Chapter 1418 - The Secret of the Treasure Map!
Chapter 1418: The Secret of the Treasure Map!
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
“Just as expected!” the Demonic Emperor Old Man suddenly said, a bright light in his eyes. He had already noticed how unusual the pearl was when Wang Chong had first taken it out, and now, the pearl had verified his speculations.
“This is an Energy Condensation Pearl!” the Demonic Emperor Old Man declared. He had needed only a few moments to understand the purpose of this pearl. “There were rumors in the martial arts world several hundred years ago about one or two of these pearls going around. They can help a martial artist by storing a portion of Stellar Energy so that it can be used when needed during combat.”
Although he didn’t often show it, the Demonic Emperor Old Man knew the stories and legends of the martial arts world like the back of his hand.
“Strictly speaking, these objects are not within the bounds of the martial arts world. They are considered ritual tools, but these are ritual tools that are incredibly difficult to make. One has to be at an almost divine level of strength. Average Great Generals are far from qualified!”
Buzz!
Wang Chong was deeply affected by these words, and his eyes once more focused on the red pearl. Whether in his current life or his previous, Wang Chong had not encountered this kind of treasure before.
“Chong-er, even though this pearl can’t raise your cultivation level, it can store power, which is exactly what you need at this time.”
The Demonic Emperor Old Man swept his hand, sending the Energy Condensation Pearl flying toward Wang Chong.
“Wait a moment!”
As the Energy Condensation Pearl was flying toward Wang Chong, another energy held it fast in the air.
“Brother Wenfu, look!” the Wushang Village Chief suddenly said. But he did not take the pearl, instead looking down at the ground.
This happened so abruptly that Wang Chong, the Demonic Emperor Old Man, and the Formation Elder were all struck dumb.
However, the three of them knew that someone as old, genial, and kind as the Wushang Village Chief would never suddenly get the idea of seizing the pearl for himself. A moment later, they all lowered their heads and looked at the ground.
“This is…”
With a single glance, the Formation Elder paled, his eyes widening.
The others had also noticed the peculiarity. On the ground, white dots of light were twinkling like stars.
It was just that the red light exuded by the pearl was so intense that they had barely noticed the white dots of light mixed in.
The dense collection of dots connected together into a complicated diagram.
“What is this?”
The Demonic Emperor Old Man slightly creased his brow. He had initially believed that this rare treasure left by the Origin Immortal Lord could help Wang Chong when he was in danger, but it was now apparent that this object was far from just a simple treasure.
“What a strange diagram.”
The Formation Elder’s brows furrowed and a pensive look appeared in his eyes. These strange white dots now had his entire attention.
The Wushang Village Chief looked at the diagram on the ground and said, “The Origin Immortal Lord is regarded with extremely high prestige in the martial arts world. There must have been a reason he laid down the Origin Immortal Formation and left behind this Energy Condensation Pearl.”
Upon hearing this, Wang Chong suddenly had an idea.
“Master, the treasure map should be with you. Why don’t we take it out and see what happens?”
Wang Chong looked to the Demonic Emperor Old Man.
This abrupt request took all three elders by surprise, but the Demonic Emperor Old Man quickly seemed to catch on.
In an abnormal silence, the Demonic Emperor Old Man took out the fragmentary Origin Immortal Art treasure map.
This map had been obtained from the Black Dragon Bandits, and it had already been in a damaged state.
Wang Chong and his master had their own ideas about this treasure map, but the appearance of the Origin Immortal Mountain had completely shattered their initial hypotheses.
And at that point, the treasure map became a useless piece of trash.
However, now that the ‘Origin Immortal Mountain’ had been revealed as the Origin Immortal Formation and subsequently shattered, everything had changed.
The damaged treasure map was placed below the Energy Condensation Pearl. No one understood what exactly to do, but the Formation Elder seemed to understand what Wang Chong wanted.
“Let me try!”
The Formation Elder quickly took the treasure map and began to move it around. As the white dots of light illuminated the treasure map, they quickly revealed the silvery threads upon it.
These silver threads had clearly been woven into the treasure map, and it was only under the illumination of the white light that they were finally revealed.
Moreover, as the Formation Elder continued to shift around the treasure map, more and more of the silver threads appeared, gradually connecting together into a different image.
It was as if the treasure map had been switched out for a completely new one.
The atmosphere turned strange. The Demonic Emperor Old Man and the Wushang Village Chief became extremely focused. Although they had studied this map for many hours, they had never imagined that the materials used to make the treasure map had been hiding their own secret.
