly transparent passage.

"Let's go."

The moment the passage stabilized, the few exchanged glances quickly and entered the passage impatiently, while the others gritted their teeth and followed, bearing the pressure.

A faint mist shrouded this space, and the silent land welcomed its first batch of guests in ten thousand years.

At the first glance upon entering, a landmass completely suspended in the air firmly attracted everyone's attention.

"Soul Power is being suppressed." The moment they stepped onto the land, the powerhouses possessing an Emperor Realm Soul, including Xiao Han, had their expressions change slightly.

"Is it there?" Xiao Han and the others asked Zhu Kun, whose expression was as calm as an ancient well; since their Soul Power could not be used, they had to find a guide on the spot.

At the first glance upon entering, a landmass completely suspended in the air firmly attracted everyone's attention. At the first glance upon entering, a landmass completely suspended in the air firmly attracted everyone's attention.

"I suppose so." Zhu Kun's reply made everyone's mouth twitch involuntarily.

"Why are you all looking at this Emperor?" Someone was completely oblivious and said as a matter of course:

"If this Emperor knew the Ancient Emperor Cave Mansion well, would I have been trapped in that dark, sunless hellhole for ten thousand years?"

That was true.

Everyone expressed understanding, but...

Why did it always feel like the words coming out of this person's mouth sounded a bit proud?

"Then what should we do now?"

Soul Power is restricted, there is no guide to lead the way, and the floating continent is endless at a glance...

"If there's really no other way..."

Finally, Gu Yuan spoke slowly: "Everyone split up and search the entire continent directly."

With a hint of resentment in his tone, Gu Yuan said in a deep voice: "With over a hundred Dou Saint powerhouses, at full strength, we could completely turn the entire Central Plains over within a day."

"I don't believe this place could be bigger than the Central Plains!"

"No problem!"

"Agreed."

"..."

The others all nodded; since there was plenty of time, under these circumstances, turning the entire floating island over was the most appropriate method.

"Everyone, disperse!"

At the command, streams of light shot toward the distance in unison.

"Good luck to everyone."

Xiao Han and the others greeted each other and also chose their own directions, leaving trails of afterimages in the air.

Three hours later.

A pale blue stream of light streaked across the horizon, then came to a halt.

"Hmm?" Xiao Han paused his steps, frowned slightly, and after moving forward a bit more, his expression turned joyful, "Found it!"

At the edge of his vision, a few small, sharp corners were vaguely visible.

Accelerating suddenly, in just two or three minutes, Xiao Han arrived before a magnificent Palace; on the huge plaza, stone pillars thousands of feet tall reached into the clouds.

Gathering Dou Qi in his palm, he struck toward the air; the next moment, everyone scattered in all directions of the continent saw the conspicuous blue beam of light in the sky.

"Finally found it."

"Let's go."

"..."

During this period, Xiao Han cast his gaze toward the tops of the stone pillars, where the burning flames appeared withered and slightly illusory.

"Sigh! What a pity for these Exotic Fires." Xiao Han shook his head in regret; he naturally knew that these flames bound to the tops of the stone pillars were indeed genuine Exotic Fires, but after being eroded by ten thousand years of time, they had all lost their original power, their origins exhausted, possessing only their forms but no longer the ability to burn the world.

"However..."

Xiao Han pondered for a moment; it seemed that collecting these Exotic Fires might not be a bad idea after all. After all, Exotic Fires were too rare, and by spending some resources to re-cultivate them, they might still be of some use.

However, the moment he touched the stone pillar, Xiao Han knew he had overthought it.

"This Tuoshe Ancient Emperor certainly has great skill." Xiao Han said with regret: "A layout from ten thousand years ago has actually lasted until now."

With just a slight perception, Xiao Han understood that with his strength, wanting to forcibly destroy the stone pillars and the chains binding the Exotic Fires above would take at least two hours.

To achieve this, one would have to use high-power Dou Techniques, and one could not be disturbed during the process; furthermore, one had to ensure that the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor had no other remaining methods.

Considering Zhu Kun's experience of being trapped for ten thousand years, Xiao Han decisively chose to withdraw his hand; he did not want to end up here inexplicably, falling at the threshold of success—that would be too unworthy!

"Hm? They've arrived?"

Just as he was about to wander around, Xiao Han noticed several streaks of light heading toward the plaza; it was clearly Zhu Kun and the others who had received the news and rushed over.

"How is it?" As soon as they met, several people asked eagerly.

"Unclear." Xiao Han shook his head, "I can only say that there are quite a few Exotic Fires here that have lost their power."

"Exotic Fires?" Hearing this, the others all looked up in astonishment, and sure enough, they saw many familiar figures; apart from their power being particularly weak, their aura and appearance were identical.

Xiao Han continued: "From the twenty-third ranked Xuanhuang Flame to the fourth ranked Golden Emperor Burning Heaven Flame, there are twenty types of Exotic Fires in total."

Ignoring the increasingly surprised gazes of the others, Xiao Han patted the stone pillar beside him and changed the subject: "It's just that there is a very strong Prohibition here; I do not suggest you try to break it by force."

After sensing it for a while, the crowd could only shake their heads in resignation and give up, clearly agreeing with this statement.

"Alright, don't forget our purpose this time." Xiao Xuan reminded them.

"Mm."

Everyone knew the function of the Emperor Grade Embryonic Pill; as long as one could advance to the rank of Emperor, external objects like Exotic Fires were dispensable, as not everyone cultivated fire-attribute Dou Qi.

"There doesn't seem to be an Emperor Grade Embryonic Pill here, right?"

However, after looking around, Huang Jingtian could not help but frown; apart from him, the four people including Xiao Han, who possessed an Emperor Realm Soul, were staring fixedly at the thick fog ahead.

"Let this Emperor do it this time." Zhu Kun took the lead, his palm gripping the void toward the fog, and a ten-thousand-foot-large vortex suddenly appeared in the sky; the fog shrouding the Palace was instantly sucked in, and before long, it completely dissipated.

"This is..."

The moment they saw the true appearance behind the mist, Xiao Han and the others drew a sharp breath.