The sacred mountain was towering and majestic — no trees grew upon it, yet it lacked nothing in vitality. Immortal energy drifted about it, phoenix-birds soared in flight, and a heartening fragrance drifted outward.

“Undying divine medicines!” People cried out in shock. That such a medicinal scent could carry this far meant it had to be divine medicine left behind from the primordial era.

A commotion swept through the crowd. Many surged forward — yet few dared act rashly, for directly overhead, more than ten great figures had yet to make their move.

The divine dynasty rulers of the Central Region, the demon-lord and war-lord of the Southern Range, the divine monks of the Western Desert — every one of them was composed and immovable as a mountain, their full attention fixed on the pair of stone doors.

The ancient stone doors stood eight zhang high, sealed perfectly shut, dry and clean. Everyone frowned, assuming a powerful sealing formation would make them extraordinarily difficult to open.

At last, a great power from the Ancient Hua Imperial Dynasty stepped out from the crowd. He walked forward step by step until he stood at the doors, placed his hands against them, and pushed with full force. With a resonant boom, one door shifted half a foot open, revealing a narrow gap.

Everyone was astonished. They had expected the doors to be sealed with restrictions requiring enormous effort to overcome. Yet it seemed as simple as this.

At that moment, the medicinal fragrance grew richer, flowing out from behind the stone doors — and quite a few people felt lightheaded, as though they might ascend into the clouds at any moment, barely restraining themselves from swallowing.

Swish!

The ten-odd supreme figures in the sky moved at once, without distinction of order, transforming into streams of divine light that plunged downward, aligning side by side before the cave dwelling.

No one dared to step forward and compete with them. These were the rulers of the world today. Even peak great powers would not dare to face all of them together as enemies.

“Amitabha!” An elderly monk recited the name of the Buddha.

The name Amitabha was, it was said, the title of an ancient emperor — though whether that emperor had been born in the Western Desert was difficult to say, for legend had it he came from an ancient star beyond this domain.

“Allow me to open the way!” The demon-lord of the Southern Range stepped forward, brought both hands down in a sharp strike, and the doors boomed open. He strode inside with long steps.

“What a dense, rich fragrance — there truly are divine medicines!”

“A pity — with those ten-odd figures present, even great powers wouldn’t dare act. To say nothing of the rest of us.”

Behind them, the crowd murmured. Many were unable to conceal their discontent. Among them were great-power figures whose eyes gleamed with cold light, waiting for their moment.

The pair of stone doors swung open. Primordial spiritual energy surged outward — primal breath of the world — and the crowd swarmed forward en masse, having sensed the divine medicine’s aura.

“Damn it — we’re getting nothing out of this. The undying medicine of legend — and of course none of it is ours.” Duan De looked thoroughly deflated, listless and resentful as he grumbled.

Boom!

A great sound erupted within the cave dwelling. A battle had broken out inside — clearly over the divine medicines. A peak powerhouse had made their move.

“Let’s take a look!” Dongfang Ye could hold himself back no longer and charged forward first.

The Old Blind Man cast a hasty divination, tortoise shells scattering, and called out, “No serious danger, and a great opportunity — get in there now!”

This old creature bounded forward like a live rabbit — not a trace of age and frailty left about him, vibrant and supremely self-assured.

“That old codger took a spring tonic or something.” The barbarian muttered. Agile as he was, he was somehow still outpaced by the Old Blind Man.

Ye Fan, Jue Youqing, and Duan De followed behind, entering the cave dwelling. Spiritual energy surged in waves, bathing every inch of them, every last fiber of flesh and blood filled with vitality.

“There truly are divine medicines!” Duan De could no longer contain himself. His eyes darted ceaselessly, turning over the various methods and formations of burial studies in his mind, looking for an opportunity to strike.

Though the cave dwelling looked grand from the outside, it was hardly vast. Yet the moment they stepped inside, it felt as though they had entered an entirely different world — incomparably expansive.

Over a thousand people had already entered and were standing within the first level of the ancient mansion. Yet it was not remotely crowded — another two thousand could have fit without issue.

“The divine medicines are over there!”

Ahead, a field of jade stretched out, fragrance wafting and filling the senses, green leaves cradling immortal blossoms, radiant light flowing in all directions — dazzling and magnificent.

“Not just one divine medicine!”

