Su Feng, who was already familiar with the dangers of such power, simply looked away. No matter how legendary or powerful the Dragon of Destiny was, to him, it was a treasure that sparked no genuine interest.
"Wait... how is it that this Dragon of Destiny still exists?" Su Feng asked, his brow furrowed in confusion. "The original dynasty must have perished countless centuries ago. Even if it could subsist without a bearer, logic dictates that the dragon should have vanished or been devoured by time."
Luo Tian remained silent for a moment, weighing her answer before speaking.
"You are right, it is an anomaly," Luo Tian replied gravely. "However, when a dynasty falls, its Luck does not always dissipate instantly. It is likely that, in their final moments, the ancestors of that empire performed a forbidden ritual to condense all the remaining essence into this object, seeking to avoid its total annihilation."
She paused and looked at the golden sphere with suspicion.
"It is a desperate attempt to preserve a spark of their lineage," she deduced, though deep down she wasn't entirely convinced that was the only reason behind its existence.
It was a good enough answer for Su Feng, who turned his gaze to observe the other two treasures. The first was a jade vial that emanated a medicinal fragrance so potent it made the surrounding air vibrate, filling the room with an overwhelming vital energy.
"Is that...?"
"An Immortal Elixir," Luo Tian whispered with reverence. "It is a legendary medicine, capable of reviving the dead and granting the highest talent under the heavens to whoever consumes it."
Without waiting for a response, Luo Tian stepped forward and gripped the vial firmly.
"I will take this; you may keep whatever you wish of what remains," she declared.
Su Feng, who already possessed a Heaven-Grade talent, did not give the elixir much importance. To him, at most, it represented a second chance in case of a fatal accident. Instead, he fixed his eyes on the last object: an imposing Golden Tripod, wrapped in heavy black iron chains that seemed to absorb the light, creating a visual void around it.
"It is the Celestial Furnace of the Yin-Yang Spiritual Flame," Luo Tian explained, noticing the glint of greed and wonder in Su Feng's eyes. "It is a Heaven-Grade weapon with exceptional duality: it can be used as an impregnable defensive treasure or as the ultimate alchemy furnace."
She paused, as the reflection of the fire danced in her pupils, and continued:
"The flame burning within it possesses the purest Yin-Yang essence in existence. In the records of spiritual fires of this world, it is ranked among the ten most powerful flames in the universe. Not only can it melt the most resilient materials, but it has the power to refine destiny itself."
Upon hearing that, Su Feng couldn't help but let out a deep sigh, genuinely impressed by the level of the treasures this place guarded. Without much thought, he reached out toward the Golden Tripod. Upon detecting his presence, the black iron chains unraveled with a metallic crash, instantly releasing a shockwave of spiritual power.
The impact was so violent that Su Feng, standing just a short distance away, was thrown several meters back.
"That... hurt a bit," he murmured, shaking off the dust as he stepped forward to try again, this time with greater caution. However, before he could touch it, a shadow emerged from nowhere among the treasures.
"!"
Startled, Su Feng unsheathed his sword in a fluid motion and swung at the figure, but it lunged forward, unfazed by the attack.
Luo Tian and Su Feng froze as they saw it clearly. It wasn't human, nor anything they had seen before: it was an anthropomorphic being wrapped in living flames. Its body had a human structure, but it was composed of a dense fire that twisted and billowed constantly, giving off a scorching heat.
"Who are you?" Luo Tian demanded, bracing for battle.
The being ignored them completely. Its burning eyes fixed on the golden sphere containing the Dragon of Destiny. Without hesitation, it took the sphere in its fiery hands and, before their horrified eyes, swallowed it whole.
"Madness..." Su Feng whispered, dumbfounded.
The process of absorbing destiny was usually a long, meticulous ritual fraught with danger, but this creature had ignored all natural laws, devouring it in a single gulp. Before they could react, a deafening roar made the entire structure tremble violently.
The being looked up and, without the slightest hesitation, launched itself toward the ceiling with the force of a meteorite. A massive amount of flames exploded from its body upon impact, making space itself crack. The fire began to incinerate everything at an alarming speed; the priceless treasures that previously filled the room were instantly reduced to ashes under that supernatural heat.
Su Feng felt his own skin beginning to be devoured by the fire. Reacting on instinct, he grabbed Luo Tian, who lay on the floor unable to move, and lunged toward the edges of the room. He used several defensive treasures that still remained on the walls to cover them; however, most of these disintegrated almost upon contact with the remaining flames.
Finally, the ceiling gave way under the pressure and was completely destroyed. The creature broke free, shooting out toward the exterior. As the core of the fire departed, the intensity in the room dropped drastically, allowing Su Feng to protect himself with the last remnants of energy from the treasures.
"What was all that?" Su Feng asked, his breath ragged and his mind clouded by confusion.
"Nascent Soul..." Luo Tian whispered.
"What?" he asked, his eyes widening.
"That thing has the power of the Nascent Soul Realm... It is a Heart Demon," she explained, exhausted and barely conscious. "Everyone outside is in danger. The gate to the secret realm has swung wide open, and that thing is about to be unleashed upon the world."
"What should I do?" Su Feng asked immediately, looking for an exit or a solution.
Luo Tian fell into a deathly silence before responding with a broken voice:
"There is nothing to be done."