Chapter 241: Family Heirloom Secret Map · Entering Wuling

Chapter 241: Family Heirloom Secret Map · Entering Wuling

Xiao Chen circled the area for a brief inspection.

Though he failed to uncover why sea creatures had multiplied, he unexpectedly spotted a small Spirit Ship anchored on the ocean surface.

The entire vessel shimmered with a deep blue glow. Light blue runes swirled around it, forming two concentric rings that pulsed like breathing. A golden chain extended from the ship’s stern, dangling into the sea depths below.

“To encounter someone else in such a remote location?” Xiao Chen mused before deciding to approach for a closer look.

As he drew nearer, he distinctly sensed mana fluctuations ahead—like a duel occurring underwater. Yet strangely, the sea surface remained eerily calm. This suggested either an extremely deep confrontation or something unusual altogether.

While Xiao Chen observed curiously, someone aboard the ship noticed his approach.

“Second Brother, Third Sister—someone’s coming from the southeast,” said a white-robed youth. “Only one person so far. Shall we drive him away?”

Third Sister, who had been adjusting a talisman formation, asked without pausing, “What cultivation realm is he? Can you identify his sect by his attire?”

The youth activated his spiritual eye technique, his vision piercing three hundred li ahead. “Golden Core Middle Stage. Wearing a white feathered robe—unrecognizable insignia. He’s flying straight here. Two hundred li away now, almost upon us.”

He immediately drew a Spirit Sword, his face tightening with tension as his breathing quickened. “Looks like he’s heading for the Cave Mansion. Should we act?”

Third Sister swiftly retrieved a formation flag to stabilize the talisman formation, then produced a nine-foot-long Jade Lotus Spear for defense.

“Stay calm, don’t panic!” The man operating the Dragon-Seeking Chain lowered his compass, shaking his head at his siblings’ anxiety. “We’ve only encountered one person. No need for such alarm—put your artifacts away for now.”

He turned to Third Sister. “Go to the cabin and monitor the defense formation. If a fight breaks out, protect the talisman formation. Remember, our priority is retrieving the secret technique for the clan.”

Then he addressed the white-robed youth. “Fifth Brother, how many times must I remind you—self-preservation comes first in battle. How can I trust you alone if you keep this recklessness?”

After this scolding, his tone softened. “Stay behind me. Let’s greet him.”

With that, he strode onto the open air, leaving the Spirit Ship to intercept Xiao Chen.

The white-robed youth frowned inwardly. Why was he the only one reprimanded when Third Sister hadn’t even drawn her artifact? In the storybooks, sword cultivators always charged forward with flashing blades, not hiding behind shields like cowards. Still, he sheathed his Flying Sword and obeyed.

“Esteemed cultivator,” the yellow-robed Second Brother called, bowing. “We’re currently setting up a formation. Please refrain from approaching further!”

Xiao Chen halted immediately, now less than ten li from the ship. He clearly sensed the golden chain—it wasn’t deeply submerged, and the activity below wasn’t a duel but a formation being dismantled. Someone was opening a Cave Mansion or minor Relic.

Returning the bow, Xiao Chen replied, “Esteemed cultivator, I’m Xiao Chen. I merely wish to inquire about local sea conditions. Specifically—are there any renowned meteorite sites nearby?”

Since finding Wuling alone would be tedious, he seized this opportunity to ask directions.

“Ah, Cultivator Xiao in person! What an honor!” The yellow-robed man smiled. “I’m Sun Haoran, though not a local. However, I do know of two meteorite sites.” He gestured to the rear. “Fifth Brother, fetch our family’s sea chart from the cabin.”

The white-robed youth hesitated. “Second Brother, that’s our—”

Sun Haoran’s glare silenced him. Moments later, the youth returned with a yellowed Parchment Scroll.

“This is our family’s heirloom map,” Sun Haoran explained, handing it to Xiao Chen with true mana. “Its geography differs from modern charts, but it marks two meteorite sites. Whether they’re what you seek, I cannot say.”

Despite careful preservation, the scroll’s ancient ink had faded. Its crude illustrations and archaic labels contrasted sharply with modern maps. Yet Xiao Chen soon realized its scale—using a massive island in Mercy Sea’s northwest corner and his previously explored meteorite site as references, the other marked location lay an astonishing 350,000 kilometers away—far beyond Mercy Sea’s current boundaries.

Xiao Chen now understood: the ancient “Mercy Sea” spanned far wider than today’s definition. Considering the Moon Witch Clan’s ancient origins, their Wuling likely lay even farther. His three-day search for demon cores had probably been in the wrong area.

“Many thanks for sharing this invaluable map,” Xiao Chen said, returning the scroll. “I must depart now. May we meet again under better circumstances.”

“Think nothing of it,” Sun Haoran replied. “My father always taught—kindness to strangers brings fortune.”

