145: Chapter 145 Exploring the Ruins, Leaving the Grounds Thoroughly, and Returning Home with a Lot of Spiritual Treasures

The teleportation process was much smoother than Ye Qing had anticipated.

He only felt a flash of silver light before his eyes, and his body seemed to pass through a thin layer of water membrane; immediately after, his feet landed on solid ground.

He immediately circulated his Chaos Infant Essence to its limit, quietly gripped the hunyuan ruler in his hand, and simultaneously, his Divine Sense surged out like a tidal wave, vigilantly scanning his surroundings.

This was a massive underground hall that seemed to be cast from a single piece of dark silver metal.

The hall was a hundred zhang high and several miles in circumference, with countless fist-sized beads embedded in the dome, emitting a soft white light that illuminated the entire hall as if it were daytime.

The four walls of the hall were as smooth as mirrors, engraved with countless complex runes resembling the trajectories of stars, as well as reliefs of strange creatures that had long been extinct and that Ye Qing had never seen before, all exuding an ancient and mysterious aura.

The center of the hall was empty, save for a statue about three zhang tall, carved from some kind of black crystal in the shape of a coiled flood Dragon, standing silently there.

The statue was lifelike, with even the patterns on the Dragon scales clearly visible, emitting a faint, almost imperceptible Dragon pressure.

"This teleportation portal actually sent me into an underground palace? And looking at the style, it seems identical to the runes on the portal; it should be a product of the same period."

Ye Qing quickly made a judgment in his heart, while his sharp gaze swept across the entire hall, not letting any corner escape.

His Divine Sense, like invisible tentacles, carefully probed every inch of the ground, every wall, and even every bead on the dome.

"This palace looks like the ruins of some ancient power. And it seems that no one has been here for a very long time."

He noticed that a thick layer of dust had accumulated on the ground, and the air was filled with a musty odor, clearly having been sealed for a long time.

"No one has been here? That's even better. It just so happens that I can 'explore' it properly."

A smile curled the corners of his lips, and he began to take action.

He did not touch the black Dragon statue first, but instead started from the edges of the hall, searching carefully inch by inch like an experienced tomb raider.

He first checked the runes and reliefs on the four walls, confirming that most of these runes were decorative or auxiliary runes used to maintain the stability of the palace, and there were no hidden offensive or defensive Restrictions.

However, he still carefully copied several sets of runes that looked relatively complete and contained some kind of energy circulation pattern onto blank Jade Slips, preparing to study them slowly after returning.

Then, his gaze fell on the beads on the dome that were emitting a soft white light.

"These beads look like 'Moonlight Pearls,' but they are somewhat different. The energy contained within them seems to be purer and more Advanced."

His figure flickered, appearing like a ghost on the dome, and he extended a finger to gently pry off a bead.

The bead felt warm, smooth, and round in his hand, with a soft light seemingly flowing slowly inside.

He probed it with a wisp of Chaos Infant Essence and perceived it carefully.

"Indeed! This is not an ordinary Moonlight Pearl, but a 'Star Radiance Stone'! Moreover, it is a Star Radiance Stone of extremely high quality! This kind of thing has almost gone extinct in the cultivation world! It is an Advanced Materials used for refining Lifebound Treasures or setting up large-scale star-type Formations!"

He was overjoyed and did not hesitate to start working, prying off all the Star Radiance Stones embedded in the dome one by one and storing them into his Cave Heaven World.

A full one hundred and eight! Each one was of excellent quality!

"I've struck it rich! Just these one hundred and eight Star Radiance Stones make this trip worthwhile!"

He was in a great mood, and his enthusiasm for scavenging grew even stronger.

He landed back on the ground and began to inspect the floor slabs.

He discovered that these slabs were not ordinary items either, but were laid with an Ore called 'void stone.' Although the purity was not high, it was superior in its sheer quantity!

"void stone! This is a rare Materials for refining storage Magic Treasures or reinforcing spatial barriers! Although the purity is not high, with so much of it, if it is all devoured, it can make the spatial barriers of the Cave Heaven World even more stable!"

Without a word, he began to work, prying up the void stone slabs laid on the ground one by one and sending them all into the Cave Heaven World, letting the Cave Heaven decompose and absorb them on its own.

Soon, the entire floor of the hall was pried into a pitted and chaotic mess by him.

His gaze finally fell on the black Dragon statue in the center of the hall, which was carved from black crystal.

"This statue should be the core of this palace. I wonder what kind of Materials it was carved from?"

He walked up to the statue, extended a finger, and lightly tapped the surface of the statue.

The statue emitted a crisp sound; its texture was hard, and it felt cold to the touch.

He probed the statue with a wisp of Chaos Infant Essence.

"Hum—!!!"

The statue shook violently, and a powerful, repulsive force carrying ancient Dragon pressure surged in like a tidal wave, attempting to repel his Chaos Infant Essence!

"Oh? There's a Restriction?"

Ye Qing raised an eyebrow. Instead of retreating, he increased the output of his Chaos Infant Essence, like an invisible drill, forcibly breaking through that repulsive force and penetrating deep into the interior of the statue.

The Restriction inside the statue, although exquisite, had after all endured the erosion of endless years and had long since had its power greatly diminished.

Under the impact of Ye Qing's vast, sea-like Chaos Infant Essence, it held out for less than ten breaths before collapsing with a boom!

"Crack!"

A crisp cracking sound rang out.

Fine cracks began to appear on the surface of the black Dragon statue, spreading rapidly across its entire body like a spiderweb!

Immediately after, the entire statue collapsed with a roar, turning into countless black crystal fragments of various sizes, scattering all over the floor!

And at the core position where the statue had shattered, a fist-sized, pitch-black crystal shaped like a heart was floating silently there, emitting a faint, eerie light.

Inside that crystal, a black flame seemed to be burning, emitting an extremely pure and domineering Dragon pressure and fire-attribute Law fluctuations!

"This is... a 'dragon heart crystal core'?! And it's a dragon heart crystal core left behind by a true Heavenly Dragon?!"

Ye Qing's eyes widened, his face filled with unbelievable surprise!

The dragon heart crystal core was the concentration of a Heavenly Dragon's essence, containing the most fundamental Dragon power and Law fragments from its lifetime!

This thing, let alone in the cultivation world, was an extremely rare treasure even in the ancient era!

If he could refine it, not only would it allow his Physical Body strength to reach a terrifying level, but it would also give him the opportunity to comprehend a trace of the mysteries of the True Dragon Law!

"I've hit the jackpot! This time, I've really hit the jackpot!"

Ye Qing suppressed the excitement in his heart, carefully extended his hands, and held the dragon heart crystal core in his palms.

The crystal core felt warm in his hand, as if it were a real heart, still beating slightly, emitting a surging aura of life and Dragon pressure.

He dared not be negligent and immediately sent it into the Cave Heaven World, storing it separately on the Floating Landmass, and using the silver radiance of the moonlight jade tree to nourish and Seal it.

After finishing all this, he let out a long sigh of relief, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.

He searched the hall carefully one more time, confirming that not even a single useful stone had been missed, and then walked contentedly to the teleportation portal that had already lost its energy.

"It's time to go back. The harvest from this trip is enough for me to digest for a long time."

He extended his finger and touched the layer of silver light curtain, which had already become dim, once again.

"Hum!"

The light curtain lit up again, but the light was significantly dimmer than before; clearly, the energy of the teleportation portal was running out.

Ye Qing did not hesitate any longer, took a step forward, and his figure once again plunged into the light curtain, disappearing from sight.