After leaving the valley, Lin Tian's heart remained unsettled. Although he successfully broke through to the middle stage of Foundation Establishment and his strength improved, the mysterious altar in the valley still left him with doubts. The path of cultivation is long and perilous. He understands that he still needs more tempering and experiences to deal with various dangers that may lie ahead in the future. Lin Tian did not stop but continued to walk in this mountain range. He knew that this mountain range was rich in spiritual energy and there was a high possibility that other undiscovered secret realms and opportunities were hidden. Thus, he decided to continue exploring in the mountains, hoping to have new gains. After walking in the mountains for several days, Lin Tian gradually ventured into an area rarely visited by people. The terrain here became more complex, with undulating mountains, thick forests, and even the traces of spirit beasts became scarce. Lin Tian was secretly vigilant. He knew that such a place often indicated unusual existences and he had to be more cautious. One dusk, when Lin Tian was resting in a thick forest, he suddenly felt an extremely weak but exceptionally strange fluctuation of spiritual energy coming from underground. This fluctuation was not like an ordinary fluctuation of spiritual energy but carried a hint of coldness and oppression, as if hiding some evil power. "What is this?" Lin Tian was startled and quickly got up, exploring in the direction of the fluctuation. He was cautious all the way and finally found a deeply hidden crack under a steep cliff. A chilly aura faintly emerged from the crack, making one shudder. Lin Tian concentrated secretly and knew that there was a high possibility that some strange treasure or dangerous existence was hidden below the crack. "This aura is too strange. If I enter rashly, I'm afraid it will be dangerous." Standing in front of the crack, Lin Tian weighed it in his heart and finally decided to explore first before making a decision. He took out a reconnaissance talisman from his storage bag, gently twisted it, and the talisman turned into a ray of light and flew into the depth of the crack. A moment later, Lin Tian sensed the situation below the crack through the talisman and discovered that it was actually a vast underground space. The surroundings were filled with strange runes and fluctuations of arrays, as if it was an ancient underground palace. "Could there be an ancient ruin hidden beneath this mountain range?" Lin Tian's heart stirred and he immediately decided to take the risk and enter the crack to find out. Lin Tian carefully entered the crack and slowly descended along the steep cliff wall. As he went deeper, he felt that the temperature around was getting lower and lower and a thick chilly air filled the air. This aura was very similar to the strange and evil aura he felt in the valley before, making him involuntarily raise his vigilance. When Lin Tian finally reached the bottom of the crack, he found himself in an ancient underground palace. Countless luminous spirit stones were inlaid on the walls around the palace, emitting a faint light and making the entire space dimly lit. "This palace seems to have existed for a long time but is still well-preserved." Lin Tian secretly marveled in his heart. He knew that such an ancient building often hid powerful restrictions and arrays. If triggered carelessly, it was very likely to trigger great danger. He walked carefully in the palace, and his divine sense constantly probed for movements around. The interior of the palace was extremely quiet, only the faint echoes of his footsteps reverberated in the space. After walking for a while, Lin Tian suddenly found a huge stone door in front of him. The stone door was engraved with complex runes and patterns, as if telling some ancient legend. "What will be behind this stone door?" Lin Tian was full of curiosity, but he was not in a hurry to push the door open but carefully observed the runes and patterns on the stone door. These runes and patterns seemed disorderly, but upon closer inspection, one could find some hidden patterns. Lin Tian operated the mental method in Xuan Tian Zhen Jie, attempting to interpret the mysteries of these runes through his divine sense. As his divine sense delved deeper, the runes on the stone door gradually lit up with faint rays of light, as if responding to his divine sense exploration. After a moment, Lin Tian finally interpreted part of the information of the runes and learned that behind this stone door seemed to hide an extremely powerful spiritual treasure, but at the same time, it was accompanied by great danger. The runes also mentioned that this palace was once the cultivation place of a certain ancient powerful figure. There were numerous restrictions and arrays set up in the palace. Only by passing these tests could one obtain the treasures within. "It seems that this palace is no ordinary place." Lin Tian's heart trembled and he knew that he must be fully prepared to deal with the upcoming challenges. He took a deep breath, operated the spiritual energy in his body to the extreme, and then slowly pushed the stone door open. The stone door emitted a low rumbling sound and slowly opened to both sides, revealing the scene behind. Behind the stone door was a spacious hall. In the center of the hall was a huge stone platform. On the platform, a spiritual treasure emitting a brilliant light was suspended. The surface of the spiritual treasure was flowing with countless complex runes, as if containing infinite power, attracting Lin Tian's gaze. "Is this the spiritual treasure mentioned in the runes?" Lin Tian's heart stirred and he immediately walked towards the stone platform. However, just as he took a few steps, he suddenly felt a powerful fluctuation of spiritual energy surging from all around, instantly surrounding the