Volume One: Entering the City Chapter Forty-Eight: Dividing the Spoils

Hearing what Lu Yi said, the others grew excited as well. Helian Xun hurriedly took out a small notebook, and the group spread the map out on the ground. Aligning the map with the black dots on the ceiling, they quickly pieced together a segment of text.

Cedric drew in a sharp breath. “So, this is actually the burial site of Zock’s beloved.”

Helian Ying looked at Lu Yi. “But there are still some dots on the map, which means there’s more text to be found.”

Lu Yi pointed at the stones on the ground and shrugged. “Don’t ask me.”

The other three fell silent. “Never mind. Since Zock wanted us to leave his fiancée’s remains undisturbed and has left us enough treasures, let’s just take what we need and go.”

“But wait.” Lu Yi voiced his doubt in front of everyone. “Since this is the burial site of Zock’s fiancée, who left this map? Judging from the words, it seems Zock himself was the one who left it. If he wanted his late wife’s remains to rest undisturbed, wouldn’t it have been better not to leave a map at all and to seal off the entrance at the top layer completely?”

None of the others had an answer for this. As Lu Yi said, Zock concealed the entrance on the top floor with alchemical products but did not seal it off completely. He left behind a map, yet asked others not to disturb his late wife’s remains—a series of contradictory actions that no one could make sense of.

“Perhaps Zock wanted his wife to rest in peace underground, but also hoped that what he left behind could be discovered by those who came after. Zock himself was always shrouded in mystery. No one knows where he came from or who his first master was; history records nothing of his origins.

The only consensus is about when he became famous. Zock was renowned for his ability to wield both light and dark energies. It was said that when he fought and used light-based techniques, a dark aura would emanate from him, and when he used darkness, his body would be suffused with brilliance.

According to the records, Zock developed a unique cultivation method that allowed him to balance light and darkness within himself. Normally, he appeared just like an ordinary person, but when he activated one of the energies, the balance would break, and an aura opposite to the technique used would radiate from him, which matches what is recorded in history.

I believe that in his later years, Zock may have developed split personalities, just as his cultivation method suggests.”

Cedric’s words earned Helian Ying’s approval. Lu Yi, intrigued by the story—since he, too, had once considered dual cultivation of light and darkness—asked, “So, what became of Zock in the end?”

“He vanished suddenly,” Helian Ying replied flatly.

“That’s right. Just as his fame was at its height, he disappeared from the world. Some said he was murdered,” Cedric added, glancing at Helian Ying, as if this theory might involve the Helian family. Then he turned away. “There’s also a theory that he was consumed by his own uncontrollable energies.”

“So, when we realized this secret place belonged to Zock, we were all so excited.” Cedric brought the discussion to a close. “Enough. Let’s divide the treasure.”

The group quickly found their way to the spot indicated in the records, and after some searching, discovered the mentioned chest.

After three professionals examined it, the chest was slowly opened. Its contents immediately stirred excitement among them.

Lu Yi cleared his throat and said to Cedric, “As per our earlier agreement, you and I split the first and second picks.”

“No problem.” Cedric, after all, was a master in his own right and wouldn’t go back on his word lightly. Besides, with so much at stake, even if he wanted to keep it all, the Helian sisters would never agree.

Lu Yi crouched down and activated his demonic eye ability. Immediately, descriptions of the items appeared before his eyes. Seeing the long list of item descriptions, he felt a headache coming on. “Mist City… With so many materials here, how am I supposed to bring them out of the mission world?”

“You can store them in the temporary team space. When the mission ends, if the team is made permanent, you can bring all the items out together. Alternatively, you can put them in a small pouch to carry on your person. When you return via teleportation to Mist City, you can take along whatever you’re carrying, but as a newcomer, you can only bring two kilograms’ worth of items.”

“Two kilograms?” Lu Yi was exasperated. The materials were of the highest quality, but also heavy—two kilograms would hardly suffice. And with such rare materials, the cost of crafting matching equipment would be equally high. As for storing them in the temporary space, that would have been the best choice, but Fang Hao’s warning to be wary of those around him left Lu Yi undecided for the moment.

Lu Yi considered for a moment and first took out a pair of rings.

“Name: Spirit Link Rings (a pair)
Quality: First-tier Gold
Weight: 50 grams
Requirements: None
Ability One: Two people wearing the rings can enter each other’s dreamscape through the rings.
Other abilities remain locked.
Description: These rings were custom-made by Zock for his fiancée, inscribed with many magic arrays. However, they were never placed on his fiancée’s finger.”

Lu Yi stood aside with the rings, while Cedric immediately picked out a particular material. He caressed the rough, uneven stone excitedly.

