"Go on, you can do it." Chen Zhenlong encouraged with a restrained smile, stretching out his arms as Chen Linlin walked shakily toward him. "Just a few more steps. I know you can do it. There you go!"
Chen Zhenlong exclaimed proudly as he caught his daughter in his embrace.
Chen Linlin had made a huge stride by taking a hundred steps, which was thirty-four more than yesterday, a remarkable improvement.
A month had passed since the incident in Wu Zhen Yi's ruins.
After successfully detoxifying Chen Linlin's poison, the trio had continued their journey to Blood Moon Marsh.
Their goal was to search for the ruins of the Divine Moon Peak Empire in order to obtain the Glaze Blood, the last treasure they needed to restore Chen Linlin's soul realm.
Throughout the journey, Xue Hui guided the father-and-daughter duo through the process of rehabilitating Chen Linlin's body to restore her mobility.
Each day, once their strenuous trek came to an end, Xue Hui would massage Chen Linlin to help condition her muscles.
Due to being bedridden for such a long time, Chen Linlin had lost the ability to move her legs.
To help her walk again, both Xue Hui and Chen Zhenlong patiently assisted her throughout her rehabilitation.
As a result, in just a month, Chen Linlin had made tremendous progress, allowing her to stand on her own and walk, albeit a little unsteadily. Even so, it was a good start, and it wouldn't take long before she could move normally again.
Beaming with pride, Chen Linlin's gaze shifted to Xue Hui as she excitedly addressed him.
"Hui-Hui, you saw that, didn't you!? That's one hundred steps! You must be so impressed with my progress, right!?"
Hearing her boast, Xue Hui fondly rolled his eyes before walking toward her and taking a bottle of medicine from his interspatial ring.
"I'll be even more proud of you if you drink your medicine without making a funny face," Xue Hui teased as he handed the murky-looking concoction to her.
Looking at it, Chen Linlin's excitement immediately faded, her smug expression giving way to visible disgust.
Xue Hui wasn't surprised by her reaction. The medicine was indeed awful to the taste buds.
Too bad he couldn't do anything about it. The concoction required a precise mixture of medicinal herbs, so much so that the slightest alteration to its formula would result in failure.
Its name was Meridian Softening Medicine. As the name implied, it softened one's meridians, especially those that had become clogged through years of neglect.
The medicine would allow Chen Linlin's withered Soul Realm to become more pliable and easier to refine with the Glaze Blood when the time comes.
"Blergh!"
Gulping it down in one go, Chen Linlin's entire body shook as tears welled up in the corners of her eyes from the revolting taste.
Xue Hui, on the other hand, wore a wide grin as he nodded, taking the empty bottle from her hands.
"Very good. Now I'm truly impressed."
"I hate you!" she blurted out, her face turning green from the lingering taste.
"No, you don't," he replied with a laugh as he took out the map.
Unfurling it, Xue Hui studied the routes, estimating how long it would take to reach a safe point along each one.
Xue Hui had been navigating since the start of their journey.
And so far, aside from deliberately putting themselves in dangerous situations, Xue Hui's judgment had proven effective in keeping them away from grave threats.
"So," Chen Zhenlong spoke up as he stood beside him, carrying the little girl in his arms, "where are we heading next?"
Xue Hui tapped his chin thoughtfully before tracing a line across the map with his finger.
"We're here, and we're heading west. There's an abandoned shelter over there that was left behind by a Supreme Expert. I want it. I believe it will aid us throughout our journey." He then looked up to check the time of day. "If we leave now, we should arrive by noon. We'll spend the rest of the day there and leave the following morning," Xue Hui said decisively, passing the map to Chen Zhenlong so the man could examine it.
The plan sounded ideal. They had been pushing themselves relentlessly for the past few weeks, striving to reach every safe stop along the way.
This had led them to overwork themselves, often traveling for fifteen to twenty hours without rest.
So Chen Zhenlong had no objection at all. There was, however, one thing he wanted to ask about.
"What do you mean by an abandoned shelter left behind by a Supreme Expert? Like a Legend-rank expert? Is there any valuable treasure left behind there?" he inquired.
"Yes. It's well hidden, so I'm certain it has remained untouched," Xue Hui replied, looking very excited.
Chen Linlin, who had been listening, had her eyes sparkle at the thought of a Legend-rank treasure.
"That sounds amazing! What are we still doing here? We should head out now! Father, put me in the box!" she said enthusiastically.
Chen Zhenlong could only shake his head at his daughter's antics as he smiled softly.
The trio resumed their journey. They would occasionally stop to gather useful materials, making sure to store massive quantities of them in one of their many interspatial rings.
It didn't take long before they arrived at their destination.
It was a place surrounded by a vast rocky ravine stretching far and wide, its cliffs towering hundreds of feet high. Long rivers carved through the valley below, their waters glinting as they flowed between the massive stone walls.
