Chapter 169: Auction Begins

The treasure map had existed for who knows how long. On the brownish-yellow animal skin, red lines twisted and turned, giving it a rustic appearance without any particularly unusual features.

Without the context from the game, no one would associate this with a treasure map.

Su Nan tried to piece together the two animal skins along the torn edges. When the two animal skins were combined, something magical happened. The red lines on both animal skins seemed to come to life, swiftly connecting with each other.

The torn section appeared to heal before his eyes, and the two pieces of animal skin merged into one seamlessly, leaving no trace of the previous tear.

The chaotic and disorderly lines on the map disappeared, replaced by a painting composed of mountains and rivers.

In the center of the map, there was a red dot, indicating the location of the cave. The area around the dot was surrounded by mountains, making it clear that this was where the cave was located.

With the map in hand, the information about it changed:

[Ancient Treasure Map: A map of the cave left by an ancient human powerhouse. Following the lines on the map will lead you to the cave of that powerhouse, and you can enter the cave using this map.]

[Tip: The object that records the location of this cave is not unique. If you are the first to find the cave, congratulations, you will reap huge rewards. But chances are, you won't be the first.]

"A non-unique treasure map?" Su Nan furrowed his brow. If there were many similar treasure maps, then the value of this map would be greatly diminished.

From the information, it seemed that the object recording the cave's location didn't necessarily have to be a map; it could be something else. It was possible that there were multiple copies of the map, or else two identical maps would have been collected long ago.

The lines on the map formed a landscape painting, with the most prominent feature being the four surrounded mountains in the middle of the map.

Su Nan had limited knowledge of the world and hadn't explored many places. To find the exact location on the map, he would need a detailed map of the Nine Provinces to compare with.

"I hope the location on the map is in Dongchen Province. Otherwise, this map won't be of any value to me."

Studying the map, Su Nan decided to use his foresight to find out.

Attempting to locate the position on the map by himself was impossible. He needed the assistance of the Heavenly Palace Pavilion.

[You obtained an ancient powerhouse's cave map and were drawn to the location on the map. You want to find out the cave's location by visiting the Heavenly Palace Pavilion.]

...

[Three minutes later, you arrive at the Heavenly Palace Pavilion.]

The first foresight ended, and the second foresight began.

Next, Su Nan repeatedly used his foresight, with time in the foresights rapidly advancing.

Nine minutes, twelve minutes, fifteen minutes...

In the blink of an eye, the foresight took him thirty minutes into the future.

Fortunately, he now had so many foresight attempts that he couldn't run out. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to sustain such a level of consumption.

[After comparing and cross-referencing dozens of ancient texts, the old man finally seems to have found a clue. He quickly takes out a small ancient book with only a few pages from behind him.]

[The old man carefully examines the information in the ancient book and seems to have finally confirmed something, his eyes filled with excitement.]

[Instead of directly revealing the result, the old man proposes to purchase your treasure map for a price of one thousand drops of spirit-level essence blood.]

"Found it!" Su Nan's eyes brightened, but he was also surprised. He didn't expect the old man to be willing to pay one thousand drops of spirit-level essence blood for his treasure map.

It was worth noting that one thousand drops of spirit-level essence blood were equivalent to ten thousand drops of mortal-level essence blood, indicating the extraordinary nature of the treasure map.

[You declined the old man's offer and still want to learn about the map's location and related information.]

[The old man, unwilling to give up, continues to increase the price. This time, he offers fifteen hundred drops of spirit-level essence blood.]

[You once again decline. The old man informs you that the map's location is actually an ancient powerhouse's cave, but it has long been discovered. Inside the cave, there are few treasures remaining.]

[Moreover, the cave is filled with danger. If you explore it by yourself, not only is there a high chance of gaining nothing, but you may also lose your life.]

"Already discovered?" Although Su Nan had suspected that the cave might have been discovered, he still held a glimmer of hope. However, now, that hope was completely extinguished, and he felt a sense of disappointment.

