169: Chapter 168 Looting Chests in the Treasure Pavilion! My teammate asked where the outsiders were. I said they were discussing something.
Lin Feng put the last piece of loot into the wanxiang ring, stood up, and patted the dust off his body.
Only a patch of dark red blood remained on the ground, standing out starkly against the grayish-white sand like withered flowers.
Over a hundred corpses lay scattered across the desert—some face down, some face up, some curled in a ball, and some with limbs splayed.
The wind blew from the west, carrying sand and the scent of blood, whistling like a sob.
He glanced at the corpses without a hint of pity.
These people were all thieves who came to steal his ancestor's things; they deserved to die.
He turned around and walked toward the Treasure Pavilion.
His pace was neither fast nor slow, his boots making dull thuds as they stepped on the sandy soil.
Xiao Guang sat on his shoulder; the thirty-centimeter-tall golden figure now had its head lowered, not saying a word.
It had witnessed the massacre just now—over a hundred people, all dead in less than ten minutes.
It had lived for tens of thousands of years and seen countless deaths, but never anything like this.
One man, two swords, over a hundred killed.
Its heart felt complicated, and it didn't know what to say.
Lin Feng felt its silence but offered no explanation.
Xiao Jin lay on his other shoulder, its purple antennae twitching rapidly in the wind, its compound eyes flashing with excitement.
It wasn't afraid of killing; it only cared about treasure.
The doors of the Treasure Pavilion were open, and the interior was brightly lit.
Lin Feng stepped over the threshold and entered the main hall.
The floor was paved with white jade, polished so brightly it could reflect a person's shadow.
Murals were carved onto the walls, depicting Immortal mountains, seas of clouds, Divine Beasts, and Immortals.
Crystal lamps hung from the vaulted ceiling in the shape of lotuses, their petals layered one upon another, each petal glowing to illuminate the entire hall like broad daylight.
The hall was filled with shelves made of red sandalwood—tall, large, and exquisitely crafted, carved with auspicious patterns of dragons and phoenixes, and blooming flowers of wealth.
The shelves were filled with various items—Medicinal Pills, Magic Treasures, Cultivation Techniques, and Materials—a dazzling array of glowing treasures.
Zhao Gang and Su Xue were at the far end of the hall, squatting on the ground around a large chest.
The chest was made of red sandalwood, large, at least a meter long, half a meter wide, and half a meter high.
Runes were carved on the lid, glowing faintly and softly, as if breathing.
Zhao Gang held a long blade, its tip wedged into the gap of the lid, prying with all his might.
Su Xue squatted opposite him, holding a pair of short blades, their tips also wedged into the gap, exerting force together.
Both of their faces were flushed red, veins bulging on their foreheads, but the lid remained motionless as if it were welded shut.
Lin Feng walked over. "What are you prying at?"
Zhao Gang looked up, his eyes lighting up when he saw Lin Feng. "Lin Feng! You're here! Come help! This chest is too sturdy; we've been prying for ages and it won't budge."
Su Xue also looked up, wiping the sweat from her forehead. "There's a Restriction on this chest; ordinary methods won't open it. We've tried everything, but nothing works."
Lin Feng squatted down and looked at the chest.
The runes on the lid were complex, arranged in circles like a maze, a star chart, or some ancient script.
He didn't recognize them, but he could feel a certain power within those runes—strong and stable, like a mountain weighing down on it.
He reached out to touch it; it was hot, like touching a piece of red-hot iron.
He pulled his hand back and looked at Xiao Guang on his shoulder. "Xiao Guang, can you crack this?"
Xiao Guang stood up, hopped off his shoulder, and landed on the ground.
It walked to the front of the chest, looking up at the runes for a long time before speaking. "The Taixu Spirit-Sealing Restriction. That person's masterpiece. It uses one hundred and eight runes to seal the contents. Those who don't understand Restrictions could never open it in a lifetime."
It paused, "I can crack it. But it will take time. Half an hour."
Lin Feng nodded. "Alright. Go ahead."