As Xiao Chen’s silhouette vanished into the horizon, the white-robed youth finally spoke. “Second Brother, why show him our family’s secret map? We’ve safeguarded it for generations—this feels like a waste.”

Sun Haoran didn’t answer directly. “Then what would you suggest?”

The youth pondered. “He’s seen the Cave Mansion and travels alone. To protect our secret, shouldn’t we eliminate him?”

Sun Haoran’s expression darkened. “Brother Haoze, recall Father’s orders before we left—retrieve the ancestral secret technique from the Cave Mansion. In ten days, we’ll open it. You’d risk jeopardizing that?”

“But he’s only Golden Core Middle Stage!” Sun Haoze protested. “You’re Late Stage, and with Third Sister and me, we’d have the advantage.”

“Precisely,” Sun Haoran countered. “He’s alone. If you discovered a Spirit Ship alone, wouldn’t you avoid confrontation? He dares approach because he’s confident in escaping. Our priority is completing the mission, not gambling on a fight. Giving him the map serves both purposes—he’ll chase a distant lead while we focus on our task.”

Sun Haoze blinked, stunned yet unconvinced. “But couldn’t we fabricate a false location?”

Sun Haoran sighed, patting his brother’s shoulder. “These maps will soon be traded anyway when our clan emerges. For now, let’s focus on our duty.”

Seven days later, as the sun dipped below the horizon, Xiao Chen finally reached the colossal Abyssal Sea. From above, its waters appeared unnaturally dark, as if shrouded in perpetual shadow. Even with his spiritual sense—enhanced to 79 li by the Star Core—it failed to pierce the depths.

“This realm truly embodies the saying,” Xiao Chen mused, hovering at the edge. “How vast and profound this world truly is.”

With that, he began scanning the perimeter.

However, within a radius of 15,000 kilometers, there wasn't a single place to set foot.

In the end, he was forced to retreat and return to a reef 38,000 li away to recuperate.

After all, while the Abyssal Grave Miasma wouldn’t pose an obstacle, entering the Wuling Formation to locate and retrieve the Wuqi would certainly involve more than just this one issue.

Under the protection of the defense formation, he slept soundly.

It wasn’t until the next morning, when he naturally awoke, that Xiao Chen finally exhaled in relief.

Without delay, he returned to the surface of the Abyssal Sea, summoned the Ghost-Faced Mystic Light Shield to protect himself, and dove directly into the ocean depths.

“Gurururu~!”

As he descended deeper, the surrounding light grew dimmer.

In theory, this shouldn’t affect a cultivator—those who came here all had spiritual senses, which were often more reliable than eyesight.

Still, within his protective mystic light, Xiao Chen lit a spirit flame using true mana to illuminate the area within dozens of zhang.

Partly because he wasn’t entirely comfortable in complete darkness, and partly because spiritual senses could easily be blocked. He had no idea whether the ancient priests who built the Wuling had considered such countermeasures.

To avoid missing the entrance, he chose to light the spirit flame.

Then, he noticed a swarm of small fish gathering around him unnoticed.

Their ink-black scales bore natural patterns that masked their spiritual presence.

When the light flared, the fish scattered like startled shadows.

Their fear of light stemmed from the deep sea, where only a few extremely powerful yao beasts used illumination to lure prey.

“Sigh, they say ancient experts could scorch mountains and boil seas,” Xiao Chen mused as he descended. “I wonder when I’ll gain such power.”

At that point, he wouldn’t need to dive like this or light spirit flames.

A simple surge of true mana to part the seawater would reveal everything below.

But to manipulate this much seawater with true mana, even a Golden Core True Sovereign might struggle. The path ahead was long indeed.

“Gulong!”

A sudden strange sound echoed.

Xiao Chen immediately scanned his surroundings, but saw nothing.

With only the spirit flame’s glow, his vision was limited to dozens of zhang.

In just a short while, he’d descended twenty li.

On land, this distance was trivial for a Golden Core Zhenren—like stepping out the front door.

But in the sea, this depth was already extreme.

If luck turned bad, encountering a Fourth Stage yao beast wasn’t impossible.

“Gudong~!”

A surge of water rushed from the right, blocked by his protective mystic light.

Yet Xiao Chen clearly felt the surrounding seawater trembling under an unseen force.

A massive creature was passing nearby.

Most cultivators would either surface or press on, but Xiao Chen’s cultivation spell was designed to solve problems.

“Haste!”

He pointed a finger, channeling true mana to form a hundred ice needles that shot toward the right.

Fire spells were inconvenient here, but ice spells thrived underwater.

The Cold Light Ice Soul Needle technique he’d cultivated earlier proved perfect.

“Wu~!”

A muffled boom followed the needles’ flight.

The surrounding seawater erupted into violent currents, battering his protective light.

