Chapter 353: Treasure Hunting in the Shadowplain Battlefield
Chapter 353: Treasure Hunting in the Shadowplain Battlefield
As Su Chen walked through the Shadowplain Battlefield, he noticed the presence of many Earth Demons.
Among all the training grounds, this battlefield was likely the most dangerous.
However, to seek opportunities while avoiding risks was indeed a rare advantage.
Su Chen had reached the central area of the Shadowplain Battlefield.
There were indeed fewer people here, but many young cultivators had ventured this far.
Especially the youth from Jin and Chu, they too were heading straight for this location.
These demonic beings weren't as sensitive to warriors below the Fifth Rank.
Keeping a bit of distance, one would generally avoid detection by the demons.
This was a rare advantage for the young cultivators who entered the Shadowplain Battlefield.
Even so, Su Chen saw many who had already provoked the Earth Demons during their journey.
The strength of ordinary Earth Demons was even inferior to the Fifth Rank.
These demons were somewhat unlucky.
Most of the young cultivators who entered here had already reached the Sixth Rank.
Upon discovering the slightly weaker demons, they directly attacked and slew them.
Su Chen chose to avoid conflict and not argue with the demons.
Demons were sensitive to the scent of blood, and engaging with them could lead to more trouble.
It was easy to attract other demons after a battle.
【Demon Seeker】Heavenly Destiny was constantly active, and from the central area of the Shadowplain Battlefield, the chances of finding treasures left behind by the predecessors greatly increased.
Su Chen also became more meticulous.
【Demon Seeker】Heavenly Destiny allowed him to see the traces left by the demons, and the more powerful the demon, the more obvious the traces.
If a demon was injured and bleeding, these traces became clearer and lasted longer.
Su Chen understood that these were his unique advantages compared to others.
The other young cultivators from Jin and Chu might have received guidance from their elders.
Their elders, brothers, and sisters might have visited this battlefield before.
They might possess special maps indicating the locations of these treasures.
Su Chen tried to search for traces of battles involving Celestial Demons, especially intense ones.
After all, the human experts who entered this battlefield were also formidable.
To severely injure them, even Celestial Demons couldn't achieve it with a simple wave.
Su Chen had entered the Shadowplain Battlefield from the southern area and reached the central region.
Using the ability of 【Demon Seeker】, Su Chen indeed found many traces of battles left by Celestial Demons.
Soon, other young cultivators arrived at these locations.
Most of them were warriors from Jin and Chu, as indicated by their outer robes.
When they noticed Su Chen, the unwelcoming look in their eyes was evident.
Su Chen didn't want to search with them.
Many people knew about this location, and their elders and siblings might have already searched here.
Even their parents might have visited these areas in their youth.
There might still be treasures left behind, but they would be extremely rare.
Su Chen headed east, a direction that would lead him to the border of Jin.
He couldn't find traces of Celestial Demon battles.
Su Chen hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided to head further north.
The sky was gradually darkening.
If he ventured too deep, he would have to spend the night in the battlefield.
Su Chen was confident in his abilities and was prepared to spend the night in the Shadowplain Battlefield.
After making up his mind, Su Chen continued north.
On the first day in the Shadowplain Battlefield, the young cultivators from Jin and Chu were cautious and hadn't ventured this deep.
Su Chen arrived here first and immediately started searching while there was still light.
In the deeper parts of the battlefield, there were fewer human traces.
Unlike the central area, Su Chen had inspected many places, and even the ground beneath his feet was compacted from the foot traffic.
It was evident how many people had passed through there.
Soon, with the help of 【Demon Seeker】, Su Chen found traces left by Celestial Demons.
The surrounding trees grew normally, showing no signs of damage.
These traces were at least several years old.
Su Chen cut down some wood and quickly crafted a tool using 【Ingenious Craft】Heavenly Destiny.
After many years, Su Chen could still see the traces left by the Celestial Demons, but they had faded significantly due to sun and rain exposure.
Su Chen could only rely on his tool and search in areas with more bloodstains.
In the battle for survival, no one would pay attention to any lost items.
Just preserving one's life was already a great stroke of luck.
With a target in mind, Su Chen began his search using 【Ingenious Craft】Heavenly Destiny, which significantly improved his speed and efficiency.
Exposed to the elements and washed by mud, the lost items in the Shadowplain Battlefield quickly merged with the environment.
Holding a tool resembling a hoe, Su Chen slightly disturbed the ground.
He didn't need to dig deep.
