Worry

As Cui Jingyi exited the Pavilion while appearing thoughtful, Luo Shi stepped inside.

Seeing Lu Yuan, he didn't hesitate to bow down.

"Senior, no, Pagoda Owner, you're really as miraculous as in the rumours."

"Thank god, I chanced upon the Pavilion and had a chance to meet you, otherwise my life would have been for nothing.", he said with a flattering smile on his face.

As for shame?

He was a thief, his face was useless and he would rather hug the a strong cultivator's thigh.

"I've seen that you managed to advance to the Core Formation realm, congratulations.", Li Yuan said and threw his bag back to him.

"Pavilion Owner, I don't the want the change, you can take it as a tip.", Luo Shi shook his hand and pushed the bag back.

"Okay, okay, you've convinced me, I'll keep your belongings, but you can come and take them anytime you want.", Li Yuan immediately took the bag and traded for HS.

Looking at him, Li Yuan felt that Luo Shi was becoming more and more pleasing to the eye.

Xiao Yan and the rest cared too much for their face and wouldn't act like this.

Li Yuan felt that cultivators that didn't care about their reputation were especially rare.

"You didn't come here only to thank me, what do you want?", Li Yuan spoke up amidst the silence.

"The Pavilion Owner really has control over the Destiny Dao and can predict the future."

"I can feel the aura of a Great Emperor just by standing in front of you.", Luo Shi didn't stop complimenting him.

"Shut up, just say your piece.", Li Yuan interrupted him.

Luo Shi didn't care about being interrupted and finally got to the point.

"Pavilion Owner, while on my way here, I happened to meet the tomb of a cultivator."

"With my experience as an adventurer, I knew that I should some information before exploring that place."

"That's why I visited you, hoping that you can shine some of your brilliance and illuminate my path."

'Does tomb robbing count as an adventure nowadays?', Lu Yuan slandered.

Asking the system about the tomb, Lu Yuan was surprised to hear that the deduction required 300.000 HS.

This meant that although the cultivator wasn't as strong as Cui Jingyi, he should still be a cultivator at the Nascent Soul realm.

Going through with the deduction, information appeared in front of him.

[Tomb of a Nascent Soul cultivator.]

[The cultivator died powerless, while in agony. The extreme feelings before his death caused him to create his own tomb, in an attempt to murder anyone who dared to explore. His body and inheritance are located in the innermost section of the tomb. He followed the Dao of Poison.]

[Location:...]

[Ways to get there:...]

[Ways to bypass the traps:..]

Reading the information, Li Yuan felt that it made sense.

The tomb was indeed a trap.

He always thought that it was strange that cultivators would choose to leave their inheritance for the next generation by creating trials and secret spaces.

Most cultivators advanced to their realms by killing people, stealing treasures and stepping on other people.

How could they decide to be selfless in the last moments of their life?

"As you thought, the tomb is a trap."

"If you didn't come to ask, you would have been dead by now.", Li Yuan told Luo Shi and gave him the scroll.

Luo Shi read the contents of the scroll and cold sweat started running down his back.

If he hadn't though of buying information, wouldn't he have been courting death by robbing the tomb?

'Luckily, I chose to consult the Pavilion Owner', Luo Shi praised himself for his wit.

Having no further questions, he thanked Li Yuan and left the pagoda.

Watching Luo Shi leave with a happy smile on his face, Lu Yuan wasn't as happy, but rather worried.

Through the many deductions he had done so far, he knew that thousands of cultivators had died in this forest.

Yet, so far, the people of the Sun Empire had managed to safely explore it without encountering too many dangers.

He didn't believe that the forest would suddenly become suitable for exploration, but rather that it was the calm before the storm.

'System, deduce the secret of the Dark Forbidden Forest.'

[Deduction requires requires 500.000.000.000.000 HS.]

Looking at all the zero's at the end of the price, Lu Yuan confirmed that his guess was most likely correct and a sense of urgency arose in him.

'System, can I move the pagoda?'

[The host needs to advance to the Foundation Building realm before he can change the Heaven's Secret Pavilion's location.]

Before he could think any further, Cui Jingyi had returned.

Judging by his expression, he had already make his decision.

"Okay, you convinced me, I'll choose to take a gamble in my final moments."

"But first, I'll have to return to the sect and inform my disciple that I'll be leaving the empire for some time.

"Otherwise she will be worried.", Cui Jingyi said.

"You don't have to leave the empire, you can advance just by staying in the Snow Heaven Sect.", Lu Yuan shook his head and responded.

"Hehe, the Pavilion Owner must be joking, how can I advance while staying in the sect?", Cui Jingyi felt that he had been cheated.

Cultivators in the Nascent Soul realm would have to deepen the understanding of their Dao to advance further.

This was a time-consuming process, and also the reason that cultivators would seek treasures regardless of how high their realm was.

However, Lu Yuan wasn't lying.

He had already asked the system and deduced the cheapest way for Cui Jingyi to advance.

[Snow Heaven Sect Inheritance.]

[The first ancestor of the sect left a secret inheritance behind, hoping that the fated one will find it. To get the inheritance you have to pass through 3 trials. The inheritance contains his understanding of the Frost Dao.]

[Location:...]

[Ways to get there:...]

[Trial 1:...]

[Trial 2:...]

[Trial 3:...]

Materializing a scroll and giving it to Cui Jingyi, Lu Yuan leaned back on his chair.

On the other hand, a smile appeared on Cui Jingyi's face.

'As long as I break through, I can solve Emperor Wu once and for all', he thought.

As Cui Jingyi was thinking about him, Emperor Wu wasn't as idle as people thought.

Although he gave the command for the cultivators of the empire to explore the Dark Forbidden Forest, he wasn't actually counting on them.

Instead, he had disguised himself as an average Foundation Building cultivator and decided to explore the forest on his own.

As he entered the forest's vicinity, he felt as if something was calling him.

Emperor Wu became excited, as this had been mentioned in the imperial family's collection of ancient books.

When artifacts were of high enough grade, they would choose their owners based on the Dao they comprehended.

Then, the artifacts would establish a bond with them, in an attempt to guide them towards themselves.

He proceeded to follow that bond and found himself in a land filled with lava.

Reaching the center of the land, a huge floating red spear stood there, as if it was waiting its master.

The spear's shaft was black with multiple red thorns as you got higher and higher, while the spearhead was bloody red in color, shaped in the form of a dragon.

Emperor Wu wasn't surprised by its appearance, as it matched his own Dao.

Many people in the empire tried to guess what Dao he had followed, but only he knew the answer.

The Dao that he had chosen was the Slaughter Dao, or it was more accurate to say that the Dao of Slaughter chose him.

Moving closer to the spear, a feeling of intimacy arose in him.

Picking it up and holding it in his hand, he felt power run through his body and he couldn't help but be lost in this feeling.

At the same time, information passed through his mind and he learnt the name of the artifact.

Dragon Devil Spear.