“No — that must be a medicine king!”

The crowd let out cries of wonder without cease. Everyone’s eyes turned crimson. They could barely restrain themselves from charging forward that instant. These were priceless treasures — a single one was enough to make even a peerless emperor-lord bow their head.

In a medicinal field built from five-colored divine jade, the soil was dark and rich. Six ancient medicines glittered like crystal, swathed in drifting immortal mist, their fragrance making everyone gulp again and again.

Above, carved into the stone ceiling, channels allowed earth-marrow to drip down at intervals, seeping into the soil and nourishing these six ancient medicines.

“These aren’t undying divine medicines — but they are ancient medicine kings, grown for eighty or ninety thousand years. My god — to have this many growing at once defies all reason!”

The crowd gasped in astonishment. Many looked as though their eyes might fall out.

In this world, a single medicine king was a sight that almost never appeared. Though falling short of the undying divine medicine, it still counted as an immortal treasure — a single medicine king could extend one’s life by four hundred years.

What other spiritual object in the world today could achieve that? Only the ancient peach tree of the Jade Pool could match it.

A medicine king was extraordinarily difficult to cultivate — it required unceasing nourishment from earth-marrow and had to grow for over eighty thousand years before it could earn that title.

Who could wait that long? Eighty thousand years — even an undying dynasty lasted barely a little more than twice that.

The emperor-lords of the Central Region, the demon-lord of the Southern Range, and the divine monks of the Western Desert had encircled the medicinal field. Not far off, a battle was already underway — some of the other peak great powers were unwilling to yield and had launched an attack.

The crowd seethed. No one could remain calm. Many wanted to rush in and fight — yet, overawed by the reputations of those ten-odd figures, everyone wavered.

“My god — how long has this cave dwelling existed, to have medicine kings bloom and wither and bloom again over how many generations?” someone exclaimed.

In the five-colored jade medicinal field, beside the six medicine kings, there were also ancient impressions in the soil — residue of medicines long since rotted to nothing, the traces of medicine kings that had decayed who knew how many tens of thousands of years ago.

It was clear that these six were merely the seedlings of those ancient medicine kings, having multiplied across countless generations.

Six medicine kings, each a different variety. One had bloomed into a dreamlike seven-colored flower, petals like crystalline jade; another had produced agate-like fruit that was intoxicatingly fragrant.

Each one could extend life by four hundred years. Six together — nearly the equal of half an undying divine medicine. Many could not control their breathing.

“Why should you be the ones to decide how this is divided? Everyone charge — take them!”

At last, one of the great powers broke. They rushed forward, attacking without hesitation, and the rest threw caution aside and followed. Even the emperor-lords and demon-lord blocking the way could not hold them back.

Bang, crash…

The ancient cave dwelling descended into chaos. Everyone acted, surging madly forward. Ancient treasures emerged from all sides, striking out at those ten-odd great figures.

Only the ancient formation inscriptions running through this place kept it from being reduced to ash — so many people making their move, not a few of them peak great powers, their combined force enough to destroy an entire realm.

“Amitabha…” A divine monk of the Western Desert recited the Buddha’s name — but it was no use. A great iron hammer descended from above and crashed onto his bald head with a resonant boom.

The place was a cacophony. In no time, many had perished. All six ancient medicine kings were wrenched from the soil; the ten-odd great figures could not hold them among themselves and each fought by their own means to claim what they could.

“Kill!”

War cries shook the heavens. Those who had seized a medicine king fled toward the second level of the cave dwelling, not daring to linger. Others gave chase without yielding.

The medicinal field lay bare — nothing remained. The barbarian hammered the stone wall with his fists, inconsolable.

“Pfft!”

From the medicinal field’s soil, Duan De’s head popped up. He spat out a mouthful of black earth and swore, “Damn it — I almost had it. Ate a mouthful of mud for nothing!”

In the struggle, a peerless emperor-lord had slapped him straight into the black earth. Seeing him bounce back up alive and kicking left the group astonished.

Ye Fan walked over and pocketed the medicinal field — several zhang to a side — intending to use it for cultivating precious medicines in the future.

“I once dug up a clay pot that was even better than this medicinal field. A mysterious origin — pity some bastard stole it from me.” Duan De ground his teeth and cursed.

