Mountain and sea lantern

Chapter 550 A Pile of Magical Treasures
With a sigh, Shi Chun casually produced six sharp golden wheels shaped like crescent moons.

Wu Jinliang recognized this thing as well; it was a fifth-grade magic weapon in the hands of You Mu of the Four Cauldrons Sect, which was said to have been destroyed by lightning.

Not only that, after the six crescent-shaped golden wheel was planted in the ground, Shi Chun also conjured a long sword and a mace out of thin air.

The sword looks simple, with a dark gold color and a sense of understated elegance. The words "Flying Dragon" are on the sword, so it should be called the Flying Dragon Sword.

The gray mace is segmented and slender like a tower, with the words "Xiaohun" (meaning "soul-destroying") on the handle. It should be called the Soul-Destroying Mace.

Both of these treasures were taken from Shi Xi and his group in the Thousand Rocks Sect Palace in the Divine Fire Domain; they are both fifth-grade magic treasures.

Also unearthed at the time was the "Blood Soul Blade" that Shi Chun is currently using.

So many fifth-grade magic treasures were all shattered into junk by Li Hongjiu's ruthless control of lightning. The "Blood Soul Blade" was alright; its spirit awakened on its own after absorbing the blood energy.

If they didn't have so many precious treasures, why would they have spent so long lying low to obtain the "Death-Repelling Incense," even at the risk of their lives?

When Wu Jinliang saw this, his eyes lit up, and he asked, "Want to burn another one?"

That's obvious. We're risking our lives on this trip precisely to unlock these treasures. Shi Chun nodded and said, "Let's give it a try."

"Alright." Wu Jinliang looked very much in anticipation. He took out a small jar, opened it, hooked a bit of balm, and lit it on fire.

Shi Chun once again used the Demon Bathing Technique to trap the smoke from the burning objects, preventing it from dissipating, and gathered it around the magical artifacts, soaking them in the smoke.

A moment later, the magical artifacts began to tremble, and Shi Chun quickly shouted, "Turn off the fire!"

Wu Jinliang naturally understood that the goal was to conserve "dead incense" because he had too little stock on hand and wanted to avoid waste.

When Shi Chun finished his work and began to examine the magical treasures, Wu Jinliang also shamelessly stepped forward and chuckled, "Boss, can I have another one?"

Shi Chun rolled her eyes at him, "Your one item is worth three, don't be greedy. What will happen to the others if they see that Chu Jingtang and Lao Changtai have them? We have to keep some rewards for our achievements, otherwise who will fight alongside us?"

Wu Jinliang chuckled dryly, but also reflected seriously, "In spring, to be honest, with such a solid foundation, there's really no need for us to risk everything anymore. As the saying goes, 'If you walk by the river long enough, you're bound to get your shoes wet,' and I think there's some truth to that."

Shi Chun chuckled and said, "Don't you know where these treasures came from? Do you think it's too late to back down now? It's no use trying to settle things peacefully. Whether we can live a peaceful life depends on whether others agree to it."

After speaking, he picked up each magical artifact and cast a spell to integrate it into his divine consciousness, allowing the artifact spirits to recognize him as their master.

"Sigh!" Wu Jinliang thought about it and sighed. "I think the biggest problem is the cultivation method you practice. You don't make any progress when you leave the demonic path, but your eyes light up when you see the demonic path. It's no wonder you can't stay still."

Shi Chun retorted sarcastically, "If you were to issue a public statement severing ties with me, that would be one way out. But you shouldn't have done that, you shouldn't have publicly slapped Gong Shaoci in the face for Duan Xiangmei. You've offended her, and you still want to live a good life? Do you think you have the right to do that?"

Wu Jinliang plopped down on the ground and retorted sarcastically, "If you ask me, you shouldn't have used the gourd immobilization technique in public. An immobilization technique that can counter a fifth-grade magic weapon—as Young Master Nan said—now who knows how many people want to know the secret of refining this fifth-grade immobilization talisman from us? If you ask me..."

The words abruptly stopped, and a flash of golden light appeared in the cave. The Flying Dragon Sword in Shi Chun's hand suddenly shattered, releasing a chilling demonic aura. A dragon shadow, now transformed with antlers and two front paws, its body shimmering with dark golden scales, coiled and circled around the two of them in the small space, its immense aura awe-inspiring.

