After dealing with him, he would break the restraints imprisoning the cultivators and rescue the children.

Finally, he would use Thunder Tribulations Talisman to blow up the entire cave residence.

However, now that he knew the location of the treasure chamber, he hesitated.

Should he go there first?

Treasures collected by cultivators from ancient times should all be quite rare.

And in that medicinal garden, there were ten thousand year old ancient spirit herbs that had already gone extinct.

Thinking that he had plenty of time and that the Golden Core cultivator currently knew far less about this place than he did, Xiao Shou felt confident that he could do whatever he wanted in time.

His desire for treasure hunting quickly took over.

After stepping out of the core stone chamber, he changed direction, turning away from the Fate Devouring Array and heading instead toward the treasure vault.

However, Xiao Shou did not notice that the moment he left, a strange scene appeared in the monitoring crystals at the outer layer of the Fate Turning Pagoda.

A young male cultivator in his twenties who is dressed in a black robe with golden patterns and wearing a black jade crown appeared out of thin air while flying.

He had a tall figure, a handsome yet sinister face, and an imposing aura.

In his arms, he held a stunningly beautiful young woman dressed in blue, though her expression was cold as ice.

Behind them, another young male cultivator in a fiery red robe gave chase.

He had a dignified and noble appearance, exuding an extraordinary and lofty presence. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

From time to time, crimson sword energy shot out from around him, striking toward the figure ahead. Yet, as if wary of harming the woman, the attacks never truly hit them and instead struck the ground behind.

"Brother Jian, I did not expect you to be someone who cherishes beauty so much. If others knew this side of your personality, they would surely be shocked," the man in black said with a wicked smile as he toyed with the woman in his arms.

Seeing the disgust and humiliation appear on the face of the usually cold woman, his smile only grew more unrestrained.

The man in red remained expressionless as he said coldly, "Zhong Kui, I have an agreement with her. Until the deal is completed, I will ensure her safety. Release Xiao Ran, and I will spare you today. Otherwise, I will kill you here and now."

"An agreement, you say? Someone as lovable as Ran’er deserves protection. I can do something so simple as well. Not only that, I can make sure she will never suffer from unfulfilled desires in the future. Unlike you, Jian Li, who is so useless... hmph."

With a sinister grin, Zhong Kui brazenly tore at the young woman’s clothing, his actions becoming increasingly inappropriate.

As he moved, he continued mocking, "Kill me? How many times have you said that already? Empty words are useless."

Because of his actions, within just a few breaths, the cold woman’s face flushed red.

Her body trembled as she endured something, her voice breaking with humiliation and hatred as she sobbed softly: "Zhong Kui, you... bastard... let go of me... I... I won’t..."

"Zhong Kui, you are courting death."

Faced with such blatant provocation, Jian Li’s eyes turned crimson.

The Vermilion Bird flames he had been suppressing burst forth and wrapping around the sword in his hand.

At the same time, Zhong Kui’s movements became even more intense, causing the young woman’s waist to sway uncontrollably.

Seeing this, she turned her head away in shame while biting her lip as she said, "Brother Li... do not look... do not look at me... like this..."

"Tut, tut... seeing you like this only makes me cherish you more, Ran’er," Zhong Kui said with a wicked smile.

He withdrew his damp fingers and lifted her chin in an intimate gesture, his sinister eyes tracing over her form.

"Zhong Kui!"

Seeing this, Jian Li knew that throughout their fight, their cultivation levels were nearly equal and neither could gain the upper hand.

Even so, he could no longer suppress his anger.

With a forceful swing of his sword, a vast crimson flame sword energy surged forward toward Zhong Kui.

"Brother Jian, you really never learn," Zhong Kui said indifferently as his figure flickered and instantly reappeared in another position.

The place where he had just been standing was struck by the immense sword energy.

In a single breath, the ground split apart, mountains trembled, and a massive charred fissure tore across the earth.

At the same time, the few remaining monitoring crystal screens inside and outside the stone chamber all went dark, cracks spreading across them.

Just as Xiao Shou arrived at the entrance of the treasure vault, he formed the hand seals described in the residual memory of the Fate Turning Pagoda’s spirit and opened the restriction on the vault door.

As the door slowly opened with a deep rumbling sound, the ground itself trembled, causing Xiao Shou to momentarily lose his footing.

Startled, he looked around.

Then everything calmed.

The shaking stopped.

Was this treasure vault door really that heavy?

It actually made him think there had been an earthquake.

Speechless, Xiao Shou stepped inside.

Once inside, he curiously looked at the various jade boxes scattered throughout the treasure vault and many of them covered in dust.

Only a few still shimmered faintly within their protective restrictions.

Each jade box had patterns engraved on its surface, resembling sealing runes.

But compared to the Tier 4 restriction talismans Xiao Shou had seen in the present day, the restriction patterns here were far more complex and mysterious.

The restriction talismans had the effect of sealing spiritual energy and were generally used on jade boxes containing medicinal herbs, spirit plants, minerals, magic treasures, or high-grade spirit stones to prevent the spiritual energy inside from leaking.

According to the Heaven Origin Realm Compendium, ancient cultivators did not use restriction talismans.

Instead, they directly engraved restriction patterns onto storage jade boxes, stone boxes, or wooden containers.