Chapter 222: Chapter 217: Obtaining the Map

In the silent night, almost all the students within the Xuanling Imperial Academy had entered a state of cultivation. Just then, a black shadow suddenly swooped down from the sky and landed in a patch of grass. Needless to say, this person was none other than the Celestial Eagle Empire’s National Guardian Elder, the Third Son Zhou.

The Third Son Zhou muttered to himself, ’This Imperial Academy isn’t large, but I can’t use my Spiritual Power. Where should I even begin my search?’ He sighed. ’Forget it. I’ll just have to go room by room. With my Body Technique, no one should be able to discover me.’

With that, the Third Son Zhou’s figure flickered, transforming into a wisp of green smoke and vanishing swiftly into the night...

Meanwhile, in Mu Chen’s room, Mo Qing and Mu Bingling still hadn’t left his side. The two of them just stared at Mu Chen, as if afraid he would vanish the moment they looked away.

Mu Bingling smiled faintly. "Sister Mo Qing, Chen’Er has completely stabilized now. Why don’t you go rest for a bit, or perhaps cultivate on the side? I’ll be your Guardian."

Hearing this, Mo Qing shook her head repeatedly. "Thank you for your concern, Sister Bingling, but I’m not tired at all. My mind is completely focused on him. How could I possibly concentrate on cultivation?"

Mu Bingling just smiled helplessly. ’Love really is a powerful thing...’

Mu Chen’s consciousness had returned several hours ago, but after waking, he felt as if he had entered a dream. In this dream, he saw a white figure.

’That’s...’ Mu Chen was stunned. ’Xiaobai?’

That’s right. In this dream-like environment, a Fur Ball Little Beast was happily hopping around on the ground.

"Xiaobai!" Mu Chen called out.

The Fur Ball Little Beast suddenly turned, and upon seeing Mu Chen, it dashed over and pounced into his arms. Mu Chen tugged Xiaobai’s ears and couldn’t help but laugh. "It really is you. How did you get here? And where is this place?"

The Snow Qilin, Xiaobai, forcefully shook off Mu Chen’s hand and said, "This is Daddy’s Sea of Souls! Daddy, you were fighting someone earlier, and I got bored, so I came in by myself. I found something fun inside. I saw a pearl."

"A pearl?" Mu Chen was taken aback and immediately thought of the Extreme Spirit Pearl. He asked urgently, "And then?"

"And then... and then I came inside!" the Snow Qilin said to Mu Chen, looking very smug.

"You came inside?"

Mu Chen’s mouth hung open, too surprised to speak. The Snow Qilin had just said it came inside, but the outer realm of the Extreme Spirit Pearl had been completely sealed by his Master. How could anyone possibly get in?

’Wait...’ Mu Chen suddenly recalled the Snow Qilin’s unique characteristic and murmured, ’It can ignore all seals and barriers. In that case, does that mean I’m inside the Extreme Spirit Pearl right now?’

Mu Chen looked at the vast, empty space with delight and smiled. "This is great! If so, I might be able to find the map my Master left behind, the one detailing how to restore my arm."

"A map?" The Snow Qilin, Xiaobai, gave Mu Chen a puzzled look. Then it opened its mouth, reached a small paw inside, and pulled out a white jade-colored scroll. The moment Mu Chen saw the scroll, he was filled with a single feeling: nostalgia. It was exactly the kind of scroll the Profound Old Ghost always used.

"Is this the thing Daddy was talking about?" Without a second thought, the Snow Qilin tossed the scroll to Mu Chen, pouting. "I saw this thing floating in the air as soon as I got in. It looked really tasty, but when I tried to eat it, I discovered it was disgusting."

Mu Chen quickly caught the scroll and inspected it from top to bottom. He let out a breath of relief when he saw it was undamaged. He said in exasperation, "You little rascal, you’ll put anything in your mouth! Is a scroll something you can eat? It’s a good thing you found it disgusting. If you hadn’t, would all my hope of restoring my arm be completely gone?"

With that said, Mu Chen couldn’t contain his curiosity and opened the scroll in his hands. It felt smooth and cool, the material soft. It looked like jade but felt like paper. Every time Mu Chen opened a scroll from the Profound Old Ghost, he couldn’t help but marvel at the maker’s ingenuity.

When he first unrolled it, the scroll was completely blank. After waiting a moment, Mu Chen tentatively channeled a sliver of his Spiritual Power over the scroll. Just as he expected, once his Spiritual Power completely covered it, the image of a man in white robes with a roguish charm emerged from the scroll.

Out of Mu Chen’s sight, the Snow Qilin glanced at the white-robed man and instantly reacted as if it had met its natural enemy, diving into Mu Chen’s arms to hide. At that moment, Mu Chen’s attention was entirely focused on the spectral image. His eyes suddenly grew moist as he murmured, "Master..."

The roguish man’s figure hovered on the scroll for a long time. It was only after Mu Chen snapped out of his reminiscence that the man smiled and spoke. "Xiao Chenzi, we finally meet again. The fact that you can open this scroll means your strength has already reached the Martial King Realm, and you possess a sliver of power to protect yourself."

