Chapter 19: Scavenging Treasures

Ten days passed quickly. The entire cave was silent, with only Lin Tianming studying the light barrier, rehearsing the entire formation's restrictions in his mind countless times, occasionally gesturing with his hands.

Lin Tianming looked haggard, but his face suddenly flushed with excitement.

"I found it!"

Lin Tianming was overjoyed. After more than ten days of painstaking research and countless simulations, he had finally discovered the barrier's weak point.

In the upper left corner of the light screen, an inconspicuous light beam connected the screen to its central support.

Lin Tianming formed a hand seal and unleashed his Fire Origin Slash. A powerful flaming sword struck the corner of the light screen.

With a piercing sound, the light screen shattered into fragments of spiritual light and disappeared.

Fortunately, the barrier had significantly weakened over time. Otherwise, even if he had found the central point, he wouldn't have been able to break it with all his might.

As the hazy light screen in front of the stone chamber disappeared, a thirty-foot stone chamber came into view.

"Empty."

"Wait, not completely empty," he muttered, noticing a thirty-foot-long beast skeleton scattered on the ground. Most of the body had turned to ashes.

Judging by the remaining bones, it was an avian-type spirit beast, likely the cave owner's mount. This chamber must have been a spirit beast room, but time had claimed the beast's life, leaving only remnants.

The lifespan of a demonic beast far exceeded that of humans, but this one had died of old age, trapped here, showing that the cave had indeed existed for over ten thousand years.

Lin Tianming felt disappointed. After all that effort to open the barrier, he found nothing useful.

Still, there were other chambers to explore. Not all of them could be spirit beast rooms, he thought with frustration.

Turning away from the first chamber, he moved down the passageway.

Lin Tianming noticed that each chamber had the same type of formation barrier, with similar remaining power, all likely set up by the cave owner at the same time.

This was excellent news. Since he had already found the barrier's weak point, he wouldn't have to search for it again.

Returning to the second chamber, he observed and traced the barrier.

Confidently, he unleashed another Fire Origin Slash at the light beam, shattering the second barrier.

More beast bones littered the chamber.

"Another spirit beast room," he sighed, turning towards the third chamber.

Breaking through the barrier, a wave of medicinal fragrance hit him.

"Spirit herb garden!"

Lin Tianming's eyes lit up as he dashed inside, faster than when he was fleeing for his life.

"Two-hundred-year-old Hidden Spirit Grass! It's Hidden Spirit Grass!"

The Hidden Spirit Grass was the main ingredient for the second-tier low-grade Small Foundation Establishment Pill. Although only twenty or so stalks were of sufficient age, it was still an invaluable find for Lin Tianming.

These Hidden Spirit Grass stalks could solve Lin family's urgent needs and were priceless to them.

There were also many True Soul Grass and Van Blood Grass plants, each two hundred years old.

True Soul Grass was the main ingredient for Strong Spirit Pills, which could gradually increase spiritual consciousness. Long-term use could yield significant gains.

Van Blood Grass was the main ingredient for Body Tempering Pills, used by body cultivators to enhance physical strength and alleviate training pains, making it very precious.

Additionally, there were numerous other medicinal materials commonly used in combat and cultivation, with many ingredients for Spirit Origin Pills among them.

Lin Tianming quickly harvested all the herbs suitable for alchemy, placing them in jade boxes. The younger herbs were uprooted with soil, ready to be transplanted to the family herb garden.

After half an hour of diligent work, he had collected all the herbs and exited the chamber, moving deeper into the passageway.

Opening the next chamber's barrier revealed a ten-foot-wide room filled with broken fragments, likely the owner's alchemy and crafting room. It was in ruins, with nothing of value left.

Disappointed, Lin Tianming moved to the last chamber at the deepest part of the cave.

Breaking the final barrier, he found a ten-foot room with a large skeleton seated on a meditation mat.

The skeleton was unusually large, with bones bigger than Lin Tianming's, each glowing with a special radiance, suggesting its extraordinary nature.

Before the skeleton lay a heap of weapon fragments, most of which had decayed into useless shards, unable to withstand the passage of time.

Lin Tianming felt disheartened. Valuable treasures, now reduced to dust. Anyone would feel heartache at such a sight.

Determined, he sifted through the debris, hoping to find something usable.

After half an hour of searching, he found two valuable items.

One was a jade tube, its surface inscribed with golden runes, identical to the one he had obtained from the red-robed cultivator, likely another piece of the same cultivation technique.

Placing the two jade tubes together, he confirmed they matched perfectly. He deduced that the first half of the technique had been found on the red-robed cultivator, while this was the second half.

Pondering this, Lin Tianming realized that the red-robed cultivator must have stumbled upon the first half of the technique as the cave's barriers weakened over time, allowing some items to escape.

He tried to probe the jade tube with his spiritual sense but found his vision filled with a gray mist, unable to discern anything. The jade tube's secrets were beyond his current abilities, likely requiring at least a Foundation Establishment level of cultivation to comprehend.

Putting the jade tube into his storage bag, he examined the other item.

It was a colorful stone, about the size of a fist, with a pitted surface. Despite its unremarkable appearance, its vibrant colors suggested it was no ordinary rock.

Recalling his knowledge of rare treasures, Lin Tianming couldn't identify the stone. It didn't match any known descriptions.

He refused to believe it was useless. Despite the passage of time reducing other items to fragments, this stone remained intact, indicating it was a rare treasure, though its exact nature eluded him for now.

Resigned to figuring it out later, he stored the stone in his bag.

After thoroughly searching the cave to ensure he missed nothing, Lin Tianming collected the cave owner's remains, intending to bury them respectfully outside.

Though he didn't know the owner's identity or how they had perished, he felt obligated to give them a proper burial, having benefited from their treasures.

With that, he exited the cave, stepping back into the waterfall's veil.