I established the Eternal Immortal Clan by taming beasts.

Following the lead of the Yaren Beast, Lin Che traveled all the way and finally arrived at a rocky area behind Sword Tomb Mountain, almost touching the edge of the gravity field.

At the base of an exceptionally thick, grayish-brown stone pillar resembling a broken halberd, lies a rather hidden cave entrance.

It was only wide enough for one person to pass through, and there were still some animal claw marks and friction marks on the edge of the cave entrance.

"This is it." The Yaren Beast stopped, its golden eyes fixed on the deep cave entrance, its voice low and deep.

"Back then, I managed to escape from this crack by sheer luck."

Below was a complex underground cavern, its passages like a maze. It took me a great deal of effort to find my way out.

Lin Che stood at the cave entrance but did not enter immediately.

He focused his senses and felt a chilling aura, far purer and more refined than that on the plains, seeping out of the cave in wisps. It was not spreading randomly, but rather subtly forming a kind of cycle.

This surprised him somewhat.

I thought that such an important place as the core of heritage should be located in a prominent place on the mountain, even if it is not on the top of the mountain. I did not expect it to be "going against the grain" and hidden deep underground at the foot of the mountain.

"Let's go, take me down to take a look." Lin Che no longer hesitated and gestured to the Yaren Beast.

"Alright, my lord, please follow me." Ya Ren Beast bent down and crawled into the cave first, with Lin Che following closely behind.

Upon entering the cave, the light suddenly dimmed, with only faint sunlight filtering in from the rear entrance.

But after descending only a few dozen feet, a faint blue light gradually appeared ahead.

Upon closer inspection, a peculiar type of fungus—the Fiery Crystal Mushroom—grows on the rock walls on both sides of the cave.

They are shaped like umbrellas, with translucent dark blue caps, and inside they seem to have liquid malevolent energy slowly flowing.

It emitted a hazy, cold, pale blue light, barely illuminating the slippery, gravelly path beneath our feet.

The passageway is far more intricate and complex than imagined, with numerous branching paths, and in some places you even have to squeeze through sideways or duck down.

If it weren't for the Yaren Beast, a veteran who had been there before, guiding the way with its memories, it would have been very easy to get lost in this underground labyrinth.

As Lin Che walked forward, he observed the marks on the rock face and made a judgment in his mind.

There are probably more than one similar entrance.

This network of caves is extensive, and there may be hidden entrances connecting to it from other locations on the plains or in the mountains.

As you go deeper, the terrain doesn't just go downhill; it's undulating from time to time.

After traveling for about five hours, the Yaren Beast in front finally stopped and whispered, "My lord, we've arrived."

Suddenly, everything became clear.

They were inside a huge underground natural cave.

The cave ceiling hangs high, hidden in darkness, with countless stalactites hanging down like inverted swords.

In the center of the cave stands a group of ancient buildings that clearly show signs of human restoration!

The gray stone buildings have a simple and dignified style. Although many parts are damaged, the main structure still exists.

It was tightly enveloped by a layer of pale golden, semi-transparent array light shield, resembling an inverted giant bowl, isolating it from the outside world.

On the surface of the light shield, intricate runes occasionally flash by, exuding a chilling aura of stability and desolation.

Lin Che began to carefully explore the perimeter of this underground structure.

The building is quite large, and the outlines of the main hall, side halls, and corridors can be vaguely discerned, but most of the doors are tightly closed or blocked by array formations.

Finally, he stopped in front of a particularly tall stone gate.

The stone gate was tightly closed, its surface covered with dust and the marks of time, but four incomplete ancient patterns could still be faintly discerned on it—knife, spear, sword, and shield!

The design is simple yet carries a sharp, battlefield-like feel.

"It really is here!" A glint flashed in Lin Che's eyes, and his mood immediately improved.

The strange items dropped by the puppet beasts that Liu Fang and the Shadow Hall mentioned when they were gathering intelligence were exactly these four shapes!

Without a doubt, this place is the core of the so-called "treasure trove of heritage"!

"It seems that the items I collected from those puppet beast drops are probably useless now," Lin Che sighed with a hint of regret.

Logically speaking, opening the door to this treasure trove of heritage would probably require collecting all four of these tokens.

But he doesn't intend to go through the "front door".

He turned around and, guided by the Yaren Beast, circled around to the side and rear of the complex, to a rather inconspicuous corner.

At the junction of the ground and the building base, the color of the array light shield appears slightly dimmer than in other places, and its flow is also slightly sluggish.

It was a tiny vulnerability created from within when the Yaren Beast escaped its predicament, which was fortunately not fully repaired!

Without the guidance of someone who experienced it firsthand, and given that the energy of the formation had diminished over time, such subtle flaws would be extremely difficult for outsiders to detect.

Lin Che did not hesitate.

Before entering, he first instructed the Azure Profound Realm Spirit to quietly set up a hidden "space-time beacon" in the cave passage from which they had come.

This is his greatest security guarantee. If an insurmountable crisis occurs inside, he can be instantly teleported back to this exit, moving freely in and out.

Once ready, Lin Che moved swiftly, as if blending into the flow of water, silently passing through the slight gap in the array and entering the light barrier.

The Yaren Beast followed closely behind.

The interior was indeed as Yaren Beast had described, a fairly standard "trial chamber".

The space is circular, resembling a small indoor arena.

The surrounding area was high stone walls, which should have been engraved with array patterns to activate combat puppets or illusions, but at this moment those patterns were dim and almost completely extinguished, with no energy fluctuations whatsoever.

In the center is a stone platform, which is the place where the body of the Yaren beast was sealed away back then.

