Above Golden

“I know a bit.” Lin Kun nodded. He was a bit reluctant, but when faced with this little fiend, he truly didn’t have any confidence. Even though he was far away in the Medicine Capital, he had heard of this “devilish brat”. Several years ago, when Shi Hao was still a little brat, he was already able to make trouble in the Void God Realm. A year and a half ago, he gained fame after defeating the dual-pupiled individual and killing the supreme expert. He was known as the wasteland region’s only teenager supreme being.

This was a problematic individual who was only in his teens, yet was infuriated by both man and god. All of the great ancient sects felt helpless. The more Lin Kun thought about it, the more scared he became. He deeply regretted provoking Shi Hao. Right now, he was doing everything he could to remedy the situation.

At this moment, the group of people were all excited and extremely interested. Even Yun Xi was thrilled. That was an Emperor Butterfly! Other than its talent in finding spiritual plants, in terms of strength, it was known to be matchless. Even the well-known Crack Demonic Butterfly, whose terrifying combat strength shook the archaic times, was far from being its opponent. It was to the extent that some people in the cultivation world speculated that if not for the fact that the Emperor Butterfly had only appeared once in the archaic times, making it difficult to measure its potential, it might have squeezed into the archaic “Ten Vicious”.

This wasn’t random talking. There were indeed people who came to this conclusion before. It was known to be above the golden level and was known as the Divine Seal Butterfly. This divine insect was so powerful. If it took action a few more times and obtained an accurate evaluation, the conclusion might be extremely astonishing.

However, everyone also had their doubts. Why did it only appear once? After all these years, there shouldn’t be only one case, right? It was like a flash in the pan.

“It is the only one. Legend has it that only one can be born in countless eras,” Yun Xi said softly. This was an anecdote she had read in the dusty bone books of the Heavenly Divine Mountain.

How did it appear? No one knew. A few heavenly-ranked archaic creatures had previously speculated that it might not belong to this realm at all.

After struggling inwardly, Lin Kun instead became calm. He saw that Shi Hao was attracted, so he knew that he had avoided a disaster. Shi Hao most likely wouldn’t do anything to him.

After thinking about it carefully, he felt that even if such a divine insect existed, it would still be difficult for a Formation Arrangement Realm old man like him to protect it. He might as well establish some good karma here.

There was no need to think about Shi Hao’s potential at all. Right now, everyone knew that if he was given time, he would definitely surpass the experts of the present world. After Lin Kun made his choice, he calmed down and no longer felt conflicted. He didn’t waste any time. He turned around and walked toward a corner of the medicinal field.

He squatted down and groped about in the soil. With a cracking sound, an expanse of symbols shone through the soil, and then with crackling sounds, that place split open.

Lin Kun produced a stone case from the hole and handed it to Shi Hao.

“There really is an Emperor Butterfly?!” Everyone widened their eyes, feeling extremely nervous. Even their breathing became hurried. Huo Ling’er’s chest was rising and falling. Her beautiful eyes flickered with brilliance as she stared at the seemingly simple and unadorned stone box.

“Be careful. If it’s an Emperor Butterfly, even if it is a larva, it still possesses unimaginable spirituality and powerful might,” Yun Xi warned excitedly.

She had always been curious about such legendary creatures, and there was some reverence as well. They were both descendants of creatures from the archaic era, so she urgently wished to see the Emperor Butterfly.

Lin Kun was embarrassed and said softly, “It’s just an important clue, not that sleeping larva.”

Everyone was a bit disappointed, but they also released a breath of relief. That was normal. If such an astonishing divine bug was casually taken out by a king-level figure, then that would be strange and inconceivable.

When the stone case was opened, there was a piece of bronze inside. There were over a hundred mysterious symbols engraved on it. Even though it was dim and full of mottled rust, there was still a gentle ancient feeling.

