Ten days later, Westview Prefecture.
Fang Han atop a low hill, his gaze passing over layers of lush green Lin Hai, looking towards the distant outline of a city that was faintly visible in the morning mist.
This is Westview Prefecture.
Based on what I learned before setting off, Westview Prefecture had a rather unique power structure, unlike Qingyang Prefecture.
There are dozens of large and small forces within the county, constantly fighting each other, but none of them have ever been able to become the dominant force and rise to the top.
It's not that the martial artists in Westview Prefecture are less talented than those in other counties; on the contrary, Westview Prefecture has a strong martial spirit and is full of experts. In terms of the number of martial artists of the Third Grade or above, it is no less than that of Qingyang Prefecture.
However, the Heavenly Origin Sect would not allow it.
This Overlord-Level Faction, with Great Grandmaster at its helm, covers five surrounding prefectures, one of which is Westview Prefecture.
Heavenly Origin Sect doesn't need another top power to rise up next to it, so whenever a certain power in Westview Prefecture shows the momentum to reach the top of the county, Heavenly Origin Sect will take action to suppress it.
Those forces that had the potential to rise to the top were either divided and disintegrated, absorbed and annexed, or simply vanished overnight.
For this reason, Westview Prefecture has remained in a chaotic state of fragmentation and warlordism for decades.
For the Heavenly Origin Sect, this is undoubtedly the easiest state to control.
After ten consecutive days of travel, even with Fang Han's current cultivation level and physique, he was inevitably showing signs of fatigue.
This fatigue did not come from physical exhaustion, but from the mental strain accumulated from maintaining a high level of alertness for a long time while traversing through the mountains and forests.
Fang Han decided to find a place to rest first.
"Whoosh!"
Fang Han discerned the direction, and with a swift movement, he streaked towards the city like a Moon-White streak of light.
The city is named " Peace City " and is the largest city in the northwest of Westview Prefecture.
After entering the city, Fang Han did not wander around. Instead, he went straight to a fairly clean inn on the main street.
He ordered a superior room and asked the waiter to bring him hot water and food. After washing up and eating, he lay down on the bed, and as soon as his head touched the pillow, sleepiness washed over him.
I slept very soundly, from the afternoon until dawn the next day, for a full eight or nine hours.
When I woke up, the morning light was streaming into the room through the window paper.
Fang Han lay there with his eyes open for a moment, feeling the renewed energy flowing through his body, before sitting up.
The fatigue accumulated from ten days of travel finally dissipated completely after that long sleep.
He got up, quickly washed up, changed into a clean white robe, paid the bill, left the inn, and headed towards the city gate.
It took another two days, crossing several mountain ridges and passing through ancient forests, before the lake on the Treasure Map finally appeared ahead.
The lake is vast, with boundless blue waves, and when the morning breeze blows, it ripples with layers of fine silver scales.
The north shore of the lake is a rolling hill, densely wooded and covered with vines.
This is it.
Fang Han on a protruding blue stone on the lake shore, comparing the Treasure Map with the terrain in front of him one by one.
The shape of the lake, the direction of the mountains, the stream that meanders into the lake—every detail matches the map perfectly.
He walked north along the lake shore for about half an hour and entered a secluded valley.
Ancient trees towered in the valley, their branches and leaves blocking out the sun, making the light as dim as dusk.
The decaying leaves on the ground had accumulated for countless years, and they were soft and silent when stepped on.
The surrounding mountain walls were covered with moss, and vines hung down like waterfalls.
Fang Han searched carefully in the valley, his gaze sweeping over the moss-covered cliffs inch by inch.
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, his gaze settled on a cliff face.
At first glance, this cliff face looks no different from its surroundings, covered in moss and shrouded in vines.
However, upon closer inspection, one can see that the surface of this cliff is too smooth, so smooth that it does not seem to be the result of thousands of years of wind and water erosion.
Fang Han drew his sword and scraped away a patch of moss from the cliff face, revealing the smooth stone wall behind it.
It was a type of stone he had never seen before; it was grayish-white in color, had a fine texture, and felt slightly cool to the touch.
He took two steps back, took a deep breath, and placed his right hand on the hilt of the Windshock Sword.
The Internal Qi the Azure Profound Art surged within his body, and the Proficiency Realm Void-Sundering Sword Manual was unleashed without reservation. The Wind Sword Intent solidified into a tangible form, and he unleashed a single sword strike.
Even First Grade martial artist wouldn't dare to take this sword strike head-on.
"Clang--!"
The sound of metal clashing echoed through the valley, startling countless birds into flight from the forest.
A burst of sparks flew up from the cliff face, Fang Han felt a tremendous force rebound from the sword, making his arm slightly numb.
He steadied himself, looked up, and his pupils contracted slightly.
There was only a faint white mark on the cliff face.
"It's definitely not an ordinary item!"
Fang Han fell silent.
With his current strength, this sword strike would be enough to flatten a small hill, but it could only leave a white mark on this cliff face.
