At this moment, Lin Jichen was still trekking through the Hundred Thousand Mountains.
Two more days had passed, and he was still some distance away from his destination.
During this period, Lin Jichen and Panda Xiong had encountered over a dozen waves of beast attacks.
They also dealt with a few evil spirits that had escaped from the Land of Sealing Demons.
Both of their cultivation levels were nearly maxed out; a few more days and they would likely break through.
Of course, it wasn't all smooth sailing. Lin Jichen had no trouble with beasts around the Golden Core Realm, but when faced with those above the Gathering Spirit Realm, he would put away Panda Xiong and run.
It wasn't that he couldn't fight them at all; he could handle some of the weaker, ordinary Gathering Spirit Realm beasts.
But the problem was that it was too exhausting. Lin Jichen feared attracting even stronger beasts or evil demons and didn't want to cause too much commotion, so he chose to avoid the battles.
And so, he once again escaped from a Gathering Spirit Realm beast's pursuit.
He hid by a mountain lake, and after confirming that there was no more pursuit, he finally relaxed.
Lin Jichen was about to let Panda Xiong out for a drink and some rest when he noticed a flicker of light in the lake.
A chest lay at the bottom of the lake, and Lin Jichen's eyes lit up.
This was one of the fortuitous encounters in "Tale of Immortal," the treasure chest encounter.
This wasn't one of those traps where a spirit stone in the water was guarded by a lurking serpent.
To be precise, this was a pure benefit encounter.
Treasure chests would refresh at various random locations on the map and wouldn't stay forever.
For example, if a chest appeared in a location and no one took it within a few days, it would disappear automatically.
So even though Lin Jichen was a reborn individual, he couldn't know the locations of the treasure chests; it was entirely up to luck.
Lin Jichen didn't want to miss the treasure chest at the bottom of the lake.
Unfortunately, it was underwater. While he could hold his breath for a while, a normal person could only stay underwater for a few minutes.
Unless they had learned breath-holding techniques or water-based core techniques.
Fortunately, this was no problem for Lin Jichen.
Lin Jichen looked down at the robe he was wearing; finally, it had its use.
This robe, named the Tide-Singing Robe, came with the skill [Tide-Singing].
Tide-Singing: Allows free movement and attacks underwater, lasts for 30 minutes, cooldown time 12 hours.
Lin Jichen had never had the chance to use this skill, but today it would finally come in handy.
With this thought, Lin Jichen didn't hesitate any longer. He leaped into the lake and dived to the bottom.
The treasure chest lay quietly there.
[Earth Grade Treasure Chest]: Unlocking requires 20 minutes.
Lin Jichen approached and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was an Earth Grade treasure chest.
Excited, he exclaimed his good fortune. Perhaps this was great luck, haha~
Just unlocking it took 20 minutes. Thankfully, he had the Tide-Singing Robe; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to get the chest.
The higher the quality of the treasure chest, the longer it took to unlock.
Lin Jichen wasn't in a hurry and patiently waited at the bottom of the lake.
Fortunately, no other cultivators or beasts came to disturb him, and the process went very smoothly.
Twenty minutes later, the chest was opened.
Inside were two items: a skill book and a key.
[Earth Grade Spirit Skill · Holy Light Blessing]: Cast on teammates to remove negative effects within a 20-meter radius and restore 10% of total health; cast on enemies to deal 2000 points of Holy Light burn damage within a 20-meter radius, with double effect on evil spirits.
Cooldown time: 30 minutes. Mana consumption: 5000 points.
Requirement: Crystal Realm healer can learn
[Key to the Juntian Treasury]: Cultivators above the Golden Core Realm can use this key to open the Juntian Treasury in the Hundred Thousand Mountains. Location must be found by oneself.
Seeing these two items, Lin Jichen was ecstatic.
Just the skill book alone was worth the Earth Grade treasure chest.
A godly skill for healers!
It could both attack and heal.
This skill was very rare; more than 80% of healers in his previous life didn't have it.
If put up for auction, it could easily fetch the price of a house.
Of course, Lin Jichen wouldn't sell it; he had to keep it for Gu Qiuxue!
What made him happiest was the key.
The Juntian Treasury was a famous treasure trove in the Hundred Thousand Mountains. In his previous life, someone had opened it and obtained a huge fortune.
As for what was inside, the person who obtained it was very secretive and didn't reveal it, probably fearing being targeted by bad people.
But it was discovered that this person, who was previously an unknown figure, soared to great heights and became one of the top hundred experts.
Moreover, he bought a large shop and became its owner, indicating that the Juntian Treasury indeed contained valuable items.
Although Lin Jichen didn't know what was inside, even as a reborn individual, it didn't stop him from being determined to obtain the treasury.
Unfortunately, the key required a cultivator above the Golden Core Realm to use, and the location of the treasury was unknown.
After some consideration, Lin Jichen decided to search for the treasury in the Hundred Thousand Mountains as soon as he reached the Golden Core Realm.
After storing the two items, Lin Jichen prepared to leave the lake and head ashore.
Unexpectedly, there was a splash in the lake.
A graceful and alluring figure entered the lake, happily splashing around.
"So comfortable~ I've been in this wretched place for so long without being able to take a bath; I was starting to stink."
From the bottom of the lake, Lin Jichen could only see a white, jade-like pair of legs kicking playfully in the water.
Looking further up, Lin Jichen's heart raced. Goodness, this sudden 'benefit' was completely unexpected~
Although he couldn't see who it was, Lin Jichen could sense a certain Buddhist aura from the person, and her cultivation level wasn't exaggerated, at the Golden Core Realm.
Lin Jichen breathed a sigh of relief; at least it wasn't Luo Muxian, that perverted demonic cultivator.
However, he hesitated and decided not to come out immediately to avoid being mistaken for a pervert.
After all, his Tide-Singing Robe still had ten minutes of breath-holding time, which should be enough for her to finish her bath and leave.
But Lin Jichen underestimated the time girls take to bathe. Ten minutes passed quietly, and the person above showed no signs of leaving.
Seeing the time pass, Lin Jichen didn't want to suffocate in the lake.
He had no choice but to burst out from the water.
As soon as Lin Jichen emerged, the woman in the lake flew into the air, glaring at him with anger.
"Pervert, you're courting death!"
The woman hadn't even seen Lin Jichen's face clearly; she only saw that it was a man, and she was furious, ready to attack.
"Hey! It's you!" Lin Jichen suddenly shouted.
The woman stopped her attack and, seeing Lin Jichen, was visibly surprised.
Lin Jichen chuckled awkwardly, "What a coincidence, Chu Hongling."
This woman was none other than Chu Hongling, a Buddhist sect female cultivator with whom Lin Jichen had crossed paths a few times.
Chu Hongling frowned upon recognizing Lin Jichen and mocked, "I didn't expect the number one expert of 'Tale of Immortal' to be a pervert."
It seemed that even Lin Jichen couldn't change her impression of him.
Lin Jichen smiled wryly and explained, "You misunderstood. I was already at the bottom of the lake when you suddenly arrived."
"Then why didn't you come out earlier? How long were you watching from below?"