After the dragon's figure circled for a while, Shi Chun, who had been keeping his eyes closed, suddenly opened them and spread out his palm. The circling dragon quickly disappeared as if returning to its nest, and along with its demonic energy, it quickly retracted and transformed back into the flying dragon sword in Shi Chun's hand.

As soon as he sheathed his sword, Shi Chun reached out and grabbed the Soul-Destroying Mace that was stuck in the ground, which jumped back into his hand.

After holding the mace and closing his eyes to contemplate for a while, the mace suddenly began to twist and turn layer by layer. As it spun around, the mace expanded and grew larger, making Shi Chun, who was holding the mace, look like he was holding a tower with one hand.

Due to limited space, the tower stopped expanding just as it was about to reach the top of the cave. However, countless yellow sands flew out from the rotating doors and windows on the tower, sweeping out like a whirlwind.

Affected by the sandstorm, Wu Jinliang quickly tried to cast a spell to resist the impact of the sand, but his defenses were breached instantly. Although his protective robe blocked the attack, it still hurt him badly. This was before the power of the swirling sandstorm had even materialized, simply because the difference in power between his cultivation level and a fifth-grade magic weapon was too great.

Once the power of the magic weapon is unleashed, even a single grain of sand would be enough to kill him, let alone countless grains of sand. He hurriedly moved closer to Shi Chun and stood at the center of the swirling sandstorm to avoid danger.

Upon closer inspection, I discovered that each grain of yellow sand gleamed with a metallic sheen.

What's most baffling is that the pagoda seems to contain endless yellow sand, which keeps swirling out.

Fearing the cave would collapse, they eventually stopped the endless flow of yellow sand, but the cave had already been filled in, burying the two people inside alive.

When the two heads reappeared, they saw the endless yellow sand recede like a tide, eventually returning entirely to the tower.

And that pagoda eventually shrank to the size of the mace in Shi Chun's hand.

Shi Chun patted his mace and clicked his tongue, "The power of this treasure is probably extraordinary!" After speaking, he put it away and waved his hand. The six sharp crescent-shaped golden wheels on the ground once again emitted power and floated into the air, starting to rotate around the two of them.

The speed of the rotation increased faster and faster until it disappeared from sight, leaving only six shimmering golden lines enveloping them.

Shi Chun clicked his tongue again, "It's no problem to easily break open the strata that bury us."

Wu Jinliang, his eyes shining, clicked his tongue and said, "In the spring, we should probably thank that shameless Li Hongjiu. If he hadn't secretly sabotaged things behind the scenes and used lightning to destroy the treasures of each sect, and if all the sects had actually put their trump cards to use back then, the last Divine Fire Domain would have been enough to give us a hard time."

This statement makes sense, and Shi Chun deeply agrees. Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he flicked his sleeve to reveal the bracelet on his wrist. The six golden lights surrounding it flashed and disappeared one after another, carrying their residual light and shadows into the bracelet.

Then he conjured up the black lotus-shaped magic weapon out of thin air, examined it, pondered it, and wondered about it.

Seeing this thing, Wu Jinliang was also curious, "Both of them are fifth-grade magic treasures that were struck by lightning and knocked unconscious, so why is it that its spirit can wake up on its own?"

Shi Chun muttered, "It feels like this artifact spirit can repair itself and seems to be able to cultivate on its own. It is obviously extraordinary, but its weakness is also very obvious. Anyone who knows its weakness can easily subdue it. I don't know what kind of thing it is. It makes me a little apprehensive every time I want to use it."

Wu Jinliang: "I'll have Tong Mingshan try to fix it later, and see if he can fix it."

Shi Chun: "He's looked at it and said it's a problem with the artifact spirit, which isn't his area of ​​expertise. It's good enough that he can fix the invisibility blanket. If he can fix the blanket, the tear in the Immortal-Twisting Silk should be fine too."

The so-called invisibility blanket was a treasure he snatched from the women of the Valley of Oblivion when he, disguised as a masked man, publicly assassinated Wu Shanshan in the Divine Fire Domain, along with the Three Corpse Mirror and the Soul-Severing Bell. However, after the invisibility blanket was pierced by the Black Lotus Dharma Image's sword, it lost its invisibility ability.
He would occasionally use the Three Corpse Mirror, but as for the Soul-Severing Bell, that thing made too much noise when used, so it wasn't suitable for them to use in the sneaky stage. It would also affect their own people if they were involved, so he basically never used it formally.