“Brother Wenfu, this seems to be the real secret of the treasure map. Rather than being damaged, this is only a portion of the map and is only so large,” the Wushang Village Chief abruptly said as he looked at the silver diagram on the treasure map.
“Kid, you really did guess correctly.”
The Formation Elder suddenly tugged on the treasure map, placing the silver diagram directly beneath the region of white dots projected onto the ground by the Energy Condensation Pearl.
There was a flash of light as a starry radiance burst out from the treasure map and cast a dense collection of lights onto the air.
The Formation Elder was the first to realize what was happening, and he called out in surprise.
“This is a star map!”
He specialized in formations and was particularly knowledgeable in the field of the shifting of the Nine Palaces. The calculations of the Nine Palaces involved both astronomy and geography.
The Formation Elder would frequently calculate the positions of the stars, so he was extremely familiar with them. While the dots of light projected by the silver threads of the treasure map might have seemed nonsensical to others, the Formation Elder had been able to immediately recognize them as a star map.
“This is none other than the Supreme Palace Enclosure of the Three Enclosures. Here is the Supreme Palace Left Wall, over here is the Supreme Palace Right Wall, and these are the southern Official Stars, appearing like a young bird. They represent the Heavenly Court, and the seats of the Five Emperors. This one is the Left Law Administrator, and this is the Right Law Administrator1. All of them represent the Heavenly Emperor…”
The Formation Elder was constantly pointing at dots of light and listing a string of star names. He was extremely familiar with the stars in the sky.
The Demonic Emperor Old Man and Wushang Village Chief had strange expressions on their faces as they glanced at each other.
No one in the martial arts world could be bothered to research the stars. It was pointless for the Formation Elder to point out all these stars to them.
But Wang Chong had a thoughtful look on his face. In the apocalyptic era, he had looked through many books and had some understanding of astronomy, but as the Formation Elder was so excited, he decided to remain quiet for now.
“Brother Zhou, just tell us what this star map means,” the Demonic Emperor bluntly said.
“Haha, it’s very simple! The treasure map was never damaged. That was just how large it was in the first place. If my guess is correct, there are six pieces to the complete treasure map. Only when the six are brought together will we have the complete map. Through the star map, we will be able to pin down the location of the Origin Immortal Lord’s treasury.
“Kid, you’ve done a great service. Even though all those martial artists were rushing in one after the other to try and find the secret to the Origin Immortal Art treasure map, you managed to dig out the whole truth.”
The Formation Elder looked at Wang Chong and chuckled. He was truly liking the kid the more he got to know him. Strength, daring, intelligence, and meticulous thought—this youth was truly one in ten thousand.
What a pity! How could he have been lost to an old scoundrel like Zhang Wenfu?
The Formation Elder turned to the Demonic Emperor Old Man, a strange expression on his face.
The Demonic Emperor Old Man’s expression remained rigid and inflexible as he pretended not to notice. Next to him, the Wushang Village Chief couldn’t help but chuckle. He had heard the Formation Elder grumble quite a bit and talk about how he wanted to take Wang Chong for himself.
“But it doesn’t matter if we’ve found the secret to the treasure map. It still has no use,” the Demonic Emperor Old Man said. “If it’s as you say and we need all six pieces for the complete star map to find the true location of the Origin Immortal Art, our expedition to the northwest will still end without any gain.”
If it were just for his own sake, finding the Origin Immortal Art would not have been that important, but Wang Chong was currently his ‘only’ disciple and also his most cherished one. No matter what, he wanted to find the true Origin Immortal Art for his final disciple.
“Heh, in the past, having only one piece of the treasure map would naturally be useless, but have you forgotten that the appearance of the Origin Immortal Formation has already drawn so many people to the northwest?”
The Formation Elder’s lips curled into an eerie smile.
The Formation Elder profoundly gazed at the other three.
“Senior, you! No…”
Wang Chong’s entire body trembled as he suddenly imagined what the Formation Elder might be up to.
But this was too audacious!
The Formation Elder smiled back in reply.
……
The next day, a piece of news spread over the entire northwest like a gust of wind.
It turned out that the Origin Immortal Formation was just a seal left behind by the Origin Immortal Lord to protect an extremely important treasure.
Only someone with this treasure could find the location of the Origin Immortal Lord’s treasury.
The second piece of news was that the Origin Immortal Lord’s treasure map actually consisted of six pieces. If one had all six pieces and the treasure from the Origin Immortal Formation, one could find the location of the Origin Immortal Art.
And according to the exhortation of the Origin Immortal Lord, anyone who found his treasury would become the number one person in the world.
Even a mere peasant, if they found that treasury, could achieve this dream!