Ye Fan: “…” Dongfang Ye: “…”

The two of them kept their faces perfectly still and said nothing, afraid Duan De would realize something was off.

“Six medicine kings — two thousand four hundred years of extended life — just handed over to a bunch of scoundrels. What a waste.” The old swindler rubbed his hands together.

“The strong are stronger than us — can we overpower those ten-odd peak great powers?” The barbarian said.

“Get moving — or everything will be stripped before we arrive. I have a feeling this place may hold a truly genuine undying divine medicine!” Duan De said, and led the charge toward the interior.

The second inner sanctum of the cave dwelling was equally vast. Several thousand people had surged in without making it feel crowded — it remained wide and open. Here, the fighting had reached a fever pitch, and no one was willing to release their grip on the medicine kings.

“Sacred weapons of a saint!” someone cried out. In the depths of this inner sanctum, more than ten pieces of broken bronze were visible, emanating an ancient and mysterious vital energy — their luster dim.

“A cracked bronze bell, broken into more than ten pieces — but the formation inscriptions within haven’t died!” Someone saw through it at once. Even saint-lord figures were stirred, pressing forward and killing their way through.

Though the bronze bell was damaged, only its form had fractured. The heaven-and-earth inscription patterns it had given birth to remained intact, and deep within its shards, the bell’s own divine spirit still slumbered.

Clang!

Even broken into fragments, the great bell’s power was immense. Someone struck one of the shards, and dozens of people nearby dissolved into blood mist — obliterated body and soul.

“Terrifying — a saint’s sacred weapon lives up to its name!”

People felt no fear. Their desire burned hotter. A crowd surged forward — great powers included.

Clang!

Another toll from the bell — this time, an emperor-lord held two fragments in hand and unleashed a sacred resonance.

Spray!

A half-step great power who had been closest lost their head and torso in the same instant. The wave from the bell swept through them as though they had been struck by lightning — not a shred of resistance, only a vanishing bloom of blood mist.

This was the weapon of an ancient sage. Though damaged nearly beyond use, a single shard no bigger than a palm still held this much power!

“This is a divine object. If the pieces could be assembled back together — fully restored — what could stand against its resonance? One toll, and who in all the world could resist?!”

Some peak great powers were electrified. With such a saint’s sacred weapon floating above one’s head, where in the world could one not go? Across the whole of heaven and earth, there would be no adversary!

Bang!

Duan De flew back spitting blood, his hands clenching white-knuckled around a piece of the bell wall — over a foot in length, covered in rust and dark in color.

Ye Fan and the others were utterly taken aback. Every one of the more than ten bronze fragments had been seized by those peak great powers. That the fat Duan De had managed to snatch one from the jaws of that effort surpassed all expectation.

“Damn it all — whoever wants to reassemble that sacred bell can buy this piece from me for a fortune!” The fat man ground his teeth, already calculating his profit.

The crowd went mad. Every level of this ancient cave dwelling held divine objects. Everyone raced deeper inside — certain that even greater priceless treasures lay at the very depths.

Ancient scriptures, undying divine medicine, great emperor’s sacred weapons — surely waiting at the innermost sanctum. Everyone burned with excitement and ran at full speed, naturally following wherever great powers led.

Any faction that had entered without a great power would not be able to claim a single treasure here — this place was thick with peak experts.

A great lake blocked the path ahead. No one had anticipated it would be this vast — stretching as far as the eye could see, like a boundless emerald sea.

Swish!

Some great powers crossed directly, flying over the surface toward the center of the jade lake. The rest, unable to fly, gritted their teeth and ran across the water’s surface, pressing forward as fast as they could.

“A white jade celestial staircase — ascending beyond this realm?!” People cried out in shock.

When they reached the depths of the great lake, everyone saw it: the Milky Way fallen to earth, a celestial staircase of white jade rising ahead, leading up toward the highest heavens — suspended in the air, wreathed in mist and ethereal vapor.

Many were beside themselves. With no ability to fly, there was no way to ascend that staircase — no path up.

Splash!

Without warning, the sound of water being parted. From the distance, a small skiff glided forward. Standing atop it was a figure clad in a straw rain cape, wearing a conical bamboo hat, holding a long pole.

“The Divine Spirit Thought — this time he has truly appeared!” The Old Blind Man shuddered.