“Here.”

  With a sharp tug, Chen Zhenlong spread a copied woodland empire map of the entire Divine Continent across the table, flattening its curled edges so both he and Xue Hui could clearly see the vast geographical layout of the lands beyond Glory City.

  “This is the latest and most accurate map we possess. All Demon Spiritualists use it as a guide when traversing the world outside the city walls,” Chen Zhenlong explained.

  The boy leaned closer, eyes fixed on the parchment. He studied every marked territory and dangerous zone with intense focus, nodding from time to time as he silently calculated the safest routes to obtain the treasures they would need.

  After a moment, Chen Zhenlong broke the silence.

  “You still haven’t told me the method you plan to use to heal my daughter, Xiao Hui.”

  He tried to keep his tone calm, but the urgency beneath his words was unmistakable. It wasn’t that he wished to pressure the boy, yet as a father, he could not help but seek clarity. Earlier, when he had asked about the treatment, Xue Hui had avoided the question and instead requested the most recent official map of the Divine Continent, saying only that he needed to confirm something first.

  Now, watching the boy scrutinize the map with such grave concentration, Chen Zhenlong felt both hope and unease stirring within his heart.

  Although curious about the reason, Chen Zhenlong simply nodded. He retrieved a copy of the Woodlands Empire map, spread it across his desk, and allowed the small boy to examine it at his leisure.

  “Lord Patriarch, you asked how we are going to cure Linlin. The answer lies here.”

  Xue Hui’s finger tapped a specific location on the map.

  Chen Zhenlong raised a brow and leaned forward to see more clearly. The moment he recognized the place being indicated, a trace of surprise and doubt flashed across his face.

  “The Wu Zhenyi Ruins? That site was excavated long ago, before you were even born. Any treasures hidden there should have already been taken.”

  Xue Hui nodded calmly. He was well aware of that fact. As one of the closest ruins to Glory City, generations of their ancestors had already explored it thoroughly, claiming nearly every artifact of value.

  Nearly every artifact.

  “But not all of them,” Xue Hui said, his gaze steady. “The most important treasure of the Wu Zhenyi royal family was never discovered. It is still hidden there, waiting for the right person to uncover it.”

  Chen Zhenlong’s eyes narrowed slightly, his interest piqued despite himself.

  “Not everything was taken, Lord Patriarch. The items we need to treat Linlin’s condition are still buried within those ruins. You only need to bring me there… and I will unearth them myself.”

  Chen Zhenlong immediately shook his head the moment he heard Xue Hui’s proposal.

  “Impossible. Bringing you to those ruins would be no different from sending you to your death.”

  The dangers were not limited to the ruins themselves, with their countless hidden traps and lurking beasts. The journey alone was perilous. Even a Bronze Rank Demon Spiritualist would struggle to survive such a trek, let alone a child with little combat experience.

  “Just tell me the exact location of the treasure. I will go there personally and retrieve it,” Chen Zhenlong added firmly.

  With his current strength, a round trip to the Wu Zhenyi Ruins would take, at most, four months. There was no need to risk the boy’s life by bringing him along.

  However, instead of agreeing, Xue Hui simply shook his head.

  “Lord Patriarch, even if I tell you where the treasure is, you still wouldn’t be able to retrieve it—no matter how strong you are.”

  Chen Zhenlong raised a brow, clearly unconvinced. Seeing his reaction, the boy calmly continued his explanation.

  “The treasure is sealed beneath an inscription lock. Without the correct method to unlock it, even a Legend Rank expert using their full strength wouldn’t be able to move it, let alone take it away.”

  Truth. The truth-detection soul technique affirmed that Xue Hui’s words were genuine.

  Chen Zhenlong’s eyes widened slightly. If what the boy said was true, then the treasure hidden within the Wu Zhenyi Ruins must be of extraordinary importance for the royal family to seal it with such a method. Just what kind of artifact required an inscription lock powerful enough to withstand even a Legend Rank expert?

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “Furthermore, only an Inscription Grandmaster can unlock that seal,” Xue Hui continued calmly. “So you will need to bring me with you to open it.”

