Lisha Suburbs.
Nolan forgave Hu Tao for her earlier offense… Well, after all, who could stay mad at such a cute girl?
He really didn't have much resistance when it came to girls like her.
The group used their elemental powers to clean up the corpses of the nearby monsters and then headed toward the location where Yun Jin mentioned finding a treasure chest.
It was hidden behind a rock.
The chest was a "Precious Chest," though it was unclear where the Hilichurls had found it.
Aside from the treasure chest, there seemed to be a variety of agricultural goods like vegetables and fruits.
It made sense since Hilichurls tended to prefer food when looting.
Other items didn't hold much value for them, given their limited intelligence.
For example, next to the crates of crops was a torn backpack, its contents scattered—a pile of books.
Perhaps the Hilichurls, realizing the books weren't food, simply tossed them aside.
Curious, Nolan picked up one of the books and looked at the cover. The large characters written with a calligraphy brush seemed to read:
S.a. G. e. r?
Hmm, there were more words after that, but due to the book's age, they were too faded to make out.
"…"
Nolan stared at it silently, deep in thought.
As his power grew, he found that recalling certain things became easier and easier.
He seemed to remember that, in the story, when Ningguang was rebuilding the Jade Chamber, they needed a special Mingxia Floating Stone, and the Traveler had found it in the domain of a certain Sea Gazer.
It was said that his domain contained vast treasures, enough for adventurers to call it the Great Treasure Trove!
If Nolan could find it, perhaps he could achieve financial freedom! Such a tempting thought.
With that in mind, Nolan opened the book out of curiosity.
The characters inside were handwritten, but the ink used wasn't great, so the text was barely legible.
"Grrr!"
Just as Nolan was a few pages in, Hu Tao's voice suddenly came from behind him.
His expression remained unchanged.
Hu Tao stared at his face for a while before dropping her shoulders in disappointment.
"How come you didn't get scared at all?"
She had used her spirit form technique to silently approach Nolan, passing through objects so he wouldn't notice her.
"Because I was concentrating on the book and automatically ignored your voice," Nolan smiled.
"Nonsense, people are more likely to be startled when they're focused!"
Hu Tao put her hands on her hips, full of disbelief.
"Haha, or maybe it's because you're just not strong enough to scare me," Nolan teased, continuing to read.
By now, he had a rough understanding of the book's contents.
It was a biography of Sea Gazer, likely written by a common person, as many of the stories used uncertain terms.
It mentioned that the Adeptus had once crafted a special domain to store rare treasures, but there were no specifics on its location.
Of course, that made sense—if there were specifics, the place would've been looted long ago.
It seemed that this book didn't hold much valuable information.
In the original storyline, it was Xingqiu who deduced from some obscure records that the domain might be located in Lisha Suburbs, but no one knew the exact spot.
And at this point in time, Ningguang hadn't yet started the Jade Chamber reconstruction, so Xingqiu probably hadn't come across those old records yet.
Even if he were to ask Xingqiu now, it would likely lead to nothing.
Finding the treasure-filled domain of Sea Gazer might be a bit troublesome.
"What are you reading?"
Hu Tao suddenly snatched the book Nolan was reading, flipping through it with a puzzled expression.
Nolan sighed and gave her a helpless glance, letting her do as she pleased.
After all, the rest of the content was just more praise for Sea Gazer, nothing particularly useful.
At that moment, Yun Jin and Shenhe had finished sorting through the treasure chest's contents. They found two Primogems and, knowing that Nolan liked them, gave them to him.
He happily pocketed 6,000 more Adventure EXP.
"Sea... Gazer… Hu Tao, what are you reading?" Yun Jin glanced over at the book Hu Tao was holding, curious.
"It's a book about an Adeptus, and it mentions some sort of domain full of treasures here in Lisha Suburbs. Who knows if it's real or not."
Hu Tao wasn't reading from the beginning; she was skimming the page Nolan had been on.
"Sea Gazer.. Adeptus… Shenhe, since you're a disciple of the Adepti, do you know anything about this particular one?" Yun Jin pondered for a moment, then turned to Shenhe for insight.
Shenhe nodded, then pondered for a moment:
"Sea Gazer was a close friend of Adeptus Mountain Shaper. To my knowledge, he has already passed away.
If there is indeed an Adeptus' domain nearby, I can use Adepti arts to sense the immortal energy within and locate it."
"Ah, passed away? If the Adeptus has already departed, wouldn't barging into his domain be a bit disrespectful?" Hu Tao closed the book and fiddled with a strand of hair by her face.
