Chapter 165: Chapter 162: The Treasure Map Is Under My Feet, You’re Just Movers

"Let’s go."

"Now that we have ’porters,’ we can raise our standards for what we keep."

Han Feng was in a good mood. He turned and continued northwest.

"Just leave the slightly less valuable stuff in obvious places. Don’t hide it too well, or those idiots might not find it."

For the next two hours, the scene became incredibly bizarre.

Han Feng and Wang Meng continued their mad shopping spree up ahead.

Whenever they came across priceless and compact Spirit Plant Ores, Han Feng would put them directly into his own bag.

But when they found items that were valuable but big and heavy, the two would put on the performance of a lifetime.

"Oh no! This piece of Sinking Gold Essence is too heavy! It must be at least fifty pounds. I can’t carry it. I’m just going to toss it!"

With a pained expression, Wang Meng casually tossed a valuable piece of Tier Two Material by the roadside.

"This Dragon Pattern Wood isn’t bad either, but it’s too long and awkward to carry. I’ll just stick it in this tree fork as a marker. What a shame."

Han Feng played along, his voice dripping with ’regret’.

At first, Wang Meng genuinely felt a pang of regret, but he soon got into his role. He even started mischievously arranging stones into an arrow nearby, as if afraid the others wouldn’t see it.

Meanwhile, about a mile behind them...

The members of the Blazing Fire Mercenary Corps had descended into a frenzy.

"Boss! Another one! There’s a piece of Sinking Gold Essence buried here!"

A scrawny, monkey-like mercenary dug a dark, heavy piece of metal out of a mud pit, his voice cracking with excitement.

"Fuck! This is a Tier Two Material! How could those two spoiled brats just throw it away?"

The burly man in the lead snatched the Sinking Gold Essence. Its heavy weight made the fleshy folds on his face break into a wide grin.

"You guys just don’t get it."

The burly man said with a know-it-all expression.

"Those two kids must have run out of space in their bags. They don’t know any better, so they’re tossing treasure away like trash."

"Too bad for them. It’s all ours for the taking."

"Boss, it seems like one of those two students can find treasure. Along the way, they haven’t even missed the cracks between the rocks over there. He’s like a human scanner."

Another member said, hefting a piece of Dragon Pattern Wood, his eyes burning with greed.

"Of course," the burly man said. "Why else do you think I’m going to all this trouble to follow them?"

The burly man stared ahead, the greed in his eyes so intense it was almost tangible.

He changed his mind.

’These aren’t two enemies.’

’They’re two walking money trees!’

"Everyone, stay sharp!"

The burly man lowered his voice. "Stick close. Let them scout the path and find treasure for us."

"When they find something truly valuable, or after they’ve exhausted themselves fighting some Demon Beasts..."

He gave a savage grin, lightly tapping his trouser leg with his long saber.

"...we’ll go up there and teach those little academy fledglings a good lesson about how cruel the world can be."

Despite their increasingly heavy packs, the group felt no fatigue. On the contrary, they were practically buzzing with energy, happily trotting after the ’road signs’ Han Feng had left behind.

...

To the northwest, the terrain gradually rose, and the vegetation grew sparse and withered.

The rocks here were a strange, grayish-white color, and they crumbled like crackers underfoot.

Han Feng stopped.

He raised a hand, signaling for Wang Meng to be quiet.

The scene before them looked completely normal—just an ordinary, rocky slope.

But in Han Feng’s [Spiritual Vision], the Energy Flow here was extremely unnatural.

When the Spiritual Qi in the air flowed into this area, it was like water going down a drain, swirling as it bored into the ground.

Its trajectory was as neat as a geometric shape.

’Something’s wrong.’

Han Feng crouched down and pinched a bit of the grayish-white soil between his fingers.

The soil was fine, carrying a scent of sulfur mixed with rust.

He could feel an extremely faint, stinging sensation of static electricity on his fingertips.

’An Array.’

’An Array that’s still active.’

Wang Meng came up behind him, panting heavily. His backpack weighed him down like a hunched old man. He glanced around, warily tightening his grip on his axe.

"What’s up, Fengzi? Is there a Demon Beast nest up ahead?"

"No Demon Beasts."

Han Feng dusted the dirt from his hands, his gaze locking onto the area beneath a giant Lying Bull Stone about thirty meters ahead.

"There might be something even more interesting than Demon Beasts."

He walked over to the Lying Bull Stone.

The stone was shockingly large, weighing at least ten tons. Its base was buried deep in the earth, surrounded by dark purple moss.

Han Feng placed his hand on the stone’s surface.

The newly formed Sword Essence pulsed in his palm.

An invisible Perception Field seeped into the stone, following its texture.

’Found it.’

The stone’s internal structure had been artificially modified. Its density was far greater than ordinary rock, and there was an extremely well-hidden lever mechanism at its base.

"Push this stone aside."

Han Feng stepped back to make room for Wang Meng.

Wang Meng stared at the massive boulder, which was a full head taller than him, completely dumbfounded.

"Fengzi, you’re not kidding, are you?"

"This thing has to be at least ten thousand pounds! I’m strong, but I’m not a crane."

"I’m not asking you to lift it, just push it."

Han Feng pointed to an inconspicuous indent on the left side of the stone.

"Push it to the right. That’s the pressure point for the mechanism."

Dubiously, Wang Meng walked over. He first shrugged off his heavy backpack and loosened his shoulders.

He took a deep breath. His muscles bulged as his feet sank into the brittle ground, creating two deep pits. Planting his hands against the indent, he pushed with all his might.

"MOVE!"

With a muffled roar, the veins on Wang Meng’s neck bulged like writhing dragons, and his face turned the color of a beet.

The massive stone didn’t budge an inch.

"More force!" Han Feng shouted.

Wang Meng bellowed, putting every last ounce of his strength into it.

Finally, a scalp-numbing grinding sound echoed.

KRRR... KRRR...

The mechanism at the stone’s base was triggered. It didn’t roll, but rather slid like a heavy door, slowly shifting half a meter to the right along a hidden track in the ground.

A deep, dark cave entrance appeared before the two of them.