  Chen Zhenlong was about to ask whether Xue Hui was truly an Inscription Grandmaster, but before the words left his mouth, he noticed the boy subtly gesture around the room. Only then did he realize that they were standing within an inscription array of some sort. The realization struck him like lightning—the array had been created by the boy in front of him.

  For a moment, Chen Zhenlong was speechless.

  He felt as though his understanding of the world had been overturned. Just what kind of monstrous master could nurture a child who still drank milk every day into an Inscription Grandmaster? And that same master was supposedly a physician as well? How could anyone have enough time to master both medicine and inscriptions to such an absurd level?

  While Chen Zhenlong wrestled with these incredulous thoughts, Xue Hui calmly began drawing patterns across the map. With steady strokes, he marked the safest routes to travel, the locations suitable for rest, and even several spots along the way where rare materials could be gathered.

  Each line he drew was precise and purposeful, as though he had already traversed that path countless times in his mind.

  However, one detail about the drawn routes immediately stood out. Some of the lines did not end at the Wu Zhenyi Ruins but extended far beyond them, leading to even more distant locations. At the farthest point of one such path, Xue Hui placed a clear X mark.

  After finishing, he resumed his explanation, snapping Chen Zhenlong out of his spiraling thoughts.

  “If Lord Patriarch would allow me to inspect the Divine Family’s treasury, I might be able to find a few life-saving talismans we can use during the journey. I will also need to construct a personal carrier for Linlin—one sturdy enough to shield her from danger and the elements while still remaining comfortable for her to lie in.”

  This time, Chen Zhenlong moved like a gust of wind and grabbed Xue Hui’s shoulders for the second time that night. Unlike before, his hands trembled uncontrollably.

  “W-What do you mean bring my daughter along?” he demanded, his voice shaking. “Have you lost your mind, Xiao Hui? Do you even understand how dangerous that journey is? Why would she need to come with us just to retrieve a treasure?”

  Xue Hui winced as the grip on his shoulders gradually tightened.

  “Lord Patriarch, please calm down… your hands are really heavy.”

  Startled, Chen Zhenlong immediately released him and gently channeled his spiritual energy to soothe the soreness in the boy’s shoulders. Even so, his expression remained grave. What Xue Hui proposed was undeniably perilous for his daughter.

  Without responding right away, Xue Hui turned back to the map and pointed at several marked locations.

  Seeing where the boy’s finger landed, Chen Zhenlong drew in a deep breath, forcing himself to suppress the surge of anger rising within him.

  “Xue Hui… is this some kind of joke?” he asked through gritted teeth.

  “I am still under your truth-detection soul technique. You can already tell whether I’m joking or not,” Xue Hui replied calmly, not showing the slightest hint of weakness. This was the most crucial part of their plan, after all.

  “Explain. Why?”

  Two words. That was all Chen Zhenlong could manage without losing control and shouting. The proposal was simply too absurd—bringing his fragile daughter along on such a perilous expedition?

  “Before the beginning of the Age of Darkness,” Xue Hui began evenly, “the most prosperous and powerful kingdom on the entire Divine Continent was the Divine Moonpeak Empire. In that era, they were the absolute authority, capable of dictating the very course of life across the continent.”

  He tapped a specific location on the map.

  “Their empire was located here—within what is now known as the Blood Moon Marsh. If you carry both Linlin and me, I estimate the journey will take at least a year and a half.”

  “Xue Hui, you are not answering my question,” Chen Zhenlong interrupted, his patience at its limit. All he wanted to know was why his daughter had to be brought along. Yet the boy continued his explanation as though he hadn’t heard him at all.

  “In that ancient era,” Xue Hui said, his voice lowering slightly, “there once lived a woman who possessed an extraordinary physique. With it, she became the strongest human on the Divine Continent. The moment she died marked the true beginning of the Age of Darkness. Without her protection, humanity fell into the claws of demon beasts.”

  Although displeased at being seemingly ignored, Chen Zhenlong restrained himself and continued listening. He had never encountered such records in any of Glory City’s history books. This was knowledge entirely foreign to him, and so he forced his emotions down and focused on absorbing every word.

  “Her strength and talent were truly heaven-defying,” Xue Hui continued. “They were blessings granted by her unique physique. Just like Chen Linlin’s Nine Crystal Yin Physique, there exist many different special physiques in this world. Each grants its possessor certain advantages, allowing them to reach far greater heights of power.”

