Fang Han withdrew his hand and continued walking forward.
The decaying leaves in the forest remain soft and silent, and the ancient trees all around are still lush and verdant.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled shadows on his shoulders.
Not long after, Fang Han stopped again.
Beneath an ancient tree that requires several people to encircle, a piece of ore is half-buried among the gnarled roots.
The ore was about the size of a washbasin, dark purple in color, and covered with dense natural crystals on its surface, gleaming with an eerie purple luster in the sunlight.
The luster wasn't dazzling, but it possessed an indescribable sharpness.
Fang Han bent down and gently tapped the surface of the ore.
The ore emitted a clear and long hum, as if struck on a piece of refined iron that had been forged through countless hammer blows.
He had seen records of this mineral in the sect 'Purple Essence records—it was extremely tough and had an excellent amplifying effect on all kinds of Internal Qi, making it an excellent material for crafting Dharma Weapon.
" Recharge."
[ Possessed Wealth: 840,000 Gold → 910,000 Gold]
"Only 90,000 gold coins are needed!"
Fang Han glanced at the number and secretly calculated in his mind.
I'm only 90,000 gold short. Maybe next time I find it, I can gather a million gold and meet the conditions to unlock the level 8 Talent Amplification.
Fang Han suppressed the glimmer of expectation in his heart and continued forward.
As the sun climbed higher, the mist in the forest completely dissipated.
Fang Han walked through a relatively open valley.
The mountain walls on both sides are steep as if cut by a knife, and the valley floor is covered with thick gravel and sand. A small stream meanders through the gravel, its water gurgling.
His gaze, which had initially shifted away from the stream, suddenly returned.
A strange golden glint flashed by among the pebbles of the stream.
The gold was so faint that it was almost completely obscured by the shimmering light of the stream; had he not been standing at an angle where the sunlight was directly overhead, he would have had no chance to notice it.
Fang Han walked to the stream, squatted down, and reached his hand into the icy water.
My fingertips touched a hard object half-buried in the gravel.
He cleared away the surrounding pebbles, grasped the edge of the hard object, and with a powerful pull, lifted it out of the water and placed it on a blue stone by the stream.
This is a piece of gold ore.
It was nowhere near as large as the silver ore discovered yesterday; it was only about half a person's height.
It is dark gold in color, and its surface is covered with fine, spiderweb-like natural gold patterns, which gleam with a deep and warm luster in the sunlight.
The stream water slid down the surface of the ore, and as it flowed over the golden veins, it was reflected as a faint gold color.
Gold is worth a hundred times more than silver.
Although this gold ore is far inferior to the silver ore discovered yesterday, in terms of value, it is not much different, even if it is not as valuable as yesterday's silver ore.
Fang Han reached out and pressed his hand on the ore.
" Recharge."
[ Possessed Wealth: 910,000 Gold → 1,000,000 Gold]
Ninety thousand taels of gold.
This gold nugget brought in a wealth increase of 90,000 gold, Possessed Wealth to exactly 1 million gold.
"A million gold."
Fang Han's gaze lingered on the number "1 million gold" for a long time.
A million dollars.
He had once struggled to amass this wealth, but he achieved it in just one day after entering the secret realm.
This trip to the secret realm, though dangerous, is indeed an excellent opportunity to accumulate wealth.
"Now is not the time!"
Fang Han suppressed the turmoil in his heart and closed the System Panel.
Although he had already raised enough gold to activate an Level Eight Amplification for a certain talent, he did not intend to do so now.
Now that we are in the secret realm, even with the eighth-level Talent Amplification activated, we have no conditions to cultivate or test its effects.
It's not too late to open it after we leave the secret realm.
The morning light had spread fully from the eastern mountain ridge, turning the entire Lin Hai into a flowing golden-green hue.
"Hopefully, we can find another rare and precious plant similar to the Spirit-Nurturing Flower..."
Fang Han walked among the ancient trees, the decaying leaves under his feet still soft and silent, and the surrounding forest still lush and dense.
His eyes searched every inch, leaving no corner unchecked as to where treasure might be hidden.
Having achieved his first million-gold goal, his greatest expectation now is to find another rare and precious plant similar to the Spirit-Nurturing Flower.
The Spirit-Nurturing Flower we picked yesterday is only enough for one of my parents to enter the Inner Qi Realm.
To allow both of them to reach the Inner Qi Realm, we need to find another one.
Half an hour later, Fang Han suddenly paused slightly.
Not far ahead, a fallen ancient tree lay sprawled among rubble and decaying leaves.
The tree trunk was long since rotten, and moss covered every inch of the wood, almost blending into the ground.
Beside the fallen tree trunk, an unusual white glint peeked through the gaps in the decaying leaves.
It was a skeleton.
Fang Han's gaze fell on the skeleton, and his pupils contracted slightly.
