As they were thinking, Tian Yi had already led him to a stone door.
This was also the end of the walkway. Upon seeing the stone door, an ancient aura immediately wafted towards them.
The stone door was also carved with intricate, mysterious patterns, appearing to be something from ancient times, not modern.
"Did you discover this stone door here, or..."
Tian Yi explained, "When we found it, it was already here. Uncle Fei said it was crafted by a peerless powerhouse his ancestors once encountered and erected here."
"A peerless powerhouse?"
Li Chonglou frowned, "Didn't you say cultivators couldn't enter?"
Tian Yi shook his head, "I'm not entirely sure. That's just what he said. Perhaps cultivators could enter this place back then."
Was this really the case?
Li Chonglou fell into thought once more.
At this moment, Tian Yi placed his hands on either side of the stone door. Without any flashy movements, he simply pushed with all his might, and the tightly shut stone door slowly opened.
Just as Li Chonglou was about to speak, a very familiar aura rushed towards him from within.
Black spirit?
This sudden familiarity startled him greatly, and he instinctively reached out to pull Tian Yi away.
However, he stopped halfway.
No, it couldn't be the Black spirit!
If this aura was indeed the Black spirit, then no one in the entire mining area would have survived!
Even those from the General Bureau who had come into contact with them, or even Old Mad, would not have been unaffected.
Suppressing his emotions forcefully, Li Chonglou spoke in a deep voice, "Is this the high-grade living grass you mentioned?"
"Huh?"
Tian Yi first fully opened the stone door with a casual motion, then turned to look at Li Chonglou, his expression puzzled.
From his perspective, Li Chonglou's brows were tightly furrowed, as if he felt some discomfort.
But shouldn't the aura inside make one feel comfortable?
And the reaction before him was completely different from his own.
"What's wrong, brother?"
Tian Yi scratched his head, unable to figure out what had gone wrong.
Li Chonglou shook his head.
"Right, you mentioned earlier that there were fierce beasts guarding it. Where are they?"
Li Chonglou glanced inside, finding a passage. The difference was that the path in the middle was lined with living grass similar to before.
To his right, it grew even more lush and verdant.
Despite feeling no wind, the living grass in his vision was swaying slowly.
Swaying without wind, this was indeed a characteristic of treasures.
"Oh, the fierce beasts are still inside. This living grass cannot be picked."
"Cannot be picked?"
Tian Yi walked inside, saying, "Yes, do you smell that fragrant scent? True high-grade living grass has no scent; it's all locked within."
"These have already volatilized, so even if consumed, they won't have much effect."
Li Chonglou followed him inside.
Unlike before, this time Tian Yi closed the stone door first.
"Can I pick one to take a look?"
"Sure, but you absolutely must not eat it. Although this living grass has no effect, its properties remain. If you consume it, you'll still have to wait at least twelve hours before you can take it again."
Li Chonglou nodded, crouched down, and picked a blade of verdant living grass.
This thing felt truly different from ordinary weeds. The first sensation upon gripping it was like glass. With a gentle squeeze, it cracked like ice crystals.
There was no juice flowing out as expected.
Rather than calling it grass, it was more like a piece of ice crystal, a green ice crystal.
Strange, why would this thing have the aura of a Black spirit?
Crushing the ice crystal in his hand into powder, Li Chonglou's brow furrowed deeply.
Although he had never absorbed a Black spirit, as a cultivator, he had a keen perception of even the slightest changes in his surroundings, especially the auras of different species.
Just at the moment he crushed the living grass, the Black spirit-like aura became distinctly stronger.
"Have you found anything?"
Since entering, Li Chonglou's reactions had been entirely different from what Tian Yi knew, and Tian Yi was now curious if Li Chonglou would make any new discoveries.
"No, I was just curious."
Li Chonglou shook his head and crushed the remaining living grass, "Alright, continue leading the way."
Tian Yi stood still.
"Hmm? What is it?"
Someone said with a wry smile, "Behind this door is the place I mentioned. Usually, when we come here, at least ten of us, fully armed, dare to open the door."
Following the direction Tian Yi pointed, Li Chonglou indeed saw a second stone door.
An identical stone door.
However, Li Chonglou did not act rashly.
"What kind of fierce beast did you mention, and what is its strength? Do you know the cultivation realm classifications?"
Tian Yi thought for a moment.
"I'm not really sure about that, but it shouldn't reach the cultivator level, right? According to those villagers, a fierce beast that a dozen ordinary people can handle should not be comparable to cultivators."
He concluded with a determined expression.
"Looking at you, have you encountered cultivators before?"
"Ahem, I may not have eaten pork, but I've seen pigs run, haven't I? I haven't stayed here all the time."
Ah, he almost forgot that the General Bureau camp here also had dozens of masters of various realms.
Then Tian Yi began to describe the appearance of the fierce beast.
It was a beast similar to a tiger and a leopard, resembling both. Its limbs were thick, but its body was slender, adept at speed and ambush.
Especially its gaping maw, Tian Yi's eyes showed lingering fear as he spoke of it.
"Wait!"
Li Chonglou suddenly interrupted him.
"What did you just say? Adept at speed and ambush?"
"Ah? Yes, why?"
Li Chonglou asked doubtfully, "That's not right. Logically speaking, for a fierce beast adept at speed and ambush, no matter how many of you there are, it would be useless, wouldn't it?"
Fierce beasts with such characteristics are ones you can't catch, can't injure, and must guard against their fatal strikes!
Human wave tactics are generally only effective against slow-moving beasts, unless...
Li Chonglou suddenly realized, "What is the terrain like inside?"
Tian Yi nodded, "Yes, the space inside is only half of this. Although the fierce beast is very fast, its attack power is not very strong. As long as you are careful not to get bitten, you can still handle it."
As expected.
Li Chonglou was about to nod when his expression froze.
That's not right either!
The environment determines the habits of creatures. Normally, a fierce beast with such characteristics should not appear in this environment!
This situation is more like someone deliberately threw other creatures inside!
Thinking of this, Li Chonglou asked a crucial question.
"Did you kill it before?"