"Chen Mingyue, your ancestor entered this place before. Did he sketch a map for you of the interior?" Ning Beichen asked Chen Mingyue.
"He did, but our ancestor and his companions didn't explore much of it. The places they visited were mostly empty, so the map is as good as no map," Chen Mingyue replied, handing a rudimentary hand-drawn map to Ning Beichen.
Ning Beichen glanced at the map, and he couldn't compliment the Chen family ancestor's drawing skills. It looked like something a kindergarten child would draw.
No!
Even a kindergarten child would draw better than this.
If Chen Mingyue hadn't told him it was a map, Ning Beichen wouldn't have recognized it as such even if he found it on the ground.
"My grandfather said that the Po Zong Dan might be here," Chen Mingyue said, pointing to a spot circled in red on the crude map.
Ning Beichen compared the map with their current location. After staring at it for a long time, he couldn't make heads or tails of it.
He had to admit, the Chen family ancestor was incredibly talented, so talented that perhaps only Einstein jumping out of his coffin could decipher his thoughts.
"Forget it, this map is useless. Let's explore from the beginning. It won't take much time anyway," Ning Beichen told Chen Mingyue.
Chen Mingyue nodded, her face flushed with embarrassment, feeling ashamed that she couldn't understand her own ancestor's map.
Ning Beichen had some experience exploring such ruins and had a general idea of where dangers might lie. While each place might differ, artifacts from the same era wouldn't vary too drastically.
For instance, a medicine like the Po Zong Dan wouldn't be carelessly placed but would likely be stored in places like treasuries or pharmacies.
These areas were always of utmost importance and would invariably be heavily guarded, either by traps, monsters, formations, or some other mysterious and terrifying means.
Ning Beichen and Chen Mingyue searched several rooms, but they were all empty. Even if some furniture remained, it had long since turned to dust.
After all, no one would use powerful formations to maintain ordinary residential houses, nor would anyone be willing to craft everyday items from eternal and indestructible materials.
The two of them searched seven or eight rooms consecutively, but they were either completely empty or filled with debris that had turned to dust. Not only was there no Po Zong Dan, but not even a single medicinal herb was found.
Ning Beichen wasn't surprised by this. Back when he explored the underground ruins in the Sahara Desert's no-man's-land, he only found a dried medicinal root.
If it weren't for that bronze fragment, Ning Beichen would have felt like he had suffered a great loss, especially since it had led to Linglong's continued unconsciousness.
What was even more frustrating for Ning Beichen was that the cultivation technique on the bronze fragment was either too profound or unculturable. Ning Beichen had tried to cultivate it without any effect.
Therefore, even if this place truly had Po Zong Dan, Ning Beichen believed the quantity wouldn't be large, and finding it was another question entirely.
As Ning Beichen and Chen Mingyue were searching, they suddenly saw a person running towards them in a panic, with shouts of pursuit behind him.
"Catch him, he found the Po Zong Dan."
Ning Beichen initially didn't want to meddle, but upon hearing the words "Po Zong Dan," he immediately stepped forward and grabbed the panicking individual.
"Hand over the Po Zong Dan."
Ning Beichen demanded.
"Baga!"
This panicked fellow turned out to be a Sakura country martial artist. Seeing Ning Beichen blocking his path, he lunged at Ning Beichen with his saber.
However, this Sakura country martial artist had no idea of Ning Beichen's strength. He figured if anyone blocked his way, they deserved to be killed.
Ning Beichen snorted coldly and tapped the back of his saber with his finger. Before the Sakura country martial artist could react, Ning Beichen had already landed a punch on his abdomen.
The Sakura country martial artist doubled over, his pupils dilating, feeling a searing pain in his abdomen as if it were being engulfed in flames.
"Hand over the Po Zong Dan."
Ning Beichen threatened him again.
"Baga, do you know who I am?"
This Sakura country martial artist dared to threaten Ning Beichen at this point, believing Ning Beichen wouldn't dare offend his backing.
However, his assumption was the exact opposite. Ning Beichen not only dared to offend but was willing to.
After all, dealing with one Kong Jing monk was the same as dealing with two, it made no difference to him.
In short, he simply disliked Sakura country martial artists and had no good feelings towards them. What could they do about it?
"Too much nonsense!"
Ning Beichen pinched a specific spot on the Sakura country martial artist's waist with two fingers. A soul-wrenching scream erupted from the man, his entire body convulsing, his features contorted in pain.
It was unclear what method Ning Beichen had used, but it seemed to inflict far greater agony than a thousand cuts.
Ning Beichen, too lazy to ask further questions, directly searched the man and found a pill. Upon close inspection, he realized it wasn't the Po Zong Dan at all, but an unknown pill of unknown use.
However, coming from this place, it was likely not an ordinary item and might even be better than the Po Zong Dan.
Ning Beichen claimed the pill as his own, then killed the Sakura country martial artist with a single punch, having no intention of letting him live.
The people who had been chasing him saw this and immediately stopped, looking warily at Ning Beichen.
This Sakura country martial artist was actually quite strong. Even their combined efforts might not have been enough to kill him, yet this man before them had dispatched him with a single punch. They couldn't help but be astonished.
Ning Beichen also looked at them. Seeing that they had no intention of attacking, Ning Beichen decided to ignore them and swaggered away with Chen Mingyue.
Ning Beichen wasn't a killer. As long as these people didn't provoke him, he wouldn't kill them for no reason.
The reason he killed the Sakura country martial artist earlier was purely because Ning Beichen disliked him, driven by his personal aversion.
"That person snatched the Po Zong Dan from the Sakura country martial artist. Should we..."
One martial artist said resentfully, watching Ning Beichen's retreating back.
"If you have the guts, go and snatch it back. I don't want to provoke him,"
Another martial artist said, casting a fearful glance at Ning Beichen's back before turning to leave.
If you can't afford to offend, you can at least afford to avoid.
It was clear at a glance that this person was a ruthless individual. A Sakura country martial artist, whose strength was no weaker than theirs, was casually killed. Only a fool would provoke him.
Life is everything; death leaves nothing.