Xiao Guang formed hand seals, chanting under its breath.
A golden beam of light shot from its fingertips, hitting the runes.
The runes began to dance as if they had come to life.
Xiao Guang was fully concentrated, tiny beads of sweat appearing on its forehead.
It was very small, but its mastery of Restrictions was incredibly high.
After all, it had guarded this place for ten thousand years; it could crack these Restrictions with its eyes closed.
Zhao Gang and Su Xue watched Xiao Guang, their eyes wide with shock.
"It... what exactly is it?" Zhao Gang pointed at Xiao Guang, his voice trembling slightly.
Lin Feng smiled. "It’s a long story. I'll tell you in detail once we get out. For now, let it finish breaking the Restriction."
Zhao Gang and Su Xue exchanged a glance and stopped asking.
Su Xue suddenly remembered something and looked at Lin Feng. "By the way, what about those people outside? Weren't they about to come in too? Why haven't we seen them?"
Zhao Gang also realized. "Yeah, there were so many people outside, where did they go? When we came in, they were still blocking the entrance. How come they're all gone now?"
Lin Feng's expression remained unchanged. "Them? They said they wanted to discuss things before coming in. They let me go first."
Zhao Gang frowned. "Discuss? Discuss what?"
Lin Feng shrugged. "No idea. Maybe discussing how to divide the loot."
He paused, "Let them be. If they don't come in, we'll go in ourselves. First come, first served."
Zhao Gang thought about it and found it reasonable, so he stopped questioning.
Su Xue also nodded, but there was a hint of doubt in the way she looked at Lin Feng.
She felt something was off, but she couldn't put her finger on it.
After half an hour of breaking the Restriction, Xiao Guang finally let out a long breath and withdrew its hands.
The runes stopped dancing; they quieted down and faded one by one.
The chest made a dull sound, like an old man sighing.
Then, the lid popped open.
Lin Feng reached out and lifted the lid.
Inside lay several items.
A jade bottle, white and small, only the size of a palm, its mouth sealed with wax that had already dried and cracked.
A medallion made of copper, palm-sized, with the character for 'Command' carved on it.
A book, blue and very old with rounded corners; the cover had several characters—'Taixu Pill Formula'.
There was also a sword with a black scabbard and a white hilt; the blade was rusty, but its shape was still visible.
Lin Feng first picked up the jade bottle, pulled out the stopper, and poured out a Medicinal Pill.
The pill was golden and round, like a small golden bean.
Its surface had patterns, circles like the rings of a tree.
The pill rotated slowly in his palm, emitting a warm, gentle glow.
[taixu soul-returning pill (Gold)]
[Quality: Gold]
[Effect: Upon consumption, can resurrect a creature that has been dead for no more than 7 days, and restore all its health points and mana]
[Description: A life-saving pill refined by the master of the Taixu Dojo, who only refined three in his entire life. This is the third.]
Lin Feng's eyes lit up as he read the description.
The third taixu soul-returning pill.
He had already obtained one before; this was the second.
He carefully put the pill back into the bottle and stored it in the wanxiang ring.
He then picked up the medallion.
It was copper, palm-sized, with the character for 'Command' carved on it.
The character was in seal script, all curvy and winding.
He didn't recognize it, but he could feel a certain power within the character—faint but resolute, like a root anchored in stone.
He flipped it over; the back was empty, smooth except for the copper rust.
[Taixu Command (Gold)]
[Quality: Gold]
[Effect: The token of the Taixu Dojo master; the holder can control all Restrictions and Formations within the dojo]
[Description: Seeing the command is like seeing the master himself.]
Lin Feng put away the medallion.
This thing might come in handy later.
He picked up the book.
Blue and very old with rounded corners, the cover read—'Taixu Pill Formula'.
He flipped to the first page; the paper was pale yellow, thin, and tough.
The text inside was handwritten in calligraphy, each stroke very neat.
"Taixu Pill Formula, totaling three hundred and sixty types. One hundred and twenty High Grade, one hundred and twenty Medium Grade, one hundred and twenty Low Grade..."