After putting away the Black Lotus magic weapon, Shi Chun gestured for them to go up, "Let's go, let's go up."

Wu Jinliang immediately used his earth-遁术 (earth-遁术 is a type of magic that allows one to escape into the ground) to bring him to the surface. "Later, let Xiao Sheng sneak into Dazhi City first and scout out the situation inside the city for us."

"Us?" Shi Chun turned to look at him in surprise, sizing him up and down. "You still want to go to Dazhi City? You should find a place to hide with Xiao Sheng. I'll go to Dazhi City by myself."

Wu Jinliang earnestly advised, "In spring, don't be arrogant. It's better to have two helpers than to go it alone."

Shi Chun laughed, "I'm talking about weight and circumstance. If you come along, can you still be considered a helper? Even the Golden-haired Rat Clan, who have never seen you before, will know who you are the moment they see you. Are you sure that you're coming with me to Dazhi City to help me instead of dragging me down? Believe me or not, as long as you come along, even if I'm disguised, I'll be discovered immediately."

"..." Wu Jinliang was speechless, realizing something, and a sense of frustration appeared on his face.

Shi Chun shook his head. "Alright, I'll be fine if I disguise myself and enter the city. You and Xiao Sheng just need to find a place to hide."

Wu Jinliang sighed, "To be imposing and majestic has become a sin, this world..."

Before he could finish speaking, he paused, halting his ascent. He pulled out a mother-child talisman to examine it, and after looking at it, his expression hardened. He then showed it to Shi Chun beside him, saying, "This was sent by Governor Xiao. He discovered that there are quite a few people coming and going in this area, as if they are searching the area. He asked what to do."

"Search this area? What's there to search in this desolate wilderness? They're not after us, are they? We didn't..." Shi Chun, who looked surprised, suddenly stopped, his face darkening as if he remembered something. "Damn it, I forgot that the Extreme Fire Sect is in this area. It's the 'Heavenly Net Sword Bone Umbrella.' Damn it, Yin Tianlu might be nearby. He might have sensed his magic weapon."

Wu Jinliang was startled. "What should we do then?"

Shi Chun decisively said, "They're coming for me. Go up there. You call on Xiao Sheng, and you two hide first. After I lure them away, you can find a safe place to hide."

Wu Jinliang pulled out his three-in-one magic weapon, "How can that be? Let's join forces and fight our way out!"

Shi Chun glanced at his magic weapon, "It's useless. They came prepared. If I can't even escape with all my magic weapons, adding the two of you won't help either. I'll lure them away. If I accidentally fall into their hands, the Extreme Fire Sect won't be in a hurry to kill me. You immediately find a way to send a message and ask the demonic path on Xiang Lan'er's side to find a way to rescue me."

This is indeed a safer approach. In this critical moment, Wu Jinliang didn't mince words and decisively replied, "Okay, be careful."

After saying that, he first sent a message to Xiao Sheng before continuing to use his earth-遁术 (earth-遁术 is a technique for escaping into the ground) to rise to the surface.

Once Xiao Sheng confirmed that it was safe to emerge, the two of them crawled out from underground, and Xiao Sheng, who was already nearby, immediately met up with them.

Without saying much, Wu Jinliang pulled Xiao Sheng and disappeared underground again.

After quickly making his way to the back of a hillside for a brief observation, Shi Chun swiftly removed his makeshift disguise, deliberately revealing his true identity, before disappearing into the heart-wrapping grass forest. Under the cover of the heart-wrapping grass, he sped away.

As he had expected, the other side was indeed well-prepared this time. After demarcating the area, a group of experts spread out and cast spells to define the outer perimeter. Then, they advanced by casting spells to explore the area, gradually narrowing down the locked area, while the others assisted in the search.

While hiding and fleeing, Shi Chun bumped into the probing magical energy fluctuations and knew he couldn't escape. He immediately used Wind Scales and rode the Wind Scales at high speed towards the sky.

As expected, figures immediately leaped out from the nearby air and gave chase in a flash.

(End of this chapter)