"Qian Shun, you old rascal, you finally showed up. I thought you wouldn't dare," an old man with white hair but a youthful appearance, clad in a Daoist robe adorned with mystical formations, flew in from a distance.
"Xu Long, where are the other two?" Qian Shun asked.
"Bang!"
At that moment, someone emerged from underground, holding a shovel. "There's nothing here, as expected. I've been digging for days and found nothing," he said, having emerged from the earth.
"Old Grave Mound, I don't believe you haven't unearthed a single bone," Xu Long replied.
"Pfft! Are bones considered a harvest?" Old Grave Mound unleashed a surge of spiritual energy, shaking off the dirt. However, the deathly aura clinging to him remained.
This was a consequence of spending too long in a place dense with yin energy and death, coupled with the potent nature of his death-qi cultivation technique.
"Old Grave Mound, if we find any treasures, shall we sell them and split the profits?" an old woman also flew over, her eyes gleaming with golden light, constantly observing Old Grave Mound to see if he had unearthed anything valuable.
"You old hag, stop looking. I have no good stuff on me," Old Grave Mound said, clearly displeased. He retorted, "Your eyes see through everything, even an old man like me. Haven't you seen enough handsome men in your life!"
Zhou Yan had already noticed that this old woman possessed an ability to see through and penetrate all things. Her eyes were peculiar and wondrous, capable of even discerning items within spatial rings.
This was an extremely rare ability. To her, others were as exposed as if they were naked. This was the implied meaning behind Old Grave Mound's words.
"Heh heh, I truly have no interest in the few shabby items you possess, old woman."
The old woman then glanced at the others, looking for potential gains. When her gaze finally fell upon Zhou Yan, she seemed to pause. "Kid, you're indeed not simple. I can't see anything at all."
"This kid is brimming with treasures. If you have the guts, snatch them. You won't lose out," Qian Shun incited.
"I'm not foolish, old woman. This kid has destroyed so many factions, killed so many demigods, and ruined countless territories. If I make a move, I'll be courting death. Don't try to provoke me, you old Qian Shun!"
The old woman was far from foolish. Making a move against Zhou Yan would spell her own doom.
"Alright, since everyone's here, let's set off," Xu Long said.
Zhou Yan stepped forward and asked, "Could you tell me where we're going this time?"
The others looked at Zhou Yan, then at Qian Shun, and asked, "Didn't this Qian the Cheat tell you?"
"Since you called him a cheat, how could he possibly tell me?" Zhou Yan replied.
They glanced at Qian Shun, who pouted. "Isn't there still time? It's not too late to say it now."
Old Grave Mound said, "We're going to dig for treasure!"
"This place is no ordinary place. It's related to a divine treasure trove from before the Primordial Era. It's likely protected by powerful formations, perhaps even at the level of deities," Xu Long informed Zhou Yan of their objective.
"Divine treasure trove? So that's what it is. Are there treasures left by deities?" Zhou Yan asked curiously.
He hadn't expected these people to be so capable as to find such a place. He thought to himself that he could utilize his [Heaven and Earth Library] to find more such locations; it would be much more cost-effective than eliminating those factions.
"We don't know that. After all, that place is too ancient. We might find nothing, or we might even find divine artifacts."
They weren't certain and had no guarantees, but they felt it was impossible for such a place to contain nothing of value.
"Is your source of information reliable?" Zhou Yan inquired.
"Rest assured, if we weren't confident, we wouldn't have joined forces. It's precisely because we know it's not simple that we're acting together. With your strength, you shouldn't be afraid of such a place, right?" Xu Long looked at Zhou Yan, believing he wouldn't refuse to go.
"Naturally. Since I know so much, I certainly won't back out. Let's go," Zhou Yan said.
"Heh heh, that place is not ordinary. Using conventional means, one could never reach it in a lifetime. That place was created by the deities of this realm." Qian Shun revealed more information about the location. It was precisely because of its connection to this place that they had gathered here, as only from here could they truly reach that destination.
"Oh, it's likely a fixed directional teleportation array," Zhou Yan, with his advanced understanding of formations, quickly recognized the characteristics of such a formation.
"Indeed. And to open that passage, one needs a specific item," Old Grave Mound produced an object emitting a dark, profound glow.
"I dug this up from the tomb of a demigod expert ten years ago. I was trapped there for a decade and almost lost my life," he explained. "When I obtained this, I had no idea what it was for."
"Since the demigod expert held this in his hand before his death, it must be extraordinary. To uncover its secret, the four of us spent ten years, only then confirming that this is the key to opening that divine treasure trove."
This item had no documentation, no discernible attributes, and even all probing techniques were useless. This greatly piqued Zhou Yan's curiosity. It was as if this object existed beyond the Lord Realm.
This was the first time Zhou Yan had seen such an item, and he was astonished. No wonder it took them all ten years to find information about it.
"Hurry up! We don't know what other dangers await us. Let's depart quickly, obtain the treasures, and then we can divide the spoils of our illicit gains sooner," the old woman urged Xu Long impatiently to activate the formation.
"You've amassed so much money, all for that Divine Visage Pill, haven't you? You're already so old, why do you still care so much about your appearance?" Qian Shun grumbled indignantly.
"I'm willing! I just like money, and I like being pretty. What business is it of yours, you old fossil!" the old woman retorted fiercely.
The Divine Visage Pill could grant eternal youth, but it was exceedingly rare, perhaps not appearing even once in a century. However, less potent versions like the Stabilizing Visage Pill and Returning Visage Pill existed. But these couldn't grant permanent youth; only the divine-grade Divine Visage Pill could achieve that.
The price of a single Divine Visage Pill had already been driven to exceed that of a pseudo-divine artifact. The primary reason was that women would spare no expense for their appearance, which was why such pills consistently commanded such high prices.