Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension

With the aid of "Bullet Time" and "Danger Perception" talents, he witnessed the entire process of the ancient painting committing murder in that instant.

Looking at the ancient painting afterward, the face of the old man clad in a bamboo hat and straw raincoat was indiscernible. His fishing rod was entirely emerald green, the fishing line was as thin as invisible, but under the surging river water, a five-colored little fish suddenly bit onto the hook.

This five-colored little fish hadn't been there before but now had abruptly appeared on the ancient painting.

Zhao Sheng couldn't help but look at the fish in his bamboo basket and compared it to the fish in the painting.

"...They are exactly the same!" He felt a chill in his heart, suddenly gaining some kind of realization.

Bang, bang, bang!

The Single-Horned Ghost Skull lost control from the Divine Sense, instantly falling from the sky to the ground, its skull scattering around while green flames flowed onto the ground, igniting eerie green fires wherever it flowed.

Zhao Sheng stepped forward, sweeping his long sleeves and collecting all the Single-Horned Ghost Skulls into his Storage Bag.

On the side, Zhen Yue saw this but moved her lips, uncharacteristically refraining from stopping his action of collecting treasures.

After doing all this, Zhao Sheng turned back, pointed at the painting above the hall, and asked, "Taoist, do you know how that Old Demon died?"

"You know... Ah!"

Zhen Yue, following his gesture, looked over, her words halting midway as she suddenly let out a cry, her eyes then fixated on the five-colored fish in the painting, her face successively showing fear, shock, realization, and greed.

Zhao Sheng, observing her expressions, vaguely grasped the complex emotions within Zhen Yue's heart, and suddenly asked again, "Is the Five Luck Spirit Fish very famous in Shattered Star Sea? Does it have any special uses?"

Upon hearing this, Zhen Yue's heart tightened, her mind instantly becoming alert, and she looked towards Zhao Sheng with some unease. Discover more stories at empire

Having just fought the Withered Bone Master together, she had seen his capability and knew that she might not be able to defeat him.

Even as prideful as she was, she couldn't help but show a hint of hesitation and nervousness.

With Zhao Sheng's cunning, a glance at her expressions gave him a good idea of what she was thinking.

"The name 'Five Luck Spirit Fish' is very unique! I have read many ancient books and yet have no memory of it. Could it be a type of spiritual item from Shattered Star that has gone extinct? Why has that ancient painting suddenly gained a Five Luck Spirit Fish? What is its relation to the death of the Old Demon?" Zhao Sheng directly pointed out the core issue, aggressively questioning Zhen Yue, not giving her any chance to stall.

Honestly, if it weren't for wanting to extract more information from Zhen Yue's mouth, Zhao Sheng would have already made his move.

Seeing the aggressive Zhao Sheng, Zhen Yue's thoughts rapidly shifted. After coughing dryly, she reluctantly explained,

"It seems Taoist is a dedicated cultivator who isn't well-versed in ancient secrets. Even if you searched all the ancient books, I fear you couldn't find anything about the Five Luck Spirit Fish. This item often appears only in ancient legends. Taoist, are you familiar with the concept of Innate Five Fortunes?"

After saying this, Zhao Sheng's face showed excitement, his eyes narrowing slightly, uncertainly saying, "Innate Five Fortunes, do they include Qi Fortune, Killing Destiny, Tribulation Fate, Intercepting Fortune, and End of Fortune?"

"Correct, Taoist! This Five Luck Spirit Fish is a spiritual item that carries a strand of Innate Five Fortunes. Legend says that consuming it can increase one's Innate Destiny. If we hadn't seen this Five Luck Spirit Fish today, we also wouldn't believe such a thing truly existed in the world! However, among the Innate Five Fortunes, besides Qi Fortune, the other four are unpredictable blessings and curses for us low-level cultivators!" Zhen Yue spoke confidently.

