"Tai Miao Treasure Mirror?"
Wei Tu looked at the lid of the jade box on the left.
Just like the low-grade magical tools from the Artifact Hall, this box lid also had a paper label with the name of the magical tool inside and a brief description.
Tai Miao Treasure Mirror: Fourth-tier wondrous treasure, capable of breaking restrictions and formations. Crafted by artifact master Yin Hongxiang.
"Could it be this mirror?"
Seeing the description, Wei Tu instantly understood. This so-called "Tai Miao Treasure Mirror" was most likely the crimson ancient mirror he had in his hand.
That crimson ancient mirror wasn't just a key to the restrictions inside the Great Void Realm—it was also a treasured fourth-tier item once kept by the Stone Demon Sect.
But although this treasure was fourth-tier in grade, the amount of magical power it needed was much lower than other tools of the same tier.
Even a Golden Core cultivator like him could use it.
Firecloud Canopy: Mid-grade fourth-tier magical tool. A fire-element defensive tool that could also transform into two Chi Dragons for attack.
When Wei Tu saw the label on another jade box, he was instantly delighted.
But then, he noticed a loose paper slip on the floor in the corner of the chamber.
It read: Time was tight. The Firecloud Canopy wasn't completed. It's just a rough prototype. Future generations may seek a fourth-tier artifact master to refine it properly.
After reading that, the joy on Wei Tu's face vanished, replaced with calm.
"Of course. When the Stone Demon Sect was on the brink of destruction, if they had a fourth-tier magical tool ready, it would've been taken and used in battle by one of their own. Why would they leave it for others?"
Wei Tu thought it over and felt at ease.
The only reason they even left behind the Tai Miao Treasure Mirror was likely because it was tied to various treasures in the inner region and couldn't be used in combat.
Otherwise, even the mirror wouldn't have remained.
A rough prototype made more sense.
…
After taking the unfinished Firecloud Canopy, Wei Tu didn't linger in the Artifact Hall of the Stone Demon Tower. He didn't touch any of the other low-grade magical tools either.
Right now, since everyone believed that the person who stole the Nascent Soul cave's treasures and the "sentient item" was Qi Chengchu...
Then if he made another move, wouldn't that help clear Qi Chengchu's name?
Wei Tu understood the logic of 'getting rich quietly.'
Besides, all those low-grade magical tools in the Artifact Hall, while valuable, were harder to deal with than gear taken from looting. Keeping them would only take up space in his storage pouch. They were pretty much useless otherwise.
Of course—
The most important reason—
Was that Wei Tu didn't have time to waste here. He still needed to search the Pill Chamber and Transmission Pavilion on the fourth floor of the Stone Demon Tower to see if they had secret rooms like the Artifact Hall.
But this time, he wasn't so lucky.
He went to both the Transmission Pavilion and the Pill Chamber.
Both places did have secret rooms, just like the Artifact Hall.
But the first had already been opened by other cultivators—there wasn't even a single jade slip left inside.
The second, though unopened, only had a few pills inside, all of which had long since lost their potency. They were nothing more than discarded pills.
"No point staying in the Stone Demon Tower any longer. Time to leave." Wei Tu felt the urge to go.
This secret realm trip had already paid off. Over seventy percent of the treasures in the Great Void Realm's inner region had been secretly taken by him.
Now it was time to go back and digest what he'd gained.
Currently, with Gui Luo the Demon Lord and the others tangled in chaotic battle, it was the perfect moment to slip away.
But—
Just as Wei Tu stepped out from the first floor of the Stone Demon Tower, he suddenly saw a flash of escape light shoot up in the distance. It headed straight toward the rainbow bridge that connected the inner and outer regions of the Great Void Realm.
But strangely, instead of leaving through the bridge, the light veered downward—diving into the abyss below it.
Long before entering the inner region, Qi Chengchu, Hu Shan, and the others had already explored the area near the rainbow bridge. They knew that the so-called abyss was just an illusion created by the formation in the inner realm. It wasn't real.
So, seeing this, Wei Tu was stunned. He looked surprised.
"That flash of light just now was probably Gong Shulan. What's she doing under the bridge?"
'Could it be…'
Wei Tu came up with a guess.
In the inner region, whether it was the hidden chamber with the sentient item or the Stone Demon Tower itself, there wasn't a single tomb of any former Stone Demon Sect cultivator.
And Gong Shulan seemed to have a unique ability to locate Nascent Soul remains.
Last time, right after he buried Master Shentu's body, she managed to dig it up not long after.
By now, her methods for finding Nascent Soul corpses must've improved even more. Otherwise, she wouldn't have two Nascent Soul puppets from major powers in her possession.
"Nascent Soul corpses are useless to me. No point being greedy and poking my nose into this."
Wei Tu glanced toward the abyss, then shook his head. He flicked his sleeve, turned into a streak of escape light, and flew straight toward the outer region of the Great Void Realm.
Once he landed at the Profound Crystal Platform, he removed the "Great Void Stone" embedded in the Tai Miao Treasure Mirror and channeled a wave of magic into it.
Moments later—
A burst of white light appeared.
Wei Tu's figure reappeared outside the Great Void Realm, standing among a field of shattered rocks.
"Didn't expect to be sent here."
Wei Tu looked around and suddenly found the place strangely familiar.
He scanned the area with his divine sense and immediately realized where he was.
This was Tonghu Mountain in Qingfeng Prefecture—the real entrance to the Great Void Realm.
—Master Shentu's underground palace had just been a hidden backdoor.
"From Tonghu Mountain to the Southern Desolate Wastes, even with no delays, it'll take at least half a month. Now that the Zheng Kingdom has fallen into the hands of the demonic path… with all the hold-ups along the way, it'll probably take over a month to get there…"
Now that he was safe, Wei Tu couldn't help but worry about Che Gongwei and the others. But after a moment of thought, he shook his head and pushed the anxiety down.
The distance was too great.
If something really bad had happened, by the time he got there, it'd already be too late.
And besides, he didn't have the strength to solve the kind of trouble Che Gongwei and the others might be in.
All he could do was hope that fortune favored the righteous.
"Tonghu Mountain isn't far from Qingmu County. I wonder how my old hometown is doing these days?"
Looking at the familiar scenery, Wei Tu suddenly felt the urge to return home.
Even now, he could still remember the words spoken by Grand Priest Mu Feng more than twenty years ago when he passed away.
An old place wasn't the same as home.
The more time passed, the more blurred the image of home became in his memory.
Over two hundred and thirty years ago, Qingfeng Prefecture had fallen into chaos. Rebel kings rose up. Together with Kou Liang, Wei Fei, and Fu Zhizhou, he had evacuated his family from Qingshan County. Since then, he had never returned.
Right now, Wei Tu wasn't as sorrowful as he had been when Mu Feng died. After all, he still counted as a young cultivator and had plenty of life ahead of him.
But... people were nostalgic creatures.
This time, now that he was returning to the Kang Kingdom, he might never have a chance to come back to the Zheng Kingdom again.
"I'll go to Sanyuan Township first and take a look."
Wei Tu picked a direction, then flew off swiftly.
—Sanyuan Township was the hometown of his master, Dan Wu Ju. It was also where he had first learned the arts.