After flying on his sword for an entire day, Fang Hao finally stopped deep within a desolate, continuous mountain range. He chose a very well-hidden natural cave obscured by vines. After carefully searching with his Divine Sense and confirming there were no Demon Beasts or dangers, he slipped inside.

The cave was dry and not very large, but it was hidden enough. Fang Hao immediately set up several layers of concealment Formations and warning Restrictions at the entrance, completely isolating his internal and external presence. Only after finishing this did he breathe a long sigh of relief, his tense nerves relaxing slightly. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The continuous high-intensity travel and alertness had left him physically and mentally exhausted. He sat cross-legged, consumed a Medicinal Pill, and regulated his breathing for half an hour. Once his spirit power was replenished and his spirit had recovered somewhat, he turned his attention to the spoils from his counter-kill of Gong Mingliang and the others.

He first took out Gong Mingliang’s Storage Ring. After wiping away the remaining Divine Sense imprint, he probed inside. Even though Fang Hao was mentally prepared, he couldn’t help but gasp at the rich collection within.

As expected of the wealth of a Middle Golden Core Stage Elder and a powerful figure in a large Family!

The first thing to catch his "eye" was a mountain of shimmering Spirit Stones! Roughly estimated, there were no fewer than three million Low-Grade Spirit Stones! There were also nearly fifty thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones! This was absolutely a massive fortune!

Next were various Medicinal Pills, Talismans, and Materials, a dazzling array of items that were all of no low grade. Many of them were rare Materials and pills specifically for fire-attribute Cultivators, clearly prepared by Gong Mingliang for his own cultivation.

What made Fang Hao’s eyes light up the most were several special items:

A palm-sized, silver-shining shuttle-shaped flying boat with a sleek design! Beside it was a Jade Slip recording the control incantations. This boat was named the "silver light shuttle," and it was a High Grade flying Spiritual Artifact. Its speed was extremely fast, and its spirit power consumption was relatively low, making it an excellent tool for long-distance travel and escaping! With it, traveling in the future would be much easier.

Several Jade Slips recorded the core Cultivation Techniques and secret arts of the Gongming Family. Although most were fire-related, the insights into Formations and Puppets within them were quite inspiring for Fang Hao. In particular, one Jade Slip titled "Detailed Explanation of Gong Ming Puppets," while not as profound as the "fragment of the heavenly craft puppet manual," was complete in its system and had a solid foundation, which could perfectly make up for Fang Hao’s lack of basic Puppet knowledge.

There were also several Magic Treasures and Spiritual Artifacts of decent power. Although Fang Hao couldn’t use them, selling them would also bring in a large amount of wealth.

In the Storage Rings of the other two Foundation Establishment Cultivators, although the wealth was far less than Gong Mingliang’s, each had hundreds of thousands of Low-Grade Spirit Stones and some good Magical Artifacts and Medicinal Pills, which added up to a considerable amount.

After finishing the inventory of all the spoils, Fang Hao’s total assets skyrocketed once again! With ample Spirit Stones and abundant resources, his confidence grew significantly.

"With this silver light shuttle, the speed of traveling to the Lava Mountain Range can be several times faster!" Fang Hao was delighted. This was undoubtedly help provided at the perfect moment.

But he did not set out immediately. After days of traveling, his mind and spirit were heavily drained. He needed time to fully recover and digest these gains.

At the same time, a thought had been lingering in his mind: regarding that mysterious chaos pill cauldron.

This cauldron, obtained from the Tiangong Sect’s Hundred Herbs Pill Pavilion, was made of extraordinary material, contained Chaos Dao rhythm, and could even be taken into the Dantian for nourishment; it was definitely no ordinary item. All along, Fang Hao had mainly used it to assist in Alchemy and nourish his spirit power, always feeling that it had deeper mysteries yet to be discovered.

"Chaos... encompasses all things and evolves all Laws. Since it’s named a ’pill cauldron,’ its core function should be Alchemy. But being able to enter the Dantian and resonate with Chaos Qi, it’s impossible for it to only have the simple function of assisting in Alchemy." Fang Hao pondered, sinking his mind into his Dantian.

Above the Dantian’s Qi Sea, the chaos pill cauldron floated quietly, emitting a hazy Chaos glow, echoing the wisp of Chaos Qi in the center as it slowly rotated.

