The Secret of the Compass

The carriage moved steadily through the streets of the Capital City.

Inside the carriage, Lu Chen placed the two items he had obtained from the auction on his knees and examined them carefully.

The tattered beast-hide map was tough in texture and rough to the touch, carrying the weighty sense of years accumulated upon it.

The inked lines upon it had faded and blurred with age, yet when Lu Chen swept it with his divine sense, he could still feel a faint but pure aura of "life" within, faintly resonating with the life foundation in his body that had yet to be fully restored.

"Life Creation Spring... its reputation is well deserved. Even a fragment of a map possesses such spiritual charm." Lu Chen's heart stirred slightly as he carefully put the map away.

Though incomplete, this map was an important clue to fully restoring his foundation. There could be no mishaps.

Next, he picked up the Bronze Compass.

The compass was icy and heavy in his hand, its rust-speckled surface covered in dense, ancient patterns.

Its broken needle pointed toward a blurred marking, surrounded by symbols that seemed both like runes and star charts. Most had been worn beyond recognition.

Yun Qingyue leaned closer to inspect it, her slender jade fingers brushing over the compass's edge. After sensing it for a moment, she said softly, "This spatial dao aura is faint and chaotic. It seems connected not only to the Return to Ruins, but also mixed with other, even more ancient coordinate information... Unfortunately, it is too badly damaged to decipher."

Lu Chen nodded and tried channeling a thread of true essence into it.

As the true essence flowed in, the rust on the compass's surface glimmered faintly. Those indistinct runes seemed to come alive, drifting gently like tadpoles