Chapter Fifty-Six: The Mysterious Pattern

When Yue Qi entered the secret chamber, the lamp had already been lit. Bai Lian stood at the entrance, waiting for him, her delicate face flushed pink. She stole a glance at Yue Qi, but when she caught his half-amused, half-knowing gaze, she quickly lowered her head.

Li Yuan, of course, did not wish to disturb the young couple’s tender atmosphere, so he simply moved aside, busily searching for things he thought Yue Qi and the others might need.

"Lian’er, not bad—you even managed to hide a book like this..." Yue Qi walked over to Bai Lian, smiling mischievously.

"No... um, hey! That’s not mine! I just found it in some armor tossed on the ground, and picked it up out of curiosity. Who knew it was..." Bai Lian’s cheeks grew even redder as she spoke.

"I’m not blaming you. But you seemed pretty absorbed just now... Looks like you’re very interested in what’s inside!" Yue Qi grinned wickedly at her.

"Nonsense!" Bai Lian suddenly retorted loudly. Seeing Li Yuan glance at her curiously from afar, she quickly bowed her head and mumbled, "I barely looked at it before you snatched it away! How could I be absorbed?"

"Haha, good Lian’er..." Yue Qi stepped forward and gently patted Bai Lian’s head, but she shrank back as if she were a rabbit startled by an eagle.

"Relax, I’m not upset with you. Come on, once we find the spirit stones, I’ll pick out some of the biggest ones for you..." Seeing her expression, Yue Qi felt too embarrassed to tease this kind-hearted girl any further.

Bai Lian shyly took Yue Qi’s hand, still unable to meet his eyes. The thought of being caught reading that sort of book made her feel mortified...

They walked over to Li Yuan together. Yue Qi ignored the piles of gold and silver on the floor, but something in Li Yuan’s hands caught his attention: a few palm-sized scrolls.

"These are the spell scrolls granted by the imperial court over the years..." Now that the playful mood had passed, Li Yuan handed the items to Yue Qi and said, "But most of these are second-tier spells, and with your Foundation Establishment cultivation, they probably won’t be much use..."

Yue Qi nodded, then tossed all the scrolls into his mustard seed bracelet. Li Yuan was only mildly surprised to see the scrolls disappear instantly; recalling Yue Qi’s identity as a cultivator, he calmed himself. After all, Li Yuan was not a cultivator himself and had little knowledge of the magical treasures cultivators possessed.

"Is this all?" Yue Qi asked. If these scrolls were the only spoils, then the harvest was not as astonishing as he’d hoped.

"Not quite. There are five more scrolls here—take a look," Li Yuan said, producing a small box and drawing out five scrolls. Yue Qi noted the intricate order in which Li Yuan opened the box—it seemed to be a mechanism. If someone tried to snatch its contents by force, they’d likely suffer for their greed.

"These five scrolls are quite good..." Bai Lian, who had remained silent, suddenly spoke up after glancing at them from afar. "If I’m not mistaken, these are third-tier spell scrolls..."

"Indeed! Madam, you are truly impressive!" Li Yuan exclaimed in admiration, then continued, "And these five scrolls are five different spells: one each for wind, thunder, water, fire, and earth!"

"Well, that’s a pleasant surprise!" Yue Qi understood the importance of these scrolls—they required only a small amount of spiritual power to activate, so there was no need to worry about having enough energy. In a critical moment, these could be life-saving.

Taking the scrolls, Yue Qi sensed the vast spiritual energy within them—far beyond his current reach. He realized that if one of these scrolls struck him, he would likely be reduced to nothing but ashes.

With that thought, Yue Qi glanced at Bai Lian, wondering how powerful the life-saving scrolls she possessed might be, since they required an entire high-grade spirit stone to activate. A single high-grade stone could replenish his spiritual power from empty to full more than a dozen times!

---

"Lord Li, what about those spirit stones you mentioned?" After storing the five third-tier scrolls, Yue Qi was still not satisfied and pressed him.

"I knew I couldn’t escape this," Li Yuan replied with a wry smile, then reached into the bottom of the small box and pulled out a pouch. The crisp sound of clinking stones echoed from inside...

"These are all of them; if I remember correctly, there should be nine or ten. Please check," Li Yuan reluctantly placed the spirit stones in Bai Lian’s hands.

"Yes, these are high-grade spirit stones!" Bai Lian checked them, then tossed them to Yue Qi.

"Lian’er, take a few for yourself," Yue Qi said, picking out several stones to hand to Bai Lian. Feeling the abundant spiritual energy within the stones, he nearly couldn’t resist absorbing them all at once.

