From a loser to an immortal sage

Chapter 19 Searching for Treasure

Li Yan and I were both startled by the sudden sound, and we stopped what we were doing. Suddenly, an old man dressed in white with white hair and a youthful face appeared at the entrance of the secret room. His expression was calm, his eyes were piercing, and a powerful pressure emanated from him, making it almost impossible for me to breathe.

"Junior Xiao Yao (Li Yan) greets Senior." We dared not be negligent and quickly bowed in greeting.

The old man nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over us before finally settling on the wooden box on the stone platform. His brow furrowed slightly: "Who are you? Why are you trespassing on this forbidden area?"

My heart skipped a beat, knowing that things were unlikely to end well today, but I still forced myself to explain, "Senior, we had no intention of offending you; we just wandered into this place by mistake. We also obtained this wooden box by chance and had no idea what secrets it held."

After listening to my explanation, the old man did not immediately express his opinion. Instead, he remained silent for a moment before slowly saying, "The item hidden in this wooden box is a priceless treasure of our sect. It is of great importance and cannot be lost."

My heart skipped a beat; it seemed this old man wouldn't let us leave so easily.

“Senior, we had no idea this wooden box was so important. Please investigate.” Li Yan quickly added, “We will leave immediately and will not divulge a single word about this matter.”

The old man shook his head and said, "You have already triggered the restriction, and it's too late to leave now."

Li Yan and I exchanged a glance, and we both saw despair in each other's eyes.

“However…” the old man paused, then continued, “considering that this is your first offense, I can give you a chance.”

Upon hearing the old man's words, Li Yan and I were immediately invigorated, as if we had grasped at the last straw.

“Please speak, senior, we will certainly do as you say,” I said quickly.

The old man pointed to the wooden box on the stone platform and said, "This treasure is sealed deep within the ruins. If you can retrieve it, I will forgive and forget."

After the old man finished speaking, he waved his hand, and a flash of white light appeared. Li Yan and I felt a blur before our eyes, and we found ourselves in an unfamiliar place. Before I could react, I heard the old man's voice from behind: "Keep going straight along this path. Remember, don't take a single wrong step..."

The old man's voice gradually faded away, and Li Yan and I exchanged bewildered glances, our hearts filled with doubt and unease. Looking around, we found ourselves in a narrow passage, with ancient runes carved into the stone walls on either side, emitting a faint glow.

"Xiao Yao, what exactly is Elder Bai up to? He told us to retrieve the treasure, but then he brought us to this godforsaken place." Li Yan lowered her voice, a hint of fear in her tone.

I shook my head, indicating that I didn't know either. Elder Bai's words were full of mystery, leaving us unable to fathom them. But now that things had come to this, we had no choice but to bite the bullet and move forward, otherwise, if we angered that unfathomable Elder Bai, the consequences would probably be even more unimaginable.

We proceeded along the passage cautiously, each step careful not to trigger any mechanism. The runes on either side of the passage flickered, casting our shadows of varying lengths, adding to the eerie atmosphere.

I don't know how long we walked, but finally a glimmer of light appeared ahead. Li Yan and I perked up, quickened our pace, turned a corner, and the view opened up before us.

Before us lay a spacious stone chamber, in the center of which floated a dazzling golden light. The light was warm and gentle, yet contained a chilling power.

"That must be the magic weapon we've been looking for!" Li Yan exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with excitement.

I was incredibly excited, but at the same time, I became even more vigilant. Because around that golden light, there was a semi-transparent light shield, the surface of which was covered with strange runes and emitted chilling energy fluctuations.

"This barrier is so powerful!" I gasped, a shadow falling over my heart.

We tried to get closer to the golden light, but when we were still several feet away from the light barrier, we were bounced back by an invisible force.

"Ouch!" Li Yan rubbed her sore shoulder and complained, "Why is this barrier so stubborn?"

I carefully examined the runes on the light shield, trying to find a way to break it, but the runes were mysterious and complex, and I had no clue after looking at them for a long time.

"Looks like we have no choice but to force our way through!" Li Yan said, and was about to rush forward again.

"Wait!" I quickly grabbed her. "This barrier is no ordinary barrier. Forcing your way through will only be a waste of spiritual energy."

I pondered for a moment and decided to try using spiritual power control techniques to guide the energy flow within the barrier, hoping to find a breakthrough. I took a deep breath and slowly poured my spiritual power into the light shield, carefully sensing the direction of the energy flow.

However, the instant my spiritual energy touched the light barrier, a powerful backlash struck, and I immediately felt a buzzing in my head, and everything went black...

"Oh no!" Li Yan's anxious shout rang in my ears, followed by a violent earthquake. I felt as if I had been swept into a powerful vortex, and my consciousness gradually blurred...