This is no ordinary stone.
This arrangement further confirms the extraordinary nature of this place.
He sheathed his sword, stepped forward, and carefully felt along the cliff face.
The moss peeled away, revealing a smooth stone surface underneath, cool and delicate to the touch.
His fingertips slid inch by inch across the Gray-White stone surface, and suddenly, his fingers touched a barely perceptible indentation.
The indentation was so small that it was almost imperceptible unless you touched it carefully.
A thought flickered in his mind, and he gently pressed his fingertip into the indentation.
"Click--"
A crisp click of a mechanism came from deep within the cliff face; the sound was extremely faint, yet it was exceptionally clear in the deathly silent valley.
Immediately afterwards, the entire cliff face began to tremble slightly, the moss and vines clinging to it rustled off, and spiderweb-like cracks spread along the stone surface.
Fang Han took a few steps back, his right hand instinctively resting on the hilt of his sword.
The next moment, the cliff face, several meters high, began to sink downwards, like a giant door pushed by an invisible hand.
With a dull rumble, the cliff face sank inch by inch into the ground. Rocks tumbled down from above, and dust filled the air, obscuring the view.
Once the rumbling stopped completely and the dust gradually settled, a wide passage appeared before Fang Han's eyes.
The passageway is square, about two zhang high, and wide enough for several people to walk side by side.
The walls and floor were paved with a Gray-White stone, just like the material of the cliff face.
Every few feet along the dome, a fist-sized Night-Luminescent Pearl is embedded, emitting a cool yet bright glow that illuminates the entire passageway as bright as day.
The Night-Luminescent Pearl had a warm and gentle luster, and it never dimmed in this passage that had been sealed for countless years.
Fang Han withdrew his gaze and stepped into the passage.
The soles of the boots landed on the stone slabs, making a low, resonant sound that echoed softly in the empty passageway.
Behind them, the cliff face rose again with a dull rumble, sealing the cave entrance tightly.
"Won't we get trapped inside and die?"
Fang Han tightened. He turned to look at the closed cliff face, walked forward, and carefully searched the inside of the cliff.
Since this treasure trove is intended for future generations, there must be a way to get out.
Sure enough, on the inner side of the cliff, near the lower right corner, he found another almost identical indentation.
Fang Han slightly relieved and made a firm note of the location of the indentation before turning around and walking forward along the passage.
The passage was long, winding downwards, seemingly leading deep into the mountainside.
The walls on both sides were devoid of any superfluous decorations, except for the luminous Night-Luminescent Pearl that emitted an unchanging light.
The only sounds were his own footsteps and breathing, echoing repeatedly in the deep passageway.
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Fang Han's gaze suddenly sharpened slightly.
He stopped and squatted down.
The passageway floor was covered with a thin layer of dust, fine particles that had eroded the stone walls over the long years, evenly covering every inch of the ground.
And not far ahead, on that layer of accumulated dust, there was a shallow footprint.
"Someone has been here!"
Fang Han's gaze fell on the footprint, and his brows furrowed slightly.
This is not a trace left from a long time ago.
Footprints left long ago will once again be covered by dust and become blurred.
The footprint had clear edges and a distinct outline, and the accumulated dust had not yet covered it again.
Based on his experience, he judged that the footprints could not have been left more than a few months ago.
Within a few months, others had come here before him.
"Someone beat us to it!"
Fang Han's heart sank.
He stood up and walked quickly forward along the passage.
Along the way, he found several more similar footprints, varying in depth.
A moment later, the passage suddenly widened, and Fang Han rushed into a huge underground palace.
The design of this hall is very similar to the Ancient Ruins hall he had entered before—a soaring dome and smooth, flat walls made of Gray-White stone.
The dome was inlaid with Night-Luminescent Pearl larger than those in the passageway, emitting a cool glow that illuminated the entire hall.
However, unlike the main hall of the Ancient Ruins, the main hall was completely empty.
There were no passages to clear the levels, no puppets guarding the ruins, and as for the treasure that Fang Han longed for, there was none of that either.
The entire space felt empty and desolate, exuding an indescribable sense of emptiness.
"As expected, someone beat us to it!"
Fang Han looked around, his heart sinking.
The treasure location marked on the Treasure Map is very likely to contain extremely valuable items.
However, it is highly likely that those items have already been taken by someone.
What puzzled him was who that person was and how they knew about the treasure location.
Could there be more than one similar Treasure Map?
"Let's see if there's anything valuable left!"
After a moment of silence, Fang Han suppressed his disappointment and continued his search in the main hall.
Hopefully, we can discover some hidden compartment somewhere, so that this trip won't be in vain.
"Knock knock--"
He walked slowly along the four walls of the main hall, his eyes scanning the smooth walls inch by inch, occasionally tapping them lightly with his knuckles to listen for any hidden holes behind them.
From the east wall to the south wall, and from the south wall to the west wall, as he approached the innermost wall of the main hall, a strange change occurred.
A golden light suddenly shone on him.