activa-t Chapter 91 Treasure
Chapter 91 Treasure
Shu Hongyi raised her sword, directly piercing the point where the oppressive force was strongest.
That was the most luxurious bookcase behind the desk, inlaid with jade and gold, and secured with an antique-style metal padlock.
Jiang Wanfeng, seemingly with Shu Hongyi's tacit approval, took out a cloth bag and began sweeping through the not-so-expensive books, one by one.
Luo Sifan was caught between the two men and was shocked by their robbery-like behavior in taking the treasure.
Just as he was about to offer some words of dissuasion, the desk in front of him suddenly shook, and a powerful pressure, along with the fluctuations in the void behind the desk, burst forth from the air.
The powerful sword energy unleashed by Shu Hongyi was shattered into dust before it even touched the lock on the bookshelf door.
The nimble Jiang Wanfeng's smile froze instantly. His hands and feet were immobilized by external forces, leaving him in a comical position as he bent over to pick up the book.
Shu Hongyi and Luo Sifan stared in astonishment at the violently fluctuating space behind the desk, extremely vigilant and ready to unleash their full power at any moment.
At the core of the fluctuation, a human figure gradually emerged, half real and half illusory. Luo Sifan could roughly tell that it was an old man of short stature and thin build.
Her eyes, sparkling like pearls, stood out starkly against the half-real, half-illusory figure. Those eyes seemed to be constantly lingering on Luo Sifan, as if Luo Sifan were the leader among the three.
"Who are you? Why are you blocking our way to the treasure?"
Having just subdued the dragon-slaying beast, Shu Hongyi was at the peak of her cultivation and confidence. She took the initiative to ask a question, displaying an air of impending confrontation.
No matter how you play with Xu Yuanxiang's treasure, it always ends up in the hands of the most capable.
Shu Hongyi had no sense of robbing someone's home. In her view, this place was full of tests and trials set up by Xu Yuanxiang to examine future generations.
This old man, neither human nor ghost, is most likely another tool arranged by Xu Yuanxiang before his death.
There wasn't much politeness in his tone.
Luo Sifan vaguely saw the old man's translucent, pale eyebrows furrow slightly, as if he disliked Shu Hongyi's attitude.
His unease deepened, and Luo Sifan forced a smile, his guarded demeanor lessening considerably. He politely bowed to the old man.
"Senior! We come from the outside world and are new to this place. We heard there is a treasure to be found, and we were a little carried away. May I ask what connection you have with this place?"
Upon hearing this, the old man's eyes flickered, and his transparent figure slowly sat down behind the desk. A faint but familiar accent followed:
"You two are actually new here? That's a bit strange. Young man, there's nothing wrong with your two companions taking the treasure, but they've come to the wrong place with their eyes on the books in my study."
The extremely familiar accent was clearly the official language spoken throughout the Silverfrost Empire. Upon hearing it, both Luo Sifan and Shu Hongyi were invigorated.
Although the old man claimed to be the owner of the study and stopped Shu and Jiang from taking books from the broken cabinet, his tone left much room for negotiation. Moreover, his accent clearly indicated that he was a native of Yinshuang.
Despite her dubious appearance, she still managed to bring Luo and Shu closer together in this other world.
"I didn't expect you to be from the Silverfrost!"
Luo Sifan relaxed a little, and her smile became much more genuine:
"We are new to your place and unfamiliar with the rules. If my companions and I have offended you in any way, please forgive us."
The old man neither agreed nor disagreed, and gave a soft hum.
Luo Sifan quickly gave the three of them their names and where they came from, hoping to establish a connection with the old man with silver frost.
The old man indeed became interested and casually chatted about the local customs of Yuanzhou, showing particular familiarity with the Qishan Sword Sect from which Shu Hongyi came from.
However, the figures of the Qishan Sword Sect that the old man inquired about were all elders and senior members of the sect from four or five hundred years ago. Apart from one or two who were still living in seclusion within the sect, Shu Hongyi had never heard of the others and assumed they had long since passed away.
