Chapter 509: Treasure Map?

'Yes!'

……

With the card in hand, Chen Mu turned and walked into the depths of Shanzhai.

Behind him, the surviving bandits lay slumped on the ground, trembling uncontrollably, not one daring to move.

Suddenly…

Shiiii-shiiii~

A dense barrage of sword qi swept through the air, engulfing them.

Puff-puff-puff!

After a series of sharp sounds, all the bandits were dead.

【Corpse detected. Collect?】

'Yes!'

……

Eliminated all bandits.

Chen Mu walked calmly to the warehouse, pushed open the wooden door.

Inside, wealth piled high—gold, silver, jewels, silk brocade, weapons, armor—all jumbled into chaotic mounds.

He glanced once, didn't linger, and walked deeper.

At the very back of the warehouse stood a locked wooden chest.

Chen Mu raised his hand—the lock snapped apart instantly.

Inside the chest were ledgers and letters.

Chen Mu flipped through a few pages—they were records of the bandits' robberies and murders, worthless.

He tossed them aside, kept searching, and finally found a piece of animal hide at the bottom of the chest.

It was the skin of some unknown beast, yellowed and brittle, edges frayed.

Yet this hide was the most important thing in Scar's memory—even though he himself didn't understand what it was.

Chen Mu picked up the hide and unrolled it—

It was a map.

The map depicted mountains and rivers, labeled with place names. Some he recognized—mountain ranges along the border of Jiannan and Hannan Dao. Others were unfamiliar, seemingly archaic names.

Chen Mu pondered.

Treasure map?

He studied it again, confirming this was no ordinary landscape drawing.

The contours of the mountains, the flow of the rivers, all exuded an ancient aura.

This hide map had passed through countless hands over the years, eventually falling into Scar's possession, who treated it as an incomprehensible treasure, hidden at the bottom of the chest.

From Scar's memories, Chen Mu learned he had tried every method—holding it to light, to fire, channeling internal force, true qi, true yuan—all without revealing its secret.

If so…

Chen Mu stirred his mind, extended his spiritual sense, manipulated a thread of heavenly power, gathered it to his fingertip, and focused it onto the map.

Instantly…

Shhh!

The entire hide suddenly glowed with faint radiance, turning semi-transparent, while a hidden, desolate, and sharp aura spun rapidly around its edges.

Then, without wind, the hide floated upward, hovering in midair, projecting a shadow from its center—a palace…

No, precisely, only one corner of the palace, with two ancient characters beside it.

Autumn Slay!

Before Chen Mu could examine it closely, the projection vanished, and the hide returned to its original state.

Chen Mu did not continue channeling heavenly power.

He sensed clearly—the map was incomplete, or rather, only one part of it!

Other pieces were needed, to be combined, to fully reveal the entire palace.

In other words, this was indeed a treasure map!

The question was: how to find the remaining fragments?

Only heavenly power could activate it to project the true target.

The palace marked on this treasure map was clearly no ordinary place.

It must have belonged to a late Heaven Palace cultivator, perhaps even a Myriad Forms expert!

Nothing left behind by such a cultivator was ordinary.

Chen Mu naturally felt interest.

Pondering, he rolled up the hide and tucked it into his robe.

Then he left the warehouse and walked to the wooden hut where the women were imprisoned.

The lock on the wooden door snapped apart instantly.

Chen Mu pushed open the door—inside, over a dozen women huddled together in terror, trembling.

'It's over.'

Chen Mu's voice was calm and gentle, 'The bandits are all dead. You are free.'

The women froze, then clung to each other and burst into tears.

Chen Mu opened the wooden hut where the men were held and released them too.

'There's plenty of wealth in the mountain fortress. Divide it among yourselves at dawn, then flee for your lives.'

Chen Mu said calmly, "Don't speak of what happened here."

These people nodded frantically, kowtowing on the ground again and again.

Chen Mu said no more and turned away.

…

Back at the camp.

Chen Mu's blue cotton robe was untouched by dust; his expression was unchanged, revealing nothing of what had transpired.

Wang Hu stepped forward and asked cautiously, "Young Master, that Shanzhai…"

"Gone," Chen Mu replied calmly.

Wang Hu sucked in a sharp breath.

Gone?

A Shanzhai with over a hundred people—just gone?

But he dared not ask more, only nodded repeatedly: "Young Master, you've worked hard. Hard indeed."

…

The next morning, the party resumed their journey.

Several youths still clustered around Chen Mu, chattering endlessly, utterly unaware of what had happened the night before.

Chen Mu said nothing more, merely guiding their cultivation as usual.

After another three days of travel, the party finally reached the borders of Lu State.

Datang Prefecture was not far off.

That evening, the party made camp beside a lake.

The sun set in the west; the lake shimmered with ripples, and several waterfowl foraged among the reeds—the scene was tranquil and beautiful.

Xia Lin sat on a green stone by the lake, gazing blankly at the water.

Chen Mu walked over and sat down beside him.

The two sat in silence for a moment, then Xia Lin suddenly spoke: "Young Master, we'll reach Datang Prefecture tomorrow."

Chen Mu nodded.

"Throughout this journey, thank you for your care."

Xia Lin turned to look at him, his eyes filled with gratitude: "Had it not been for you, old man and these children might have…"

Chen Mu shook his head: "Mr. doesn't need to thank me. It was nothing."

Xia Lin smiled, then asked: "Have you pondered that phrase yet?"

Chen Mu fell silent for a moment, then said: "Not yet. But along this journey, I seem to have understood something."

"Oh?" Xia Lin's interest stirred. "Do tell."

Chen Mu gazed at the lake and said slowly: "'Where the heart thinks, there the soul resides.' Previously, I thought this phrase hinted at a location or a method."

"But along this journey, meeting you, Mr., and encountering those bandits… I suddenly feel this phrase may not be speaking of 'where,' but of 'how.'"

Xia Lin's eyes flickered with approval: "Continue."

Chen Mu said: "'Where the heart thinks' refers to intention. 'There the soul resides' refers to the root. This phrase may mean that only when intention is pure and steadfast can one touch the root. And whether intention is pure is not discovered through still meditation—it is forged through action."

He looked at his hands and whispered: "Every event on this journey—the bandits I killed, the people I saved—all are forging. Forged again and again, the intention becomes pure."

Xia Lin smiled.

He smiled broadly, warmly.

"Young Master, I did not misjudge you," he rose and bowed to Chen Mu. "You have more insight than I imagined."

Chen Mu also rose and bowed deeply to Xia Lin.

"Thank you, Mr., for your guidance along the way."

Xia Lin waved his hand and laughed: "I offered no guidance—you realized it yourself."

He paused, then added: "Young Master, if fate allows, we shall meet again."

Chen Mu nodded.

…

The next day, the party arrived at Datang Prefecture.

At the city gate, Xia Lin and his disciples bid farewell to Chen Mu. The youths were reluctant; Zhao Song's eyes were even red.

"Young Master, won't you come into the city with us?"

Chen Mu shook his head: "I have other matters. I won't enter."

Zhao Song held back for a long while, then suddenly fell to his knees with a thud and banged his head three times hard on the ground.

"Young Master, your teachings on this journey are etched in my heart. Should I ever achieve anything, I shall repay you!"