Mortal: My name is Ma Liang, and I also possess a magic brush.

Li Huayuan and the other seven Core Formation cultivators stood in mid-air before the giant pit, all with expressions of astonishment.

Fu Yunzi flicked his whisk, gazing at the bottomless pit below. "This forbidden area... could it have been completely destroyed?"

Li Huayuan chimed in from the side: "Absolutely impossible. Although our seven sects have never set foot in that pagoda, after years of research, we know that this place is the foundation of the ancient cultivators' cave dwellings."

Even with its immense power, the explosion couldn't possibly have completely destroyed it; not even a single fragment remained!

Yue Zhanchen grew impatient. "Instead of speculating here, wouldn't it be more practical to go down and investigate ourselves?"

This time, Yue Zhanchen still looked anxious, urging everyone to act, but after he finished speaking, he didn't move for a long time.

Chu Jiangli observed this and wondered, "Why isn't Fellow Daoist Yue leading the charge?"

Yue Zhanchen snorted coldly, brandishing his greatsword in front of him, creating two flashes of cold light. "Can't I take a break? Why are you meddling in my business? Humph!"

Chu Jiangli also let out a cold snort, "I thought you were truly fearless!"

Fu Yunzi stopped the two from arguing, saying, "Gentlemen, there's no need to fight like this. Instead of remaining deadlocked here, why don't we all go down and investigate?"

Mo Canglin, a Core Formation elder from Spirit Beast Mountain, chimed in, "I think Fellow Daoist Fu is right. The power of that explosion was earth-shattering; even if there are ancient restrictions here, they must have been completely destroyed."

"If there are any treasures left behind, they will either be blown away by the shockwave or sink to the bottom of this pit. Such an opportunity is right before our eyes, and there is no reason for us to miss it."

Shi Jingtao, the Core Formation Elder of Tianque Fortress, immediately chimed in: "What Fellow Daoist Mo said is quite right, and I agree. I wonder if Fellow Daoist Mo could release some low-level spirit beasts to scout ahead? That way, if we encounter any danger, we can withdraw in time."

Upon hearing this, Mo Canglin chuckled, "You've got a good plan! If you're going to send low-level demonic beasts to scout ahead, why don't you use them?"

He spread his hands, "Five thousand spirit stones, how about I sell you a level one demon beast?"

"A level one demonic beast costs five thousand spirit stones, why don't you just rob it!"

"That's right, I was robbing them!"

Just as the two were about to fight, Fuyunzi coughed loudly, "Alright, stop arguing!"

After saying that, he released a spirit insect that was pure white and emitted a faint light. "Although this insect has no combat power, it can detect restrictions and traps. I am willing to offer it up to guide everyone."

Yue Zhanchen immediately echoed, "Fellow Daoist Fu is truly insightful and righteous!"

Li Huayuan also chimed in for the first time: "Hmph, you lot can't even spare a few spirit stones, yet you dare to call yourselves Core Formation cultivators!"

Shi Jingtao retorted, not to be outdone: "Stop pretending to be high and mighty. You didn't bring anything out either, did you?"

Standing to the side, Nangong Wan covered her forehead and shook her head, wondering what kind of people these were...

After discussing and agreeing on a plan, Fu Yunzi took the lead and urged the spirit insect to explore the bottom of the pit.

The other cultivators activated their protective techniques, and their bodies instantly lit up with various colored spiritual lights, surrounding Fu Yunzi as they sank to the bottom of the pit.

In a matter of moments, the thick darkness completely engulfed them.

The seven people spread their divine senses in the deep pit to explore their surroundings, but they did not detect the slightest sign of danger.

After an unknown amount of time, the spirit insect led the way, and its body emitted a spiritual light that illuminated the distance, where a blurry building outline appeared!

Everyone quickly activated their divine senses to investigate, and then their faces lit up with joy: "It's the pagoda! Isn't this the very pagoda?"

The tower has seven stories and is a giant ancient tower. The whole structure seems to be made of dark-colored strange stones, and the stone surface is mottled with blurry ancient patterns.

The tower gate was badly damaged, with most of the door panels collapsed to the ground. A faint light shone through the broken gaps.

When everyone's divine senses reached the tower gate, they all felt a tremor in their hearts.

