Chapter 349 - 344: Zouma Gang’s Hidden Treasure

Ultimately, Du Youqian said nothing and took back the Spirit Stones.

Zong Li was a ruthless character... He had promised to marry the young girl, but deep down, he considered her unimportant. As a result, Du Youqian hadn’t paid much attention to that part of his memories either.

’A young man whose heart is filled with hatred... Until he gets his revenge and finds his sister, there’s likely nothing else in this world he would care about.’

’But this is also a good thing. If I help him find his sister and resolve his obsession, I should be able to fuse with this body more completely.’

After sending the nameless young girl on her way, Du Youqian left the Oasis. He took a wide detour before heading in the direction he remembered, toward the secret treasure stash of the Zouma Gang’s leadership.

In the Endless Desert Sea, a world of yellow stretched in every direction. The sand dunes shifted with the wind, leaving no landmarks. Navigating was a troublesome affair.

If some self-proclaimed genius were to be transmigrated here, they would surely think, ’What’s so hard about telling direction? Just watch me whip out one of the Four Great Inventions every transmigrator must make: the compass!’

Unfortunately, legend told of the Ancient Celestial Court falling to earth in this very place.

Whether that was true or not, the chaotic geomagnetic field was a fact.

A compass?

Take a hundred steps, and the needle would spin around a hundred and eighty times. No joke.

Cultivators used Magical Artifacts to find their way. These ranged from Low Tier artifacts that could roughly indicate the cardinal directions to Middle to High Tier ones with Divination effects that could point toward a path of survival.

And higher still were Spiritual Artifacts that would perpetually point toward the destination a Cultivator most desired in their heart.

All sorts of such tools had been created specifically for a place like this.

As for Mortals... they lacked the ability to survive on their own. They had to depend on Cultivators, so there was no need for them to master navigation. It was enough to obediently follow behind their Cultivator masters as servants.

For a Golden Core Cultivator, however, telling direction was a simple matter. There was no problem that a powerful enough Divine Sense couldn’t solve.

And if there was, you just needed to train your Divine Sense to be even stronger, and the problem would solve itself.

Although Du Youqian’s current Cultivation was only at the Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer, he was, in essence, a Golden Core Perfect Cultivator.

Not only did he possess the Divine Sense and soul of a Golden Core Perfect Cultivator, but he could also make limited use of Divine Abilities and other skills unique to Core Formation Masters.

For short periods, he could even use techniques like Voidification, a method of Core Formation Masters, to achieve their "Immune to All Techniques" effect.

Trying to challenge a true Core Formation Master with these few tricks would be utterly suicidal.

But for ambushing a few Foundation Establishment Cultivators, or simply for scouting a path and finding his way, it was more than enough.

After traveling over a hundred li southwest of the Oasis, Du Youqian quickly confirmed the location of the Treasure Vault based on a few Positioning Stones scattered about by the Zouma Gang’s leadership.

Positioning Stones were inconspicuous rocks that were nevertheless easily detected by a Cultivator’s Divine Sense. They weren’t very useful, mostly employed for setting up Low Tier Arrays or for marking locations.

Some Cultivators used these stones to create specific patterns over a large area, making it easier for them to relocate a particular spot.

For example, they could be arranged in a circle, with the hidden item at its very center...

Or they could form a triangle, where an imaginary line extending from one of its corners would lead to the stash...

These were all rather simple methods, easily deciphered.

When it came to truly hiding something valuable, everyone had their own unique tricks.

The key was to be unpredictable, to defy expectations, and to ensure the pattern couldn’t be easily discovered.

Zong Li had once hidden behind a sand dune and secretly watched the Zouma Gang’s leaders hide their treasures, but he hadn’t been able to get a clear look at their markers or positioning method.

Of course, that particular sand dune had long since moved.

However, this only added... zero difficulty to the task of finding the Treasure Vault.

It was no challenge at all for Du Youqian. With a single sweep of a Golden Core Perfect Cultivator’s Divine Sense, anything, no matter how well-hidden, would be revealed.

Thus, Du Youqian quickly discovered a cave ten meters underground, just outside the perimeter of the Positioning Stones.

The cave wasn’t large—about ten square meters in area and a little over two meters high.

It was just so deep...

If a Qi Cultivation Late Stage or Perfection Cultivator in good health were digging, it would probably take them less than half an hour.

But in his current physical condition, Du Youqian was in no shape for such heavy manual labor.

He was dumbfounded for a moment, but could only grit his teeth and start digging, digging, digging...

’At that moment, he felt a pang of regret. Why hadn’t he brought a few Puppets with him?’

’He even seriously considered finding Xi Mengran’s ghost ahead of schedule to retrieve some of his own hidden treasures.’

He had several Tier Three Early Stage Puppets stashed at that location, each equivalent to Core Formation Combat Power.

The distance, however, was a problem.

