Finally, he reached the ninth floor of the Heaven-Peering Pagoda.
Upon opening it, he found it utterly empty.
Just as Xiao Heng said.
It was expected, so Li Fan felt no disappointment.
He conducted a thorough search, but finding nothing, he turned to leave.
Suddenly, an intuition struck him. He turned back.
He stared at the empty ninth floor.
Judging by the state of the ruins outside, the calamity that befell this mountain of the Heavenly Mechanisms Sect struck without warning.
They had no time to react before meeting their tragic end.
Survival was the immediate concern, let alone moving treasures.
So then, why is the ninth floor of this Heaven-Peering Pagoda empty?
Doubt sprouted in Li Fan's mind. The more he pondered, the more suspicious this space seemed.
Yet, no matter how meticulously he searched, he found nothing of value.
Perhaps it was indeed his own wishful thinking.
After a moment's consideration, Li Fan activated his Five Elements Annihilation Sword and cleanly sliced off the ninth floor of the stone tower.
The black light shattered the tower's remaining, millennia-old restrictions as if they were rotten wood.
Amidst a tremendous roar, the topmost floor of the Heaven-Peering Pagoda was stored away in Li Fan's storage ring.
Better to take it and be wrong than to leave it and regret it.
Li Fan nodded in satisfaction.
He then proceeded to scour the entire ruin, inside and out.
Finally, he found four more techniques in separate cave dwellings on the periphery—three at the Golden Core level, one at the Nascent Soul level.
And this Nascent Soul technique was none other than the Thousand Mechanisms Jade Cosmos Scripture.
This cave dwelling on the edge of the ruins must have been exposed by accident decades later, which is how the two brothers found it.
But their luck was truly abysmal. If they had just searched a little more diligently, they would have discovered the true ruins of the Heavenly Mechanisms Sect not far away.
Instead, the moment Kou Hong saw that it was a Nascent Soul technique, greed blinded him. And thus, they missed the real treasure.
Upon understanding the chain of events, Li Fan couldn't help but feel a mix of amusement and pity.
Having reaped a bountiful harvest, Li Fan lingered no longer.
He transformed once more into a Stone Spirit Insect and carved a passage through the stone wall that had already been resealed.
Exiting the Hundred Stones Grotto-Heaven, he headed in the direction of the Congyun Sea.
***
Liuli Island.
He Zhenghao had been troubled, unsettled, and anxious lately.
To go, or not to go?
He Zhenghao wore a pained expression and let out a long sigh.
While cultivating the Mountain-Sitting Art some time ago, he had suddenly sensed something incomprehensible.
There was now, bafflingly, another person in the world cultivating the Mountain-Sitting Art too!
The Mountain-Sitting Art was already agonizingly slow when he cultivated it by himself. Now, with another person practicing it simultaneously... it essentially meant cultivation was impossible.
This sudden, unforeseen change to his primary cultivation technique left He Zhenghao at a loss.
He had obtained the Mountain-Sitting Art by chance in his youth while exploring a cave dwelling and had never revealed it to anyone. How had this person learned of it?
The strangeness of the situation, coupled with his naturally cautious nature, made He Zhenghao afraid to investigate, fearing it would lead to misfortune. He could only hide within the island protection array day after day, tangled in indecision.
It was at this moment that a voice boomed across the skies above Liuli Island, echoing without end.
"Who is the petty thief that dares to steal my sect's technique?!
"Show yourself!"
He Zhenghao was stunned for a moment, about to go out and see what was happening. Then he immediately realized something.
Are they here for me?
Sensing the powerful aura radiating from the visitor, He Zhenghao's face instantly turned ashen.
The Golden Core realm?