"No need, you keep them. We’re always together anyway," Bai Lian replied, declining.

"That won’t do! If something happens or danger comes suddenly, what then?" Yue Qi frowned and forcibly pressed several stones into Bai Lian’s hands.

"Hmph! Fine, I’ll take them—why are you so fierce?" Though she protested, Bai Lian accepted the stones, her heart sweet as honey. Yue Qi seemed stern, but was clearly thinking of her safety.

"That’s all the most precious things in this secret chamber. There’s nothing better left. If you like, take any gold or silver you want..." Having surrendered all his best possessions to Yue Qi, Li Yuan felt his heart bleed despite his willingness.

"If you’re bored, go upstairs and find Hong Ye and the others. I’ll look around a bit more," Yue Qi told Li Yuan, then began to explore the small chamber himself. Suddenly, he remembered something and continued, "When you go up, pick out some good equipment and weapons, just in case. I noticed some high-quality armor on the second floor—some are so sturdy not even zombies could break through. Find a suitable weapon, and when we return to the camp, I’ll have someone teach you some basic self-defense..."

"Alright, I’ll leave you to it," Li Yuan replied, climbing the ladder and leaving the chamber.

"Good Lian’er, help me look for any other treasures. I know your eye for valuables is far better than mine!" With no one else around, Yue Qi slipped an arm around Bai Lian’s slender waist, speaking in a coaxing tone.

"Hmph!" Bai Lian tapped his forehead with her finger, feigning annoyance, though her eyes sparkled with laughter.

"Haha, I knew you were the best! I’ll go check over there. Let me know if you find anything good..." Yue Qi said, departing, but not before giving Bai Lian’s shapely backside a firm squeeze.

"This rascal is getting bolder!" Bai Lian didn’t resist, her face reddening once more. Ever since they’d gotten close, Yue Qi’s teasing had grown more unabashed—before it was only behind others’ backs, now it was both in private and public!

Despite her thoughts, Bai Lian still wanted to help Yue Qi find anything valuable.

A mortal’s secret chamber was nothing compared to an immortal’s—the contents were worlds apart. In Li Yuan’s chamber, ninety-nine percent was money, which in chaotic times was worth less than dirt.

Thinking this, Bai Lian walked to the spot where Li Yuan had hidden the box. The small box hadn’t been closed, and by the light she saw how exquisite it was!

Not just the outer decorations, which seemed to be gilded dragons and phoenixes, making the box appear heavy, yet it was light as a feather—she wondered what material it was made from.

---

"This thing is rather interesting..." Bai Lian smiled as she was about to set the box down, but the bottommost sheet of paper suddenly slipped out.

"What’s this?" she murmured to herself. It seemed to be the sheet that had lined the bottom of the box, but she hadn’t paid it any mind—perhaps just for moisture and decay prevention...

"This paper is strange!" As soon as she picked it up, Bai Lian felt something odd—its texture was like leather, but not quite, and the whole sheet was incredibly light. If she looked closely, she could see some indecipherable writing on its wax-yellow surface.

"Brother Qi, come take a look!" Unable to figure it out, Bai Lian called out to Yue Qi nearby.

"Take a look at this..." As Yue Qi approached, Bai Lian handed him the paper.

"What is it? Just a sheet of leather paper..." Yue Qi said, taking it, but immediately sensed something amiss.

"This... is peculiar," Yue Qi frowned. He felt as though his spiritual energy reacted as soon as he picked up the paper!

"Try channeling spiritual energy into it," Bai Lian suggested, watching the waxy yellow paper intently.

Yue Qi hesitated—ordinary items would be easily destroyed. But Bai Lian’s confidence won him over, and he began to direct his spiritual power, along with his mental force, into the paper.

Just then, something strange happened! Yue Qi felt his spiritual energy and mental force suddenly sucked into the yellow paper. Spiritual energy was one thing, but losing mental force made him dizzy, and his body swayed uncontrollably!

"Brother Qi, are you alright?!" Bai Lian hurriedly caught him, alarmed.

"I’m fine, I’m fine," Yue Qi waved her off, shaking his head until he felt better. Then, still shaken, he said, "This thing absorbs both spiritual energy and mental force..."

"Absorbs?" Bai Lian asked, puzzled, looking again at the wax-yellow paper...

The once faint black writing now seemed to come alive, slowly moving across the surface, gradually forming a mysterious pattern!

ps: I’m determined to be a diligent new author, haha—please give me some recommendations and bookmarks!