As the sky darkened, Su Chen continued his search with the hoe, paying extra attention to areas with more traces.
Occasionally, demons passed by, and Su Chen would hide to avoid them.
After enhancing his vision, the Demon Hunt Expert's night vision was now exceptionally superior.
He could even match the night vision of many demonic beings.
It was already the Ninth Hour, and he had been searching for over two hours.
Su Chen looked at the items he had found, most likely left behind by others before him.
However, he couldn't determine their specific purposes.
With no danger in the night, Su Chen continued searching in this area.
Thanks to the Unyielding effect of his Destiny, his energy recovery was swift.
Su Chen planned to take a break around the First Hour, finding a place to rest for two hours.
September had arrived, and autumn had already turned many tree leaves yellow, though they hadn't withered yet.
Resting in the trees provided some cover.
Following his plan, he rested until the Third Hour, and the sky had already brightened.
Sitting on a branch, he ate some dried food while examining his findings from the night.
Su Chen had searched through most of the area with obvious traces.
A slightly more noticeable item was a broken sword, most of its blade missing and lost.
It was unclear how long it had been buried under the soil.
But when Su Chen wiped the remaining blade with leaves, its sharpness was still evident.
As a weapon, this longsword held little significance.
However, as a fellow swordsman, Su Chen decided to take it away from here, preventing it from being buried.
Apart from this sword, he found three other small objects.
Su Chen couldn't quite understand their purpose.
He then activated his Scholar Destiny to study them further.
Surprisingly, these three small objects formed a compact and stylish mechanism.
Understanding it as a mechanism, solving it became much easier.
The Nine Turns Mechanism Art specifically taught techniques for dismantling mechanisms.
After all, compared to dismantling, creating mechanisms was several times more challenging.
It was normal for construction to be more difficult than destruction.
When dismantling, Su Chen was as careful as possible, avoiding damage whenever he could.
Opening the three small mechanisms revealed a piece of cloth in each.
When pieced together, they formed a map.
The map's location seemed to be within the Shadowplain Battlefield.
With the dawn, Su Chen searched the surrounding area once more.
He re-examined the less noticeable areas.
This time, Su Chen found another longsword.
The blade had several small notches.
This longsword might have belonged to the same owner as the broken sword.
Supreme weapons were incredibly durable, yet these two longswords had notches and breaks.
The previous owner must have faced formidable Celestial Demons.
Picking up the longsword, despite the notches, it was still far superior to Su Chen's current weapon.
Holding this Supreme longsword, a fierce killing intent lingered.
Even at the start, Su Chen felt a bit uncomfortable holding it.
The Shadowplain Battlefield was indeed a place to gain opportunities. In just one day here, he had acquired a Supreme longsword.
His abilities were well-suited for this battlefield.
After searching the area, Su Chen walked northwest for half an hour.
Along the way, he spotted a cliff in the distance.
The north was a low-lying basin, significantly lower in elevation.
Logically, this north-low, south-high terrain should have been advantageous for repelling demonic beings.
From a high vantage point, all demonic movements would be visible.
However, in reality, this line failed to halt the demonic beings.
Su Chen examined the map he had just obtained, and the marked location seemed to be here.
The map had some symbols, but after so many years, the surrounding environment had likely changed significantly.
Nevertheless, Su Chen had discovered some clues. A spot on the cliff was particularly suspicious.
He had learned these identification methods from the Nine Turns Mechanism Art.
Even if a cave dug into a cliff was done meticulously, it would still leave traces.
The most obvious sign was the appearance of cracks above the excavated cave.
To make the cracks less noticeable, experts in mechanism arts would fill them with soil.
This soil was intentionally added, differing from normal soil washed by water.
The Nine Turns Mechanism Art explicitly taught these identification methods.
However, without a foundation in mechanisms, most people couldn't discern them.
Without hesitation, Su Chen directly stepped onto the cliff and used the third layer of Cloud Stride.
After a few attempts, the cave on the cliff soon revealed its entrance.
Entering again, the cave was shallow, containing some defensive mechanisms.
But they were too old, and many were non-functional.
Inside, Su Chen found a book and some medicinal pills.
Time had rendered these pills ineffective, even when stored in a medicine case.
After a thorough inspection, the shallow cave was easily examined.
Su Chen considered himself proficient in mechanism arts, and he had thoroughly searched this place.
The cave's contents were this book.
Flipping through it, he saw many illustrations, but their meaning eluded him for now.
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
