Wrapping Up

Map Store.

With Hai Bo Dong back in fighting form and Chen Xiao done with the follow-up, neither of them had any interest in lingering outside the city, so they returned together with Teng Shan.

"When does Old Hai plan to leave Mo City?"

Hearing Chen Xiao's form of address, Hai Bo Dong smiled in satisfaction.

In the past, this kid had always called him Ice Emperor this, Ice Emperor that. How could that compare to this sense of closeness now?

"Three to five days at most. The city lord of Mo City had already begun to suspect my identity before, and after the huge commotion today, along with Teng Shan coming and going these past few days, anyone who thinks about it a little seriously will realize that Old Man's identity isn't simple. If I keep staying here, I can forget about having any peace."

Hai Bo Dong answered with a chuckle.

Once he cut off the thought of taking him as a disciple and switched to befriending him instead, the knot in his heart immediately vanished.

Chen Xiao nodded lightly. In the original course of events, even when Hai Bo Dong's identity had not been exposed, people had often come to curry favor with him. Now that his identity was gradually becoming clear, if he continued staying here, that scene would only become even more exaggerated.

"Kid, if you need something, just say it. Although Old Man only broke the seal today, my strength has already recovered by about seventy to eighty percent. What troubles you may be no more than a casual effort in Old Man's eyes."

Strength brought confidence. The current Hai Bo Dong was no longer the ordinary old man from the Map Store. In his bearing and speech, he truly possessed the air of the Ice Emperor.

Hearing this, Chen Xiao no longer hesitated.

"There are indeed two small matters in which I need Old Hai's help."

"Let's hear them."

"First, I'd like to ask Old Hai to make a trip to the place where Medusa Queen took the Green Lotus Core Flame. The Green Lotus Core Flame takes a hundred years to form, a thousand years to become a lotus, and the flame is born from the lotus heart. Medusa Queen doesn't understand Heavenly Flames very well, so I suspect she wouldn't have taken the Core Fire Lotus. The Earth Fire Lotus Seeds inside are good things. If Old Hai can obtain them, how about we split them fifty-fifty?"

With Chen Xiao's current strength, there was absolutely no way for him to go deep into the underground magma.

Therefore, if he wanted to confirm this matter, he could only rely on Hai Bo Dong, this laborer.

With the friendship they had built over these days, and since he could never obtain it without Hai Bo Dong, splitting the harvest equally was only right.

"There's such a thing? You kid, you're clearly Ice Attribute, yet you understand Heavenly Flames and things like that very well. Old Man will remember it. I'll make a trip there tonight. Given how sensitive I am to that woman's aura, and now that I have the right direction, it won't be difficult to find the spot where she entered the underground."

This was a good thing, and Hai Bo Dong had no reason to refuse.

In fact, even if Chen Xiao had not proposed splitting the gains evenly, as long as he was willing to ask, Hai Bo Dong, with the importance he now attached to Chen Xiao, would not have refused.

"Old Hai, call me along when you act."

Down there underground, there was still a Two-Headed Fire Spirit Snake.

Now that Qing Lin had also begun cultivating, if he could borrow that Fire Spirit Snake to initially awaken the Triple Jade-Green Snake Flower Pupils and subdue it, the benefits would be considerable. She would even gain a fairly strong bodyguard, giving them more confidence when traveling outside.

It killed several birds with one stone, so why not?

"Easy enough." Hai Bo Dong nodded and agreed.

"The other matter is Old Hai's Fragment Map."

As he spoke, Chen Xiao's gaze drifted toward the corner.

Teng Shan was not an outsider to Hai Bo Dong, so Chen Xiao had no need to deliberately hide it.

"You really have been thinking about it, kid! Don't tell me that woman told you?"

Hai Bo Dong was greatly surprised. He had not forgotten the day he first met Chen Xiao.

At that time, Chen Xiao had wandered around the shop, and Hai Bo Dong had been watching his every move from the corner of his eye.

But after Chen Xiao saw that Fragment Map, he had behaved no differently from an ordinary person, so Hai Bo Dong had never suspected him.

Now that he heard this, it seemed that was not quite the case?

