Battle Through the Heavens: Starting with Cao Ying as an apprentice

“This old guy left a backup plan. There are trigger restrictions on the skeleton. If no one controls it and touches it rashly, a wisp of remnant soul and energy sealed within will be briefly awakened, driving the skeleton to launch an indiscriminate attack. If you had actually touched it just now…” He paused and glanced at Zi Yan.

"By now, it's probably a charred dragon corpse."

Upon hearing this, Zi Yan broke out in a light sweat, feeling both lingering fear and a bit annoyed—because Su Baichen was smilingly rubbing the top of her head where she had just been hit.

It was intentional! Absolutely intentional!

She angrily shook her head, but obediently took two steps back and didn't move again.

Su Baichen said no more, stepped forward, and stood before the skeleton.

His eyes were slightly closed, and his mid-stage Heavenly Realm soul power spread out like a tide, seeping into every inch of his bones.

On the surface of his bones, countless obscure runes, invisible to the naked eye, lit up one by one, only to crumble and dissipate under the onslaught of his vast soul power.

Those were contingency plans and self-destructive restrictions set up by the Creation Saint. They were complex, insidious, and interconnected. If one did not know the key points and crush them with absolute power, even a Dou Zun might fall into their trap.

About an incense stick's time later, the skeleton suddenly trembled slightly, the last subtle fluctuation completely subsided, and the awe-inspiring majesty dissipated, becoming like an ordinary precious jade.

Su Baichen rolled up his sleeve and put the entire skeleton into his storage ring.

This skeleton, which was painstakingly refined by the Creator and intended to be used as a second body, is itself an unparalleled treasure.

As for the inheritance light points of the Heavenly Rank Battle Technique "Great Creation Palm" hidden in the bones, they were naturally collected as well.

"Alright! Now it's really time to go home, right?" Seeing that the most conspicuous treasure had been put away, Zi Yan turned around and prepared to walk out of the palace.

"What's the rush?" Su Baichen's voice carried a hint of amusement as he called out to the crowd.

Xuan Yi and the others stopped and looked back in confusion.

The main hall was empty, and apart from the puppets, orbs of light, and skeletons that had already been collected, there seemed to be nothing else there.

"That old fox has a trick up his sleeve, 'the darkest place under the lamp'." Su Baichen's lips curled up slightly as his gaze fell on the area beneath the Dou Sheng skeleton where it had been sitting cross-legged—a seemingly identical bluestone ground to its surroundings.

He said no more, and pointed his finger like a sword at the ground.

There was no earth-shattering roar, only a beam of battle qi, condensed to its extreme, shot out and struck the ground.

In an instant, ripples spread across the bluestone, and the complex spatial folds and concealment formations rippled and shattered violently, like a lake surface tossed with pebbles.

"Crack... Rumble..."

After a slight cracking sound, the ground collapsed, revealing a dark hole, with a stone staircase leading downwards faintly visible in the swirling dust.

A spiritual aura, richer and more ancient than that of the Pill Hall, mixed with the fragrance of medicine and the metallic scent, wafted out.

"(?ω?) Wow! There are still more!" Zi Yan's eyes widened, but this time she learned her lesson and only hid behind Su Baichen, peeking out half her head and curiously looking into the cave.

"The Creator Saint concealed this place using special spatial techniques, hiding it directly beneath the most conspicuous skeleton."

Su Baichen slowly walked to the edge of the cave entrance and explained.

"The treasure above is enough to drive a Dou Zun mad. Ordinary people would be overjoyed to obtain it. Who would have thought that there is another world hidden beneath this most precious core?"

He had previously obtained some fragmented memories of the Creation Saint, and thus knew the existence of this final secret treasure and how to open it.

If one relies solely on soul power scanning, it is indeed very easy to overlook this extreme concealment, which is masked by the "blind spot" mentality.

The stone steps were bottomless, and a faint light seemed to flicker in the darkness.

Su Baichen took the lead and stepped down the stairs, followed closely by Xuan Yi, Cao Ying, Xiao Yixian, and the others, suppressing their shock.

Zi Yan hurriedly followed, her little hand involuntarily grabbing the hem of Su Baichen's clothes.

The group slowly descended the stone steps, their footsteps echoing in the silence.

After descending about a hundred steps, the view suddenly opened up before me.

This is a secret room that is not particularly spacious, but is filled with astonishing energy fluctuations.

There are no glittering decorations, only a few simple stone platforms.

However, the few items on the stone platform caused the breaths of the crowd, who were used to seeing treasures, to catch in their tracks.

On the stone platform to the left, a red flame with the phantom images of myriad beasts and seven pills emitting a rich fragrance floated in the air!

On the central stone platform, a golden skeleton exuding a powerful aura sat cross-legged, with a purple-gold storage ring floating in front of it!

On the far right stone platform, only three dark gold metal scrolls floated quietly!

"This old fellow has hidden his true wealth in the most unlikely place."

"A thousand years of planning, all for naught!"

Su Baichen said softly, his gaze sweeping over the final secret chamber. After a thousand years of waiting, the dust had settled, and all the inheritance and treasures of the Creation Saint had finally fallen into his hands.

Chapter 284 Return; Preparation!

Su Baichen's soul power flowed slowly through the secret room like an invisible tide, gently caressing every object.

After confirming that there were no more hidden restrictions or traps, he slowly stepped forward, his gaze first drawn to the leaping red flame on the stone platform to his left.

Flames do not burn statically; their forms are constantly changing, sometimes transforming into the shapes of myriad beasts, ever-renewing and lifelike.

An ancient, wild, yet vibrant heat wave emanated from the space, which, if not for special restrictions, would have already burned it to ashes.