“What do you want?” Lu Yi asked Helian Ying and Helian Xun. When the sisters didn’t answer, Lu Yi selected a piece of golden ore. As soon as he took it, Helian Xun’s eyes lit up. Seeing this, Lu Yi smiled and offered the ore to her.

“For me?” Helian Xun was a little excited, her bright smile turning her eyes into crescent moons.

“Of course,” Lu Yi replied, then crouched down again, frowning. Zock had left many materials but very few finished products, which frustrated Lu Yi. These materials wouldn’t help him complete his mission, after all.

Shaking his head, Lu Yi took out the last piece of equipment from the chest.

“Name: Wind Pendant
Quality: First-tier Gold
Weight: 150 grams
Requirements: None
Ability One: Wearing this pendant protects against dust and fine sand.
Ability Two: Activating the pendant greatly increases the wearer’s speed for three minutes.
Other abilities remain locked.”

Cedric quickly picked out his preferred item as well. Lu Yi then looked at Helian Ying, who raised an eyebrow. “Since you want to give me something, why not let me have the third pick each time?”

Lu Yi was taken aback, then laughed. “All right, that’s more straightforward.”

Helian Ying walked over to the large chest, her fighting spirit flaring as she stared at Lu Yi. “Let’s see whose picks turn out to be the best.”

Lu Yi smirked. So, she still wasn’t quite convinced.

Helian Ying quickly chose her item, and soon it was Lu Yi’s turn again. He needed to pick the most valuable ore from the remaining ones and trade it accordingly.

Scanning the stones, Lu Yi noticed a plain, unremarkable rock. Its name, Mangyou Stone, was displayed, and it emitted a faint dark glow. Lu Yi paused—could this be a material approaching dark-gold grade? Suppressing his excitement, Lu Yi picked up the stone without hesitation.

Before long, the group had divided up the spoils, each eyeing the others’ selections. Helian Ying was the first to speak. “Lu Yi, let’s compare your most valuable item with the one I picked.”

Just as he was wondering how to showcase his pick, Helian Ying made the perfect suggestion. Lu Yi agreed readily.

Helian Ying placed her ore in front of her and began describing its rarity and uses. Cedric and Helian Xun, both knowledgeable in this field, nodded in agreement as she spoke.

Seeing this, Helian Ying looked up at Lu Yi proudly. “All right, your turn.”

Helian Xun glanced at Lu Yi. Apart from his two pieces of equipment, he only had three ores. Though the equipment was good, it didn’t compare to the ore Helian Ying had chosen. As for Lu Yi’s three ores, surely nothing of value would be left after so many picks.

Helian Xun was about to show the ore Lu Yi had given her, but Helian Ying quickly grabbed her hand. “That one was your third pick, so it should count as ours. Let him choose from his own stack.”

Lu Yi chuckled. “Even if you hadn’t said so, I would have done the same.”

With that, Lu Yi took out the unremarkable stone. The other three frowned; this stone showed no energy fluctuations and bore no signs of having been disguised as an alchemical material. When Helian Ying and Cedric were picking, they’d even suspected it was nothing more than packing at the bottom of the chest.

Holding the flat stone, Lu Yi scratched his head. “I have no idea what this is called.”

“Doesn’t matter. Just like when you found the map—who knows, this stone might hold a secret? If you can trigger its properties, the three of us should be able to identify it,” Helian Ying said warmly.

“Um...” Lu Yi was in a bind. The characteristics of Mangyou Stone were clear on his wrist display.

This material could absorb attacks of multiple attributes and then release a ghostly energy, but he couldn’t generate attacks of sufficient strength to trigger it. If someone else did it, he’d have to warn them for safety—and then making an excuse about ‘sensing’ its effects wouldn’t be convincing.

As Lu Yi hesitated, his demonic eye suddenly throbbed. In his vision, a black line appeared in the center of the stone, slowly widening.

Lu Yi froze. This seemed similar to what he’d seen when observing Katarina—he’d watched the fire of her life. Could his demonic eye reveal how something would meet its end?

Skeptical but curious, Lu Yi decided to test it. He gripped the stone with both hands and tried to pull it apart, but nothing happened. Panting, he suddenly recalled that since Mangyou Stone could emit ghostly energy, perhaps he could use his demon-hunter blade to cut it.

No sooner thought than done—the demon-hunter reacted to the Mangyou Stone, and this time, cutting it was much easier. When the cross-section was revealed to the others, the Helian sisters and Cedric were all stunned.

“This… this is Mangyou Stone, and of such quality—it’s practically unheard of!”