entire hall. "Not good. There are indeed restrictions!" Lin Tian was startled and immediately operated his spiritual energy and sacrificed his magical artifact, preparing to deal with the impending danger. With the activation of the restrictions, countless rays of light suddenly emerged on the stone walls around the hall. These rays interwove together to form a huge light curtain, firmly wrapping the stone platform. At the same time, continuous powerful fluctuations of spiritual energy also emerged from the light curtain, as if trying to suppress Lin Tian's spiritual energy. Lin Tian knew that this was the protective mechanism of the palace at work. If he did not quickly break the protection of the light curtain, he would not be able to approach that spiritual treasure. He had no time to think and immediately activated the mental method in Xuan Tian Zhen Jie, fully operating his spiritual energy and attempting to break the protection of the light curtain. However, the power of the light curtain was far stronger than he imagined. Despite using all his spiritual energy, the light curtain remained as stable as a mountain, showing no sign of wavering. "It seems that I have to find another way." Lin Tian was secretly anxious but he remained calm and carefully observed the changes of the light curtain. After some observation, Lin Tian finally found that the flow of runes in the light curtain seemed to follow a certain specific pattern and this pattern had some connection with the runes seen on the stone door before. Lin Tian's heart stirred and he immediately began to try to find the flaw in the light curtain according to the pattern of the runes. As his divine sense delved deeper, the runes in the light curtain gradually began to change and the power of the light curtain also started to weaken. Seeing this, Lin Tian immediately fully operated his spiritual energy and focused on attacking the weakest part of the light curtain. Finally, under Lin Tian's full attack, a fine crack appeared in the light curtain and then gradually expanded until it finally collapsed completely. Lin Tian heaved a sigh of relief and then stepped onto the stone platform, his gaze firmly fixed on the spiritual treasure suspended in mid-air. "What exactly is this spiritual treasure?" Lin Tian was full of curiosity. He could feel the powerful power contained in the spiritual treasure but could not fully see its true appearance. Just as he reached out to take the spiritual treasure, the spiritual treasure suddenly emitted a dazzling light and a powerful force erupted from it, instantly repelling Lin Tian several steps back. Lin Tian was startled and knew that he had underestimated the power of this spiritual treasure and had to be more careful. He steadied his footing, took a deep breath and prepared to try again. However, just at this moment, he suddenly felt an abnormal fluctuation of spiritual energy coming from the depths of the hall. There was a hint of evil in that fluctuation, as if hiding some extremely dangerous existence. "Could there be other existences in this palace?" Lin Tian's heart trembled and he immediately decided to temporarily give up taking the spiritual treasure and first explore the source of this spiritual energy fluctuation. Lin Tian followed the direction of the spiritual energy fluctuation and walked to the other end of the hall. There, he found a closed stone door. The stone door was also engraved with complex runes and patterns, as if blocking the entry from the outside. Lin Tian knew that this stone door was very likely to lead to the deeper part of the palace and the strange spiritual energy fluctuation came from behind the stone door. Despite being full of doubts, Lin Tian still decided to open the stone door to find out. He understood that only by thoroughly understanding everything in the palace could he truly control the opportunities here.
He slowly reached out his hand, preparing to push the stone door. However, just as he was about to touch the stone door, the stone door suddenly opened automatically. A black shadow flashed from behind the door and swiftly attacked Lin Tian. "Not good!" Lin Tian was startled and immediately sacrificed his magical artifact to block in front of him. The black shadow was extremely fast and instantly collided with Lin Tian's magical artifact. The two powerful fluctuations of spiritual energy collided in the air, erupting a violent shock that made the entire hall tremble. Lin Tian was knocked back several steps, but he quickly steadied himself and his gaze fixed tightly on the black shadow. He discovered that it was actually a monstrously-shaped demonic beast, its entire body covered with jet-black scales and a malicious light shining from its eyes. Clearly, it was no ordinary demonic beast. "The power of this demonic beast is so strong!" Lin Tian was secretly astonished. He could sense the vast spiritual energy contained within the demonic beast, which was obviously not something he could easily handle with his current cultivation level. However, Lin Tian did not retreat. He knew that in such a situation, only by going all out could there be a glimmer of hope. He quickly operated the mental method in Xuan Tian Zhen Jie. Spiritual energy instantly gathered in his body, condensing into a powerful spiritual energy sword qi that slashed directly at the demonic beast. The demonic beast let out a low growl and its figure flashed, vanishing from its original position instantly. Lin Tian's heart shuddered, knowing that this demonic beast was extremely fast and he had to be vigilant at all times. His divine sense rapidly spread out, capturing the movement of the demonic beast. After a moment, the demonic beast suddenly appeared on Lin Tian's left, opened its gaping mouth and lunged straight at him. Lin Tian was well-prepared. His figure flashed to avoid the attack of the demonic beast and at the same time, he waved the