Chapter 1035: Five-Yang Tough Wood

“Crushed to death?”

Zhang Xuan was startled and quickly looked down at the Golden Origin Cauldron. Sure enough, he saw a pile of alien spirit clansmen lying scattered on the ground.

Most of these fellows were only at Saint Domain realm first stage, except for one tall and sturdy fellow who had reached the fourth stage. Even so, they couldn't withstand the full impact of the Golden Origin Cauldron. With a single blow, they were flattened into meat patties, stuck tightly to the ground, impossible to peel off.

“Aren't you going to move aside…”

Seeing that the Golden Origin Cauldron remained atop the pile of corpses even after speaking, Zhang Xuan raised an eyebrow.

“Yes!”

The cauldron quickly jumped aside. Zhang Xuan bent down and counted, finding exactly the same number as before, not one more or less.

These fellows had never dreamed that the violent force would rebound. Already injured from the attack, they hadn't even had time to flee before being crushed to death by the enlarged Golden Origin Cauldron. Thinking about it, it was quite tragic.

However, they died quickly and decisively, without much pain.

“I was planning to capture them and ask how they got in and what this portal is… How am I supposed to question them now?”

He rubbed his forehead.

Not only had the formation redirected energy to destroy all the buildings in the ruins, but the Golden Origin Cauldron had also smashed these fellows to death. How could he interrogate them now?

“Purple Leaf King, do you recognize these fellows?”

After a moment's hesitation, he communicated mentally with the Thousand Ant Beehive.

Purple Leaf King's divine sense swept over, and his voice came through: “Young master, I don't recognize those at the Mortal Transcension realm first stage, but that fourth-stage one is… one of the Upper Five Kings, Fire Leaf King!”

“Fire Leaf King?” Zhang Xuan was stunned.

A dignified one of the Ten Kings of Qingtian, known as one of the Upper Five Kings, Fire Leaf King, was crushed to death as soon as he appeared, without even a single line… That was too tragic!

“Yes, Fire Leaf King can control heat and flames. In this scorching place, he can exceed his normal combat strength, even more terrifying than a Saint Domain realm fourth-stage peak… How did you kill him?”

Purple Leaf King was full of astonishment.

Each of the Upper Five Kings possessed unique skills and formidable strength. The young master had killed him, and from his tone, he didn't even know who it was… Thinking about it was quite sad.

As of now, it seemed that out of the Ten Kings, a full six had been lost at his hands.

This guy was simply the bane of the Qingtian royal family.

“Oh, I killed him by accident…”

Zhang Xuan shook his head helplessly.

Since the other party was already dead, there was no use thinking too much. With a grab of his hand, he took the storage rings from the bodies and scanned them. Finding no useful clues, he looked at the others: “Even though this place has collapsed… if it really is a ruin, there should be something to find. Let's look around first!”

Even if it had collapsed, there should still be some identifiable things here. If the old dean and others had been here, they could investigate thoroughly.

“Yes!” The others nodded and flew off in all directions.

“Aren't you going to look?”

Seeing the girl still standing still, Zhang Xuan looked over.

“If there was anything, these alien spirit clansmen would have already looted it all!”

Luo Ruoxin shook her head: “These people gathered here at the same time, probably related to this portal. Perhaps we still haven't entered the real ruins…”

“This…” Zhang Xuan was startled and looked at the girl again, full of admiration.

As expected of a strong cultivator from a major clan, her insight and knowledge were extraordinary.

Indeed, if this were a ruin, these alien spirit clansmen wouldn't have expended so much effort attacking the seal on the portal. Moreover, even if there were any treasures left here, they would probably be among the many storage rings he had taken.

It was impossible for them to leave anything behind for later generations to find.

Sure enough, before long, everyone flew back.

“This building is only a few hundred meters in diameter, built inside a cave. There's nothing left, not even a trace…”

Wu Shi came over and shook his head.

After more than two hours of rest and adjustment, his strength had fully recovered to its peak. With his divine sense sweeping, even amidst the rubble, he could examine everything clearly without missing anything.

“No need to search. If I'm not mistaken, the secret lies in this portal!”

Zhang Xuan waved his hand.

Everyone responded and looked at the portal before them.

The portal was not too large, about five meters in both length and width, shrouded in a seal that occasionally emitted a heart-palpitating heat, making it difficult to approach.

“When the energy surged through earlier, I took a glance. These alien spirit clansmen were all attacking this seal, seemingly trying to open it!”

Zhang Xuan explained.

He didn't dare say he had seen it through his Wu soul, so he attributed it to the energy surge.

“Attacking the seal?” The others came closer. Wu Shi raised his palm and struck it fiercely.

“Don't…”

Seeing his action, Zhang Xuan's scalp tingled. He wanted to stop him but it was too late, so he shouted, “Everyone, fall back quickly!”

