After listening to the Treasure Hunters' conversation, Ling Feng, though inwardly complaining, was analyzing.
"Senior Sister, judging by their words, there must be some treasure here in Qingce Village, but they haven't found it yet. Why don't we look for it?" Ling Feng turned to Shen He and asked.
At the same time, he was pondering what kind of grand ruin Qingce Village might hold. Most of the game's plot did exist in reality.
"Alright."
Shen He nodded. She felt that being with her junior brother often led to interesting encounters, a feeling she hadn't experienced in a long time. She was even looking forward to what might happen next.
As for those who would obstruct them? They would simply defeat them until they could no longer interfere.
"From what the Treasure Hunters said, it seems there's more than one group. Senior Sister, we need to gather some intel first."
"This trip is up to you. Don't worry about your safety. If anyone tries to stop us, I will deal with them," Shen He said calmly.
"Uh... alright. Since Senior Sister insists, let's knock those few out and see if they have any information on them," Ling Feng pointed to the Treasure Hunters still digging below.
The poor Treasure Hunters had no idea that two people were already targeting them.
"Okay." Shen He nodded, indicating no objection. She was skilled in combat, but deciphering and strategizing were her weak points.
As noon approached, the Treasure Hunters stopped digging for clues or caves and gathered together, preparing for lunch.
Xu Wei and Xu Cheng, despite their earlier argument, had reconciled by noon. They were cooking together, shoulder to shoulder.
The others were drinking water to rehydrate and chatting idly.
"The food's ready!"
"Finally, they can eat."
"Smells so good!"
"Hey, Brother Wang, didn't you say yesterday you wouldn't eat my cooking? How come your hands can't resist today?"
"Yesterday was yesterday, today is today. I said I wouldn't eat yesterday, not today."
"Damn it, you're shameless."
"Thanks for the compliment, hahaha."
The Treasure Hunters bantered amongst themselves. Their "boss" did not join in but was quietly holding a bowl of chicken soup, slowly tasting it with a spoon.
"Mmm, the taste is good. Their cooking is decent, but they are a bit... alas." The "boss" nodded after a sip of chicken soup, but then recalled the unreliability of the two and sighed with helplessness.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Suddenly, the sounds of falling bodies and breaking bowls came from beside him. The "boss" looked and saw his subordinates, who were just joking and fooling around, falling to the ground one by one, their bowls shattering on the floor.
"Not good, this soup is poisoned!"
The "boss" immediately felt something was wrong. He quickly overturned the half-drunk chicken soup and began to retch, trying to expel the soup, but it was far easier to swallow than to regurgitate.
In a short while, the "boss" felt a dizzying sensation, his body went weak, and he collapsed to the ground. He tried to get up but had no strength.
"How was it, Senior Sister? Was my plan good? The chicken soup was flavorful, and the medicinal scent was masked. They were all taken down in an instant."
This was the last thing the "boss" heard. He swore he would never drink chicken soup again; it was too harmful. With that thought, his head lolled to the side, and he fainted.
Ling Feng searched the men and found some Mora, which he unceremoniously pocketed. Finally, in the pocket of the Treasure Hunter called "boss," he found a paper letter.
It contained a lengthy explanation, but in essence, it stated that the Geo Archon had sealed a creature called Chi here, and there might be treasures within.
The moment Ling Feng saw "Chi," he was dumbfounded. It reminded him of a side quest in Liyue – "A Hached Tale."
He had completed the "A Hached Tale" quest back then, and without a walkthrough, it had taken him a very, very long time; finding the location alone took ages.
"I didn't expect you guys were looking for this sealing site. I thought it was some new ruin," Ling Feng grumbled inwardly, then carefully refolded the letter and put it back into the "boss's" pocket.
Knowing the plot, he naturally knew where this sealing site was and how to open its gate.
Upon realizing they were searching for this sealing site, he immediately felt less anxious. For him, opening the mechanism would take a day, but for the Treasure Hunters, it would take a very long time.
They couldn't fly, and they didn't know the exact location of the mechanism. Especially since there were three mechanisms here, the difficulty of finding them was immense. Moreover, once inside, there would be several Ruin Guards and a Ruin Hunter waiting for them.
Although he hadn't encountered Ruin Guards or Ruin Hunters yet, based on their abilities shown in the game, he could roughly estimate their strength.
For example, a Ruin Guard was like a three-meter-tall combat robot. His combat power should be equivalent to two or three Hilichurl Brutes, and a Ruin Hunter's combat power should not be weaker than a Mitachurl.
In conclusion, if the Treasure Hunters went in unprepared, they would suffer heavy casualties, perhaps more than half. Even with preparation, they would be severely weakened for a long time. And right now, they hadn't even dug out the sealing site, let alone found the entrance.
Therefore, Ling Feng wasn't in a hurry. He planned to revisit this place after the main storyline began. By then, the Treasure Hunters would have almost finished their work, and he could simply reap the benefits.
"Senior Sister, let's go. It's a bit disappointing. I know a little about the ruin they are searching for. It's a sealing site called Chi, and it's not time to open it yet. Going there now would be useless."
"Mmm."
Wait, Chi.
Ling Feng suddenly remembered what Shen He had said earlier. If there was anything special about Qingce Village, it was that it sealed the Chi, a subordinate of the Sea God, beneath it.
Ling Feng turned to Shen He and asked, "Senior Sister, do you remember what we were talking about earlier?"
"Qingce Village has scarce monsters?" Shen He replied uncertainly.
"Yes. What are the possible reasons for scarce monsters in a place?" Ling Feng asked, wondering if it was due to the presence of Chi that caused the scarcity.
"I only know of one possibility: the ley line energy in this area is occupied by someone, preventing fallen monsters from regenerating through ley line energy."
"The mountain where Master and the others reside is a similar situation. Master once said that most of the ley line energy in the Jueyun Karst region converges at the Cloudfall Tree, with a small portion transmitted through branches to various locations on the mountain."
After hearing Shen He's explanation, Ling Feng suddenly understood. He now knew why there were so few monsters in Qingce Village.
It was highly likely due to Chi being sealed underground. The ley line energy was either being absorbed by it or by whatever was sealing it.