Seeing the system feedback, a flash of excitement appeared in Zhou Qing’s eyes.
He actually guessed it right!
"Let’s go!" Zhou Qing, brimming with excitement, stepped forward.
Yan Xiaohu immediately took out the Moonlight Stone and hurriedly followed.
As the two continued deeper, the pungent smell of blood in the air became unmistakably clear.
The ground was covered in horrifying bloodstains.
Recalling that day, the Demon Emperor had emerged from within, clutching a bleeding wound.
"Slow down, take it slow, watch out for traps!" Yan Xiaohu was so nervous that he kept swallowing, looking around with every step.
They moved forward back to back, following the bloodstains until they reached the depths of the cave.
On the ground, there was a distinct circular mark with neat edges, likely left by Elder Feng while he was meditating.
At this moment, Yan Xiaohu exhaled lightly and said, "Old Fourth, this place is eerie. Let’s get out of here. Even if there’s something, it would have been carried away, and Spirit Skull Mountain has already been blown up."
Zhou Qing didn’t respond immediately but frowned slightly, lost in thought.
The system feedback indicated "left as departing," which meant this Demon Emperor had deliberately left something here after seeing Suanni’s remains through the Divine Sense Mark.
Even if he encountered Xuanyuan Shuo on the way, he wouldn’t have lost anything important. Such meticulous thinking is indeed admirable.
And this place seems devoid of any array restrictions, which makes sense; placing any would only attract attention.
Zhou Qing then closed his eyes, extending his Divine Sense outwards, meticulously scanning the surroundings.
Seeing Zhou Qing occasionally knocking on the stone walls to find hollow spots, Yan Xiaohu couldn’t help but say, "Old Fourth, that’s the Spirit Severing Realm. Even an ordinary person wouldn’t be foolish enough to hide valuable items here."
Zhou Qing’s lips curled into a confident smile as he explained, "So we must go against the grain."
"He’s using most people’s assumptions to achieve his goal of hiding it. Besides, no one else knows he hid here except us."
Yan Xiaohu sighed helplessly and waved his hand, saying, "Alright, alright, you search then. I’ll keep watch for you."
With that, he vigilantly stood guard.
Time passed bit by bit. Not long after, Zhou Qing noticed that a section of the stone wall appeared smoother and with a faint seam in the dim light.
His heart stirred, and he cautiously infiltrated the seam with his Divine Sense.
In an instant, his face lit up with joy. Without a word, he took out his flying sword and began cutting along the seam.
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, with a "click," an ancient box was finally unearthed.
Yan Xiaohu, seeing this, couldn’t believe it and hurried over, muttering, "How is this possible? Is the Demon Emperor really an idiot?" ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡᴀɴᴛ ᴛᴏ ʀᴇᴀᴅ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs, ᴘʟᴇᴀsᴇ ᴠɪsɪᴛ novel⸺fire.net
Zhou Qing wiped the sweat off his forehead and explained, "This thing is very well-hidden. If it weren’t for my Divine Sense surpassing that of ordinary people, I wouldn’t have found it."
What Zhou Qing said was true. He had only managed to conduct such a meticulous search because he had already received the answer from the system.
Hence, even someone at the Divinity Transformation Realm might not discover it.
Moreover, such powerful beings wouldn’t expend so much effort searching in an abandoned cave, which was precisely the cleverness of the opponent.
"Quick, see what’s inside! Wait, let’s step back; there might be traps inside..."
Before Yan Xiaohu could finish his sentence, Zhou Qing had already opened the box.
The box was ordinary, and it had already been probed with Divine Sense.
Inside the box was an Imaging Stone and an oval Token engraved with a giant roc.
After exchanging a glance, Zhou Qing gently picked up the Imaging Stone and activated it immediately.
Soon, amid the flickering light, a figure was projected, none other than Elder Feng of the Demon Emperor.
At this moment, he looked as disheveled as that day, his clothes tattered, blood all over him, his face full of exhaustion and unwillingness.
Then, in a hoarse voice, Elder Feng spoke, "Juniors, I, Feng Xuanyi, am now in such a miserable state, all thanks to Xuanyuan Shuo. I never expected that guy to break through to the mid-stage of the Spirit Severing Realm, causing me great loss."
"But this shouldn’t be. The Holy Martial Dynasty became a fourth-level Cultivation Country only three thousand years ago. The Old Emperor helped him break through not long ago. How could he progress so quickly?"
Elder Feng’s words were full of disbelief and confusion.
After a sigh, he continued, "Humans have cultivation bottlenecks compared to us demons. Unlike us, when our blood qi and spiritual power accumulate to a certain extent, we naturally break through."
"Moreover, I have personally witnessed the Old Emperor making a move in the Peng King’s burial site. With a single finger, he subdued the Peng corpse. His strength has definitely reached the late stage of the Spirit Severing Realm, perhaps even Great Perfection."
"There’s definitely something wrong here. I urge you juniors to remember not to provoke them."
Hearing this, Zhou Qing and Yan Xiaohu looked at each other, their faces full of shock.
A Cultivation Country that rose from nothing, how could it break through so quickly in just three thousand years?
Of course, for them, that realm seemed out of reach for now, but even in their current Nascent Soul Realm, every step forward was incredibly difficult.