Outside the simple cabin,
"Speaking of which, I've never actually looked at a treasure map in pitch darkness!~"
"But then again, not everyone is likely to be looking at a treasure map that might contain a world-shattering treasure in pitch darkness... These things are most afraid of missed details..."
Glancing at the stars in the sky, Ye Feng muttered to himself, took out the map formed by the Kindling Record and the Soul Snatcher's Secret Record, and spread it out.
The map was somewhat large, so Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao each held one end, standing quietly under the starry night sky.
"Big Brother, look! The treasure map is changing!"
Just as Ye Feng was getting bored, the treasure map finally stirred.
Specks of starlight fell onto the treasure map, seeming to be absorbed and transforming into faint streams of light that connected the mountains and rivers on the map, forming a three-dimensional pattern.
As more and more starlight fell, the strange directional markers on the Soul Snatcher's Secret Record also shifted, coming alive and directly integrating into the three-dimensional pattern...
"Holy cow... these messy directional markers actually indicate every mountain, river, and even path..."
Seeing this, Ye Feng was astonished.
"Big Brother, the direction to the treasure map doesn't seem to be the direction we're heading..."
At this moment, Xiao Xiao's somewhat dejected voice rang out.
"Indeed. It's quite a headache~"
Ye Feng also noticed this and felt a bit frustrated.
"Huh? What's going on?"
Suddenly, Ye Feng frowned.
Because he had accidentally shifted the treasure map slightly, the three-dimensional pattern of mountains and rivers on it had also changed...
"This... the treasure map can change?"
Ye Feng was taken aback.
Immediately after, he and Xiao Xiao, holding the treasure map, tried changing directions continuously and found that after they moved, the three-dimensional pattern and the directional markers would change accordingly...
"What a magical treasure map!"
Xiao Xiao looked at the three-dimensional pattern before her with great surprise.
"Is this treasure map related to the stars in the sky?"
Ye Feng pondered for a moment, then looked up at the night sky, beginning to understand.
He had observed before that the fixed pattern of mountains and rivers formed by the Kindling Record and the Soul Snatcher's Secret Record was constant, but the three-dimensional pattern formed by the treasure map absorbing starlight was ever-changing...
And their movements and changes in direction earlier could actually be seen as the stars in the sky changing...
"This is perfect. I was worried that the direction indicated by the treasure map and the direction of the Arcane Pointer were not aligned!"
After verifying it again, Ye Feng was very pleased, but more so curious and astonished.
After all, treasure maps usually relied on mountains, rivers, and other geographical features for navigation... If one didn't recognize the mountains and rivers on the map, or any other landmarks, even with a treasure map, one wouldn't know where to start. But this peculiar treasure map had almost no such problem...
...
For the next few days,
Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao continued to drive the Hummer towards the direction indicated by the Arcane Pointer.
Although they now had clear clues from the treasure map, the Hummer didn't travel fast. Both Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao were quite relaxed, stopping occasionally to admire the surrounding scenery, with a feeling akin to teenagers driving on a leisurely outing...
...
One noon,
Underneath several tall trees,
Xiao Xiao was preparing a meal, while Ye Feng was practicing the mysterious movements he had recently acquired some distance away.
As Ye Feng practiced, his entire body was soon drenched in sweat, and he looked quite fatigued, yet he was very happy.
Because he could clearly feel his arcane energy circulating and being absorbed by his internal organs and fascias, strengthening his physical physique just like when he had tempered other parts of his body...
"Plop!~"
While practicing, Ye Feng could no longer endure it and fell to the ground.
"Huff huff~ huff~"
"This set of mysterious movements is really outrageous... I'm already exhausted after doing less than a third of the entire sequence..."
Ye Feng lay on the grass, panting heavily, muttering with a hint of frustration.
Xiao Xiao, who was by the stove not far away, saw this and frowned slightly but said nothing, as Ye Feng had already explained to her before...
After resting on the grass for a while and recovering some strength, Ye Feng reached for a nearby stone, preparing to pull himself up.
"Crack!~ Puff~"
Just like last time, the seemingly exceptionally hard stone split apart the moment Ye Feng grabbed it, with his fingers turning into powder and scattering with the wind...
"Goodness... It seems it's better for me to stay away from Xiao Xiao when I'm training..."
Seeing this, Ye Feng secretly decided. He didn't want to accidentally cause Xiao Xiao to lose an arm or something...
"Huh? This fluctuation..."
Suddenly, Ye Feng's eyes lit up.
Because he discovered that the fluctuations appearing on his body surface after practicing that set of mysterious movements were actually True Qi.
Before, it was very faint and mostly arcane energy, but now it was clear that True Qi accounted for probably a third...
"Could it be that this set of mysterious movements is the way to cultivate True Qi?!"
Inevitably, a thought that made him very happy flashed through Ye Feng's mind.
After all, True Qi was clearly stronger than ordinary arcane energy, and he hadn't known how to cultivate it before...
"Big Brother, dinner's ready!~"
At this moment, Xiao Xiao, dressed as a little chef, called out to Ye Feng.
"Oh, okay, coming right away!"
Ye Feng responded, confirming that the True Qi and arcane energy on his body surface, which were somewhat beyond his control, had subsided. He then strode towards Xiao Xiao.
After all, after such exertion, he was ravenously hungry...
...
After a sumptuous lunch,
Ye Feng and Xiao Xiao got into the Hummer, leisurely enjoying the air conditioning. The scorching sun and heat waves outside had no effect on them.
Having exercised thoroughly in the morning and feeling quite exhausted, Ye Feng gradually closed his eyes under the cool breeze of the air conditioning...
...
"Rumble!~ Rumble~"
Ye Feng, who was just about to fall asleep, was jolted awake by a thunderous roar.
"What's going on? I was just about to sleep, why is it thundering!"
Woken up, Ye Feng was in a bad mood and complained with some frustration.
"Uh... Big Brother, you weren't just about to sleep... you've been sleeping for a long time..."
Xiao Xiao turned her head, looking at Ye Feng with surprise.
"Slept for a long time?"
Ye Feng looked at his watch in confusion and was immediately astonished because he realized it was already past three in the afternoon, and he had finished lunch shortly before one...
"Am I that tired... It seems I need to control myself when practicing those mysterious movements in the future..."
"Otherwise, it would be disastrous if we encountered sudden danger!"
Ye Feng muttered to himself.
"Rumble!~ Crackle!~"
"Rumble!~"
At this moment, peals of loud thunder and flashes of lightning across the sky pulled Ye Feng's thoughts back.
He followed the sound and saw a large patch of dark clouds in the distance in their direction of travel. The thunder and lightning were coming from there!
"Big Brother, should we take a detour?"
"It's been thundering there for several hours, and lightning often strikes the ground!"
Xiao Xiao frowned slightly and looked at Ye Feng questioningly.
...