An already plundered cave would likely have limited value, and there wouldn't be much left inside. However, considering the old man's willingness to purchase the map, it suggested that the cave had some value, probably exceeding fifteen hundred drops of spirit-level essence blood.

"As long as I find the cave, it should be fine. Most people who enter it probably won't find anything, but I'm different. As long as there are treasures inside, I can find them."

Thinking about his ability to foresee the future and trigger special events, Su Nan regained his confidence.

He could use his foresight to search for treasures inside the cave. Even if the luck factor wasn't triggered, he could activate it himself.

[You decline the old man's offer once again and inform him that you plan to explore the cave on your own.]

[The old man, unwilling to give up, continues to raise the price, this time offering information about the cave's location and related information in exchange for one hundred drops of spirit-level essence blood.]

[You do not hesitate and pay one hundred drops of spirit-level essence blood. You learn the information you wanted.]

[The old man tells you that the cave you're looking for is located not far from Tianyun County, in Hongshan County's Hongshi Town. Five hundred years ago, the cave was discovered on the Three-Pillar Mountain in Hongshi Town.]

[It is the cave of an ancient powerhouse named Daoist Dongxian. Inside, there is the inheritance of Daoist Dongxian. However, to enter the cave, you need a specific key.]

[The appearance of the key is not fixed; it could be a knife or a sword. The treasure map you have is one such key.]

[Since the cave was discovered five hundred years ago, there have been over thirty keys found one after another. Each key opens a passage for ten warriors to enter.]

[It is said that the first people who entered the cave found many treasures, but as more and more keys appeared, the cave was repeatedly plundered, and fewer and fewer items could be found. Eventually, those who entered gained nothing or even lost their lives.]

"Hongshan County? Isn't Qian Yu located in Hongshan County?" Su Nan was surprised.

He remembered seeing recruitment messages from various major guilds on the forum, and Qian Yu's Nine Heavens Guild was in Hongshan County.

"Hongshan County is not far from Tianyun County. Perhaps I can find an opportunity to go and take a look."

With a plan in mind, Su Nan felt a change in his bloodline and made up his mind.

Chapter 169: Completion of Missions

His vital essence was slowly condensing, and his spiritual energy and vitality were rapidly depleting.

Three hours later, the power of his soul and essence within his body was nearly exhausted, with only the fusion of several bloodlines' elemental energy remaining in abundance.

Swiftly taking out a bottle of diluted Source of Life and consuming it, he continued to condense his life essence.

Another three hours passed.

Su Nan could sense that within his heart, a life essence, the size of a soybean, had already begun to condense.

"Today's missions can be considered completed." He stopped the condensation of his life essence and stood up.

Checking the time, it was just a few minutes before midnight.

He decided to wait for the missions to refresh.

Finally, as midnight arrived, the energy consumed within his body instantly recovered.

The missions refreshed.

[Daily Mission One: Hunt and kill a common-grade demonic creature.]

Mission Difficulty: One Star

[Daily Mission Two: Acquire any item from the Celestial Palace Pavilion.]

Mission Difficulty: One Star

[Daily Mission Three: Hunt and kill a Paper Puppet Fiend.]

Mission Difficulty: Three Stars

"I triggered a mission from the Celestial Palace Pavilion. It must be related to my inquiry about the auction yesterday," Su Nan mused, surprised by Wang Nan's mission.

This mission was too simple for him, almost like a gift. Even without this mission, he would have attended the Celestial Palace Pavilion's auction.

"The mission to hunt Paper Puppet Fiends has reappeared. It seems that if I don't eliminate all those fiends, this mission will keep refreshing."

Glancing at the last mission, he couldn't help but speculate.

There were five Paper Puppet Fiends in the City God Temple. If he could kill one each day and earn thirty points of demonic energy, that wouldn't be too bad.

However, he was concerned that if he went hunting Paper Puppet Fiends every day, he might completely anger the three Demonic Kings.

"I can't worry about that too much. I'll just take it one step at a time. I'll finish the other missions first."

Switching to Zhang Yang's missions, he saw:

[Daily Mission One: Eliminate any common-grade demonic creature within the Celestial Cloud City.]