"What a magnificent flame of myriad beasts!"

A hint of approval flashed in Su Baichen's eyes!

"Born from the essence of all beasts and the source of the earth's core fire, it possesses innate spirituality. If it had not been imprisoned here for a thousand years, and its intelligence had been allowed to grow, its strength would probably have reached the level of a Dou Zun, enough to dominate the region."

After saying that, he flicked his fingers repeatedly, sending profound runes into the void surrounding the flames.

The invisible restriction rippled outwards like water before quietly dissipating.

The flames surged instantly, and the phantoms of countless beasts roared in unison, seemingly trying to break free of their restraints. However, Su Baichen was prepared. With a flick of his palm, a jade pot (the Fire Sealing Pot) appeared, its entire body icy blue and covered with sealing runes.

With a swift grab, the restless Myriad Beast Spirit Fire was involuntarily drawn into the pot. The lid clicked shut, and runes flowed across its surface, completely sealing it away.

Su Baichen turned around and handed the Fire Sealing Pot to Cao Ying.

Here, take it.

Cao Ying was slightly taken aback and looked up with a blank expression.

"Didn't you envy your junior sister for having such a great opportunity?"

Su Baichen's eyes held a knowing smile.

"This Myriad Beast Spirit Fire is perfect for your 'Divine Journey Fire Refining Technique.' Refining and absorbing it should allow your technique's grade to rise directly to the advanced Earth Rank, and your cultivation level to increase significantly. In the future, controlling fire to refine pills will be even more effortless."

Upon hearing this, Cao Ying's cheeks flushed red.

She had indeed privately expressed some envy to her master for the opportunity that Little Fairy Doctor received, but she never expected that her master would remember it and point it out at this moment.

"Who, who envies her! Master, don't talk nonsense!"

She tried to remain calm, stubbornly denying it, but her eyes were somewhat unfocused.

However, though he was stubborn, his actions spoke louder than words. He took the cold fire-sealing pot in one swift motion, gripped it tightly in his palm, and felt the warmth and immense energy emanating from within. His heart began to beat faster.

Little Fairy Doctor, who had been standing quietly to the side, couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle when she saw her senior sister's adorable, contradictory expression.

Seeing this, Su Baichen shook his head helplessly. His eldest disciple was still as arrogant as ever.

He said no more and waved his hand to collect the remaining seven Grade 8 pills on the stone platform, which had been stripped of their intelligence but still possessed astonishingly powerful energy.

These pills, in terms of grade and value, are in no way inferior to the pill beasts obtained in the Pill Hall before; they are all rare treasures that are hard to come by.

Then, his gaze turned to the central stone platform.

There, a skeleton, its entire body as if cast in gold and shimmering with a faint, immortal luster, sat quietly in meditation, with an ancient-looking, dark gold storage ring floating in front of it.

Although the skeleton was lifeless, it faintly exuded a powerful aura, and after a thousand years of nourishment, its physical strength was already approaching that of a mid-stage Dou Sheng.

Su Baichen took off the storage ring and probed it with his soul power. Even with his composure, he couldn't help but secretly admire it.

The space inside the storage ring was astonishingly vast, filled with mountains of rare medicinal herbs, minerals, magical beast blood, bones... a dazzling array of items, many of which were of a higher age and quality than what they had previously obtained outside.

This is probably the culmination of a thousand years of creation by the Sage of Creation, and most of its essence is contained here.

After putting away the bones and storage ring, Su Baichen finally looked at the three scrolls on the stone platform to his right.

The scroll is made of an unusual material, resembling neither leather nor silk, exuding an ancient aura.

He unfolded them one by one, his soul power sweeping over them.

Two scrolls of low-level Heavenly Rank combat techniques!

A scroll of intermediate-level Heavenly Rank combat techniques!

Even Su Baichen was slightly moved at this moment.

Heavenly Rank Battle Techniques: Each new volume is enough to cause bloodshed on the continent. There are three volumes here, one of which has reached the intermediate level!

The wealth of this Creator Saint is terrifying.

However, after only a cursory glance, he casually tossed the three scrolls—enough to drive countless Dou Zun and even Half-Saints mad—to Xuan Yi, Cao Ying, Little Fairy Doctor, and the others behind him.

"Take a look, do you have any suitable ones? I don't need these."

His tone was indifferent, as if he were giving away something ordinary.

Having reached his current level and accumulated experience, he values ​​quality over quantity in combat techniques. His own cultivation has already formed a complete system. If he were to covet these external things, it might disrupt his own path.

Xuan Yi and the others did not refuse and accepted it directly.

…………

Time flies, and since the return of the Creator Saint's ruins, the depths of the Pill Tower have been shrouded in a long silence.

Xuan Yi went into seclusion to immerse herself in comprehending her newly acquired Heaven-Rank combat skills and alchemy insights; Cao Ying entered a secret chamber to prepare for refining the Myriad Beast Spirit Fire and breaking through to a higher realm; Zi Yan also unusually quieted down, consolidating what she had gained from the ruins under Su Baichen's guidance, preparing for her long-awaited transformation.

Several months later, when everyone emerged from seclusion and their auras had all improved significantly, they witnessed a delightful scene in the backyard of the Pill Tower.

"Boss! Boss! Are you done yet?"

Zi Yan clung to Su Baichen like a koala, her arms tightly wrapped around his neck, her little face rubbing against his shoulder, her purple-gold eyes filled with eager anticipation.

"Well, preparations are almost complete. Once I set up the last few arrays, you can consume the Dragon and Phoenix Origin Fruit."

Su Baichen tried to "peel" the octopus-like Zi Yan off his body, but the little girl was incredibly strong and held him tightly.

"Really? That's great! I knew you were the best!"