Inside a dilapidated palace, nearly half of which had collapsed.

With a look of utter disappointment, Gu Han shook his head repeatedly. “Ruined pill! Ruined pill! Still a ruined pill!”

Across from him was a rotten wooden shelf, tilted to one side, seemingly ready to collapse at the slightest touch. More than a hundred pill bottles were strewn across it. Most were riddled with holes and cracks, with only a measly few vaguely retaining their original form. Dull, lusterless porcelain shards lay scattered across the ground, as if weathered by ages. The pills within had long since lost their efficacy, crumbling into dust on the ground.

Just then, Shen Xuan picked up a pill bottle. “Five Aggregates Pill? This one seems to have retained a bit of medicinal power. Reading the description, it looks like it’s for strengthening the body.”

Murong Yan also made a discovery. “Here’s one too. Spirit Illumination Pill? Seems like it’s meant to be used together with that bottle Shen Xuan found. It’s specifically for consolidating a cultivator’s soul power. Unfortunately, there’s not much medicinal power left either.”

Gu Han’s spirits lifted, and he quickly examined it. “Let me see!”

His excitement didn’t last long. The Spirit Illumination Pill may have been a rare soul-replenishing pill when intact, but now it was nearly useless.

Still, he was a bit unwilling to give up. “Let’s keep looking!”

After a thorough search, they eventually found eight or nine pill bottles with strikingly consistent effects. They were either for strengthening the body or replenishing the soul. However, just like the pills from before, they were only slightly better than ruined pills.

Gu Han said dejectedly, “Brother Yang, those ’many pills’ you mentioned, you’re not talking about these ruined pills, are you?”

Yang Ying thought for a moment. “No. That palace I entered back then wasn’t nearly as dilapidated as this one, and there were still residual restrictions inside. I got lucky and obtained that bottle. Afterward, I tried to see if I could break through those restrictions, but my cultivation was far from sufficient. Not only did I fail to break them, I was bounced back out. The rest, you all know.”

Gu Han’s eyes lit up. “Restrictions? I got it! With so many palaces here, some must still be relatively well preserved. Pills in areas with residual restrictions should be among them! Let’s go! We came to the wrong place!”

Murong Yan was quite dissatisfied. “Yang Guy, why didn’t you say so earlier?!”

Yang Ying seemed helpless. “You all rushed in like madmen and started searching right away. When did I have a chance to speak?”

The three of them were a bit embarrassed. Looking back, they were probably a bit too excited when they first came in. Who could blame them for being poor and having never seen the world?

Having found a lead, the group rushed out without dawdling. “Let’s go, let’s go!”

Apart from the central palace and that tall tower, there were almost a hundred slightly smaller palaces on the periphery, with at least a third of them being relatively well-preserved. It didn’t take much effort at all. They quickly found a palace that was in far better condition.

Several ancient seal script words were carved above the entrance. However, only the initial word remained legible, the rest blurred and indistinct. It was the word “Profound.”

Gu Han’s heart stirred. “Profound? Profound Pill Pavilion? Earlier, I heard them say this place seems to be called the Profound Pill Pavilion.”

Murong Yan looked at the two mottled stone pillars before the gates, each several zhang tall, seeming to ponder something. “This thing seems tougher than my hammer!”

The three of them were speechless.

Gu Han drew his sword, channeled his cultivation, and slashed down. “Let me try!”

A metallic ringing echoed.

He was jolted back several steps, while the stone pillar only bore a faint white mark.

“It’s so tough!”

That slash carried nearly fifty percent of his cultivation power. Coupled with the special properties of his sword and the Great Evolution Sword Qi, it could easily cut through even profound items.

Yang Ying mused. “This palace has existed for a time far beyond our imagination.”

Shen Xuan also sighed. “Indeed. Only time power could have caused such severe damage here.”

Murong Yan barely restrained herself from giving the pillar a good whack. “What are you sighing about! Don’t you want the pills inside anymore?”

They swept their gaze around. “Of course we do!”

Soon, they spotted the flickering, dim restriction inside the palace. Beneath it were rows of pill bottles that were quite well-preserved.

Just as he was about to enter, Gu Han shuddered out of nowhere. “Let’s go—you guys... Don’t you think it’s a bit cold?”

The others were baffled. “Cold?”

Cultivators at their level were impervious to heat and cold. Unless they were in a special environment, how could they possibly feel cold?

Gu Han didn’t dwell on it. “Never mind. It’s probably just my imagination.”

His mind was already fixated on the pills inside the palace.

Emerald Condensation Pill: for those below the Transcendent realm. Heal non-fatal injuries in half an hour.

Yi Wood Pill: for those below the Transcendent realm. Heal non-fatal injuries in half an hour. Regenerate severed limbs.

Wondrous Clarity Pill: for those below the Transcendent realm, non-fatal injuries. Reshape internal organs.

They were stunned speechless. These were all healing pills! Moreover, their effects were so ridiculously good, simply unheard of! As long as they weren’t instantly killed, they could withstand the siege of a dozen cultivators at the same cultivation level.

Gu Han said subconsciously, “Sister Murong, does your family have pills with effects like these?”

Murong Yan murmured, “Like hell we do! We do have one pill with a similar effect, called Heaven-Mending Pill. It can even heal a damaged foundation, but the time it takes is ten times longer than these pills. Old Ancestor treasures it like crazy. He won’t even let me take a look.”

