ian Wushuang and Realm King fought with increasing intensity, their momentum building with each clash.
Yet it was Xue He, the Old Ancestor, who suffered the most.
âStop standing there, get moving. Letâs head to the smaller chamber first, then tear up the ground!â Guardian Qifeng patted Xue He on the shoulder.
With those words, he strode toward the smaller chamber.
Thanks to their prior experience, their pace quickened considerably.
In less than an hour, they had dismantled all the smaller chambers.
Beneath one of the chambers, they discovered an innate spiritual treasure.
It was a small, blue-glowing pearl.
Guardian Qifeng toyed with the pearl in his hand, immediately feeling invigorated.
âThis is a treasure for enlightenment. Weâve truly hit the jackpot this time!â Guardian Qifeng laughed heartily.
Guardian Yunhai grabbed the blue pearl, brought it close to his nose for a sniff, and then tested it within his Origin Source. After a moment, he reached a conclusion.
âThis is an innate spiritual object, the Deep Sea Pearl. When the ancient domain was first created, there was a deep sea, and the entire ocean drew its power from this very pearl!â
Xue He felt worse than if he had eaten something foul.
The Deep Sea Pearl was a legendary treasure!
Just one of them was worth a fortune.
Throughout the ancient domain, fewer than ten Deep Sea Pearls had ever been found.
Eight were housed in the ancient court.
Another one resided in the sacred lands.
Rumor had it that one more was in the hands of an unknown powerful figure, and its discovery had once caused quite a stir.
They had never imagined there would be one here.
An enlightenment treasureâif soldâcould fetch at least tens of billions, if not hundreds of billions.
There was no standard price, so it was impossible to say for sure.
Especially in the ancient court, where practitioners of the Origin Source Path held such treasures in the highest regard.
âWeâre rich, truly rich this time!â Guardian Qifeng exclaimed. âYunhai, we need to take this pearl to the ancient court. Over there, it will fetch a heavenly price!â
But Guardian Yunhai furrowed his brow and rebuked him, âQifeng, are you crazy? With a treasure this valuable, do you really think we can sell it with our status?â
Those words snapped Guardian Qifeng back to reality.
Both of them were well-known figures in the outside world.
If they tried to sell such a treasure in the ancient courtâs domain, it would attract far too much attention. The real challenge would be whether they could even leave the courtâs territory alive.
After all, the value of the pearl far exceeded their personal worth.
Even a Dao Lordâs assets barely amounted to more than ten billion.
For people like them, a full set of high-level treasures would be worth around thirty billion at most.
This pearl, however, was likely valued at over a hundred billion, possibly several hundred billion.
âSo, what do you suggest we do?â Guardian Qifeng, now feeling stumped, asked.
Guardian Yunhai chuckled and replied, âOf course, we should hand it over to the palace lord. Treasures this precious arenât something we can keep for ourselves. If we offer it to the palace lord, weâll gain merit in exchangeâperhaps even stronger treasures or the chance for one-on-one guidance from the palace lord himself!â
While the Twin-faced Buddha was known for his ruthlessness, he was also clear about rewarding his subordinates.
Handing over such a valuable treasure to him would undoubtedly earn them a huge amount of merit.
They could then exchange that merit for top-tier treasures, or even an entire set of supreme treasures.
If they preferred to trade individually, they could exchange for pinnacle-level treasures as well.
The Twin-faced Buddha had an abundance of treasures, many of which were simply stored in the Hall of Merit, available for anyone to claim as long as they had accumulated enough merit.
Guardian Qifeng swallowed hard, already imagining himself adorned in a full set of top-tier treasures. With that, his strength would reach a new level, potentially placing him in the top thirty of the entire Mangshan Country.
This was something he had dreamed of.
There was even more to it; in the future, he would ask for assistance in mastering the divine eye inheritance techniques.
Once he had elevated the second divine eye technique to perfection, his strength wouldnât merely be in the top thirty but the top twenty.
If he could perfect two sequences, he would have the chance to comprehend the full inheritance of the five major sequences at the Sacred Ground.
Who knows? Perhaps, with an epiphany, he could even merge the two sequences.
That would truly set him on the path to ascend.
He could directly surpass the Palace Master and rank among the top fifty in the entire Sacred Ground.
He wasnât the only one fantasizing; Guardian Yunhai shared the same thoughts.
The two exchanged glances and revealed wicked smiles.
Only Xue He, the old ancestor, wore a sullen expression.
At this moment, he felt like banging his head against the wall.
He no longer cared for thirty percent, nor even twenty percent. He would be satisfied with just ten percent.
Noticing Xue Heâs peculiar gaze, Guardian Yunhai coughed lightly and consoled him, âBrother Xue, it seems luck wasnât on your side this time, but donât worry too much. Iâll personally give you an extra twenty million immortal crystals. How does that sound?â
âIâll add another fifty million to round it off!â Guardian Qifeng laughed heartily as he spoke.
The materials here were worth three hundred million. What was the harm in giving them all away?
In reality, even if Xue He had chosen twenty percent, he still wouldnât have received it in the end.
Because Guardian Yunhai planned to kill him.
Silence him!
While Guardian Qifeng was ruthless, he still had a sense of loyalty and wouldnât slaughter his own people.
But Guardian Yunhai had far fewer moral constraints.
If he had the strength, heâd probably have killed Guardian Qifeng as well.
âEnough, letâs pack up and leave!â Guardian Yunhai exclaimed excitedly.
At this point, he didnât even care to take the bricks from the ground.
After Xue He collected materials worth a hundred million, he noticed the two werenât concerned with the ground materials. His heart warmed slightly; at least he regained something.
Tian Can and Fairy Ziyu, who had been in shock, quickly snapped out of it and nodded in agreement.
They had heard of the Deep Sea Pearl before.
Now, they felt even more regretful and frustrated.
How wonderful would it have been if they had entered instead?
If only!
But alas, there was no âif.â
Even if they had gone in, they likely wouldnât have found anything.
Even if they did, had they let True Lord Xue Yang sell the item, each of them would have had the potential to become a Dao Lord.
No!
They would have certainly become Dao Lords.
But now, it was all goneâeverything, even themselves.
Xue He had no intention of leaving, so only the four prepared to head out.
Just then, a voice stopped them.
âDestroy my palace, take my treasures, and you think you can just leave?â
The voice thundered through the air like that of a primordial demon lord.
Guardians Qifeng and Yunhai, who were leading the way, froze in place, their eyes widening in shock as they glanced around, thinking they had misheard.
But soon after, a massive face slowly rose within the vast hall.
That face could not simply be described as ugly; words like menacing or terrifying would be more appropriate.
âWhat is that?â
Everyone was instantly petrified.
The enormous face was nearly ten feet tall, its skin pitch-black, with sharp spikes protruding from its surface. It had no ears, just one eye, a mouth, and a nose.
Its crimson eye turned slightly, and the aura it emitted was so overwhelming that it knocked everyone to the ground.
It was a pressure that came from the very essence of life itself.
Without using any power, just its sheer presence crushed them.
âThis isnât an ancient demon. Ancient demons shouldnât be this powerful. Who are you?â Guardian Yunhai, who had seen much in his time, asked in shock.
The massive face didnât answer; instead, it flashed a cold, sinister smile.