The Azure Phoenix turned her head and looked around, meeting the gazes of the Sacred Spirits from every clan. She instantly knew that the thoughts lurking in their hearts were no different from Kun Ao's.
It was hardly surprising they felt that way. Each clan's Sacred Treasure was of vital importance and had been lost for ages. Now that they had spotted one here, there was no way they could simply ignore it.
If the Giant Spirit had still been alive, the Sacred Spirits of the Ancestral Ground would never have dared harbor such thoughts. But it had been confirmed beyond all doubt that the suppressed Giant Spirit was dead beyond revival, so leaving the Sacred Treasures here was nothing short of a waste.
After a long silence, the Azure Phoenix sighed. "Do as you will, then. But exercise caution."
Under the weight of collective momentum, the Phoenix Clan, though powerful, could not easily defy the wishes of all. Unable to stop them, she could only let things take their course.
The Sacred Spirits lit up with joy upon hearing this and dashed toward the locations of their respective Sacred Treasures, searching for a way to claim them. They had only ever heard of these Sacred Treasures, never actually seen them, so they naturally had no idea how to collect them. But they were all formidable Sacred Spirits — figuring out the method shouldn't prove too difficult.
The Phoenix Clan remained where they were. The Imperishable Parasol Tree blazed with roaring flames, resembling the legendary Nirvana Fire. But until the Azure Phoenix gave the word, none of them dared make a move.
"Aren't you going to take a look?" The Azure Phoenix suddenly turned her head toward Yang Kai.
Yang Kai had been staring at the Crystal Palace the entire time. "May I?"
The Azure Phoenix smiled. "You're the only member of the Dragon Clan in the Ancestral Ground. If you don't go, who will?"
"Then I'll go have a look." Yang Kai flared his nostrils, his figure flickering as he shot eagerly toward the Crystal Palace.
Moments later, he arrived before it. Even from a distance, the palace had appeared as though carved from crystal — a seamless whole, breathtakingly beautiful. Up close, it was even more magnificent.
Though it was his first time seeing it, Yang Kai could confirm that this Crystal Palace was indeed connected to the Dragon Clan. A wordless bond existed between his bloodline and the structure itself.
He flew several circuits around the Crystal Palace, yet he couldn't even locate the entrance, let alone find a way inside. He scratched his head in frustration.
Looking up, he saw the other Sacred Spirits across the way spitting out their own essence blood, attempting to refine and claim their Sacred Treasures.
Yang Kai followed suit. It took an entire day before he managed to refine even a wisp.
With a subtle stir of his mind, the intact, seamless Crystal Palace instantly opened a grand gate, and Yang Kai slipped inside.
Stepping into the Crystal Palace, his entire body was enveloped in a warm, comfortable sensation beyond description. Moreover, the concentration of Ancestral Spirit Power inside was immeasurably denser than outside.
Each clan's Sacred Treasure had the ability to draw in and channel the Ancestral Ground's Ancestral Spirit Power. Had it not been for this, the ancient Sacred Spirits would never have placed their treasures here to gather Ancestral Spirit Power into chains that suppressed the Giant Spirit.
It was precisely because the Sacred Treasures channeled Ancestral Spirit Power that those sixteen colossal chains — stretching across tens of thousands of miles — had come into being. Their ends pierced through the void, binding the entire Demon Sealing Ground together as one.
In short, cultivating with the aid of a Sacred Treasure would dramatically boost one's efficiency. This was the foremost reason every clan's Sacred Spirits had insisted on reclaiming their treasures.
Situated within the Crystal Palace, Yang Kai didn't even need to cultivate deliberately. The incredibly dense Ancestral Spirit Power poured continuously into his body, fusing with his bloodline and strengthening his Dragon Bloodline power.
From outside, the Crystal Palace didn't look particularly large. But only after stepping inside did Yang Kai realize it possessed the wondrous ability to contain vast space within a small exterior — its interior was far more expansive than its exterior suggested.
Yuanzhu had said that each clan's Sacred Treasure held the legacy of that clan's Sacred Spirit. Yang Kai darted through the various great halls of the Crystal Palace, searching for where that legacy might lie.
He didn't find the legacy, but he did discover something strange: a number of peculiar crystalline stones.
These crystals had formed on the walls of the great halls. They varied in size — the largest like washbasins, the smallest like pigeon eggs — and there were quite a few of them.
At first, Yang Kai paid them no mind, assuming they were mere decorations of the Crystal Palace. But after passing through several halls, he realized something was off. If they were decorations, they lacked any aesthetic sense and followed no discernible pattern whatsoever.
He tentatively pried one loose and examined it closely. To his astonishment, he discovered that these crystals were composed entirely of condensed Ancestral Spirit Power.
Ancestral Spirit Crystals!
Yang Kai didn't know whether "Ancestral Spirit Crystals" was an actual term, but the crystalline stones before him certainly warranted it. And their very existence was identical in nature to the chains outside that suppressed the Giant Spirit.
Over countless ages, the Crystal Palace had continuously drawn in the Ancestral Ground's Ancestral Spirit Power, converting it into chains to seal the Giant Spirit. But with no Dragon Clan members cultivating inside the Palace, the accumulated Ancestral Spirit Power had no way to be consumed. Once the concentration here reached a certain threshold, the formless energy naturally solidified into physical matter — these Ancestral Spirit Crystals, left behind as deposits.
It was the same principle by which spirit stones came into existence.
Spirit stones had always been born in places where spiritual energy was abundant.
These were truly valuable treasures. Ancestral Spirit Power was a force unique to the Ancestral Ground — impossible to find once one left. Yang Kai had been somewhat worried about how to advance his Dragon Bloodline after departing the Ancestral Ground. With these Ancestral Spirit Crystals, he had nothing to fear.
No matter where he was, he could rely on these crystals to refine and purify his bloodline power.
Overjoyed, Yang Kai abandoned any thought of searching for the Dragon Clan's legacy. Collecting the Ancestral Spirit Crystals was what mattered now.
The walls and even the floors of every great hall bore a considerable number of Ancestral Spirit Crystals. Yang Kai set to work with a will, gathering crystals both large and small — over a thousand pieces in total.
The largest among them was already the size of a water vat!