magical artifact in his hand, sending a sharp sword qi towards the vital part of the demonic beast. However, the demonic beast's reaction was extremely quick. It instantly swung its tail and deflected Lin Tian's sword qi. The forces of the two collided again, erupting a violent shock. Cracks began to appear on the ground of the entire hall. "The defense of this demonic beast is so astonishing!" Lin Tian was secretly amazed, but he was not discouraged. Instead, he continued to engage with the demonic beast, searching for its weakness. After several fierce battles, Lin Tian finally found that the left shoulder of this demonic beast seemed to be its vulnerable spot. Whenever he attacked the left shoulder of the demonic beast, its reaction would be slightly sluggish. Apparently, that was its fatal weakness. Lin Tian's heart was filled with joy and he decided to focus his strength on attacking the left shoulder of the demonic beast. He quickly operated his spiritual energy and a brilliant sword qi erupted from the magical artifact in his hand, slashing directly at the left shoulder of the demonic beast. The demonic beast let out a painful roar. Its left shoulder was hit by the sword qi, its scales shattered and blood splashed everywhere. Lin Tian knew this was an excellent opportunity and immediately attacked again with all his strength, targeting the left shoulder of the demonic beast. With Lin Tian's consecutive attacks, the left shoulder of the demonic beast was already a bloody mess and its movements became sluggish. Seeing this, Lin Tian secretly heaved a sigh of relief in his heart, knowing that he had seized the victory. He once again gathered all the spiritual energy in his body, preparing to launch the final strike. However, just as he was about to make a move, the demonic beast suddenly let out a shrill roar and its entire body instantly erupted with a powerful evil force, knocking Lin Tian back several steps. "Damn!" Lin Tian was startled and knew that the demonic beast had burst out the most powerful force at its dying moment. He immediately sacrificed his protective magical artifact, forming a spiritual energy barrier to withstand the impact of the demonic beast. With the final strike of the demonic beast, the entire hall began to shake violently. Countless cracks appeared on the surrounding walls as if they were about to collapse at any moment. Lin Tian knew that the situation had become extremely dangerous. He had to deal with the demonic beast as soon as possible. Otherwise, the entire palace might collapse in this battle. He took a deep breath, suppressed the fluctuations of spiritual energy in his body and launched a full-powered strike again. The sword qi pierced straight towards the left shoulder of the demonic beast. The demonic beast let out a painful roar and finally, under Lin Tian's attack, its body gradually slumped and fell to the ground. Lin Tian stood beside the corpse of the demonic beast, his gaze revealing a complex expression. Although he had successfully defeated the demonic beast, he also felt a deep sense of exhaustion and powerlessness. This battle made him realize that his strength was still insufficient to deal with greater dangers. He must constantly improve himself to remain invincible in the world of cultivation. After dealing with the demonic beast, Lin Tian returned to the stone platform and his gaze fell on the spiritual treasure suspended in mid-air again. Although he had passed the tests in the palace, he still felt that there seemed to be some undiscovered power hidden in this spiritual treasure. "The origin of this spiritual treasure is extraordinary. If I can master its mystery, it will surely be of great help to my cultivation." Lin Tian thought to himself secretly and decided to try to take the spiritual treasure again. He took a deep breath to calm the fluctuations in his heart and then slowly reached out his hand, gently touching the surface of the spiritual treasure. A gentle fluctuation of spiritual energy came from the surface of the spiritual treasure, as if responding to his touch. Lin Tian was overjoyed and knew that he had gained the recognition of the spiritual treasure. Then he operated his spiritual energy and slowly took the spiritual treasure into his hand. As the spiritual treasure was in his hand, Lin Tian felt that the spiritual energy in his body seemed to be enhanced by some kind of power, becoming purer and stronger. He observed it carefully and found that the shape of the spiritual treasure was actually an ancient jade pendant. The surface of the jade pendant was engraved with complex runes, emitting an ancient and mysterious aura. Lin Tian could sense that this jade pendant contained extremely powerful power. If he could master it thoroughly, it would surely help him make further progress on the path of cultivation. However, just as Lin Tian was about to leave the palace, he suddenly felt an abnormal fluctuation of spiritual energy from the jade pendant in his hand, as if guiding him towards an unknown direction. Lin Tian's heart shuddered and knew that this jade pendant was very likely some special magical artifact that could guide him to more opportunities. "It seems that the gains this time are much greater than I imagined." Lin Tian was secretly delighted in his heart and then decided to follow the guidance of the jade pendant and continue to explore this mountain range in search of more opportunities. After leaving the underground palace, Lin Tian stood at a high point in the mountain range, looking into the distance with his heart filled with expectations for the future. He knew that the road ahead was long and full of endless unknowns and challenges, but he was ready to welcome all possible opportunities and dangers. "The way of cultivation is that only by constantly moving forward can one glimpse a broader world." Lin Tian silently admonished himself in his heart.