Even in darkness, he glimpsed a sea creature about a hundred zhang long writhing in the water.

“Hualà~!”

The water roared as the beast lunged, its gaping maw swallowing the glowing figure and the Ghost-Faced Mystic Light Shield’s barrier in one bite.

Xiao Chen wasn’t surprised—he’d learned from experience.

Sea beasts often swallowed prey whole, especially when their size offered an advantage.

But this worked in his favor.

Now he could bypass the scales or skin that blocked spiritual senses and directly locate the demon core.

“Hmph, beast, die!”

He smashed through a three-chi-thick layer of flesh inside the beast’s belly, seizing the demon core.

Then, with a dozen punches, he carved a path outward.

The sea beast became a corpse, sinking into the abyss.

“What nonsense! In this edge region, there shouldn’t be more golden core sea beasts, right?”

After defeating two golden core sea beasts, Xiao Chen finally reached the seabed.

Feeling his true mana depleted to half, he retrieved a Third Stage spirit fruit from the Han Hai Ring to replenish his strength.

In the cultivation world, “edge regions” and “core regions” were defined by spiritual energy density.

Logically, high-level yao beasts should be rare here.

Yet in such a short time, he’d encountered two. This defied reason.

Thankfully, for the next hour, no new threats emerged.

However, the immense pressure drained his true mana rapidly, dropping it below a third even after the spirit fruit.

For safety, he returned to the reef to recover.

The second dive was smoother, with no obstacles.

This confirmed his suspicion: the sea beasts weren’t numerous—the spirit flame had simply drawn the two golden core beasts on the first day.

Despite searching all day, he still couldn’t find the Wuling.

During the third dive, another golden core sea beast attacked.

“What’s going on?!”

Xiao Chen wondered if he had some special “sea beast magnet” trait: “Why do I keep running into so many sea beasts lately?”

Previously, in the Nanlao Sea, he’d had to traverse thousands of li to find a single beast.

Now, they kept throwing themselves at him.

Though the endless seas teemed with countless sea creatures, golden core beasts were a rare minority.

Earlier, the city lord’s estate traded a common demon core for 20,000 spirit stones.

At this density, prices would drop by half!

Not that he’d complain—cheaper resources would benefit cultivators.

Restricted by his limited vision, Xiao Chen spent six days scouring nearly half the Abyssal Sea.

Finally, in a deep trench, he spotted half of an artificial column protruding from the seabed.

Millions of years had coated it in thick sediment, nearly obscuring its original form.

But since the column was made of Shitou, a few crooked Pictographic Characters remained etched on its surface.

“Tsk tsk, only carving words on Shitou lasts.”

Xiao Chen peeled away the hardened sediment, revealing the characters—strange yet oddly familiar.

They resembled the inscriptions he’d seen in the moon eclipse visions.

“Finally found it!”

Energized, he began digging downward along the column.

The Abyssal Sea’s seabed was mostly silt and small stones, easy to clear except for the sheer volume.

After three days of digging, he unearthed the original Wuling entrance.

Before him stood not a door, but a massive stone slab engraved with countless runes.

The runes varied—some resembled crescent moons with delicate spiritual patterns, others fierce beasts radiating ancient majesty.

“No door? How do I open this?”

Xiao Chen tried pushing the stone.

The moment his fingers touched the cold surface, a strange force surged through his arm, sweeping his body.

It seemed to confirm something before retreating.

“Honglonglong!”

A deep rumble echoed from the Wuling’s depths, as if something behind the stone was turning.

Then, light glowed from within the stone.

The slab trembled, slowly sinking into the ground, revealing a Transparent Light Curtain that blocked the seawater.

Huh? It opened on its own?

Xiao Chen had already planned to force entry, but the entrance functioned perfectly.

This didn’t make sense.

Shouldn’t the entrance be sealed with a stone barrier and traps to deter intruders?

Staring at the wide-open entrance and the unobstructed Transparent Light Curtain, Xiao Chen felt an unsettling “inviting the enemy in” vibe.

He descended the steps into the passage, immediately detecting a musty odor—

Like old grain in a warehouse soaked by humid air, wrapped in a damp quilt, then buried under a tree stump in perpetual shade.

The steps weren’t deep—eighty-one in total, about three to four zhang high.

At the bottom sat a Night Bright Pearl the size of a fist, glowing softly.

Standing at the base, Xiao Chen saw a long corridor ahead.

The walls were embedded with countless glowing crystals, illuminating the space like daylight.

These crystals weren’t ordinary—they were carved into Wu Talisman shapes.

Most depicted lunar phases, followed by unfamiliar runes resembling flowers, birds, and other creatures.

The ceiling bore grand murals, their colors vivid as if untouched by time.

The first mural showed the Great Priest raising a staff toward the moon, with Clan Members kneeling in unison.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end