Though the 'Cloud Land' within this tomb was merely a miniature version, it was still vast. Zong Shou and the others had walked for a full hour, managing only to traverse from the center of the Cloud Land to the southern edge. They were already sixty li away from where they had originally entered.

And Zong Shou and his companions were beginning to feel a slight chill. A thin layer of ice had already formed upon the ground.

However, a hint of joy flickered in Zong Shou’s eyes. Sure enough, moments later, as the four of them ventured deeper, the layer of ice grew thicker.

The spiritual energy of the surrounding heaven and earth, for some unknown reason, had formed a small pocket of null space right here.

Zong Shou's pace suddenly quickened. In a blink, a pure black bead could be seen suspended high above them.

It was precisely at the very center of the ice layer here, and the space around the black bead seemed to be collapsing in on itself.

Everything around was brilliantly lit, yet only this immediate vicinity was somewhat dim.

Zong Shou’s expression brightened once more; it was this object! The rumored Dark Extreme Cold Origin Bead!

He had never seen this item in the game. He had only encountered records of it in the legends left by cultivators.

It was said to be a spiritual treasure of heaven and earth, formed after thirteen thousand years, accumulating the utmost Yin energy and dense terrestrial essence from the tomb below.

Much like the Glazed Fire Blazing Bead, it was an exceedingly rare Earth-rank profound treasure.

Though the bead radiated bone-chilling cold, and its name contained the character for 'cold,' the frigidity did not actually emanate from the Dark Extreme Cold Origin Bead itself. Instead, it was because the ambient temperature had been completely absorbed by this spiritual bead.

Roughly seventeen years later, this subsidiary tomb of the First Emperor emerged, attracting hundreds of Immortal realm experts who rushed to contend for the First Emperor’s relics within. Naturally, they discovered the existence of this item.

The result was that after a great battle, this subsidiary tomb of the First Emperor was ravaged beyond recognition, and the Dark Extreme Cold Origin Bead vanished without a trace, its whereabouts unknown.

This type of spiritual bead was the most suitable item for his conception, capable of serving as the anchor for his Yin-Yang Dharma Aspect.

The Dark Extreme Cold Origin Bead could absorb spiritual energy within a hundred zhang, even drawing in light and temperature. In contrast, the Glazed Fire Blazing Bead usually gestated within fire veins and contained astonishing flames, constantly burning and radiating heat.

This made it perfectly suited to complement his Great Sun Yin-Yang Dharma Aspect. In the future, it could even facilitate a further evolution, developing into a higher level of Black Hole and White Hole.

If he could not find this item here, he would have to seek a substitute or spend considerably more time searching for it in other worlds later on.

This object was inherently spiritual, possessing the ability to absorb vital essence and true energy. Zong Shou dared not touch it with his hands. He only took out a jade bottle, suspended it before him, and then formed a hand seal, summoning it remotely.

Thus, this ownerless spiritual object flew over and dropped into the bottle.

The Dark Extreme Cold Origin Bead was a spontaneously formed spiritual object within the tomb. It was unguarded by terracotta warriors and unreinforced by restrictive formations. The process was smooth, without any incident.

With this item secured, this trip to the subsidiary tomb of the First Emperor could be considered a complete success. Zong Shou’s expression eased slightly, and on the return journey, he leisurely surveyed his surroundings.

However, the results left him inwardly churning with envy, salivating uncontrollably, yet utterly helpless.

The First Emperor’s relics treasured here were scattered throughout this miniature Cloud Land, and every piece was incredibly precious.

Along the way, Zong Shou had personally witnessed four mountains entirely constructed of ninth-rank spirit stones, and four more composed entirely of ninth-rank beast crystals. The quantity numbered in the hundreds of millions.

And these were only the lowest-value portion of the numerous treasures. Nearly every item was a spiritual treasure that the Immortal Dao powerhouses would desperately seek.

Compared to these relics, Zong Shou’s considerably prosperous fortune was less than dust. Just those four mountains of spirit stones, if he could acquire them, would free him from worrying about the expenditures of the Qian Tian Mountain for several hundred years.

No wonder that seventeen years later, the number of Immortal realm cultivators who perished in the outer perimeter of this tomb alone reached a staggering thirty!

Just as he was gazing until his vision blurred, Zong Shou suddenly heard Chu Xue utter an exclamation, “Young Master, what is that?”

The gazes of the group immediately followed where Chu Xue looked, and their expressions became intensely complicated.

In a lake of silver liquid, a golden lotus was floating upon the surface.

Within the ‘lake,’ there was actually no water; it was entirely composed of liquid mercury. Yet, somehow, a golden lotus had bloomed there.

Zong Shou’s expression shifted multiple times before he finally took a deep breath.

“This is the Qian Li Violet Gold Lotus!”

His first thought was: how could an object like this exist in the First Emperor’s subsidiary tomb?

Legend stated that it required a place where Geng Metal energy converged, coupled with a strong aura of killing intent, for it to possibly gestate. The latter condition was certainly met within the First Emperor’s tomb. However, the former was lacking; the Geng Metal energy here was not abundant. Among the many spiritual objects in this subsidiary tomb, this item was not considered too precious. Yet, it was precisely what the few of them could utilize. The leaves of the Qian Li Violet Gold Lotus could be used to forge spirit or dharma weapons. Most importantly, its seeds were universally recognized in the cultivation world as the best spiritual material for forging bones and refining the body. It shared the ability to reshape the physical body with other treasures, and in terms of effect, it surpassed even the Muscle-Regenerating Jade Dew that Han Fang had given him.

