The destination of the two guardians' teleportation via the Collapsed Atmosphere was, naturally, none other than their home base, the Well of Eternal Imprisonment.
The culprit behind it all, the Demon King Dalun Li, had long been waiting for them in the pitch-black palace of the Well of Eternal Imprisonment.
Inside the palace, which had been funded by the Remnant of the "Dark Starry Sky", Dalun Li floated above his throne along with his pedestal.
"Praise be to my Lord."
Zeno and Feiwan spoke in unison, presenting the formula copper plate and the Collapsed Atmosphere.
Dalun Li took the formula copper plate.
Though they hadn't secured the Undying Wardrobe, obtaining the formula copper plate was a harvest Dalun Li found quite satisfactory.
He was mostly curious about the Undying Wardrobe—what a vessel capable of containing seventh-rank power actually looked like, and if it was truly a wardrobe.
After all, he had never seen such a vessel before, not even a ring seal stone.
However, the Undying Wardrobe didn't actually hold much practical use for him.
He didn't need a vessel to contain power that surpassed limits like humans did.
This formula copper plate, on the other hand, interested him far more.
Recorded within it was the synthesis recipe for the Undying Wardrobe, as well as its detailed structure and the truths of its power.
Furthermore, the formula copper plate could increase the success rate of the Undying Wardrobe's containment.
For humans, studying the information within the recipe could reveal the weaknesses of the Undying Wardrobe, allowing them to deal with archangels who had advanced to the seventh rank by utilizing it.
When the Life Casket had previously imprisoned the fifth-rank mage Sophia, she had obtained half of the recipe for the Undying Wardrobe.
Even with only half of the core recipe, Sophia's magical attainments had improved significantly after studying it.
It could be said that the formula copper plate was a massive wealth of knowledge.
To Dalun Li, the most precious aspect of the formula copper plate was understanding what a vessel actually was.
He wanted to grasp the principles behind these vessels.
He wondered why vessels could only be born within dungeons, and he even considered creating a vessel unique to the Well of Eternal Imprisonment.
This kind of information might even allow him to understand the essence of the extraordinary in this world.
The nature of dungeons.
And his own path forward.
This was why he had issued the specific order and risked sending Zeno with a treasure grade magical artifact to snatch the prize from several fifth-rank experts.
"You have done very well. Feiwan, you are now quite qualified as a guardian."
"I am proud of both of you."
Faced with Dalun Li's praise, the two guardians displayed varying degrees of excitement.
Zeno flicked her ears with delight.
Feiwan, meanwhile, looked as if she were about to float away, her expression practically begging for more praise.
Since they had handled the matter so beautifully, a reward was definitely in order.
He still had one large piece of Earth Vein Essence left, so he would prepare a magical artifact for Feiwan later based on her characteristics.
"By the way, where is Fete?"
"..."
"Ah!"
Feiwan suddenly bolted upright, realizing she had forgotten the mission objective.
Things had been too critical at the time.
The mission failed! My gold star!
Dalun Li could only hand the Collapsed Atmosphere back to Feiwan.
"Bring him back to the Well of Eternal Imprisonment. The outside world likely has no place for him now."
"Don't forget the alchemist apprentices either."
"Yes, my Lord!"
Feiwan hurriedly took the Collapsed Atmosphere. After bowing and taking her leave, she teleported away from the Well of Eternal Imprisonment once more.
Only Zeno remained in the palace.
As for Zeno's reward, he would prepare it next time, as there was nothing currently suitable in the Well of Eternal Imprisonment.
"How is the subordinate floor being handled?"
Dalun Li began to inquire about the affairs of the Well of Eternal Imprisonment.
"My Lord, the magic spiders of the subordinate floor are currently undergoing assimilation into the Well of Eternal Imprisonment."
"Currently, half of the monsters have completed the transformation."
"Among them, the high-intelligence monsters, the man-bodied spiders, have all finished their transformation."
"The two queens, the Spatial Spider Queens, have also completed it. Beyond that, there were special gains."
"Please allow me to present them to you."
"Proceed."
Following his word, two skeletal shamans walked respectfully into the palace hall. They prostrated themselves on the ground, presenting two items on a copper tray.
One was a cluster of silk material containing significant mana, and the other consisted of several small, tangled silk balls resembling cocoons.
"This one is a magical material dropped by a spatial magic spider that died during the previous battle."
Zeno introduced the cluster of silk that contained a large amount of mana.
"And this one is material rolled from silk spun by the spatial magic spiders."
"The spatial magic spiders in the subordinate space can produce fifty of these spatial silk balls every day."
Dalun Li picked up a small silk ball. He hadn't expected the monsters of the subordinate floor to have such a use.
This kind of silk, which contained spatial attribute mana, was an extremely precious material.
He could even add it when creating monsters or magical artifacts.
If he had known they were such treasures, he wouldn't have killed so many of them during the battle.
However, there were still two Spatial Spider Queens left. A queen could produce all the spider-type monsters for the subordinate floor, so he would simply have them produce more spatial magic spiders later.
"How is the resource exploration of the subordinate floor going?"
Dalun Li was becoming more and more expectant of the subordinate floor.
"The area of the subordinate floor is vast. Because it was formed by the collapse and condensation of multiple floors, the geography is chaotic. Even with Tongmu, the exploration speed is limited."
"The exploration progress is currently half-finished. A total of two mineral veins, one large and one small, have been discovered."
"The large vein is an iron mine, while the small one is a silver mine."
"In addition, Tongmu discovered two areas during the exploration that contain powerful magic power. They are likely precious materials, and exploration is currently underway."
A silver mine?
There was actually a silver mine?
Dalun Li's interest was piqued instantly. This was the first time a silver mine had appeared in the entire dungeon.
Were the Well of Eternal Imprisonment silver coins about to be launched?
However, even the Well of Eternal Imprisonment copper coins couldn't act as treasure to help him absorb Earth Vein Power.
Silver coins likely wouldn't be able to either.
"Dispatch a group of purple-skinned blacksmiths and dwarf miners to the mining areas of the subordinate floor to begin extraction."
"As intelligent species, they should be able to get along with the man-bodied spiders. Perhaps they can even communicate and complement each other."
"I obey your command, my Lord."
"Go and continue handling the affairs of the subordinate floor. Keep an eye on the two magic sources Tongmu discovered. Make sure nothing goes wrong."
Tongmu's power was still too weak. As a guardian specialized entirely in support, it was possible he could die from some small accident.
And resurrecting a guardian consumed a lot of power.
"Yes, my Lord."
Zeno withdrew, leaving Dalun Li alone as a single orb in the palace.
He began to study the formula copper plate in his hand. The half-recipe from Sophia in his mind was finally complete.
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