"Could it be that the treasure is these flowers and plants?" Gan Jing suspiciously surveyed his surroundings, where variegated flora clung to the walls, almost entirely obscuring the original stone color.

The mutated flora was undoubtedly a considerable fortune, but to the vast majority of people, these mutated blossoms were no different from ordinary potted plants; even selling them would likely not fetch a high price.

"There must be something else." Gan Jing paced around the hall. "Though warriors are poor, as a Demon Prince who wielded the power of an Eighth-Rank Awakened Fallen Angel Bloodline Martial Artist, and having reportedly looted a great deal during the Zhence Dynasty, he should be quite wealthy."

One circuit, then another; dirt and plants were everywhere, making it incredibly difficult to locate where the supposed treasure was hidden.

"Did he perhaps stash everything in the Dou Realm?" Gan Jing settled back onto the stone throne, his fingers tapping rhythmically against the armrest. "If that’s the case, this is truly troublesome."

The Dou Realm, upon the warrior's death, would seal forever. Even an expert who had entered the Saint realm would be powerless to open it.

Thump… thump-thump… thump-thump. "Hollow?" Gan Jing looked down at the armrest of the throne to his right. Making a hollow armrest for such a stone throne was far more complicated than making a solid one.

In a place where not even chickens laid eggs and rabbits refused to defecate, why bother with the effort of transporting materials to craft a hollow armrest?

Gan Jing sighed, glancing at the armrest beside him. He gathered his Dou Qi into his foot and kicked the hollow stone armrest, shattering it. A slender metal handle emerged from within the stone.

He gently nudged the armrest inward toward the throne with his foot, and a stone door slowly slid open in the wall behind the throne.

Gan Jing’s eyes brightened. "It seems he was quite the clever demon, not only mastering some mysterious potions but also knowing how to construct such a secret chamber."

The secret room, tall enough to accommodate three meters in height and wide enough to lay ten double beds side-by-side, was blazing with a dazzling, blinding light. Gan Jing instinctively raised a hand to shield his eyes, peering at everything inside through the gaps between his fingers.

"He really knew how to plunder."

Gan Jing stared blankly at the vault, murmuring praises repeatedly. Although he had read in the historical records that this demon had conducted several major heists during the Zhence Dynasty and even operated as a bandit in the frontier lands for a time, he never expected him to have stolen this much.

Gold coins? None here! Gold bars? Also none! Gold bricks! Only gold bricks! One hundred gold coins equaled one gold bar, and ten gold bars equaled one gold brick! Half of the space in the room was filled entirely with gold bricks!

A sum in the range of three to five million gold coins was enough to make the heart of any leader among the Eight Great Powers of Yongliu race beat faster!

This room contained roughly ten million gold coins!

"My stars above!" Gan Jing rubbed his eyes, which were swimming from the glare, and stared at the massive pile of gold bricks, nodding repeatedly. "No wonder so many people and demons were willing to be bandits in the frontier! This is quite the big business! About ten million gold coins! Robbery truly brings wealth quickly."

What could one do with about ten million gold coins? With the right connections, bribing one’s way into becoming a minor city lord would present absolutely no difficulty!

It might even be possible, if one could secure an audience with His Majesty the Emperor, to directly offer ten million gold coins for the title of a minor city lord. If one had no prior negative record and promised to govern without causing undue disruption after ascending, purchasing a city lordship directly from the Imperial Family would not be impossible.

City Lord? Gan Jing shook his head and sighed deeply. This title, which not long ago held significant weight in his heart, now seemed utterly unimportant.

What if he became a city lord? Even if he became the lord of a major city like Yongliu City, could he secure his father’s release from the Gan Family?

No! Not even a remote possibility! The Gan Family controlled an entire province of the Zhence Dynasty! Their prestige was nearly comparable to that of the Imperial Family; even holding the position of Governor over a province would be useless!

In the eyes of the Gan Family, only strength mattered; rank held no significance.

Gan Jing stepped into the secret chamber. To free his father from the Gan Family, there was only one path! He had to become stronger! Strong enough to dismantle all the glory of the Gan Family, strong enough to force their haughty, proud heads to bow.

City Lord? Gan Jing shook his head, realizing how naive he had been. People only truly grow when they see a wider world and have their horizons expanded to sights they never imagined—not just growth in strength, but in state of mind and vision.

City Lord was useless; Provincial Governor was useless; even State Governor held no sway! Status was meaningless!

At least, without commensurate power to back it up, status was merely a castle built in the air, ready to collapse with a gentle push.

The gold bricks were not the entirety of the secret room; they occupied only half the space. The other half was filled with assorted junk.

A pile of long-rotted paper scraps or parchment, unidentifiable now, lay scattered on every surface. Four fist-sized luminous pearls were embedded in the walls, still emitting a decent glow despite having endured millennia.

