Chapter Forty-One: Perilous Treasure Hunt

Everyone was startled and turned around in shock. The cave behind them was pitch black, nothing visible at all. Only after several pieces of Moonstone were brought out did they faintly see what seemed to be a massive boulder, completely blocking the door through which they had just entered.

A green glow swirled atop the giant stone, runes overlapping so densely that its surface could not be clearly discerned. Judging from the sound it made when landing, the stone must have been exceedingly heavy.

“Have we triggered a restriction?”

A tall, thin cultivator at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment stepped forward, parting the crowd. “Let me try.” He struck himself with a spell of earthy yellow light, casting an enhancement of immense strength. His arms instantly bulked up, veins bulging and muscles knotted.

He exhaled sharply and grasped at the boulder with both hands, only to be repelled by the green glow. “Hmm…” He tried several times, but all in vain, and his expression grew grim.

In truth, all their faces looked equally grim. Everyone knew: if a cultivator at mid-Foundation Establishment couldn’t open it, then the stone was likely unmovable—leaving them with no hope of getting out.

“Don’t panic. Let’s delve further inside—perhaps there’s another way out. Besides, Senior Brother Mu is outside; he’ll surely look for help.” Lei Xiang’s words reminded them, “We came here seeking treasures—what if there’s something within that can break this restriction?”

With their fears assuaged, the group pressed forward with hope, while Lei Xiang hung back, his earlier smile gone, brows tightly furrowed.

The cave remained stiflingly dark, the path rough and uneven. They groped their way forward, step by uncertain step. Two hours later, the vanguard suddenly stopped. Those behind crowded forward to look—and were stunned.

A massive boulder, wreathed in green light, stood before them once more.

They had spent two hours circling, only to return to their starting point. Some illusory, bewildering magic was at play within the restriction. Most felt dispirited and uneasy, while several Foundation Establishment cultivators huddled together to discuss a solution, but to no avail.

Suddenly Lei Xiang flashed a tigerish grin. With a flick of his storage pouch, a Spirit-Digging Mouse leapt onto the rocks. Lei Xiang had unintentionally captured this mouse when retrieving the Xuantian Leaving Fire Array, and now it proved useful.

“For now, we can only rely on it.” With a flick of his wrist, he sent a mark into the mouse’s brow. The Spirit-Digging Mouse instantly sprang into the air, diving headfirst vertically into the rock as if it were tofu, so easily did its sharp little head pierce the stone.

Lei Xiang closed his eyes, focusing his mind to sense the mouse’s position, then led the way. “Thirty paces ahead, then left.”

“One hundred and ten paces further, there’ll be an underground river.”

With Lei Xiang’s precise guidance, and after ten hours of effort, the group finally emerged from the maze. Before them yawned a vast natural cavern, a thousand feet across, brimming with spiritual energy.

“This is it! We’ve found it!”

“With such dense energy, the treasure here must be extraordinary!”

The group cheered, their voices echoing off stone.

Only Lei Xiang seemed unenthusiastic, his worry deepening as he gazed at the raised platform at the cavern’s center, his brows drawing tighter.

The platform was not high, perhaps only fifteen feet, veiled in the shimmer of a protective array, suffused with a faint tri-colored glow that obscured whatever lay within.

“Lei Xiang, you contributed the most to this exploration. When we retrieve the treasure, you’ll receive an extra share.” The leading Foundation Establishment cultivator addressed him.

Lei Xiang’s tigerish smile returned, though faint. “Thank you, Senior Brother Liu, but I am growing increasingly suspicious. I don’t think this treasure will be so easily claimed.”

“There’s something wrong?” the crowd exclaimed. In every difficulty during this treasure hunt at Falling Clouds Mountain, Lei Xiang had been the one to solve it. His words now carried the greatest weight—had his cultivation been higher, they’d have made him captain already.

“I can’t be certain. It’s just a feeling—everyone, stay cautious. I’ll go scout the perimeter.” As he spoke, Lei Xiang shot a sidelong glance at Dugu Yixiao.

Seizing a moment of inattention, Dugu Yixiao slipped out of the group and vanished.

“Remember to be careful in all things, and follow Senior Brother Liu’s commands,” Lei Xiang said, before leaping away.

A ripple of distorted air revealed Lei Xiang and Dugu Yixiao ten yards away. “What do you need?” Dugu Yixiao asked directly.

“There’s something strange about the restrictions here. I suspect sabotage. Let’s investigate thoroughly—you take north, I’ll take east.”

“Alright!” With that single word, Dugu Yixiao darted north, while Lei Xiang shook his head with a wry smile, then spread his spiritual sense wide, searching eastward.

At the southeast corner, Lei Xiang stood silently. The Gluttonous Mouth circled him, agitated. “The spiritual energy here is unusually turbulent, even the Gluttonous Mouth is excited and restless. I should check below.”

