Lin Feng could now clearly hear the roll of thunder; where there was Thunder Bamboo, one thing was certain—there was no worry of a Demon Beast suddenly pouncing from somewhere.
"Perhaps, there really is something to this place."
Lin Feng grew interested; setting a treasure location in such a unique place couldn't be a coincidence.
Sure enough, Lin Feng found a hidden cave. After entering and making several turns, he found a rather large stone chamber. The chamber was empty except for one person sitting cross-legged with their back toward Lin Feng.
If someone else had suddenly seen a person there, they would probably be scared half to death, but Lin Feng realized immediately that this person had long been dead. Circling to the front, he was indeed looking at a skeleton sitting cross-legged; the body had been dead for a long time, but the clothes had not decayed, the entire figure enveloped in a large coat.
Lin Feng scanned the surroundings; there were no mechanisms in the stone chamber, nothing at all, just a skeleton. Logically, there shouldn't be any valuable items here. However, Lin Feng didn't feel the slightest hint of disappointment. On the contrary, he was thrilled as his gaze was fixed on the copper-colored Bone Ring worn on the skeleton's hand bone.
The Bone Ring appeared unremarkable on the outside, even rusted with cobwebs. Without a careful look, no one would ever notice it, and even if they did, it wouldn't attract much attention, because it looked nothing like the glittering treasures one would expect to find—it seemed like a worthless flea market item.
However, Lin Feng saw at once that this ring was extraordinary—a storage ring. Such a ring alone could be worth thousands of Gold Pearls, and that was just a low-level storage ring.
Even so, only his father, the Lin Family Head, owned such an item in his entire family, and it was a storage ring symbolizing the Family Head status, passed down as an heirloom.
Lin Feng hadn't expected to find a storage ring here. He immediately wiped off the cobwebs and removed it, then, as he was about to drip his blood onto the ring to claim ownership, a burst of light erupted from the ring. The light appeared so abruptly that even Lin Feng was momentarily stunned.
Lin Feng saw the soul of an old man emerge from inside, floating above him. The old man glanced at Lin Feng and then around the chamber, and then sighed deeply, "Young man, could you please tell this old man which year it is now?"
"Shenwu Year three hundred twenty-seven," Lin Feng replied indifferently. A soul—Lin Feng hadn't expected there to be a soul within the storage ring. Clearly, this old man must have been a Heavenly Martial Master or of a higher rank. Only Heavenly Martial Masters could begin to shape their own souls and were even capable of employing secret techniques like soul departure. Although the body was dead, the soul didn't perish—more accurately, it was just a struggling, residual soul.
"Three hundred twenty-seven years, I didn't expect a full hundred years have passed." The old man lamented for a moment, then fixed his gaze on Lin Feng, examining him closely before exclaiming in surprise.
"You seem very calm upon seeing this old man. If I'm not mistaken, you're only a new martial master, aren't you? Aren't you afraid of seeing me?"
Afraid?
If ordinary people suddenly saw a soul floating out, they would undoubtedly be shocked, and if that soul was at least a Heavenly Martial Master or stronger, they would tremble with fear. Such powerful beings were rare even in Boyang City or the whole Chu Country—only one or two old monsters aged three or four hundred years.
However, Lin Feng's past life was as a Demon Dragon Emperor, at the Martial Venerate level. How could he be frightened by a mere Heavenly Martial Master? Naturally, he would not tremble and fall to his knees to kowtow and call him senior like a small kid might.
Of course, Lin Feng also knew the proverb about old heroes not boasting of the past; he was no longer a Martial Venerate, so he maintained the necessary humility and immediately cupped his fists, "May I inquire if the old gentleman is from Hu Ben Country?"
Seeing that Lin Feng avoided answering his question, the elder didn't press further and merely nodded, expressing his sentiments, "Correct, in life I was the ancestor of the Ji Family from Unmoving City, Ji Wuya. A hundred years ago, I was attacked and surrounded by foes. With no other choice, I hid here to recover. However, it was already too late and I finally fell. Before my death, I managed to release a Treasure Map, in hopes that someday someone would find the treasure here and bring my remains back to the Ji Family. It would be a fitting return home, to be buried in peace."
"Of course, my treasures are all within this storage ring. Although to treat my injuries, I had used up nearly all my valuable possessions, there are still quite a few good things left. As long as you, young friend, are willing to return my remains to the Ji Family, everything in the storage ring will be yours. Naturally, if you are unwilling and just take the storage ring and leave, I am merely a Residual Soul at this point and can do nothing about it."
Lin Feng didn't say much, simply nodded in agreement, "But, that will have to wait until I grow stronger in the future; Unmoving City is not close to where I am now."
"That's not a problem at all," Ji Wuya replied, his face showing pleasure as he returned to the storage ring. He was merely a Residual Soul after all; even speaking for this short while cost him a significant amount of energy. He still wanted to see his familial descendants.
Lin Feng wasn't worried about the old man attempting Body Seizing or any other deceitful schemes. Body Seizing would involve eradicating the other's soul, forcibly occupying their body, akin to a cuckoo taking over a nest. But putting aside how difficult such secret techniques were to use, and the stringent conditions they required, this Heavenly Martial Master, who was barely able to speak a few sentences before dissipating, was incapable of Body Seizing.
As for conspiracies and tricks, Lin Feng also didn't see what value a mere martial master could hold for others to go through such lengths to deceive him. It was better to wait until he'd grown stronger before fulfilling the old man's last wish.
Lin Feng's thoughts returned to the present, and his gaze once again fell on the storage ring. After claiming ownership by dripping his blood, he found that there wasn't much left inside the storage ring. However, there were still over three hundred Gold Pearls, which could buy quite a lot of Dragon Blood Grass.
In addition, there was a very special item, or more precisely, Lin Feng's eyes had been drawn to an ancient book from the beginning. The book was wrapped in a thick iron chain as thick as a wrist, and the material of the book itself looked uncommon, made of a very special type of scales.
Lin Feng couldn't quite identify which Demon Beast's hide it was at the moment, but for some reason, he felt that it seemed somewhat familiar—could it be... Dragon Scale?