Chapter 236: The Treasure Vault

For three consecutive days, the number of customers on the second floor of the inn kept rising steadily. After more than half a month, it finally exceeded a hundred tables again, with the upward trend showing no sign of slowing down.
Although more customers meant greater losses—and this was clearly intentional on the part of Maple Forest Restaurant—Lin Dong was still pleased with the situation. As long as it wasn’t free every day, Lin’s Inn could afford these losses. Allowing as many customers as possible to become familiar with the inn, though at a high cost, was worth it given the inability to resist Maple Forest Restaurant’s schemes.
That afternoon, Xiao Tianchi and the others finally returned, delivering the good news they had promised.
The three most precious treasures of the Ningji Sect: a seventh-tier Multicolored Sword, an eighth-tier Confining Clear Pill, and a Mysterious Spirit Stone!
Among them, the Multicolored Sword was carried by the current sect leader, Fang Shijin, and functioned like his authority token. It was almost never taken out unless it was a matter of life or death. To seize it, one would have to kill Fang Shijin or take his storage spirit ring—otherwise, the chances were slim.
Killing Fang Shijin would also ruin the plan to force a fierce battle between the Ningji Sect and the Xingli Sect, as the next sect leader wouldn’t have to bear the blame for losing the sect’s treasures.
The real targets were undoubtedly the eighth-tier Confining Clear Pill and the Mysterious Spirit Stone.
Both were stored in the Ningji Sect’s treasure vault.
For any sect, the treasure vault was the most important place, filled with numerous spiritual arrays and traps. Although the difficulty was high, with Yun Lan, a seventh-tier spiritual array master, by their side, the chances of success weren’t too low.
That night, after having Youyin Xiang demonstrate Xingli Sect’s most powerful spiritual technique, Thousand Starlight, Lin Dong and Yun Lan set off for Qingmei Mountain.
Given Lin Dong’s abilities, he would have been a burden on this treasure-heist mission, but he was worried about Yun Lan going alone. Yun Lan, on the other hand, seemed eager to show him around, and since at least two people were needed for this trip, their mutual intentions led to an immediate agreement.
Three days later, at noon, the two traveled through the night sky and finally reached the mountain where the Ningji Sect was located.
After scouting the surroundings and choosing an exit route, they waited until night fell before sneaking into the sect.
It was a time of war, and recent terrifying news of six elders being completely wiped out had heightened security within the Ningji Sect to an extreme—there was a guard every three steps and a sentry every five.
Held by Yun Lan’s shoulder, Lin Dong experienced flight once again. The scenery changed rapidly as they flew, and after more than half an hour, when Lin Dong began to feel dizzy, their rapid flight finally came to a stop.

Only then did Lin Dong realize he had arrived behind a rock formation. Looking ahead, about a hundred meters away, a five-story tower with identical sides stood amidst the vast playground. A faint glow flickered in the darkness, appearing particularly strange and magnificent.

Below the tower, four disciples dressed in long robes and wielding sharp swords stared wide-eyed, their keen gazes scanning the surroundings.

“What do you think is the strongest defense around the entire treasure hall?” Yun Lan asked softly.

Lin Dong was momentarily stunned. He had initially thought it was those four disciples, but then realized that wouldn’t make sense—if they were the defense, Yun Lan likely wouldn’t have asked such a question. After examining further and finding nothing unusual, he turned his gaze to the tower behind them and casually said, “It must be the spiritual arrays arranged around the tower. That way, as long as someone disturbs the arrays, the disciples guarding all four sides can detect it immediately.”

“The spiritual arrays around the tower are only of the fourth level, and those in the entire playground are also only of the fourth level. To avoid detection, all that’s needed is three fifth-level spiritual array masters or one sixth-level master to disrupt the arrays from the outside and then use spiritual energy to create a cover-up barrier to bypass the four disciples.” Yun Lan shook her head slowly, gesturing for Lin Dong to pay attention to the ground in the playground. “Look and see if you notice anything different.”

Lin Dong raised his eyes and studied the ground carefully for a while before whispering, “There are faint, imperceptible patterns of spiritual stone powder. It must be spiritual arrays, right?”

Yun Lan nodded silently.

After staring intently for another while, Lin Dong said doubtfully, “Also, the ground is made of granite, quite smooth—probably frequented by people.”

Yun Lan remained silent.

“Anything else?” Lin Dong examined each piece of granite and suddenly realized, “These granite slabs seem quite large.”

Yun Lan smiled without speaking.

It seemed Lin Dong had figured something out. He tapped his head and suddenly said, “They’re two meters long and wide, almost identical to each other. There’s definitely something wrong with this ground. Otherwise, if they wanted to show off, they would use marble. Is there a mechanism underneath?”

Yun Lan nodded gently. “If you can project your spiritual energy, you’ll find that some of the stones are hollow, with people inside. Others hide deadly traps. Anyone who accidentally enters here would likely die or be seriously injured.”

Lin Dong was astonished. The spiritual arrays and guards were all just decoys. This was even a mid-to-low-tier sect. If it were a major sect, the place where their sacred treasures were kept would probably scare people to death.

If ordinary people could be this ruthless and cunning, thieves would surely starve to death.

