Real and Fake Maps

Lin Yiqing used the tip of his sword to flick the shield off the ground and caught it in his hand. It was about three feet square and felt quite heavy, clearly a spiritual treasure with formidable defensive capabilities.

Etched onto the back of the shield were the words "Thick Earth Thousand Mountain Shield," and as his Origin Qi flowed through it, a faint, earthy-yellow glow emanated from the surface.

He did not reveal his spiritual energy cultivation, choosing to keep it as one of his trump cards to guard against any potential countermoves from his opponent.

Just imagine, if the other party tried to ambush him without knowing he possessed spiritual energy, they would surely only focus on defending against his physical movements.

This disregard for his spiritual energy would ultimately decide the outcome of the battle.

"Swish!"

With a surge of Origin Qi in his palm, Lin Yiqing wiped away the mark left by the previous owner, then, under the incredulous gaze of the chubby youth, tossed the shield into his own Universe Bag.

"Awoo! Give it back... give it back to me!"

Watching Lin Yiqing's actions, the chubby youth couldn't help but let out a heart-wrenching wail.

His round face twisted, and snot and tears streamed down uncontrollably.

Suddenly, he actually forced himself up despite his severe injuries, covered in blood, and lunged desperately toward Lin Yiqing.

"Give me back my treasure!"

Seeing this, Lin Yiqing instinctively took a step back. The chubby youth lunged into empty air, crashing face-first into the dirt and filling his mouth with dust.

"Wuu wuu, that's my life! Pfft!"

After this exertion, the chubby youth's anger surged, and combined with the heavy injuries inflicted by Lin Yiqing, he spat out a mouthful of blood and rolled his eyes back, fainting on the spot.

Lin Yiqing blinked his innocent eyes, turned to look at the Qingli Ancient Sword gripped in his hand, and sighed that the fellow had fainted at just the right time.

If the chubby youth had shown even the slightest sign of resistance while under his Origin Qi Vision, he would have killed him on the spot.

However, since the kid had managed to anger himself into a faint, killing him now would seem unsportsmanlike, and his crimes didn't warrant death.

Considering the youth hadn't yet shown overt hostility, Lin Yiqing decided to teach him a lesson first.

Relying on his cultivation and talent to spy on someone else's privacy—anyone else might have just ended him with a single blade stroke.

He snatched the Universe Bag hanging from the youth's waist, then reached out to pat the boy's chest, finding, as expected, that the chubby youth had hidden another one.

"Heh, you sure know how to hide things, kid."

Lin Yiqing curled his lips, pulled a wrist-thick iron chain from his own Universe Bag, and trussed the unconscious youth up like a rice dumpling.

Afterward, he took out the sleeping potion he had previously concocted, pried the youth's mouth open, and poured several large bottles down his throat before tossing him into a dry well with satisfaction.

He didn't expect the chains or the potion to hold him forever; after all, for a powerhouse at the Small Perfection of the Origin Pellet Realm, these things were of little use.

He only needed to buy himself some time.

"Forget it, I'll spare your life. By the time you wake up, I'll likely already be in the next city."

Pulling up his hood to conceal his face, Lin Yiqing headed toward the city gates. The next caravan to Ye City wouldn't depart for half a month, and he couldn't afford to wait that long.

There was no fee for leaving the city, so Lin Yiqing moved quickly, clearing Qingping City in just a quarter of an hour.

It was midsummer, and the scorching sun hung high in the sky, making the heat unbearable.

At Lin Yiqing's pace, he was deep within the Tianyan Mountain Range by midday. He found a large blue rock beneath a tree, sat down, and began to regulate his breathing and rest.

He took out the two Universe Bags to inventory his gains. Whether the chubby youth's words were true or false didn't matter, as he couldn't trust him anyway.

They were strangers with no ties, yet the youth had wanted to borrow his spiritual treasure and invite him on an expedition—no normal person with a shred of caution would agree to that.

Haven't you seen the stories? The foolish ones end up as piles of bones, half from exploration, half from sentimentality.

Exploring the caves of experts, winning the heart of a cold goddess—these were all bloody examples, and Lin Yiqing had seen plenty of them.

Furthermore, the mention of his "talent" had surprised him greatly. Although he had nothing of value in his bag besides the Qingli Ancient Sword, he couldn't accept being spied on so casually.

If it wasn't his talent, then perhaps he had been targeted by someone or some faction, which was even less acceptable.

Traveling abroad, he couldn't afford to let his guard down.

"Hiss! Is this chubby kid really this rich?"

Opening one of the bags, Lin Yiqing couldn't help but gasp. Inside were tens of thousands of crimson pills, surging with Yang Gang Qi—they were all Yang Yuan Pills.

One had to realize that until now, Lin Yiqing's primary currency had been Yang Yuan Stones; he rarely had the chance to use Yang Yuan Pills.

Of course, this was largely due to his rapid growth in strength; in just a few months, he had already become a cultivator of the Lesser Origin Pellet Realm.

"Eh, this is... a Pure Origin Pill!"

Suddenly, Lin Yiqing discovered a small pile of smooth, jade-like pills the size of an infant's fist in the corner of the bag. They were clearly of superior quality, each pulsing with astonishing Origin Qi.

This small pile consisted of Pure Origin Pills, which a powerhouse of the Origin Pellet Realm could only condense once a month. He hadn't expected to find nearly five thousand of them here.

"Tsk, as expected of the boss of the Hundred Treasures Pavilion, truly wealthy."

With a light chuckle, Lin Yiqing opened the second bag, which contained high-grade medicinal herbs, beast crystals, and a few spiritual ores.

However, just as he was about to put the bag away, a piece of animal hide tucked in the corner caught his attention.

With a thought, Lin Yiqing pulled it out. As soon as he opened it, his pupils constricted.

This animal hide scroll was actually a map, recording a portion of the Tianyan Mountain Range's terrain, with black lines and arrows drawn in the center to mark a specific mountain hollow.

Furthermore, the location shown was not far from his current position; if he traveled at full speed, it would only take a day or two.

Could that guy have been telling the truth?

At this moment, Lin Yiqing suddenly thought of the cave dwelling the chubby boy had mentioned earlier. After comparing it briefly with the animal hide scroll, he immediately understood.

Pondering the map for a moment, Lin Yiqing activated his Origin Qi Vision, only to be surprised to find that an extremely dense amount of origin energy still lingered on it, yet to dissipate.

"Interesting!"

Lin Yiqing's lips curled upward, a bright glint flashing through his deep eyes. If not for his unique methods, he likely would not have discovered the other party's deception.

This animal hide scroll had clearly been artificially aged, and the hide itself had likely been skinned not long ago.

If it had truly been passed down for hundreds of years, then under his Origin Qi Vision, there should not have been any lingering origin energy; it should have dissipated long ago.

"Truly a trap within a trap, each one more ruthless than the last!"

However, Lin Yiqing was actually somewhat curious now. If the goal was merely to kill and loot like common bandits, the other party would not have needed to go to such great lengths.

Since they were both searching for spiritual treasures and manufacturing fake maps, it could only mean that such abnormal behavior surely hid a deeper secret.

After a brief deliberation, Lin Yiqing decided to investigate first to see what exactly existed in that place.

If his guess was correct, there might truly be some treasure in that mountain hollow, though the level of danger within would undoubtedly be extremely high.

Otherwise, it would not have forced a powerhouse at the Small Perfection of the Origin Pellet Realm to resort to such tactics.

Thinking of this, Lin Yiqing put away the animal hide scroll and immediately turned to dash toward the location marked on the map.