Chapter 10

After Fang Tianshan's probing, the phenomena that ensued piqued everyone's curiosity.

At first, the people of the Green Cloud Sect were extremely elated. At least, after Fang Tianshan's attempt, the gate in the void had a strong reaction and did not immediately repel him. Instead, some grayish-white energy burst out from the gate, enveloping Fang Tianshan. This was the same treatment as those who had successfully entered the heritage grotto.

If Fang Tianshan could also successfully enter the heritage grotto, the Green Cloud Sect would have six members gathered inside. Although the numerical advantage might not necessarily translate into an advantage in obtaining the heritage, it was still an advantage, wasn't it?

Didn't you see that as Fang Tianshan's body changed, the people from other factions looked at the Green Cloud Sect members with envy on their faces?

However, as time slowly passed, the grayish-white light around Fang Tianshan grew stronger, and eventually, he began to twist and struggle, which made the onlookers feel a sudden sense of unease.

Fortunately, in the eyes of the crowd, Fang Tianshan's painful expression came and went quickly.

Just as the crowd began to worry, the grayish-white energy that enveloped Fang Tianshan suddenly retreated back to the gate in the void. Fang Tianshan also disappeared from his spot. This scene was exactly the same as when Gu Yanran and others entered the heritage grotto.

The minor differences that occurred in between did not attract much attention. Perhaps it was due to Fang Tianshan's less prominent fire attribute energy. The Green Cloud Sect's Elder Fang and Steward Mo attributed it to Fang Tianshan's yang attribute energy.

Steward Mo was even considering whether to remind the other stewards to look for other disciples with yang attribute energy within the sect. However, considering the rarity of yang attribute energy, if such a disciple existed, Steward Mo would have known about it long ago, unless they were a new outer sect disciple like Fang Tianshan.

But the probability of this was so low that Steward Mo could only shake his head slightly.

In this brief moment, the people of the Green Cloud Sect were still rejoicing, while the young members of other sects were eager to try. A few Earth Essence Realm adepts were eagerly preparing the fourth person to attempt when the gate in the void suddenly flashed and then completely vanished into the void, as if it had never appeared in the valley.

The light in the valley immediately dimmed significantly.

If it weren't for the torches in the hands of the people, the surroundings would have turned pitch black.

For a moment, the people in the valley looked stunned. Especially the young disciple of the Taihang Gang who was about to attempt to enter the heritage grotto, he was now wide-eyed, not knowing what to do. For Fang Tianshan, it was necessary to strive for the last chance, and for him, it was no different.

...

Fang Tianshan was completely unaware of the changes in the gate in the void. When he regained his senses and regained control of his body, he found himself in a relatively spacious room. To his surprise, the fourteen cultivators who had originally entered the heritage grotto were also there.

The room's furnishings gave a very classical and simple feel.

There were cushions, and Fang Tianshan was sitting on a yellowish-brown cushion, as were the other fourteen people. There was a wooden table against the wall, facing Fang Tianshan, and although its material was unknown, it was clearly not ordinary. The table legs were carved with lifelike beast shapes, and the tabletop was a dark purple. Next to the table was a cabinet with three rows of small bottles. The top row had only one bottle, the middle row had five, and the bottom row had nine.

Each bottle, in terms of appearance, was roughly the same, with only slight differences in color. The higher the row, the darker the color.

After Fang Tianshan sat down, a voice came from beside him: "Now that everyone is here, it's up to each person's talent and effort from now on."

Fang Tianshan looked at the speaker with a puzzled expression. Unfortunately, from the clothing and the badge, it was clear that the person was an inner sect disciple of the Blue Sea Sect, and he would not explain further to Fang Tianshan. Instead, an outer sect disciple of the Green Cloud Sect, seeing Fang Tianshan as a fellow sect member, gave a brief explanation.

Behind Fang Tianshan, there was a door, which was now closed.

Everyone who entered was pulled in by the grayish-white energy through this door. The door had been open before, but now it was closed, and there were exactly fifteen cushions in the room, indicating that no one else would enter.

The people who arrived before Fang Tianshan did not have much of an advantage over him and knew little about the heritage grotto. Each person sitting on a cushion was not unwilling to search the room, but before the door closed, no one could leave the cushion, so they could only sit and rest, waiting for the moment when they could move freely.

Fang Tianshan tried to stand up, but he felt a tremendous force restraining him. Simple movements like stretching his legs, moving his hands, turning his head, or speaking were fine, but he could not circulate his internal energy or stand and walk.

Fang Tianshan vaguely felt that the atmosphere in the room was somewhat strange.

The other people, besides Fang Tianshan, were not continuing to examine the room. They had already seen everything there was to see. The room contained only a few simple furnishings. Besides, since this was a heritage grotto, it would not permanently restrict the freedom of movement of those who entered. There would be a time when the restrictions would be lifted, and then everyone would have to rely on their own abilities to strive for the opportunity to obtain the heritage. However, Fang Tianshan felt that something seemed to be missing in the room.

When Fang Tianshan's gaze swept over the other fourteen people and then considered his own position, his eyes suddenly brightened.

Fifteen people were not sitting in neat rows but were arranged in a circle around the center of the room. Of course, there was a larger "gap" directly in front of Fang Tianshan, where the table and cabinet were located.

Fang Tianshan was not sure if the people on the cushions were seated according to the order in which they entered, with those closer to the cabinet being the first to enter. However, based on the normal situation, it was likely so, and there should be something at the center of the circle where everyone was seated.

After ensuring his own safety, Fang Tianshan focused his attention on the center of the circle where everyone was seated.

Suddenly, the previously calm Fang Tianshan fell into a state of agitation.

...

When Fang Tianshan entered the heritage grotto, he deeply felt that two unfamiliar and powerful energies seemed to surge into his body. They ravaged his body, causing him unbearable pain. After sitting on the strange cushion in the room, he could not circulate his internal energy, and the sudden change in environment made him overlook the presence of these energies.

Now, feeling the energy fluctuations in his body again, Fang Tianshan was genuinely startled.

At this moment, in Fang Tianshan's dantian, the metal plaque that had fused into his body and occupied the center of his dantian still existed. The energy he had cultivated himself surrounded the metal plaque, and it seemed to have become slightly more concentrated. Fang Tianshan speculated that this might be due to the two unfamiliar energies that had ravaged his body, with some of the energy remaining in his meridians and being absorbed by him.

Additionally, the mysterious agitation came from the metal plaque in his dantian. It seemed as if there were two fierce beasts inside the metal plaque, trying to break free and surge out of Fang Tianshan's body.

This made Fang Tianshan wonder if the two powerful energies that entered his body had actually entered the metal plaque.

If Fang Tianshan knew that the gate in the void, which the Earth Essence Realm adepts had predicted would allow another dozen people to attempt, immediately closed and vanished after he entered the heritage grotto, he would be even more convinced of this speculation.

Even so, when Fang Tianshan's gaze fell on the center of the room, he could still feel two energies intertwining, as if a grayish-white light suddenly burst out from his body, striking the point he was focusing on, and then quickly returning.

Fang Tianshan's body did not suffer great pain again due to the appearance of these two energies. Moreover, the brief flash of light, if not carefully observed, might have been mistaken for the light from the door behind him. After all, the grayish-white light was very familiar to everyone present.

It was the same light that enveloped them when they were brought into the heritage grotto.

At the same time, in the center of the room, a "creaking" sound was heard, and the flat ground slowly cracked open. From underground, a wisp of green smoke slowly rose. Beneath the smoke, there was a brown pill furnace, about the size of a human head.

(End of the page)