The ancient burial chamber had long returned to silence.
Gu Qing's body had already been reduced to ashes beneath the blazing Solar Flames, leaving behind nothing that could identify her existence. Even the lingering aura within the hall had gradually dispersed, allowing the solemn atmosphere accumulated over countless generations to once again dominate the chamber.
Lin Sheng remained where he stood.
Unlike Gu Qing, who had searched the burial chamber guided by instinct, he possessed no vague sense of familiarity. Everything before him appeared ordinary, which meant there was only one method left.
Search everything.
His Mental Perception slowly spread outward, no longer rushing across the surroundings but instead examining every inch of the burial chamber with painstaking precision. Every fluctuation of Spiritual Qi, every weathered carving upon the walls and every hidden restriction Gu Qing had dismantled was recorded by Crystal before being reconstructed inside its ever-expanding database.
Hours quietly passed.
Lin Sheng walked through the burial chamber several times without missing a single corner. Occasionally, he would stop before an ancestral tablet to inspect its material before moving on, while at other times he would crouch beside the stone floor, studying tiny cracks that had formed naturally through countless years.
Nothing.
There were no hidden mechanisms.
No concealed compartments.
No forgotten jade slips.
Even the restrictions Gu Qing had painstakingly dismantled merely protected ordinary ancestral records.
Had another cultivator been present, they would've likely concluded that the Qian Ancestor had never left behind any clues.
Lin Sheng reached no such conclusion.
Instead, he quietly looked upward.
The ceiling.
It was the only place he had yet to examine thoroughly.
Ancient stone stretched across the entire burial chamber, supported by massive pillars carved from spirit jade. Time had worn smooth much of its surface, while naturally formed rock protrusions hung downward in irregular clusters.
At first glance...
They appeared completely ordinary.
Lin Sheng had overlooked them several times already.
Crystal, however, had not.
A faint projection quietly appeared before his vision.
•[Environmental reconstruction complete.
Beginning structural comparison...]•
Within moments, an almost perfect three-dimensional model of the burial chamber emerged inside Crystal's analysis interface. Every wall, pillar and ancestral tablet appeared exactly where it should, down to the smallest imperfections.
Thousands of lines of light rapidly flowed across the projection.
One by one...
The downward-pointing rock formations separated themselves from the surrounding ceiling.
Lin Sheng narrowed his eyes.
"So that's what caught your attention."
Crystal continued its calculations without pause.
•[Detected structural anomaly.
Probability of naturally distributed protrusions: 3.9%
Commencing geometric inversion...]•
The suspended rock formations slowly rotated.
Their orientation reversed.
The downward-pointing projections gradually stood upright.
Then...
The simulation froze.
Lin Sheng's pupils contracted ever so slightly.
What moments earlier had appeared to be nothing more than random stone formations had completely transformed after the inversion.
Five islands.
Not mountains.
Not rocks.
Five islands viewed from above.
The largest occupied the centre while four smaller islands surrounded it from different directions. Their positions weren't symmetrical, yet neither were they random. Instead, they formed an unmistakable pattern that resembled a miniature archipelago.
Lin Sheng remained silent for several breaths.
No cultivator would've ever associated the ceiling's natural protrusions with islands.
Yet once Crystal had inverted the projection...
The resemblance became impossible to ignore.
He quietly studied the reconstructed image while Crystal continued its analysis.
Countless maps previously purchased throughout the Southern Archipelagos rapidly appeared before his vision. Island after island emerged within the projection before being compared against the newly reconstructed archipelago.
The process continued for several minutes.
Eventually...
Crystal produced its conclusion.
•[No exact geographical correspondence found within current database.
Probability of symbolic island representation: 92.6%]•
Lin Sheng frowned slightly.
"No match..."
That wasn't entirely unexpected.
The maps within Crystal's database consisted primarily of those he had purchased after arriving in the Southern Archipelagos. Although comprehensive, they couldn't possibly record every insignificant island scattered throughout the endless sea.
Crystal seemed to reach another conclusion almost immediately.
•[Recommendation.
Cross-reference with environmental data personally collected during Southern Archipelagos voyage...]•
Another layer of information was instantly added.
Unlike ordinary maps, this information came directly from Crystal's observations during their month-long journey aboard the flying ship. Coastlines, island contours and countless geographical features personally recorded along the route rapidly merged into the comparison.
The projected islands subtly shifted.
Their relative spacing changed.
Several coastlines became clearer.
Lin Sheng's eyes gradually brightened.
"I see..."
"The new field data allowed the reconstruction to become more accurate."
Had Crystal relied solely upon purchased maps, it would've never recognised that the protrusions represented islands at all.
Only after personally observing the geography of the Southern Archipelagos did it possess sufficient reference material to identify the hidden pattern concealed within the burial chamber.
Even then...
No exact match existed.
Lin Sheng lowered his gaze thoughtfully.
"There are only two possibilities."
"The first..."
"...this clue has already lost its meaning."
He immediately dismissed the thought.
The Qian Ancestor had gone to extraordinary lengths to conceal this information. It made little sense for him to leave behind a meaningless arrangement of islands.
Which left only the second possibility.
The surrounding landscape...
Had changed.
Whether because of ancient battles, shifting seas or the passage of countless years, the archipelago represented by the ceiling no longer resembled the one recorded upon modern maps.
That didn't render the clue useless.
