NOVPUB
Chapter 68: Chapter 68 Frustration
"How strange, each map has a position, what is the connection between them?"
Li Qian scrutinized the three pieces of map that were pieced together; although a piece was missing, he could still make out the whole picture with the help of his imagination.
Could it be that the four maps do not indicate the location of the treasure, but contain riddles within riddles?
Only by collecting items from the four locations, could one possibly decipher further?
"Wait, what is this?"
As Li Qian’s fingers brushed over the leather map, he felt an almost imperceptible uneven texture.
He quickly used his Spiritual Perception to examine it, finding that on this seemingly smooth and flat leather map, some lines protruded while others were indented.
"Is there a hidden map within the map?"
Li Qian tried to isolate the lines with their uneven textures using his Spiritual Perception and envisioned them as a map in his mind...
"These lines, they clearly relate to two new maps."
He looked surprised.
Only a part was missing.
Even though he remembered all the information from the map given by old man Song, he did not know the details of the lines’ relief on it.
"This is a bit troublesome now."
Li Qian touched his nose.
Considering he had already turned that map into shreds.
Surely they wouldn’t expect him to piece that pile of shreds back together, would they?
Plus, with so much time having passed, they might have already rotted away.
"Well, let’s head back first."
Li Qian sighed.
Thus, he picked up the half-demon’s corpse and retraced his steps.
....
In the residential area of Sanhe Town.
Four bodies were laid out in a row.
Dead beyond any doubt.
Xuanjian Si officer Chu Ping and Yan Song were anything but relaxed; their mood was incredibly somber.
The strongest half-demon had escaped.
If it were to return, no one present would likely survive.
"Senior Brother Yan, the flying eagle is ready."
An Inner Sect Disciple galloped over, with a black eagle the size of a pigeon perched proudly on his arm.
This black eagle was carefully bred by the Breeding Masters of the Divine Sword Sect’s Exotic Beast Breeding Farm.
Yan Song nodded, inserted a piece of paper into a small bamboo tube, and was about to attach it to the black eagle’s leg.
Suddenly, a body fell from the sky, landing heavily on the ground, and lined up with the other four bodies.
At the same time, a calm voice rang in everyone’s ears.
"The leader of the thieves has been executed; this case can be closed."
Yan Song and the others came to their senses and looked up into the night sky, only to see a figure streak across and disappear.
"It was Senior Brother Li."
Junior Sister Fan exclaimed: "He’s so formidable, he actually killed that half-demon..."
"Killed the half-demon?"
Yan Song and Chu Ping looked at the lying corpse... Its figure was gaunt and sickly, a stark contrast to the previously hideous, fierce, and monstrous stature.
When they arrived, the man had already completed the half-demonization and had not seen the true face of the half-demon.
"Is this really that half-demon?"
Yan Song began to doubt in his mind.
He suspected... Did the half-demon escape, so Senior Brother Li randomly picked someone to take its place?
As Officer Chu Ping said, only a Grandmaster Level expert could deal with a half-demon, so how did Senior Brother Li manage to kill such a powerful half-demon?
"Senior Brother Yan, do we still send the message with the flying eagle?"
The Inner Sect Disciple holding the eagle asked.
"Since Senior Brother Li has resolved the matter with the leader, there’s no need to send it."
Yan Song took a deep breath and immediately said.
Even if the half-demon leader wasn’t dead... it wouldn’t be his responsibility.
Besides, the fact that the half-demon leader had chosen to flee... suggested that it held Divine Sword Sect in awe and perhaps wouldn’t dare come back to commit more crimes.
"Officer Chu, since Senior Brother Li has said so, the case can be closed."
Yan Song looked at Chu Ping.
Understanding, Chu Ping nodded and said, "Magistrate Yan speaks rightly."
He did not want to probe any deeper into this matter— the risk was too great.
He was just a minor official of the Xuanjian Si, why should he take such a big risk?
With these five corpses, and the determination of the Divine Sword Sect’s Innate expert, the case could be closed.
....
Outside Xia Mansion.
Li Qian quickly arrived at a group of fast horses.
