Leaving aside Song Xueyuan hobbling away with her reddened and swollen backside, Lin Guiming had already found a fragment of the Treasure Map among that pile of items.
“This is…”
Lin Guiming carefully examined the fragment, which was only about the size of a palm.
The map was crudely drawn with a few chaotic lines, revealing nothing about its actual destination.
How could such a childish-looking map have attracted the attention of the Di Sha Valley?
Lin Guiming scrutinized it but couldn’t discern any clues.
“Could it be…” He suddenly furrowed his brow and tried infusing some spiritual energy into the map fragment.
A little, then a bit more…
Yet the map seemed unresponsive, as if it were just an ordinary doodle.
If Lin Guiming hadn’t seized this fragment from a genuine disciple of Di Sha Valley, he wouldn’t have wasted any effort on such a ragged map.
But since Di Sha Valley coveted it so much, this Treasure Map had to be more than it appeared.
Ignoring his doubts, Lin Guiming poured spiritual energy into it once more.
Finally, when his limited reserves were nearly drained, the map suddenly emitted faint flickers of light.
“Is it coming?” Lin Guiming’s expression turned serious as the map grew brighter and brighter.
Then, a faint, translucent image slowly materialized above the map.
The projection looked like another map, with blurry characters barely discernible, seemingly depicting a location within the Eastern Hua Continent.
Before Lin Guiming could study it closely, an immense pressure burst forth from the map, causing him to lose his grip and fall to the ground.
The map drifted down gently, its projection vanishing instantly.
“Huff—huff—huff—” Lin Guiming gasped violently, drenched in cold sweat, his face etched with sheer terror.
In that instant—just a moment—he felt as though his entire being was about to be crushed into dust.
The overwhelming, unmatched aura, radiating supreme disdain and solitude, shut down his thoughts instantly.
Only Lin Guiming himself knew the depth of his shock and dread.
Remember, he was from Bixiao Palace, and even among Yuhua Realm cultivators, including his master—the Bixiao Palace Master, who was considered a top-tier figure at this stage—he had experienced their full force.
Yet compared to the pressure just now, all the threats he had faced before were insignificant…
Even though it lasted less than a second…
“Immortal!” Lin Guiming finally uttered the word with trembling lips after a long silence.
Indeed, an Immortal—the kind who has transcended the Yuhua Realm, survived the Heavenly Tribulation, and truly stepped into the Immortal Realm—would possess such terrifying aura.
This Treasure Map very likely belonged to a supreme cultivator who had already ascended to Immortal status!
At this moment, Lin Guiming was profoundly grateful that he had heeded Xiao Sanzi’s advice to come here in search of this map.
It had been a full millennium since the Jiuzhou Continent saw an Immortal appear.
Even the likes of the Taiyu Hall Master and Tianmo Palace Master, both supreme experts, remained stuck at the peak of the Yuhua Realm, unable to provoke the Heavenly Tribulation or advance further…
Now, suddenly, the legacy of an Immortal’s Inheritance had emerged.
There could very well be a method of Immortal Ascension hidden within it!
Such a Treasure Map was enough to drive the entire cultivation world—and the whole continent—mad with desire!
No wonder even Di Sha Valley had dispatched their true disciples to the mortal realm to search for this fragment.
Fortunately, for now, aside from Lin Guiming and Di Sha Valley, no one else knew about this.
Lin Guiming himself was obvious, and Di Sha Valley would naturally keep their desire to monopolize the treasure and the map’s secrets a secret.
Otherwise, the already turbulent cultivation world would erupt into an unprecedented, protracted war.
When that happened, countless lives would be lost, and the people would suffer beyond measure…