As night fell, Lu Chen sat in the courtyard of Clear Moon Pavilion.
Yun Qingyue emerged from the room, holding the storage ring taken from the Third Councilor.
"Got it open."
Lu Chen took it and sent his divine sense inside.
The space within the ring was not large, but it held quite a few things—several bottles of pills, a pile of spirit stones, several ancient scrolls, and a palm-sized jade tablet.
The jade tablet was a lush emerald green throughout. Two ancient seal-script characters were engraved on its front: Longevity.
Lu Chen's gaze sharpened.
Yun Qingyue leaned closer. The moment she saw those two characters, her breath caught.
"A Longevity Token?"
Lu Chen turned the jade tablet over. A simple map was carved into its back—mountains, rivers, marshes, and a red marker.
Three characters were carved beside the marker: Longevity Valley.
"This..." Yun Qingyue's eyes widened. "The Third Councilor had a Longevity Token?"
Lu Chen stared at the jade tablet in silence for a long time.
The Third Councilor had gone to the Sword Debate Platform to capture him, yet he had carried a Longevity Token on him.
A coincidence?
Or was the Shadow Council searching for Longevity Valley as well?
He handed the jade tablet to Yun Qingyue. She took it and carefully examined the map.
"This marker... is deep within Death Marsh." She pointed at the red dot. "Far deeper than the clues we found before—almost at the very center of Death Marsh."
Lu Chen gave a quiet grunt.
Yun Qingyue looked up at him. "When do you plan to set out?"
After thinking for a moment, Lu Chen said, "In three days."
Yun Qingyue nodded, returned the jade tablet to him, then turned and went inside to pack.
Lu Chen remained seated in the courtyard, staring