Back when he still had his Cultivation, his Escape Speed had been incredible.

But at his current walking speed, it would take him several days to get back.

Besides, breaking through the Arrays and obstacles he himself had set up would be a simple matter.

But restoring them... with his current Cultivation, that would be extremely difficult.

If he broke through the Arrays and obstacles but couldn’t restore them, the treasures would be like a scantily clad beauty, sure to be stripped bare in no time.

Furthermore, he couldn’t possibly carry all those things with him. That would be like a child carrying gold through a bustling market—a sure way to get himself killed.

’So, I have no choice but to dig myself...’

He rested when he got tired and meditated for a while whenever his injuries flared up.

He dug until late the next morning before finally reaching the cave’s entrance.

It was clearly a natural rock cave that had been further shaped by hand. Judging from the relatively recent tool marks, the Zouma Gang must have been the first to discover and use it.

After a detailed inspection, Du Youqian found the cave was only protected by a very crude Tier One Array for concealment. For him, breaking it was a trivial matter, and he could restore it flawlessly afterward.

Without any hesitation, Du Youqian broke the Array and entered.

Numerous items were laid out in an orderly fashion within the cave.

But one object in particular drew his gaze so powerfully that he had no time to spare for anything else.

It was a carving stylus, simple and archaic in design. It emanated a vast, profound, and ancient aura as it floated in mid-air.

It was as if it had existed since time immemorial. The ancient peoples had used it to carve symbols onto animal bones, recording the results of Divinations for great events, as well as the commands and thoughts of great leaders.

Time could destroy all things, but it could not destroy this.

Because it *was* a dimension of time itself.

A brush to write the annals of history.

The Spring and Autumn Brush.

A fragment, of course.

Du Youqian approached it cautiously. The Spring and Autumn Brush Fragment seemed to sense the power of the other fragment in his Dantian. It "joyfully" shot toward him, and in a flash, it entered his Dantian and merged with the other piece inside him, even sparing him the process of refining it.

Du Youqian immediately sat down cross-legged to examine it.

The reinforced Spring and Autumn Brush Fragment didn’t seem to have changed much. Its illusory form had solidified slightly, and the number of Divine Abilities or memories it could record had increased by one. It was like gaining an extra "slot," or more "storage space."

As for its other functions, there were no new changes for the time being.

’This is good, too. Perhaps in the future, once I’ve collected more Spring and Autumn Brush Fragments, I’ll be able to replicate its powerful abilities one by one.’

For example, Transforming Illusion into Truth and Transforming Truth into Falsehood.

Only then did Du Youqian get to his feet and inspect the other items in the Treasure Vault.

To be honest, while the Spring and Autumn Brush was immensely significant, right now, resources usable at the Qi Cultivation and Foundation Establishment stages were far more important. They could help him recover his strength more quickly.

It was like being a man dying of thirst in the desert... a kilogram of gold is worthless compared to a bottle of water.

Fortunately, this small Treasure Vault did contain a good number of Spirit Stones, Low Level Spiritual Artifacts, and Low Tier Elixirs.

Du Youqian knew his goods. He stuffed everything useful into his Storage Treasure Pouch and prepared to slip away.

This was no place to linger. He didn’t need Divination to guess that the entire reason for this Treasure Vault’s existence was the Spring and Autumn Brush Fragment.

Someone had likely stumbled upon this underground cave by chance and reported it to the Zouma Gang.

The Zouma Gang’s leadership had then discovered the Spring and Autumn Brush Fragment within. They probably couldn’t identify it, only guess that it was something valuable.

They must have tried everything in their power but were unable to activate or refine the Spring and Autumn Brush in the slightest.

In the end, the Zouma Gang had no choice but to reseal the underground cave with an Array and use it to store some supplies.

And unless the Zouma Gang’s leaders were complete fools, they would have known that a small gang like theirs couldn’t possibly keep such an Exotic Treasure for themselves. Their only option was to find a suitable buyer and cash in.

The so-called "hidden master" of the Zouma Gang that the young girl mentioned was probably an expert sent by that buyer to inspect the goods.

It was just that they were currently busy attacking the Sanquan Gang’s territory and hadn’t had time to come over yet.

But if Du Youqian delayed here any longer, he would likely be caught red-handed.

Understanding this, Du Youqian immediately got up and climbed back to the surface.

The swirling yellow sand erased his tracks.

After a quick calculation, Du Youqian decisively started back toward the Oasis where the Zouma Gang was based.

’Besides, as long as I don’t say anything, who’s to know I was the one who robbed the Treasure Vault?’

He planned to first heal his injuries in the familiar Oasis, raise his Cultivation to the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer—the beginning of the Qi Cultivation Late Stage—and then forge one or two suitable Magical Artifacts.

While he was at it, he would gather information on the surrounding factions and then choose a Core Formation Level power to take shelter with for the time being.