Chapter 734: Chapter 473: Master Gu Huo’s Treasure (Double Monthly Ticket Request) (Part 2)
The farm girl with slightly chubby cheeks and skin tanned a bit too dark suddenly showed a fearful expression, and whispered: "The adults in the village say there are ghosts in that temple, that people come out confused, and I’m not allowed to go."
Ghosts?
Zhao Douan tugged at the corner of his mouth, gazing at the temple on the mountain behind, his expression growing more serious.
He was certain he had never been to this region before, but for some reason, he always felt that the scene before him induced a sense of familiarity.
"As if... I’ve seen it before..."
"What is it? I’m certain I’ve seen it. But where? I’ve never been here..."
"Think carefully..."
Zhao Douan stared intently at the lush mountain behind in the sunset, where the corner of the temple building stood, and suddenly, a flash of insight flickered through his mind.
He remembered!
"Master Gu Huo! I once saw this temple in the memories of the Enchanting Demon!"
At that time, when the Enchanting Demon entered the capital to kill, Zhao Douan had used the vast memories of his past life to counter the demon’s magic, and had "read" a few remaining memories of the demon.
Among them was an incident of collusion with Zhuang Xiaocheng;
Another was the demon entering a dilapidated temple before entering the capital, opening a secret room, and taking with him some Suppressing Objects and Magic Artifacts.
And at this moment, the ruined temple on the peak behind Baihua Village perfectly overlapped with the vague scene in his memory.
"Is it purely a coincidence? Or... is Master Gu Huo’s secret treasure trove hidden here?"
Recalling the ghost stories mentioned by the phony girl, Zhao Douan held his breath and immediately returned to the Liu Family.
"Are you sure?" In the side room, Xu Zhenguan showed a surprised expression after hearing his words.
"I’m not sure yet, which is why I’m planning to go see." Zhao Douan said seriously, "Your Majesty, your injuries have not yet healed and require medicinal treatment. I’m also stuck at a bottleneck; if it truly is that demon’s treasury, the things inside would surely aid us!"
Xu Zhenguan’s eyes also lit up, but then he worriedly said, "But what if that demon is hiding in there to heal? It would be too dangerous for you to go recklessly. We should go together."
"No, Your Majesty should remain outside. I could kill him at his prime back then; now, I have nothing to fear."
Zhao Douan pressed down Zhenbao, who wanted to go with him.
If it were other magicians, Zhao Douan wouldn’t be so confident, but if it’s Master Gu Huo... well, it could only be said that the grand tonic of human nature has come again.
"But..."
"Did Your Majesty forget? I can still request Pei Niannu for a Divine Descent at critical moments." Zhao Douan seriously reminded.
The Empress reluctantly nodded, "If you don’t return for a long time, I’ll come to your aid. Oh, take the Taia Sword with you."
Zhao Douan did not refuse, mocking himself, "Perhaps I’ve just mistaken; it may not be such a coincidence. We fled here and happened to stumble upon this?"
Xu Zhenguan pondered for a moment, then suddenly shook his head, "No, maybe it’s not luck but fate. I chose that day for Sealing because it was the brightest day of my Life Star this year, the day my fortune was at its peak. Unfortunately, someone forcibly altered my fortune with ’Sorrow God,’ turning it to the lowest... but such alterations are not without cost. Besides the caster inevitably suffering backlash, my originally obscured ’fortune’ will also gradually recover... and as the Emperor, my fortune equates to the country’s fate, inherently far stronger than an ordinary person’s."
Zhao Douan was stunned for a moment, "Your Majesty means that our encounter with the temple may not be a coincidence, but the fortune turned by Sorrow God on that day has accumulated until now and finally erupted?"
"Possible, hence we could escape smoothly this time. However, the influence of fortune is ultimately limited; human actions matter more, and good luck is often accompanied by bad luck." Xu Zhenguan hesitated, "Overall, we must be careful."
The concept of "fortune" is quite esoteric.
Yet, having personally experienced the seven-day curse, Zhao Douan dared not take it lightly.
After the two of them discussed, they quietly waited for nightfall. When the sun set, Zhao Douan silently climbed out of the window, floating like smoke, moving like a ghost towards the mountain behind.
...
The mountain temple was not close to Baihua Village, but with Zhao Douan’s current cultivation, rushing at full speed, he soon found himself treading the ruined mountain path, reaching the abandoned temple.
In the sky, a full moon hung high, casting a cool and mirror-like glow.
Zhao Douan looked up and saw that the archway outside the temple was broken, nameless, with only the faint remnants of the word "three."
"If this truly is the location of the treasury, then the so-called ’ghosts’ are likely a kind of blind eye technique set up by Master Gu Huo here, to prevent ordinary people from entering."
Zhao Douan pondered briefly and reached into his garments to take out a stack of talisman paper from a scroll’s space, which he had applied for from the government office before heading south.
"Let me see... the spell that reveals arrays is... the Heavenly Eye Talisman, yes this one."
He pulled out a piece from the stack, infused it with his Qi Mechanism to ignite it, and smudged the burning talisman paper on his brow.
Instanly, in the darkness, his eyes flashed with a vibrant green light, similar to when the Empress opened the Heavenly Eye to view the divines for him from atop the Emperor Tower.
"I guessed right!"
Under the Heavenly Eye, Zhao Douan quickly discovered that the dilapidated temple indeed contained a Maze Array, but no Killing Array.
"Indeed, if it kills, it’s likely to attract government attention. A Maze Array is sufficient."
Zhao Douan leaped to the southeastern corner of the ruined temple, slamming his palm onto a stone pedestal, revealing a silver bowl buried inside.
As he removed the silver bowl, the array was immediately broken and lost its power.
Following the memory, Zhao Douan stepped into the temple and halted behind a Buddha altar, trying to explore and manipulate the hidden "mechanism" behind it.
"Click, click, click——"
A side of the wall suddenly cracked open, accompanied by the sound of cog-and-hinge friction, revealing a secret passage!
"Didn’t find the wrong place!"
Zhao Douan’s eyes lit up, drawing out a "Lighting Talisman," placing it on his forehead, the talisman flashing with vermilion light, cutting through the darkness like a flashlight and illuminating the path ahead.