A flicker of relief crossed Ao Minxing's face. He had gone to extraordinary lengths just to open the gates of the Crystal Palace. Now that he had succeeded, the joy in his heart was beyond mere words.

Others might not know, but he did: this place represented the future of their sect. As long as they could continuously collect the Divine Medicine Immortal Fluid, which dripped once every hundred years, the Five Elements Sect would ensure its divine path never ended and its prosperity would last forever.

He nodded to the assembled group and waved his hand, causing the Five Elements Ring above his head to fly back into his body. He declared, "Everyone, please follow me."

He stepped first into the passage. He Yiming and the others exchanged glances and followed closely behind.

The passage was not short; they walked within the mountain's belly for a full quarter of an hour before arriving in another large cavern.

He Yiming paid close attention. This passage clearly descended downward, and he had no idea how far they had traveled. However, he didn't feel much external pressure, which suggested the peculiarity of this place was truly indescribable.

Carefully surveying their surroundings, He Yiming noted that the cavern was quite large, perhaps an acre in area. Moreover, the four walls had been artificially polished until they were incredibly smooth. Apart from the direction of the passage they had just exited, several stone doors stood in the other directions, leading to unknown destinations.

Once everyone had entered the cavern hall, Ao Minxing nodded with satisfaction. "Brother He, this is the outer court of the Crystal Palace. When I open the inner palace door shortly, this passage will close on its own."

He Yiming nodded slightly, understanding that Ao Minxing said this to avoid any misunderstandings.

Ao Minxing lifted his foot and approached a stone door directly in front and center. He placed both hands against its sides. His divine power surged once more. This time, however, the five-colored radiance was nowhere near as exaggerated as before; after just a moment, he gently pushed the door open.

A muffled, earth-shaking rumble sounded behind them. Everyone turned to look, but the passage had vanished.

He Yiming and the others clicked their tongues in amazement. This level of mechanism manipulation was equally incredible. Yet, looking at the world now, perhaps no one could construct such a divine marvel anymore.

Five thousand years had caused too many things to be lost to tradition. While the current experts of the Divine Path possessed its power, they knew very little about the various profound techniques of the Divine Path from five millennia ago.

Ao Minxing stepped back a few paces. "Brother He, please have two of your companions wait here with Bo Rui while we enter the inner palace to check the amount of Divine Medicine Immortal Fluid."

He Yiming nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over Bai Lingba, White Horse Thunder, and the Piggy.

According to his preference, it would be best to leave the Piggy and White Horse Thunder here; the combined strength of the two divine beasts would certainly be more than Ao Bo Rui could handle. As for Bai Lingba, he would naturally accompany He Yiming into the inner palace. With his unique divine abilities, he might perhaps reap some unexpected rewards.

However, his gaze had only just circled once when a white shadow shot forward like an arrow, clinging tightly to his chest, impossible to pull away.

"I'm going in," the Piggy squealed, its four hooves seemingly magnetized to his clothes, utterly unmoving. It looked up, its tiny eyes brimming with tears, and cried desperately.

Although He Yiming was sure the little fellow's expression was mostly feigned, he let out a long sigh. "Fine, but once inside, you are not to leave my side, and you are not to run around. Otherwise, I will kick you away with one kick, and you'll never come back."

The Piggy immediately beamed, its small eyes narrowing into slits.

Ao Minxing watched with envy. He inwardly mused, It would be best if you kicked that Piggy away; I wouldn't mind raising that divine beast with such boundless future prospects.

Of course, it was only a passing thought, as everyone knew He Yiming would never allow the Piggy to leave the He Family Estate.

He Yiming held the Piggy as he followed Ao Minxing into the inner palace, and as soon as they entered, the door closed automatically.

Ao Bo Rui retracted his burning gaze from the door and turned around. "Mr. Bai, Brother Thunder, this is the outer court of the Crystal Palace. All living quarters and bathing facilities are provided. We will be staying here for three months, so please take care of us."

Bai Lingba and White Horse Thunder remained silent as closed gourds. Fortunately, Ao Bo Rui was aware of their temperaments and did not take their silence as contempt. Thus, he proceeded to open the remaining stone doors and selected one to his liking to settle in.

As for the man and the horse in the cavern, he could no longer concern himself with them.

The so-called inner palace was essentially another passage, though this one was much longer than the outer one.

A full half hour later, they arrived in yet another cavern. Upon entering, He Yiming and the Piggy's eyes immediately shone with a mix of surprise and delight.

They finally understood why this place was called the Crystal Palace.

Because here, it was truly a world made of crystal.

Looking around, the stone walls of this massive cavern were overgrown with crystals of various colors and shapes.

Some emitted light on their own, others reflected it, and still others seemed to absorb light. This multitude of crystals formed a magical world of radiance that dazzled He Yiming and the Piggy upon their first entry, almost overwhelming their senses.