"There's a problem with the energy supply..." Lin Che looked around and understood.

This secret realm has existed for far too long. No matter how ingeniously it was set up in the past, the core spiritual source that maintains the formation will eventually dry up or dissipate over time.

This explains why the Yaren Beast was able to escape.

At the same time, an idea popped into my head.

The Yaren Beast is sealed here by a special formation, which greatly slows down its lifespan. So the actual number of years it has existed... may be far beyond imagination!

He might know some ancient secrets about this "Valley of Soldiers".

Thinking of this, Lin Che directly asked, "Ya Ren Beast, when you were sealed here, were you still conscious? Did you know why this place was formed and why these inheritance trials were set up?"

Upon hearing this, the Yaren Beast lowered its massive head slightly, a hint of reminiscence and confusion flashing in its golden eyes.

It slowly said, "My lord, for most of the time I was sealed, I was in a state of unconscious slumber, as if time had stood still, unaware of how many years had passed. My memory of the origin of this place is vague, only some extremely ancient fragments remain..."

It tried to recall, its voice low and slow:

"It seems that I originally belonged to a sword-cultivating sect called the Heavenly Gang Sword Sect."

A fierce battle once took place here, fought against the infamous demonic force known as the Blood Fiend Palace.

Countless cultivators from both sides engaged in a fierce battle, causing mountains and rivers to crumble and the sky to be stained with blood...

In the end, although our sect and its affiliated forces achieved a pyrrhic victory, they were also severely weakened.

The sect leader at that time... for some reason, did not lead the remnants back to the sect after the war. Instead, he chose this place... to set up a grand formation based on the battlefield ruins, leaving behind his legacy.

I... was one of the spirit beasts tamed within the sect at that time, ordered to guard this place during the trials.

The Heavenly Gang Sword Sect? The Blood Fiend Hall? The site of the ancient cultivators' decisive battle? Lin Che suddenly understood.

This matches his previous guess.

This secret realm is most likely a fragment of a small world formed from an ancient battlefield.

The pervasive aura of war, the countless wrecked weapons, and even the puppet beasts that formed all had a plausible origin.

The reason why the sect leader of the Tiangang Sword Sect chose to leave his legacy here is quite intriguing, and the legacy he left behind must be extraordinary!

"The legacy left by the sect leader of a sect that can participate in and lead such a large-scale war is of immeasurable value!" Lin Che thought with fervor.

Without further delay, he immediately began a thorough search of the secret room.

However, apart from the central sealing platform and the broken array patterns on the walls, the secret chamber was empty, with no conspicuous treasures or inheritance carriers.

"It seems there's nothing else here." Lin Che was slightly disappointed, but not discouraged, and planned to continue exploring this underground complex.

But problems arose.

The design of this trial chamber seems to only consider starting the challenge from the outside, without setting up a conventional portal from the inside to the outside.

The designers probably never expected that someone would be able to "sneak" in from the inside and even try to leave.

Lin Che's gaze naturally fell on the silent Qingxuan Realm Spirit beside him.

Without needing to say more, the spirit of the realm already understood.

He closed his eyes slightly, and extremely faint spatial ripples, imperceptible to ordinary people, emanated from his body as he carefully sensed the spatial structure between the secret chamber and the outer stone walls.

After a moment, he opened his eyes and nodded slightly to Lin Che: "Although this stone door is thick, it is not protected by any spatial barrier. I can use a short-range interdimensional technique to cross it directly."

After speaking, a deep and tranquil azure light emanated from the spirit, quickly enveloping Lin Che and the Yaren Beast.

With a flash of light, without the slightest sound or violent fluctuation of spiritual energy, the three figures vanished from the secret chamber.

The next moment, they appeared steadily outside the stone gate with sword-shaped patterns!

The Yaren Beast looked around in surprise, then gazed at the calm Qingxuan Realm Spirit, its golden beast eyes filled with shock.

This ability to move silently through space, ignoring physical barriers, is truly astonishing.

It realized once again that the master it followed and his companions were all highly skilled and not as simple as they seemed.

……

Upon reaching the corridor, Lin Che first turned around and carefully examined the stone door he had just come out of.

The sword-shaped patterns on the door are simple and clear, just like the "sword-shaped tokens" he had collected.

"I see! The tokens dropped by the puppet beasts are not only the keys to open the underground palace gate, but also very likely the keys to open the corresponding trial chambers."

Lin Che smiled knowingly and with pleasure.

When Yin Jiuyou or other cultivators arrive here and open the door to the Inheritance Treasury through normal means, and then open the trial room, only to find it empty, their expressions will surely be quite interesting!

He turned and gazed into the depths along the dimly lit but wide underground corridor.

On the stone walls on both sides, there was a similar stone door at intervals.

The patterns carved on the door are different, but they can all be vaguely discerned as one of four types: knife, spear, sword, and shield, only the arrangement and combination are slightly different.

The long corridor was deep and secluded, its destination unknown, and the number of secret rooms on both sides seemed quite considerable.

If we were to explore each room one by one, it would take an unknown amount of time.

Yin Jiuyou or other explorers may find the main entrance at any time, or enter this place through other means.

Time is precious, so we must be precise!

With a thought, Lin Che once again summoned his Secret Realm Exploration Expert.

The Mystic Crystal Seeker!

Her unique treasure-hunting abilities not only allow her to sense the value of spiritual objects, but now she can also vaguely determine their age, potential connections, and the dangers they may contain.

This is the perfect place to quickly identify the most valuable or most likely core heritage sites in such a confluence of opportunities!