"Hey, Brother Ye, how did you end up here too!" a somewhat familiar cultivator's voice rang out, laced with surprise, from a corner of the wooden palace hall.

Ye Qin, startled by someone calling his name, instinctively turned his gaze toward the source of the sound. Indeed, tucked away in a corner of the wooden palace hall, a Foundation Establishment cultivator was squatting—a third-level cultivator, slightly stronger than Ye Qin.

Looking across the entire hall, Ye Qin and this individual were the only ones with low-level Foundation Establishment cultivation. The other dozen or so male and female Foundation Establishment cultivators were all mid- or high-level, mostly occupying the center of the wooden hall.

"Brother Han, you're here too?!"

Upon seeing the cultivator’s face, Ye Qin paused, taken aback. It turned out Han Xu had also arrived at this wooden palace and was squatting in the corner, though the position was so concealed he had almost failed to notice him upon entering.

Han Xu chuckled, "I've been here several times this past year; I know the ropes. But each time, I’ve only managed to reach this wooden palace hall at most. The next palace, the Earth Palace, is absolutely impassable for us. For low-level Foundation Establishment cultivators like us, making it to the end of the Wooden Palace is already a stroke of luck. Even for high-level Foundation Establishment cultivators, very few manage to breach the end of the Earth Palace."

As he spoke, his gaze fixed upon Ye Qin with a peculiar intensity. "Brother Ye seems to be visiting the maze for the first time; how did you manage to reach the Wooden Palace Hall?"

Ye Qin offered a wry smile. "Nothing much, mostly luck."

Han Xu scoffed but said nothing; he didn't believe in luck. It was impossible for anyone standing in this hall to be without strength.

Ye Qin glanced at the Willow Wood Spirit in the center of the hall and asked, "Brother Han, do you know what the golden gourd on that spirit monster is?"

Han Xu looked toward the Willow Wood Spirit with envy. "Not entirely clear. But it looks like at least an artifact. It might even be something better. Obtaining that gourd alone would recoup the cost of this trip into the maze. However, that thing is definitely not for us. Based on my experience, those high-level cultivators will definitely fight over that gourd. It's easy for cultivators like us, the low-level ones, to get caught in the crossfire. It's best to be cautious."

Ye Qin nodded secretly. The corner Han Xu occupied was easy to conceal and less likely to be affected by the high-level Foundation Establishment cultivators. He also quietly slipped into a corner, touching the barrier talisman stuck to his chest. The barrier talisman was emitting a faint protective shield enveloping his entire body. He asked, "Brother Han, if the barrier talisman shatters, where is a person teleported to?"

Han Xu laughed out loud. "Brother Ye, are you worried the barrier talisman won't work? This is the specialized teleportation talisman for the Immortal Fate Palace Maze. Once the halo breaks, the talisman shatters, and the person is instantly transported out, appearing randomly anywhere within several hundred miles of Immortal Fate City. No one knows exactly where. As long as you have this talisman, you are absolutely safe inside the palace. But once outside the maze, things are uncertain. I only know that in the last few hundred years, no cultivator has died inside the maze."

Ye Qin asked curiously, "Brother Han, how many times have you entered the Earth Palace? Do you know the situation inside?"

Han Xu was quite talkative and smiled. "Only once so far. I'm currently trying to gauge the situation. My current cultivation is still too low. Maybe when I reach the mid-stage Foundation Establishment, I'll have a chance to break through to the Earth Palace."

The two exchanged casual conversation topics.

The last half hour slowly ticked away; the Wooden Palace was soon to close automatically. The Foundation Establishment cultivators who had the strength to reach the end of the Wooden Palace were basically all present—sixteen or seventeen in total.

The Foundation Establishment cultivators, who had initially been waiting for someone else to make the first move, were gradually growing restless.

The giant Wood Spirit monster in the hall was "encamped" on the teleportation array. If they couldn't destroy the giant Willow Wood Spirit in time or lure it away to enter the Earth Palace through the array, when the time came, they would all be forcibly moved out of the maze by the restrictive formation.

Ye Qin squatted in the corner, waiting idly, watching to see which of the assembled cultivators would lose patience first and act. He didn't believe these cultivators wouldn't make a move.

Just at the crucial moment, the yellow-robed cultivator surnamed Wei entered the Wooden Palace Hall with a grim expression. With his seventh-level Foundation Establishment cultivation, he shouldn't have arrived so late at the Wooden Palace's end. But as the saying goes, haste makes waste. In his eagerness to intercept Ye Qin at the end of the Wooden Palace, he was entangled and surrounded by a group of Willow Wood Spirits halfway there, which delayed him significantly. It took considerable effort to clear those spirits before he rushed to the end of the Wooden Palace at the last possible moment.