Mission Difficulty: One Star

[Daily Mission Two: Eliminate any spiritual-grade demonic creature within the Celestial Cloud City.]

Mission Difficulty: Two Stars

[Daily Mission Three: Seek revenge for the former Chief of the Demon-Slaying Office.]

Mission Difficulty: Three Stars

Compared to yesterday, Zhang Yang's three missions had changed little, with the focus still on "seeking revenge for the former Chief of the Demon-Slaying Office."

This mission had refreshed for the fourth time, and Su Nan believed it would be the last. He intended to complete it today.

Next, he checked Lang Shisan's missions.

Because the mission to "replace Xiong Yan's position" had been completed yesterday, Lang Shisan's three missions finally had new content.

[Daily Mission One: Hunt and kill five extraplanar visitors.]

Mission Difficulty: One Star

[Daily Mission Two: Hunt and kill thirty extraplanar visitors.]

Mission Difficulty: Two Stars

[Daily Mission Three: The Dilemma of the Green Wolf Demon King.]

Mission Difficulty: Three Stars

"The dilemma of the Green Wolf Demon King? It's actually related to the Green Wolf Demon King?"

Su Nan furrowed his brow. If possible, he would prefer not to deal with the Green Wolf Demon King, even though he now had Tiger Roar Heaven as his big brother.

After all, the chief princess of the Sky Wolf Tribe was still watching him, and if he had too much interaction with the Green Wolf Demon King, she might discover something.

But now, there was a mission related to the Green Wolf Demon King, which made him somewhat uneasy.

"I'll just go with the flow. Let's finish the other missions first."

Returning to Wang Nan's character, his gaze focused on the mission to "acquire any item from the Celestial Palace Pavilion."

Originally, the auction was scheduled for yesterday, but due to the demon race's attack on the Heavenly Canopy Divine Seal Array node, the auction was postponed to today at noon.

In the real world, it was midnight, while in the game world, it was currently noon—the perfect time for the auction.

Without further ado, he quickly changed his appearance and headed towards the Celestial Palace Pavilion.

"What can I assist you with today, sir?"

As usual, as soon as he entered the Celestial Palace Pavilion, a young girl approached him.

"I'd like to participate in today's auction."

"The auction is about to begin, sir. Please follow me."

The auction hall of the Celestial Palace Pavilion was located underground.

It was a vast space of about five to six hundred square meters, centered around the auction platform. Surrounding it were individual rooms arranged in a circular fashion on eight levels, totaling one hundred and twenty rooms.

The young girl led Su Nan to Room 309 on the third level.

Sitting in the room and looking down, he had a clear view of the auction platform below.

The auction had not yet begun, so Su Nan patiently waited and immediately began his foresight.

[You have entered the Celestial Palace Pavilion's auction hall, preparing to bid on the soon-to-be-auctioned Heavenly Dao Insights. This foresight is divided into two parts: the first part allows for transactions with common-grade essence blood, while the second part only permits transactions with spiritual-grade and above essence blood.]

[This auction is presided over by an elderly man, and in one minute, the first part of the auction will begin.]

[The elderly man retrieves the first item for auction, a knife forged from a material called Blood Poison Stone, as introduced by the auctioneer.]

[Due to the highly toxic nature of Blood Poison Stone, being wounded by this knife would result in the rapid spread of poison throughout the body, posing a great threat to common-grade warriors and demonic creatures.]

[You did not place a bid and, in the end, it was won by the owner of Room 103 with twenty drops of common-grade demonic creature essence blood.]

[Two minutes later, the second item for auction, the Flame Mark Bow, came up for bidding.]

[According to the auctioneer's introduction, both the bow's limbs and bowstring were made from the tendons of peak spiritual-grade demonic creatures. It could be powered by the essence blood of a demonic creature with mastery over fire, allowing it to release fiery energy to condense arrows for attacks.]

[You still did not place a bid, and three minutes later, it was won by the owner of Room 304 with thirty-five drops of common-grade demonic creature essence blood.]

The first foresight ended.

The second foresight began.

(End of this chapter)