Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 679 - 679 0435 Heading to the County Master

Chapter 679: Chapter 0435: Heading to the County Master Mansion_2 Chapter 679: Chapter 0435: Heading to the County Master Mansion_2 Gao Jinmei and Jin Jin picked up the plaque and ring to examine them, but they quickly put them down, shaking their heads. “Sorry, Master, we have never seen this kind of text before,” they said.

Qi Tian persisted, asking, “Think again. Also, look closely at the materials of the plaque and the ring. Can you identify them?”

Gao Jinmei and Jin Jin picked up the plaque and the ring again, this time spending a longer period on them, but unfortunately, they still couldn’t make anything out. Some things couldn’t be forced; if they didn’t know, they simply didn’t know.

Helplessly, Qi Tian could only put the plaque and the ring away for now.

As Jin Jin was watching Qi Tian’s actions, he wanted to say something but hesitated. Qi Tian noticed this and asked, “Jin, do you have something on your mind?”

Jin Jin said, “Master, I have an immature idea. We won’t get anything by blindly guessing here. Why don’t we go to Fan Tie’s County Master Mansion? Maybe we could unexpectedly discover something useful there.”

Gao Jinmei smirked, saying, “Have you lost your mind? Who among us doesn’t have one or multiple storage equipment? Any valuable item, don’t we all carry it with us?”

Gao Jinmei was right. Cultivators often encounter various unexpected situations. To prevent anything from getting lost when needed or being stolen when they are not at home, they generally keep all their belongings in their storage equipment. Sometimes if they come across something they can’t carry, it’s not that they don’t want to, but that their storage bag doesn’t have enough space.

This was true for not only Gao Jinmei and Jin Jin, but also for Qi Tian. In places like his Imperial Master Mansion or County Master Mansion in Lubei County, he hardly kept his valuables. His storage bags were numerous and large, so he generally carried all his belongings wherever he went.

“This is just a suggestion. What if Fan Tie is different from us and likes to hide his belongings everywhere instead of carrying them? If we go to his County Master Mansion, we might be able to find something. Of course, this is just a suggestion. Whether we go or not is up to the Master,” Jin Jin clarified.

Both Gao Jinmei and Jin Jin looked at Qi Tian, waiting for his decision.

Qi Tian pondered for a moment before lifting his head, saying, “Jin Jin has a point. It is indeed necessary for us to check out the County Master Mansion. Let’s go right away without delay.”

Gao Jinmei said, “Master, shouldn’t we wait a bit? It’s midnight now.”

Qi Tian replied, “The night is long and full of dreams. Suppose Jin Jin’s assumption is correct, and let’s assume a bit more, if Fan Tie left some measures at the County Master Mansion that would inform someone once he was in danger, who would then start to destroy or remove the treasures hidden there. If we go there tomorrow, wouldn’t it be a wasted trip? It’s better to go early than late. Let’s leave now.”

Qi Tian, together with Gao Jinmei and Jin Jin, left the courtyard directly. At this moment, the gate of Yanming Pass had already been closed. They didn’t leave through the gate, but flew directly into the sky, crossed the pass, and headed straight for the County City of Baoding Prefecture.

The prefecture town is hundreds of miles from Yanming Pass. This distance was nothing for Qi Tian and his two servants. In less than two hours, they flew into the town under the cover of stars and moonlight.

It was Qi Tian’s first time visiting the prefecture town of Baoding Prefecture. He did not know where the County Master Mansion was located. However, this was not a problem. After a short flight over the city, they spotted the resplendent County Master Mansion, which looked even more grand than the Prefecture Magistrate’s Mansion.

The Mansion Master of the County Master Mansion, Fan Tie, had died from self-detonation of his Sea of consciousness. His death, however, did not mean the Mansion was left unmanned. On the contrary, when he first took office, people were assigned to serve him by the National Master Manor, the Guardian National Master Manor, and the imperial court. Additionally, over the years as County Master, Fan Tie had taken several disciples. Therefore, the County Master Mansion was far from being understaffed.

Upon locating the County Master Mansion, Qi Tian almost cursed. What infuriated him was not that the Mansion was still being guarded, but that he witnessed a defensive barrier around the Mansion. Furthermore, the grade of this barrier was not low, ranking up to the level of the Four Symbols Array that Qi Tian had once used at the County Master Mansion.

Qi Tian had deployed the Four Symbols Array in the County Master Mansion due to a sense of insecurity. He felt he was always being targeted by someone and had to take precautions. Another reason was the existence of the Bloodline Pear Fruit, which led him to bear the high cost of deploying the Four Symbols Array.

The use of the Four Symbols Array was a significant expenditure. Even for the little courtyard at the County Master Mansion, which was just over a hundred square meters, it consumed over ten low-grade spirit stones each day. The area of the Mansion here was more than a thousand square meters. The consumption of the Four Symbols Array increased with the area, skyrocketing at a certain point. To maintain such a colossal array, the daily spirit stone consumption was definitely over three to four hundred low-grade spirit stones.

Qi Tian had paid out of his own pocket to use the Four Symbols Array in the County Master Mansion. However, the defensive barrier at the County Master Mansion did not seem to be the result of Fan Tie’s personal expenditure. Not long ago, Qi Tian had just looked through the storage bag left by Fan Tie. There were some spirit stones inside, but only two to three thousand low-grade spirit stones, which was not enough to support such heavy consumption by the Defensive Barrier at the County Master Mansion.

In other words, someone must be footing the bill for this defensive barrier. Besides Fan Tie himself, it seemed that the only ones who could afford such a huge expenditure were the imperial court or the royal family of the Great Zhao Nation.

Qi Tian suddenly understood why the cultivation resources in the entire Great Zhao Nation were so scarce. There may be some other reasons, but the defensive barrier at the County Master Mansion in Baoding Prefecture was definitely one of the culprits.

Seeing this defensive barrier, the last bit of pity Qi Tian had for Fan Tie’s death vanished. Fan Tie alone had occupied so many resources for cultivation in the Great Zhao Nation. If he didn’t die, who would?

“Master, even this small County Master Mansion has such a powerful defensive barrier. There must be treasures inside. I will break the array now. I assure you with my life that I will let you enter the Mansion before dawn.” Gao Jinmei volunteered courageously.

Jin Jin cast a look at Gao Jinmei as if looking at an idiot. If they waited until dawn, something might happen in the Mansion that they couldn’t control. They were almost sure there were guardians in the Mansion, otherwise such a hefty price would not be paid to protect it. Since Fan Tie had protected the Mansion so meticulously, there must be an agreement with the people inside. If they didn’t see Fan Tie or receive his message by dawn, they would definitely react. While they didn’t need to worry about them fleeing with treasures, they could easily destroy any valuable things.

But Jin Jin just stole a glance at Gao Jinmei, then quickly turned his gaze elsewhere. He did not have the courage to let her notice his unusual gaze. This woman had the capability to kill him instantly; he dared not provoke her.

Qi Tian did not agree to Gao Jinmei’s request. His worries were the same as Jin Jin’s, or even more so.