He flipped through a few pages; they were all Pill Formulas.
Some he had seen before, others he hadn't.
He put the book into the wanxiang ring to read later once they were out.
Finally, he picked up the sword.
The scabbard was black, made of an unknown material that felt as smooth as jade.
The hilt was white, very clean, without any rust or dust.
He gripped the hilt and gently drew it out.
The blade was silver-white and very bright, like moonlight.
Two characters were carved on the blade in curvy seal script.
He didn't recognize them, but he could feel a certain power within those two words—faint but warm, like a hearth fire in winter.
[taixu sword (Gold)]
[Quality: Gold]
[Attack Power: 15,000 - 18,000]
[Effect 1: spirit +800, Intelligence +800]
[Effect 2: All sword-type skill effects +300%, consumption -80%]
[Effect 3: 50% chance on attack to trigger 'Taixu Slash,' dealing spirit × 50 damage to the target and adding 'Void' effect, temporarily reducing all target attributes by 50% for 10 seconds]
[Effect 4: Holder can comprehend the skill 'Taixu Sword Intent']
[Taixu Sword Intent: Once activated, all attacks for the next 30 seconds become Sword Intent attacks, ignoring 80% of the target's defense. Cooldown: 1 hour]
[Rank Requirement: Level 45]
[Description: The personal sword used by the master of the Taixu Dojo, containing the power of Taixu. Once the sword is drawn, all laws become void.]
Lin Feng's hands were shaking as he read the description.
An attack power of fifteen to eighteen thousand was significantly higher than the dragon slaying sword.
Plus eight hundred spirit and intelligence, triple the effect of sword skills, eighty percent less consumption, and it had Taixu Slash and Taixu Sword Intent.
He drew the dragon slaying sword and sheathed the taixu sword in its place.
The size was a perfect fit.
He planned to switch to the taixu sword once they left; the dragon slaying sword could serve as a backup weapon.
Watching him put the items away, Zhao Gang and Su Xue also squatted down to rummage through the chest.
There were a few more items in the chest, but they were all ordinary blue-quality items, not worth much.
Zhao Gang picked up a Spirit Stone, looked at it, and put it back.
Su Xue picked up a bottle of Medicinal Pills, uncorked it to take a sniff, and also put it back.
After a thorough search, neither of them took anything.
Lin Feng looked at them. "What's wrong? You don't like them?"
Zhao Gang shook his head. "It's not that we don't like them. These things should belong to you."
Su Xue nodded. "Right. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't even be in here. You should take these things."
Lin Feng laughed. "Alright, don't be so polite with me. I can't use all of this by myself anyway. Just pick a few things."
Zhao Gang and Su Xue looked at each other and nodded.
Zhao Gang picked up that Spirit Stone and a bottle of Medicinal Pills.
Su Xue picked up a short blade and a jade medallion.
The two of them put their items away and stood up, looking at Lin Feng. "Thanks."
Lin Feng waved his hand. "Don't mention it. We're all on the same side."
The three of them continued to wander through the Treasure Pavilion.
There were many shelves and many items.
Medicinal Pills, Magic Treasures, Cultivation Techniques, and Materials—everything one could imagine was there.
Lin Feng swept the items into his wanxiang ring one by one, moving quickly like he was harvesting crops.
Zhao Gang and Su Xue also took some, but not many.
They were too embarrassed to take too much, as all these treasures were found by Lin Feng.
After breaking the Restriction, Xiao Guang remained seated on Lin Feng's shoulder, silent.
Watching Lin Feng put treasure after treasure into the wanxiang ring, it squeaked happily.
Lin Feng finished stripping the Treasure Pavilion bare and clapped his hands. "That's about it. Time to go."
Zhao Gang and Su Xue nodded.
The three of them walked toward the exit of the Treasure Pavilion.
At the doorway, Lin Feng stopped and took one last look back.
The Treasure Pavilion was empty; the shelves were still there, but everything on them was gone.
He looked at the empty shelves, fell silent for a few seconds, then turned and walked out.