Chapter 537 - 527: Confession

Chapter 537: Chapter 527: Confession

A crisp sound of spatial travel echoed as Mu Chen’s figure vanished from the golden world. When he reappeared, he found himself in a large, brightly lit room.

Inside the room, Dilaka was intently studying a withered, yellowed map fragment, periodically comparing it to another map on his desk. At first, Mu Chen paid it no mind, simply seeing that Dilaka was occupied and standing aside so as not to disturb him. But when his gaze fell upon the fragment, his mind went blank, and he had to suppress a surge of overwhelming joy.

’The third piece!’

That was right—the withered paper in Dilaka’s hand was identical to the two he carried. It was another piece of the fragmented map. Activating his Extreme Ice Demon Pupils, Mu Chen was stunned to see that this fragment was different from his other two. Most notably, the routes drawn on it were exceptionally complex, and there were faint written descriptions and even markings.

Seeing this, his heart skipped a beat. ’If I compare this piece with my other two, might I finally uncover some of the secrets this map holds?’

"Whew..." With a deep breath, Dilaka looked up and set down the fragment. He paused, then said apologetically, "My apologies, I got completely absorbed. Come, sit. I’m no stuffy old traditionalist; you don’t need to stand on ceremony with me."

"Ah... alright. Teacher, what was that you were looking at?" Suppressing his excitement, Mu Chen walked to Dilaka’s desk and sat in the armchair opposite him, which looked ancient.

Dilaka smiled. Instead of putting the fragment away, he handed it to Mu Chen. "What, are you interested in antiques, too?"

"Antiques?" Mu Chen accepted the map, carefully examining the markings and text. There were only two sections of writing. One, written in the script of the Ancient Literature, consisted of three words.

"Miner Witch Mountain?"

"Oh? You can actually read Ancient Literature." Dilaka was slightly surprised—not because someone so young could translate it, but because in this day and age, he was surprised anyone was still interested in it at all.

Mu Chen nodded. "I know a little, but..."

It was a completely unfamiliar name, one he had never even heard of. A red circle was marked precisely over the words "Miner Witch Mountain." The other section of writing was also in the ancient script, but regrettably, the passage of time had blurred the characters, rendering them illegible. The routes, however, were still clear. As he recalled the routes on his other two map pieces, he realized that many of them could connect. This discovery made his heart, which had just felt stuck, flutter with excitement once more.

"But you’ve never heard of this place, correct?" Dilaka’s interest was suddenly piqued. Setting aside his original reason for summoning Mu Chen, he continued, "I came across this fragment by chance several hundred years ago. Ever since, I’ve taken it out to study in my leisure time."

As he spoke, Dilaka moved aside some papers and a pen on his desk, revealing a complete topographical map of the Central State and its surrounding regions. Unlike other maps, this one had very few place names labeled, but it depicted the routes with extreme and thorough detail.

"It’s clear that this fragment is the most important piece of the entire map. Beyond that, the reason I’m so keen to study it has to do with the aura it emits."

"An aura?"

Mu Chen suddenly recalled the ball of golden light that Xiaobai had devoured when he obtained the first fragment. ’Could that be it?’ he wondered.

"There’s no harm in telling you." Dilaka nodded. "As you know, your teacher cultivates Gold Attribute Primordial Power and is extremely sensitive to its aura. I once boasted that in the entire world, aside from that old fossil from the Overlord Sect, no one could surpass my understanding of the Gold Attribute. But I soon discovered I was wrong—wrong in my conclusion. It’s true that no human or Magical Beast can surpass me, but they aren’t the only beings that exist in this world. There is something else... something miraculous."

"The Extreme Gold Attribute!"

Mu Chen and Dilaka spoke in unison. The synchronicity startled them both, and Mu Chen immediately knew he was in deep trouble.

"You know about the Extreme Gold Attribute?" Dilaka suddenly remembered his main reason for calling Mu Chen here. ’This kid is definitely full of mysteries.’

After his initial shock, however, Mu Chen quickly composed himself. He looked at Dilaka with a faint smile. He didn’t mind revealing some of his secrets; perhaps with Dilaka’s knowledge, problems he couldn’t solve on his own would be easily resolved.

"I know a little," Mu Chen said, rubbing his nose with a sheepish grin.

Dilaka snorted. "That’s more than ’a little.’ I recall that your own attribute is the Extreme Ice Attribute. Never mind. Once I’m done with this map business, you and I are going to have a long talk."