With a tap of his storage pouch, the Chutian Comb flew out, its nine prongs emitting yellow light, ready for a thorough sweep. Suddenly, the comb, only half a foot underground, was blocked and couldn’t penetrate further—the restriction here was indeed strange. Lei Xiang considered, then put away the comb and the Gluttonous Mouth, and drew the Spirit-Digging Mouse from his pouch. Activating the second layer of Boundless Divine Sea, his mind split, sending a thread of consciousness into the mouse. With a toss, the mouse raised its pointed snout and bored into the earth.

Sitting cross-legged, Lei Xiang concentrated on sensing everything the mouse saw. In his mind’s eye, a small bright dot marked the mouse’s position, and from the other end images of stone and earth streamed in—what the mouse observed underground.

Suddenly, Lei Xiang’s eyes snapped open. What had he seen?

In the mental images, between the rocks and soil, there appeared a faint white line, winding far into the distance. Lei Xiang focused, and the mouse moved closer, finally revealing the line was composed of white powder.

Celestial Crystal powder.

Lei Xiang instantly recalled how, in the country of Lihuo, he’d once used Celestial Crystal powder for remote detonation, destroying enemy war machines. Was someone here planning to blow something up?

He closed his eyes again, urging his Boundless Divine Sea. The mouse doubled back and searched laterally.

As he suspected, within a radius of five hundred yards, the mouse found five more white powder lines of Celestial Crystal.

Lei Xiang did not hesitate. Six Black Cloud Rain Talismans flew out, each positioned above a white line, and with a snap of his fingers, the talismans shattered. Pea-sized black rain poured down, seeping into the holes made by the mouse.

Ordinary rain could not harm Celestial Crystal, but this was black rain steeped in toxic miasma from the Black Miasma Ravine—its corrosive effect was ideal.

Six wisps of black smoke slowly rose.

As the smoke thickened, Lei Xiang sent the mouse to investigate again. Sure enough, the Celestial Crystal powder had been eaten away, each line corroded into a three-yard vacuum—no one could detonate those lines now.

Finally relieved, Lei Xiang called for Dugu Yixiao, and together they returned to the natural cavern.

At the center of the cavern, over a hundred cultivators were now assailing the sealed array with all their might.

The orange-red barrier was already weakening, shuddering as if on the verge of collapse.

Through the thinning shield, three items were clearly visible: an ancient flower basket, a dusty gray bamboo slip, and a narrow, curiously long sword.

Ancient treasures!

Someone cried out, and the crowd’s enthusiasm soared. “Focus your power on one point of the shield!” Senior Brother Liu’s command was obeyed without hesitation; everyone poured their strength into assaulting the left side.

With a crack, the orange-red glow flared violently, then shattered. After two hours of concentrated attack, the array broke at one spot, and the gap slowly widened.

As soon as the opening reached a foot wide, the nearest thin cultivator thrust his hand through, seizing the bizarrely long sword.

“Careful, don’t—” Lei Xiang’s warning came too late. The lure of ancient treasures was simply too great.

Suddenly, the sword twisted, coiling itself around the man’s right arm. It was no sword at all, but a writhing black serpent, which sank its fangs into his flesh. His arm turned black and swollen, the poison spreading visibly upward.

“Quick, sever his arm!” Lei Xiang’s Eight-Treasure Dragon Lance struck, piercing the illusory serpent, and several dragon whisker needles shot forth, nailing the snake at its vital spot.

At Lei Xiang’s shout, Senior Brother Liu brought his blade down, severing the poisoned limb. The man screamed and collapsed, unconscious.

At that moment, the other two ancient treasures exploded simultaneously, releasing clouds of black smoke. “Poison! Fall back!” Lei Xiang shouted, throwing out a beast-hide shield, which expanded in the wind to cover the two “treasures.”

The poisonous smoke hissed, slowly eating away at the shield.

“Lei Xiang, you’re back. What exactly happened?” Senior Brother Liu asked.

Lei Xiang flipped the Vermillion Banner into his hand. “To be brief, vast quantities of Celestial Crystal powder are buried here. This treasure map was a trap; the enemy meant to detonate the crystal and wipe us all out. Lead everyone out quickly—I’ll handle the poison.”

Senior Brother Liu frowned. “Detonate the Celestial Crystal? That’s terrifying. Can Lei Xiang handle this alone?” But recalling Lei Xiang’s resourcefulness thus far, he trusted that Lei Xiang would have a way out. “Take care of yourself!” he called, then led the group away.

Lei Xiang had his own plans. With so much Celestial Crystal, he intended to make good use of it for his eventual Foundation Establishment. With a thought, the Gluttonous Mouth flew from the Vermillion Banner. After being fed a low-grade spirit stone, it darted straight for the poisonous smoke beneath the beast-hide shield.

By now, several streams of black vapor had broken through the shield, surging toward him. The Gluttonous Mouth opened wide, its green fangs gleaming, greedily sucking up the poison. In a blink, it had cleared all the smoke outside the shield, then dove inside to devour the rest.

In the time it takes for a meal, Lei Xiang quickly retrieved the Gluttonous Mouth, and looked down. The so-called ancient treasures had vanished, replaced by a pile of sparkling white stones, and at the center of the pile was a miniature array.