Passing through the luminous curtain, Qin Ran's vision brightened and then darkened, and he found himself in a dark, damp, and narrow cave.
He widened his eyes and carefully observed the cave before him. The small cave was extremely crude, as if it were a natural, untouched ancient cavern. He couldn't help but turn back to look, seeing the moss-covered cave wall where the array patterns were fading, proving that he had indeed emerged from the final alchemy chamber, and this place was indeed outside the seal, within Divine Essence Mountain.
Thus, he fell into deep doubt.
Could this be the inheritance site of Elder Shenhua?
Elder Shenhua, tens of thousands of years ago, the peerless powerhouse who dominated his era and was renowned throughout the Seven Islands.
Could his inheritance site look like this?
Could the major forces of the entire Heavenly Sea Region, who have schemed for countless years and killed countless lives, be seeking such a place?
He doubted that he had come to the wrong place.
The cave Qin Ran saw before him was far smaller than the one arranged by the Island Master of Dragon Whale Island. The size of this cave was about the same as an ordinary room, no more than four zhang high and fifty square meters in area. It felt somewhat oppressive and narrow.
The place where he appeared was a cave wall. Standing there, he looked forward to see the entire cave, which was empty and devoid of anything, except for a skeleton on the opposite wall, slightly in the middle.The skeleton sat on a white cushion, facing away, bowing towards the wall; this skeleton didn't seem particularly special at first glance, but in its abdominal cavity, there was a brilliantly colorful, flame-like water.
Although it felt incredible and he didn't want to admit it, even feeling a bit of a shattered dream, Qin Ran still knew:
This was the inheritance site of the Divine Essence Old Demon; this was where the Divine Essence Old Demon had made his final retreat, seeking to become an immortal; the skeleton opposite was the Divine Essence Old Demon.
The Divine Essence Old Demon was now just a skeleton, indistinguishable; but the powerful and sacred aura within it was undoubtedly Divine Essence Condensation.
Looking at the skeleton, Qin Ran's emotions were complex, difficult to express.
After all, no matter how heroic or peerless one is, they cannot withstand the passage of time and the ravages of years. In the end, they are just a pile of bones and dust.
"Alas!" Qin Ran sighed.
He stepped on the damp ground of the cave, the wet echoes of "splat splat" resounding, as he walked to the opposite side. He didn't go behind the Divine Essence Old Demon nor directly take the Divine Essence Condensation. Instead, he stood in front of the skeleton of the Divine Essence Old Demon.
To be honest, he had received too much from the Divine Essence Old Demon, and in reason and emotion, he should show some respect to the Divine Essence Old Demon.
Qin Ran looked at the skeleton before him, feeling no strong aura from it, just a skeleton.
The bones had no flesh, no skin, no clothes, no powerful artifacts. The skeleton only had the Divine Essence Condensation within its body, a storage ring on its finger, and the cushion beneath it.
It was somewhat desolate, mournful, and piteous.
He recalled the deep and authoritative voice of the Divine Essence Old Demon in the final curtain of light, which must have belonged to a tall, strong, extremely vital, and fearless warrior who dared to challenge the heavens and the earth.
But now...
A tear slid down Qin Ran's cheek.
After a while, Qin Ran raised his head to survey the cave.
From this crude and unadorned cave, it could be known that in his final moments, the Divine Essence Old Demon had merely found a random mountain by the sea, dug out a cave on it, and conducted his last retreat in life.
It was unknown what kind of mentality he had when he closed his eyes at the end of his life; but it was known that he was still cultivating at the last moment of his life.
However, such a figure...
He had not become an immortal.
Not becoming an immortal meant becoming a pile of white bones.
A generation of pride, born from Divine Essence Condensation, and defeated by it.
Pitiable! Regrettable!! And also pitiful.
Qin Ran looked at the brilliantly colored Divine Essence Condensation within the skeleton. Standing there, he clearly sensed its power and also saw its shackles.
The Divine Essence Old Demon had not become an immortal in the end.
"Alas!"
He sighed, not knowing how many times he had sighed since entering the cave.
He summoned the Water Flower Pearl, took out a Divine Splendor Pill and an Immortal Essence Pill, and swallowed them.
The Divine Splendor Pill and Immortal Essence Pill were pills based on Divine Essence Condensation. When collecting Divine Essence Condensation, taking these two pills would greatly reduce the difficulty and pain.
Although he was in a spirit form, as soon as the two pills entered his stomach, the medicinal power spread, like ink drops blooming in his spirit. Divine Splendor and Immortal Essence intertwined, making him feel as if he possessed the power of gods and immortals, almost unable to control himself.
He used his strong willpower to control his mind, calmed himself, and reached out to directly take the Divine Essence Condensation from the skeleton.
He had planned for so long, gone through so many things, and although he had gained many resources in the process, all he wanted was the Divine Essence Condensation before him.
He wanted to use Divine Essence Condensation to reshape his body and turn it into the elixir water for his avatar.
Now that Divine Essence Condensation was right in front of him, even with his strong willpower, he couldn't help but get excited.
But just as his fingers were about to touch the skeleton of the Divine Essence Old Demon, he controlled himself and stopped.
Because he suddenly realized something: if he took the Divine Essence Condensation like this, what would happen to the skeleton of the Divine Essence Old Demon?
This skeleton had been here for tens of thousands of years, and even if the Divine Essence Old Demon's cultivation was close to that of a god... Once he took the Divine Essence Condensation, the skeleton would surely turn to dust instantly.
So he hesitated.
