Chapter 483 - 480: Carving Up

Chapter 483: Chapter 480: Carving Up

"Could this be a Treasure Map?"

Fang Han’s gaze fell upon the red dot.

It was highly likely that this was a Treasure Map.

The location marked by the red dot was most likely where the treasure was hidden.

To be placed alongside a Middle Grade Swordsmanship and a longsword that was likely a Spiritual Weapon, the treasure this map pointed to had to be of astonishing value.

"Where is this place?"

Fang Han carefully scanned the map, but his brow gradually furrowed.

He studied the contours of the mountains and rivers for a long time but couldn’t match the terrain to any location he knew.

’This isn’t Qingyang County.’

Fang Han had studied detailed maps of Qingyang County and knew its topography like the back of his hand.

The terrain on this map was completely different from that of Qingyang County.

’It’s not any of the surrounding counties, either.’

Donglu County, Songquan County, Bailu County, Taishun County—Fang Han had specifically reviewed the maps of all these counties before heading to the Ancient Ruins.

The mountains and rivers on the map before him didn’t match the terrain of those counties either.

’Where in the world is this?’

Fang Han muttered to himself, his brow tightening.

The map only showed the flow of mountains and rivers and that single red dot. With no place names marked, it was impossible to determine its location.

Of course, even if names were marked, the differences between ancient and modern times would likely make it difficult to identify the location by name alone.

If he wanted to figure it out, his only option was likely to return to the Sect and compare it against a complete map of the Great Chu Dynasty’s One Hundred and Eight Counties.

SWISH!

Fang Han carefully refolded the Treasure Map and placed it back inside the Jade Box.

With a thought, the Jade Box and the Wind Shocking Sword vanished from his palm, reappearing within that hazy, indistinct space.

’What a treasure.’

Fang Han looked down, his gaze landing on the pitch-black ring on his left index finger.

It was simple and unadorned, completely unremarkable. Anyone who saw it would probably assume it was just an ordinary iron ring.

Yet this inconspicuous ring held an independent space within it, allowing him to store items inside and carry them with him.

Such a treasure was already beyond the scope of what the Martial Dao could explain.

Most importantly, with this treasure, he would no longer have to carry a pack with him when he traveled.

As a Martial Artist capable of leaping across rooftops, always carrying a pack around was far too detrimental to his image.

’I wonder if I can switch to cultivating the Void Wind God Sword now?’

Fang Han pulled his gaze away from the ring and looked at the Void Wind God Sword manual, the only item he hadn’t put into the Storage Ring.

Now that he knew it was a Middle Grade Swordsmanship that surpassed the Sky-Splitting Sword Technique in Grade, he was naturally eager to see if he could switch directly to cultivating this higher-Grade Swordsmanship.

Flipping open the dark brown animal-hide cover, Fang Han began to study it meticulously from the beginning, word by word, sentence by sentence.

The ancient, profound words transformed into flashes of sword light in his mind—flickering, clashing, and intertwining.

The impossibly complex diagrams of human figures performing Sword Techniques became silhouettes wielding swords in his mind’s eye—practicing, transforming, and evolving.

Outside the window, the sun rose in the east, reached its zenith, and then gradually began to set in the west.

Fang Han remained seated cross-legged on the bed, completely motionless.

His eyes moved from one page to the next through the not-so-thick booklet.

He lingered on each page for a long time.

Sometimes he would stare at a particular line of the Sword technique, his brow furrowed in thought.

Other times he would gaze at a diagram, his finger tracing invisible patterns on his knee, simulating the Transformations of the Sword Techniques.

At other times, he would close his eyes, as if mentally tracing the pathways of Inner Qi required to execute the Swordsmanship.

The inn room was quiet, with only the faint rustle of turning pages and the distant clamor of the city streets drifting in from outside.

Finally, as the last rays of the setting sun filtered through the window paper and into the room, Fang Han turned the final page.

He closed his eyes and mentally reviewed the entire Void Wind God Sword manual from beginning to end.

The Sword techniques, the diagrams, the Force Manipulation Methods—he remembered everything clearly, without a single omission.

His 256-fold Swordsmanship Talent Amplification gave him a comprehension of the Sword Dao far beyond that of an ordinary person.

Even though the Void Wind God Sword was incredibly profound, he had still managed to completely understand and memorize it in just one day.

However, his plan to switch directly to cultivating the Void Wind God Sword fell through.

’Mental Swordsmanship is different from previous types of Swordsmanship. Its difficulty is on a completely different level.’

Fang Han muttered to himself.

Before the Mental realm, the Cultivation of Swordsmanship ultimately boiled down to one’s foundation in the Sword Dao and one’s comprehension and control of "Momentum."

In that process, if one had enough Talent, it was indeed possible to skip the Low Grade techniques and directly cultivate High Grade Swordsmanship.

But Mental Swordsmanship was different.

The core of cultivating Mental Swordsmanship lay in comprehending and improving one’s "Mental realm."

Comprehending the Mental realm was exceptionally difficult in itself. Even among Upper Three Grades Martial Artists, very few could grasp it.

Low Grade Mental Swordsmanship involved the most basic and superficial application of the Mental realm.

It was like laying a foundation, taking a Martial Artist’s control over their Mental realm from an initial, hazy state and gradually tempering it until it became more condensed and refined.

Middle Grade Swordsmanship, on the other hand, was a deeper application and excavation of the Mental realm built upon that foundation.

Without the foundation laid by a Low Grade Mental Swordsmanship, it was like a skyscraper without a foundation—impossible to build.

’I have to take it one step at a time.’

Fang Han let out a soft breath, a flicker of understanding and acceptance in his eyes.

The path of Mental Swordsmanship had no shortcuts.