The Golden Core cultivator has a lifespan of three hundred years, and the Nascent Soul cultivator has a lifespan of five hundred years. Luo and Shu were both astonished by the old man's age. Could this person have already reached the Nascent Soul realm or higher? This person is at least over five hundred years old.
Even with the power to slay the dragon, Shu Hongyi became much more low-key, after all, the person in front of her could be considered her true senior.
The old man only told them that his surname was Zhao, and he was very secretive about his identity and origins. Luo Sifan and the other man did not know the reason, so they naturally did not ask.
“Brother Lin, it’s not that I’m stingy. These books do contain some martial arts techniques, but they’re useless to you.”
When Old Zhao was talking to them about the treasures hidden in the pagoda, he spoke up.
"Fangyuan City is completely different from Yunzhou. It is actually a fragmented land that drifted here from another world. The rules of all things are similar to those of Yunzhou, but not quite. Even if you understand those cultivation techniques, it will be of no use to you!"
Luo Sifan still retains some of his memories from the Immortal Realm, so it's not surprising that he can understand the myriad principles of the mortal realm beneath the Immortal Realm.
This was the first time Shu Hongyi had encountered a different realm in the mortal world, so she couldn't help but widen her eyes and take another look at where she was.
"You've already seen the biggest treasure here, and you even beat it up."
Grandpa Zhao seemed quite pleased with himself, a faint smile on his face, as if he were still concerned about their treasure hunt.
Upon hearing this, Luo Sifan and Shu Hongyi both looked up at the painted ceiling above them. The reddish water rippled on the surface, perhaps because of the injured monster at the bottom of the water.
"The painted decoration above your heads is actually a treasure crafted by our ancestors. The creature that attacked you just now was the spirit within that treasure, the Great Swamp Crow Kui."
Old Master Zhao's tone carried a hint of regret:
“This Wu Kui was just following orders and didn’t mean you any harm. It’s a pity that your sword was too brutal and damaged Wu Kui’s body. Even if you get this treasure, its grade will probably drop a lot.”
Upon hearing that this indistinguishable painting was actually a crafted treasure, Luo Sifan couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.
He had only recently read the top-level introductory manual on weapon crafting, and he was filled with longing for the ultimate skills of weapon crafting.
"Senior Zhao! Do you have a method to obtain this treasure?"
Luo Sifan suppressed his excitement and asked Old Master Zhao for advice.
As soon as Old Master Zhao spoke, a few words reached Luo Sifan's ears.
Shu Hongyi listened intently to the side, but to no avail. She couldn't help but feel frustrated, deeply aware of the unfair treatment she was receiving.
Luo Sifan nodded from time to time. What Old Master Zhao had said was about the method of capturing Wu Kui, which was seven or eight parts similar to the technique of hiding spirits in the vessel that he had learned.
In fact, as long as Old Master Zhao tells him where the key to the treasure is, he won't need to spend too much time to collect it.
Unhurriedly, Luo Sifan listened carefully to Old Master Zhao's repeated instructions, not in a hurry to show that his family was not novice in weapon forging.
Having mastered the techniques taught by the old man, Luo Sifan calmly walked under a painted red flower, extended her finger in mid-air, and touched the heart of the flower.
Unhindered by any boundary, Luo Sifan leaped into the painted world as naturally as if riding the current.
They disappeared before the three of them's eyes.
From the outside, this place appears to be no more than a pond a hundred feet wide, but only when Luo Sifan is there does he realize how vast the world in the painting truly is.
The ponds and lakes stretched endlessly, with old trees and vines growing deep within. In Luo Sifan's eyes, all living things seemed too real to be a dream.
A deafening roar and the sound of surging water echoed. Luo Sifan's expression changed as he looked toward the source of the commotion. In the distance, black lines surged, engulfing the grass and trees, rolling toward where Luo Sifan had stopped.