Beside the decaying matter were numerous sets of armor and battle swords. Years had passed, and besides the superior Dou Artifacts, the armor and blades were mostly rusted and damaged, likely only worth selling as ancient relics, having little other value.

Several thousand years was too long; much of what Lucifer Ni Han had plundered had been completely ruined by the river of time.

Only a few items remained intact! One Dou Fruit! A fruit capable of granting a warrior access to the Dou Realm.

"Only one?" Gan Jing scratched his head. There were three outside. "How do we divide this thing?"

After securing the Dou Fruit, Gan Jing’s gaze fixed entirely upon a jade chest measuring five feet square. A thousand years held no dominion over this jade; the emerald stone still radiated a faint, precious luster. Support the tall buildings, click to subscribe and vote. A set of tools! Gan Jing stared, astonished, at the implements within the jade box. This was a complete set of tools crafted entirely from high-grade jade of various colors! These were the exclusive tools of a Mysterious Apothecary, used for refining mysterious potions and the like—a complete apparatus.

This set was not limited to just the plant element; it also included tools for various other elements—a truly comprehensive collection.

Gan Jing gently clenched his hands around the cabinet, suppressing the excitement and fervor rising within him. The ten million gold coins were not worth as much as this set of tools! This was truly a magnificent treasure, at least for an apprentice Mysterious Apothecary, it was an unparalleled boon.

Gan Jing carefully picked up a mortar made of white jade and gently turned it, admiring it. The Oulala Mysterious Potion Shop possessed a treasured set of these tools; the only difference was that the cherished set was engraved with auxiliary runes, which Oulala called an indispensable divine artifact for a Mysterious Apothecary.

Jade, as recorded in Oulala’s Compendium of Mysterious Potions, is a material closely related to mysterious potions. Different types of jade could be used to craft different tools, which, when combined with various mysterious potions, would create superior reactions.

If augmented with inscriptions and magic arrays, these tools would become nothing short of divine artifacts for mysterious potions!

A set of jade implements lacking any runes or magic arrays possessed infinite potential!

Gan Jing caressed each piece of apparatus, already planning to spend money on materials to craft implements once he returned to Yongliu Province, intending to prepare for half a year before replacing Cheke Fulite's eyes. Now, the materials were right here. As for the medicinal herbs needed for the eye replacement,

Gan Jing scanned the ground beneath and around him. While the medicinal herbs here did not encompass all plant-based materials for mysterious potions, they represented at least a fifth of the total, especially those needed for eye replacement, where herbs were most crucial. He might truly be able to gather everything needed by compiling them.

He immediately stored the tools in the Dou Realm. Gan Jing took one last look around, shaking his head slightly. Perhaps those piles of rotten waste paper and parchment once contained glorious Dou Qi secret arts, now lost to the long river of time.

"If they are gone, they are gone," Gan Jing shrugged. "Compared to ancient Dou Qi secret arts from thousands of years ago, the current methods, refined by geniuses over millennia, are far superior!"

The broken bones in his arm had not fully healed, and hastily moving those gold bricks would easily strain his injury. Gan Jing turned and exited the chamber, closing the stone door. "I'll go up first."

"This is a Dou Fruit?"

Duan Feng Bu Er shook his long, wet hair—damp from diving—that clung to his shoulders, his eyes fixed on the fruit Gan Jing had placed on the ground.

Cheke Fulite, too, couldn't maintain his usual composure; his eyes, like Fen Tu Kuang Ge's, stared blankly at the Dou Fruit on the floor.

The Dou Fruit! Many powerful warriors might not even possess such a special realm. Otherwise, it wouldn't be used as one of the prizes for the Newcomer King competition.

Although the Fen Tu Family could still procure small quantities of Dou Fruits through their influence, for the exceptional warriors within the entire family, the supply remained absolutely insufficient, not even offering one point per person.

"Only one fruit," Duan Feng Bu Er stretched lazily among the flowers and grass. "I heard that the weakest requirement to consume this thing is reaching the Ninth Battle of Demon Subjugation. I haven't reached the Ninth Battle yet, so I'll give it to Cheke Fulite."

Fen Tu Kuang Ge nodded. "I possess the Great True Gold Dou Qi; in the upcoming Newcomer King competition..."

"That one is mine," Duan Feng Bu Er replied, resting his head on his arms as he turned to look at Fen Tu Kuang Ge. "Stop hoping. The Newcomer King will definitely be me. And that Dou Fruit will naturally belong to me."

Fen Tu Kuang Ge pouted and flashed a challenging smile. "The Fen Tu Family has always taken pride in challenging bloodline warriors. Now that I have learned the top-tier Dou Qi technique of One Hundred and Eight Dou Acupoints from Gan Jing, it is time for a regular warrior to take the Newcomer King title once."