Blue Star Sea

As a Foundation Establishment Realm expert, Zhang Yu had indeed possessed far greater wealth. Lin Xuan found a large number of treasures in the Storage Belt. There were over twenty low-grade Spirit Stones alone—a massive fortune to him.

There were also more than a dozen Talismans of various kinds. What delighted Lin Xuan was that two of them were actually mid-grade Talismans: the offensive Fire Dragon Technique and the defensive Water Spirit Shield.

Aside from that, there were several pills and one top-grade Spirit Tool.

Caressing the white jade ring in his hand, even the ever-calm Lin Xuan's eyes brimmed with delight. One had to know that even the Foundation Establishment Realm uncles and senior uncles mostly possessed only high-grade Spirit Tools. A top-grade Spirit Tool was something that could only be encountered by chance, never sought.

After acquiring Zhou Yan and Zhang Yu's treasures, Lin Xuan's wealth could be said to surpass that of any Foundation Establishment Realm expert in the valley.

Moreover, he found another item in Zhang Yu's Storage Belt: a close-fitting little vest. He had no idea what it was woven from, but it was incomparably tough. One look told him it was a defensive treasure, and Lin Xuan naturally put it on without hesitation.

After finishing all this, Lin Xuan sat down cross-legged and began examining his physical condition. In truth, compared to the Storage Belt and Bracelet he had obtained, the shell contained in that sandalwood box was the real treasure. Although Lin Xuan did not yet know its use, Zhou Yan had been willing to murder her master just to keep it all for herself. That alone showed how precious the shell was.

Everything that had happened yesterday remained vivid in his mind. The Blue Light Spots inside the shell had entered his body, after which the shell had weathered away and vanished. That meant the Blue Light Spots were the key to unraveling the mystery.

Lin Xuan first sorted through every thread of the matter in his mind. He liked to plan before acting; even when solving a mystery, he could not rush about like a headless fly. He had to aim where it mattered.

The first thing he could confirm was that these Blue Light Spots were harmless to his body. On the contrary, they should bring enormous benefits. Otherwise, that shell would never have been regarded as a priceless treasure. With that understanding, Lin Xuan began his investigation slowly and unhurriedly.

There was no visible abnormality on the surface. Lin Xuan sat cross-legged and used the Internal Vision Technique to inspect the circulation of spiritual power through his dantian and meridians. Everything was normal—but an unexpected situation had appeared within his dantian...

Inside his dantian, aside from those wisps of spiritual power so fine they were nearly invisible, there were now scattered Blue Light Spots. They were exceptionally beautiful, like stars in the sky, slowly revolving like a magnificent Star Sea.

It was exactly like what he had seen inside the shell yesterday, except the light spots had moved from the shell into his body.

It was somewhat unexpected, yet upon careful thought, entirely reasonable. Lin Xuan's expression did not change. He first concentrated his spiritual sense and observed from the side. Each Blue Light Spot was like a star in the heavens, twinkling and blinking. He waited for a long time, but there was not the slightest change. His body remained perfectly normal.

Observation alone could not unravel the mystery. Lin Xuan hesitated, then followed his sect's cultivation method and gathered the tiny amount of weak spiritual power in his dantian. It was roughly the size of an embroidery needle. Then, with the utmost care, he touched one of the Blue Light Spots.

Naturally, before doing so, he had already prepared all kinds of contingencies in his mind, ready to deal with whatever might happen. Yet the result once again defied his expectations. The embroidery needle formed from spiritual power passed through with ease, having no effect whatsoever on the Blue Light Spot. There was no reaction at all.

How could this be?

It differed from what he had imagined, but Lin Xuan neither grew arrogant nor impatient. The use of these Blue Light Spots could not possibly be understood at once. It would take time to slowly explore and grasp it. Lin Xuan had long understood that clearly.

An ordinary young person might have become restless, but such a temperament would never appear in Lin Xuan. Compared to those his age, he seemed extremely mature—perhaps even somewhat old-fashioned.

After the first attempt failed, Lin Xuan stopped to rest for a while. He ate two steamed buns and some dried meat. From noon yesterday until now, this was the first time he had eaten. High-level cultivators could abstain from food, sustaining themselves merely by absorbing spiritual energy, but Lin Xuan did not yet possess such strength.

After a brief rest, he resumed his research. He continued using the Internal Vision Technique—observing, experimenting—but secrets were not so easily uncovered. He worked from morning until night, yet Lin Xuan made little progress.

Lying on his bed, Lin Xuan carefully reviewed every detail of today's research. It seemed that uncovering the secret of the Blue Light Spots would require still more time.

Over the following days, Lin Xuan returned to his normal life, cultivating and practicing every day. He did not want to draw attention, but in secret, he actively researched the mystery of the Blue Light Spots.

Besides inspecting his meridians and dantian, Lin Xuan also carefully monitored his physical condition, watching to see whether any changes would emerge over time after absorbing the light spots. The result was disappointing. Everything remained as usual—no pain, no illness—and his cultivation speed was still as slow as ever. Lin Xuan tried every method he could think of, but the Blue Light Spots inside him truly seemed to have no effect on him at all.

Of course, Lin Xuan was not truly disappointed. These light spots had to be a secret treasure; he simply had not grasped the key yet. There was no rush. He could study them slowly.

After Zhou Yan and Zhang Yu disappeared, however, a tremendous uproar erupted in Floating Cloud Valley. Among the Spirit Movement Stage disciples, Zhou Yan had ranked among the top three experts. If nothing unexpected happened, she might have succeeded in Foundation Establishment within a few years. Naturally, her disappearance drew the sect's attention. As for Zhang Yu, there was even less need to say anything. Floating Cloud Valley was merely a small sect. Elder Zhang, at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, might not have been a pillar holding up the heavens, but he was still one of the few top experts. His unexplained disappearance shook the entire sect.

Under the personal orders of Master Yunhe, countless disciples of the Spirit Movement Stage and Foundation Establishment Realm were dispatched to search for traces of the two.

Yet after seeing the sect's response, Lin Xuan was relieved rather than worried. These past few days, he had appeared as though nothing had happened, but he had secretly kept watch over the matter. From the sect master's reaction, he could see that the man cared only about whether Zhou Yan and Zhang Yu were dead or alive. There was not the slightest mention of the shell treasure.

Thinking further of how Zhou Yan had dared murder her master and swallow the treasure whole without fearing discovery by the sect, it showed that they had not been ordered by the sect to seize that treasure. The two must have had some unknown secret and acted on their own.

Combining the information in his hands, Lin Xuan reached this conclusion and let out a great sigh of relief. As long as Floating Cloud Valley did not investigate the whereabouts of the shell treasure, all was well. As for Zhou Yan and Zhang Yu's corpses, Lin Xuan believed no one would find them. Even if they did, so what? No one would ever connect the deaths of two cultivation experts to a low-level disciple without a Spirit Root like him.

He was safe.