*Might as well go take a look.*
After a brief hesitation, Tao Tingfeng quickly made up his mind to head to Mount Yan.
Although Mount Yan was currently cordoned off by the imperial court and barred to travelers, he had played there since childhood and knew a secluded path.
Sure enough, the path had not been blocked. Tao Tingfeng followed the familiar route and easily reached the place where the battle had occurred.
The depths of Mount Yan were pocked with deep craters smashed out by Man Gu's fists—Lu Yang recognized them at a glance.
Seeing these craters, Tao Tingfeng was struck dumb with shock. *Is this what a battle between Soul Formation experts looks like?*
Suddenly, something flashed across the sky and hurtled down toward Mount Yan with a whoosh, crashing not far from Tao Tingfeng and giving him a fright.
Tao Tingfeng initially did not dare approach, but unable to resist his curiosity, he decided to creep over for just a look.
"It's a person!" Tao Tingfeng finally saw what had crashed down. It was actually a cultivator, and severely injured at that—gasping for air, drawing breath in with scarcely any coming out.
Seeing someone approach, the badly wounded cultivator tensed, but once he realized it was only a harmless mortal, he relaxed.
Immediately after, it occurred to him: cultivator or mortal, what difference did it make? Even if this person harbored ill intent, what could he do? His injuries were beyond saving; he would die soon even without anyone lifting a finger.
"Are you all right?" Tao Tingfeng cautiously approached the wounded cultivator, though the man clearly was anything but all right.
The cultivator laughed miserably. "To think that I, True Monarch Guanqi, brilliant throughout my life, would behold only a brat like you before I die.
"No matter how I calculated, in the end, I could not outcalculate fate."
"True Monarch Guanqi?" Lu Yang muttered under his breath. In his memory, there seemed to have been a Body Integration stage expert by that name during the Great Qian period.
"So be it. It seems fated that I was never meant to have this item."
Only then did Tao Tingfeng notice that True Monarch Guanqi was clutching a wooden box tightly against his chest.
"This item is called the Golden Cicada Slough. I snatched it from a formidable adversary, paying a terrible price for it, only for it to end up benefiting a kid like you.
"It seems you are fated to possess it.
"Boy, this is a treasure rare across the ages. Once you obtain it, prudence is paramount—under no circumstances must a single other soul know you possess it!"
With that, True Monarch Guanqi peacefully closed his eyes. His body gradually turned to dust and dispersed into nothingness, leaving behind only the wooden box.
Tao Tingfeng was left utterly bewildered by this turn of events. Bringing his palms together, he bowed twice toward the spot where True Monarch Guanqi had vanished, then trembling, opened the wooden box. Inside lay a shimmering, golden cicada shell.
"Immortal Fairy, what is the Golden Cicada Slough?" Lu Yang asked.
"In ancient times, there was a cicada demon who cultivated to the Tribulation Transcendence stage—a realm never before reached by the cicada race. His entire body turned golden, and he comprehended an innate divine ability called Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell, which could be used to improve one's innate talent. It was precisely by relying on this innate ability that he managed to cultivate to the Tribulation Transcendence stage.
"The shell left behind after his molting came to be called the Golden Cicada Slough, a supreme treasure for enhancing one's talent."
"What happened to that cicada demon later?"
"This Immortal squashed him to death."
Chapter 715