Chen Mo was now just one step away from reaching the Grandmaster realm, yet this single step felt incredibly distant.
He also knew that reaching the Grandmaster realm was no easy feat.
What he hadn't expected, however, was that this single Scarlet Flame Fruit could directly propel him into the Grandmaster realm.
Chen Mo asked, "Old Ancestor, how can I take this back?"
"First, check if there's anything else in other places. If you want to take this back, it might be a bit difficult, because once the Scarlet Flame Fruit is picked, it will turn to ash within an hour."
"Ah?" Chen Mo's heart leaped in alarm.
Wasn't this just making him happy for nothing?
However, Chen Mo knew that his time was precious, so he could only continue moving forward.
After passing through a forest, Chen Mo saw that in the valley behind, there was actually a grand hall.
Chen Mo quickly walked towards the hall.
He pushed open the hall door.
Immediately, a musty odor assailed his senses.
Chen Mo frowned slightly, fanned the air in front of him, and slowly walked in.
Inside the hall, there were several bookshelves, and in front, there was a counter with a brocade box placed upon it.
Chen Mo observed his surroundings and slowly walked towards the brocade box.
He gently opened the brocade box.
Chen Mo discovered that inside the brocade box, there was a ring with a peculiar appearance.
"Old Ancestor, what is this?" Chen Mo asked, puzzled.
"Your luck is truly extraordinary. This is the legendary storage ring."
"What? A storage ring!" Chen Mo exclaimed.
Curiously, he reached out to pick up the ring, but no matter how he tried to communicate, Chen Mo couldn't establish any connection with it.
"This thing can only be opened with Yuan Qi," the Old Ancestor reminded him.
"Then it's useless again?" Chen Mo sighed.
Suddenly, Chen Mo felt a warmth in his palm, and instantly, a vast, dark space appeared in his consciousness.
"This is? The situation inside the ring?" Chen Mo said in shock.
"With this, the Scarlet Flame Fruit can be taken back. Also, the books here will be useful to you, so take them all," the Old Ancestor advised.
Chen Mo was overjoyed and began to place all the books into the storage ring.
Afterward, he left the hall and was about to pick the Scarlet Flame Fruits when he suddenly discovered other spiritual fruits and medicinal herbs.
As for the spiritual脉 (lingmai) underground, Chen Mo had no intention of disturbing it.
Chen Mo planned to seal the stone cave with an array. With the nourishment of the spiritual脉, the medicinal herbs and spiritual fruits here would continue to grow.
At that time, Chen Mo might even be able to return to pick these medicinal herbs and spiritual fruits.
While picking the spiritual fruits and medicinal herbs, Chen Mo asked, "Old Ancestor, are these spiritual fruits enough to raise my strength to your requirements?"
"Not enough," the Old Ancestor replied indifferently.
"So much, and still not enough?" Chen Mo was somewhat surprised.
The Old Ancestor responded, "I told you, those so-called Grandmasters have chaotic Yuan Qi. If you want to truly enter the cultivation world, your Yuan Qi must be extremely pure, otherwise, your future cultivation path will be very arduous."
"These spiritual fruits can only provide you with pure spiritual energy, allowing you to refine it into your own Yuan Qi. They cannot increase your cultivation."
Hearing the Old Ancestor's explanation, Chen Mo finally understood.
However, Chen Mo was already very satisfied to have obtained these things.
Meanwhile, inside the mountain cave underground.
While Qi Yuan Shan was healing, he suddenly opened his eyes, looking as if he were facing a formidable enemy.
"Dad, what's wrong?" Qi Xiao Liang noticed Qi Yuan Shan's reaction and quickly asked.
"Someone's coming," Qi Yuan Shan said in a deep voice.
Hearing that someone was coming, Qi Xiao Liang's face showed surprise, and he quickly picked up the weapon on the ground, nervously watching the direction of the stairs.
Indeed, a moment later, Qi Xiao Liang also heard footsteps.
A group of people appeared within the mountain cave.
Because Qi Xiao Liang had placed several flashlights on the surrounding rock walls earlier, the cave was now illuminated.
The middle-aged man at the forefront, upon seeing that the bronze door had been opened, his expression suddenly changed.
Soon, more people descended the stairs.
And these people's auras were not weak; they were all martial arts experts.
However, they did not belong to a single faction, and there were even footsteps coming from the stairs behind.
"Did you open this bronze door?" one of the middle-aged men asked, his gaze falling on Qi Yuan Shan and the others.
"No," Qi Yuan Shan replied, shaking his head.
Then, the middle-aged man looked at He Hong Fei, "Then did you open this bronze door?"
He Hong Fei could clearly feel a sense of danger.
"We did," He Hong Fei replied, warily watching the people in front of him.
"Heh heh, you're quite fast, managing to get ahead of us. It seems some people truly don't know how to write the word 'death'," the middle-aged man sneered.
He Hong Fei's heart trembled, and he quickly said, "I am the young master of the He family from Jinling."
The middle-aged man disdainfully said, "The He family? Just a bunch of trash, daring to meddle with the secret realm?"
"Who are you?" He Hong Fei asked.
"A piece of trash, what qualifications do you have to know who I am?"
As his voice fell, the middle-aged man waved his hand, "Kill them all."
Instantly, several men standing beside the middle-aged man walked towards He Hong Fei and the others.
"Wait a moment!" Without the protection of his master, He Hong Fei dared not confront these people directly.
After all, he knew that if he blocked here, he would be the first to die.
The middle-aged man remained silent, merely looking at the other party indifferently.
He Hong Fei nervously pointed to the mountain cave behind, "Although we opened this bronze door, our people did not go in."
"Heh heh, kid, do you think anyone will believe your words?" another old man said mockingly.
He Hong Fei quickly pointed to his master's corpse, "This is my master, a Grandmaster. Just now, that person killed my master and told us to guard here, not to let anyone else in. Otherwise, why would I be here instead of entering the secret realm?"
"Could this kid be telling the truth?"
Everyone in the mountain cave exchanged glances.
The middle-aged man frowned slightly, "You said just now that that person killed a Grandmaster?"
He Hong Fei nodded, "Yes, and the opponent only used one move."
Wow!
The scene immediately erupted in an uproar.
He Hong Fei, with his subordinates, retreated to the side, pointing to the bronze door, "If you don't believe me, you can go in and find him yourselves. Our He family has suffered heavy losses this time, so we won't get involved in this matter."
"Moreover, he also said that anyone who enters will be killed!"
It was clear that He Hong Fei wanted to extricate himself from this situation.
Hearing this, Ren Zi Xin suddenly exclaimed, "He Hong Fei, what do you mean?!"
He Hong Fei glanced at Ren Zi Xin and said nothing.