"Xiao Yao! Xiao Yao! Wake up..." In my dazed state, I heard someone calling my name beside my ear. The voice was familiar yet strange, as if it came from a distant horizon...

As consciousness gradually returned, I struggled to open my heavy eyelids, but all I could see was a blurry blur of light and shadow. I heard Li Yan's anxious cries in my ears: "Xiao Yao! Xiao Yao! Wake up..."

Her voice was intermittent, as if muffled by a veil of water, which made me feel uneasy. I struggled to get up, but found my body weak and powerless, as if I were being crushed by a boulder, unable to move.

"Don't move!" Li Yan's voice was close at hand, tinged with panic. "This barrier is strange; it seems to be able to bewitch the mind and create illusions!"

An illusion? I was startled, realizing that something was wrong with what I was seeing. The once spacious stone chamber had become incredibly cramped, and the runes carved on the stone walls had twisted and deformed into hideous faces, baring their fangs and claws at me, as if trying to drag me into an endless abyss.

I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down. Elder Bai once taught me that when faced with an illusion attack, the most important thing is to maintain one's true self and not be misled by external things.

I closed my eyes, focused my mind on my dantian, and circulated my spiritual energy throughout my body to resist the strange, corrosive force. Gradually, the terrifying illusions began to fade, and the stone chamber returned to its original state.

"Xiao Yao, are you alright?" Li Yan asked as soon as she saw that I had regained consciousness.

I shook my head to indicate that I was alright, and then turned my attention to the barrier in front of me. After my earlier probing, I discovered that the barrier was not a solid block, but rather composed of countless tiny energy nodes. As long as I found the key node, I could cut off the energy supply and thus dismantle the entire barrier.

I took a deep breath and slowly poured my spiritual energy into the light shield. This time, I didn't rush things, but instead carefully explored the trajectory of the energy flow, like a fine needle.

Time passed second by second, and fine beads of sweat appeared on my forehead. Li Yan stood guard beside me, vigilantly observing the surrounding movements.

"Found it!" I don't know how much time had passed when a thought suddenly struck me. I had finally found the key energy node.

Without hesitation, I mobilized all my spiritual power, condensing it into a sharp blade, and slashed fiercely down at that node!

"Crack!"

With a crisp sound, like glass shattering, a tiny crack finally appeared on the seemingly indestructible light shield...

"Now!" I shouted. Li Yan understood immediately, made a hand seal, and a sharp sword aura shot out, heading straight for the crack.

"boom!"

With a deafening roar, the barrier finally succumbed to the powerful attack and shattered, dissipating into countless specks of light that vanished into the air.

Li Yan and I exchanged a glance, both seeing the joy and anticipation in each other's eyes. We eagerly walked towards the golden light, but just as we were about to touch it, the light suddenly fluctuated violently, and an overwhelming force erupted...

"Watch out!" I cried out, trying to dodge, but it was too late... A burst of golden light flashed out, like the blazing sun. I instinctively reached out to shield myself, but I felt an irresistible force throw me over and slam me hard against the stone wall behind me.

"Xiao Yao!" Li Yan's exclamation was drowned out by the deafening roar, and everything went black before my eyes, and I lost consciousness.

I don't know how much time passed before I awoke from my drowsy state. My ears were ringing, and my vision was still blurry. I struggled to get up, but found that my whole body ached and I had no strength at all.

"Xiao Yao, you're finally awake!" Li Yan's voice was weak but joyful. I turned my head and saw her leaning against the stone wall, her face pale and a trace of blood still remaining at the corner of her mouth.

"What... happened to me?" I rubbed my throbbing forehead, trying to recall what had happened.

"We were stunned by the power of the magic weapon," Li Yan said, her voice tinged with lingering fear. "Luckily, we were far enough away, otherwise..."

A chill ran through me as I recalled the devastating power we had witnessed earlier. Li Yan and I had gone to great lengths to find the magical artifact; were we going to fail at this point?

I struggled to my feet and looked around, only to find that we were no longer in the stone chamber. It seemed to be a valley, surrounded by towering peaks shrouded in mist, obscuring their features.

"Where is this?" A sense of unease rose in my heart. An eerie atmosphere permeated the valley, sending chills down my spine.

“I don’t know either,” Li Yan said, her brow furrowed. “It seems we were teleported to another place.”

"Teleportation?" I was startled. Could it be that magical artifact that brought us here?

I forced myself to endure the discomfort and carefully observed my surroundings, hoping to find some clues. However, apart from the swirling mist and bare rocks, there was nothing there.

"What do we do now?" Li Yan's voice trembled slightly; clearly, she also felt uneasy.

I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down. At this point, panicking wouldn't help. I gripped my sword tightly and said in a low voice, "Let's figure out how to get out of here first."

However, just as we were about to set off, a strange rustling sound came from the thick fog, as if something was slowly approaching us...