Hiding on that tattered meditation cushion for another two or three days, Fang Hao felt that the injuries on his body had mostly healed; although that trace of warm current was weak, it was persistent and gentle, which was very beneficial for stabilizing his Foundation.

He dared not stay any longer; who knew if those two Nascent Soul ancestors above had finished fighting?

If they happened to find their way down here, it would truly be like catching a turtle in a jar.

He carefully crept out from the underground stone chamber; outside was a scene of chaos, with half of the main hall collapsed and shocking traces of battle, but there was no one in sight, and that troublesome "Seven-Colored Spirit Nourishing Flower" was also gone—he did not know if it had been taken by someone or destroyed.

Fang Hao let out a sigh of relief, not daring to look around too much; he identified the direction and continued to sneak deeper into the ruins. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Along the way, he was even more cautious, with Clear Spring Spirit Eyes and Ethereal Art running at all times, fearing that he might run into something he shouldn’t.

After passing through several ruins and bypassing a few broken Restrictions that still held dangerous auras, an area shrouded in faint mist appeared before his eyes.

Behind the mist, he could vaguely see a vibrant green, different from the surrounding desolation, and a rich fragrance of Spirit Medicine drifted out.

"Hmm? This place..." Fang Hao’s spirits lifted, and he moved closer.

Clear Spring Spirit Eyes penetrated the mist, revealing the situation inside—it was actually a Spirit Medicine garden protected by a complete Formation!

The medicine garden was not large, about an acre in size, covered by a colorful light shield; the light shield shimmered with radiance and faint runes appeared on it, clearly not an ordinary item.

The garden was filled with dense Spiritual Qi and planted with all kinds of strange flowers and grasses, growing extremely well, many of which were rare varieties rarely seen in the outside world!

"I’ve struck it rich!" Fang Hao’s eyes lit up instantly!

A well-preserved ancient medicine garden! The value of this was immeasurable!

He suppressed the excitement in his heart and did not rush to approach; a place like this must have an extremely powerful defensive Formation.

He hid in the distance and carefully observed the colorful light shield.

This Formation was incredibly profound, with energy circulating in a perfect, unified manner, carrying a sense of endless vitality; it seemed even more sophisticated than the "Hundred Flowers Maze Formation" at the entrance of the ruins.

Breaking in by force was definitely not an option; even a Golden Core Cultivator would likely struggle.

"I must find a way to break it..." Fang Hao circled the perimeter of the medicine garden, looking for a weak point or an entrance to the Formation.

After searching for a long time, he finally discovered a black-green Formation stele half-buried in the ground, covered in runes, in an inconspicuous corner on the side of the medicine garden.

This should be one of the hubs controlling the operation of the Formation.

He squatted in front of the Formation stele and studied it for a long time; this Formation was too profound, and many of the runes he had never even seen before, making it impossible to understand.

He tried to probe it with his Divine Sense, but was immediately bounced back by a soft yet resilient force.

"Damn it, ancient Formations are truly powerful..." Fang Hao scratched his head a bit; having a treasure mountain right in front of him but being unable to enter was a torturous feeling.

He was unwilling to give up and tried using his Clear Spring Spirit Eyes to carefully observe the energy flow again.

After watching for a long time, he discovered that although the Formation was powerful, it was ancient after all, and the energy supply seemed somewhat insufficient; the light of the shield fluctuated in strength, showing weak periodic ripples.

Moreover, at a node where the Formation stele connected to the light shield, the energy circulation seemed to have a trace of an extremely subtle, unnatural stagnation.

"Could it be that because of the long passage of time, there is a small problem here?" Fang Hao’s heart stirred; perhaps... he could start from here?

He dared not use force for fear of triggering a counterattack from the Formation; he thought for a moment, then took out several "Spirit Guiding Needles" used specifically for channeling Spiritual Qi from his storage ring, and also took out some prepared "Formation Lubricating Spirit Liquid" which had mild penetrating and soothing effects.

He first carefully applied the Spirit Liquid around the stagnant energy node, then locked onto that spot with his Clear Spring Spirit Eyes, formed hand seals with both hands, converted his own spiritual power into the gentlest water-wood attribute, and, through the Spirit Guiding Needles, slowly and bit by bit, penetrated inside, attempting to unblock the congestion.

This was a slow, meticulous task that could not be rushed; Fang Hao was fully focused, sweat appearing on his forehead, fearing that if he used too much force, all his previous efforts would be wasted.

After spending a good half a day, just when his spiritual power was about to be exhausted, a very faint "click" sound suddenly came from that node, as if something had been unblocked!

Immediately following that, the entire colorful light shield flickered violently a few times, and its radiance significantly dimmed! Although it stabilized again quickly, its defensive power was clearly greatly reduced!