The spectral image within the scroll gave a kind smile and said to Mu Chen, "It seems your master still hasn’t awakened. I don’t know how much time has passed in the outer world, nor do I know how long it took you or how many hardships you faced to reach the Martial King Realm while cultivating at a speed nine times slower than an ordinary person. But, your Master is proud of you. Because you have grown to this point through your own strength, you are truly worthy of the title ’genius.’"

"Xiao Chenzi, you must be all grown up by now. I still remember how gaunt and helpless you looked when we first met; the image is still vivid in my mind. Your master said he would help you reforge your Dantian and restore your arm, but even now, I have not been able to fulfill my promise. I know that your arm must have caused you a great deal of trouble during your years of growth."

At this point, the Profound Old Ghost’s expression showed a hint of shame, and his tone became somewhat downcast. "But please, do not blame your master. In truth, the moment I saw your severed arm, I had already remembered the location of a liquid that has a chance to regenerate lost limbs. However, I didn’t record it until just before I fell into my slumber. The reason I’m only letting you see this after you’ve reached the Martial King Realm is to ensure you have the ability to protect yourself. Though you are strong, you must understand that your master is the only person to have ever been to that place. Only I know how dangerous it is. If I had told you the location sooner, you would have undoubtedly rushed in rashly, desperate to restore your arm without considering the consequences. You could have very well perished there, and that is absolutely not something I wanted to see! That is why I set this restriction for you."

Mu Chen looked at the spectral image and shook his head. "How could I possibly blame you, Master? Besides, I haven’t even reached the Martial King Realm yet..." Even though he knew he was just speaking to a residual image, Mu Chen still wanted to voice the words in his heart. After all, this was his master.

After saying this, the Profound Old Ghost’s expression relaxed, and he said happily, "However, today all those restrictions are lifted. On the scroll before you now is a detailed map that I etched with my Spiritual Power. But a hundred thousand years have passed, so I don’t know if the locations of some things inside have changed. One thing is certain, though: it’s unlikely anyone has discovered this place. And even if they did, they would never be able to find the location of that pool of strange liquid. Heh heh, I sealed it with an Ultimate Seal. Unless one possesses the Seal Technique I give you, even a Martial Emperor would be forced to turn back in defeat! However, you told me that Martial Emperors on the Extreme Martial Continent vanished thirty thousand years ago. That puts my mind at ease."

"Alright, that’s enough nonsense. You must commit to memory every word I am about to tell you and not forget a single moment of it. Otherwise, the place you are going will mean almost certain death. I am absolutely not trying to scare you. In that undiscovered region live two Magical Beasts of utterly terrifying strength. A hundred thousand years ago, they were already at the Holy Beast Realm. What about today, after a hundred thousand years? I can’t be certain, but their power has surely reached some kind of extreme. Therefore, you must avoid their sight at all costs when you enter." When the Profound Old Ghost said this, his expression was incredibly grave—a look Mu Chen had never seen on him before.

"Holy Beasts!" Mu Chen exclaimed in shock. The strongest Magical Beast he had encountered since the beginning of his journey was the Exotic Beast that appeared with the Extreme Ice Attribute Spirit in the Eternal Frozen Snowfield. Its power, infinitely close to that of a Venerable Beast, had caused the tragic deaths of several thousand experts on the spot. The scene was still vivid in his mind. After that, he hadn’t seen a single Royal Beast, let alone a Venerable Beast. But in that instant, Mu Chen thought of a young woman named Qin Wu. That year, he had been thirteen, and she was already fifteen. By now, she would be seventeen, no longer the young girl who had saved him.

Shaking his head quickly, Mu Chen cursed himself internally. ’Idiot, how could I let my mind wander at such a crucial moment?’ After calming himself, Mu Chen focused once more and listened intently.

"Those two Holy Beasts are only one of the dangers. More than that, the place is filled with natural fairylands and countless barriers. Without a powerful barrier-breaking ability, it’s impossible to get inside. However, none of this is a problem for you, because you have the Purple Sky Demon Pupils, which can see through all things in this world. So, as long as you’re careful and your luck isn’t too bad, you should be able to find that strange liquid quite easily."

"If your luck is terrible and you run into one of those two Holy Beasts, you must not panic. And don’t even think about trying to flee immediately, because you won’t be able to escape. They can both use Spatial Power; restraining a mere Martial Spirit would be as easy as lifting a finger for them. This is where your wisdom will be tested. Although these two Magical Beasts have extremely high cultivation realms, they live in an area with only each other as rivals. Therefore, their intelligence isn’t very high—they might even be like children. What you need to do is coax them, trick them... in short, how you handle it will depend on your ability to improvise on the spot. If you trick them well, you’ll have a sliver of a chance to survive. If you fail, you’ll become Magical Beast dung. Of course, this is just a worst-case scenario. It would be best not to encounter them at all."