Three small figures stood atop one of the cliffs, looking across the towering landscape.
"There it is!" Xue Hui said confidently, pointing toward a particular section of the ravine.
"What exactly am I supposed to be looking at?" Chen Zhenlong asked in confusion. To him, every part of the rock wall looked exactly the same.
"Lord Patriarch, that section of the wall is actually a hidden entrance. The entire shelter is concealed within the face of the cliff."
Xue Hui then jumped onto a protruding rock before hopping to another. He repeated the motion until he reached the spot he had been pointing at.
Chen Zhenlong followed him, and the two soon arrived at the location.
Chen Zhenlong knocked on the stone wall, finding nothing unusual about it. He then looked at Xue Hui questioningly. "Is this the entrance?"
Xue Hui nodded, "Lord Patriarch, this is indeed the entrance. Trust me," he then stepped a few paces away from it.
"It's not difficult to enter. All you need to do is suppress your spiritual energy so the inscription array blocking the entrance won't stop you."
As he explained, Xue Hui kicked off the ground and rushed toward the stone wall.
"Oh! and you definitely need to run while entering," he added before sinking through the wall.
The sight shocked Chen Zhenlong. He reached out to touch the wall, confirming that it remained solid.
Now left behind, he found himself in an awkward position. He wasn't exactly sure whether the entrance would actually let him through or if he would simply slam face-first into solid rock.
Then he heard distant howls. The sound was enough to make up his mind.
Walking to where Xue Hui had stood moments ago, Chen Zhenlong took a deep, shaky breath and completely suppressed his soul force, erasing every trace of aura from his body.
He exhaled sharply before sprinting forward.
Plop!
He felt a slight resistance, as though he had collided with a sheet of rubber. It was as if his body were sinking into a viscous substance.
A moment later, all resistance vanished, causing him to stumble forward. Fortunately, he managed to regain his balance before falling face-first onto the floor.
After regaining his composure, Chen Zhenlong's gaze swept across the surroundings.
Only then did he realize that what he had expected to see was nothing like the hidden chamber before him.
Instead of an old, desolate cave, the place resembled a luxurious chamber fit for royalty.
The room was remarkably spacious. It was filled with finely crafted furnishings. The floor was paved with jade tiles, while the walls were likewise lined with jade, each carved with intricate floral patterns. It was far too gaudy for Chen Zhenlong's taste, but after weeks of sleeping outdoors, the room felt like paradise.
Chen Zhenlong couldn't hide the satisfied expression spreading across his face as he examined some of the furniture.
Placing the Fuzhuang Box down so Chen Linlin could step out, the little girl's eyes widened in amazement, her mouth hanging open as her small feet touched the smooth jade tiles.
"Whoa! This place looks amazing! Are we really going to stay here? Oh oh! There's a huge bed! We can finally sleep properly!"
To say Chen Linlin was delighted would be an understatement. The little girl began taking awkward steps around the room, eagerly touching everything within reach.
"There's even a bath and a kitchen."
The sound of the hidden door opening drew their attention, and the two turned to see Xue Hui emerge.
He was holding a small jade tablet covered in runes and inscriptions.
"I-I can take a bath on my own now!" Chen Linlin quickly interjected, her face turning red with embarrassment as she remembered what had happened in the past.
"Of course you can. Just be careful not to slip, alright?" Xue Hui chuckled.
He walked toward the entrance and placed the jade tablet against the wall.
As he did, the entire chamber shook. Intricate inscription patterns spread across the walls, emitting a soft glow before gradually fading away.
"What was that for, Xiao Hui?" Chen Zhenlong asked, his hands resting protectively on Chen Linlin's shoulders.
"Oh, nothing much. I just changed the ownership of this place to myself."
His answer left the father and daughter staring at him dumbfoundedly.
"This entire shelter is actually a Legend-rank treasure called the Sacred Jade Room. It was created during the Sacred Empire Era and gifted to the royal family by a mysterious expert."
The two's eyes widened. It had never occurred to them that the treasure they were searching for was actually the chamber itself.
"This entire structure can be shrunk and carried by its owner, making it an incredibly convenient treasure for traveling."
Xue Hui gestured with his hands, mimicking something shrinking.
"That means..." He smiled broadly.
"We won't have to sleep out in the open anymore. I can simply take out the Sacred Jade Room and use its burrowing ability to hide it from the eyes of demon beasts."
Chen Zhenlong and Chen Linlin's eyes lit up with delight, realizing that their days of sleeping outdoors had finally come to an end.
Xue Hui chuckled as he saw the joyful expressions on their faces.
"Linlin, Lord Patriarch, you two go freshen up. I'll start preparing the meal."
The two nodded. As Xue Hui headed toward the kitchen to prepare their food, the father and daughter made their way to the bath.
It had been a long time since the three of them had enjoyed a proper meal.
'Today's harvest was excellent.' Xue Hui exclaimed in his mind.
End of Chapter 21