The next morning, Xu Chuan was already waiting at the gate of Lin’an County City, anticipating the appearance of an opportunity.
This jade talisman wouldn't be here forever; otherwise, it would have been discovered long ago. It must have been dropped by someone.
Therefore, Xu Chuan’s gaze swept over the passersby.
He waited until the sun was directly overhead.
Finally, Xu Chuan noticed something.
A man was pushing a cart laden with freshly dug earth out of the city.
This earth was likely from a foundation excavation for a house within the city.
As the cart neared the city gate, the wheel accidentally rolled over a protruding stone.
The cart jolted, and a pile of earth tumbled off.
Amidst the fallen earth, a jade talisman could be faintly seen.
The man pushing the cart paid no mind. He just wanted to quickly push the earth out of the city and dump it somewhere, then collect his wages.
Xu Chuan, who had been waiting,’s eyes lit up. Seizing the moment when no one was paying attention, he swiftly retrieved the jade talisman from the dirt pile and placed it into his storage ring.
At this moment, Zhang Liang, whom Xu Chuan had encountered yesterday, was idly wandering nearby with a group of followers.
One of the sharp-eyed followers immediately spotted Xu Chuan and alerted Zhang Liang.
Upon hearing his follower, Zhang Liang immediately turned his group around and left, fearing discovery by Xu Chuan.
However, at the very instant he turned, a inexplicable sense of loss washed over him.
It was as if something immensely important to his life, something that rightfully belonged to him, had suddenly vanished.
Yet, the feeling was fleeting, disappearing as quickly as it came, and Zhang Liang didn't dwell on it.
His priority was to evade the dreaded Xu Chuan!
Xu Chuan had actually noticed Zhang Liang much earlier but paid him no mind.
Now that he had obtained the jade talisman, he was eager to comprehend its mysteries.
Returning to his lodging,
Xu Chuan took out the jade talisman and examined it closely.
Despite turning it over and over for a long time, he found nothing special about it.
On the surface, it was just a very ordinary jade talisman.
In fact, due to years of being buried underground, some earth had seeped into its surface.
"How is this thing used?"
Xu Chuan channeled his divine sense into the jade talisman and finally discovered its secret.
Within the talisman resided a mysterious energy. When activated, it could conceal the user's aura,
reducing their presence.
It could even mask the heavenly tribulation during a tribulation crossing.
The only drawback was that it could only be used once a day, and its effect was time-limited. Once the time expired, the talisman would become inert.
"Hiss—This is a treasure!"
Xu Chuan gasped, his eyes immediately flashing with ecstatic joy.
"With this, why would I worry about infiltrating the Chen family!"
Calming himself, Xu Chuan imprinted his divine sense onto the jade talisman.
This would allow him to activate it at any time.
The Chen family patriarch's birthday banquet was scheduled for the day after tomorrow.
Therefore, Xu Chuan hesitated no longer. He immediately left the inn and, relying on the jade talisman’s concealment, made his way towards the Chen manor.
Before long, he arrived near the Chen residence.
The Chen family truly lived up to its reputation as one of the foremost families in Lin’an County City. Upon learning of the impending birthday banquet for the patriarch, the Chen manor’s doorstep was practically worn down by visitors.
Xu Chuan hid in a tree outside the Chen manor, constantly observing the comings and goings.
At present, he had no idea where the Chen family's treasure vault was. Even if he were to infiltrate the manor now, it would be futile.
Moreover, it could even alert them.
That would be an unacceptable loss.
So, Xu Chuan waited by the entrance, hoping to glean some information from the people passing by.
After a long wait, there was still no useful news.
Xu Chuan was growing impatient.
Just as he was about to give up and directly enter the Chen manor to search,
a middle-aged man clad in golden attire caught Xu Chuan’s attention.
He emerged from the manor and stood by the entrance, as if awaiting someone important.
His intuition told him that this man held the information he sought.
Immediately, the system scanned him, and his information appeared before Xu Chuan.
[Name: Chen Youfu]
[Realm: Body Tempering Realm Seventh Layer]
[Talent: Extremely Common]
[Destiny: Flipping the Tabletop (Green)]
[Life Script: A supporting character among supporting characters, a background extra among background extras]
[Life Trajectory: The Chen family patriarch's illegitimate son, disliked by the Chen family. He fathered a son who snatched a Spirit Crystal. The patriarch then appointed him as the next family head, thus flipping his fate. His fortune rose with his son's.]
[Opportunity: His son became family head, accidentally entered an underwater treasure vault, absorbed a trace of energy emanating from a Spirit Crystal, and advanced to the Qi Cultivation Realm.]
Xu Chuan's premonition was correct.
Within his information, Xu Chuan found the location of the treasure vault.
Furthermore, the Spirit Crystal was indeed kept within the vault.
Without further hesitation, Xu Chuan, utilizing the jade talisman’s deceptive power, infiltrated the Chen manor.
The Chen family manor was vast,
divided into a front and a back courtyard.
Currently, all the servants and guards were busy in the front courtyard, preparing for the next day’s birthday banquet.
Xu Chuan glanced around the front courtyard but found no lake.
The lake must be in the back courtyard.
Upon entering the back courtyard, he indeed discovered a small lake.
He surmised that the treasure vault must be at the bottom of this lake.
Seizing the opportunity while no one was around, Xu Chuan did not hesitate.
He leaped into the lake.
The lake was not too deep, only about twenty meters.
With little effort, Xu Chuan dived to the lakebed.
What greeted his eyes was a palace of blue bricks and glazed tiles.
Who would have imagined such a palace at the bottom of a lake?
The palace, enveloped by a water-repelling formation, offered a world of its own.
Entering the formation, Xu Chuan found the air fresh and clean, not damp or stuffy as he might have expected.
Clearly, there was a special ventilation mechanism in place.
"The Chen family is quite clever, building their treasure vault at the bottom of the lake. If I didn't have my system, who would ever suspect?"
Xu Chuan surveyed the underwater palace. The Chen family's treasure vault was sizable; this was going to be profitable!
Inside the palace, one side was lined with shelves, and the other side held numerous large chests.
Xu Chuan took a casual glance.
He discovered that the wooden shelves stored various pills and spiritual herbs, along with cultivation techniques.
The pills and herbs appeared to be of good quality. As for the cultivation techniques, Xu Chuan found them unimpressive.
How could the techniques here compare to those in the Holy Land's Transmission Tower?
Impossible!
Looking at the several open chests beside them, all he saw was Yuan Stone, densely packed Yuan Stones.
Xu Chuan swore he had never seen so many Yuan Stones in his life.
He roughly calculated there were at least five hundred thousand Yuan Stones.
Although they were all lower-grade Yuan Stones,
it still represented a considerable fortune.
Truly befitting a prominent family that had stood in Lin’an County City for hundreds of years; they were indeed different.
"Besides these things, is there nothing else?"
Xu Chuan frowned. His objective was not these items.
While these things were not insignificant, they were merely the icing on the cake.
His target was the Spirit Crystal!
Xu Chuan opened the chests one by one, searching.
Although the chests and shelves were protected by restrictions,
they were all bypassed by the Heaven-Deceiving Jade Talisman Xu Chuan held.
This item was practically made for thievery.
Xu Chuan found himself using it with increasing ease.
After searching for a long time, Xu Chuan still found no trace of the Spirit Crystal.
He did, however, find more materials for alchemy and artifact refining.