Judging from the items on the tables in these rooms, it's clear that people here cultivate alchemy, talismans, artifacts, and arrays, and their levels of skill are quite impressive. They're at least capable of developing and innovating on their own. And the ultimate purpose of their research is to serve their Nine Provinces Chaotic Soul Array.
It seems their desire to resurrect the savior is so strong that they are willing to pay any price.
Shi Xuan thoroughly searched the underground palace, but regarding the savior, only some believers wrote in their notes, "For the savior, the light will eventually reappear."
Nothing else was left behind.
Shi Xuan collected the useful items, then released his divine sense to scan the entire underground palace.
Since they have materials to conduct experiments continuously, they must have a certain supply of materials; they shouldn't just have a few materials sitting in the room.
As Shi Xuan predicted, there was a hidden room behind the last laboratory, with a secret door that blended seamlessly into the wall, making it impossible to tell that it was a door.
Shi Xuan searched the room and found the hidden entrance switch, then opened the door.
Inside was a storage room that was larger than all the laboratories combined.
The storage room was divided into several areas, including areas for spiritual plants, minerals, spirit stones, and finished products. It had a wide variety of items, but none of them were of very high quality.
In addition to some boxed mid-grade spirit stones, the spirit stone area also contained several storage bags with some neatly stacked high-grade spirit stones and about ten top-grade spirit stones.
For Shi Xuan now, these spirit stones aren't a lot, but something is better than nothing. He should get some reward for coming all this way.
Shi Xuan didn't hold back and swept everything out of these areas, including what was on display and what was in his storage bag.
After confirming that all places had been searched, Shi Xuan came out and looked at the three-tailed fox who was being held in solitary confinement.
With three tails, it was no weakling. Leaving this beast here would be a waste, and releasing such a ferocious beast wouldn't be a good thing either. So Shi Xuan simply put it into Silver Frost as well. Anyway, there were already some demonic beasts living in the dense forest in the southeast corner, so one more wouldn't make a difference.
By the time Shi Xuan emerged from the underground palace, more than half an hour had passed.
On the ground, two three-legged golden crows waited for her. The one that had been bled out still looked very weak, leaning against the other as it stood at the doorway, its bright red color giving it a strangely festive appearance.
Shi Xuan was stunned for a moment, looked at the three-legged golden crow that had pushed her down, and said, "Why aren't you leaving yet? Are you waiting for me to settle accounts with you?"
The three-legged golden crow is an extremely precious ancient mythical beast, and its solar fire has the power to burn everything.
These two golden crows were likely caught in someone's trap, and only one was captured. In a normal battle, a Golden Core cultivator would be no match for it. Making a contract with them would bring immeasurable benefits; if they were to escape and be discovered by others, they would be fought over fiercely.
The two birds stared at each other for a long time before the one that had pushed her took a step forward and patted Shi Xuan's leg with its wing.
"What? Trying to cling to me?" Shi Xuan asked.
Strangely enough, Shi Xuan could actually see a hint of embarrassment on its bird face.
It patted Shi Xuan's leg again, refusing to leave.
Shi Xuan shook his head and said, "Raising divine beasts costs too many spirit stones. I don't want to take you with me. You should leave quickly and be careful not to get caught again."
Seeing that Shi Xuan refused to accept them, the golden crows became visibly anxious. Finding a place with good food and drink and no one to disturb them was incredibly difficult these days; life was tough, and being a golden crow was no easy feat. They had finally found someone they liked, and yet she wouldn't accept them even standing right in front of them!
Shi Xuan took out the puppet sword, patted the golden crow's head, and was about to fly up on the sword. This time, its mate had been rescued, so there was no reason to stop her.
But Shi Xuan hadn't flown very high before he was blocked by an invisible barrier and couldn't continue upwards.
The protective barrier around this [Newcomer] base? Why wasn't it there when I came down? Could it be this golden crow?
Shi Xuan looked at the golden crow that flew up beside him, a smug look appearing in its small eyes.
"If I didn't bring you with me today, would I be able to get out?" Shi Xuan asked.
Jinwu puffed out its proud little chest.
Shi Xuan thought about it and agreed. Although the bottom of the cliff was secluded, it wasn't impossible to encounter people. By covering it with a concealment barrier, even if someone fell down, they wouldn't end up in their territory.
The Golden Crow probably used its solar fire to burn through the barrier for a while, allowing them to enter. They had been there for over an hour when the barrier closed again.
"If you're so capable, why don't you go save your wife yourself? What do you want from me?"
Jinwu's small eyes narrowed, looking somewhat stubborn.
That beast-taming formation is specifically designed to deal with high-level spirit beasts; forcibly breaking it would harm the spirit beast trapped inside. It seems it's not like it hasn't tried before.
Shi Xuan laughed and said, "Don't you know? I'm an array cultivator. I can break this barrier as long as I walk around here twice."
As she spoke, she actually turned and walked towards the edge of the area.
The smug look on Jinwu's face vanished instantly. It looked at Shi Xuan with a bewildered expression, seemingly unable to understand why it, a highly sought-after prize, was being disliked by Shi Xuan. And quite disliked at that.
Unbeknownst to it, Shi Xuan harbored some resentment towards raising divine beasts. This gluttonous creature she had created was insatiable, like a bottomless pit. Last time, she bought half a warehouse full of spiritual plants from the Liu family, and it ate them all. If she didn't keep an eye on it, it could devour her entire herb garden.
If I raise two more three-legged golden crows, how many spirit stones would that take? With those spirit stones, wouldn't it be better to buy myself something?
Seeing that Shi Xuan was about to leave, the three-legged golden crow became anxious and its stubbornness flared up. It pounced on Shi Xuan and flew around her in circles. Wherever Shi Xuan went, it followed.
Shi Xuan pretended that such a bird didn't exist and continued to do what he was supposed to do according to his own rhythm, studying the barrier of this place.
But Jinwu was anxious. If she found a way to open the barrier and flew away, the two of them still wouldn't be able to find a good place to settle down. Moreover, this human seemed to be the kind who didn't want anything from them, was very wealthy, and had considerable strength—a high-quality long-term meal ticket.
Thinking of this, the three-legged golden crow's small eyes seemed to spit fire. It had originally wanted to establish an equal contract with Shi Xuan, but now, seeing Shi Xuan's reaction, it was clear that he didn't want to form a contract with them.
In its haste, the golden crow recklessly pecked at Shi Xuan's wrist, drawing blood with its sharp golden beak. Moments later, the contract was finalized.
With just this one movement, Shi Xuan's spiritual power surged, and there were even faint signs of another breakthrough.
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