Without pausing, he immediately retreated rapidly.

Seeing his urgency, the others also quickly retreated. They had only gone a short distance when they saw the seal flash with light, and a vast force surged upward, tearing through the magma and shooting into the air.

However, after a short while, this force swept back down, striking directly where they had been standing, causing the pile of corpses on the ground to bounce up like balls.

These fellows had already been smashed beyond recognition by the Golden Origin Cauldron. Caught in the force, they were instantly torn apart, leaving fragments everywhere.

“This…”

Seeing this, everyone wiped cold sweat from their foreheads, especially Wu Shi, whose face turned pale.

If not for Zhang Shi's quick reaction in ordering them to retreat, this blow would have killed or severely injured most of them.

They had thought it was just an ordinary seal, never dreaming that attacking it would trigger such a massive energy fluctuation.

Most importantly… there was still the Reversal Heaven-Overturning Array that Zhang Shi had set up above. As soon as the energy was released, it would be reflected back unchanged… Just thinking about it was terrifying.

“This seal is so sturdy, and attacking it causes a reflection… How do we break it?”

Not daring to make any more moves, the others returned to the portal with lingering fear, looking at each other in dismay.

There was nothing else around, meaning the true entrance to the ruins was related to this portal. But now, even the seal couldn't be touched… What to do?

Any collision would trigger energy and then attack oneself. The current situation was even harder to handle than before.

“These alien spirit clansmen have been here for who knows how long and still haven't figured it out or broken through. It will definitely be difficult for us!”

“The seal looks much thinner. If we rely on attacking to break it, it would take several days at least…”

Thinking about spending several days constantly facing incoming attacks made everyone's scalp tingle.

“Zhang Shi, do you have any ideas?”

After discussing for a while with no solution, President Han looked over.

After what had happened, everyone had developed deep admiration for this young dean. Even President Han had to admit that this young man surpassed him in both formations and insight.

“Let me think…”

Zhang Xuan frowned.

Under normal circumstances, if he could get close and touch the seal, he could find the problem and solve it completely. But the heat emanating from the portal was too intense; with his current strength, he couldn't get close!

As for the earlier attack, Wu Shi's power wasn't enough to shake it, only to wear it down… So standing at a distance, he couldn't form a book either.

“Let's see if I can get close…”

Gritting his teeth, he walked forward.

If he could, with the Library of Heaven's Path, he would surely find the flaw and resolve the seal. But it depended on how close he could get.

He moved forward slowly, circulating his true qi, but still felt the relentless heat making him sweat.

Although he had tempered his Wu soul earlier, his physical body and true qi hadn't changed much. Getting close was still impossible.

Whoosh!

He stopped.

Looking up, he shook his head helplessly. At this distance, he was still more than twenty meters from the portal. Forget touching, he couldn't even see clearly without using the Eye of Insight.

“My physical body is still too weak. Unless I cultivate now to strengthen it…”

He sighed inwardly.

Although his Wu soul had strengthened enough to get close, he couldn't release it in front of so many people. And without the Seven-Colored Earthly Qiong Liquid, his true qi couldn't break through in a short time. The only way was to strengthen his physical body, then touch the seal at extreme speed and retreat.

With this thought, he returned to the others and looked around.

“Does anyone have [Five-Yang Tough Wood]?”

“Five-Yang Tough Wood? You mean… that special plant that lives above geothermal fire and relies on sun exposure to survive?” Wu Shi frowned.

Five-Yang Tough Wood is a special plant, very rare. It can only survive on ground containing geothermal fire and needs sun exposure to grow. A single drop of rain will cause it to burn to ashes instantly.

Because of this, it's even rarer than saint artifacts.

“Exactly!”

Zhang Xuan nodded.

Five-Yang Tough Wood is exactly the treasure needed for the final stage of cultivating the Five Radiance Golden Body. As long as he could find a piece and absorb its scorching yang energy, this body-tempering technique would truly reach great completion!

Although the fourth and fifth stages differ by only one minor level, it's the difference between minor and major completion. With the fifth stage perfected, the heart yang, lung yang, spleen yang, liver yang, and kidney yang would flow without obstruction, forming a ring. The physical body's strength would increase several times over!

If successful, he might be able to easily crush Saint Domain realm first-stage peak experts with just his physical body, or even second-stage. Saint beasts like the Purple Yang Beast would be no match.

“This thing is extremely rare. If you had asked me a few days ago, I definitely wouldn't have had any. But… a few days ago, while strolling in Fire Source City, I happened to come across one and bought it. See if this is it!”

President Han smiled lightly and took out a piece of wood as thick as an arm, handing it over.

Five-Yang Tough Wood is almost impossible to find elsewhere, but in a special environment like Fire Source City, it's not too difficult. And by chance, he encountered one and bought it.