"Sir." 𝔫𝔬𝖛𝖕𝔲𝖇.𝖈𝖔𝖒
A member of the Xuanjian Division was guarding these horses, and hurriedly saluted upon seeing Li Qian.
Li Qian just nodded his head, then untied the reins, mounted one of the fast horses, squeezed the horse’s belly with his legs, and the horse took off running. Soon, the brisk sound of hoofbeats faded away into the night.
....
Two days later.
Having returned to the Divine Sword Sect and completed his mission, Li Qian felt an inexplicable sense of relief in his heart.
It was much better inside the sect.
The outside world was just too dangerous.
Even a casual mission could lead to an encounter with a half-demon.
Fortunately, his own strength was formidable. If it had been a regular Innate martial artist... their corpse would have probably gone cold by now.
"Senior Brother Li."
Liu Ming saw Li Qian’s return and hurriedly saluted.
Li Qian nodded, then walked toward the back of the bell tower.
When he arrived at the tree under which the treasure map was buried.
The area was overgrown with dense vegetation, showing no sign of disturbance.
With a light wave of his hand, his Sword Qi crisscrossed, sending soil flying.
A moment later.
Li Qian stared at a mound of decayed and unrecognizable dark mud, silent for a long time.
He was a bit annoyed at himself for having crushed, leveled, and buried the treasure map in the first place.
He could only blame his past self for being too cautious and too timid.
With no other recourse, strength was the determining factor.
His former self wasn’t even at the level of an Entry-Level Martial Artist—how could he dare to keep a treasure map that could easily bring about calamity?
"It seems there’s only one way to restore the map, and that’s through trying over and over."
Li Qian muttered to himself.
After all, he remembered every detail of the map.
But the lines on the map were so intricate and plentiful... His reconstructions and combinations would be immensely complex and hard to imagine.
"Just treat this puzzle as an entertainment when I’m bored."
Li Qian shook his head.
If he didn’t have the Sacrificial Artifact System... perhaps he would place all his hopes of enhancing his strength on the treasure map, sparing no effort to piece it together.
But now there was no such need.
It would be great if he could restore the map, but if not... it didn’t matter.
After re-burying it, Li Qian returned to the bell tower, just in time to see his master Zhou Buping return from the foot of the mountain with his hands folded behind his back.
"You’re back so soon?"
Zhou Buping was a bit surprised to see Li Qian.
"Master, things went quite smoothly this time."
Li Qian said.
Despite some twists and turns, the efficiency of completing the mission this time was very high.
There was no time wasted at all.
"Then you must be more careful when you go on missions in the future... In recent times, two Inner Sect Disciples with Innate Cultivation have fallen while on missions."
Zhou Buping sighed, "Alas, it’s said that they encountered a half-demon..."
"Another half-demon?"
Li Qian was startled.
"What did you say?"
Zhou Buping stopped and looked at Li Qian.
"Master, during this mission, I also encountered a half-demon..."
Li Qian said.
Many people had witnessed the incident with the half-demon, and surely the sect would come to know about it afterwards.
"What? You encountered a half-demon... Then you..."
Zhou Buping was shocked, knowing the strength of a half-demon.
"Master, my Sword Intent has already reached the Illusion Level, and my cultivation has also made a breakthrough, so I was fortunate enough to kill that half-demon."
Li Qian said.
He felt it necessary to reveal some of his own strength to his master, to make the killing of the half-demon seem reasonable.
Zhou Buping was relieved and then became happy, "Very good, very good, I wasn’t wrong about you. You have an astonishing comprehension; in just a few short years, your Sword Intent has already broken through to the Illusion Level."
As for Li Qian’s cultivation making a breakthrough in just one short year... that didn’t surprise him.
Li Qian was of Perfect Innate quality, and after entering the Innate Realm, with sufficient resources, his cultivation speed was naturally fast.
What really surprised him was the Sword Intent... progressing from Illusion Level to higher within just six years was incredibly astonishing.
Even he himself, who was quite insightful, had taken a full fifteen years to achieve this breakthrough.
And within the Divine Sword Sect, which of those Grandmasters or Great Grandmasters hadn’t spent more than a decade?
.....
