After a moment's thought, Zhou Yan understood that it must have been the death of a spiritual beast, its spirit pearl falling out and being discovered and collected by someone.
These spirit pearls, each containing a dense spiritual energy, nurtured sentience and absorbed the essence of the sun and moon. Only when they matured could they transform into spirit pills.
Conversely, if they failed to reach maturity, they would ultimately become waste pearls.
As their spiritual energy depleted, the spirit pearls gradually lost their efficacy, crumbling into dust or even annihilating themselves, vanishing into the void.
"Hiss!"
Zhou Yan gasped, his hands trembling uncontrollably, desperate to pounce forward and devour all those spirit pearls.
"Calm down, absolutely do not act impulsively..."
Zhou Yan managed to suppress his agitated emotions, praying silently for reason to prevail, lest he suffer an ignominious defeat.
"Regardless, I've finally found spirit pearls."
After a long while, Zhou Yan exhaled a breath of stale air, saying joyfully, "As long as I get these spirit pearls to the auction house, I should be able to exchange them for a large sum of money..."
Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Yan froze, his eyes widening in shock.
In his line of sight, deep within the cave, rows upon rows of weapon racks were displayed. Swords, spears, sabers, halberds, axes, battle axes, hooks, sickles, bows, and arrows...
The weapon racks were filled with sharp armaments, glinting coldly, their edges radiating a formidable aura.
"There are so many weapons here!?"
Zhou Yan stared, finding it utterly unbelievable that this deep cave concealed the weapons forged by barbarian warriors over hundreds of years, piled up like mountains.
"Haha, this is a massive gain!"
Moments later, Zhou Yan burst into joyous laughter, filled with excitement and elation.
"Hundreds of barbarian warriors are buried here."
Zhou Yan's heart surged with irrepressible emotion. This was a battlefield relic, the resting place of hundreds of warriors, undoubtedly containing a vast collection of martial arts secrets.
After all, for martial artists, unless they were top-tier powerhouses, they would choose to inherit secret manuals.
Martial skill manuals recorded a martial artist's lifelong learning, integrating and refining them to enhance their strength.
More crucially, many martial skill compendiums were classics passed down from ancient times, containing profound mysteries.
To comprehend them would greatly aid in the understanding of one's realm.
"However, my current strength is too low. Exploring rashly would likely be extremely perilous; it's not suitable for such a risky endeavor."
After some deliberation, Zhou Yan decided to cultivate the "Imperial Star Flying Dragon Art" first and improve his realm.
"Roar~"
Just then, a roar echoed through the night sky from outside the cave.
"Huh?"
Zhou Yan's expression shifted slightly. He turned his head and immediately spotted a colossal being approaching.
It was a black tiger, its body covered in black scales, immense in size, standing four to five meters tall.
"Black-striped Ironback Tiger, a sixth-tier early-stage demonic beast. Its attacks are fierce, its defense is astonishing, it excels in guerrilla tactics, and its speed is extreme..."
Recognizing the characteristics of the Black-striped Ironback Tiger, Zhou Yan's face grew solemn, his brow furrowed with apprehension.
"Awooo!"
The Black-striped Ironback Tiger roared repeatedly, violently striking the rocks, causing the hard stone to crack and crumble, creating countless pits.
With a rumbling sound, a powerful shockwave spread, kicking up a great deal of dirt and dust.
The threat posed by the Black-striped Ironback Tiger was undeniable and chilling.
Immediately, Zhou Yan's gaze swept around, searching for an escape route.
"Crack, crack..."
Suddenly, Zhou Yan felt a sharp pain under his foot as he stepped on a dry branch, crushing it to dust.
Instantly, Zhou Yan lost his balance, nearly falling to the ground, breaking out in a cold sweat.
"Be careful, don't break anything or offend any taboos." A voice echoed.
Following closely behind, a burly man walked over, clad in armor, with a cold demeanor, as frigid as ice.
Zhou Yan's eyelids twitched, his heart constricting sharply, feeling suffocated.
As far as he could recall, he had never seen this person before.
"No, he looks like the commander of the guard..." A memory flickered in Zhou Yan's mind; he vaguely recalled hearing people talk about him before.
"Commander."
Upon seeing him, the guards hastily retreated, bowed, and spoke with respect.
"Your name is Zhou Yan, you're the new bodyguard, aren't you..."
The commander glanced at him indifferently and asked, "I just heard a noise, what were you doing..."
"Uh? I..."
Zhou Yan stammered a few words, explaining, "I was digging for spirit pearls."
Hearing this, a hint of mockery flashed in the commander's eyes as he sneered, "Digging for spirit pearls?"
"That's right."
Zhou Yan nodded, truthfully stating, "I've awakened my bloodline and possess a special sensitive sense of smell, allowing me to pinpoint the location of spirit pearls."
"Oh?"
The commander paused, then a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes. He fixed his gaze on Zhou Yan and said sternly, "Are you sure, or is it just a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse..."
"Commander, you can try."
A faint smile played on Zhou Yan's lips. He extended a finger and lightly tapped the location of a spirit pearl.
"Bang!"
In an instant, a soft sensation surged, like an electric shock.
Immediately, the spirit pearl shattered, bursting forth with a dazzling spiritual light that stung the eyes.
Zhou Yan's vision was dazzled, and he couldn't help but close his eyes.
"Buzz!"
The next second, the spirit pearl erupted with powerful energy, sweeping over Zhou Yan's consciousness like a tide, plunging him into a bizarre world.
...
A winding, dark, and chilling tunnel led to an endless distance.
Within the tunnel, towering trees reached for the sky, their dense foliage blocking out the sun, vibrant with life.
Suddenly, Zhou Yan distinctly felt the presence of dense spiritual energy in the air.
"Huuu..."
As Zhou Yan breathed, a whistling sound echoed in his lungs, and hot air billowed from his nostrils.
"The air here actually contains spiritual energy!"
Zhou Yan was overjoyed; this was an unimaginable development.
After the resurgence of spiritual energy, various mineral resources became increasingly abundant, but there were no spiritual veins, preventing the birth of spiritual energy, thus hindering martial artists from cultivating.
The current environment was characterized by thin spiritual energy, with few spiritual items existing.
Zhou Yan had cultivated for several centuries, yet remained stuck at the second level of Body Tempering, without any progress.
However, to find spiritual energy in the barbarian jungle filled Zhou Yan with inexplicable excitement.
"Whoosh!"
Abruptly, a silver light streaked across the sky, instantly arriving before Zhou Yan.
"Bang!"
Zhou Yan looked up and saw the silver light bloom like fireworks, illuminating the entire area.
Immediately, Zhou Yan reacted, his face paling with shock as he realized there was now a fist-sized hole in his chest.
Crimson liquid flowed out gurgling, staining his clothes and dripping onto the ground, quickly turning into dark blood.
"Hiss, such a potent poison..."
Zhou Yan frowned, inwardly awed.
The potent poison of this silver needle was extremely rare; even a peak Martial Disciple would perish upon contact.
Furthermore, the silver needle carried wisps of black mist that entered the wound, corroding the internal organs and penetrating muscle cells, furiously consuming life essence.