The yellow-robed cultivator looked thoroughly dejected.

In his mind, the brat who took the Unquenchable Fire had either been killed by the Willow Wood Spirits in the Wooden Palace or had already reached the end of the hall and entered the Earth Palace. His chances of intercepting him were slim.

The yellow-robed cultivator entered the Wooden Palace Hall and was startled to find a large group of cultivators present. Undeterred, he swept his gaze across the dozen or so cultivators inside the hall, spotted Ye Qin in a corner, and a flash of unexpected delight crossed his eyes: the kid was actually here. But that fleeting joy vanished immediately, replaced by an unruffled, indifferent expression.

The yellow-robed cultivator tried his best not to alarm the other cultivators present and sent a secret mental message to Ye Qin, "Kid, how about we make a deal?"

Ye Qin had already sensed a cultivator entering the hall and looked toward that person warily. Seeing it was the yellow-robed cultivator, a cold sneer formed in his heart. If this wasn't the Immortal Fate Palace Maze, and if the maze didn't contain the ancient restrictive formation and barrier talismans, he might truly have to hand over the fire honestly.

Ye Qin pondered for a moment and sent a mental message back without changing his expression, "What kind of deal?"

"That fire is useless to a low-level cultivator like you. Why not sell it to me? I'll offer a high price of three thousand low-grade spirit stones to purchase it, and I’ll even throw in two decent artifacts. How about that?"

"May I ask what you intend to use this fire for, esteemed Sir?"

Hearing Ye Qin's tone, which suggested room for negotiation, the yellow-robed cultivator managed a smile, speaking as kindly and sincerely as possible via secret message. "This fire is actually quite useless; otherwise, True Person Guang Yu wouldn't have casually tossed it into this maze. I'm buying the fire to see precisely how it was formed."

Ye Qin inwardly scoffed—who was he trying to fool? The ancient cultivator True Person Guang Yu was a Nascent Soul stage expert; even he was interested in this fire. How could this fire be useless?

Over the past six months or so, Ye Qin had spent considerable time reading various cultivator biographies. Figures like True Sword Real Person Purple Sword Divine Monarch, and True Person Guang Yu were all among the eight most famous rogue cultivators in the history of the Spirit Mist Immortal Fate City. He knew some of their deeds. Even if these ancient cultivators looked down upon the Unquenchable Fire, that didn't mean Foundation Establishment cultivators would. This fire was certainly of great interest to him.

Ye Qin didn't even blink and flatly replied via message, "No sincerity. Not selling!"

Veins instantly bulged on the yellow-robed cultivator’s forehead. He couldn't resist the urge to draw his sword and cleave Ye Qin into eight pieces. A mere first-level Foundation Establishment cultivator dared to reject him like this; it was unbearable.

However, he understood even more clearly that within this maze, he was utterly powerless against Ye Qin. He absolutely could not threaten Ye Qin’s life. If he destroyed the halo formed by the barrier talisman on Ye Qin, Ye Qin wouldn't die but would instantly be teleported out by the maze's restrictive formation.

Thus, aside from haggling and luring with benefits, he had no other viable option. Conversely, before reaching a satisfactory deal with Ye Qin, he did not want Ye Qin to leave the maze. Once Ye Qin left, he would have no idea where to find him. Immortal Fate City was teeming with cultivators, a place for numerous sects and families to travel through. It was impossible to track anyone down, especially cultivators above the Foundation Establishment stage.

The yellow-robed cultivator saw the Wooden Palace was about to close, and the cultivators were all becoming restless. He grew anxious and sent another message, his voice sharp. "Kid, don't force my hand. This item truly serves no purpose for you; keeping it is simply a waste. Why don't you name a price, and I'll consider it?"

In the hall, several high-level Foundation Establishment cultivators glanced toward the yellow-robed cultivator. The fluctuations in spiritual power caused by sending secret messages could easily be detected by cultivators with stronger divine senses. The Wooden Palace Hall wasn't that large, so the secret conversation between the yellow-robed cultivator and Ye Qin could naturally be sensed by some high-level cultivators. However, the yellow-robed cultivator's cultivation and strength were also considerable, so they could only vaguely hear one or two words, unable to discern the specifics of what he and Ye Qin were discussing.

Ye Qin sneered via message, "If this item truly serves no purpose for me, perhaps I could consider selling it to you. But since you refuse to state its use, let's drop it. When I return to my sect, I will naturally investigate its function slowly."

