"This Holy Emperor possesses no Core Formation Pills here. Refining one requires an extremely rare spiritual herb, something only an Alchemy Grandmaster can manage. This underground Imperial Tomb certainly won't house such things."

"Besides, this pouch of wealth you offer cannot exchange for a single Core Formation Pill."

Shi Hanyang’s face instantly drained of color, turning ashen white, his eyes filled only with despair. For the past forty to fifty years, he had poured his lifeblood into gathering sufficient wealth, all to secure that slim chance within the Imperial Tomb, but even this final glimmer of hope was extinguished.

Yet, he refused to surrender the last shred of hope. Raising his head, he asked anxiously, "Your Majesty the Holy Emperor, please tell this junior where the primary ingredient for refining the Core Formation Pill can be found? This junior dares not ask for the pill itself, but only begs for Your Majesty's guidance on what must be done."

The Gold-Armored Guard sat motionless upon the throne, silent for a long moment, seemingly recalling something. After a while, it slowly spoke, "Exchanging this offering for a single clue—that is acceptable. In the past, this Holy Emperor once collected this spiritual herb in a rather perilous location. However, too much time has passed, and I am uncertain if the herb still exists there now. Whether you can collect it depends entirely upon your fortune and destiny."

Then, its lips seemed to move again, saying something else.

Shi Hanyang nodded repeatedly.

The cultivators in the hall strained their ears, hearing nothing, and lamented their loss. They guessed the Holy Emperor was using the secret sound transmission technique to convey the location of the herb-gathering spot privately to Shi Hanyang.

"Enough. You have what you sought; you may leave."

"Many thanks for Your Majesty's guidance! If this junior achieves success in the future, I shall surely return to express my gratitude and help Your Majesty escape this confinement!"

Having received such a precious clue, Shi Hanyang could not contain his ecstatic joy. He struck his head hard upon the ground three times, then rose and bolted away, rushing out of the Imperial Tomb Palace. It seemed he was preparing to set off immediately to begin his search.

He still possessed over thirty years of lifespan remaining. To find that spiritual herb, refine the Core Formation Pill, and successfully consume the pill to form his core was a path still fraught with distance, where every step would demand immense hardship.

The remaining dozen or so Foundation Establishment cultivators in the hall exchanged bewildered glances.

"That Sect Master Shi of the Setting Sun Sect has truly struck a great fortune, managing to exchange offerings worth fifty thousand spirit stones for a clue on achieving Core Formation. A clue provided directly by a Nascent Soul cultivator, the Holy Emperor—it’s likely true."

Shi Hanyang was the leader of the sixth largest sect in the Land of Chaos, capable of producing fifty thousand spirit stones at once merely to pursue that single thread of longevity. But any one of the others present likely did not possess assets anywhere near what Shi Hanyang held; they probably couldn't rely on luck as he did.

Moreover, many among them were unaware of the actual conditions inside the Imperial Tomb Palace and had not brought any suitably valuable offerings. With Shi Hanyang’s offerings already valued at fifty thousand spirit stones leading the way, they felt too ashamed to present their own meager possessions. (16 Novel Website Mobile Station.16)

The Gold-Armored Guard coldly surveyed the remaining cultivators in the palace hall.

"What have you to offer as tribute?"

The cultivators glanced at each other, hesitating over who should step forward first.

"Your Majesty the Holy Emperor, this junior has a treasure to present; please accept it with kindness." Miao Hai suddenly gritted his teeth, crawled forward a few steps, and produced a small cloth pouch from his waist, smiling obsequiously.

"What is within?"

"Some years ago, while traveling in the Spirit Mist Cultivation World, this junior stumbled upon a fierce fight between an eagle and a snake, and unexpectedly acquired an egg laid by a Seventh-Tier Thunder Plume Eagle. This junior cannot afford to raise such a precious creature, so I have never proceeded to hatch it. This junior thought that as an honored senior dwelling in this sunless Imperial Tomb, you must be lonely, and having a companion bird might alleviate some of the boredom." After revealing his item, Miao Hai showed a hint of smugness.

The assembled cultivators were moved upon hearing this. Such a beast egg was indeed rare.

Ordinary Black Plume Eagles or Snow Plume Eagles could, at best, grow into Sixth-Tier spirit birds, reaching their absolute limit. However, the Thunder Plume Eagle was a lightning-elemental spirit bird mutated from the metal-elemental Black Plume Eagle, capable of growing up to the Seventh-Tier.

Don't let the single tier difference deceive you; the gap between them is worlds apart. A Sixth-Tier only possesses the strength of a late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, whereas a Seventh-Tier boasts the might of an early Nascent Soul cultivator—they are not in the same league. A Seventh-Tier Thunder Plume Eagle would even surpass the Iron Armored Posture statue before the Imperial Tomb Palace, a Seventh-Tier puppet, by a fair margin. Puppets are inanimate objects, lacking sufficient agility, whereas the Thunder Plume Eagle is a living spirit bird.

To have obtained such a beast egg suggested Miao Hai had decent luck.

However, the Gold-Armored Guard's reaction was strange. It seemed uninterested in the spirit bird egg, instead fixing its gaze upon Miao Hai.

"This is your first time in this Imperial Tomb, correct? Approach!"

Miao Hai paused momentarily, then quickly understood that the Gold-Armored Guard was summoning him. After a brief hesitation, he crawled over.

Red light flickered in the Gold-Armored Guard's eyes as it swept over Miao Hai: "Impure spiritual roots, fifty-seven spiritual root potential..." Finally, it shook its head with disappointment and waved a hand, "You may depart!"

