Mortal Alchemy

Soon, Chen Ping and the other four returned to the outside of the palace complex.

Corpses littered the ground, and on the Mu family's side, including the direct descendants, only forty people remained.

Among them, one Mu family direct descendant was scavenging storage bags from the corpses, extracting every last bit of value.

This scene sent chills down the spines of Chen Ping and the others.

Thirty Mu family direct descendants had entered, and only ten were still alive.

This Golden Core cave dwelling didn't allow Foundation Establishment cultivators to enter, but it didn't prevent Qi Refining cultivators from breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage here.

In the Mu family's camp, besides Mu Hailong breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage, another Mu family direct descendant had also broken through.

Chen Ping and the others exchanged glances, each seeing solemnity in the other's eyes.

In this situation, the Mu family direct descendants breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage and gathering them together was not good news.

Mu Hailong directly led Chen Ping and the others into the palace.

Inside the palace, there were densely packed passages and rooms, stretching out endlessly, obviously due to the effects of formations.

The Mu, Qiu, and Zhao families each occupied an area.

The Qiu and Zhao families each still had over a hundred members, but only one person from each family had broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage, while the Mu family had two.

The three groups were constantly exploring the rooms within the passages, seemingly searching for the Golden Core inheritance.

But screams echoed constantly in the passages, sounding extremely eerie.

Clearly, the person who left the inheritance in this Golden Core cave dwelling was not a benevolent individual.

Especially after Chen Ping stepped into this palace, the gray-white bead hanging on his neck began to heat up slightly.

This made Chen Ping nervous. The gray-white bead had only heated up three times in the twenty years he had worn it.

The first time was when Mu Xingling wanted him to be her pleasure slave and implant the slave seed.

The second time was when Ji Changsheng wanted to seize his body.

The third time was when the snake demon set up a formation.

Now, the gray-white bead was heating up for the fourth time, indicating that there was something extraordinary and dangerous within this palace.

An invisible mountain weighed heavily on Chen Ping's heart. He cupped his fist and asked:

"Young Master Mu, what should we do for the Mu family?"

Mu Hailong was very satisfied with Chen Ping's tone and said:

"The five of you will explore those rooms together. If you can find the room that teleports to the Scripture Pavilion, each of you will receive a Foundation Establishment Pill."

He was laying his cards on the table. The Scripture Pavilion was the place of the Golden Core inheritance, but it could only be reached through the rooms in this passage.

However, the screams of cultivators constantly echoing from the other two passages indicated that people would die.

This time, Fang Xing and the others were not at all tempted by the Foundation Establishment Pill, but rather filled with anger.

These passage rooms were so dangerous, yet Mu Hailong and the other direct descendants didn't go themselves, but instead asked them, the Qi Refining cultivators, to go. Wasn't this forcing them to die?

Even if they were lucky enough to find the Golden Core inheritance, they would have to offer it to the Mu family.

They did the work, and the Mu family took the benefits?

Why?

Moreover, the Mu family direct descendants were collecting storage bags from the corpses...

Squeezing them dry, extracting every last bit of value, and still wanting them to risk their lives?

But Mu Hailong was at the Foundation Establishment stage, and they didn't dare to turn against him. They could only be angry but not speak out.

Even though they had married Mu family women and were Mu family sons-in-law, in the eyes of the direct descendants, they were just cannon fodder and servants.

Seeming to understand what Chen Ping and the others were thinking, Mu Hailong said:

"Even if you don't find the Scripture Pavilion, the Mu family will still give you a Foundation Establishment opportunity. I will take the lead and give you a Foundation Establishment spiritual herb."

Every Golden Core family under the Eastern Xuan Sect cultivated a Foundation Establishment spiritual herb.

Foundation Establishment spiritual herbs were not limited to the four main herbs for Foundation Establishment Pills. Strictly speaking, as long as they were Tier 2 spiritual herbs that involved the soul, divine sense, and spiritual power, they could be considered Foundation Establishment spiritual herbs.

However, the effects were limited.

Chen Ping and the others remained silent, unwilling to act.

This made Mu Hailong somewhat annoyed. These lowly beings still weren't doing their jobs?

If it weren't for the lack of manpower and not wanting the Qiu and Zhao families to take advantage, just based on Chen Ping and the others' current silence, he would have been able to kill these five to vent his anger.

Chen Ping took a deep breath and said, "In that case, Young Master Mu, can you bestow the Foundation Establishment spiritual herb upon us now?"

"That way, whether we succeed or not, the Mu family will not suffer any losses."

This Mu Hailong was foolish. Even when mortals went to war, they knew to distribute food and money to boost morale.

Yet Mu Hailong offered nothing but empty promises and wanted them to risk their lives?

He truly lacked understanding of human relationships and was even worse at managing subordinates.

Hearing this, Fang Xing and the others' eyes lit up.

Mu Hailong pondered for a moment and said, "Alright."

"These Foundation Establishment spiritual herbs were originally meant for other direct descendants to try to establish their foundation, but now that they are dead, it has given you an advantage."

He opened his storage bag and took out five Tier 2 spiritual herbs – Moonshine Grass!

This should be the Tier 2 spiritual herb that the Mu family cultivated themselves.

Chen Ping was knowledgeable and also had Ji Changsheng's memories, so he immediately recognized it:

"Moonshine Grass, grows in Tier 2 water-cold areas, has a 50% chance of aiding Foundation Establishment, and is the main ingredient of the Divine Essence Strengthening Pill."

After bestowing the five Moonshine Grasses, Mu Hailong narrowed his eyes and said, "Now, can you safely carry out your duties?"

His tone was unkind, and his eyes flickered with anger, coldness, and killing intent.

Chen Ping cupped his fist and said:

"We will set off immediately!"

Fang Xing and the others usually followed Fang Xing's lead, but now that Chen Ping was present, with his superior mind and methods, they listened to Chen Ping.

Mu Hailong's expression remained unchanged, and he nodded slightly:

"This seat will wait here for your good news."

Chen Ping and the other four formed a formation and stepped into the passage. They naturally wouldn't enter some of the blood-stained rooms, unsure of the dangers lurking inside.

After walking for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, they arrived outside a room that had not yet been explored.

Under Mu Hailong's deathly threatening gaze, the five braced themselves, pushed open the door in front of them, and rushed in!

"Roar!!!"

Inside this room, there was actually a demon beast imprisoned.

A roar suddenly rang out, shaking Chen Ping and the others to the core.

Lin Feixian's face changed drastically: "A half-step Tier 2 demon beast!"

Chen Ping said in a deep voice, "Form the formation and kill it!"

It was a tiger demon, and it had long been starving. It opened its bloody mouth, a腥风撲來(xing feng pu lai - a gust of wind with a fishy smell) swept over, and its huge demon body raised its claws and pressed down on Chen Ping and the others.

The five each summoned their own magical artifacts and cast a spell.

"Bang--"

An explosion of spiritual power rang out, forcing the tiger demon back.

Luo Chongzhi's face was extremely ugly: "The combined attack of the five of us didn't even injure it!"

Chen Ping wasn't surprised by this because he had experience in this regard.

But even so, he didn't want to expose his cultivation base in front of Luo Chongzhi and the other three.

Even less did he want to expose his strength at the fifteenth level of Qi Refining.

Chen Ping appeared calm, composed in the face of danger, and said, "Senior brothers, this tiger demon has been hungry for who knows how long and is nothing more than outwardly strong but inwardly weak. We will form a defensive formation and use talismans to pile it to death."

The others' eyes lit up, and they couldn't help but feel admiration for Chen Ping's reaction.

"Okay, let's do as Senior Brother Chen says!"