Chapter Thirty-Five: The Treasure Map Appears

Sorrow entwined his heart. Tears vanished into the wind. He lowered his head in silence, looking back only with a sense of bewilderment.

Niu Ben left Niu Village, pausing every three steps to look back. Lei Yan walked steadily ahead, not once glancing at the youth behind him. Everything has its first time; his departure was both accidental and inevitable.

After a long while, when Niu Ben turned to look once more, Niu Village had already vanished from sight. His footsteps faltered for a moment. He turned toward the village that had nurtured him, bowed deeply, and whispered, "Grandfather, I will surely make a name for myself." With a sudden turn, he quickened his pace.

"Where are we going?" It seemed Niu Ben had found his resolve. When he caught up to Lei Yan, his eyes were slightly red, yet they shone with a steadfast light.

Lei Yan did not speak. His psychic perception told him that Li Lie and the others were not far off. He stopped abruptly, as if contemplating something, and after a moment, he transmitted his voice: "To the foot of the mountain." Then, he added aloud, "I am unfamiliar with this area; you lead the way." Lei Yan had decided to retrieve the treasure map, but before doing so, he had to create an opportunity to escape.

Niu Ben knew this terrain intimately. Within the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, he had led Lei Yan to the base of a small hill. It was less of a hill and more of a towering mound of dirt, barren and surrounded by scattered rocks. The weeds seemed to have mastered the art of concealment; had it not been for Lei Yan’s psychic powers, they would have been difficult to spot.

"Is this a mountain?" Lei Yan thought to himself while looking at the mound. "No matter. As long as it can delay them for a moment—just a moment—that will suffice." He transmitted to Niu Ben, "Niu Ben, I will do my best to destroy this mound. Take the opportunity to retrieve that object and hand it to me."

Niu Ben nodded. Hearing that Lei Yan intended to demolish the hill, he was eager to see the true extent of his companion's power.

Lei Yan slowly closed his eyes. A crimson glow at his heart expanded instantly throughout his body. The fire essence in the surrounding air converged violently toward him. A pillar of flame surged into the sky, engulfing Lei Yan’s entire form.

Niu Ben subconsciously took a step back, his mouth agape. His heart churned like a stormy sea. "Fire... he is covered in fire. A monster? No... could he be like that person? Yes, only those immortals possess such strength." The memory of the shock Yuan He had brought him surfaced in his mind. In an instant, Lei Yan’s image in Niu Ben's heart shifted from monster to human, and finally, to immortal.

Not far away, Yu Yang cried out, "What is this kid doing? Is the treasure map in that mound? That can't be right; my spiritual sense detected nothing."

Li Lie stared at Lei Yan in utter shock, muttering, "This kid has fire-attribute affinity as well? How is this possible? In just a few days, he has reached this level." As someone with the same affinity, Li Lie knew well that to ignite the fire essence surrounding one's body required a deep understanding of the 'Dao' of fire. What baffled him most was that when he last saw Lei Yan, the boy did not even know what the 'Dao' was, nor was his physical affinity clear.

Fairy Hua wore a grim expression, inwardly astonished. "It seems his reaching the middle stage of Foundation Establishment was no accident. He is on the verge of fully mastering the fire essence. To achieve this in just a few days... if he is allowed to grow... no, this boy must die."

Lei Yan, unaware of their thoughts, focused solely on how to escape. A faint smile touched his lips as his body launched toward the hill like a cannonball.

"Ha!" Lei Yan roared, his fists striking like rain. Countless afterimages filled the sky as he pummeled the top of the mound.

"Boom!" "Boom!" "Boom!" Massive amounts of earth and rock tumbled down.

"Incredible." Niu Ben, watching from below, was stunned. Only when the debris began to shower down did he snap out of it. Dodging the falling rocks, he made a feint with his hand, and a brocade box appeared in his grip as if by magic.

With a powerful whistle, Lei Yan descended from the air.

"Explode!"

At his shout, the entire hilltop erupted as if rigged with explosives. Huge chunks of rock and earth rained down.

In the distance, Li Lie felt his composure shatter. "He has already grasped 'Explosion'? I didn't reach that until I was in the late stage of Foundation Establishment. To think this kid is already touching the edge of it at the early stage. Damn it..." Li Lie’s face darkened. Had he known a talent like this existed, he would have recruited him into the sect, but now that they were enemies, there was only one outcome: "Kill him."

Li Lie lunged toward Lei Yan. Even if he couldn't find the treasure, he could not let this threat persist. Seeing Li Lie move, Fairy Hua and the others charged as well.

Sensing their approach, Lei Yan’s expression shifted. He looked at the box in Niu Ben’s hand and asked, "Is this it?"

Niu Ben nodded and handed it over. Without hesitation, Lei Yan took the box and channeled his true energy, burning away the seals.

*Hum~*

A brilliant light shot from the box. A treasure map composed of golden leaves appeared before Lei Yan’s eyes. His psychic sense swept over it; unable to memorize it in detail, he simply seared the image into his mind.

"I’ll give you the map now!" Lei Yan roared, hurling the treasure map toward the hill. Driven by his true energy, the map flew like a bolt of gold into the mountainside.

Lei Yan immediately activated his Dragon-Stealth movement technique, grabbed Niu Ben, and surged forward. His speed reached its limit, shooting into the distance like a streak of light.

The moment Lei Yan left, the spot where he and Niu Ben had stood was buried by falling rocks.

"Damn it!" Li Lie, who had kept his distance to avoid being discovered, could still catch up, but with the treasure map now in play, he couldn't trust the others. He cursed, halting his momentum.

"Find the map first!" Fairy Hua lunged toward the hill. Her spiritual sense had already locked onto the treasure map, and she was certain of its authenticity.

"Boom!"

Li Lie’s body, shrouded in flame, slammed into the hill. As soon as he reached where Lei Yan had stood, he unleashed his fists, pulverizing every rock he touched into dust.

Suddenly, a brilliant golden light shot out.