“It couldn’t be that you are waiting for me, right?”

These words also failed to elicit any reaction from the humanoid figure. Gu Han didn’t mind either. According to what the shadow had said, the remnant thought had neither thoughts nor feelings, only a sliver of its instinct remained. Apart from its final wish, it wouldn’t react to anything else. If it had suddenly started speaking, that would have been frightening.

He chuckled to himself, then turned and left the great palace. “Let’s go. Time to handle the main business.”

The humanoid figure silently followed behind him.

***

Beside the Soul-Nourishing Lotus, the three went from dejected to overjoyed upon seeing Gu Han’s return. They were about to rush forward to meet him, only to stiffen at the sight of the humanoid figure. They all took a step back in unison.

Murong Yan was taken aback. “Brother Gu, w-what’s going on here?”

Shen Xuan’s face was a bit pale. “That thing hasn’t left?”

Compared to the other two, Yang Ying was slightly calmer, saying thoughtfully, “Also, you seem a bit happy?”

In contrast to his previous demeanor, Gu Han was full of ease and comfort. He found it somewhat amusing. “Don’t be afraid. Let me introduce you to a new friend.”

The three were completely dumbfounded. Y-you can be friends with that thing?

As they stood there with stunned expressions, Gu Han picked and chose his words, roughly explaining the sequence of events from beginning to end. Of course, when it came to matters involving the shadow, he glossed over them. The more they listened, the quieter they became.

They were deeply shocked because they trusted his words completely. The Half-Step Transcendent realm was only around a thousand years. Meanwhile, the pavilion had been around for a million years.

What Gu Han didn’t tell them was that the Profound Pill Pavilion could’ve been around for longer than that. They probably would have had an even harder time accepting that. After seeing that they needed a moment to recover, Gu Han didn’t rush and instead went over to the Soul-Nourishing Lotus.

Inside the withered, yellow seed pod, the pale green lotus seed appeared even more extraordinary. Strands of fragrance spread out, growing increasingly rich. His forcibly suppressed cultivation showed signs of breaking through again. His eyes practically shone.

Just as he was about to pick it, his expression suddenly shifted. “Hmm? What’s this?”

Though covered by dust and sand, the end of the rhizome vaguely seemed transparent. His mind stirred. With a sweep of his sleeve, the dust and sand was cleared, revealing the true appearance of the object. It was actually a piece of transparent crystal! The lotus’ root hairs were clearly embedded within it!

Unbeknownst to him, the moment the crystal appeared, the humanoid figure gave a start. Gu Han instinctively took the crystal in his hand, turning it over and over to examine it. Palm-sized, it was rhomboid in shape, crystalline and clear. Complex and profound patterns were clearly visible within. Sweeping it lightly with his divine sense, he unexpectedly discovered a faint trace of vital qi within.

“So that’s it!”

He finally understood why among all the spirit herbs in these gardens, only this Soul-Nourishing Lotus remained. It was most likely thanks to the vital qi provided by this crystal. Otherwise, without nourishment or protection, not even a saint herb could survive this long.

He instantly concluded, This is also a good treasure!

Although he didn’t know exactly what this crystal was, anything capable of nurturing a saint herb definitely wasn’t an ordinary item. Without a second thought, he packed it all away, including the already withered seed pod and rhizome.

A withered saint herb was still a saint herb! Although it seemed to have no medicinal properties left, what if it had some use he couldn’t imagine? If he missed out on it, wouldn’t that be heartbreaking?

Returning to the three, Gu Han was speechless to see that they were still in a daze. “Let’s go. Time to handle the main business.”

Murong Yan asked subconsciously, “What main business?”

Gu Han pointed at the rows of palaces. “Getting rich! Getting very rich!”

He hadn’t thought of hogging all the opportunities for himself. Having reached the Divine Connection realm, the three had to urgently improve their soul power. The Soul-Nourishing Lotus was also a divine artifact they dreamed of. Of course, since they had only obtained a small portion of pills, it was still too early to divide the spoils.

***

The terrain of the Profound Pill Pavilion wasn’t complicated. Between the rows of palaces were greenstone avenues about a zhang wide. Although an unknown number of years had passed, one could vaguely discern the style that had once existed here. Extremely clean and uniform, all ornateness was abandoned solely for the pursuit of practicality.

At this moment, Zhao Mengyou and her group were on a greenstone avenue. They were looking for palaces that were still relatively well-preserved. No one was a fool. What Gu Han could easily think of, others could too. The more intact the palace, the more intact pills they would find.

One female follower asked carefully, “Divine Maiden, what exactly is that humanoid figure?”

Zhao Mengyou’s heart was still trembling with fear. “I don’t know. In any case, that thing gave me a very dangerous feeling.”

“So we’re not going after that treasure anymore?”

Zhao Mengyou shook her head. “No. Although that thing is good, the risk is too great. It’s not worth risking our lives over. Besides, the Profound Pill Pavilion is so big. There are more than one opportunity. If we search carefully, our gains won’t be small either.”

A male follower was somewhat indignant. “Hmph! Earlier, Divine Maiden clearly helped that Gu guy, yet he actually... He’s so detestable!”