“My observation skills are much sharper than ordinary people’s, but sadly I’m not as familiar with various traps as the disciples of sects. We’ll talk about that later… Let’s go!”
Yun Lan stepped out of the rock formation slowly, her spiritual energy surging forth to form a faint black mist in an instant ahead of her.
“How was this done?” Lin Dong asked in astonishment.
“It’s one of the most common spiritual techniques among major sects—the Mist Formation Art. It’s similar to a spiritual energy shield, just more refined. Anyone at the Mental Energy stage who can control their spiritual energy throughout their body can use it effortlessly. The difference is that if someone tries to detect it with their mental senses, it can be easily discovered if their level isn’t at least five stages higher.”
Yun Lan replied indifferently, as the black mist enveloped Lin Dong as well.
Lin Dong was speechless. How pitiful to have to learn everything on one’s own without a master!
Spiritual energy flowed out, turning into invisible threads that penetrated the ground. Then, Yun Lan grabbed Lin Dong and leaped to a stone slab several meters away.
“Don’t move around; there are traps everywhere.”
After giving that warning, Yun Lan stretched out her palms, intending to control the spiritual array in front of her using her spiritual energy. Suddenly feeling a pressure on her waist, she glanced at Lin Dong.
Lin Dong grinned, “I’m afraid I might step on the wrong spot by accident.”
Yun Lan smiled bitterly. Seeing that the large hand on her waist remained still, she gave up and focused on using her spiritual energy to penetrate the untouched spiritual array.
Lin Dong took the opportunity to get a little closer, but he didn’t dare touch anything and simply enjoyed the delicate fragrance filling his nostrils.
After a while, he felt a pull on his shoulder. By the time Lin Dong realized what was happening, the wind rushed past his ears as they had already flown more than ten meters. The fragrance returned as they stopped, filling his nose once again. With Lin Dong’s current strength, he couldn’t yet control his spiritual energy externally, so Yun Lan didn’t explain further. Lin Dong, relieved, focused on enjoying the unparalleled sensation and the intoxicating fragrance.
“We’re here!”
After what seemed like a long time, a slightly reproachful voice reached Lin Dong’s ears.
Turning around, he saw a vermilion gate ahead. Next to it, four disciples of the Ningji Sect lay on the ground, unharmed, seemingly knocked unconscious.
“We’re already here?”
Lin Dong reluctantly released his right hand, muttering in dissatisfaction.
Yun Lan didn’t bother to say more and pushed open the gate with a palm.
Stepping into the pavilion, they found a room covering at least four to five thousand square meters, with a clear view everywhere. On the walls, night pearls glowed with a soft white light, casting a gentle radiance over the entire room.

Below the luminous pearls, rows of paintings were neatly arranged—some elegant, some grand, some densely packed… Even Lin Dong, who knew nothing about calligraphy or paintings, could tell these works were extraordinary. Further down, four rows of bookshelves, each dozens of meters long, stood close to the walls, filled with pearls, agates, and jades. Beneath the bookshelves were red-painted wooden chests; needless to say, they contained nothing but gold and silver. Lin Dong’s index finger twitched as he instinctively stepped forward. “A figure at the level of a sect elder entering another sect’s treasure hall and wasting time collecting trivial worldly items to fill space—such behavior surely raises doubts about their identity,” Yun Lan said leisurely. Lin Dong’s right leg hung in midair as he glanced reluctantly around the room. Without at least one or two million taels of silver, it would be hard to leave without something. Sighing, Lin Dong decided that once he conquered the Ningji Sect, he would be the first to enter this treasure hall. “Let’s go!” Yun Lan grabbed Lin Dong and flew toward the right corner of the room. Lin Dong glanced curiously at the wooden ladder leading upward on the left, though puzzled, he wisely chose to remain silent. They stopped at the right corner, and Yun Lan examined the area carefully before suddenly reaching out to touch the two scrolls above. Her slender fingers stopped just two or three centimeters below the scrolls. Her fingertips, as clear as fine jade, couldn’t go any higher. Lin Dong couldn’t help but laugh—someone who was 1.7 meters tall couldn’t even reach the trap! The trap’s designer must really be mischievous. Yun Lan stepped back slightly and glared at Lin Dong. “What are you laughing at? Come help! Bring the two scrolls together.” “Uh, I’m just happy that I’ll also be useful here.” Lin Dong hurried over, stretched his arms as far as he could, reached the ends of the scrolls, and gently brought them together. The moment the scrolls touched, there was a click, and the stone slabs beneath suddenly retracted, revealing a dark hole over a meter long and wide. Unprepared, Lin Dong raised his arms high and tumbled straight into the hole. Wind howled in his ears. In panic, he twisted his waist, halting his freefall. After flailing his arms in the air, he fell again. As the speed increased, Lin Dong panicked completely—until his shoulders were pulled tight, slowing his descent. The next moment, his feet landed firmly on the ground.

Next to him, Yun Lan said leisurely, “When falling, if you can’t grab anything, you can use your waist strength to slow down the descent as much as possible. Another method during the Mental State phase is to spread your spiritual energy as much as possible in the upper body. In either case, falling too high will cause injuries, but as long as it’s not a cliff dozens of zhang high, the injuries shouldn’t be too severe.”
Lin Dong was speechless. Although Yun Lan didn’t seem like a petty woman by any means, he still suspected she was taking revenge.