It simply meant that finding it would require far more than comparing purchased charts.
Lin Sheng allowed himself a faint smile.
At last...
He possessed a genuine direction.
Although the destination remained hidden beneath the endless sea, he no longer wandered without purpose.
The Qian Ancestor hadn't left behind words.
Nor had he left behind coordinates.
Instead...
He had hidden an entire map in plain sight, waiting for someone capable of seeing beyond the ordinary.
-------
Three days later...
A medium-sized flying vessel slowly descended through layers of drifting clouds before arriving above one of the major ports of the Southern Archipelagos. From high above, the endless azure sea stretched as far as the eye could see, while countless islands of various sizes dotted the waters like scattered stars.
Lin Sheng quietly stepped off the vessel.
The familiar salty breeze immediately greeted him, carrying with it the cries of seabirds and the distant sounds of merchants negotiating over spirit materials. Compared to Jade Haven City, the atmosphere here was considerably more lively. Cultivators wearing robes from different sects could be seen everywhere, alongside rogue cultivators, merchants and even ordinary fishermen whose families had lived upon these islands for generations.
Looking across the bustling harbour, Lin Sheng couldn't help recalling the projection Crystal had reconstructed within the Qian Family's burial chamber.
Five islands.
One central island surrounded by four smaller ones.
No matter how many times Crystal compared the reconstructed image against its database, the result remained unchanged.
There was no match.
That conclusion, however, failed to discourage Lin Sheng.
On the contrary...
It only strengthened his belief that the Qian Ancestor had intentionally hidden his trail.
An inheritance left behind by someone capable of establishing such an elaborate secret naturally wouldn't reveal itself through a simple comparison with modern maps.
As he slowly walked through the harbour, Crystal quietly displayed its latest analysis.
•[Current database comparison complete.
No geographical match detected.
Probability of coastline alteration due to geological changes over several centuries: 63.8%
Probability of island destruction or submergence caused by ancient battles: 24.5%
Recommendation: Expand database through long-term regional investigation]•
Lin Sheng nodded inwardly.
The Southern Archipelagos contained countless islands, many of which remained unnamed even today. Storms, earthquakes, volcanic activity and battles between high-ranking cultivators frequently altered the landscape, occasionally causing entire islands to disappear beneath the sea while new ones emerged elsewhere.
Searching such a place would undoubtedly require time.
Fortunately...
Time was something he possessed.
The clue already existed.
As long as he continued expanding Crystal's database while cross-referencing older maps, eventually the hidden archipelago would reveal itself.
There was, however, another matter that demanded his immediate attention.
The Rank Four serpent.
Although severely injured by the heavenly tribulation and the subsequent battle with Gu Qing's master, Lin Sheng refused to underestimate a beast capable of surviving such a catastrophe.
An injured Rank Four Yao Beast remained a Rank Four Yao Beast.
If he intended to kill it...
Every possible advantage had to be prepared beforehand.
His thoughts gradually settled upon the Magnetic Thunder Orb.
The treasure had already proven its worth against Purple Palace cultivators, but after analysing the battle with Gu Qing's master, Crystal had concluded that its current destructive power remained insufficient against the serpent's monstrous physique.
It required another refinement.
Thankfully...
The island he had just arrived upon specialised in precisely that.
Ridge Sea Island.
Unlike Jade Sea Island, whose prosperity originated from Sea Jade mining, Ridge Sea Island possessed numerous spirit ore veins beneath its mountains. Refiners, blacksmiths and Formation Masters gathered here throughout the year, making it one of the Thirty-Six Main Islands recognised throughout the Southern Archipelagos.
Every day, countless cultivators arrived seeking rare refining materials.
Every day, countless fortunes changed hands.
Lin Sheng blended naturally into the flow of people entering the island's commercial district. Shops lined both sides of the broad streets, each displaying dazzling spiritual treasures that emitted faint fluctuations of Spiritual Qi.
Flying swords.
Protective robes.
Formation flags.
Spirit beast eggs.
Rare medicinal herbs freshly harvested from the surrounding seas.
Almost anything a cultivator could require could be found somewhere upon Ridge Sea Island.
After walking for nearly half an hour, Lin Sheng finally stopped before an enormous seven-storey pavilion constructed entirely from deep-blue spiritual wood. Countless runes had been carved throughout its structure, causing the building itself to emit a faint treasure light visible even during daylight.
Above its entrance hung a magnificent golden plaque.
Lingbao Pavilion.
Among cultivators throughout the Southern Archipelagos, very few had never heard of its reputation.
Whether purchasing magical treasures, refining materials, rare ores, defensive armour or even complete weapon blueprints, Lingbao Pavilion remained one of the largest commercial organisations operating across the endless sea.
As Lin Sheng stepped through its entrance, the bustling sounds of the street immediately faded behind him.
Inside, dozens of cultivators quietly browsed rows upon rows of displayed treasures while elegantly dressed attendants moved calmly between them, patiently introducing different items without the slightest trace of impatience.
A young female attendant quickly approached after noticing Lin Sheng enter.
She offered a respectful bow before smiling warmly.
"Welcome to Lingbao Pavilion, Senior."
"May I ask what kind of treasure or material you're looking for today?"
Lin Sheng's gaze slowly swept across the first floor.
His voice remained calm.
"I'm looking for high-quality Rank Three refining materials."
"Preferably..."
"...lightning-attributed metals."