Shen Xuan swallowed his saliva. “I feel like something’s a bit off, right?”

Yang Ying nodded. “It is very strange. The previous palace had all pills for tempering the body and soul. This place is full of healing pills. Combined with the kind I encountered last time, it seems like they weren’t prepared for ordinary cultivators at all.”

Gu Han’s heart stirred. “I feel like it’s more like standard-issue pills for an army of cultivators!”

No wonder he thought that. What ordinary cultivator would carry so many extraordinary pills just for treating injuries? That was completely illogical. Although the cultivation world was always unstable, this stockpile seemed enough for even hundreds of life-or-death battles! Only an unimaginably large-scale war would require such things. For some reason, a sense of gravity welled up in their hearts.

Murong Yan was taken aback. “Well... Should we take these pills or not?”

Gu Han gritted his teeth. “Yes! Like Brother Yang said, who knows when this place will show up again. If we miss out on such good stuff, where would we find it later? Take them, don’t leave a single bottle behind! We can’t afford to take this loss.”

After spending so long around Gu Han, they had been subtly influenced. “Yeah!”

Not taking advantage would be a big loss!

Shen Xuan frowned deeply. “But even though this restriction is about to shatter, it doesn’t seem like something we can break open anytime soon.”

Gu Han studied it carefully. “Seems that way.”

Though the restriction was dim and flickering, its defensive power probably surpassed that of the Yang family’s secret realm. Even with his greatly enhanced cultivation, breaking it by force would take time he couldn’t afford.

Thus, Gu Han slowly closed his eyes. “Wait for me a moment.”

Here we go again! The others were speechless. They had seen Gu Han like this more than once, and every time...

Gu Han suddenly opened his eyes again. “All right! I have a way!”

They were even more speechless. See!

***

In the consciousness space, the shadow cursed furiously, “Bastard! Arrogant! Outrageous! Disrespectful! Before, there was at least a reason. Now, he doesn’t say a word, just takes the stuff and leaves, not even a word of thanks. Does he really take me for some kind of great philanthropist? How thick-skinned is he?!”

***

Meanwhile, Gu Han was already numb to the shadow’s grumbling. Curse all you want, as long as you give me the stuff!

Following the shadow’s method, he repeatedly formed hand seals with both hands. The technique was so complex that the others grew dizzy watching. The whole process took nearly half an hour.

“Break!”

With a soft cry, a third of his cultivation power disappeared, transforming into an intricate rune that landed on the restriction. The restriction fluctuated violently. A moment later, it exploded with a bang, exposing the rows of pill bottles inside.

Gu Han let out a long sigh of relief. Using the technique had taken its toll on him. Still, he couldn’t help but feel amazed. He wondered what the restriction had been like at its peak.

***

Meanwhile, inside another large palace, Chu Kuang held a silver shuttle, his face slightly pale. “It’s more complicated than I thought. Even with our restriction-breaking dao artifacts, I didn’t expect it to take nearly an hour.”

Stashing away the pills, Wu Han glanced outside. “As long as we can break it, it’s fine! I’ll take the lead for the next palace. If the three of us take turns, we will definitely be much faster than them.”

Extremely familiar with the Profound Pill Pavilion, they naturally come well-prepared, with restriction-breaking Dao artifacts and other equipment.

“That works. Then let’s—hmm?” Chu Kuang nodded, before frowning slightly. “Do you guys smell that? It smells like a fragrance?”

***

Meanwhile, one of Zhao Mengyou’s followers said excitedly, “Holy Maiden, this fragrance definitely doesn’t come from an ordinary spirit herb. It smells like a great medicine targeting the soul!”

Zhao Mengyou instructed, “Store the pills away first.”

Her skin glowed with a sheen of sweat, making her appear even more delicate. She clearly had a hard time breaking the restriction.

“It seems that the spirit herb is nearby. Search carefully, we must find it before them!”

“Understood!”

***

Di Kan’s eyes flashed with a golden light. “Find it! We must get our hands on this spirit herb no matter what!”

A follower was puzzled. “Young Valley Master, how do you know it’s a spirit herb? People have come in here before, but no one has ever found any spirit herb, right?”

Di Kan glared at him. “Fool! This fragrance carries vitality! If it’s not a spirit herb, what is it?! And what place is this? This is the Profound Pill Pavilion! It’s a place for alchemy! Of course it would have a few herb gardens!”

***

Just as Gu Han and the others were about to enter the next palace, a faint, unusual fragrance wafted over.

Just by inhaling it, Gu Han felt his soul power increase again. “It smells so good!”

His cultivation, which had been deliberately suppressed at the sixth stage of Divine Connection, showed signs of uncontrollably breaking through again.

His eyes lit up. “Good stuff! It’s definitely good stuff!”

Just from the fragrance, he could tell that this spirit herb surpassed the Soul-Nourishing Grass.

“Let’s go!”

This was exactly why he had come here. He could do without any other pills but those related to replenishing soul power!

Shortly after they left, a faint, almost invisible humanoid figure slowly drifted over, stopping inside the palace. Its head slowly turned, as if searching for something. A moment later, seeming to find nothing, it turned and drifted in the direction Gu Han had left.