The Blade-Wielding Legend
Chapter 56 Heavenly Thunder, Earth Gold

Chapter 56: Chapter 56 Heavenly Thunder, Earth Gold

"Heh heh, we’re rich..."

Sha Lifei was drenched in sweat, carrying a box with a goofy grin on his face.

Li Yan turned his head helplessly and said, "Uncle Sha, we can bury the box here and take it back on our way home, why waste this energy?"

The box wasn’t large, but it was filled with high-quality gold bars, heavy enough to make even Sha Lifei struggle a bit.

"No way!"

As soon as Sha Lifei heard, his eyes widened, "Old Sha has never seen so much money in his life, what if something goes wrong and it’s lost?"

"I’m going to hug it while I sleep from now on; no one can stop me!"

"Alright, alright..."

Li Yan and Wang Daoxuan exchanged a smile.

No one had expected that going up the mountain tonight would yield such gains.

Even if it was split four ways, they would have enough money to build a tower.

An unexpected fortune like this was unstoppable.

Of course, retrieving the Thunderstruck Jujube Wood was still the main task.

Knowing that the bandits’ stronghold had been destroyed made everyone much more at ease, and they continued forward on the mountain path, heading towards Leopard Gully in the western mountain.

Along the way, they were not without threats from wild animals.

The power of the Three Talents Demon Suppression Coin was demonstrated now, as Li Yan merely slightly activated it, causing the wolf pack hidden in the dark forest to retreat in fear.

He took a furtive glance at Zhao Lvzi and found that the latter was not surprised.

Li Yan understood that the Hidden Treasure Men of the Mountain Rushing Lineage frequently traveled through mountains and forests, surely knowing spells to avoid beasts.

For instance, there was not a hint of scent on this fellow, and it was unclear how he managed that. If they weren’t traveling together, it was likely the wolves wouldn’t discover his presence.

An hour later, they finally arrived at Leopard Gully.

"I can’t carry it anymore."

Sha Lifei, long exhausted and drenched in sweat, plopped down on the ground, still hugging the box.

"Shh!"

Zhao Lvzi quickly made a silence gesture, then crouched down, motioning for everyone to follow.

They climbed up a mountain ridge behind him, peering through the underbrush into the distance. A bizarre scene unfolded before their eyes.

Leopard Gully was not large, sparsely populated, with dense woods and waist-high wild grass. From the outside, it appeared there were no paths.

At this moment, under the moonlight, a faint streak of light shimmered in the center of the forest, not bright, flickering like lightning.

Li Yan, having witnessed it once, knew that a Heavenly Spirit Earth Treasure would surely display phenomena, though not visible to the ordinary eye, and without the means to retrieve it, seizing it forcibly would disperse the good fortune.

Of course, his Daluo Dharma Body was an exception.

He only needed to make contact to plunder the good fortune.

But the thing was to be made into a Magic Artifact, so care must be taken.

Following Zhao Lvzi’s gestures, they cautiously retreated, and Li Yan inquired, "Brother Zhao, how should we obtain this treasure?"

Every type of Heavenly Spirit Earth Treasure had a specific way to restrain it.

The trouble was, there were numerous types of Heavenly Spirit Earth Treasures, and even the same treasure ginseng, due to different growth areas and Five Elements transformation, had different restraining elements.

Knowledge, experience, spells, none could be lacking.

This was the foundation on which the legacy of the Hidden Treasure Men was built.

"It’s quite simple."

Zhao Lvzi, naturally not very talkative and cautious of others along the way, was now completely convinced by Li Yan’s pleasant conversation and willingness to share the gold they found, holding no more reservations, explained the key points.

"Thunderstruck Jujube Wood belongs to the Wood element of the Five Elements and requires Metal to restrain it. But if someone only sees this part, then they’re denied the treasure; even if found, it’s no different from ordinary Thunderstruck Wood."

Wang Daoxuan glanced at the sky, his eyes flashing with brilliance, "And there’s the Heavenly Thunder!"

"Exactly!"

Zhao Lvzi nodded, "This thing’s reason for being a Heavenly Spirit Earth Treasure lies in the words ’Heavenly Spirit.’"

"Heavenly Thunder governs the natural order, drives the four seasons, brings forth all things, controls calamities, eradicates demonic gods, sweeps away plagues, and captures all hard-to-cure infestations."

"Whether it has the ’Gang’ of Heavenly Thunder makes a world of difference!"

"So, the treasure is of the Heavenly Wood, needing Earth Gold to restrain it to extract the complete treasure."

Li Yan praised, "I’ve truly gained knowledge. So, what is this Earth Gold?"

Zhao Lvzi glanced towards the direction of the Thunderstruck Jujube Wood and said quietly, "Generally speaking, Earth Gold has two types. One is the same Heavenly Spirit Earth Treasure, needing gold, silver, and copper treasures born from underground veins, called Spring Jade Spring, Young Bundle, and Thunderous Urgency, which can all be turned into elves, quite precious and hard to find."

"The other follows the Dao of Yin Yang. Where there are poisonous snakes, there must be antidotes. Near Heavenly Spirit Earth Treasures, there must also be something that restrains them."

"If I were alone, it would take half a month to find, but with you two, it can be done swiftly."

"Master Wang, since you’re skilled in Fengshui, help me look. If we divide this place using the Nine Palaces, where is the position of the Dui Metal?"

