Chapter 156: Dangerous Ideas

"Strange seals."

Danba Luo's heart skipped a beat as he looked at the ferocious little figures. Each one seemed to be forged from the souls of powerful individuals, immensely strong, and knowing only slaughter.

These strange cubic blocks formed an incredibly complex lock. Runes were projected onto them, and only when the runes were in the correct configuration could the lock be disengaged; otherwise, the little figures would be released!

There were countless translucent cubic blocks. When the runes projected by the symbol treasure shone upon one of them, that block would automatically retract and disappear.

"The unlocking process is so complicated; it would be impossible without this symbol treasure!"

The symbol treasure spun continuously, and the runes projected from its fourteen sides changed ceaselessly, causing the cubic blocks before them to recede one after another.

The symbol treasure floated forward, and the Tortoise-backed Guard stepped ahead. Danba Luo quickly followed, walking through a long passage until the space suddenly opened up before them.

Inside the golden hall was a world of its own. From the outside, the hall didn't appear large, but from within, it was at least ten times bigger. Columns stood in rows, leading to golden altars of various sizes, each holding peculiar-looking treasures.

The Tortoise-backed Guard walked forward, holding the Shaobao Sword, and chuckled, "Such a precious treasure must be kept in the deepest, most revered place. My magic power isn't enough to seal him; we'll have to wait for the Witch Venerable to come and personally seal him. Danba Luo, you've rendered great service, I'm quite envious of you!"

Danba Luo quickly chuckled, "I obtained more than one treasure from that Yankang person. I also got a small jade bottle, which most likely contains a holy medicine. I smelled it, and it was wonderfully fragrant; it felt like I was about to become an immortal..."

He took out a small jade bottle from his sleeve. The Tortoise-backed Guard's eyes lit up, and he snatched it from Danba Luo's hand, laughing, "Danba Luo, you've performed great service, and the Witch Venerable will surely reward you handsomely. I brought you here in advance to choose treasures, so how can you not show me some respect? Give me the holy medicine in this jade bottle!"

Danba Luo's face contorted in a pained expression.

Seeing his pained look, the Tortoise-backed Guard chuckled, "Stingy." With that, he uncorked the jade bottle and sniffed it under his nose.

"Such a good sniff—ooh—ah—fragrance..."

A satisfied smile still on his face, the Tortoise-backed Guard fell straight down.

Danba Luo held his breath, quickly snatched the jade bottle from the guard's hand, and stoppered it. Not daring to breathe, he thought for a moment, then took out another jade bottle, collected the surrounding air into it, and finally pried open the Tortoise-backed Guard's mouth, placing the opened bottle into his mouth for him to hold.

"This way, he won't wake up for a while. Phew—"

Danba Luo exhaled a long breath, then began to shed his skin. Another person emerged from Danba Luo's skin, and it was Qin Mu.

"I suppose I've used demonic methods now."

Qin Mu looked at the skin on the ground and shook his head. Granny Si could wear others' skin and change her appearance in countless ways, but he still felt a bit disturbed by it.

Qin Mu retrieved the Shaobao Sword, then searched the Tortoise-backed Guard's body, finding the symbol treasure and tucking it into his robe. He also found some other miscellaneous items.

After searching for a while, he couldn't find anything else useful, so he gave up.

"Divine Firmament Celestial Eye, open! Azure Firmament Celestial Eye, open!"

In Qin Mu's pupils, the Divine Firmament Heaven and Azure Firmament Heaven opened, countless dense runes forming two layers of celestial vision. Looking around, everything in the hall immediately became distinct and layered in his eyes.

Every golden altar here was covered with seals, similar to the cubic blocks he had just seen. Inside each cubic block hid a fierce-looking little figure, their features twisted, with messy hair and sharp claws. However, without the Celestial Eye, they were completely invisible.

Qin Mu picked up the symbol treasure and carefully examined the fourteen runes on its sides. After comparing them, he shook his head. This symbol treasure was not the key to breaking the golden altar seals; it was likely only used to open the golden hall itself.

He walked forward, examining each golden altar. He had to hurry; outside, Ling Yuxiu should still be blocking the entrance. Ling Yuxiu's abilities were slightly inferior to his, and although she had learned the merged combat techniques of Ba Shan Jiziu, she probably wouldn't be able to hold out for long.

The treasures on the golden altars varied. Many were unique to the Loulan Golden Palace and were strangely crafted: human skin stripped for painting and inscribing runes, human skulls used as alms bowls, human skin fashioned into drums, as well as bone banners, thousand-poison soul-devouring banners, and bone shrines—all artifacts of evil and unorthodox paths.

Besides these, there were many other valuable items, glittering with golden light, appearing to be treasures refined by beings at the level of a Witch King.

Qin Mu also saw some treasures not belonging to the Witch Cult, placed here as well: a thousand-story pagoda, sariras (Buddhist relics), which should be precious Buddhist artifacts, as well as a grape-sized sword pellet, an ancient zither with one end scorched, and a broken sword.

Suddenly, Qin Mu stopped, unable to move. On one golden altar stood a stone tablet engraved with a partial cultivation diagram. He recognized it at a glance as a cultivation diagram for the Overlord Body Three Elixir Technique, though it wasn't for the Sixfold Realm. In his haste, he couldn't discern which realm it belonged to.