"Success!" Fang Hao was overjoyed! Although he hadn’t completely broken the Formation, he had opened a temporary gap!

He dared not delay, immediately rushed to the light shield, drew the yitian sword, channeled his full spiritual power, and fiercely thrust it toward the dimmed area!

Squelch! The light shield broke in response, revealing a gap large enough for one person to pass through! An incomparably pure fragrance of Spirit Medicine rushed toward his face!

Fang Hao did not hesitate and flashed inside!

Once inside the medicine garden, the dense Spiritual Qi almost made him drunk with oxygen! Looking around, the whole garden was full of spring! Various Spirit Medicines competed in beauty, with the lowest being Tier 3, many at Tier 4, and there were even a few treasures emitting Tier 5 auras!

He didn’t have time to look closely, his gaze scanning the medicine fields like a searchlight, his heart pounding, looking for the thing he desired most.

Suddenly, his gaze locked onto a small, meticulously maintained plot of land in the center of the medicine garden! There, the soil was a rare pale gold color, and on it grew three strange-looking Spirit Plants!

One was entirely crimson, with leaves like dancing flames, emitting a scorching aura—it was a "blazing sun flower"! And it had a history of a full thousand years!

One had petals that were translucent and deep blue, emitting a cold, icy chill—it was a "Mysterious Ice Lotus"! Also with a thousand-year history!

There was one more, a short plant, but entirely golden, with petals like a miniature sun, emitting a majestic, pure, and ultimate Yang vitality—it was exactly the legendary "sun flower," the final main ingredient for forming golden core that he dreamed of! Although it was only five hundred years old, its medicinal properties were incomparably pure!

"sun flower! There really is a sun flower!" Fang Hao was trembling with excitement! The seven main ingredients for forming golden core were collected! And, the blazing sun flower and Mysterious Ice Lotus actually had a thousand-year history! This was enough for him to refine two batches with some left over!

He suppressed the urge to roar at the sky and immediately began to act! Time was pressing, and he didn’t know how long the gap in the Formation could last!

He first carefully dug out the three most precious plants—the sun flower, the thousand-year blazing sun flower, and the thousand-year Mysterious Ice Lotus—roots and soil included, and sent them into the Chaos Grotto-Heaven, planting them in the best position.

Then, he began to frantically sweep through all the other Spirit Medicines in the garden that caught his eye! Regardless of whether he recognized them or not, as long as they were Tier 3 or above, he dug them all up! Not leaving a single one!

Things like "jade marrow ganoderma", "purple monkey flower", "Heavenly Azure Flower", "Dragon Pattern Grass", "Phoenix Feather"... many were species extinct in the outside world! He was like a poor boy who had broken into a treasure house, his two hands almost not enough to carry everything!

Half an hour later, the entire Spirit Medicine garden had been picked clean by him as if a dog had licked it, leaving only some low-tier seedlings and weeds.

Looking at the bare medicine fields, Fang Hao patted his bulging Chaos Grotto-Heaven (in his consciousness) with satisfaction. This time he had truly made a fortune! Never mind forming golden core, the Materials for Medicinal Pills needed for future Cultivation up to the Late Golden Core Stage and even the Nascent Soul Stage were almost all collected!

He dared not stay long and quickly scrambled out through the gap in the Formation. Not long after he came out, the colorful light shield flickered, and the gap automatically closed, returning to its original state, only its radiance was much dimmer than before.

"This place is not suitable for a long stay!" Fang Hao took one last deep look at the medicine garden that had brought him such a great Opportunity, turned around, and left without the slightest hesitation.

He returned quickly along the original path, even more vigilant along the way. Having obtained such great benefits, if he were discovered, it would definitely be a catastrophe.

Fortunately, perhaps because of the previous Nascent Soul battle, or perhaps because the ruins were too large, his journey was safe and without incident, and he did not encounter anyone else.

After spending a few days, he finally found a relatively safe exit and left the Hundred Flower Ruins, which were fraught with danger and full of Opportunities.

Breathing in the fresh air of the outside world again and looking at the blue sky and white clouds above, Fang Hao had a feeling as if a lifetime had passed.

This trip to the ruins, although he almost lost his life several times, the harvest was unprecedentedly rich! Not only did he obtain the complete "Hundred Refinements Golden Body Art" Body Refining Cultivation Technique, but more importantly, he had collected all the main ingredients for refining forming golden core! And it was a double portion!

"Next, it’s time to find an absolutely safe place to start the furnace for Alchemy and charge toward the Golden Core Dao!"

A determined light flashed in Fang Hao’s eyes; he identified the direction and flew toward a remote mountain range in the opposite direction of Hundred Flowers City. He needed an Immortal Cave where no one would disturb him to complete this most critical step.