Chapter 1514 A Different World
"This is a good thing, I'm still keeping it to sell."
The scruffy Taoist priest happily stuffed the stone into his embrace. This guy was planning to fool people with fake spirit stones again.
"You're going to fool people with fakes again?" Chen Xuan said with a cold laugh.
"What do you know? This isn't called fooling people, this is called doing business. It's their fault for being blind," the scruffy Taoist priest said solemnly.
Chen Xuan shook his head dismissively.
The scruffy Taoist priest leaned closer and asked, "Kid, how did you know these spirit stones were fake?"
He was very curious how Chen Xuan could tell. Ordinary people wouldn't be able to discern it at all.
Chen Xuan replied, "A wise man has his own tricks."
He returned the exact same phrase to the scruffy Taoist priest.
"You... you're so boring!"
The scruffy Taoist priest saw no point in wasting more words. He bent down and picked up the construction shovel to dig for stones again. However, no matter how he dug, he couldn't find any spirit stones. "Strange, why are there no more spirit stones?"
Chen Xuan and Liu Yu also couldn't dig out any spirit stones.
Had it all run out?
The scruffy Taoist priest took out a compass, fiddled with it, and began to calculate with an air of self-assurance. Suddenly, he pointed to a spot where Chen Xuan had just been digging and said, "There are still spirit stones here, dig quickly."
"Scruffy Taoist priest, is what you're saying reliable?"
Chen Xuan asked deliberately.
This was because the World Tree had told him there was indeed a treasure here, though it hadn't specified what it was.
"My monastic name is Xuan Daozi!"
"Oh, scruffy Taoist priest, is what you're saying reliable?"
"Naturally, my words are reliable. This is the treasure-hunting compass passed down from my ancestor. The direction the compass points is here, it absolutely cannot be wrong," the scruffy Taoist priest asserted confidently.
"Brother Chen, what should we do?" Liu Yu couldn't make up his mind.
"Dig!"
Chen Xuan uttered a single word.
He also wanted to see what could be dug out here.
So, the three of them worked together to dig in that direction.
In the blink of an eye, they had dug two zhang deep in that direction, but there was still nothing.
Liu Yu couldn't help but say, "Old Taoist priest, did you make a mistake? Is there nothing here at all?"
The scruffy Taoist priest frowned, doubt creeping into his mind. "Did I make a mistake? That shouldn't be the case..."
"No, let's dig a bit more. My treasure-hunting compass has never failed before."
The scruffy Taoist priest hesitated for a moment, then grabbed the construction shovel and began to furiously dig into the ground.
After a few shovels, not even half a spirit stone appeared.
Just as the scruffy Taoist priest was about to give up, there was suddenly a "clang," a sound of metal striking stone.
Chen Xuan and Liu Yu looked over sharply. They saw that due to the excessive force, the scruffy old man's construction shovel had broken. However, the scruffy old man was overjoyed, shouting, "Finally found it, finally found it..."
He quickly pounced forward, clearing the soil with his hands. What was revealed was not a crystal-clear spirit stone imbued with spiritual energy, but the tip of a bronze gate.
Chen Xuan and Liu Yu were full of disappointment, but the scruffy Taoist priest was ecstatic. "I didn't expect there to be an ancient tomb, I've really found a treasure!"
"Hey, old man, did you know there was an ancient tomb here?"
Chen Xuan asked.
The scruffy Taoist priest chuckled, "I found out by chance. I didn't expect it to be real, hehehe..."
Chen Xuan looked at the scruffy Taoist priest, then back at the deep passage. Suddenly, he realized something was very wrong. Hadn't they been tricked into helping this scruffy Taoist priest dig a tunnel?
"Old man, tell me, did you deliberately have us help you dig the tunnel!"
He grabbed the scruffy Taoist priest by the collar and asked coldly.
"How could I?" The scruffy Taoist priest shook his head like a rattle drum. "Besides, wasn't it you who wanted spirit stones?"
"You want to dismiss us with two spirit stones? Are you kidding me?"
Chen Xuan sneered, flexing his fists.
The cracking sound made the scruffy Taoist priest's eyelids twitch. "Young man, don't get angry, illness will befall you if you do! Haven't we found an ancient tomb? If spirit stones can be found outside this tomb, there must be a massive amount of spirit stones inside. If we divide them up then, you'll definitely make a fortune!"
Hearing this, although Chen Xuan felt there was an element of conspiracy, he also felt that what the scruffy Taoist priest said made sense. Perhaps there really were spirit stones in this ancient tomb.
"Brother Liu, are you interested?"
He glanced at Liu Yu, seeking his opinion.
Liu Yu immediately nodded. "Since we're here, how can we leave empty-handed? These two spirit stones aren't enough for me."
"Then let's explore the ancient tomb."
Chen Xuan nodded.
At this moment, the scruffy Taoist priest said with a smile, "Gentlemen, please help me dig open the bronze door of the ancient tomb so we can go inside."
Looking at the scruffy Taoist priest's smile, Chen Xuan always felt a sense of being used as a pawn, but he had no choice for the sake of the spirit stones.
Helplessly, Chen Xuan also began to try and dig away the soil in front of the bronze door.
The bronze door was completely revealed to everyone. It was carved with patterns of dragons and phoenixes soaring, exuding an ancient aura. It looked very old.
Chen Xuan tried to pull open the bronze door, but found that it was secured by a large lock. He was very curious. If this was an ancient tomb, why was it locked? It looked more like a cave mansion.
Could this be the legendary immortal's cave mansion?
"Let me open the door!"
The scruffy Taoist priest actually took out a key and stepped forward to open the bronze door.
"How do you have the key?" Chen Xuan asked quickly.
"Found it!"
The scruffy Taoist priest gave a perfunctory answer, quickly opened the bronze door, and flashed inside.
"This matter is not simple."
Chen Xuan said, not daring to let the scruffy Taoist priest disappear from his sight. If he found a treasure, wouldn't this guy hide it?
He and Liu Yu quickly followed.
As Chen Xuan had expected, this was not a tomb but an immortal's cave mansion. Traces of the immortal's cultivation could be faintly seen.
Looking around, Chen Xuan couldn't find any good things, nor any immortal remains. The surroundings were bare, without even a decent magical artifact.
His inability to find something did not mean the scruffy Taoist priest couldn't.
Chen Xuan hurried to look for the scruffy Taoist priest. He saw that the scruffy Taoist priest seemed to have opened a secret chamber. He and Liu Yu quickly followed. As soon as they entered, with a rumble, the door behind them slammed shut.
His expression changed, and he quickly turned back to open the door, but suddenly a loud shout came from behind him: "Don't open the door!"
Chen Xuan's arm, which was on the door, slowly lowered again. He turned to see the scruffy Taoist priest sitting amidst a pile of spirit stones.
"Scruffy Taoist priest, what do you mean by this?"
He no longer cared about the spirit stones, as his life was the most important thing now.
"Don't try to open the door, or you will only die a more miserable death."
The scruffy Taoist priest said gravely.
"Why?"
Chen Xuan asked back.
"Look, you listen for yourself."
The scruffy Taoist priest patted a nearby puppet. The puppet's large mouth opened and closed, emitting a mechanical voice: "Master has not returned for ten years. The treasure is given to the fated person. Within one day and one night, refine as many spirit stones as you can. You are not allowed to take them away."
"Remember, you are not allowed to take them away, or you will die without a burial place!"
"Remember, you are not allowed to leave early, or you will die without a burial place if you do!"