He looked at the Divine Essence Old Demon. This predecessor, named Demon but acted like an immortal, had given him too many benefits.
He had taught him the complete water alchemy technique, even the immortal alchemy technique, a whole set; given him over ten high-level pills and pill recipes; indirectly taught him the array techniques of the Heavenly Sea Region.
The Divine Essence Old Demon was no less than his master.
Was he really going to treat his master like this?
He thought for a while, retracted his hand, tidied up the ground in front of him, and then knelt down.
He was determined to get the Divine Essence Condensation, but before taking it, he could apologize to this "master." It was also a way to thank him for what he had taught him.
Three bows and nine kowtows were the greatest apology and respect he could give to the Divine Essence Old Demon.
"I know I'm a bit of a beast... Master, I'm sorry."
After kowtowing, Qin Ran looked at the skeleton of the Divine Essence Old Demon, still feeling ashamed of his shamelessness.
But he still stood up and reached out his hand towards the skeleton of the Divine Essence Old Demon again.
And this time, he still stopped just as his hand was about to touch the skeleton, because at that moment, the entire cave suddenly began to shake!
"?" Qin Ran was startled and quickly retreated, looking around, "What's happening now?"
As the cave continued to shake, the ground behind the Divine Essence Old Demon split open and slowly opened to reveal a dazzling pit.
Qin Ran frowned, not understanding the situation, and looked into the pit, seeing a crystal-like transparent coffin, surrounded by dolls, artifacts, books, silk cloths, and other funerary objects.
He realized that this was the coffin and tomb prepared by the Divine Essence Old Demon for himself.
As the pit opened, the light revealed the skeleton of the Divine Essence Old Demon, which turned to dust, either by a sudden gust of wind or under some strange force, the bone dust floated and entered the crystal coffin in the pit.
Then, the coffin automatically closed.
When the crystal coffin opened, it was transparent and visible, but now that it was closed, although it was still a crystal coffin, it was no longer visible from the outside. After the coffin closed, the pit had no further changes.
"Even prepared a tomb for himself..." Qin Ran thought, "Is this asking me to fill the soil for him, to show filial piety?"
But when he saw the funerary objects in the pit, greed suddenly arose in his heart.
It wasn't his fault, because the books in the pit were probably the essence of the Divine Essence Old Demon's life's work; the artifacts were undoubtedly the Divine Essence Old Demon's treasures.
Such an incalculable wealth was bound to arouse people's greed.
But he didn't rush down immediately. He suppressed his greed, cursing himself for being inhumane... hesitating.
He forced himself to look away and turned his gaze to what remained after Elder Shenhua's withered bones turned to dust: the Divine Essence Condensation hovered in mid-air, its water seemingly alive and boiling; the storage ring also floated, containing unknown treasures; the white mat on the ground had yet to disappear.
Staring at these three items, a peculiar thought suddenly crossed his mind:
The bones crumbled into powder only after he had bowed. What would have happened if he had skipped the bowing and directly taken the Divine Essence Condensation or the storage ring?
He had a vague feeling that something bad would have occurred.
At that moment, the cave began to shake again.
He looked forward and saw the tomb pit slowly closing.
As he watched the closing tomb pit, he suddenly realized something...
The tomb pit hadn't closed immediately earlier, it was waiting for someone to descend and take the funerary objects. And once someone actually took them, the consequences would be unpredictable.
As he thought about it, a chill ran down his spine.
Because it wasn't just the tomb pit in front of him; when he reviewed everything he had encountered along the way, it seemed to be the same.
If someone who didn't understand alchemy had entered, they would have to start learning from scratch. How long would that take?
If an alchemist who entered the sealed space didn't follow the steps of learning alchemy and then practicing it, what would happen?
If the alchemist's skills were a bit lacking and they couldn't produce the required pills, what would happen?
If they reached the alchemy chamber where the Yin-Yang Immortal Essence Pill was located and failed to realize that the light screen was an illusion, what would happen?
If he had rushed straight to the bones upon entering the cave, he would have stepped on the tomb pit of the Divine Essence Old Demon.
If he had skipped the bowing and reached out to take the Divine Essence Condensation, what would have happened?
Adding to the temptation of the funerary objects in the tomb pit...
Plus, if he had used low-grade pills to open the light screen earlier, he would have received low-grade pills...
Only then did he understand why the Divine Essence Old Demon was called the Divine Essence Old Demon.
He wasn't a demonic figure, nor was he a righteous one; he was a chaotic, evil figure.
A genuine chaotic justice.
He would generously bestow his heritage and warmly guide his inheritors, but at the same time, he would leave behind some small traps, mischievous pranks... deadly pranks.
Qin Ran couldn't help but look up, as he suddenly suspected that the Divine Essence Old Demon had been watching him from behind the scenes. This old demon who had manipulated the hearts of people tens of thousands of years later from tens of thousands of years ago.
But he didn't see any other living beings in the damp cave except himself.
"Phew..." He exhaled, steadied his nerves, and forced himself to regain composure.
He looked at the Divine Essence Condensation again, feeling a bit suspicious, wondering if this was yet another prank by the Divine Essence Old Demon, a fake Divine Essence Condensation.
But then he recalled the journey so far; he hadn't been at a disadvantage. As long as he followed the rules set by the Divine Essence Old Demon, the rewards had always been generous. There was no need to tamper with the Divine Essence Condensation.
He stared at the Divine Essence Condensation, hesitating, and finally, just as the effects of the Divine Splendor Pill and Immortal Essence Pill in his body were about to wear off, he leaped forward and plunged into the Divine Essence Condensation.
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