"I see,"

Zhao Sheng simply nodded his head, not pressing further, instead he lowered his head to examine the charred corpse, showing a highly interested expression.

Seeing Zhao Sheng's demeanor, Zhen Yue secretly breathed a sigh of relief, fearing that he would inquire further about the ancient painting.

At that moment, she was fifty percent certain that the ancient painting was a heavy treasure that could rival Bei Mansion Cave Heaven.

If she wasn't mistaken, the ancient painting should be the Spiritual Treasure Map from ancient legends.

The Spiritual Treasure Map, also known as the Sealing Treasure Map, likely seals an Ancient Magical Treasure within it, and not just any treasure but one of the top-grade top-quality among Ancient Magical Treasures.

The reason ancient cultivators created such maps was probably to ensure the spiritual nature of some rare heavy treasures was not lost.

Zhen Yue even boldly guessed that the bamboo basket was probably also a part of the magical treasure.

Unfortunately, the previous owner had shallow Qi Fortune and unluckily perished under the Golden Core Thunder Tribulation, unable to enjoy such a heavy treasure.

Since that person didn't even recognize the Five Luck Spirit Fish, he probably wouldn't know about the Spiritual Treasure Map either.

Thinking about this, Zhen Yue tentatively asked, "Taoist friend, have you discovered any clues?"

At this moment, Zhao Sheng was looking down at the burnt corpse, his expression unchanged. This slightly eased Zhen Yue's mind, who had been cautiously observing him.

"Old Demon Skull's cultivation was not inferior to ours, and he died mysteriously without any warning, which means there must be some sort of Absolute Killing Restriction in this hall that we Foundation Establishment Cultivators cannot resist. It must be related to that ancient painting," Zhen Yue confidently said.

Zhao Sheng nodded thoughtfully, not mentioning that what Zhen Yue said was somewhat obvious.

Zhen Yue's expression changed as if she remembered something, and she quickly said, "Why don't we try using a distance-grabbing method?"

Her words, rather than being a kind reminder, seemed more like a covert incitement for Zhao Sheng to act.

Zhao Sheng, without turning his head, waved his hand to show that he understood.

Then his gaze fell on the Jade White Spirit Pearl.

In his past few lives, he had reincarnated in the Central Continent, and when it came to understanding the Shattered Star Sea, he was far less knowledgeable than Zhen Yue, who hailed from a prestigious family in the Inner Star Sea.

But things like the core of a cave mansion, Zhao Sheng had seen introductions in ancient books.

Initially, he might not have been certain, but by now, Zhao Sheng was convinced that the Spirit Pearl was the core control center of the Bei Mansion Cave Heaven.

"The most important thing is to refine it as soon as possible. Everything else can be postponed," Zhao Sheng thought to himself.

Seeing Zhao Sheng's gaze shift towards the Spirit Pearl, Zhen Yue suddenly became very anxious, obviously harboring the same thoughts.

Just then, a sound like a deflating balloon suddenly emanated from the hall.

Zhao Sheng was startled and quickly looked over.

He saw the dead Withered Bone Master's body suddenly swell into a lump, his robe starting to rustle and emitting a sand-like noise, followed by a swarm of strange insects burrowing out from beneath the robe.

These strange insects, round and about the size of a fingernail, had black armor on their backs and two rows of fine claws on their bellies; their mouthparts were ferocious saw-like teeth, akin to scorpion fangs.

In the blink of an eye, the swarm of insects continued to emerge unceasingly and spread out, forming a large black carpet of bugs,

Buzzing!

the next second, transparent membranous wings popped out from under the bodies of the strange insects. The wings vibrated and suddenly became invisible.

As the buzzing intensified, the swarm of insects flapped their wings in unison, leaping into the air and merging into a dense black cloud that swooped down, covering the sky and heading straight for Zhao Sheng and Zhen Yue.

"Three Corpses Seven Absolute Gu!"

Seeing the swarm of insects approaching, Zhen Yue screamed in alarm.