Treasure Gathering Immortal Furnace

Ye Lingxi, the Luo sisters, and Wu Sheng—all four of them had reached the Core Formation stage some time ago, and each had already refined their own natal magic treasures.

Lu Fan came to form a treasure hunt team as soon as he came out of seclusion. Anyone with eyes could see that he had received special treatment from Ye Lingxi to join the treasure hunt team.

In the cultivation world, everything is based on self-interest, which isn't so obvious when one's cultivation level is low.

But once you reach the ranks of high-level cultivators, aren't they all old foxes who have lived for hundreds, even two or three hundred years? No one would take the risk if there were no benefit to be gained.

"Does Fellow Daoist Qingdie mean that Fellow Daoist Lu should take fewer items after obtaining the treasures?" Ye Lingxi seemed somewhat dissatisfied, as she was ultimately loyal to Lu Fan.

At this moment, Luo Qingyi, who had been silent until now, quickly tried to smooth things over, saying, "Fellow Daoist Ye, that's not what my sister meant..."

Before Luo Qingyi could finish speaking, Luo Qingdie raised her hand to interrupt, saying, "Fellow Daoist Ye, Fellow Daoist Lu, please don't blame me for speaking harshly. After all, this sect's ruins may be quite risky. If we don't get the corresponding return for our efforts, wouldn't it be a waste of time?"

Ye Lingxi was also having a bit of a headache. On one hand, there was Lu Fan, with whom she had a deep relationship, and on the other hand, there was the indispensable scout in the team. It was really hard to balance them.

Lu Fan understood what was going on. The reason Ye Lingxi had dragged Luo Qingdie, this troublemaker, along was because she had her eye on Luo Qingdie's insect control technique, which she wanted to use to explore the secret realm.

To avoid putting Ye Lingxi in a difficult position, Lu Fan spoke up, "Since Fellow Daoist Qingdie doesn't believe in my abilities, I have a suggestion: let's distribute the rewards based on our contributions. If I held you all back or failed to provide any assistance during this trip to the secret realm, I won't take a single treasure. How about that?"

Upon hearing this, Luo Qingdie's expression softened slightly, and she continued, "Alright, since Fellow Daoist Lu has said so, I have no objections. If this trip goes smoothly without any danger, we can split the profits equally."

Luo Qingdie didn't press the matter further. Her initial intention was simply to get a few more treasures. Lu Fan believed that in terms of strength, he was no weaker than these Core Formation cultivators who possessed natal magic treasures. He would let his fists do the talking, and who would dare to underestimate him?

"Hehe, I think your suggestions are very good. Let's do it this way. It's good for everyone," Wu Sheng said with a smile.

"Then let's not delay, let's set off immediately," Ye Lingxi said.

The five then transformed into five beams of light that had reached the Core Formation stage and vanished from Thousand Peaks City in an instant.

...

Five days later.

The Great Yan Dynasty is located in the southeast.

The five of them used the speed of Core Formation to fly for five days and five nights before finally arriving at the location shown on the map.

The five people then instantly hovered in mid-air.

"Fellow Daoist Ye, is this the location of the ancient ruins? Why does it differ from what the map shows?" Wu Sheng asked, looking at the endless mountain range below.

"Because the ruins are underground, to get there smoothly, you have to cross an underground river," Ye Lingxi said, and then instantly darted down.

The four of them followed closely behind.

Led by Ye Lingxi, the four of them found a narrow cave entrance in the dense bushes.

Since Ye Lingxi had been here once when she was in the Foundation Establishment stage, she knew that the Dark River was not dangerous, so she put on a spiritual energy shield and rushed in.

Lu Fan not only cast a layer of spiritual energy shield, but also summoned the Eight Treasures Mirror to float around his body in case of unforeseen circumstances.

After the group finished preparing, they passed through the cave entrance and went directly into the dark underground river.

The process went very smoothly. After flying through the underground river for about half an hour, they emerged from a passage with an opening facing upwards.

As soon as you come out, you see a long, dark mine shaft that looks like it was dug out by ordinary people to mine gold.

"Fellow Daoist Ye, is the site of the ruins located after passing through this mine?" Wu Sheng asked.

"That's right. When I was in the Foundation Establishment stage, I only reached this point and dared not go any further because the poisonous miasma ahead could block divine sense from probing," Ye Lingxi said, then looked at Luo Qingdie beside her and added, "Next, we will have to rely on Fellow Daoist Qingdie's Black-Winged Ants."

Upon hearing this, Luo Qingdie slowly stepped forward: "Alright, let me investigate first."

After speaking, Luo Qingdie patted her spirit beast pouch, and dozens of black-winged ants flew out of it. Then, Luo Qingdie formed hand seals, and her eyes immediately turned green as she established a connection with the dozens of black-winged ants.

"Hehe, Fellow Daoist Qingdie's black-winged ants are really useful. They're the perfect choice for exploring and finding treasures," Wu Sheng chuckled sheepishly.

Lu Fan had read about this strange insect in the Miscellaneous Records of Cultivation. The black-winged ant has a body as hard as iron, is immune to most toxins and miasma, and is also very aggressive. If one can control it, one can also establish visual sharing with cultivators.

Black-winged ants can travel freely to places that cultivators cannot reach, which is why Ye Lingxi found the Luo Qingdie sisters to work with her.

As the black-winged ants flew further and further away, they entered the poisonous miasma deep within the mine.

With the help of the black-winged ants' visual sharing, the scene inside the poisonous miasma can also be seen.

Then Luo Qingdie frowned slightly and said, "There are many corpses around the mine, which have been weathered into mummies. Judging from their clothes, they should be ordinary people."

"I guess they were ordinary people who came here to mine for gold, and they accidentally inhaled the poisonous miasma and died tragically," Wu Sheng said.

Luo Qingdie continued to control the black-winged ants as they flew for a while, then said, "We've left the mine. The space ahead is vast; it seems to be an underground palace? The poisonous miasma is much weaker here."

"An underground palace? That's an ancient ruin!" Wu Sheng exclaimed with delight.

"Wait... there are many black coffins around the underground palace, so many!" Luo Qingdie said.

"A coffin? Could it be that we've stumbled into the tomb of some mortal emperor? If so, what's the point of searching for treasures! It's all just gold, silver, and jewels buried with mortal emperors, what use are they!" Wu Sheng's initial surprise turned into disappointment.

"No! There are many treasures on the stone platform inside the underground palace! They are ancient treasures!" Luo Qingdie exclaimed instantly.

This ancient phrase reignited Wu Sheng's excitement: "Then what are we waiting for! Let's go right now!"

"What's the rush!" Ye Lingxi quickly stopped the impetuous Wu Sheng.

After Luo Qingdie continued to control the black-winged ants to explore the area, she recalled them all. Her eyes returned to normal, and she said, "This is indeed the ruins of an ancient sect. I originally wanted to use the black-winged ants to take out that ancient treasure, but it seems that there are still restrictions around the stone platform. We must go in and break them."

"Since there is indeed a treasure, let's set off. However, this place is too strange, so please try not to make too much noise. Quietly break the restriction, take the ancient treasure, and leave," Ye Lingxi said.

"Alright, I'll follow Fellow Daoist Ye's arrangements," Wu Sheng nodded.

The five then reinforced their spiritual energy shield to prevent being corroded by the poisonous miasma before heading inwards.