There were no other objects atop the celestial platform, nor did it show any signs of hidden mechanisms. The most eye-catching remnants were the broken jade pillars. All had been damaged to varying degrees. Their severed edges were starkly visible, and many dragon and phoenix carvings had lost half their forms. It was evident that a tremendous battle had once taken place within the Spirit-Gathering Hall. The celestial platform itself had suffered the worst of it. Signs of an immensely destructive impact were everywhere, with multiple massive cracks crisscrossing its surface, and entire sections had collapsed. The reason the platform had not completely shattered was solely due to the residual power of the celestial barrier that still sustained it. However, even that barrier had now grown extremely fragile. It had been so severely damaged that its power was barely perceptible. It was unclear whether the barrier had been in this state ever since that great battle, or if the battle had only triggered its deterioration, and time had slowly worn down its strength until it reached this current feeble state. If it were merely the erosion of time, then in another few millennia, the platform would collapse on its own. By then, anyone entering the Spirit-Gathering Hall would easily find it. There would be no need for such exhaustive effort. While pondering this, Qin Sang swept his gaze over the jade pillars one by one but found nothing unusual. His eyes finally fell upon a recessed groove in the platform. He suddenly sensed a strange fluctuation. It came from within the platform. Wandering Man had also noticed it and was staring at the same spot. Like Qin Sang, he had sensed something. If the barrier had remained intact, their current level of cultivation would never have detected it. But things were different now. With the barrier on the verge of collapse, its internal fluctuations could no longer remain hidden. The two exchanged a glance and moved in unison. Qin Sang activated his corpse core and flew his sword to hover above the celestial platform. The ebony sword descended like a bolt of lightning, sweeping toward the platform. The sword qi split into countless strands, trailing like tassels. Since the platform had already been summoned by Qin Sang using the Big Dipper footwork, the barrier had been revealed. Though neither of them possessed the ability to fully unravel it, finding a few weak spots was not difficult. Stimulated by the sword qi, the immortal restriction surged into view, and the platform trembled. Qin Sang remained calm, his gaze sharp as lightning. In an instant, he locked onto several weak points. With a grasp of his hand, the sword qi converged into several blades of light and pierced the vulnerable spots with pinpoint precision. The sword qi sank entirely into the barrier. Multicolored light erupted within the Spirit-Gathering Hall. The barrier shook violently, and an immense spiritual wave burst forth, shooting into the sky and surging straight at Qin Sang. Even in its dying throes, the restriction’s counterattack was ferocious. Qin Sang’s expression shifted. Without hesitation, he activated Sword Qi Thunderclap, transforming into a streak of lightning and dodging at full speed. The spiritual wave barely missed him. Wandering Man had been waiting for the right moment. Seeing the wave appear, he charged toward the groove without delay. With spiritual power condensed in his palm, he took the opportunity to strike and shatter the part of the barrier next to the groove. Then he immediately leapt back. The celestial platform shook more violently than before. A faint crackling sound issued from within. Moments later, the recessed groove slowly rose. Beneath it had been a jade pillar embedded in the platform, almost identical to the ones outside. However, just as the pillar completed its ascent, a hidden compartment underneath slid open, and from within rolled out a small, tipped-over jade bottle. A glimmer of green light flashed. Clack! With a crisp sound, the bottle rolled free of the secret compartment, drawing the eyes of both Qin Sang and Wandering Man instantly. The bottle was small enough to be held in one hand. Its surface was transparent, but inside it held a vivid green spiritual liquid, which dyed the whole bottle in its hue. There appeared to be a dozen or so drops of this fluid inside. The moment the jade bottle appeared, Qin Sang felt a surge of potent vitality and rich spiritual energy. Inhaling deeply, he was instantly enveloped in a blissful, intoxicating sensation. Even the surrounding grass and trees leaned toward the bottle, as though dancing in reverence. Such a wondrous spiritual liquid! Qin Sang could not help but marvel. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on novelFirｅ.net "Jade Liquid of Three Radiances! It truly is the Jade Liquid of Three Radiances!" Wandering Man murmured in awe, his eyes alight with uncontainable excitement. "Senior, let’s split this Jade Liquid of Three Radiances evenly," Qin Sang said, suppressing the excitement in his heart and offering the division willingly. He was not greedy. There was quite a lot of spiritual liquid inside the jade bottle. Taking just half would already be enough to trigger the metamorphosis of the Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid, with some left over for emergencies. Unexpectedly, Wandering Man shook his head and declined. "Three drops are more than enough for me. More isn't necessarily better. Taking too many might actually harm me—make me rely on luck and lose the drive to fight forward. That would be counterproductive! Why don’t you take the rest of the Jade Liquid of Three Radiances? If I happen to need it in the future, I’ll ask you for some. You won’t turn me down, will you?" Wandering Man beamed as he looked at him. Qin Sang let out a soft laugh. "If you ever need it, you can take as much as you want. Apart from the Nine-Illusion Heavenly Orchid, the other herbs we brought out from the Hanging Garden Palace have all been divided among the Spiritual Infant experts, there’s no way any will fall into my hands again. As precious as the Jade Liquid of Three Radiances may be, it's ultimately still just a healing elixir. It’s not worth much more than the Ten-Thousand-Year Spiritual Milk." Wandering Man nodded. Since the Hanging Garden Palace had been thoroughly looted, the greatest use of the Jade Liquid of Three Radiances was now irrelevant. He brought the jade bottle to his palm, then took out another vial from his Mustard Seed Pouch, poured out three drops, and handed the bottle to Qin Sang. A cool aura emanated from the jade bottle. With a gentle shake, the liquid inside quivered, releasing an even stronger sense of vitality. Qin Sang couldn’t resist taking a few deep breaths. After Wandering Man took his share, about ten drops of the liquid still remained in the bottle. Qin Sang sealed the bottle and, still feeling uneasy, applied a barrier to isolate it and prevent the vitality from leaking. He then stored it safely in the Thousand-Jin Ring. After securing the Jade Liquid of Three Radiances, they carefully searched the inside and outside of the celestial platform one more time. Only after confirming that the Spirit-Gathering Bowl was indeed not there did they give up. Above the forest canopy... The two figures that had disappeared earlier reappeared suddenly, but with a flicker, vanished again. Qin Sang and Wandering Man had hidden themselves among the treetops, cautiously scanning their surroundings. Only after confirming there were no prying eyes did they dare to move. Such wariness was necessary. Everyone who entered Ziwei Palace was at least a Golden Core or Spiritual Infant expert. The two of them were at the very bottom of the food chain. One careless misstep could spell eternal doom. They shot out from the treetops and swiftly changed direction, with Qin Sang trailing behind Wandering Man. The place Wandering Man wanted to visit was not far from the ancient herb garden. According to him, it might have been a site used by ancient alchemists, with something inside that could aid his recovery. They rushed at full speed and soon arrived at the foot of a mountain. Wandering Man put away his Spiritual Bamboo Flying Boat and raised his hand to point toward the mountaintop. "It’s right there." The mountain ahead was steep and treacherous, its slopes shrouded in dense mist. Through the fog, the shadowy outlines of several palace structures could be seen. Most were in a state of ruin, badly damaged like the Spirit-Gathering Hall. But the most astonishing feature was on the mountain’s eastern side. It was a narrow gorge stretched from summit to base. The opposite slope of the ravine leaned outward, as if on the verge of collapse. It was clearly no natural formation, but rather the result of a single sword strike. A single sword had cleaved the mountain in two. Senior Qingzhu had done something similar before but the lingering, terrifying sword qi still present in this scar made it clear that this strike was beyond even Qingzhu’s ability.