A few days later.
Led by the giant tiger, Ning Beichen and the old Daoist priest found seven or eight kinds of precious heavenly materials and earthly treasures.
These included medicinal herbs, stardust, and more, essentially all rare and valuable treasures, making Ning Beichen increasingly fond of the giant tiger.
"Brother Tiger, you've done well."
The praised giant tiger roared happily, its roars shaking the small animals in the forest into a panic.
However, the heavenly materials and earthly treasures were finite. After digging them up, the giant tiger led Ning Beichen to a huge sinkhole.
Through mental communication with the giant tiger, Ning Beichen learned that this sinkhole was the entrance to the cave. The giant tiger had accidentally fallen into it and discovered it back then.
Moreover, the sinkhole was very hidden, completely covered by vegetation from above, making it impossible to see without coming here personally.
The sinkhole was narrow at the top and wide at the bottom. The two men and the tiger entered from the entrance and soon reached the bottom.
Normally, the sinkhole received no sunlight and would not support much plant growth.
However, upon descending, they found the plants at the bottom to be surprisingly lush, even discovering several medicinal herbs comparable to Fire Lingzhi.
Putting aside other considerations, the few medicinal herbs alone made the trip worthwhile.
Even the sinkhole entrance had several rare and precious medicinal herbs, indicating the extraordinary nature of the place and its dense spiritual energy, which allowed such herbs to grow.
Ning Beichen was somewhat excited, not by the discovery of the medicinal herbs, but by the unusual aura of the place.
After collecting the herbs, Ning Beichen and his companions walked further into the sinkhole along its bottom.
The bottom of the sinkhole was not very large, becoming narrower as they moved inward, resembling a funnel.
However, this was not the entrance yet. The giant tiger led Ning Beichen further in until they reached the end of the sinkhole's bottom, where a strange wall stood.
It was strange because the wall did not appear to be made of stone or earth. Instead, it resembled a wall cast from bronze, but it was covered in so much dirt that its original appearance was completely obscured.
At this moment, Ning Beichen glanced at the old Daoist priest, who then took it upon himself to clean the wall.
After about half an hour, the dirt was cleared, revealing the wall's original form.
Ning Beichen also went to inspect it, finding that the wall's material was neither bronze nor stone or earth, but something unknown.
However, this was not the main point. The key was the numerous mysterious patterns on the wall. From a distance, they appeared as mere black dots, but upon closer inspection, these dots resembled a starry sky.
"This is a formation diagram."
The old Daoist priest studied it for a while and stated with certainty to Ning Beichen.
"Is there a way to break it?"
Ning Beichen was a bit exasperated. Who didn't know it was a formation diagram? Was he blind? Did they think he had never seen one before?
"I will try, but my array knowledge is not as strong as my senior brother's. If it were my senior brother, he might be able to break it."
The old Daoist priest said confidently.
"Then you try,"
Ning Beichen told him.
The old Daoist priest nodded excitedly and began to attempt to break the formation.
Ning Beichen also observed the formation diagram, having his own methods for deciphering it. In his special vision, formations were merely puzzles, and the more complex the formation, the more intricate the puzzle.
Ning Beichen did not act immediately, allowing the old Daoist priest to try, primarily to see the difference between their methods and to learn from each other if possible.
However, Ning Beichen soon became disappointed.
The old Daoist priest was utterly incapable of breaking this formation. He fiddled with it for a long time to no avail.
Anyone else might have found the old Daoist priest profound and perhaps even revered him.
But Ning Beichen, with his eyes that could see the essence of formations rather than relying on guesswork and deduction, knew exactly what the old Daoist priest was doing.
In Ning Beichen's eyes, the old Daoist priest had not even grasped the key to breaking the formation, failing at the simplest part.
Setting aside whether he could break it at all, even if he could, it would likely take him a month.
It wasn't that Ning Beichen looked down on him; even a year might not be enough for him to decipher the formation and open the entrance.
"Let me do it then."
Ning Beichen unceremoniously asked the old Daoist priest to step aside. He didn't have that much time to waste.
"Mr. Ning, please give me more time, I will surely be able to break it."
The old Daoist priest said with some reluctance.
"Alright, you don't have the skill to break it, and more time won't help."
Ning Beichen would not indulge him. If he couldn't do it, he couldn't. Why persist for the sake of saving face?
The old Daoist priest had no choice but to give up, stepping back a few paces, feeling a sense of defiance in his heart: If I can't do it, can you?
Ning Beichen ignored him and walked up to the wall, casually sliding his hand over the black dots.
At first, the old Daoist priest thought Ning Beichen was just messing around, perhaps hoping to get lucky. After all, who would break a formation like this? It seemed reckless.
But gradually.
The contempt on the old Daoist priest's face vanished, replaced by growing seriousness. A while later, he looked at Ning Beichen as if he had seen a ghost, disbelief etched on his face, his heart shaken.
Although he lacked Ning Beichen's vision, he could sense the changes happening within the formation.
After some more time.
The entire formation was deciphered by Ning Beichen. The wall let out a loud rumble, transforming into a deep starry sky.
"Impossible!"
"This is absolutely impossible, I must be seeing things!"
The old Daoist priest stumbled backward, utterly shocked.
Ning Beichen looked at the deep starry sky, a satisfied expression on his face.
Although this formation was complex, more so than any he had encountered before.
His strength had also increased significantly. If he were still at the Grandmaster cultivation level, it wouldn't be impossible to break this formation, it would just require more time.
Liu Yilin's research was correct. The transformation of a transcender affected not only the cells but also the brain. Now, when Ning Beichen deciphered formations, he felt it was much easier than before.
"Alright, the formation is broken, and this is the entrance. However, whether there are dangers inside is uncertain. Old Daoist priest, whether you want to go in is up to you."
Ning Beichen said to the old Daoist priest.
As for the giant tiger, it would definitely go in. If it didn't, Ning Beichen would force it.
"I'll go in."
The old Daoist priest replied without hesitation.