Su Feng finally stopped before some strange ruins that emerged from the charred landscape.
"Is this the center of the secret realm?" he wondered, unable to hide his surprise at the peculiarity of the site. "This place is in shambles."
The devastation was absolute: the walls and structures were so carbonized that jet black covered everything, making it impossible to distinguish any original relief or inscription due to the magnitude of the damage.
These types of secret realms were usually created with sacred meticulousness, serving as a reflection of a dynasty's glory or the immense power of the cultivator who originated them. Therefore, it was altogether unusual that a ruin destined to guard an inheritance would be in such a deplorable state.
"At first, I thought they had only damaged the exterior," he reflected seriously, "but it's obvious that whatever caused this fire also took care of destroying the interior, erasing any glimmer of the original dynasty."
"It also seems to have been slashed countless times," he murmured as he entered the precinct, cautiously observing the deep marks of violence that scored the walls, as if invisible swords had attempted to slice through the very structure.
Although it was difficult to identify the specific dynasty, the general design and the few traces that remained somewhat intact revealed that it belonged to a remote era, probably the Ancient Era.
"Too many dynasties rose and fell back then; it's impossible to determine which one this belonged to," Su Feng muttered as he ventured into the depths of the structure.
As the precinct was completely devastated, both in its internal and external structure, any trap or defensive formation that could have hindered the path had ceased to exist entirely. Thanks to this, he was able to advance without worrying about hidden ambushes, but the silence inside was absolute—an unnatural calm that felt deeply unsettling.
"I never thought I'd reach a point where I'd actually crave a beast attack," he admitted to himself, feeling the weight of solitude on his shoulders.
He kept moving forward until the end of the corridor, where he came across a massive, toppled door. Su Feng frowned and crouched down to examine the remains of the twisted metal.
"At the very least, a Golden Core level cultivator... and it looks like it was forced open from the outside."
The angle of the cracks and the position of the debris left no room for doubt: the entrance had been breached from without. However, a question assailed him: why would someone take the trouble to break into a place that seemed to offer nothing but ashes?
Upon crossing the threshold, he found himself in a sort of altar. The floor was strewn with countless links of broken chains, scattered like the remains of an ancient, forgotten prison.
"Was something imprisoned here?" Su Feng wondered, observing the remains. "But, looking at the place, it doesn't seem like it was a living being."
The methods of containment for living beings and inanimate objects were completely distinct from one another; it was impossible to use one technique to substitute for the other. After all, a living being possesses a much wider margin of action than any Weapon of Heaven and Earth. Even masterless immortal weapons lack complex thoughts; their only yearning is to fulfill their function, so containing them is simple as long as one can satisfy the nature of the treasure.
However, applying that strategy to a cultivator was impossible. For that reason, formations designed to contain living beings usually focus on total physical suppression, blocking any form of resistance.
"Nonetheless, these chains seem designed only to block internal flow; therefore, it is very likely that it was a Heaven-grade weapon."
In this world, treasures are classified into the ranks: Mortal, Spiritual, Earth, Heaven, Sacred, and Immortal. Although legends mention the existence of Primordial Treasures—objects born directly from the laws or the Dao of the Heavenly Path—such artifacts are impossible to find in the current era; it is said that the vast majority were reduced to ashes during the chaos that ended the ancient era.
He continued inspecting the place, but found absolutely nothing else. Whatever destroyed this site had seen to it that every trace of its contents was reduced to rubble.
"I was hoping to find some manuals or techniques to exchange for contribution points," he said with a sigh.
As a disciple of the sect master, he did not lack techniques; however, unlike his Senior Brother, he did not have a powerful family to provide him with unlimited resources. Although he could ask for them, he was not willing to do so. How could he aspire to be his equal if he was only capable of advancing with his help at every step?
Just as he was about to leave, an almost imperceptible glint beneath a collapsed pillar caught his attention. It wasn't a metallic shine, nor did it look like anything extraordinary. After clearing the debris, he found a small plate of black jade, cracked and without inscriptions.
"Junk?" he murmured, taking it into his hands.
Upon contact with his skin, the plate did not react to his spiritual energy; instead, it began to absorb his body heat. He tried to use his divine consciousness to inspect it, but nothing happened.
"Maybe Senior Brother will know what this is," he thought. If that object had withstood such destruction, it must hide a secret.
He tried to store it in his storage ring, but the plate would not move.
"A spatial treasure?" he wondered, surprised. Spatial artifacts could not be stored inside others of their kind due to the risk of dimensional overlap that would destroy the contents. Since he couldn't store it, he simply hung it from his waist.
At that very moment, the echo of footsteps broke the absolute silence. Su Feng turned quickly toward the ruined entrance, his eyes widening in surprise.
"Luo Tian?" he asked, bewildered to see the mortal he had met outside entering that sacred altar.