"You two keep watch over the door." Pef demanded as he urged the Taotie to take point into the vault.

Might as well let the beast trigger any remaining traps. He then stepped through and vanished inside another Formation.

The White Tiger sniffed at the Queen Bee, somewhat unconfortable with being left alone with such a dangerous creature.

"Are you scared, little tiger?" the bee asked in a honeyed voice.

"Grrrrr. I am part of the Legion, Old Bee." the tiger growled, sounding annoyed.

"Hmmm. Yes, indeed. Did they give you a rank, in their cute army? Maybe a Captain?" the bee asked, sounding curious.

"... No." the Godbeast answered after an awkward minute.

"That Taotie, also no rank, right?" the bee continued, obviously aiming at a painful point.

"Make your point, Old Bee." the White Tiger demanded in a wary tone, while his tail moved nervously.

"I'm just curious, what criteria is needed for a rank. What about Pef, I expect he has a rank, right?" the bee wondered.

"...Lord Pef? He is still a Sergeant Major. I think his was a battlefield promotion, after killing a powerful golith in our home multiverse." the tiger answered in a serious voice.

"Only a Sergeant. Your Legion Mind, the General is quite clever." the bee mused to herself, her wings buzzing softly as to provide a background for her words.

"You disagree?" the White Tiger asked in a curious tone.

"No, I completely agree. You may recall, I also ruled over countless bees in my Royal Starfield. But I'd never give command power to someone of low intelect or wisdom. That way lies disaster." the Bee Queen hummed in a low tone.

The White Tiger blinked, then glanced at the entrance to the vault. "He is awful young, your new Master. Not even 50 years old." he added as an explanation. It would be far stranger for a young cultivator like Pef to prove great wisdom.

"Do you believe it is possible for someone that age to Ascend into Iron Realm?" the Old Bee asked, sounding very serious.

"...In general, no. Heavens forbid, no. But, if it's Lord Pef..." the White Tiger hesitated. He wouldn't be that surprised if Pef could. Pef was already making cooking recipes to Ascend people into Bronze Realm. One more impossible thing, Pef wouldn't even notice. The boy often complained cultivation was too hard. Damn lucky idiot!

"I see. I also think so." the old bee read from the tiger's feelings."We are so old, we have forgotten how to be bold or brave. Do you think me stupid, letting the boy ride me like that?"

"It takes wisdom to bow to the inevitable, Old Queen. Why aren't you running?" the White Tiger asked in a wry tone, while giving the exit tunnel a knowing look.

"Run? I want to enter the High Heavens, little tiger. I have waited countless years for a chance. Plus, you might remember why we are here. We are hunting the Mercy Emperor. Let's see how far he can run." the bee buzzed with an amused tone.

----------

'You see it?' the glove asked while pointing to a shelf on the left. There were thousands of such empty shelves going for miles.

Pef looked at the spot, finding only a dusty old shelf, neglected for billions of years. Spreading his hands, he formed an Artifact Array and superimpossed it over the old shelf. As if by miracle, the wooden shelf was now occupied by a bronze box, glinting with thousands of Illusion runes.

'We are inside an Illusion Array. Quite an impressive one.' Pef admitted with a frown, as he collected the box and opened the lid.

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Resting inside was a Purple Jade tablet. 'The history and geography of the Three Realms, before the advent of the World Tree.' read the title before the glove stored it eagerly.

'Good stuff?' Pef asked a bit uncertain. The glove did read anything it could find.

'There are billions of locations, like old sects and cultivation caves or natural treasures. The vault were are in now, it was called the Shimmering Veil Cave. And it has a map.' the glove explained in an easy voice, while the vault's map opened to Pef's inner vision.

'Rather useful...' Pef mused inward, managing to produce the worst understatement in a billion years.

'Quite. There's a bottle up there.' the glove pointed to a tall shelf to the right.

Pef collected the invisible bottle and took out an orange pill with an inner fire burning inside.

'Yang Body Pill. Rejin will love it.' the glove explained as it examined the ancient pill.

Pef sighed inward as he stored the pill. So much knowledge lost, including how to level up a cultivator's body to the first Blessed level.

It was simply luck he had already found the stores of Royal Honey, which containted the imbued Dao of the Old Queen.

A few steps further, his Sword Soul tingled than vibrated towards a certain place, where an old chipped sword rested invisible on another shelf.

Even heavier than his own Heart Ruler, and slightly damaged by some immense power in the past. 'Star Iron Protector. Tier 11 relic.' the glove confirmed his guess with a single touch.

Farther inside, he found the Taotie munching on a pile of old roots and dried fruits. His cultivation had already risen two Stars before Pef could store away the rest of the loot.

'Trillion-years Pure-Jade Ginseng. A single root can raise anyone into Bronze Realm.' the glove said in a disappointed tone. The Taotie must have eaten a hundred already.

"The Legion has lost about 100 Tier 10 Captains from your gluttony." Pef observed in a tired voice.

The Taotie turned and gulped, trying to hide his eyes under his paws. "...But"

Pef took out one of the dried fruits and examined it curious. "Dessicated Imperial Lychee. One of these could transform a thousand mortals into Tier 1 Gods, if I brew them into wine." he added in a soft voice. The Taotie must have eaten thousands if not more, going by the empty vases on the shelves.

The beast shifted, still trying to hide something underfoot. Then he flashed and tried to gulp the plant he held hidden, only to find itself back in the Seven Colored Pagoda, and without the precious loot. In front of him, the Silent Monk opened his eyes and waved a hand, slamming the old beast into the ground, while his bones began to crack from the extreme pressure. The Taotie wisely refrained to wail, as that would upset the human-shaped monster even more.

"I begin to see why they kicked him out from Heaven." Pef muttered in a disappointed voice, as he held the saved plant tree in his right hand.

'Seven-colored Imperial Lychee. And thus your garden grows again' the glove continued unfazed by the greed of the Taotie. It was only his nature.

'Sometimes I feel only the Silent Monk is a sane person in this whole world. I wonder if that would change too, once he can talk again.' Pef wondered inward, as he continued his trek among long lost treasures and cultivation wonders.

'Low shelf on the left.' the glove said without a care. They had a vault to loot, and there was no point crying over eaten fruits.