It wasn't because the skeleton was large—quite the opposite, it was very small, only the size of an average adult male.
This is a human skeleton.
He slowed his pace and walked towards the skeleton.
As you get closer, the full picture of the skeleton becomes clearer.
It was half-buried in decaying leaves and soil, its skeleton still relatively intact, lying on its back, as if it had collapsed from exhaustion and could never get up again.
The surface of the bones has a weathered Gray-White color and is covered with fine cracks, but it has not yet turned into soil.
"This is?"
Fang Han's gaze fell on the right side of the skeleton.
The decaying leaves there were partially covered by something, revealing a corner of light brown animal hide.
His breath hitched slightly.
The texture, color, and pattern of that animal hide were exactly the same as the Treasure Map in his arms.
He bent down, picked up the animal hide from the decaying leaves, and unfolded it.
The animal hide was about a foot square, tough to the touch, and remained intact after countless years.
The mountains and rivers depicted on the map were clearly visible, exactly the same as the Treasure Map in his hand.
Moreover, the painting techniques and the texture of the paints undoubtedly come from the same source.
The owner of these skeletons, like him, was someone who used Treasure Map as a key to enter this secret realm.
"There's more than one key!"
Fang Han flipped the Treasure Map over and over again, his fingertips gently tracing the fine, ancient lines.
The "key" to entering the secret realm was indeed more than just the one in his hand.
"The footprints we found yesterday..."
Fang Han recalled the footprints he had found in the tunnel yesterday. He had initially thought that the owner of the footprints was just a lucky person who had accidentally discovered a treasure trove.
Now it seems that the person in question, like him, likely possessed a "key" that allowed them to enter this secret realm.
However, that person should have already left, since one can only stay in the secret realm for three days, and those footprints were left at least one or two months ago.
He carefully folded the Treasure Map and put it in his pocket.
Although he already had one, this one was just as useful; he could give it to someone else so that they could accompany him on his next exploration.
The efficiency of a single person's search is ultimately limited; the more people involved, the greater the chance of finding more treasures.
"What light?"
Fang Han was about to get up and leave, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a bluish light shining from between the ribs of the skeleton's chest.
The blue light was obscured, and it would be impossible to detect unless viewed from this angle.
Fang Han squatted down again and carefully pried open the several weathered ribs.
The bones cracked slightly under his fingertips, breaking into several pieces and revealing something underneath.
It was a gemstone.
It is about the size of a pendant, shaped like a teardrop, and entirely blue without any other colors.
There is a tiny opening at the top of the gemstone, indicating that it was once threaded with silk and worn close to the body.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the tree canopy, illuminating the blue gemstone. A faint blue halo rippled from its surface, creating faint, undulating circles in the air.
"What kind of gemstone is this?"
Sensing the unusual nature of this cyan gem, Fang Han reached out and retrieved it from under the skeleton, holding it in his palm.
"Buzz--"
The moment my fingertips touched the surface of the gemstone, a strange sensation enveloped my entire body without warning.
The feeling came abruptly, without warning.
It was like an invisible veil, slowly and irresistibly gathering from all directions, enveloping his entire being.
"What a strange feeling!"
Fang Han frowned slightly.
He looked down at the blue gem in his palm, then looked up at the surrounding trees.
Nothing has changed.
It was still that desolate forest, still those ancient, rugged trees.
Sunlight still filters through the branches and leaves, and the decaying leaves remain soft and silent underfoot.
But that strange feeling was real and lingered.
He tried circulating his internal Internal Qi, and everything was normal; there was nothing unusual.
He tried clenching his fist; his strength and speed remained the same, and he felt no discomfort or increase in his physical abilities.
But that feeling still lingered around him.
What kind of miraculous effects does this gemstone possess?
Fang Han stared at the blue gem in his palm, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.
If this weren't a secret realm, he would definitely sit down and carefully investigate the root of this strange feeling in another place, to find out exactly where the anomaly lies.
But not now.
Surrounded by a treasure trove, he had no time to carefully examine a single gem.
"Whoosh!"
Fang Han held the cyan gemstone in his palm, and with a slight thought, stored it in his Storage Ring.
That strange feeling vanished the instant the gem disappeared, like a silent tide that came and went without warning.
Fang Han stood there for a moment, making sure there were no further abnormalities in his body, before slowly exhaling a breath of stale air.
This matter is strange, but it's not something we should delve into now.
He took one last look at the skeleton whose ribs he had dislocated, then turned around and continued his exploration of the secret realm.
It seemed his luck had run out, and for the next hour and a half, Fang Han was unable to gain anything.
Judging from the sun in the sky, it was almost noon, and Fang Han was preparing to find a place to rest and have lunch.
Suddenly, a refreshing fragrance wafted into his nose.
"This fragrance, could it be..."
Upon smelling the fragrance, Fang Han's face lit up with delight.