TL: Etude
Ye Tian had a premonition that if he didn't leave the great hall, he would surely encounter other martial artists. Sun Xinghe and others had not perished. Even though the hall's array was broken and it was filled with numerous golden armored zombie puppets, they might forsake the pursuit of Mystic-Level talents for those treasures.
They hadn't tried to break through to the Saint level earlier simply because they thought they could break the array in a short time, not finding it necessary to rush the breakthrough. But they had not anticipated the emergence of so many golden armored zombie puppets, leading to their miscalculation. Once Sun Xinghe and the other survivors were safe, they would surely try to break through to the Saint level and then return to the hall.
"Too bad, your speed in breaking through to the Saint level is a bit slow!" Ye Tian thought to himself. With his Dawn-Level cultivation talent, it took Ye Tian less than three days to reach the Saint level. For people like Sun Xinghe, it would take at least seven to eight days.
Ye Tian flew to a mountain and created a temporary cave dwelling to inspect the last few treasures: three bottles of pills, five black books, and a token.
First, he assimilated the token and discovered it was a core disciple token of the Black Sky Corpse Sect, which was of no use to him.
Then, he examined the five books. By now, he could understand the texts, having remembered the contents of the previous books and deciphering the meaning transmitted by the mental strength linked to each character.
The five books were not cultivation manuals; three were on alchemy, including recipes for several incredibly powerful pills that could enhance or improve talents. However, the required ingredients were so rare that Ye Tian had never even heard of them, making them nearly impossible to obtain.
The other two books detailed the Black Sky Corpse Sect, revealing a misconception Ye Tian and even Wang Yan had. The ancient civilization was not from Earth but an extraterrestrial civilization.
The Black Sky Corpse Sect was from another world or planet, and due to an accident, some of its disciples arrived on Earth through a spatial rift, along with disciples from other planetary sects. During that era, many powerful beings fought on Earth, leaving it devastated and draining its yuan force.
Eventually, these sects abandoned Earth, returning through spatial rifts, leaving behind some relics. The two books were written by a great martial Emperor of the Black Sky Corpse Sect, who, after completing them, left Earth with the sect's powerhouses, leaving behind only a temple and some outer disciples.
These outer disciples, lacking yuan force energy on Earth, couldn't enhance their strength and died when their lifespans ended. Their descendants couldn't become martial artists, leading to the gradual loss of the Black Sky Corpse Sect's lineage.
"Now I understand that the so-called ancient civilization relics are the remnants of these sects. During that era, Earth probably had many spatial rifts like today, but they connected to the worlds of these sects, whereas now they connect to the world of ferocious beasts. The era of ancient civilization can be seen as the Era of Sects, and now is the Era of Ferocious Beasts. Everything is that simple!" Ye Tian murmured.
Despite the chaos these sects caused on Earth, they left behind many legacies, which were crucial for humanity's survival in the Era of Ferocious Beasts.
After reviewing the five books, Ye Tian finally understood the three bottles of pills: a Cultivation Talent Pill, a God Forging Pill, and a Longevity Pill.
The Cultivation Talent Pill could elevate a martial artist's cultivation talent to Morning Star-Level, with only one pill inside.
The God Forging Pill, which had three, could help a King-level martial artist break through to the Saint level.
The Longevity Pill was extraordinary, adding a hundred years to one's lifespan, a treasure many old monsters dreamt of.
These items were left by the great Emperor for the descendants of the Black Sky Corpse Sect, but unfortunately, they never discovered the main secret chamber, or these items would not have been preserved.
Ye Tian even speculated that the damage to the great hall's array might have been caused by the battles of the Black Sky Corpse Sect's outer disciples. The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
Regrettably for others, they didn't take away those treasures, and now Ye Tian was the lucky beneficiary.
"Those God Forging Pills could be given to Wang Yan, and the rest are all mine. With these and the treasures from the great hall, my wealth has increased manifold!" Ye Tian was filled with excitement. However, his excitement didn't last long as he soon realized a limitation.
He couldn't acquire any more treasures. In one building he found, no golden armored zombie puppets appeared, and he couldn't break the array. Initially, he thought it was a coincidence, but after encountering the same situation in several other buildings, he came to a conclusion.
The arrays of these buildings could sense cultivation levels, and once someone surpassed the Saint level, they could no longer acquire treasures. The arrays were not accessible to Saints, only to Kings.
"Why didn't anyone tell me this? No wonder those at the King level didn't rush to break through to the Saint level. They could access the treasures, but as a Saint, I can't get any." Ye Tian had an epiphany.
Suddenly, he thought of Sun Xinghe. If Sun Xinghe broke through to the Saint level and then went to the great hall, only to find no treasures left, and knowing that he couldn't get more treasures himself, would he go mad?
"Probably!" Ye Tian said with a laugh.
…
In another part of the temple space, Sun Xinghe was breaking through to the Saint level. After seven days of closed-door cultivation, with his Moonlight-Level cultivation talent, he was about to complete the condensation of his mental strength and form his divine consciousness.
Boom! His divine consciousness was born, and his cultivation level broke through.
Quickly, his body strength increased tenfold, as did his speed and defensive power. Utilizing the incredible insight gained during the breakthrough, he managed to elevate his Pseudo-Mystic-Level Strength Talent to 90%.
His power surged again.
"Hahaha, all the treasures in the great hall are mine!" Sun Xinghe laughed maniacally and rushed eagerly towards the great hall. Upon arrival, he found no golden armored zombie puppets, which puzzled him.
As he entered the hall, his excitement turned to rage. "Where are my treasures? Who took them?!"
Sun Xinghe was furious. He had given up the chance to elevate his Pseudo-Mystic-Level Strength Talent to the Mystic level, planning to spend more years enhancing it to 70% before attempting to break through to the Saint level. But now, the treasures were gone, and his plan to ascend to the Mystic-Level Strength Talent was ruined.
His loss was tremendous. Moreover, having reached the Saint level, he could no longer search for treasures in the buildings.
"Damn it, who could it be?" Sun Xinghe realized someone must have broken through to the Saint level before him and cleared out the place. His mind raced through the faces of various Kings, but it eventually settled on one person.
"That pale-faced young man!"
He remembered Ye Tian, but the Ye Tian he had seen was in disguise. He would never be able to find the real Ye Tian.