Chapter 423
Li Fan carefully examined the hollow space.
Above, numerous buildings seemed to grow from the top of the stone cave, hanging upside down in midair.
Li Fan also saw stone statues that resembled cultivators.
Their feet were fused with the buildings, also hanging upside down, their desperate and helpless hands reaching out as if seeking rescue.
But their bodies were eternally frozen at this moment, their faces filled with terror.
"This should be a mountain peak of the Tian Ji Sect, coincidentally swallowed by this Primordial Clam."
"Judging by the appearance, it seems they were petrified as a whole before being swallowed."
Li Fan raised his guard, leaping to the top of the hollow.
Ignoring the petrified cultivators, he traversed the ruins, heading straight for the most prominent stone tower.
"The Sky-Gazing Tower, the crucial location for the Tian Ji Sect to peer into the secrets of Heaven."
Standing before the stone tower, Li Fan discovered that even after thousands of years, a faint glimmer still emanated from its surface.
"The restrictions are still present, but they are merely a facade."
As if unimpeded, Li Fan entered the interior of the Sky-Gazing Tower.
"Hmm?"
The moment he stepped inside, Li Fan's expression changed.
He felt a malevolent gaze directed towards him.
Following the direction of the gaze, Li Fan saw a cultivator standing ahead, his hair disheveled.
His face was contorted, one of his eyeballs bulging as if about to pop out, fixedly staring at Li Fan.
The cultivator's lower body was also petrified like the other Tian Ji Sect disciples, turned into stone.
However, his upper body seemed to be in the midst of the petrification process, presenting a grotesque mixture of flesh and stone.
"Dead or alive?"
Li Fan didn't dare to delay, immediately unleashing a Five Elements Annihilation Sword.
"Bang!"
The black light sword struck the cultivator's body.
After piercing through him, the cultivator's body shattered into pieces, scattered across the floor.
Only the half-petrified eyeball remained floating in the air, its pupil still locked onto Li Fan.
Li Fan slowly approached, constantly changing his position.
He discovered that the eyeball seemed to sense his presence, always keeping him in its sights.
Standing before the petrified eyeball, he waited for a while, but it didn't react further.
Li Fan took it into his hand and examined it closely.
"It's not a real eyeball, but something this deceased cultivator implanted into his body before his death."
"Strange, I don't remember Xiao Heng's group having this..."
"Did they not discover it? Or did Linghu Chang hide it?"
Li Fan played with it for a while, but found no use for the eyeball.
He temporarily placed it in his bosom and continued exploring the Sky-Gazing Tower.
The Sky-Gazing Tower had a total of nine levels.
From the second to the fifth levels, jade slips and magical artifacts were scattered everywhere.
However, most of them were damaged.
Li Fan found a storage ring among them, happily collecting it into his own after ensuring its intactness.
"The Grand Subtle Heavenly Numbers," "The Nine Heavens One Qi Art," "The Decree of Heavenly Will Descending," "The Thousand Mechanisms Mystical Records"...
There were cultivation techniques and research works on the "Heavenly Mechanisms."
In the end, Li Fan collected twenty-six cultivation techniques and forty-eight books.
Among them, seventeen were Golden Core stage techniques, and nine were Nascent Soul stage techniques.
"Truly a windfall, but I wonder how many are unique copies."
"However, only two of these techniques show signs of being cultivated. It seems the Ten Thousand Immortals Alliance doesn't have a high proportion of cultivation techniques."
Li Fan suppressed his joy and continued upwards.
From the sixth to the eighth levels, strange objects were displayed.
For example, a lotus flower with a human face growing on each petal.
An unknown fruit resembling a dragon.
A rectangular stone with natural patterns.
...
These strange objects seemed to have been enveloped in some special power.
But with the passage of time, this power had completely dissipated.
Now they just looked strange.
"These should be the objects the Tian Ji Sect used to sense the secrets of Heaven," Li Fan mused.
The Tian Ji Sect believed that the Qi of Heaven and Earth interacted and manifested in the world.
Those things that defied common sense were the result of the intense interaction of the Qi of Heaven and Earth.
By using these strange objects, one could deeply comprehend the Qi of Heaven and Earth.
"The same principle as my use of the Sea of Tranquility Pearl to sense Heaven and Earth," Li Fan collected all these things, regardless of their usefulness.
Finally, he reached the ninth level of the Sky-Gazing Tower.
Opening it, he found it was empty, with nothing inside.
"Just as Xiao Heng said," Li Fan wasn't disappointed, as he had expected this.
Li Fan searched carefully again, but still found nothing of value.
It seemed like he was just wishful thinking.
After thinking for a moment, Li Fan simply activated the Five Elements Annihilation Sword, directly cutting off the ninth level of the stone tower.
The black light of annihilation, like a devastating force, shattered the remaining thousands of years of restrictions on the Sky-Gazing Tower.
Then, with a loud roar, the topmost level of the Sky-Gazing Tower was collected into Li Fan's storage ring.
"Better to have it than not."
Li Fan nodded in satisfaction.
Afterward, he thoroughly scoured the ruins inside and out.
He ultimately found four more cultivation techniques in several separate subworlds.
Three were Golden Core techniques, and one was a Nascent Soul technique.
This Nascent Soul technique was precisely the "Jade Chapter of a Thousand Mechanisms."
"This subworld on the edge of the ruins must have been accidentally revealed decades later, which is how Kou Hong and his brother discovered it."
"But these two brothers were truly unlucky. If they had just searched a little more carefully, they would have discovered the true ruins of the Tian Ji Sect not far away."
"As a result, Kou Hong got greedy upon seeing the Nascent Soul technique and missed out on the treasure trove."
Understanding the reasons behind it, Li Fan couldn't help but feel a sense of absurdity.
With his bountiful harvest, Li Fan no longer lingered.
He transformed back into the Stone Spirit Worm, carving a passage from the resealed stone wall.
Leaving the Hundred Stone Subworld, he headed towards the Cong Yun Sea.
...
Glass Island.
He Zhenghao was troubled, confused, and anxious.
"Go or not?"
He Zhenghao frowned, letting out a long sigh.
He didn't know why, but while cultivating the "Sitting Mountain Technique" a while ago, he suddenly felt a connection.
For some reason, another person cultivating the "Sitting Mountain Technique" had appeared in the world.
The "Sitting Mountain Technique" was already incredibly slow to cultivate, and now someone else was cultivating it alongside him.
How could this be? It was basically impossible to cultivate.
This sudden change in his primary cultivation technique left He Zhenghao unsure of what to do.
He had discovered the "Sitting Mountain Technique" while exploring a subworld in his youth, and had never revealed it to anyone.
How did the other party know about it?
This matter was strange, and He Zhenghao, who was never very bold, didn't dare to approach the other party to investigate, fearing for his safety.
He could only hide in the protective array of the island, constantly worrying.
At this moment.
"Who are you, you scoundrel! How dare you steal my sect's cultivation technique!"
"Get out here!"
A thunderous voice echoed through the sky above Glass Island, reverberating endlessly.
He Zhenghao was stunned for a moment, about to go out to check the situation.
Then, he immediately reacted.
"Is this the other party coming to find me?"
Sensing the other party's powerful aura, He Zhenghao's face turned pale.
"Golden Core stage?"