“This is half of the bronze piece. It’s recorded in the Divine Medicine Sect’s ancient book. If you can find a complete bronze magical artifact, you can obtain the legendary Emperor Butterfly,” Lin Kun explained.

As for the piece in his hands, it was something he accidentally discovered after moving in. Many years ago, a senior collected this piece of bronze before sealing it here.

Everyone immediately felt a bit discouraged. Countless years had passed since the ancient era, yet not a single person obtained the other half of the bronze piece. How were outsiders like them supposed to find it?

“There are already clues. Back then, when the Medicine Deity died, his remains were taken care of by his youngest son. That bronze piece was naturally in his hands…” Lin Kun explained.

“Does this mean that there are clues regarding the Medicine Deity’s descendants?” The Nine-Headed Lion asked.

“Yes, his remains were discovered.” Lin Kun nodded and then explained in detail.

That place was precisely the Ancient Divine Valley which was protected by over a hundred formations. Ever since that ruin appeared, many people have been exploring it every day. Recently, they discovered some clues.

The big red bird was immediately displeased. What kind of place was that? It was simply impossible to enter because according to what Yun Xi said, it was most likely a formation set up by a heavenly deity. It was difficult for anyone in the present world to break it.

“It’s a bit unexpected. Just yesterday, someone excavated there and saw an underground cave. It actually leads straight into the divine valley,” Lin Kun said.

“How is that possible? There is someone who can break through the Heavenly Deity Formation?” Everyone was shocked.

“It was broken by the ancient people. They broke through three formations in a row before they died inside. When someone entered, they saw many shattered magical artifacts, as well as a jade tile that recorded the identities of those who died,” Lin Kun said.

After hearing this, everyone understood what was going on.

“It’s still a secret. Currently, only a few people know about it. Right now, a few great figures from the Medicine Capital are taking action and have already entered the divine valley’s broken formation to see if they can obtain any benefits.”

When they heard these words, everyone immediately became anxious.

After carefully understanding the situation, Lin Kun led the way. They quickly made their way to the ancient divine valley. Immortal energy was still hazy, and auspicious light was faintly discernible. The valley was extremely mysterious.

This time, Shi Hao didn’t look at the divine spiritual root in the center of the valley, instead, he arrived at a region surrounded by all types of formation banners.

It was clear that this place was controlled by someone. Great banners fluttered about, sealing up this space. Mist surged inside, making it impossible to see what was inside.

Lin Kun could be a great figure in the Medicine Capital. Based on the principle of sharing benefits, he could also bring people in. This place was occupied by a few experts, and normal people couldn’t enter.

“Elder Lin seems to have brought quite a few people this time.” A few cultivators were currently guarding an ancient cave underground, not allowing others to enter as they pleased.

Lin Kun smiled, exchanging pleasantries with them. In the end, he led Shi Hao and the others inside without being stopped.

The underground ancient cave was deep and serene. Only after descending several hundred meters could one move horizontally into the valley. One could see how difficult it was for those who broke through the formation back then. They had to pay an extremely great price to open up a path.

There were still remnants of symbols in this ancient cave, as well as a terrifying aura pervading the air. If it wasn’t neutralized, normal people would definitely die if they tried to forcefully enter.

Soon after, they followed the ancient cave up and arrived at a place with light. They entered the valley, which was the first formation.

“Hey, it’s a world of its own!” Flame Crow sucked in a cold breath of air.

Meanwhile, everyone couldn’t help but feel horrified. This region was too large. It stretched as far as the eye could see. It was many times larger than the valleys they saw in the outside world. This was only the first formation. Just how vast would a hundred formations add up to?

Everyone felt a headache. This couldn’t be a great wasteland, could it? They began to measure the first formation, discovering that it really was endless. If they used this to calculate, then the true area of the entire valley would be incredibly large.

“I estimate that if a hundred formations are added together, it will cover a circumference of several hundred thousand miles, perhaps even endless,” Huo Ling’er speculated.

