Chapter Seventy-Nine: The Lost Supreme Treasure

Chapter Seventy-Nine: The Lost Supreme Treasure

The arrow formed from his divine sense shot forth with astonishing speed. Almost at the very instant the sound rang out, it struck the pyramidal alloy box and then swiftly returned to Xia Zheng’s vertical eye, which closed almost immediately.

A crisp chime echoed through the air, but the alloy box remained unbroken. Xia Zheng felt a twinge of disappointment. He manipulated his mental power to pull the box back to him, and as he was about to set it aside, his gaze caught something unusual—a tiny red pattern had appeared at the spot where the arrow had struck, a miniature icon of a locked padlock.

“How intriguing… Could it be that my divine sense attack just now activated the box’s protective mode?” The thought struck Xia Zheng, and he decided to experiment further.

He moved the alloy box to a distant spot and launched repeated attacks with his divine sense, gradually increasing their strength but careful not to cause excessive damage. With each strike, the box’s protection grew stronger, emitting warning beeps, and after dozens of attacks, it even activated an energy shield.

Far from being frustrated, Xia Zheng was delighted. This meant there was a way to open the box: break through its defenses. Sure enough, after nearly six hours of sustained attacks, the box’s energy seemed depleted. The shield vanished, and the padlock icon began to flicker. Finally, with a distinct click, it was as if a locked door had swung open.

Xia Zheng himself was exhausted; manipulating divine sense attacks was far more taxing than using mental power, and he only had this single strand of divine sense to rely on. He pulled the box back and swallowed two energy pills. Though he still had a few left, he’d already sent ten pills and some dried energy fruits to Chen Xiu, urging him to begin research at once in hopes of producing substitutes—even if they weren’t as effective, it would still be a great boon.

With Xia Zheng’s financial backing, Chen Xiu applied to his university for the construction of a pharmaceutical lab and recruited classmates, senior students, and even several teachers seeking higher salaries. The projected annual investment was at least a million. Fortunately, Xia Zheng’s assets had grown considerably, especially after the successful acquisition of SparkNet, which saw its market value soar severalfold. By releasing 10% of its shares, he had raised tens of millions—more than enough for current expenses.

As he recovered, Xia Zheng examined the box. The red padlock icon had turned green, indicating it was unlocked. Yet outwardly, nothing seemed different. He tried probing the box with his mental power, searching for an entry point. This time, the box responded instantly: the door was open. In fact, the alloy box had no specific entrance; every part was an entry point, but without disabling its defenses, none could be accessed.

When Xia Zheng’s consciousness merged with his mental power and entered the box, he could not help but gasp in astonishment—the scene inside was utterly unexpected.

He had assumed Wadsworth was merely a B-class ability user, with modest wealth. But inside the box, he discovered a miniature treasury. The interior resembled a room or warehouse of about sixty square meters, packed with all manner of items.

First, a mountain of cash, stacked bundles occupying a third of the space, nearly reaching the ceiling. If each bundle was ten thousand bonds, the total must approach a hundred million—a staggering sum. Given Wadsworth’s history of killing and looting, it made sense.

Next was a collection of jewels, gold, and other valuables, whose worth Xia Zheng could not estimate—he planned to slowly transfer them out, though money was not a pressing concern for him now.

There were also many herbs and raw materials. These looked far from ordinary, seemingly aged, though Xia Zheng lacked the expertise to appraise them. Some materials were unusual, stored in metal boxes that shimmered like stars or diamonds; others resembled branches or tubers, some were dried fruits or shells. Though he didn’t recognize them, their careful preservation suggested considerable value—Wadsworth would not have treasured them otherwise.

There were also weapons, equipment, and various tools. Among them, Xia Zheng found a wooden chest, which he opened with his mental power, revealing many blueprints for equipment and two hardcover manuals—one titled “Watercloud Method,” the other “Poison Flame Art.”

The “Poison Flame Art” had been used by Wadsworth, who, even without mastering it, could match the dying counterattack of the Beast of Fei. If cultivated to a high level, its power would surely be terrifying.