Fang Hao tried injecting more of his mind and spirit power into the cauldron, no longer simply controlling it for Alchemy, but in a way of communication and exploration, to feel its essence.

At first, the cauldron did not react at all, like a sleeping giant beast. But Fang Hao was not discouraged. He continued to gently nourish it with the pure spirit power refined by the Chaos Evolution Dao Art, while turning his Divine Thought into wisps of exploratory feelers, reaching deep into the profound patterns inside the cauldron.

Time passed bit by bit. Fang Hao’s mind was completely immersed, forgetting the outside world.

After an unknown amount of time, when his Divine Thought touched an extremely complex Chaos rune at the very core of the cauldron—one that seemed to contain the ultimate principles of heaven and earth—a sudden change occurred!

Buzz!!!

The entire chaos pill cauldron suddenly shook! The body of the cauldron erupted with light! That core rune seemed to be activated, slowly rotating and emitting an ancient Concept that both devoured and encompassed everything!

Immediately after, Fang Hao felt his vision blur, and his mind seemed to be sucked into a vortex! In the next moment, he "saw" a completely different sight!

This was no longer his Dantian, but a grey, boundless, and strange space! The space was filled with extremely pure Chaos Qi; although thin, its quality was incredibly high! In the center of the space floated a phantom identical to the cauldron outside—it was the projection of the chaos pill cauldron!

"This... this is..." Fang Hao’s mind was shaken to the core, and an unbelievable thought surged into his heart: "Grotto-Heaven?! Inside this chaos pill cauldron, there is actually an independent Chaos Grotto-Heaven world?!"

Although this Grotto-Heaven was still very primitive and the space was not large (about three hundred zhang in diameter), and it was a grey expanse with nothing but pure Chaos Qi... it was indeed an independent Mustard Seed Space! A Grotto-Heaven and Blessed Land that he could enter and exit at will, and even use to store items or Cultivate!

"Treasure Grotto-Heaven! It’s actually the legendary Treasure Grotto-Heaven!" Fang Hao was overjoyed! He had only seen relevant records in the oldest classics: some supreme treasures containing the Laws of space could potentially give birth to an independent Grotto-Heaven world! Such a treasure could be called Heaven-Defying!

What did owning a portable Grotto-Heaven mean?

It meant an absolutely safe refuge and cultivation place that could be entered at any time! It meant being able to store massive amounts of resources without worrying about insufficient storage ring space! It meant being able to Cultivate in this Chaos Qi, which would have unimaginable benefits for the Chaos Evolution Dao Art! Even... in the future, it might be possible to develop it into a true mobile base!

Fang Hao suppressed the excitement in his heart and tried to wrap a wisp of Divine Sense around a small stone outside the cave. With a thought: "Collect!"

Swish! That stone instantly disappeared from the cave and appeared within the Chaos Grotto-Heaven!

"It really can store items!" Fang Hao was overjoyed. He tried to enter himself, and with another thought, his body instantly disappeared from the cave. In the next moment, he was already standing within that grey Chaos Grotto-Heaven!

Feeling the pure Chaos Qi surrounding him, Fang Hao felt his whole body become comfortable, and the speed at which the Chaos Evolution Dao Art operated on its own increased by several degrees!

"Great! With this Chaos Grotto-Heaven, my safety and cultivation speed will be greatly improved!" Fang Hao’s eyes flashed with the light of excitement. This was definitely a trump card more important than repairing the golden puppet! It was one of his greatest reliances for his future path to becoming an Immortal Emperor!

He explored carefully for a while and found that the Grotto-Heaven was still very small, and the flow of time was consistent with the outside world. Aside from the Chaos Qi, there were no other divine wonders for now. But the potential was limitless!

It took a long time for Fang Hao to calm his excited heart and exit the Grotto-Heaven, returning to the cave. He looked at the chaos pill cauldron in his hand (in his consciousness), his eyes incredibly burning.

"chaos pill cauldron... just how many more secrets are you hiding?" he murmured to himself. This unexpected discovery filled him with even more anticipation and confidence for the road ahead.

After finishing his meditation and gaining so much, Fang Hao did not delay any longer. He summoned the newly acquired silver light shuttle, which turned into an inconspicuous silver light, and silently left the valley. He sped toward the east, in the direction of the Lava Mountain Range.

Goal: earth core jade marrow. Repair the golden puppet. Carve out a path of survival in this land of Qingzhou.