This particular building island appeared to be made up of the remains of disciple quarters or similar structures. The protective wards weren't particularly strong, and deep scorch marks from the clash of fire and water could still be seen.
Some of the residual formation barriers even contained traces of violet-red flames identical to the flames emitted by Tier-3 fire beasts.
Most likely, these were remnants of the flames from that time, which had fused naturally with the existing formation patterns.
With these traces as a guide, the puppet had little difficulty locating Bihu Sanren's corpse by following the path of spiritual energy surges.
The body had been severely scorched by the flames, leaving it mostly destroyed. The outer robes were charred and patchy, barely retaining any spiritual energy and completely useless now.
Even worse, his flesh and blood had been burned away entirely, leaving behind only a skeleton translucent and jade-like that barely retained a humanoid shape, though much of it was still blackened and shattered.
The most striking damage was to the skull: the forehead was split open, cracks extending across the cranium, almost as if the entire head had exploded.
When Li Ye saw this scene through the puppet's spiritual connection, his heart still back outside the tunnel seemed to skip a beat.
"So there was something wrong…"
His expression darkened. "What killed Bihu Sanren wasn't those flames it was an attack powerful enough to nearly destroy his sea of consciousness and blow his skull apart!"
Li Ye immediately recalled the recorded image of Bihu Sanren's final moments: blood flowing from all seven orifices, his movements sluggish and erratic.
It all lined up perfectly now.
There was indeed a far more dangerous entity hidden deep within the main body of the Lava Palace!
Realizing this, Li Ye dared not linger a moment longer.
He had his life-bound puppet bow respectfully toward Bihu Sanren's remains.
"Senior, you and I bore no grudge. I seek only the path to Core Formation and borrow what you have left behind. Should I one day succeed in forming a core through your legacy, I will repay this debt to Thousand Island Water City in some measure."
With that, the puppet swiftly searched the remains.
Bihu Sanren had, after all, perished under the searing flames of a Tier-3 fire beast's spirit fire, so very little of his belongings had survived intact.
Li Ye found only a heavily damaged black water pearl Bihu Sanren's life-bound magical treasure, still holding faint spiritual essence and a jade pendant that retained a gentle spiritual glow.
Everything else had been destroyed, and not even a shadow of a storage pouch remained.
"Could it have been burned to ashes, the contents lost to the void?"
Li Ye muttered uncertainly, but then something struck him.
"…The jade pendant!"
The black water pearl was Bihu Sanren's life-bound treasure, long saturated with water-type spiritual energy. Even with its spiritual essence badly damaged, it could still resist the violet-red flames unaided.
That it had survived was to be expected.
But the jade pendant… that was another story.
Even if the jade pendant had been protected under Bihu Sanren's robes, why had it survived when all the other trinkets had been burned away? How could it possibly compare to a life-bound treasure like the Black Water Pearl?
For it to have remained intact alongside the Black Water Pearl, there had to be something special about it!
Li Ye focused a strand of his divine sense on the warm jade pendant and immediately felt resistance. A divine sense imprint far more refined than his own occupied the pendant, though it seemed faintly fragile now.
He tried forcefully probing in, and after some effort, finally sensed something through the imprint a small pocket-space, very much like that of a storage pouch.
"A storage artifact!"
Joy flashed across Li Ye's face, and he let out a quiet sigh of relief.
This storage artifact was far superior to ordinary storage pouches. Not only was its internal space much larger, but the item's material quality was also far more refined making it much more durable.
The jade pendant seemed to carry an auxiliary formation that helped cultivators gather spiritual energy. While its effect wasn't major, carrying it would still help with smoother mana circulation.
"I thought I'd walk away empty-handed this time... Good thing Bihu Sanren was wealthy enough to use such a rare treasure. If it had been an ordinary storage pouch, it probably would've been incinerated along with everything inside…"
Li Ye sighed in relief.
Now that he had what he came for, he had no intention of staying any longer.
After a moment of silent reflection over Bihu Sanren's remains, Li Ye ultimately decided not to toss the corpse into the lava for eternal rest or to destroy the evidence.
Instead, his life-bound puppet opened a compartment in its arm, revealing a storage pouch. It carefully collected the charred remains along with a patch of earth into the pouch.
Without hesitation, the puppet turned and departed.
Retracing the path it had taken earlier but at an even faster pace, it swiftly made its way back through the tunnel to the surface.
Just before it completely left the range of the formation, a subtle tremor seemed to echo from deep within the core of the lava palace. But in the end, nothing erupted forth. All was calm once again.
.....
"Rest in peace now, Senior…"
In a serene and lush location, a new grave stood silently. Li Ye clasped his hands and bowed respectfully before it, then straightened.
With a teasing tone, he said, "Sure, I took your belongings but I also collected your remains and gave you a proper burial. Better than letting a respected water-spirit-root Golden Core cultivator rot in lava, wouldn't you say?"
"I'd say we're even now, don't you think?"
The sound of flowing water whispered through the air as a gentle breeze passed by.
Naturally, the tombstone gave no reply.
Li Ye stood quietly for a moment longer, then let out a long, quiet sigh.
Even a Golden Core cultivator, with their five-hundred-year lifespan and mystical powers, would eventually return to dust.
Today, he buried Bihu Sanren. But in his heart, Li Ye hoped that no one would be burying him anytime soon.
The immortal path was long and uncertain but he would see it through to the end, and attain true longevity!
A determined smile appeared on his face, and he turned to leave, drifting away lightly with the wind.
.....
"I'm still too soft-hearted…"
Back on Pingyang Mountain, leaning against a tree, Li Ye couldn't help but shake his head with a sigh.
A Golden Core corpse!
Even burned and half-destroyed, after two years of decay, the body still held immense value. The constant tempering it had undergone, the essence and true energy it once contained all made it excellent fertilizer.
If he had buried it at the roots of the Voidrealm Tree, it would have provided the tree with a tremendous boost and the feedback wouldn't have been small.
"If it had been an enemy, sure. But I had no bad blood with Bihu Sanren. I already took his belongings going that far would've been a bit too heartless…"
"Missed opportunities are just that missed. No regrets."
Li Ye chuckled without a hint of remorse.
He wasn't desperate. His lifespan was steadily growing, and he wasn't pressed for time.
The progress on refining his spiritual essence a second time was already more than halfway done. In about two years, his [Tongtian] physique would advance to Level Two.
With that, his aptitude would rise again, speeding up his cultivation even further. Everything was progressing steadily toward a better future.
So why not do things the way that felt right to him?
Just then, the jade pendant in his hand trembled. The divine sense imprint within it, after constant wearing down by Li Ye's spiritual probing, finally dissipated completely.
Li Ye had truly taken control of this storage artifact!
"A Golden Core cultivator's divine sense is something else even after death and all that time without support, it still took me quite a bit of effort to break through…"
Without hesitation, Li Ye left his imprint on the jade pendant. Then he sent his divine sense into the space within.
Immediately, a surprised expression lit up his face.
"Huh? This… this can't be right. A dignified Golden Core cultivator was this poor?"
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