Without the specific Gu insects he wished to exchange for, Liu Chen prepared to leave the sanctuary of Lang Ya Blessed Land. However, just as he was about to step away, a thought flashed through his mind: Since I have already come here, why not open the treasure chests I have been setting aside?
Liu Chen halted his steps and focused on the two chests sitting in his mental space. One was the Eight Color box he had silently claimed from beside the Land Spirit during the negotiation , the old man had been so thoroughly absorbed in reading the Star Path recipe that he had never noticed a thing, the other was an environmental reward discovered by chance outside the blessed land.
He reasoned that before the conclusion of the Three Gu promise, the Land Spirit would never harm him. In other words, this was the safest location in the world to reveal high level prizes without the risk of being spied upon by other Gu Immortals. Whatever radiated from these chests when opened would be visible only to him , the Land Spirit had already proven that much during the trading session, standing not two meters away from the Eight Color box's glow without so much as blinking.
Liu Chen took a deep breath, settled his mind, and selected the Eight Color chest first , the one he had taken from beside the Land Spirit.
Click.
The lid popped open, and a dazzling light gushed out, instantly illuminating the entire hall from Liu Chen's perspective. The light was so intense that Liu Chen had to squint. Beside him, the Lang Ya Land Spirit continued sipping his own tea with his eyes half closed, utterly blind to the display unfolding less than an arm's length away.
Liu Chen's attention was immediately seized by the notification:
"Congratulations! Reward obtained , Refinement Sea: The artificial Secret Realm of Heaven and Earth of the Refinement Path. A secret self supply that is endless and profound."
Before he could even savor the joy, a massive sea of water rushed out from the small chest like a flood breaking through an embankment. In an instant, the entire room was submerged. Liu Chen was caught off guard, nearly swept away by the sudden, turbulent pressure of the refined water.
Acting on pure instinct, he focused his mind and commanded the system to store the Refinement Sea into his inventory. In a heartbeat, the torrential waters vanished as if they had been cast under a spell, disappearing without a trace. Not even a single drop of water remained on Liu Chen's skin.
"Boy! That was the Refinement Sea just now! Where did you get it?!"
The Lang Ya Land Spirit's voice was sharp with urgency and suspicion. His figure flickered like a ghost, vanishing and reappearing instantly before Liu Chen. His eyes were tightly locked onto the youth, as if he wanted to see through his very soul to uncover his secrets.
So the physical manifestation of the reward is visible to him even if the chest itself is not, Liu Chen noted internally, filing the observation away without letting it show on his face.
After a brief, frantic examination of the blessed land, the Land Spirit confirmed that the prototype of the Refinement Sea within Lang Ya itself had not been stolen. He breathed a sigh of relief, but his gaze quickly returned to Liu Chen, the greed in his eyes becoming increasingly obvious.
"If you give me that Refinement Sea, I will give you any inheritance within this blessed land in exchange! What do you think?" The Land Spirit's voice burned with temptation. For a spirit obsessed with the Refinement Path, a Secret Realm of Heaven and Earth was a treasure he would swallow his own pride to obtain. He was willing to trade even one of the three True Inheritances left by the Long Hair Ancestor.
However, Liu Chen remained unusually calm. He raised the corner of his mouth into a faint smile and replied unhurriedly: "What 'Refinement Sea'? That was merely an illusion created by the techniques of Thieving Heaven Demon Venerable. Do you truly think that as a mortal, I could possess a Secret Realm of Heaven and Earth? Even if I had it, would I be able to drink it all into my stomach?"
The Land Spirit paused, his face full of doubt as he re evaluated the boy. "Well... that is true. How could a mortal possibly possess such a rare treasure? The legend of the Thief is indeed true to its name; his fakes are more realistic than the real thing!" Thinking of the Demon Venerable's pinnacle level counterfeiting skills, the Land Spirit was successfully deceived.
Liu Chen breathed a silent sigh of relief. He still had the second chest , the environmental reward waiting in his inventory, but he did not open it here. One unexpected physical manifestation had already drawn the Land Spirit's full attention. A second incident of the same nature would be pushing his luck dangerously far, Thieving Heaven's reputation or not.
I will open it somewhere far from here, he decided. That is the smarter move.
He took the opportunity to address the Spirit: "I have obtained the Gu I wanted, and the others are of no use to me for now. Please, send me away from this place."
"You cunning brat! You didn't even use one of your three refinement attempts!" The Land Spirit huffed, his face twisting with anger. "Go away quickly! Do not delay me further!" He waved his hand impatiently, as if shooing away a fly.
In a blur of light, Liu Chen vanished from the blessed land.
The next second, Liu Chen reappeared in the Stone Forest by Crescent Lake. He stood among the monolithic pillars, settled his mind, and immediately summoned the Thousand Li Earthwolf Spider from his aperture.
The massive creature let out a low roar and burrowed into the ground like a bolt of lightning. In the blink of an eye, it had taken Liu Chen thousands of miles away, disappearing beneath the earth without leaving a single trace.
Liu Chen did not stop. He continued to drive the spider, digging a complex network of underground caves and using Wood Path Gu to reinforce them. Once his hideout was secure and he was confident no Gu Immortal's perception could reach him, he finally withdrew the Living Treasure Window from his system inventory, without the complications of an immortal observer standing three steps away.
As soon as the Window was released, it latched onto Liu Chen like a frightened child and began to howl. The cry was deafening, as if the whole world could hear its grievances.
"Master! Why did you leave me in that ghost place again? I thought you didn't want me anymore!" the Window cried and complained.
Liu Chen looked at the talkative Gu House with helplessness. He hadn't expected the little one to be such a crybaby. "Okay, stop crying. If you cry any more, I won't have enough containers to hold your tears."
Hearing the master's words, the Window's sobbing gradually subsided. This time, however, its tears transformed into a volatile, shimmering liquid , Thunder Light Spring. This was an extremely rare and precious Gu material.
Liu Chen quickly retrieved a container and began collecting the liquid. As he did, he felt a faint, tingling electrical current running through his body. With his sanctuary established and a fresh supply of rare materials quietly accumulating around him, Liu Chen turned his focus inward, his heart full of anticipation for his next move.