The yellow-robed cultivator gritted his teeth and replied via message, "Fine. This fire can gather Fire Spirit Qi. Fire Spirit Root cultivators can accelerate their cultivation speed using this fire. It works best for single-element Fire Root cultivators; for a miscellaneous spirit root like yours, it's useless. Name any price, and we'll trade immediately. I'll give you one high-grade artifact and three mid-grade artifacts. Is that satisfactory?"

A sudden change occurred within the Wooden Palace Hall.

Boom!

The Wooden Palace Hall shook violently, and the light in the passage gradually dimmed. This was the precursor to the Wooden Palace closing; once closed, everyone would be automatically shifted out of the maze.

Suddenly, a black silhouette could no longer restrain himself and swiftly charged toward the giant Willow Wood Spirit, aiming to seize the golden gourd.

"Kill!"

Someone made the first move, and chaos erupted in the Wooden Palace. Swords, sabers, and staves—over ten artifacts flew up almost simultaneously, and various mid-grade spells bombarded the area. Powerful spiritual winds raged through the hall, rushing toward the black-clad cultivator to stop him from snatching the golden gourd.

A black-clad cultivator at the eighth level of Foundation Establishment managed to grab the golden gourd. Upon clearly seeing the item, he cried out in shock. Before the cultivator could flee, he was struck by more than ten artifacts simultaneously. Before his "death," he let out a regretful, mournful cry, "My Treasure Gathering Gourd!" Then he vanished.

He wasn't truly dead, of course, but had been teleported out of the maze by his barrier talisman.

The most unfortunate thing was that the Treasure Gathering Gourd had not been taken by him but had been knocked away by an artifact, landing on the floor.

If the dozen or so mid- and high-level Foundation Establishment cultivators present had let a single eighth-level Foundation Establishment cultivator snatch the golden gourd, it would have been an absolute farce, something to lose face over.

Treasure Gathering Gourd!

The more than ten Foundation Establishment cultivators in the hall had all clearly heard the black-clad cultivator's regretful shout before his disappearance. Their gazes instantly became fervent, staring fixedly at the golden gourd on the ground.

If they knew the names of the Eight Great Rogue Cultivators of Immortal Fate City, they would certainly have heard of the great name of True Person Treasure Gatherer. True Person Treasure Gatherer loved wealth his entire life, habitually collecting various spiritual objects, especially spirit stones; he was the wealthiest of the eight great rogue cultivators.

And this Treasure Gathering Gourd was a wondrous top-grade artifact personally refined by True Person Treasure Gatherer after spending an immense amount of effort.

This Treasure Gathering Gourd actually had only one function: throw a piece of mundane stone into the gourd, and it would automatically absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, concentrating it within the mundane stone inside. It could produce one low-grade spirit stone every day. If this low-grade spirit stone was not removed, after a hundred days, it would become a mid-grade spirit stone, and after ten thousand days, it could even become a high-grade spirit stone.

It was a top-grade artifact, yet it was an extremely tongue-in-cheek top-grade artifact. Only someone like True Person Treasure Gatherer, whose obsession with spirit stones reached an extreme, would create such a top-tier artifact specifically for accumulating wealth.

In fact, upon deeper thought, this artifact was somewhat redundant. One low-grade spirit stone a day meant only thirty a month, which might be a considerable fortune for a Qi Refining cultivator. But for a Golden Core cultivator, it was just pocket change. As for cultivators above the Nascent Soul stage, they wouldn't even bother with such a small amount of wealth, so calling it redundant was not an overstatement.

True Person Treasure Gatherer spent decades, even traveling to the Sky Dome Plain, a place famous for high-grade gourds, to pick the best Golden Vine Gourd and meticulously craft this Treasure Gathering Gourd. The cost alone must have been enormous. But True Person Treasure Gatherer eventually found this gourd unsatisfactory and felt a sense of emptiness.

This Treasure Gathering Gourd was the only one ever made, and it was eventually tossed into the Immortal Fate Palace Maze by True Person Treasure Gatherer. Of course, for Foundation Establishment cultivators, this Treasure Gathering Gourd still held some appeal. Being able to generate wealth automatically by keeping it nearby was an immense temptation for many Foundation Establishment cultivators.

A bloody battle was now inevitable in the Wooden Palace Hall.

Boom!

The Wooden Palace Hall vibrated several more times, and even the teleportation array was rapidly losing its luster. It was the final moment; no cultivator would hold back now. Everyone frantically attacked to seize the Treasure Gathering Gourd, attempting to grab the golden gourd before the Wooden Palace closed. Even Ye Qin and Han Xu, who had been hiding in the corner, couldn't resist rushing out, hoping to see if they had the sheer dumb luck to pick up a bargain.