Xia Zheng realized this wooden chest was perhaps the most priceless item here; everything else was mere material wealth.

Wadsworth was fundamentally an ability user of the water element, but had later studied fire techniques as well, showing excellent affinity for both elements.

As a telepath, Xia Zheng was unable to directly practice the typical ability user techniques. However, his mental power was so unique—it could manifest his imagination and simulate the traits of any ability, provided he understood them well enough. He didn’t need to train like Wadsworth; he could simply mimic the techniques.

Of course, his simulated skills lacked the full power of those cultivated by a true practitioner, but this meant Xia Zheng could potentially master an endless variety of skills—so long as he understood their essentials, he could use his mental power to simulate them. Though the overall might was less than the originals, he could still wield impressive strength.

Examining the blueprints, Xia Zheng was surprised to find several treasures, including the pair of flying boots he had once mourned after Wadsworth’s death.

The boots were exquisitely crafted. The designer’s name was only given as “C.C.”—whoever they were, they must have been no ordinary figure to create such remarkable equipment.

Xia Zheng intended to hand the blueprint to the Foundation’s equipment team for manufacture, as he had no better options. His feelings toward the Foundation were complex: he was grateful to Shen Tu Yue and Shen Tu Wan Hua for their support, but he knew that once friction arose with the Shen Tu family, or if Shen Tu Yue passed away, the Foundation might no longer stand behind him. Hence, Xia Zheng was determined to build his own team.

SparkNet was just the beginning; Chen Xiu’s future research institute and medical center were the second step. More would follow, and Xia Zheng even considered founding his own combat team company, like Chu Yan.

Suddenly, Xia Zheng sensed the space closing; his mental power was being forcibly expelled, and his consciousness snapped back to the training room.

“What’s going on? Has the box broken?” He grew anxious, inspecting the alloy box. It didn’t seem damaged, but the green unlocked icon had vanished.

“Could it be out of power?” Xia Zheng wondered. He tried injecting mental power into various parts of the box. At last, he found what seemed to be a charging port. When his mental energy surged in, the box came alive, emitting a hum, and the red padlock icon reappeared.

Xia Zheng was briefly excited, then realized with dismay: Was it locked again? Would he have to spend another six hours breaking through? Fortunately, this time, a simple touch of his divine sense triggered the red icon, which quickly switched to the green unlocked icon, and the battery indicator leapt from one bar to five.

“Thank goodness.” Xia Zheng breathed a sigh of relief. He had finally brute-forced Wadsworth’s password protection, though he hadn’t yet understood the encryption mechanism. With further study, he believed he could master it.

“I feel like a giant power bank,” Xia Zheng muttered, glancing at the spindle-shaped alloy box in his hand and waiting patiently. The charging process was quick—perhaps his mental power was superior in quality to ordinary ability energy, greatly reducing the time required. Altogether, it took about an hour, which was acceptable to him.

Once fully charged, Xia Zheng focused a thread of mental power and his will slipped effortlessly into the “warehouse.”

But his goal was not simply to enter; he observed the space, pondering its mechanism, and recalled the ancient cultivators’ storage bags.

“Could this box be crafted from lost storage bag technology?” Excitement surged through him. He tried transporting a small chest through the box’s barrier, and it appeared in the training room.

He trembled as he touched the chest, confirming he had retrieved it from the “storage bag.” Then, he used his mental power to send it back; the first attempt was clumsy, the second smoother. Like a child at play, Xia Zheng delighted in repeatedly removing and returning the chest, tireless in his experimentation.

After practicing a hundred times, he had mastered the process—he could now close his eyes, follow his will and mental power to select any item, and carry it through the box into the real world.

A lost storage bag—its value was beyond measure, likely surpassing all treasures within.

After further study, Xia Zheng finally discovered how to encrypt the storage bag before Nalansheng came looking for him, and set up its defenses, greatly increasing its security.

As for the storage bag, Xia Zheng told no one—not even his girlfriend, Nalansheng. For now, he decided to keep it secret.