Because the spiritual array formations within were constantly shifting, the return route Zong Shou chose had deviated significantly from their path in. Thus, he had not anticipated stumbling upon this item.

After glancing around again, Zong Shou realized that this object, like the Dark Extreme Cold Origin Bead, was also naturally generated within this tomb. However, unlike the latter, the Qian Li Violet Gold Lotus rested precisely upon the pivot point of a spiritual array.

After observing it carefully for a moment longer, Zong Shou could only smile bitterly. He had essentially given up hope of collecting it.

Though there were no terracotta warriors guarding this spot, collecting the Qian Li Violet Gold Lotus without triggering the restrictive formations was an absolute impossibility.

Shaking his head, Zong Shou was about to leave. But in the next instant, a dark shadow suddenly streaked rapidly from the distance.

It moved with incredible speed, arriving in a flash, but it dared not approach Zong Shou and the others. It merely stood guard near the Qian Li Violet Gold Lotus, watching them with intense vigilance. Its cavernous mouth was slightly agape, letting out a threatening roar. It was incorporeal, its form illusory, floating above the mercury.

“Is this a Black Qilin Beast?”

Zong Shou halted, looking over in surprise. The dark shadow resembled neither a leopard nor a tiger; it radiated black mist. Nearly every patch of earth it touched showed signs of turning to sand.

Zong Shou looked closer and confirmed that the entire area surrounding the ‘lake’ had indeed been reduced to dust.

In legend, the Qilin was divided into several types, most of which represented auspicious omens and prosperity. Their appearance often heralded bountiful harvests. Because these Qilin naturally nurtured the land and enriched the soil.

But there was one exception: the Black Qilin. Wherever it passed, the vitality of the land was often lost, turning it into sand and stone. It completely plundered earth-element spiritual energy. Consequently, the human race during the Yunhuang Era regarded it as an evil beast, an inauspicious sign. Every appearance heralded great disaster.

And this Black Qilin Beast clearly possessed the bloodline of the Black Qilin.

For some unknown reason, it had lost its physical body and transformed into a seventh-rank Soul Beast. Perhaps it had entered now to guard the location, likely intending to borrow the power of the Qian Li Violet Gold Lotus to reshape its body.

Unfortunately, although the golden lotus had matured and appeared to have borne quite a few seeds, this Black Qilin Beast possessed some degree of spiritual awareness. Knowing the risk, it dared not carelessly touch the restrictive array formations here.

Zong Shou’s eyes flickered with indecision at this moment. If it were only the Qian Li Violet Gold Lotus, it would be fine. Though the seeds were precious, he valued his life more.

But this Black Qilin Beast could not be ignored. If he missed this opportunity, he didn't know when he would encounter a guardian beast possessing the bloodline of the divine Qilin.

It was a pity that although Zong Shou was confident he could defeat the beast, and this creature had no connection to the First Emperor’s subsidiary tomb, he dared not fight here.

He, who came from the future, knew the dangers of the First Emperor’s subsidiary tomb better than anyone. Even the slightest disturbance might trigger the formations, leading to the annihilation of all four of them!

His expression shifted for a moment. Zong Shou unhesitatingly turned and left. In less than half an hour, he returned to the site of the excavated entrance.

And as the four of them ascended into the air and departed from the ceiling, Zong Yuan Ruo Shui suddenly noticed that the pit they had dug had conspicuously shrunk by a circle. Even the breached spiritual array was slowly mending itself.

Zong Shou paid it no mind. After flying out of the two-thousand-zhang deep pit, he scattered massive amounts of spirit stones around, seemingly without pattern. But half an hour later, a spirit array that utterly disregarded cost had materialized upon the sand dune. He then flicked his sleeve, allowing Han Xi to fly out.

However, when Zong Shou tied a small Qiankun Pouch to it and sent a thought, he failed to elicit any movement.

The Ant Queen was forcibly resisting the soul pressure of the spiritual contract, holding herself stationary.

Zong Shou paused, then smiled again: “If you can retrieve that thing, all twelve Qian Li Violet Gold Lotus leaves will be yours. Plus three seeds—”

Only then did Han Xi’s eyes light up. It transformed into a white gleam and shot into the hole. In a short while, just as Zong Shou was working to perfect the spiritual array, the entire desert suddenly shuddered as if the heavens and earth were turning upside down.

Then Han Xi burst out of the pit as a streak of white light, followed by a dark shadow—a wretched, mutilated figure barely maintaining its form. And trailing behind these two were several dozen short, cyan-blue halberds.

In an instant, these short halberds collided fiercely with the spiritual array Zong Shou had set up, causing another violent tremor and kicking up dust everywhere.

When all the flying sand finally settled, the cyan-blue halberds had vanished without a trace.

Han Xi had long since flown to safety, while the Black Qilin Soul Beast was gravely wounded, unable even to sustain its form.

Zong Shou cast a few spiritual techniques to trap it, slowly condensing it into a pure seventh-rank soul stone, a slight smile playing on his lips. The rarest of the Five Qilin bloodlines was now in hand. All that remained was the Azure Dragon spirit—