Chapter 359: Ancient Forest

At the end of the square stood an immensely heavy stone door. Ten figures stood before it, rigid and motionless, resembling ancient corpses. These silver-skinned puppets had hollow eyes and expressionless faces, standing as guardians for thousands of years.

Zi Yan, spotting the puppets, turned her head and waved excitedly to Xiao Ming and the others who were approaching. "Xiao Ming, look over there! There are puppets just like yours!"

Xiao Ming observed the puppets outside the stone door. Their entire bodies gleamed with a radiant silver color, indicating that they were at the Earth Level. Judging by Xiao Ming's estimation, these ten Earth Demon Puppets should possess strength at the peak of the Dou Ancestor Realm.

"It seems that the true remains lie beyond this stone door, and these puppets serve as protection," Xiao Yi Xian murmured as she gazed at the imposing stone door.

"Let me stretch my muscles a bit." Venerable Tian Huo took a few steps forward. Ten Dou Ancestor-level puppets would not last even one round against him.

"Or let me handle it." Xiao Ming intervened, stopping him.

The spiritual imprints of these ten Earth Demon Puppets had almost been erased, and once their souls were swept away, they could be easily collected. It would be a waste to let Yao Tian Huo destroy them.

Moreover, these ten Earth Demon Puppets possessed a combined attack formation that could transform them into Sky Demon Puppets. Xiao Ming was quite interested in this combined attack formation and wanted to see what would happen if he used his more than twenty Sky Demon Puppets to execute it.

After Xiao Ming spoke, Venerable Tian Huo ceased his movements, and before he could say anything, he heard Xiao Ming say, "Done."

"Huh? What do you mean by 'done'?" Venerable Tian Huo looked puzzled.

In the next moment, Xiao Ming waved his hand, and the ten Earth Demon Puppets turned into streams of silver light, being collected by him.

Creak...

As the ten puppets were stored in Xiao Ming's storage ring, the tightly closed stone door emitted a series of creaking sounds, gradually opening up a crack. A desolate and ancient aura slowly drifted out.

"Let's go."

After explaining briefly to the astonished Yao Tian Huo, Xiao Ming led the group into the open stone door.

After passing through the stone door, Xiao Ming and the others found themselves in a colossal hall resembling a behemoth. They felt insignificant standing in the middle of the hall. As they looked around, they noticed several deep corridors extending from the hall's sides, their destinations unknown.

"What should we do next?" Everyone looked at Xiao Ming for guidance.

Seeing the vastness of the hall, Xiao Ming wanted to suggest splitting up and searching separately.

However, considering his limited knowledge of the place and the possibility of unknown dangers within the hall, he dismissed the idea.

"Let's first look for the ancient forest. Then, we'll search hall by hall. If you find something useful to yourselves along the way, feel free to keep it."

"Zi Yan, sense the location of the ancient forest. The herbs there have survived countless years, and I'm sure you'll be delighted by them."

Although Xiao Ming also had a talent for treasure hunting, why bother doing it himself when he had Zi Yan?

"Okay!" Upon hearing about ancient herbs, Zi Yan's eyes curved into crescents as she eagerly nodded. She closed her eyes, utilizing her unique talent to sense the location of treasures and identify their approximate types.

After a short while, Zi Yan opened her eyes and excitedly said to Xiao Ming, "Xiao Ming, I've found it. Follow me."

With a swing of her double ponytail, Zi Yan swiftly flew towards a nearby passage, leading Xiao Ming and the others.

The corridors in the massive hall were incredibly spacious, allowing the group to move as quickly as little birds. They passed by pavilions along the way, but since their main goal was to find the ancient forest, they didn't slow down.

After a while, Zi Yan suddenly stopped, drawing the attention of Xiao Ming and the others. Their gazes focused on the ancient stone door ahead, covered in moss, its deep green color conveying the passage of time.

"The scent of ancient forest is strongest here, so this should be the place where the herbs are stored," Zi Yan pointed at the stone door.

Venerable Tian Huo took the initiative to investigate. "There are no mechanisms on the door."

"Open it, but be careful, everyone."

Rumble!

Venerable Tian Huo pushed open the heavy moss-covered stone door with a low rumbling sound. A thick mist of medicinal fragrance, hidden for countless years, immediately surged out, revitalizing everyone's spirits.

"It smells so good! There must be countless herbs inside!" Zi Yan exclaimed in delight. What could be more enticing to her than an abundance of medicinal herbs?

With the door fully open and the radiance dissipating, a vast ancient forest entirely composed of herbs appeared before their eyes. Even the typically indifferent Medusa couldn't help but reveal a look of astonishment.

"Wow, so many herbs!"

Unable to contain her excitement, Zi Yan yelled and dashed towards the ancient forest behind the door. The sight was overwhelming, with herbs of various shapes, sizes, and colors spreading as far as the eye could see.

Even though Xiao Ming was somewhat prepared for this scene, he couldn't help but be taken aback. After all, this was an entire forest made up of ancient medicinal herbs.

Unlike in the original story, if Pill Tower was aware of its existence, they would not remain indifferent.

And now the forest was theirs to harvest!

"Let's go, keep up with Zi Yan!" Xiao Ming called out, stepping forward to follow Zi Yan into the forest.

Inside the herb forest, Zi Yan was like a monkey in a cornfield. Within a short time, she had already gathered a pile of herbs in her arms, with a spiritual fruit clenched in her mouth.

Her gaze darted around the collection, focusing on higher-grade herbs. She plucked one after the other as she walked, all of which were rare and high-grade herbs that were rarely seen in normal circumstances.

If these herbs fell into the hands of Xiao Ming, they would be more than enough to refine seventh-tier pills. However, because Zi Yan liked them, Xiao Ming let her have her way.

Without needing any instructions, Xiao Yi Xian, Venerable Tian Huo, Qing Lin, and Medusa also began digging for herbs.

After two hours, Xiao Ming looked back and realized they hadn't made much progress. Looking ahead at the seemingly endless herb forest, he couldn't help but gulp.

'Holy hell, with just a few of them, it would probably take a lot of time just to gather the herbs!'

"I'll take Zi Yan deeper into the forest to look for higher-grade herbs. You guys stay here and gather the lower-grade ones with a rougher approach," Xiao Ming explained.

"Of course, if you want to go into the forest to gather herbs, you can, but stick together."

The herbs in this forest were actually of a high grade, but if they were meticulously harvested one by one, it would be too time-consuming. A rougher approach would be more efficient.

Of course, using an unprofessional method might affect the medicinal properties, and the herbs couldn't be transplanted again.

With the abundance of herbs here, if they couldn't be transplanted, so be it. Xiao Ming's main goal was the scarce and precious herbs found in the inner core of the forest.