While the player is in Battle Through the Heavens, the system is in The Great Ruler.

Chapter 23: Fragment of the Map Obtained, Ice Emperor Leads the Way

"I see. Young friend, you sensed something related to strange fire in my little shop, so you came in to investigate."

Hai Bodong stroked his beard, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his cloudy eyes: "I wonder if my young friend has found that item?"

Lu Yu shook his head and said, "I was busy fighting those blind fools and unsealing Elder Hai, so I haven't had time to investigate in detail yet."

"Is that so..." Hai Bodong pretended to ponder for a moment, then suddenly slammed his hand on the table and said, "Since I have agreed to do ten things for you, young friend, how about this—you can search around the shop as you like, and each item you take will count as one of the ten things, how about that?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Yu glanced at Hai Bodong with a half-smile and said, "Old Hai, your plan is quite ingenious. What items in your shop can be worth a favor from a Dou Huang?"

Before Hai Bodong could respond, Lu Yu stood up and said, "Never mind, this junior won't hold it against you."

As he spoke, he strode towards the display shelves in the outer room.

Seeing this, Hai Bodong quickly followed.

……

"This isn't..."

"This one is wrong too..."

"This seems to be..."

Lu Yu's slender fingers sifted through a pile of fragmented drawings, shaking his head and putting down each piece he picked up. Hai Bodong stood beside him, his wrinkled face filled with anticipation: "Have you found anything?"

"Not yet." Lu Yu put down the last piece of the map with feigned regret, tapping the table lightly with his fingertips: "Elder Hai, please don't worry, allow me to search carefully again."

The old man's lips twitched, and he slumped back into the rattan chair: "Go ahead and look for me, this old man's bones can't keep up with you anymore."

Lu Yu's gaze swept over a worm-eaten, mottled wooden shelf in the corner. The yellowed maps piled on the shelf were covered in mold, clearly discarded and defective cartographic works. He casually fiddled with these fragile pieces of paper, the smell of mold mixed with dust filling the air.

"Wow--"

The moment the stack of waste paper was lifted, a palm-sized fragment quietly drifted down. Lu Yu pinched it between two fingers, and the blurry patterns on the fragment were faintly visible in the sunlight.

"Found it?" Hai Bodong's lazy voice came from behind.

Lu Yu didn't answer, and suddenly crimson flames erupted from his palm. The flames licked at the fragments, but there wasn't a single scorch mark. Hai Bodong sprang up from the rattan chair, his old eyes wide with shock.

"This should be it, Elder Hai."

Lu Yu gently stroked the undamaged tattered map and said meaningfully.

Do you know the origin of this item?

Hai Bodong's cloudy eyes were fixed on the tattered map that remained unscathed in the firelight, his wrinkled face shifting between emotions. After a moment of silence, he suddenly let out a hoarse chuckle.

"So this is what it is. To be honest, young friend, this is something I obtained after surviving a near-death experience in the Tagor Desert."

"What you hold in your hand, young friend, is merely half a fragment of a painting."

Hai Bodong stood with his hands behind his back, a sly glint in his cloudy old eyes. With his other withered hand, he took out half of a similar fragment from his storage ring. The two fragments were placed together and perfectly combined into one.

"After obtaining this map back then, I divided it in two," Hai Bodong said, quickly putting the fragment back into his storage ring as Lu Yu reached out to take it.

Lu Yu raised an eyebrow slightly: "What does Elder Hai mean by this?"

"Please forgive me, young friend." Hai Bodong revealed a meaningful smile. "On the day you completely remove the seal for me, I will naturally offer you the other half with both hands."

He lowered his voice and explained, "It's not that I don't trust you, young friend, but one must always be wary of others when traveling."

Lu Yu smiled and nodded, saying, "Since Elder Hai has said so, then so be it."

Having said that, he put the other half of the map into his storage ring. After putting the map away, he changed the subject and continued, "However, I've heard that there seems to be a strange fire appearing in the Tagor Desert..."

Upon hearing this, Hai Bodong took out a yellowed sheepskin map from his bosom: "Although I have not seen it with my own eyes, I have indeed collected some clues when drawing maps over the years."

He unfolded the map and lightly touched the three conspicuous flame marks with his fingertip: "The east, west, and north directions on the map are the most likely places where the strange fire is hidden. Although I can't say I'm 100% sure, it's better than looking for a needle in a haystack."

Lu Yu carefully examined the detailed routes and landmarks on the map, then suddenly looked up and said, "Then for the second matter, how about I trouble Elder Hai to accompany me on this trip?"

Hai Bodong's expression stiffened, his withered fingers unconsciously tracing the edge of the map. After a moment of silence, he slowly nodded: "...Okay."

"Let's choose a place first."

"Let's try our luck near Stone Desert City first." Lu Yu lightly tapped the flame marker on the east side of the map with his fingertip, a slight smile playing on his lips. "I happen to have some people there to help me out."

Hai Bodong stroked his white beard: "As you wish, young friend."

……

Three days later,
Eastern Tagor Desert.

Under the blazing sun, two figures left footprints of varying depths on the scorching sand dunes.

Suddenly, Lu Yu stopped in his tracks, and the crimson flames in his palm suddenly surged, transforming into a fiery serpent that hissed as it pointed at the sand beneath his feet.

"Something is wrong here."

Seeing the unusual activity of the Earth Core Flame, Lu Yu narrowed his eyes and said in a serious tone, "Elder Hai, please clear the way down below."

Having said that, he lightly touched the ground with his toes, spread his purple cloud wings on his back, and took off into the air.

Hai Bodong was not surprised, as he had already witnessed Lu Yu display this strange flying combat technique during his journey.

He immediately took to the air as well, his cloudy eyes flashing with sharp light, and his ice-attribute Dou Qi at the Dou Wang level erupted. With a shake of his arms, he shouted, "Come!"

"Buzz!"

In an instant, water vapor in the surrounding air surged in and condensed into countless ice crystals. With a piercing buzzing sound, a spiral ice spear, over ten feet thick, suddenly took shape.

"go with!"

With a roar from the old man, the spiraling ice spear pierced the sand with a shrill sound that tore through the air. Amidst the violent tremors, the ice spear spun and drilled downwards at an astonishing speed, the sand and ice crystals colliding and bursting forth with dazzling blue light.

"Boom——"

A muffled explosion came from underground, and the sand layer pierced by the ice spear collapsed, revealing a deep, dark opening. Spiral ice steps descended along the path carved by the ice spear, forming a blue ice crystal passage.

"What exquisite ice control technique."

Lu Yu exclaimed in admiration, snapped his fingers, and a ball of crimson fire rose from his fingertip, illuminating the deep passage before him. The traces of sand and stones frozen by frost were clearly visible on the rock walls.

“Interesting…” Hai Bodong landed at the edge of the passage and bent down to examine it. “This passage has existed for a long time, but it was buried by sandstorms before.”

In the rising steam, the crimson flames at Lu Yu's fingertips cast flickering light on the passageway. He turned to the old man: "Elder Hai, would you like to go down and take a look together?"

"Of course." Hai Bodong forced a smile, his wrinkles filled with bitterness. "If anything were to happen to you, young friend, this seal of mine would be..."

Before he could finish speaking, he shook his head and took the first step onto the ice steps, clearly intending to shield himself from danger.

Lu Yu smiled slightly and followed closely behind.

I'm adjusting the update time; I'll update at 10 PM from now on.

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(End of this chapter)