  He paused briefly before speaking again.

  “This particular physique is known as the Moon Glaze Eternal Lotus Physique. Very few people are even aware of its existence. One of its most extraordinary abilities is inheritance. Through a special method, upon the owner’s death, their body can be refined into what my master calls Glaze Blood.”

  Xue Hui’s gaze turned solemn.

  “If that Glaze Blood is given to another person, their body and soul realm will undergo a complete rebirth, forcibly transforming their original physique into the Moon Glaze Eternal Lotus Physique.”

  Chen Zhenlong’s eyes widened in shock. He fully understood what Xue Hui meant by “rebirth.” Such a transformation was no simple enhancement—it meant rewriting the very foundation of a person’s body and destiny.

  “Once I refine the body of the previous owner of the Moon Glaze Eternal Lotus Physique into Glaze Blood, we can give it to Linlin to change her fate. By letting her undergo a rebirth under the Glaze Blood…”

  Truth. Truth. Every word Xue Hui spoke resonated as undeniable truth.

  Chen Zhenlong slowly guided himself toward the nearest chair and sank into it. His eyes stared blankly into the distance, but anyone observing could tell his mind was racing, turning over every implication of what he had just heard.

  Xue Hui remained silent, giving him time. He knew how crucial this information was for a father like Chen Zhenlong, and so he let him process it at his own pace.

  After a long moment, Chen Zhenlong’s voice emerged, quiet and tired, yet laced with restrained urgency.

  “Then… why do we need to bring Lin’er with us? Can’t just the two of us go, retrieve the Glaze Blood, and return it to her?” He let out a defeated sigh when Xue Hui shook his head at the question.

  “The Glaze Blood isn’t something we can carry around for long periods,” Xue Hui explained patiently. “After it’s refined, if we don’t transfer it immediately to another body, it will deteriorate, losing its inheritance completely. The safest—and only—way is to transfer it to Linlin the moment we obtain it.”

  Before Chen Zhenlong could ask another question, Xue Hui continued his explanation.

  “And if you’re thinking of using someone else as a temporary carrier for the Glaze Blood, that is indeed a possible method,” he said calmly. “However, once the Moon Glaze Eternal Lotus Physique is inherited, it cannot be transferred again for another two hundred years. Not to mention, you would need to kill the new inheritor to refine the Glaze Blood once more.”

  He paused briefly before adding, his voice turning solemn, “We simply don’t have that much time. At most, Linlin may only live until her twenties. The only feasible method… is to bring her with us.”

  Chen Zhenlong dragged a hand across his forehead, feeling a headache forming. Never in his life had he thought he would come to resent his truth-detection soul technique, yet now he utterly loathed how it mercilessly crushed every attempt he made to refute the boy’s reasoning.

  “Then we’ll bring more experts with us. That would be safer,” he suggested, grasping at the last thread of resistance.

  “More people means a larger target,” Xue Hui replied without hesitation. “And a larger target means we’ll face even greater danger along the journey.”

  After saying this, Xue Hui straightened his posture and placed a hand over his chest. Seeing this gesture, Chen Zhenlong immediately understood—he was about to make a Demon Spiritualist oath.

  “Lord Patriarch, I, Xue Hui, in the name of my master, swear that I can lead the three of us along the safest path, cure Linlin of her condition, bring her to the Moonpeak Empire, obtain the Glaze Blood, and rebuild her soul realm.”

  The oath carried absolute conviction. There was not the slightest tremor in his voice.

  Chen Zhenlong could only close his eyes in frustration, despising his own helplessness as he failed to think of a better solution to this mission.

  After a long silence, he finally spoke.

  “Xiao Hui… what about your master?”

  The moment the question left his lips, he saw the boy flinch. That single reaction made Chen Zhenlong want to roar out his anger and despair.

  Xue Hui lowered his gaze slightly before answering, his voice honest and steady.

  “Lord Patriarch… I’ll be truthful with you. I don’t even know whether my master is still al

  ive or not.”

  Truth.

  The confirmation from the soul technique struck like a heavy hammer.

  Chen Zhenlong’s composure finally cracked.

  “…Fuck.”

  End of Chapter 15