"Wow, there really are traps here, we almost missed these!"
Nalan Yanran's eyes widened in surprise as she looked at the treasures inside the stone sarcophagus.
"Fortunately, we intended to retrieve the remains of this senior; otherwise, we might have missed these genuine treasures."
Xiao Yi Xian also patted her chest in relief, clearly relieved.
"As I always say, when treasure hunting, safety comes first and thorough searching is crucial. If you were only focused on visible treasures, you would have missed the real ones. Let's see what's inside this stone sarcophagus."
Gu Changqing lectured them earnestly before leading them to examine the treasures within the sarcophagus.
"There's a letter, a spatial ring, a jade box, two scrolls, and a long sword. This senior's collection is quite impressive."
Xiao Yi Xian counted the items inside the sarcophagus and remarked with awe.
"This sword seems quite good. I'll take it."
Gu Changqing extended his hand, and the brownish-yellow long sword flew from the sarcophagus into his grasp.
Clang——
Gu Changqing lightly tapped the sword's blade, which produced a deep and melodious sword hum.
"Flowing Sand Sword, what a good name."
Gu Changqing praised the long sword in his hand, clearly satisfied. The sword's material was a type of earth attribute forging treasure, which had a strong enhancement effect for fighters specializing in earth attributes. It was clear that this fallen Dou Wang expert was an earth attribute cultivator.
Given Gu Changqing's unique Dou Qi, he was also able to wield this sword.
"You little rascal, your telekinetic abilities are amazing. Is it a power of the soul?"
Nalan Yanran blinked her beautiful eyes, watching with curiosity as the brownish-yellow sword floated into Gu Changqing's hand.
This was the second time she had seen Gu Changqing's telekinetic skills—the first was when he had retrieved a small scroll earlier. Now, even a sword was effortlessly pulled towards him with a simple gesture.
Such feats were not something ordinary strong practitioners could achieve; at the very least, it required a Dou King or even a Dou Emperor to manipulate external forces with their Dou Qi. Given Gu Changqing's young age, it seemed implausible that he could be at such a level.
The only explanation was that this little rascal had an exceptionally strong soul power, allowing him to influence the external world.
"It's somewhat like soul power. It's called Divine Sense. It lets you perceive all things in the world. I'll teach you about it later."
Gu Changqing smiled and explained. Divine Sense usually required a cultivator in the Foundation Establishment stage to develop, and it allowed for sword flight. However, given Gu Changqing's unique nature, it was not unusual for him to have Divine Sense even in the Qi Refining stage.
"Then I'll remember that."
Nalan Yanran didn't hold back this time. After all, this little rascal had already taken her first kiss, so learning a skill or two from him was no big deal.
"Enough with the flirting. Come over here and look at this senior's letter."
At this moment, Xiao Yi Xian had picked up the Dou King expert's letter and waved it toward Gu Changqing and Nalan Yanran.
Nalan Yanran quickly moved closer and began to read the letter aloud with Xiao Yi Xian.
"My name is He Qianqiu, born into the He family of the Luoyan Empire. In my youth, I fell in love with a woman who did not reciprocate. In my anger, I left home, vowing not to return to the Luoyan Empire until I reached the Dou Emperor stage. However, my talent is mediocre, and after years of wandering and traveling millions of miles, I barely reached the Dou King stage, with no hope of reaching Dou Emperor."
"I am aware of my limited talent and my unlikelihood of breaking through to Dou Emperor in this lifetime. I could only pin my hopes on a treasure map and a pill to improve my aptitude. Fortunately, I discovered a mysterious prescription in an ancient secret realm that could help improve one's aptitude, though it could only be used once in a lifetime and required rare heavenly materials, making the refining conditions very demanding."
"I was overjoyed and spent all my life's savings, traveling far and wide to collect the materials needed to refine the Soul Sea Seed Pill. I was only missing one heavenly material."
"At that time, I learned that a treasure map for a heavenly material would be auctioned at the Northwest Continent's sect trading conference. I borrowed all my friends' life savings to bid for the treasure map, but the map had been divided into several parts. In the end, I exhausted all my resources to secure just one part of the map, which led to my demise."
The letter detailed He Qianqiu's life experiences, focusing on the mysterious pill recipe that could improve one's aptitude and the treasure map for the heavenly material that led to his downfall.
In the final part of the letter, He Qianqiu asked his inheritors to find his old friends or their descendants to settle his debts and, if possible, take care of the He family in the Luoyan Empire. As for the woman he loved, she had long married and lived a happy life with many descendants. He had long come to terms with it, leaving behind regrets and urging his descendants to cherish time and the present, so they would not end up like him—alone and unable to return home.
Regarding his enemies, he made no mention, perhaps because they were too powerful or because he had come to terms with everything before his death.
Overall, the letter revealed that this Dou King expert was a broad-minded and enlightened person in life.
"This senior was also a pitiable figure—unfulfilled in love, wandering, and in the end, dying alone. If we hadn't come here, perhaps no one would have even collected his remains."
After reading the letter, Nalan Yanran remarked with a sigh.
"Let's give this senior a proper burial."
Xiao Yi Xian, reminded of her own past where she was once part of a happy family but became a disaster star, also felt moved. She had become a wanderer due to her condition, and perhaps one day, she might become a solitary figure too.
"Let's sort out the treasures first. There's no need to dwell too much on the past."
Gu Changqing, who had lived for countless years, was indifferent to death and the past. He focused only on living his own life, not concerned with others' lives, unless it was his own loved ones.
"You heartless fellow!"
Nalan Yanran shot Gu Changqing a glare but felt her melancholy dissipate, redirecting her focus back to the treasures.
Xiao Yi Xian also gave Gu Changqing a reproachful look before setting the letter aside.