Chapter 144. The treasure. [2]
The two men advanced through the treasury at a very slow pace, carefully inspecting every step they took.
Neither of them dared to move carelessly, afraid of triggering hidden mechanisms or defensive formations.
Although the Lin Family had only recently been promoted to a Rank Eight clan, its reputation had already spread throughout the region.
Their family possessed an astonishing supply of pure-quality pills, making its treasury an irresistible target for countless cultivators.
A fortune capable of attracting such attention would naturally be protected by formidable defenses.
Neither thief believed the treasury could possibly be left unguarded.
After advancing several more steps, the man in front suddenly raised a hand, signaling his companion to stop.
The other man immediately froze in place.
Without making a sound, the leading man pointed toward the floor beneath his companion’s foot.
The second man lowered his gaze.
Barely visible beneath the layer of polished stone was an intricate network of formation lines.
The leading man leaned closer and whispered,"Don’t move. You’re standing on a trigger. If you lift your foot now, it’ll activate the formation."
The second man’s expression stiffened.
A thin layer of cold sweat formed on his forehead as he slowly shifted his gaze toward the formation beneath his foot.
The leading man remained calm.
"Stay exactly where you are."
He reached into his storage pouch and retrieved a small jade plate no larger than the palm of his hand.
The surface of the plate was engraved in runes and emitted a faint spiritual glow.
Without making any excessive moves, he crouched beside the formation and gently placed the jade plate onto one of its formation nodes.
A soft hum echoed through the treasury and then the glowing formation lines gradually dimmed before falling completely silent.
Only then did the leading man nod.
"It’s been temporarily suppressed."
The second man carefully lifted his foot.
After seeing that the formation had not been activated, he finally let out a long sigh of relief.
"As expected of you. You always come prepared."
He could not help but praise his companion.
The leading man simply smiled as he returned the jade plate to his storage pouch.
"Let’s be even more careful from here on. I don’t want to die in a place like this."
The two resumed their search, moving through the treasury with even greater caution than before.
After the time it took an incense stick to burn, they finally stopped before a glass display case.
The man carrying the storage pouch stared at the object sealed within and frowned.
Resting inside the case was nothing more than an ordinary-looking gray stone.
"Do you have any idea why this item is worth a billion spirit stones?"
The other man, who had nearly triggered the formation earlier, merely shrugged.
"Beats me."
He folded his arms and glanced toward his companion.
"But all we have to do is bring it back and collect our reward. Let’s hurry up and leave."
His eyes were already fixed on the storage pouch, waiting to see what method his companion would use to retrieve the treasure.
Meanwhile, Lin Xuan, who had been watching everything from the very beginning, quietly frowned.
A few hours earlier, after having received the system’s quest, he had immediately rushed to the treasury and searched through every treasure the Lin Family possessed.
He inspected them one by one with the system’s help but nothing really stood out.
Even with the system’s appraisal function, every treasure yielded ordinary information.
No matter how many times he searched, he could not determine which item the Qin Family coveted so desperately.
After exhausting every possibility, he had nearly given up.
Then a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
Wait... The system said the item should be found before sunrise.
That means the thieves already know what they’re looking for. Instead of blindly searching myself, why not simply wait for them to reveal the answer?
The idea had barely formed when a faint creak echoed through the silent treasury.
Without hesitation, he immediately withdrew his aura, concealed his spiritual fluctuations, and hid himself completely within the shadows.
His gaze immediately shifted toward the entrance but to his surprise, he saw nothing.
The doorway appeared completely empty.
The concealment technique was remarkably effective, hiding not only their appearances but even their auras from spiritual perception.
Had he still been in the Golden Core Realm, he might have been deceived.
However, he was no longer a Golden Core cultivator.
His spiritual sense swept across the treasury once more.
This time, he ignored the physical world altogether.
Instead, his perception reached directly toward the souls of every living being within the room.
Three distinct souls instantly appeared in his senses.
Although their bodies remained invisible, their souls shone as clearly as torches before the perception of a Nascent Soul cultivator.
All of them belonged to Peak Tenth Layer Golden Core cultivators.
After confirming that none of them posed an immediate threat, Lin Xuan chose not to reveal himself.
Instead, he silently observed their every movement, and his patience was soon rewarded.
After searching through the treasury, the infiltrators finally stopped before a single glass display case and had begun planning to take it.
Lin Xuan’s gaze followed theirs and settled upon the item inside.
"...That’s what they’re after?"
He had already inspected all the items within the treasury.
Among them, this stone had struck him as the most peculiar simply because it seemed so ordinary.
He had even used the system to appraise it.
[Item: Asteroid Stone.]
[Description: A rare material used in the construction of flying boats.]
Flying boats were indeed uncommon treasures.
However, the value of the material before him simply did not make sense.
A bounty of one billion spirit stones...
That amount was enough to purchase an entire spirit boat.
Why would anyone offer such an outrageous price for nothing more than a single Asteroid Stone?
Curious, Lin Xuan stepped out from behind the rows of shelves and asked in a calm voice.
"Which family is willing to pay a billion spirit stones for that stone?"
Without turning around, the man with the storage pouch answered casually,
"The Qin Family, of course."
He let out a puzzled chuckle.
"What do you mean, which family?"
The words had barely left his mouth when both men froze.
Their expressions stiffened as they realised that wasn’t a woman’s voice.