Nangong Wan exclaimed in disbelief, "They went in!"

Without any further hesitation, everyone activated their escape techniques and flew swiftly towards the tower gate.

Fu Yunzi followed closely behind, casually collecting the spirit insect as he passed by, thus falling to the back of the group.

Once everyone arrived at the tower entrance, they discovered that inside the damaged door was a vortex of spiritual energy, constantly spinning and churning.

Yue Zhanchen was the first to lose his temper. He used his spiritual power to lift a boulder from the bottom of the pit and threw it toward the whirlpool.

The boulder sank into the whirlpool without any obstruction, and nothing seemed amiss.

Yue Zhanchen chuckled and, without further hesitation, said, "We're already inside, what are you dawdling for!"

After saying that, he circulated his spiritual energy to set up a protective barrier, took out a tortoise shell magic artifact and held it in front of him, held the greatsword horizontally in his hand, and rushed towards the vortex.

The moment the figure touched the vortex, it was sucked in.

While the crowd hesitated, the two cultivators from Huadaowu and Tianquebao followed closely behind, leaping into the vortex.

The remaining people looked at each other, and finally stepped inside one after another.

Only Nangong Wan remained at the tower entrance.

Nangong Wan carefully examined the tower and its surroundings with her divine sense, but found nothing amiss. Without further hesitation, she stepped into the vortex.

Upon entering, she felt no abnormality in her body, and in the next instant, she found herself in a vast space.

The light and shadow shifted rapidly, the world was upside down, and it was impossible to tell which way was which. The people who had entered earlier had vanished without a trace.

Just as she was about to choose a direction to continue, her storage bag at her waist suddenly lit up, and something flew out of it.

Nangong Wan looked closely and realized it was the mysterious box she had obtained earlier.

"How could this box be...?"

As she was filled with doubt, the box burst forth with dazzling light, transforming into a sphere of light that enveloped her completely.

Nangong Wan realized something was wrong and tried to resist, but it was too late. Her spiritual light seemed to be frozen, and she and the box shot straight upwards into the space.

When Nangong Wan opened her eyes again, she found herself in an elegantly decorated house.

"Where is this?"

She first released her divine sense, quickly scanning the small room, then summoned a magical artifact to protect herself before beginning a careful search.

She was in what looked like the main hall, and as her gaze swept across the room, she suddenly noticed an object that resembled a map hanging directly in front of her.

She immediately went forward to examine it, but the more she looked, the more puzzled she became. She had absolutely no clue about the place depicted on the map.

"What exactly is this map from?"

The map was marked with many ancient characters, which Nangong Wan did not recognize at all, so she could only glance at them randomly.

Suddenly, she noticed that the outline of the terrain in one corner of the map looked somewhat familiar. On a whim, she quickly covered the rest of the map with her hand, leaving only that area exposed, and traced the outline with her fingertips.

A moment later, she suddenly exclaimed in surprise: "This...this isn't Tiannan?"

Upon this discovery, she abruptly moved her hand away, her gaze sweeping across the entire map. She was instantly shocked to discover that it was a map encompassing the entire cultivation world!

Nangong Wan became increasingly alarmed as she looked at the map. She followed the outline of Tiannan and explored outwards, but many of the place names on the map were ancient characters she did not recognize, leaving her only to stare blankly at them.

"So there is such a vast territory beyond the southern borders..."

She continued gesturing on the map, her gaze sweeping over the boundless sea to the south.

She suddenly realized that large areas were also marked on the sea surface: "Could this be the legendary overseas land? It's so vast..."

Although this map is not a rare treasure, it encompasses the entire territory that even few people in the Tiannan cultivation world know about, making it an extremely important treasure for them.

After examining the entire map, Nangong Wan immediately followed the location of Tiannan and carefully searched for the location of Xu Kingdom.

She discovered a peculiar mark at the corresponding location on the terrain and wondered, "What does this mark represent?"

She decided to continue her search and found two more identical marks within Tiannan territory, as well as outside Tiannan. There were even two marks marked overseas.

What is the deeper meaning behind this?

She was puzzled, but finally shook her head. "Forget it, now is not the time to worry about this. We'll find out once we get out and explore the territory of Xu Kingdom. Anyway, it's not far from here."

Having made up her mind, she raised her hand and waved it into her storage bag.