Beyond the colors, what was even more astonishing was that every single crystal radiated a terrifying, immense power.

This point could be clearly sensed just by getting somewhat close to the surrounding crystal walls.

The Piggy's small body suddenly struggled. It seemed to have discovered something, instinctively wanting to dart out and search.

"Brother He, please be careful," Ao Minxing said with solemnity. "This is a sacred area of our sect; please do not damage anything."

He addressed He Yiming, but his gaze was fixed on the Piggy. His hands subtly drew together, ready to intervene without hesitation should the Piggy show any sign of breaking free of He Yiming's control.

He Yiming's expression tightened. With a firm wrist, he forcefully restrained the restless little Piggy, stating sternly, "Brother Ao, rest assured, I understand the gravity of the situation."

Though the crystals here were sturdy, they might not withstand the impact of a Divine Path expert.

The importance of this place to the Five Elements Sect was obvious. Causing any trouble here would surely invite an unending, deadly feud. Thus, He Yiming dared not be the least bit careless.

Once He Yiming held him tightly, the Piggy immediately became docile and stopped moving. This abnormal reaction made He Yiming quite suspicious. However, he couldn't dwell on it then, sticking closely to Ao Minxing's side.

Ao Minxing nodded slowly, and the two proceeded forward. Before long, they reached the very end of this crystal cave dwelling.

There was a deep, shallow groove here, not very large, only about the size of a common sea bowl.

When Ao Minxing, He Yiming, and the Piggy’s gazes fell upon this sea bowl carved from crystal, a hint of mesmerizing confusion flashed in their eyes.

Awe...

That was the only feeling He Yiming registered at that moment.

Within the sea bowl rested a thin layer of almost viscous liquid. This fluid possessed a faint milky white color and carried no discernible fragrance. Yet, for some inexplicable reason, the moment their eyes fixed upon it, they felt a magical sensation as if their very souls were being drawn in.

This mysterious liquid did not contain ordinary power but something utterly inexplicable.

He Yiming took a deep breath, painfully tore his gaze away, and desperately fought to control his body. For within him surged an unprecedented, powerful desire: he wanted to possess this liquid for himself.

At this point, He Yiming knew that the liquid in the crystal sea bowl was the legendary Divine Medicine Immortal Fluid.

Ancient records stated that this Divine Medicine Immortal Fluid was beyond description, but upon seeing it, anyone would know its origin and sense its uniqueness.

He Yiming had initially assumed this was merely exaggerated description from ancient texts, but now he believed it. Something that nurtured mysterious power and seemed capable of influencing the human soul could be nothing other than the Divine Medicine Immortal Fluid.

The number one naturally-formed divine medicine in the world truly lived up to its name.

Ao Minxing sighed deeply, remarking with emotion, "Brother He, the Divine Medicine Immortal Fluid is formed by the condensation of countless strange crystals, absorbing the power of heaven and earth to become crystal essence, also known as the Tears of the Crystal." He paused. "I was worried that no new Tears of the Crystal had been nurtured here, but I did not expect that five thousand years would accumulate seven or eight drops. This is a stroke of great fortune."

He Yiming nodded slightly, surveying his surroundings. Only then did he understand why Ao Minxing cared so much about the crystal walls here. Since the legendary Divine Medicine Immortal Fluid condensed from these miraculous crystals, anyone possessing this treasure would guard it zealously, vehemently resisting and retaliating against any action that might damage it.

Ao Minxing contemplated for a moment, then took out two jade bottles.

He first uncorked one bottle and, with a beckoning gesture, drew a single drop of the Divine Medicine Immortal Fluid from the crystal sea bowl. It traced a strange arc in the air before entering the jade bottle.

Then, he opened the lid of the second bottle and repeated the process, except this time he poured in all the remaining Divine Medicine Immortal Fluid in the sea bowl. The amount was not large, perhaps six or seven drops in total, but for a Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land, it was an enormous harvest.

Only after completing this step did Ao Minxing breathe a sigh of relief. He handed over the jade bottle containing a single drop of the Divine Medicine Immortal Fluid.

He Yiming smiled faintly, took it, flipped his wrist, and immediately sent it into his Five Elements World.

Although Ao Minxing was usually prudent and reserved, he couldn't help but break into a wide smile at this moment. Now that the gates of the Crystal Palace were open, he could come alone every hundred years to claim a drop, without needing He Yiming's help anymore.

The two turned and walked back into the passage, yet neither of them noticed that the Piggy's final glance had abnormally not been fixed on the crystal sea bowl, but rather on a certain corner of the crystal wall.

That section of crystal seemed capable of absorbing light; it was pitch black, making it utterly impossible to see anything.