Treasure Hunting, the Seventh-grade Alchemist Inheritance

Why couldn't this man speak a single honest word? Believe you? Like hell I would!

Xun'er couldn't help rolling her eyes. Then she took a deep breath, thought for a moment, and said, "I know you'll be joining the Inner Academy in the next few days, Senior."

"The Inner Academy of Jia Nan Academy is an independent space, cut off from the outside world. I feared it would become difficult to communicate with you afterward, which is why I invited you here."

"It's not that I insist you make your decision in just a few days. After all, the Central Plains are far away. You've spent so long in the bitter cold of the northwest that you might not adapt immediately if you went there."

"In that case, I'll give you a few more months to consider it. How about a three-month deadline?"

At her words, Lin Chen's eyes lit up, and everything suddenly seemed bright and clear.

More than ten days had already passed since his last simulation ended. In another three months, he would certainly be able to run another one—just in time to fleece the Gu Clan again.

"Certainly, no problem. You're so understanding, Junior Xun'er. I'm truly grateful. This is a fourth-grade Yangyan Pill I refined myself. Please accept it as a gift, and may your beauty endure and your smile remain unchanged."

Lin Chen agreed at once, taking a white jade bottle from his Storage Ring and placing it on the stone table.

Then he rose to take his leave.

Seeing this, Xun'er stood as well. "Let me see you out, Senior."

"Please don't trouble yourself, Junior. I can see myself out."

The moment those words left his lips, Lin Chen vanished as though someone had greased the soles of his feet. In the blink of an eye, he became a tiny black speck racing into the distance.

A trace of helplessness flashed through Xun'er's eyes. How could she not see that he was putting her off?

Still, it was ultimately a trivial matter, so she let him have his way. After all, she was recruiting a guest elder for the Gu Clan. Surely she couldn't fail to recruit him and make an enemy instead?

"Young Miss, although this man is greedy, his nature isn't bad. While I was bringing him here, he kept praising your kindness and righteousness. He does have some redeeming qualities."

The Black-Robed Man beside her mistook her silence for displeasure and hurried to add this.

Xun'er shook her head slightly and sighed. "Of course I know. Senior Lin Chen was merely a mercenary from Qingshan Town. He lost both parents in childhood. He's just an unfortunate soul."

"I heard that if he hadn't joined Jia Nan Academy back then, he would have had to enter the Magical Beast Mountain Range to fight magical beasts and gather herbs when he was only a few years old. It's perfectly understandable for someone like him to count every coin."

"But Elder Lin, last time you disliked him and said he wasn't worthy of becoming a guest elder of our Gu Clan. Why have you changed your tune?"

With that, Xun'er looked curiously at the Black-Robed Man beside her.

The Black-Robed Man's expression remained unchanged. Tightening his grip on the Qi Recovery Pill inside his sleeve, he said solemnly, "My old eyes failed me before. It seems I misunderstood young friend Lin Chen."

After returning to his courtyard,

Lin Chen exhaled softly and thought, I finally managed to bluff my way through. Xun'er wasn't that difficult to talk to after all.

I need to join the Inner Academy as soon as possible. Before that, though, I have to find that alchemist's ruin near Black Seal City and claim the opportunity before someone else gets there first.

With that thought, Lin Chen immediately went into his room to pack, preparing to leave the academy.

A short while later,

A handsome scholar emerged in a long blue-green robe, gently waving a folding fan. Three Storage Rings of different sizes adorned his slender, fair fingers, and boots made from fourth-order magical beast hide covered his feet. His face wore an arrogant, conceited expression.

One glance was enough to tell anyone that he was an inexperienced scion of a great family. In the infamous Black-Corner Region, he was practically the fat sheep everyone dreamed of fleecing.

Lin Chen touched the human-skin mask fitted snugly against his face. Satisfied with his preparations, he took out two pill bottles and swallowed a Windwalk Pill to increase his speed, then a Dragon Strength Pill to boost his strength. Only then did he head out of the courtyard.

"I hope the brothers and sisters of the Black-Corner Region don't disappoint me..."

One month later,

Black Seal City, the Black-Corner Region.

As the headquarters of the Eight Gates, a first-rate power in the Black-Corner Region, Black Seal City had been built exceptionally tall and imposing. Huge blocks of pitch-black stone formed its entirety. At its gates, dense crowds could be seen streaming like ants into that enormous, utterly black maw.

Meanwhile, outside the great city, deep within a dense forest,

"Hehehe, pretty boy, there's no escaping!"

"Hand over those Storage Rings, and I'll leave your corpse in one piece!"

A bald, burly man with a savage expression advanced on a scholar drenched in blood, a long saber in his hand and ocher Dou Qi Armor enveloping his body.

"Y-you stay away! I'm Xie Biyan's own grandson, from the Chu Yun Empire! If you touch me, my grandfather won't spare you!"

The scholar backed away in terror. Looking over his shoulder, he saw vicious-looking criminals surrounding the forest.

Among them, a seductive woman with a shapely figure and a long, narrow scar across her face slowly approached, swaying her hips. She eyed the handsome scholar hungrily, licked her lips, and said huskily, "Boss, give this one to me. Let me enjoy him first, then I'll hand him over."

"Thirteenth Lady, looking for another feast of flesh? This brat has a powerful background. Don't stir up trouble. Finishing him quickly is the sensible thing to do."

A small, skinny man flanked him from the left, a silver spear in his hand. Azure Dou Qi Armor also enveloped his body. He was clearly a formidable Da Dou Shi!

