The mysterious truth is inside the cauldron

Xiao Heng scratched his head helplessly and looked to Zhang Haobo for help.

Zhang Haobo smiled. "Xiaomei isn't stupid at all. On the contrary, back then Senior Shuo…"

Zhang Haobo paused and changed his wording. "Actually, she's very clever. Sometimes she seems to act extremely impulsively, but she's actually weighed the pros and cons in her heart."

"Even you were fooled by her, doesn't that prove how impressive Xiaomei is?"

Su Xiaomei snorted and held her head high.

"Then it seems our Xiaomei really is smarter than me!"

Xiao Heng quickly chimed in.

After some more sweet talk, he finally earned Su Xiaomei's forgiveness.

"I forgive you!"

"Now, hurry up and take out the little cauldron to try it!"

Xiao Heng breathed a sigh of relief and took out the last remaining Medicine King Cauldron.

After thinking for a moment, he infused spiritual power into it.

The little cauldron was activated, radiating a faint cyan glow.

Xiao Heng brought the little cauldron close to the bronze gate.

The light shone on the door—the bronze gate that had been incredibly hard and unshakeable regardless of any attack.

Now, it seemed to melt, forming a doorway within the range of the shining light.

"See! I was right, wasn't I!" Su Xiaomei said triumphantly.

Then, she was the first to slip inside.

Zhang Haobo followed closely behind.

Xiao Heng followed them through the door.

The moment he passed through the bronze gate, he didn't forget to put away the little medicine king cauldron.

Without the shimmering cyan light, the opening vanished, and the bronze gate gradually returned to normal.

Although Su Xiaomei was the first to enter, she didn't act rashly.

Once the three of them regrouped, they observed the space behind the door together.

It was a long, narrow, and deep passage, with no end in sight.

Their Divine Sense was also suppressed, making it impossible to scout ahead.

"Could there be danger?"

Xiao Heng asked.

"Formations, traps, Restrictions—anything is possible," Zhang Haobo said in a deep voice.

"Caution is paramount."

The three exchanged looks; Su Xiaomei took the lead while Zhang Haobo brought up the rear.

Protecting Xiao Heng in the middle, they cautiously advanced along the passage.

Their minds were tense, not daring to be even slightly careless.

However, to their surprise, this long and narrow passage was completely uneventful, and they walked through it smoothly.

"I feel like things going this smoothly isn't a good sign," Su Xiaomei muttered, looking around as she continued forward.

At the end of the passage, the view suddenly opened up.

It was a bright, spacious hall.

It was divided into three levels: upper, middle, and lower.

There was an empty area in the center, with many rooms built around it on all three levels.

Besides that, there were corridors leading deeper inside.

"This seems to be some kind of gathering place, but something appears to have happened."

"The tables and chairs are in disarray, and the plants and decorations have fallen all over the floor."

Xiao Heng observed their surroundings, calmly analyzing the situation.

"This Medicine King True Cauldron is truly miraculous. Even after all this time, the things inside are still so well-preserved."

"Look, this flower doesn't look like it's been alive for thousands of years at all," Su Xiaomei said with some surprise as she picked up a potted plant lying on the ground.

Hearing this, the expressions of both Xiao and Zhang changed slightly.

"It's a bit strange."

"If even ordinary Spiritual Items can be preserved so well, then what about the Cultivators inside this Medicine King Cauldron?" Xiao Heng narrowed his eyes and whispered.

This time, it was Su Xiaomei who answered him.

"It has been over twenty years since the Medicine King Cauldron returned. If there were still active Medicine King Sect Cultivators inside, they should have reclaimed the Medicine King Cauldron long ago."

"Instead of just sitting here foolishly waiting for us to find them."

Zhang Haobo nodded in agreement. "Either they're all dead, or they've all disappeared."

Xiao Heng added, "I'm just afraid of some eerie, half-dead existence."

There was nothing of value in this hall.

As for the rooms on the three levels of the hall, the doors seemed to be sealed shut and could not be opened.

The three had no choice but to continue exploring deeper.

The interior of the Medicine King True Cauldron was deathly silent, and the three of them grew increasingly uneasy.

The corridors behind the hall branched off in different directions.

The three stayed together, exploring each one in turn.

At the end of the corridors were different areas.

There were Pill Refining Rooms, a Heritage Hall, a Martial Arts Field, and so on.

But just like before, there was no sign of anyone.

The doors were tightly closed.

Even though they knew there might be many ancient treasures inside, the three had no way to obtain the Treasure Trove.

They could only stare helplessly.

The only silver lining was that the interior of the Medicine King True Cauldron was not fraught with danger like other ancient Sect ruins.

From beginning to end, no Formations or Restrictions had been triggered.

It just exuded an eerie aura.

Continuing forward, a grayish-white stone gate blocked their path.

This time, the method of using the little medicine king cauldron as a disguise didn't work.

Moreover, this stone gate was several times sturdier than the previous bronze gate.

The combined attack of Su Xiaomei and Zhang Haobo couldn't even make the grayish-white stone gate tremble in the slightest.

Ceasing her futile efforts, Su Xiaomei felt a bit discouraged.

"Could it be that we're going to enter a mountain of treasures only to return empty-handed?"

At this moment, such a thought inevitably surfaced in all three of their minds.

"Let's look some more," Xiao Heng said, gritting his teeth, unwilling to give up.

No Cultivator would easily give up after seeing such a Treasure Trove right before their eyes.

Turning back, the three conducted a carpet search.

This time, they fortunately made a discovery.

"Look! This room's door doesn't seem to be sealed."

Su Xiaomei called out to the other two.

Xiao Heng and Zhang Haobo rushed over.

Touching a slight crack on the door, Zhang Haobo nodded. "Indeed, it is different from the other rooms."

Seeing that they were finally about to gain something, Xiao Heng also became a bit excited. "Does that mean we can open it?"

"Let's give it a try."

With that, Zhang Haobo and Su Xiaomei joined forces once again.

Under the radiance of the Crimson Sun and the Blood Sea.

The bronze door made a creaking sound.

It was pried open inch by inch.

After a moment, with their combined strength, they finally opened a crack in the door.

"Be careful."

The three communicated via Divine Sense transmissions and then stepped inside.

The expected danger did not materialize.

Instead, the scene inside the room caught them somewhat off guard.

It was a single-person residence.

Although the space wasn't large, it was fully equipped with a bed, table, chair, and cabinet.

On the floor, a Cultivator was lying face down.

His head was pointed toward the door, and from his posture, it seemed he had been trying to close it.

To the horror of Xiao Heng and the others, this person actually still had the breath of life.

His breathing was steady, as if he had merely fallen into a deep sleep.

"What should we do?"

"Should we strike?"

"He's still alive after thousands of years. His strength must be unfathomable. If we act rashly…"

While the group was communicating via Divine Sense, the man lying on the floor let out a muffled groan and slowly woke up on his own.

Since the situation was unclear, the three huddled together and quickly retreated.

The Medicine King Sect Cultivator climbed up from the floor, first looking around in a bit of a daze.

Then, as if remembering something, the luster gradually returned to his eyes.

He performed a quick calculation with his fingers and said in shock, "It has actually been twenty-four years?"

Then, he finally noticed Xiao Heng and the other two in the room.

A flash of surprise crossed his face, but he quickly regained his composure.

"Greetings, Senior!" Xiao Heng and the others said in unison.

"Was it you Fellow Daoists who woke me?" he asked.