"To be honest, I do know a little about this Fragment Map. It should be one-eighth of a complete map. What is recorded on it is also a kind of Heavenly Flame, and one ranked extremely high. It is absolutely not something that a Dou Emperor, or even a Dou Zong, has the right to covet. My interest in Heavenly Flames is average, but if all the Fragment Maps can be gathered, it would also be a very weighty bargaining chip."

As long as he showed interest in the Fragment Map, it would not be difficult for Hai Bo Dong to guess that he knew at least some information.

Therefore, Chen Xiao had no need to play mysterious. Revealing a little appropriately would do no harm.

"Heh heh, you kid are taking things too much for granted. Old Man won't hide it from you either. This Fragment Map was the cause of my conflict with Medusa Queen over ten years ago. After I obtained it, I studied it painstakingly for all these years without gaining anything. I also failed to hear any news of the other Fragment Maps. To increase the possibility, Old Man even split it into two and deliberately took one half out to attract those with intentions. But after all these years, you're the only kid who has shown interest in it. If you want to gather all of them, just what kind of luck would that require?"

These words were true.

For ordinary people, the difficulty of gathering all the Fragment Maps was no less than finding a needle in the ocean.

If one was not a protagonist like Xiao Yan, finding two in a lifetime would already be mysterious enough, let alone gathering them all.

"If you want it, take it. In any case, Old Man has nearly looked at it until I'm sick. I could draw it exactly as it is with my eyes closed. If you really have that kind of luck and manage to gather them all, then on the day the mystery is revealed, just satisfy Old Man's curiosity."

As he spoke, Hai Bo Dong flipped his palm, and the other half of the Fragment Map also appeared. He tossed it very casually onto the desk in front of Chen Xiao.

The reason he could be so straightforward was exactly as he had just said.

Gathering all the Fragment Maps was too difficult. There was no hope in sight.

Furthermore, he did indeed remember it very clearly.

In addition, he also did not want his image in Chen Xiao's heart to collapse.

Chen Xiao cupped his fist slightly in thanks. He did not hurry to put away the half Fragment Map on the table, but first rose and walked to the corner, retrieving the other half.

Picking up the two Fragment Maps, Chen Xiao carefully examined them with a curious expression. From time to time, he even tugged at them forcefully a few times, letting out soft sounds of surprise.

"Don't waste your strength. The material of this Fragment Map is very special. Even this old man has never seen it before. I tried all sorts of methods—cutting it with blades, roasting it over fire, freezing it in water, and so on—but none of them could damage it. Only this Black Stone Ore can split it apart."

With a "pat," a palm-sized piece of ore, as black as obsidian, landed on the table.

"What kind of ore is this? I actually can't recognize it?"

Teng Shan, who had not interrupted all this time, grew somewhat curious. He picked it up and examined it for a long while, yet still had no clue.

What sort of figure was Teng Shan? He sat atop the wealthiest Mite'er Family in the Jia Ma Empire. If even he could not recognize it, that showed just how rare this black ore was.

"I'm not sure. This old man also happened to pick it up once when I was outside the city. I saw that it was very sharp, so I brought it back to try it. I didn't expect it really could cut the Fragment Map." Hai Bo Dong shook his head.

After Teng Shan finished toying with it, Chen Xiao took it from him.

Although he could not identify it, he could be certain this black ore was far from ordinary.

After all, Xiao Yan had used Heavenly Flames to temper the Fragment Map and still had not damaged it in the slightest, yet Hai Bo Dong had been able to split it apart. That in itself was utterly outrageous.

Now that he knew the reason, Chen Xiao could just barely understand it.

After playing with it briefly, Chen Xiao set down the Fragment Map, gripped the Black Stone Ore, and drew it across.

In an instant, the two one-eighth-sized Fragment Maps were split into four, becoming one-sixteenth-sized pieces.

Forcing down the urge to make another cut, Chen Xiao picked up the four small maps, his smile carrying traces of wickedness.

Both of the final two matters had yielded gains. Chen Xiao was eager to return and study the Pre-pay in his mind, so he immediately rose to his feet.

"Qing Lin is probably waiting for me again. Old Hai, Clan Leader Teng Shan, I'll take my leave first. See you tonight!"