"But, this spirit bird egg... Your Majesty the Holy Emperor does not wish for this beast egg?! This junior has other items; please allow Your Majesty to review them."

Miao Hai didn't understand why the Holy Emperor was disappointed. He grew anxious. The Holy Emperor hadn't accepted the beast egg and hadn't said anything before dismissing him—this felt like a wasted trip to the tomb. The opportunity to meet a Nascent Soul cultivator like this was not something that came often. If he left without gaining anything, he might never encounter a second Nascent Soul cultivator in his lifetime.

"Scram!"

The Gold-Armored Guard’s icy voice held no further glance directed at him.

Miao Hai was struck silent, not daring to say more. He retreated dejectedly, leaving the palace with immense regret.

The other cultivators couldn't help but feel a measure of schadenfreude. They had somewhat guessed why the Holy Emperor refused Miao Hai's beast egg. That Thunder Plume Eagle egg was certainly a fine item, but it served no purpose for this Holy Emperor. Raising a Thunder Plume Eagle required an enormous amount of sustenance. There were practically no living things in this tomb normally; only during the few days the passage opened every four or five decades did cultivators enter. Even a Nascent Soul cultivator like the Holy Emperor could never keep such a creature alive. To the Holy Emperor, that egg was likely worth less than a low-grade spirit stone.

In contrast, Shi Hanyang was much smarter, offering vast quantities of raw materials and spirit stones, many of which were components for refining puppets. These raw materials, capable of repairing the puppets within the underground tomb, were naturally valued by the Holy Emperor.

Following this, the Foundation Establishment cultivators stepped forward one by one to present the wealth they had brought.

Having witnessed Miao Hai's unfortunate precedent, they naturally would not offer useless items. Those who presented gifts offered rare objects of considerable value. Naturally, they received appropriate rewards in return.

The Holy Emperor, being the sole remaining Nascent Soul cultivator in this realm, possessed knowledge so broad and secret arts so numerous that it was astonishing.

Whether it was a difficult problem encountered during Foundation Establishment cultivation, or the desire to learn a certain rare secret art, they could more or less elicit an answer or a clue from the Holy Emperor’s mouth. The extent of the reward depended entirely on the value of the tribute offered by the cultivator.

Aside from Shi Hanyang, who paid an immense price for intelligence regarding the Core Formation Pill, none of the other cultivators gained such a boon; they only received material benefits.

In the blink of an eye, the hall was nearly empty, with only Ye Qin, Ma Dongyan, Chu Hui, and a few other cultivators remaining.

Ye Qin was deeply troubled, thinking constantly about what item he could offer to gain something from the Holy Emperor. He had made no preparations beforehand and carried virtually no wealth. The only materials he possessed were the large quantities of spiritual herbs he cultivated within his Purple Mansion. However, this Holy Emperor was clearly a Grandmaster of Artifact Forging, his physical body lying in an ice coffin, speaking only through the Gold-Armored Guard’s shell; spiritual herbs were useless.

If he couldn't present something that interested the Holy Emperor, he feared he would also have to leave in disgrace like Miao Hai, wasting this trip to the Imperial Tomb and losing this tremendous opportunity.

"You few, do you have any more items to present?" the Gold-Armored Guard inquired.

"Your Majesty the Holy Emperor, this junior Ma Dongyan has brought no items, nor do I seek anything." Ma Dongyan stood up at this point, stepped forward, and spoke respectfully.

"Oh? Then why did you come here?"

"This junior came here seeking to know how to help Your Majesty escape this underground Imperial Tomb and return to the surface."

"You are quite thoughtful!"

The Gold-Armored Guard spoke faintly, "For this Holy Emperor to leave this underground Imperial Tomb is simple enough; I only need to shatter these four sealing pillars. However, these four golden sealing pillars locking down my physical body are not so easily broken."

"Your Majesty the Holy Emperor, why not try?" Ma Dongyan became somewhat agitated. "The major cultivation worlds are showing signs of renewed chaos again—the Spirit Mist, Sky Vault Plain, and Ten Thousand Moon Lake cultivation worlds are attacking one another, causing countless casualties among cultivators. Your Majesty should step forward to unify the three great cultivation worlds; only then can the world return to peace! No one else in this world possesses the ability to accomplish this! This junior is willing to assist Your Majesty in completing the imperial dominion over the cultivation world left unfinished in the past."

The Gold-Armored Guard’s hollow eyes gazed at the ice coffin on the altar, remaining silent. It drew the sword from its waist, flicked it casually, and tossed it before Ma Dongyan. "This is a sword this Emperor once used. Use this sword to sever the chains on the Golden Bamboo Mountain."

Swish. The golden sword struck the ground, sinking into the earth.

Ma Dongyan froze momentarily, then immediately pulled up the long, golden sword. Though it was only three feet long and half an inch thick, it was unexpectedly heavy. Ma Dongyan, a dignified Ninth-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, exerted his full strength using the Divine Power Art just to manage to lift it.

He walked to the side of one golden pillar and gritted his teeth, hacking down fiercely at the golden chain.

Clang, clang...

Dull impact sounds echoed throughout the empty hall.

After half an hour, Ma Dongyan had struck several thousand times, his magical power completely depleted. Looking again at the chain, there wasn't even a visible scratch mark on the metal links.

Ye Qin, Chu Hui, and the observing cultivators watched Ma Dongyan's frantic hacking in silence. This was within their expectations. They couldn't even discern what material the four sealing pillars were made of, let alone break them.

The Gold-Armored Guard then stated plainly, "Stop wasting your effort. These are Soul-Suppressing Pillars, sealing artifacts personally refined by this Holy Emperor. You could chop for a thousand years and not harm them in the slightest."