"Go, go, find the leg!"

Qin Mu urged himself on, sprinting like the wind towards the depths of the treasure vault. After a moment, he quickly scanned the entire area, then stopped before a golden altar. He had already seen this altar once before, but he had ultimately returned to it.

On the altar lay the lower half of a human body, only the part below the waist, yet it stood firmly and steadily.

However, Qin Mu was certain this was not the Butcher's lower body.

This half-body glowed with golden light; even its blood seemed to be golden liquid, and its bones were solid gold.

The body emanated a terrifying aura, even more powerful than that of a Witch King.

"The Witch Venerable's body?"

Qin Mu blinked, measured it against his own waist, then carefully recalled the Butcher's body. It seemed the Butcher's body could perfectly fit onto this half-body.

"The Witch Venerable destroyed the sect that stole Grandpa Butcher's lower body, abducted his lower half, and then cut off his own lower body and placed it here. But Grandpa Butcher's lower body, which should have been here, is now missing..."

Qin Mu's eyelid twitched as a terrifying possibility came to mind.

The Witch Venerable cut off his own lower body and attached the Butcher's lower body to himself!

"With my medical skills, I could completely accomplish this. The Witch Venerable should be able to as well!"

His scalp tingled. What was the Witch Venerable trying to achieve by cutting off his own lower body and attaching someone else's?

"Perhaps he believed Grandpa Butcher's physical body was more formidable than his own golden body, something he could never attain in his lifetime, which is why he swapped his lower half. However, there's another possibility: the Witch Venerable refined Grandpa Butcher's lower body into a two-legged spirit weapon..."

Qin Mu's expression was odd. The latter possibility was slim but not impossible. He looked troubled; the lower half of the body on the golden altar was also surrounded by seals. If he reached out, the little figures within the cubic blocks would surely devour him, leaving not even a single bone.

If Ba Shan Jiziu were here, he could simply violently destroy these seals, but Qin Mu didn't possess that ability.

"I've never used the Heaven-Stealing, Sun-Shifting Hand that Cripple Grandpa taught me. Can I pass through the seals and retrieve that half-body?"

Filled with apprehension, he suddenly began to sprint wildly through the treasure vault, activating the Heaven-Stealing Divine Legs technique Cripple had taught him. His speed was like a fleeting shadow, too fast for the naked eye to track!

As Qin Mu ran, he simultaneously executed the Heaven-Stealing, Sun-Shifting Hand, his hands moving faster and faster, like light or electricity. Cripple's entire skill set revolved around his legs and hands: fast legs for escaping when caught stealing, and fast hands for the act of stealing itself.

Qin Mu had diligently practiced the Heaven-Stealing Legs, but he had practiced the Heaven-Stealing, Sun-Shifting Hand less. Now, he was cramming, hoping to grasp more of its profound mysteries.

When he simultaneously executed the Heaven-Stealing Divine Legs and the Heaven-Stealing, Sun-Shifting Hand, Qin Mu suddenly noticed a strange phenomenon. He let out a surprised sound and quickly stopped.

When he simultaneously performed the two different techniques, he felt as if they were actually one integrated method, which Cripple had merely split into two halves to teach him.

Previously, his cultivation of the Heaven-Stealing Divine Legs already felt extremely smooth, but now, with both the Heaven-Stealing Divine Legs and the Heaven-Stealing, Sun-Shifting Hand activated simultaneously, the speed of his vital qi circulation instantly increased severalfold!

The acceleration of his vital qi circulation by several times meant that his leg movements and hand movements could also increase severalfold in speed!

Qin Mu composed himself and looked ahead. The golden hall's treasure vault was extremely spacious, offering ample room for him to run. He suddenly exerted force, his feet flying as he sprinted forward!

The air within the hall shrieked with a tearing sound. Suddenly, with a loud bang, Qin Mu crashed violently into the golden wall of the palace, more than a hundred yards from where he started, then fell straight backward.

Around his body, a circular puff of white mist gently dispersed.

A moment later, Qin Mu stood up, shook his head, and once again sprinted with full force. Another loud bang, and a puff of white mist dissipated around him, but this time he didn't hit the wall. Instead, he ran along the wall, then ascended to the hall's ceiling, zipping across it.

The tearing shrieks continued as Qin Mu sprinted through the air in the treasure vault, dashing away and then zooming back in the blink of an eye.

Suddenly, in mid-sprint, he reached out and snatched something. A golden altar became empty, and in Qin Mu's hand appeared an alms bowl crafted from a human skull.

Clang.

The bowl clattered to the ground. Qin Mu burst out laughing, continuing his joyous sprint while reaching out to the altars that flashed past him like streaks of light. One by one, the golden altars became empty, and the treasures were scattered all over the floor wherever he threw them.

After a moment, all the golden altars were swept clean by him. Then, Qin Mu zipped past a golden altar, clutching two large legs.

His figure abruptly stopped, and he set down the glistening golden lower half of the body.

"No wonder Cripple Grandpa always loved stealing; it's so exhilarating!"

The young man from Disabled Elderly Village exhaled a turbid breath, looked back at the treasures strewn across the ground, and feeling refreshed, exclaimed, "It's worth it, even if I get a leg chopped off!"

----End of Chapter Four. Chapter Five will be updated in two hours!