Such a large territory was incredible. Just how bold was the creator? It was a great formation that covered a circumference of hundreds of thousands of miles. That was simply astonishing.

“What was the creator trying to do? Who would be so bored as to set up such a huge formation?” The Nine-Headed Lion said while grinding its teeth.

“There isn’t much life force here.” Shi Hao looked surprised. There were very few plants in the first formation. They were sparse and scattered as if all of the essence energy had been sucked dry.

“Apart from the protective formation, there’s also the spirit gathering formation. All of them are concentrated at the center of this boundless valley,” said Yun Xi.

“Don’t tell me that the essence of energy and underground spiritual veins within a radius of several hundred thousand miles are all used to nourish the spiritual root of heaven and earth in the center?” Huo Ling’er looked surprised.

What kind of a plant was that? If it was true, then the requirements were just too terrifying.

Even Shi Hao’s mind was shaken. This valley was definitely set up by an unmatched great figure, to the extent that it might not even belong to this realm.

“I hope it’s not left behind by someone on purpose, waiting until later to remove the precious medicine,” Shi Hao said softly. If that happened, there would definitely be unmatched figures who would appear again.

Under Lin Kun’s lead, they entered another ancient cave that led into the second formation. There were definitely spatial symbols in this passage. The place was clearly very far, but they quickly passed through and arrived on the surface.

The second formation was also boundless. It was similar in size to the first formation, and it was practically barren without a blade of grass. There wasn’t anything of value.

Lin Kun reminded them, “If we continue forward, it’ll be dangerous. The Medicine Deity’s son died in the third formation, and he only broke a portion of the restrictions.”

“Let’s go.” Shi Hao wanted to take a look, but he wouldn’t take the risk.

After entering the third formation, there was a safe area. There were already over a hundred people, who were researching and looking for something.

These were the great figures of the Medicine Capital. They brought their respective disciples and descendants here to try their luck. They thought the opportunity would be divided among them, but their benefits were limited.

This safe region wasn’t that large. The mists in the periphery were hazy, and it was impossible to see clearly.

Many people searched around the periphery, hoping to find something.

“Hey, there are quite a few magical artifact fragments.” There were many ruined artifacts here, for example, broken formation flags, shattered primordial symbol bones, and ruptured medicinal cauldrons.

“These are the remains of that senior,” Lin Kun said, pointing forward.

That corpse’s flesh had long disappeared, and the bones had turned grayish-black, which was extremely abnormal. With a light touch, it would split apart. He had suffered the crushing power of terrifying formation patterns.

Moreover, there was a spirit gathering formation here that extracted all of his essence.

“The loss of spiritual essence in this place is too severe…” Not long after entering, Shi Hao and the others reached this conclusion.

This third formation wasn’t completely broken through, which was why even though they were in the safe region, they couldn’t stay there for too long. There were still hidden dangers and killing intent.

“Elder Lin, you’re here,” Someone greeted Lin Kun.

“The Medicine Deity’s son, who was also our ancestral master, was extremely powerful. After our research, he might have broken into the divine level in his later years and entered with a portion of the formation diagram,” another elder said.

The information they revealed was extremely shocking, leaving Shi Hao shaken. He couldn’t help but use that dual-pupil to examine it.

Was he really a divine-level expert? Shi Hao trembled because he discovered that a certain bone hadn’t completely turned grayish-black. There was a type of divine light flickering about, which was the aura of a deity.

The deity only broke through two and a half formations, and he seemed to have entered with a portion of the formation diagram. Just how terrifying was this place?!

Shi Hao didn’t hold much hope because this place was extremely dangerous. In addition, after walking around, he didn’t find the bronze piece he was looking for.

“Hey, there really is one!” Just as he was about to give up, feeling like his trip was in vain, the dual-pupils inadvertently caught a strange aura, just like the bronze piece in his bosom.

He carefully observed it and was immediately overjoyed. It was actually the other half of the bronze piece. This was truly an unexpected surprise.