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第两千三百六十八章 完整的藏宝图

The rumbling sound echoed in his ears, and the stone wall seemed to split open. Chapter 36: A Familiar Sight

A large stone chamber came into view.

Apart from a sacrificial table, everything else inside was empty.

Lin Xuan's gaze swept over the sacrificial table, but he found only an isolated wooden box placed there.

It was no more than half a foot long and looked very worn out, suggesting it had been around for quite some time.

"Somewhat familiar."

A hint of doubt flashed in Lin Xuan’s eyes, but he did not show any signs of surprise. With his deep-seated composure, he could perfectly conceal his thoughts and expressions.

"Auntie Senior, the treasure map is inside this box," one of the ancient demons said.

"Hmm." Lin Xuan nodded and released his spirit sense. He found no restrictions or anomalies, so he took a step forward and picked up the wooden box.

With a slight flick of his fingers, the lid opened with a "snap". A piece of animal hide was revealed, depicting a map that was clearly incomplete.

"What…?"

Lin Xuan’s eyes scanned the animal hide, and a sudden glint of excitement appeared in them. His hand also trembled involuntarily.

"Auntie Senior, what's wrong?" The three ancient demons exchanged glances as the voice of the woman in court attire entered his ears.

"Nothing."

Lin Xuan quickly regained his composure after a momentary lapse and said with a hint of melancholy, "I am just regretting it."

"Regret?"

"Yes. Such a treasure map, but it is not complete. If we could find the treasures of the Holy Ancestor…"

"The auntie has a point," one ancient demon agreed. The other two also nodded in agreement, their faces filled with sighs.

If they had found the Holy Ancestor’s treasures, their sect would have prospered long ago. They were already at least 90% likely to be at the Profound Dao stage.

Of course, this was just a hypothetical scenario; reality remained harsh.

Lin Xuan sighed while talking with them but was actually overjoyed in his heart.

He had been treated quite well by fate.

Or perhaps he was just incredibly lucky.

The treasure map wasn’t just familiar to him; it was something he already possessed in its entirety.

This all began when he met a half-demon girl on his arrival in the Demon Realm. She was in trouble, and Lin Xuan saved her. Grateful for this act of kindness, she brought him to their village.

At first, Lin Xuan was unfamiliar with the place but readily agreed. Little did he know that upon arriving at the remote village, he would find it littered with corpses. The small settlement had been brutally attacked by unknown cultivators.

Although uninvolved in the matter, Lin Xuan felt a sense of pity and curiosity. Why would anyone target such a poor and dilapidated village?

The only explanation was that there must be some hidden treasure within.

Apart from the innocent assumption that whoever possessed something valuable might face retribution, Lin Xuan couldn’t think of any other reason.

He asked the half-demon girl about her suspicions regarding the village’s treasures. The girl, overwhelmed with grief and anger, revealed to him that their village had no other treasures except for a partially complete treasure map passed down from their ancestors.

A treasure map?

Lin Xuan was surprised by this revelation and asked the girl to show it to him.

Upon examination, he found that it was indeed incomplete. Whether or not there were treasures at the locations indicated on the map was uncertain. With such an incomplete map, one couldn’t hope to find the hidden treasures.

With a heart full of compassion for the poor half-demon girl, Lin Xuan gave her some wealth and settled her in a secluded place with abundant spiritual energy.

Though lonely, she would not be disturbed by outsiders.

For a cultivator, loneliness was nothing. To achieve success on the path to immortality, one had to endure solitude as a form of mental training.

Hardship leads to greatness; so it is for cultivators.

After settling the half-demon girl, Lin Xuan felt he had fulfilled his duty of kindness. As for the incomplete treasure map, he kept it without much thought.

Little did he know that good fortune would come his way… or rather, that fate was rewarding him for his goodness. Two unrelated events combined to miraculously complete the treasure map.

The mere thought of this seemed incredible, so Lin Xuan couldn’t help but show a look of surprise despite his deep-seated composure.

However, he concealed it well; the three young members of the Immortal Cloud Sect did not notice any unusual signs.

But Lin Xuan didn’t remain overly happy for long. After all, the Holy Ancestor had been freed from his confinement. Would these hidden treasures have already been taken by him?

With a sigh, Lin Xuan said with a hint of melancholy, "Actually, even if we could somehow gather both parts of the map, I doubt we would be able to retrieve any treasures."

"Why do you say that?" The three ancient demons were surprised.

"Think about it. Millions of years have passed since the treasure was hidden. Who knows if someone has already found and taken the treasures by chance?"

"Haha, Auntie Senior is mistaken," the fat ancient demon’s voice echoed in his ears.

"Mistaken?"

Lin Xuan raised his head, a look of confusion on his face.

"Yes, we don’t know where the treasure is hidden. But according to our ancestor's words, the location is extremely secretive. Without the map, even if you have great luck and opportunities, you won't be able to find it."

"Ah, Second Brother has a point. Not just ordinary ancient demons, but even the Holy Ancestor himself wouldn’t know where his treasures are hidden," the woman in court attire smiled.

"What? Even the Holy Ancestor doesn’t know? How is that possible?" Lin Xuan was overjoyed inside, though he showed shock on his face.

"I’m not entirely sure. The ancestor’s words were vague. At the time, the situation was dire, so the Holy Ancestor entrusted his right and left hands to hide the treasures and split the map into two parts. He didn’t personally go there and wasn’t fully aware of the exact location but knew it roughly," the woman in court attire said with a slight smile. There was no need to keep this information secret.

"Oh!"

A hint of amusement flashed across Lin Xuan’s eyes. Fate truly favored him, but before he could dwell on that thought, an earth-shattering explosion echoed through his ears. The sound came from afar, but the entire mountain began to shake violently, collapsing in its entirety.

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