"It wouldn't be. Sea Gazer was known for his generosity. If we are fated to find his domain and take one or two treasures as needed, I don't think he'd mind," Shenhe explained.
"Alright then, let's head toward the village. On the way, while completing our commissions, Shenhe, you can try to sense if there's any immortal energy around."
Nolan was surprised Shenhe had such a method. If they spent some time wandering around the Lisha Suburbs, they were bound to find the domain.
How fortunate!
"Mm." Shenhe nodded in agreement.
The group then continued flying toward their destination. As for the large amount of goods at the site, they'd have to inform the Adventurer's Guild to notify the owners later. After all, they couldn't carry all of it.
Not long after, they spotted a forest below.
The trees were tall, likely grown for export to other nations, making them quite valuable.
Their task here was to clear out the invading Slimes, which weren't particularly strong. The group completed the task in under ten minutes.
After finishing the second commission, they set off again. As they neared the village, they descended by a river.
Their final commission was to clear the monsters that had invaded the river and disrupted the ecosystem.
"Hmm, it looks pretty ordinary here. How do we find those water serpent monsters?" Hu Tao crossed her arms, resting them below her modest chest.
"Leave that to me."
Nolan extended his invisible spiritual power into the water to investigate. It didn't take long for him to locate the water serpents in this stretch of the river.
They were around levels 20 to 30.
Silently, he released transparent threads near the monsters, wrapping around their heads. With a slight force, he crushed them to dust.
[Defeated 5 Powerful Enemies. Obtained 1,102 Adventure EXP.]
Watching the faint traces of blood surface on the river, Nolan nodded to the others and said, "Let's go. All the commissions are done. The village ahead should be the one Shenhe lived in as a child."
The village seemed long abandoned. Its wooden houses had deteriorated over the years, rotting from exposure to the elements.
There were hardly any intact buildings.
Many had collapsed roofs, while doors and windows had fallen off and gradually decayed on the ground.
"Several years ago, I returned here secretly without my master's knowledge. Back then, there were still a few people around, but now it's completely deserted."
Shenhe walked into the village with the others, gazing at the desolate scene with a hint of sadness in her eyes.
"Shenhe…" Yun Jin could sense the emotion in her voice.
"It doesn't look like this place was attacked by monsters. It seems more like it was gradually abandoned. If we search the village, we might find some clues." Nolan mused aloud.
Not long after he spoke, the group noticed a wooden sign standing by the roadside, weathered but still upright after years of rain and wind.
"It looks like some sort of bulletin board. Let's take a look," Hu Tao said before jogging over to it.
Nolan and the others followed closely behind.
"Village Relocation Records?"
Hu Tao read the contents of the sign aloud.
"It says the villagers gradually moved away from here. Apparently, one villager used a secret method to summon a god to save his wife, but instead, he summoned a demon born from the remnants of a dead god. The other villagers, fearing for their safety, slowly left the area."
Yun Jin summarized what was written.
"So, that villager must have been…" She glanced at Shenhe, speculating.
"Yes, it was likely my father."
Shenhe's expression remained calm as she nodded. She bore no great resentment toward her father and had no reservations about speaking of him.
"So, when you were a child in that cave, you were actually fighting against the demonic remnants of a god's remains? Incredible!" Nolan almost gasped in awe. No wonder Shenhe was regarded as the most talented human in Adepti arts by the immortals.
She had been extraordinary since childhood.
"I… I don't know how to describe what I felt at the time. Maybe it was the influence of my 'Solitude and Disaster' fate. I was… quite fierce back then."
A rare blush appeared on Shenhe's usually pale face as she spoke, slightly embarrassed.
It seemed she wasn't sure how to respond to Nolan's… praise?
"Fierce? You seem so gentle most of the time, Shenhe. Now I'm really curious to see what you're like when you get fierce," Nolan teased with a smile.
Yun Jin and Hu Tao nodded in agreement. With Shenhe's ethereal demeanor, even more divine than the adeptis, it was hard to imagine her being anything but gentle.
"Please, don't be curious. I don't want to show that side of myself to my friends," Shenhe said, shaking her head. Though her voice was as cold and serene as always, there was a subtle warmth in her tone.
Perhaps her heart had softened.
[Shenhe Has Developed Good Feelings Towards You, Obtained 230 Affection Points. Current Affection Level: Lv.5 (130/500)]
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(End of Chapter)
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