Zhao Mengyou’s expression was calm, showing neither joy nor anger. “Say no more. He’s been entangled by that thing. He’s probably already in grave danger. Now we—”

Before she finished speaking, a follower pointed not far away and shouted joyfully, “Divine Maiden, there! That palace is very well-preserved, there must be what we want inside!”

Zhao Mengyou also rejoiced. “Good! Let’s go in and have a—”

She was only halfway through her words when she suddenly froze. Not far away, five figures were also rapidly approaching this palace. Who else could it be but Gu Han?

Obviously, Gu Han had also noticed her. “Oh? Divine Maiden Zhao? What a coincidence!”

With his speed, he instantly arrived before Zhao Mengyou and her group, grinning widely. “Tsk tsk. It seems like fate has quite a bond between us!”

Although he was smiling, he obviously harbored malicious intent. Added to that was the motionless, ghost-like figure behind him.

Zhao Mengyou subconsciously took two steps back. “W-what do you want now?”

She was somewhat caught off guard. Not only had Gu Han survived, he seemed to have reached a peaceful coexistence with that humanoid figure.

Gu Han’s smile grew even wider. “Nothing much. We have a bit of a connection after all. I’ve made a new friend, and I thought I’d introduce you.”

A friend? Zhao Mengyou trembled slightly, turning pale again.

Gu Han turned back and smiled at the humanoid figure. “Come. This is Divine Maiden Zhao. Tsk tsk, the Dao Bell rang seven times for her, she’s born with a country-toppling beauty. Why don’t you say hello?”

He took two more steps toward Zhao Mengyou, a strange smile on his face and a malicious look in his eyes. The humanoid figure slowly drifted over behind him.

Zhao Mengyou instantly lost her composure. “Don’t come any closer!”

Casting aside all pretense, she soared into the air, transforming into a purple streak as she fled once more.

Her voice was panicked and helpless. “That Gu bastard!”

Shen Xuan was speechless. “Brother Gu, you...”

He felt that Gu Han was a bit malicious.

However, Murong Yan stared intently at the humanoid figure. “A living being leaving behind a remnant thought after death? This is the first time I’ve heard of it. Even that Divine Maiden was scared away twice by it, truly formidable!”

Having experienced the shock earlier, she no longer found it frightening. In fact, she was a bit curious and wanted to get closer for a look.

Gu Han was stunned. “No! Don’t touch it!”

Although the figure seemed to harbor no ill will, he couldn’t be sure if it could distinguish friend from foe. Approaching it rashly could mean certain death.

Murong Yan sheepishly took two steps back. “I was just curious...”

The three were speechless. That’s not called curiosity, that’s called stupidity!

Yang Ying said, “I doubt even Chu Kuang expected that they would suffer such a huge setback at your hands.”

Gu Han regretted it deeply. “Too bad. If they hadn’t run so fast, I could have gotten them all killed! Oh well... I’ll settle this score with them sooner or later! Let’s go inside first and see what’s in there.”

Inside the palace, it was still a scene of decay. Only the row of wooden shelves was covered by a faint, hazy restriction. Bottle after bottle of pills were arranged neatly within.

Soul-Cleansing Pill. Cleanses and refines the soul. Used by cultivators in the Earthly Tribulation realm to cleanse impurities from soul power.

Soul-Nourishing Pill. Replenishes and benefits the soul. Used by cultivators in the Earthly Tribulation realm to enhance soul power by ten percent.

Soul-Condensing Pill. Condenses and solidifies the soul. Used by cultivators in the Earthly Tribulation realm to shorten the duration of the tribulation.

After just one glance, Gu Han could no longer look away. The other three were also ecstatic. All the pills here were related to the soul! Moreover, since Earthly Tribulation realm cultivators could use them, Divine Connection realm cultivators could as well! Ah Sha could benefit the most from them!

Murong Yan was grinning from ear to ear. “With these many pills, how many years of hard work will I save myself?!”

Naturally, improving soul power was extremely difficult. Divine essence had played a significant role in helping her quickly break through to the third stage of the Divine Connection realm. Without external help, it would have taken her a long time to go from the third stage to the ninth stage.

Gu Han’s tone was complex. “Repairing injuries. Enhancing soul power. Increasing cultivation. Just how many types of pills that we don’t know about are there in the Profound Pill Pavilion...?”

After the initial joy, Yang Ying frowned again. “It probably won’t be easy to break this restriction.”

It was much stronger than the one they had encountered before.

Gu Han grinned. “Exactly! This also means these pills are very well-preserved!”

After he broke the previous restriction, some of the several hundred pill bottles had retained their medicinal power. He was sure that at least half the pills here would still be usable.

After thinking for a moment, he already had a rough estimate in mind. “It’ll take around an hour.”

Thus, he no longer hesitated. Following the restriction-breaking technique the shadow had taught him, his hands flew without stopping. He formed one complex and profound hand seal after another, nearly turning into afterimages.

Suddenly, Murong Yan’s panicked voice rang out. “Brother Gu, it moved! It moved!”

What? Gu Han subconsciously looked back and was stunned. That humanoid figure, which hadn’t shown the slightest reaction no matter what, now had his hands intertwined. He was also forming hand seal after hand seal.

Gu Han swallowed his saliva. “W-what is it doing?”

Yang Ying had mixed feelings. “It seems like it’s learning how to break the restriction from you...”