"Brother Li, your nose Divine Skill should help find the thing; it shouldn’t be buried deeply, all depending on you."

"Hero Sha, there’s a panther hiding in this Leopard Gully, very fierce. If anyone approaches the Thunderstruck Wood, they attack. You have to stop them, don’t let them meddle."

Having said that, he looked at the sky, "We don’t have much time. After midnight, the Thunderstruck Wood will hide again. If we fail and startle the treasure, it may not appear again for months."

"Retrieving the treasure at other times will cause the blessing to disperse."

"We can’t delay, let’s move!"

Having set the plan, the group didn’t hesitate and immediately sprang into action.

Wang Daoxuan took out the Compass, climbed to a nearby height, examined the terrain under the moonlight, muttering to himself while marking several areas and digging shallowly to taste the soil.

Appraising the Fengshui and the terrain required both a macro and micro perspective, but thankfully Wang Daoxuan was meticulous, having already noted the Yetai Mountain pattern during the day.

In less than the time it took to burn half a stick of incense, Wang Daoxuan pointed to the southwest,

"Over there!"

Everyone quickly raised their heads to look.

It was an area near the forest, adjacent to a cliff face, with sparse vegetation, starkly different from its surroundings.

Moreover, it was a safe distance from the Thunderstruck Jujube Wood, ensuring that even a commotion wouldn’t alarm the treasure.

Li Yan didn’t waste any words, quietly jogging over.

He activated his nose Divine Skill but didn’t smell anything unusual.

Li Yan was prompted, pinched the Yang Jue, focused his mind on Storing God, concentrated all his senses, and took a deep breath.

Instantly, the scent of more areas flooded into his nasal cavity.

This was the benefit of having control over Divine Skills.

Regularly closed off to conserve energy, they could burst forth when needed without harming the Divine Soul.

Soon, he caught a strange scent.

This smell was odd, two meters underground, metallic yet mixed with a musty, rotting odor.

Uncertain of what it was, but noticing the only metal nearby was this, Li Yan immediately picked up a shovel and began digging furiously with the approaching Zhao Lvzi.

Being practitioners, both had considerable strength, and it wasn’t long before they dug a pit two meters deep, revealing a patch of black underneath, resembling moldy cobwebs.

"Hold on, let me do it!"

Zhao Lvzi whispered, signaling Li Yan to retreat.

He then took a pair of deerskin gloves from his belt, carefully brushed away the loose soil, and once the thing was fully revealed, found the corners and gently kneaded it into a black cord.

"What is this?"

Li Yan inquired curiously.

The object was buried deep, gathering some Yin Evil Qi, but it was very thin and couldn’t be refined into any artifact to ward off evil.

"This is Iron Clothes."

Zhao Lvzi explained, "It’s somewhat similar to mold, but formed from iron ore. There must be an underground vein, only visible under special circumstances."

"Certain burrowing insects love eating this stuff, but once it touches human scent, it becomes numb and deteriorates, unable to be twisted into a rope..."

"Oh, I see."

Li Yan nodded in realization. This thing was likely a form of iron-eating fungus, only forming under special conditions and unrecognizable to most people.

Probably, only Hidden Treasure Men wouldn’t mistake it.

After forming the Iron Clothes into a rope, Zhao Lvzi said, "I’m going to loop the treasure. You all have mortal aromas, don’t get close. Wait for my signal!"

With that, he slipped quietly into the forest.

Only then did Li Yan realize.

No wonder there was no scent on him; he must have used some method specifically for treasure hiding, preventing any disturbance to the Heavenly Spirit Earth Treasure.

Just then, he furrowed his eyebrows, suddenly looking toward the southeast side of the forest, grabbing the sheepskin bag from Sha Lifei’s waist.

He opened it and flung the pig blood-soaked meatballs outward.

Instantly, the area was filled with a bloody stench.

"They’re coming?"

Sha Lifei asked quickly.

Li Yan nodded, slowly drawing his blade, "Two of them, quite large; let’s lead them away, don’t let them interfere with Brother Zhao!"

Whoosh~

As they spoke, a foul wind blew from the thick forest.

Two pairs of copper bell-sized eyes appeared in the forest’s darkness, emitting a faint green glow, approaching from both sides.

Emerging from the forest, bathed in moonlight, were two leopards.

Leopards, also known as panthers, were extremely fierce.

Though not as powerful as tigers, they were more agile and as tenacious, capable of attacking even a tiger when enraged.

Hence the saying, "someone has the courage of a leopard."

But these leopards were not only larger in size but clever, sniffing at the meatballs and ignoring them, baring their fierce fangs at them.

One even bore scars from a knife on its face.

"Be careful, these two might be on the verge of gaining spirituality!"

Wang Daoxuan warned cautiously in a low voice.

With spirituality, the next step was acquiring Dao.

Having been hurt and ignoring the meatballs meant they’d suffered before.

"It must have been those bandits."

Sha Lifei cursed under his breath, guarding Wang Daoxuan with his blade.

His skills were average, never having mastered Hidden Energy despite years in the pugilistic world, yet he had a trick or two with the blade.

As the leopards drew nearer, Li Yan’s brow furrowed slightly, Storing God allowing the Three Talents Demon Suppression Coin Blade Tassel to sway left and right.

If it could scare them away, all the better; he had no desire to brawl with wild beasts.

However, sensing the Three Talents Demon Suppression Coin’s aura, the two leopards went berserk, leaping forward in a fierce charge...