Beneath the waterfall, Lu Han noticed that Lin Huang, who had been standing as still as a withered stump, suddenly rose and dashed toward the small courtyard.
"Is he about to break through again?" Lu Han muttered, his lips twitching as his face bore a look of profound distress.
Upon returning to his room, Lin Huang took out an ancient, pitch-black box from his Storage Ring. It was the box that held the Demon-Suppressing Blade.
Just moments ago, a sudden possibility had struck Lin Huang. Jia Wanjing had been a merchant for years. To amass enough wealth to rival nations, the man had to be incredibly shrewd. Let alone a cunning rabbit having three burrows, that man might have thirty backup plans.
If the Ancient Scroll of Mountains and Rivers were truly on his person, would Jia Wanjing have told him so blatantly? Even if he did, it would be as cryptic as humanly possible, perhaps buried beneath a dozen layers of misdirection.
Staring at the black box before him, Lin Huang took a deep breath. He rubbed his warm palms together as Jia Wanjing’s baffling words echoed in his mind: "I hope this thing won’t fall into obscurity in your hands!"
Jia Wanjing had said this when handing over the Demon-Suppressing Blade. Previously, Lin Huang had assumed he was referring to the blade, hoping Lin Huang wouldn’t tarnish its formidable reputation. But back then, Jia Wanjing hadn’t explicitly said "the Demon-Suppressing Blade." He had merely called it "this thing."
Perhaps what Jia Wanjing was referring to wasn’t the blade itself, but this black wooden box that contained it.
The wooden box was over four feet long and a palm’s width wide. It was crafted from millennium-old parasol wood, engraved with ancient and complex patterns. At first glance, it seemed unremarkable, but upon closer inspection, it was exquisitely detailed.
"There’s a hidden compartment!"
After tapping and examining the box for a long while, Lin Huang finally heard a hollow sound coming from a fingernail-sized spot at the end of the black box. He drew the Demon-Suppressing Blade and pried the entire bottom panel off.
As the panel came loose, Lin Huang’s expression froze. The result was somewhat unexpected.
"There are two scrolls?" he muttered.
Inside the black box lay two golden, gleaming scrolls. They were crafted from the wings of millennium-old ice cicadas. Their dual rollers were made of Demonic Heaven Tiger bones, and the ends of the rollers were shaped into two majestic, intimidating dragon heads.
There were writings on each roller. When put together, they formed four ancient characters: "Ancient Scroll of Mountains and Rivers." A liquid golden light spilled from them, illuminating the previously dim room.
The Ancient Scroll of Mountains and Rivers!
Excitement surged in Lin Huang’s heart. It truly was a pearl cast in the dark! Who would have thought that the Ancient Scroll of Mountains and Rivers was concealed within this inconspicuous black wooden box?
This was the very scroll that Martial Artists of the East Spirit Realm had been relentlessly hunting down for a millennium. The scroll that harbored the East Spirit Realm’s greatest secret.
Legend had it that it contained the location of a Dragon Vein and the legacies of supreme Martial Artists. Whoever obtained it could dominate all directions, rule over the East Spirit Realm, and perhaps even become a figure like Xuanyuan Tibing.
At this thought, Lin Huang couldn’t help but feel a thrill.
"But why are there two? And they look exactly the same!"
Lin Huang murmured in confusion. He picked up the left scroll and slowly unfurled it. Immediately, his breath hitched. He stared intently at the ancient scroll, his emotions churning like a raging sea.
Drawn upon the scroll were countless shimmering lines that connected and intertwined, forming a series of complex patterns. These patterns resembled Arrays, yet they also looked exactly like star charts. The patterns combined further to form even larger, more convoluted and obscure designs. It was so complex that a single glance made Lin Huang dizzy, his vitality surging uncontrollably.
However, this wasn’t the main cause of his immense emotional upheaval. The true reason was that hidden within these infinitely complex patterns were three symbols.
The first was a dragon’s head.
The second was a crow.
And the third... was a Relic. A brilliantly golden Relic!
Lin Huang stared blankly at the Relic in the very center of the patterns for half a quarter hour before a look of wild ecstasy broke out on his face. He was all too familiar with the appearance of this Relic.
A Buddha God’s Relic!
When Lin Huang was reborn, one of the Buddha God’s Relics was already inside his body, which had formed his Martial Soul, the Celestial Asura. Later, in the secret chamber of the Divine General’s Mansion, he discovered a second one, which allowed his Celestial Asura Martial Soul to evolve.
And this Relic on the Ancient Scroll of Mountains and Rivers was the third one!
The third one!
It took a long time for Lin Huang to calm down. Although his Celestial Asura Martial Soul was extraordinary, it was still only at the Upper Grade of the Yellow Tier. It was fine for now while he was in the Earth Element Realm, especially with the Godslaying One Slash to rely on. But once he reached the Celestial Element Realm, the disadvantage of his Martial Soul would become glaringly obvious.
But if he could obtain this third Buddha God’s Relic, his Celestial Asura Martial Soul would evolve once more, providing him with a powerful foundation.
In his room, Lin Huang hugged the Ancient Scroll of Mountains and Rivers. He looked calm on the surface, but he desperately wanted to jump up and laugh. "It really was a pearl cast in the dark. To think that a third Buddha God’s Relic exists in this small East Spirit Realm."
