Dark red plants covered the area, and a terrifying aura made Dian Wei and the other four feel suffocated by death.
"What just happened? Did we trigger a grand formation here?" Wang Zhuo exclaimed in alarm.
Everything before them had happened too quickly: the withered dark red river, the shattered wooden swords, the cracked graves, and the earth-shattering golden spiritual energy, the rapidly expanding golden dragon.
"Clang!"
The treasure cauldron that appeared suddenly made a muffled sound. Along with the noise, a red light shot out, leaving the wooden sword mountain peak and disappearing into the unknown.
A peerless killing intent surged from the treasure cauldron. Dian Wei and the four felt a chill down their spines. Although the killing intent did not lock onto them, the aura was simply too terrifying.
"Clang!"
The treasure cauldron shook again, emitting clouds of dust and ancient, desolate energy that filled the thousand-zhang area.
"Bang!"
The mysterious treasure cauldron trembled once more, and at this moment, even this secret realm violently shook.
In another secret realm, Jiang Zuo Zinan, holding a palm-sized wooden coffin, suddenly heard a deep, ancient voice.
"The grand formation of this sealed land is about to collapse. There are still many precious items within the secret realm. Consider it my repayment for the kindness of the four families of the Jiang Zuo lineage. Collect them one by one and leave this secret realm as soon as possible!"
Jiang Zuo Zinan stopped upon hearing this and said respectfully, "Thank you, Lord Zhu!"
The mysterious treasure cauldron that appeared before Dian Wei and the four continued to shake violently. It seemed something was sealed within, and terrifying energy was struggling to break free from the cauldron's suppression. The tremors grew stronger, and the ice and snow world, except for this wooden sword mountain peak, began to collapse one by one.
With a final tremor of the mysterious treasure cauldron, the ancient, mysterious palace that had stood there since time immemorial turned to dust. At this point, within the cave-heaven that Dian Wei and the four had entered, everything except the wooden sword mountain peak had turned to dust, leaving only the thick earth.
With another "boom," the mysterious treasure cauldron shot out five brownish-red pills, which floated steadily in front of it.
"Boom!"
Golden divine light surged out from the treasure cauldron, as if energy sealed for an era had finally broken free from its restraints and ascended to the heavens.
The terrifying golden energy violently impacted the surrounding mountains, rumbling and making Dian Wei and the four dare not move an inch.
In the distance, a stone tablet at the foot of the wooden sword mountain peak glowed with wisps of green divine light. These green lights enveloped the wooden sword mountain peak, withstanding the impact of the golden energy and protecting Dian Wei and the four.
Half an hour later, the treasure cauldron stopped shaking, the golden light dissipated, and peace was restored to the world.
"What are those pills?"
"There are five in total!"
They quickly moved forward, each taking a pill and examining it carefully. After a while, they all looked at Xia Xin Yu.
These pills were ancient. They were pills from the ancient era, possibly refined by the Immortal Lord, and undoubtedly extraordinary.
"Miss Xia, what do you think?" Wang Zhuo, unable to discern anything, looked at Xia Xin Yu expectantly.
"These are Heavenly Venerate Pills. Any being who has stepped into the Supreme realm, regardless of their cultivation level, innate talent, or affinity with the Great Dao, can use these pills to advance to the Small Heavenly Venerate realm in one step!"
"Judging by the divine power within the pills, none has been lost. As for whether they were refined by the Immortal Lord, I am uncertain!"
"Take them quickly. These pills have no side effects. The fatal flaw of Heavenly Venerate Pills is that they lose divine power every moment after being formed!"
Without hesitation, Xia Xin Yu grabbed the Heavenly Venerate Pill in her hand and swallowed it. She immediately sat cross-legged and began to cultivate.
"We are inside a sealed land. The Immortal Lord's grand formation suppresses everything. If we take these, can we step into the Small Heavenly Venerate realm? Even if we succeed, will we be annihilated by the grand formation here?"
Long Ju hesitated, looking at the pill in his hand.
His words caused Wang Yun Xuan and Wang Zhuo to stiffen. This was a sealed land, where only those who had reached the Supreme realm could survive. Exceeding that would result in annihilation.
The few remained motionless, all holding their breath for Xia Xin Yu. Half an hour later, the surge of divine power was not particularly intense; it was as natural as flowing water. Xia Xin Yu directly advanced to the Small Heavenly Venerate realm!
Perhaps due to being suppressed for too long, Xia Xin Yu opened her eyes and sensed that she was not suppressed by the grand formation. She then closed her eyes and continued to cultivate.
"There shouldn't be any major problems. Let's begin, don't let the medicinal properties of the Heavenly Venerate Pills go to waste!"
Wang Zhuo said and then sat cross-legged, took the Heavenly Venerate Pill, and began to cultivate in silence.
Dian Wei shook his head. The dreaded scene had not materialized. Perhaps this was within a cave-heaven, or maybe the suppression of realms above Supreme had vanished?
All of them sat cross-legged and consumed the Heavenly Venerate Pills. Time flowed by, and they all strived to absorb the medicinal properties of the pills. From Xia Xin Yu's words, it was known that these Heavenly Venerate Pills were incredibly heaven-defying, allowing anyone, regardless of their cultivation level, talent, or affinity with the Dao, to step into the Small Heavenly Venerate realm in one go. How powerful was that!
After about three hours, Long Ju was the first to step into the Small Heavenly Venerate realm. He felt the vast divine power within his body and did not suffer annihilation or suppression by the grand formation. Puzzled, Long Ju did not dwell on it. He stood up and saw that Xia Xin Yu had already reached the peak of the Small Heavenly Venerate realm and was carefully observing the mysterious treasure cauldron.
"Congratulations!"
Sensing Long Ju's approach, Xia Xin Yu turned and said, "This place is protected by a certain force. That's why even after reaching the Small Heavenly Venerate realm, there is no suppression!"
Not long after, Dian Wei, Yang You Ji, Wang Zhuo, and the others also woke up, all having reached the Small Heavenly Venerate realm.
They stood up and surrounded the mysterious treasure cauldron. The cauldron now had countless tiny cracks, with five openings about the size of a fist, likely caused by the pills escaping.
The few looked inside through the five openings and saw that it was blood-red. In the center was a tender green branch, shimmering with colorful rays of light. Surrounding it was a miniature version of the planar territory, which, upon close inspection, was identical to the current Three Thousand Dao Provinces.
There was the Central Province, North You, East Yao, South Ze, and West Frontier, not a single detail amiss. Tiny dividing lines recreated all the Dao Provinces of the current Three Thousand Dao Provinces!
"How is this possible? The Immortal Lord was a being from the previous era. Even though he was immensely powerful, he was still at the peak of the Dao Venerate realm."