"Monkey's right. No messing around. Chop this brat up, take the Storage Rings, and leave! The Eight Gates have been cracking down lately. Don't end up sewing a wedding dress for them to wear!"

The bald man roared angrily and abruptly slashed his saber. A dazzling ocher blade of light shot forth, transforming into a huge striped tiger that lunged at the scholar. Its bloody maw gaped wide, and its roar echoed through the mountain forest!

Xuan-tier Intermediate Dou Technique, Fierce Tiger Earth-Rending Slash!

The next instant, the seductive woman attacked as well. She flicked the whip at her waist, and emerald light surged along it. Dense poisonous thorns sprouted in an instant, making it resemble a venomous mandala snake as it coiled toward the scholar's ankles.

Profound Tier Low Grade Dou Technique, Mandala Entanglement!

Whoosh!

Shrill whistles tore through the air from several other directions as the light of all manner of Dou Techniques shot toward him. Most were vicious attacks at the Da Dou Shi level. Only the bald leader unleashed a fierce aura comparable to that of a Three-Star Dou Ling.

At the sight, the scholar's face abruptly filled with despair, and he shouted, "There's no justice left in this world! Even a mere Dou Ling can lead a gang of highway robbers now! The local mercenaries have no manners at all!"

As he spoke, countless pale-red flames erupted from his body. Amid faint phoenix cries, they intertwined into flame armor patterned with a phoenix, unmistakably revealing the aura of a Peak Dou Ling!

"Shit, this one's tough! It's a trap! Run!"

The strongest of them, the bald man, blanched. But he had already unleashed his Xuan-tier Dou Technique and was caught between spent strength and strength yet to gather. Then a dazzling blaze shot skyward, and a crimson figure soared into the air, sonic booms bursting beneath his feet!

Xuan-tier Advanced Dou Technique, Flame Burst Step!

Roar!

A deep dragon's roar reverberated through the forest, spreading outward in invisible sound waves. Like muffled thunder exploding inside their heads, it instantly disrupted the others' control over their Dou Qi.

Yellow Tier Advanced Dou Technique, Dragon Roar Art!

Having dodged their attacks with his movement Dou Technique and immobilized them for three seconds with his Sound Wave Dou Technique, Lin Chen's face turned solemn. An utterly terrifying aura erupted from him. Dou Qi surged through his body like a tide as he struck out repeatedly in every direction, his palms tracing visible crimson trails.

At the end of each trail, a gigantic flaming palm several dozen feet wide shot forth. Like an enormous hand holding up the heavens, it abruptly pressed down, sending the mercenaries flying backward with ashen faces and screams of agony as their bones shattered!

A short while later,

Standing before a pile of corpses engulfed in roaring flames, Lin Chen counted his newly acquired Storage Rings.

"One, two, three, four; five, six, seven, eight."

"Nine, ten, countless more; once in my hands, they disappear."

"I'm rich, rich! I've seized more medicinal ingredients this month than I sold in an entire year before. Everyone in Jia Nan Academy's Outer Academy is dirt-poor! The Black-Corner Region's mercenaries really know how to splurge on pills. This is the right path!"

Delighted, Lin Chen tucked the dozen or so Storage Rings into his robes, then took out a crude map covered in sloppy handwriting and extremely rough drawings.

With Black Seal City at its center, countless lines extended across the map before finally converging on a small valley three hundred li away, marked with a large red circle.

"After a month of investigation, I've visited every well-known place nearby. Only this one remains."

"If my guess is right, that seventh-grade alchemist's resting place is here."

Stroking his chin, Lin Chen studied the hand-drawn map solemnly, lost in thought.

Then, without further hesitation, he hurried off into the distance.

Not long afterward,

Dense mist swirled through a secluded valley, where countless low-grade medicinal herbs grew thickly. At a glance, it seemed a flourishing tapestry of flowers.

Yet, for some reason, the medicinal fragrances of all these ingredients mingled into an unbearably foul stench, making anyone who smelled it restless and desperate to flee.

"This is the place."

Covering his nose and mouth, Lin Chen swallowed an Ice Heart Pill. Then he gently sniffed the medicinal scents in the air, instantly identifying quite a few common ingredients.

"Earth spirit grass, purple lingzhi, blood dragon ginseng, purple leaf orchid grass, marrow-cleansing flower..."

"So that's it. I understand now! That's how it works!"

"Foul odors belong to turbid qi. Turbid qi sinks, encouraging creeping creatures to breed and dissolving rotten flesh. But everything under heaven has principles of mutual generation and restraint. There must be a medicinal plant of clear qi here, fragrant rather than foul. That would make an excellent burial site, capable of preserving a body from decay for a hundred years."

After pondering for a moment, Lin Chen's eyes suddenly lit up, and he headed toward the edge of the valley. Countless towering trees grew there, most with gray-brown bark, though a few were red.

Only in the corner to the left stood a graceful purple elm. It did not compete with the other trees for splendor, but gave off an exceptionally delicate fragrance that made it stand out.

Lin Chen chuckled. With a sweep of his hand, he took an iron shovel from his Storage Ring and began digging beneath the tree.

In barely a quarter of an hour, a pitch-black dark-iron coffin appeared in the pit beneath the elm.

Lin Chen stepped forward, cupped his hands, and bowed deeply in respect before slowly opening the iron coffin.

There were no bones inside. Three jade boxes lay neatly arranged within it. One emitted a faint chill, wreathed in white mist. Even unopened, the extreme cold contained within it was palpable.

It was none other than the renowned ice spirit cold spring!