"It seems I’m destined to make a trip!"
Lin Huang muttered to himself, his eyes gleaming with intense light. Originally, he hadn’t cared who held the Ancient Scroll of Mountains and Rivers. He hadn’t wanted to hold onto this hot potato, fearing it would bring trouble to his doorstep. But now... there was no way he would let it go. He wouldn’t give it up even if it killed him!
It took an incense stick’s worth of time for Lin Huang to finally quell his excitement. Then, he picked up the Ancient Scroll of Mountains and Rivers from the right side of the black box.
"It’s identical?"
His brows slowly furrowed in deep confusion. The patterns on the right scroll were exactly the same as those on the left. There wasn’t a single discrepancy.
Realizing this, Lin Huang curled his lip. "Martial Marquis Jia, you truly are as cunning as a rabbit with three burrows!"
Lin Huang naturally understood. Although these two Ancient Scrolls of Mountains and Rivers were identical, one had to be real and the other fake. Choosing the real one would mean securing an immense opportunity, but if he chose the fake... it would likely lead to a disaster where he would die without a burial place!
"Which scroll should I give away?"
Lin Huang stared at the two scrolls hesitantly, feeling conflicted. If this had been earlier, he wouldn’t have minded giving both scrolls to the black-robed man just to find out who had shattered Lin Cangxue’s Martial Soul. But now that he knew the secret of the Buddha God’s Relic was hidden within it, he was in a dilemma.
As part of the trade, he had to give the black-robed man one of them. But which one was real? Which one was fake?
Frustrated, Lin Huang scratched his head, unsure of how to decide. He knew that to distinguish the real from the fake, he would have to decipher the information hidden within the patterns. Moreover, the coordinates of the Buddha God’s Relic were probably concealed within these patterns as well.
But these patterns... he couldn’t make heads or tails of them anyway.
"Perhaps that guy Qin Xuance could crack it!"
Lin Huang pondered. After all, everyone had their area of expertise. When it came to patterns, astrology, Life Charts, Feng Shui, and strategy, there were likely very few in the East Spirit Realm who could rival Qin Xuance.
Lin Huang shook his head helplessly. He could only rely on Qin Xuance to unravel the Ancient Scroll of Mountains and Rivers. However, a round trip to find him would take two months, and that wasn’t even factoring in the time Qin Xuance would need to decipher it.
"Looks like I’ll have to find a way to stall the black-robed man," Lin Huang muttered, tossing the two scrolls into his Storage Ring. Discovering a clue about the Buddha God’s Relic should have been a matter of wild joy. Yet, the inability to tell the real from the fake left a sour taste in his mouth, as if he had swallowed a fly.
Eventually, Lin Huang reined in his emotions and headed toward Celestial Waterfall Cliff. The issue with the Ancient Scroll of Mountains and Rivers would need time to be resolved.
As he stepped out of his room, his footsteps suddenly faltered. He stood silently for a moment before turning back inside, cursing under his breath, "Damn it!"
Lin Huang realized he had once again fallen into Jia Wanjing’s cognitive trap.
While everyone assumed that either Lin Huang or Xuanyuan Tibing knew the location of the Ancient Scroll of Mountains and Rivers, Jia Wanjing had actually hidden it inside an inconspicuous black box. That was a cognitive blind spot.
And when Lin Huang found the two scrolls—one real and one fake—he naturally started to ponder which was which. Then he would focus entirely on distinguishing between the two. This was yet another cognitive blind spot.
Only by stepping back and looking at it from a different angle did a new possibility emerge. Perhaps... these two identical Ancient Scrolls of Mountains and Rivers were both fake.
Given Jia Wanjing’s identity as a merchant, such a tactic was completely characteristic.
Using "casting a pearl in the dark" as a brilliant sleight of hand!
At this thought, Lin Huang retrieved the black box and began inspecting it carefully once again, not missing a single detail.
An hour later, Lin Huang’s brows were knotted together. "Did I get played by Jia Wanjing again? Is one of these two really the true Ancient Scroll of Mountains and Rivers?"
He had spent a long time scrutinizing it but found no further clues on the black box.
But this... didn’t make sense!
Lin Huang stared blankly at the black box before him, lost in thought. It wasn’t until after more than half the night had passed that Lin Huang suddenly drew the Demon-Suppressing Blade and cleaved the black box in half with a single strike.
"Nothing?"
He frowned. Then, he hacked away at it, strike after strike. Only when the black box was reduced to splinters did his eyes light up, a satisfied smile blooming on his face.
Amidst the pile of debris, Lin Huang finally spotted an ancient scroll as thin as a cicada’s wing. It didn’t look nearly as magnificent as the previous ones. Instead, it was yellowed, mottled, and exuded an archaic charm. The four characters for the "Ancient Scroll of Mountains and Rivers" were nowhere to be found on it.
When Lin Huang unrolled the scroll, the patterns recorded inside were exactly the same as the previous two.
Lin Huang smiled. "This should be it!"
Thinking of this, he let out a relaxed laugh. Now, he had the true Ancient Scroll of Mountains and Rivers in his possession, along with two fakes. Fooling the black-robed man would be a piece of cake.
At this thought, a grin tugged at the corner of Lin Huang’s lips. "Black-robed man, I’m waiting for you!"