"Sealing-type inscriptions, with three lightning-type and six Sacred Fire-type inscriptions mixed in. If any of them get triggered, it's over. I need to dismantle the offensive inscriptions first, then take apart the sealing-type ones!"
The complexity of these inscriptions was staggering — even for Nie Li, deciphering them was an enormous hassle.
"I wonder who set these up. Their cultivation is at least at the Legendary level, if not higher. They must have placed these inscriptions to hide something!" Nie Li speculated. If a powerhouse of that caliber had truly concealed something here, then whatever he pulled out would be incredibly useful for the current Nie Li!
Nie Li began analyzing the inscriptions over and over, slowly working through them one by one. He was extremely careful with every step, because these inscriptions were incredibly dangerous. One wrong move triggering them, and even a Legendary-level powerhouse would be killed.
Calculating these inscriptions was an enormously complex process. Legendary-level inscriptionists were far rarer than Legendary-level cultivators. Before the Dark Age, inscriptionists had been one of the most revered professions. And whoever had set these up had surpassed even Legendary!
Nie Li couldn't help but feel excited. What kind of treasure was hidden inside this cliff wall?
One inscription after another was dismantled by Nie Li. He first removed all the offensive-type inscriptions, then turned his attention to the remaining three sealing-type ones.
These three sealing-type inscriptions were far more complex than all the offensive ones combined.
"I didn't expect that this world would also have human powerhouses who had reached the Destiny level," Nie Li thought to himself. He had originally assumed that only that particular Demon Beast in this world had reached the Destiny level, but it turned out there were human cultivators who had achieved that level as well.
After roughly three full hours, Nie Li finally finished deciphering the three remaining sealing-type inscriptions.
The moment he was done, the cliff wall began to tremble faintly.
A stone door slowly opened in the rock face. Peering inside, Nie Li found a deep, dark cave. The interior was damp, with water dripping down at intervals — plop, plop — and collecting on the ground into a gentle stream that flowed onward.
The dark, lightless cave stretched into the unknown.
"Exactly as I suspected. There's definitely something hidden here — probably their treasury," Nie Li thought. Bold from his own abilities, he surveyed the area, confirmed there was no danger, and stepped inside.
Drip, drip — water droplets fell from the cave ceiling, their crisp echoes ringing far through the silent cavern.
Nie Li was exceedingly cautious with every step forward. The surrounding walls were covered with all manner of offensive inscriptions, and triggering any of them would mean death. If Nie Li hadn't been able to analyze and calculate these inscriptions, even a Legendary powerhouse like
"Just these inscriptions alone must have taken enormous effort. What could possibly be hidden in this cave?" Nie Li felt a growing sense of anticipation.
From around a bend ahead, a dazzling light streamed in. Nie Li walked a few more steps, and the light spilled over him. His field of vision expanded infinitely before him.
It was a colossal cavern. Suspended from above were purple rhombus stones the size of millstones, and for some reason, even without sunlight, they emitted a faint purple glow that illuminated the entire cave brilliantly.
At the center of the cavern lay an enormous pool, from which black spring water bubbled upward ceaselessly. Yet the pool never overflowed — the water vanished somewhere unknown.
Nie Li scanned all around. There were no traps in the vicinity, so he walked forward at ease.
Surrounding the black spring, mysterious inscription arrays had been laid down, maintaining an enormous barrier.
"Could it be that whatever it is, it's inside this black spring?" Nie Li pondered. He would need to break through the barrier first, then analyze whether the spring water was toxic, before making any decision.
Looking around, there didn't seem to be any other exit from here.
Suddenly, Nie Li noticed that on the far side of the black spring, beneath the cliff wall, something appeared to be lying in a heap. His interest piqued, he made his way along the stones at the spring's edge, carefully climbing over until he landed on a flat slab of rock. After confirming there was no danger, he finally turned his gaze upon the pile.
Lying there in disarray were six skeletons. The flesh had long since decayed, leaving behind only fragmented bone shards, and even those had been weathered and corroded nearly to dust.
But despite this, Nie Li could still feel a surge of energy.
The energy was somewhat similar to Soul Power, yet seemed to be a whole tier above it.
Nie Li bent down for a closer look. Besides the skeletons, numerous items were scattered around — all kinds of armor and weapons. Though coated in a thick layer of dust, the inscriptions etched onto them suggested they were all Legendary-grade artifacts. There were several dozen in total, all left behind by these deceased cultivators.
The armor and weapons were all heavily damaged, but with some restoration work after returning, many of them should still be usable.