"You’re right. It is the Extreme Gold Attribute. From this fragment, I can sense a potent aura of the Extreme Gold Attribute! I’m ninety percent certain this map is intrinsically linked to it. The problem is, I only have this one piece. If I’m not mistaken, the entire map was divided into five parts. With only one, it’s incredibly difficult to analyze."

"Even after spending centuries searching every corner of the Extreme Martial Continent, I’ve only found one location that bears a slight resemblance."

Saying this, Dilaka gestured for Mu Chen to come around the desk. He pointed to a spot on the map. "Here. But an immense amount of time has passed, and the continental plates have shifted countless times under the influence of the Power of Nature. This is the only place that has a thirty percent similarity to the routes on the fragment."

Mu Chen followed Dilaka’s finger and found the area looked surprisingly familiar. He murmured, "This is...?"

"A mountainous region on the outskirts of the Central State, named Taiyin Mountain," Dilaka replied. "I’ve surveyed it before, very thoroughly. If the Extreme Gold Attribute were truly in that vicinity, I would have sensed it. But the results were unexpected. I came up with nothing." A hint of disappointment colored his voice, but he quickly regained his composure.

"After I returned, I spent decades poring over maps of the continent, and I still believe Taiyin Mountain is the most likely candidate. If only I had other fragments, perhaps I could find more proof."

Mu Chen was tempted to take out his own two fragments for Dilaka to study. However, based on the information he’d just learned, there was a strong chance the map was related to the Ultimate Golden Attribute Spirit. That spirit was incredibly important to him. Besides, it had been a long time since he had last merged with an Extreme Attribute. According to his Master, he needed to merge with at least two more to gain a firm foothold on the Extreme Martial Continent. In the end, he chose to keep his map fragments a secret.

Shaking his head, Dilaka set the fragment aside and let out a soft sigh. "Let’s put the map business aside for now. I didn’t call you over to discuss antiques."

"Er..."

Mu Chen had been busy memorizing the intricate patterns on the fragment and the route-only map. When Dilaka suddenly changed the subject, it took him a moment to register it.

Rubbing his nose, Mu Chen smiled. "Whatever you need, just ask."

Dilaka nodded, his tone softening. "I have a question for you. Of course, I won’t force an answer. Everyone has their secrets—some that can be shared, and some that cannot. You can choose to answer the following question or not. It’s just that, as your teacher, I need to understand your situation if I’m to give you the best guidance. Otherwise, I can’t even create a proper Cultivation plan for you."

The moment he heard "Cultivation plan," Mu Chen’s interest was piqued. To him, that was the most important thing right now. "Please, ask away. I won’t hide anything I’m able to tell you."

Dilaka leaned back in his office chair. "I’ve been wondering about this for a long time... It’s about your unique ability to use Primordial Power. You can use eight different types, can’t you?"

Seeing Mu Chen’s stunned expression, Dilaka smiled. "It’s actually quite easy to guess. I can tell from the Array Maps that appear on your forehead when you use a Combat Skill. The positions for the Ice and Wood Attributes have been filled by solidified constructs, which means your Ice Attribute and Wood Attribute have both reached the Ultimate Realm, correct?"

With those two sentences, Mu Chen was beyond shocked. He never imagined that the secret he believed to be his most well-guarded could be seen through so easily by Dilaka.

"I suppose I already have my answer..."

Mu Chen sighed. "It seems I underestimated the abilities of a Saint. But you’re wrong about one thing, Teacher. It’s not eight types of Primordial Power I can use. It’s nine."

"Nine?" Dilaka’s eyes widened at Mu Chen. He mentally ran through the list before speaking again. "Don’t tell me you can also use Dark Attribute Elemental Power?"

It wasn’t that Dilaka hadn’t considered the Light Attribute; it was that Martial Artists with the Light Attribute simply didn’t exist on the Extreme Martial Continent. Mu Chen was well aware of this. If the conversation shifted to his Chaos Attribute, it would inevitably lead to a very long discussion, so he simply gave a natural nod.

"How does having that many types of Primordial Power gathered in your Dantian not cause it to explode?" Dilaka exclaimed in disbelief. How could anyone possibly contain nine types of Attribute Elemental Power in a single Dantian? Such a thing was possible, but only for ordinary martial artists. And was Mu Chen an ordinary martial artist? Obviously not!

"Don’t tell me your Dantian has nine little compartments, with each one holding a different type of Attribute’s Primordial Power?" Dilaka asked, making a wild guess out of desperation.

Unexpectedly, Dilaka’s wild guess was surprisingly close to the truth. The specifics were wrong, but the underlying principle wasn’t far off. Mu Chen couldn’t help but smile. "Teacher, I can answer that question, but you’ll need to brace yourself."