With his talents of bullet time and danger perception, he witnessed the entire process of the ancient painting killing people in that instant.
Looking at the ancient painting again later, the old man was wearing a straw hat and raincoat, so his face was not visible. The fishing rod in his hand was emerald green, and the fishing line was so thin that it was almost invisible. But in the surging river, a small five-colored fish had taken the bait.
This five-colored little fish was not there before, but now it suddenly appeared on the ancient painting.
Zhao Sheng couldn't help but look at the fish in the bamboo basket and compare them with the five-colored fish in the painting.
"It's exactly the same!" He felt a chill run down his spine, and a sudden realization dawned on him.
Bang bang bang!
The one-horned ghost skull lost its divine control and immediately fell from the sky to the ground, its skull scattering everywhere. Green flames flowed onto the ground, and wherever they flowed, they ignited into clusters of eerie green flames.
Zhao Sheng stepped forward and, with a series of sweeping gestures, collected all the one-horned ghost skulls on the ground into his storage bag.
Seeing this, Zhen Yue moved her lips, but unusually did not stop him from collecting the treasure.
After doing all this, Zhao Sheng turned around, pointed to the painting in the hall, and asked, "Fellow Daoist, do you know how that old demon died?"
"You know that!"
Following the direction, Zhen Yue looked over, but suddenly exclaimed "Ah!" halfway through her sentence. Her gaze then fixed on the five-colored fish in the painting, and her face showed a series of expressions: fear, shock, realization, and greed.
Zhao Sheng, observing Zhen Yue's expression, vaguely grasped the complex emotions in her heart, and then suddenly asked, "Is the Five Elements Spirit Fish very famous in the Shattered Star Sea? What special uses does it have?"
Upon hearing this voice, Zhen Yue felt a chill run down her spine and immediately came to her senses. She looked at Zhao Sheng somewhat awkwardly.
When the two of them fought together against the Bone Master, Zhen Yue had already witnessed his skills and knew that he was a formidable opponent, and she was not sure if she could defeat him.
Even someone as proud as her couldn't help but show a hint of hesitation and nervousness.
With Zhao Sheng's cunning, he could roughly tell what she was thinking just by looking at her expression.
"The name 'Five-Fate Spirit Fish' is very peculiar! I've read quite a few books, but I have no recollection of it at all. Could it be some kind of extinct spirit creature from the Shattered Star Sea? Why did that ancient painting suddenly have a Five-Fate Spirit Fish? What is its connection to the death of the Old Demon?" Zhao Sheng directly pointed out the core issue, pressing Zhen Yue with questions without giving her any chance to delay.
To be honest, if it weren't for wanting to extract more information from Zhen Yue, Zhao Sheng would have already taken action.
Seeing Zhao Sheng's aggressive demeanor, Zhen Yue's mind raced for a moment. After a dry cough, she explained helplessly:
"It seems you are a diligent cultivator, and not very knowledgeable about ancient secrets. Even if you searched through all the classic texts, you probably wouldn't be able to find the name 'Five Elements Spirit Fish.' This creature only appears frequently in ancient legends. Are you familiar with the theory of the Five Elements of the Primordial World?"
After saying this, Zhao Sheng's face showed excitement, his eyes narrowed, and he said somewhat uncertainly, "The Five Elements of the Innate Realm, are they the Five Elements of Qi, Killing, Calamity, Interception, and the End?"
"Fellow Daoist is right! This Five-Fate Spirit Fish is a spiritual creature that carries a trace of the innate five fortunes. Legend has it that eating it can increase one's innate fortune. If we hadn't seen this Five-Fate Spirit Fish with our own eyes today, we wouldn't have believed that such a thing really exists in the world! However, apart from Qi Luck, the other four fortunes among the innate five fortunes are unpredictable for us low-level cultivators!" Zhen Yue said eloquently.
"I see!"
Zhao Sheng nodded lightly and stopped asking questions. Instead, he looked down at the charred corpse and showed a rather interested expression.
Seeing Zhao Sheng's expression, Zhen Yue secretly breathed a sigh of relief, fearing that he would ask about the ancient painting again.
At this moment, she was fifty percent certain that the ancient painting was a treasure comparable to the Bei Mansion Grotto.
If I'm not mistaken, that ancient painting should be the Lingbao Map from ancient legends.
The Lingbao Map, also known as the Sealed Treasure Map, likely contains an ancient magic weapon, and it is a top-grade one at that.
The reason why ancient cultivators created such spiritual treasure diagrams was probably to ensure that the spiritual essence of certain rare and precious treasures was not lost.
Zhen Yue even boldly speculated that the bamboo basket was probably part of the magic weapon.
Unfortunately, the previous owner was unlucky and perished under the Golden Core Tribulation, unable to enjoy such a treasure.
Since that person doesn't even recognize the Five Elements Spirit Fish, he probably wouldn't know about the Spirit Treasure Map either.
Thinking of this, Zhen Yue tentatively asked, "Fellow Daoist, have you discovered any clues?"
At this moment, Zhao Sheng looked down at the charred corpse, his expression unchanged. This made Zhen Yue, who had been carefully watching him, feel a slight sense of relief.
"The Skeleton Demon's cultivation was no less than ours. His death was mysterious and without warning, which means that there must be some kind of deadly restriction hidden in the main hall that we Foundation Establishment cultivators cannot resist. It must be related to that ancient painting," Zhen Yue said with certainty.
Zhao Sheng nodded thoughtfully, completely ignoring the fact that Zhen Yue was spouting nonsense.
Zhen Yue's expression shifted, as if she had remembered something, and she hurriedly said, "Why don't we try using telekinesis?"
Her words were less a well-intentioned reminder and more a veiled encouragement for Zhao Sheng to take action.
Zhao Sheng waved his hand without turning his head, indicating that he already knew.
Then his gaze fell on the jade-white spirit pearl.
He had been reincarnated in the Central Continent in his previous lives, so his understanding of the Shattered Star Sea was far inferior to that of Zhen Yue, who came from a prestigious family in the Inner Star Sea.
However, Zhao Sheng had seen descriptions of such a thing as the central hub of a cave dwelling in ancient records.
At first, it might not have been certain, but now, Zhao Sheng is convinced that the Spirit Pearl is the core of the Bei Mansion Cave Heaven.
"The most important thing is to refine it as soon as possible; everything else can be dealt with later," Zhao Sheng thought to himself.
When Zhen Yue saw Zhao Sheng turn his gaze to Lingzhu, she immediately became anxious, clearly she had the same thought.
Just then, a popping sound, like a balloon deflating, came from the lobby.
Zhao Sheng was startled and quickly looked over.
Suddenly, a bulge appeared on the body of the dead, skeletal figure, and his robe began to rustle and make a rustling sound. Then, a swarm of strange, black insects suddenly emerged from under the robe.
These strange insects are round and only the size of a fingernail, with black armor on their backs, two rows of fine claws on their bellies, and two ferocious serrated teeth on their mouths, resembling scorpion fangs.
In the blink of an eye, swarms of strange insects poured out and spread, forming a vast black carpet of insects.
Buzz!
The next second, two transparent membranous wings popped out from under the insect's carapace. The membranous wings trembled and suddenly vanished.
With a loud buzzing sound, the swarm of strange insects flapped their wings and leaped into the air, merging into a dark, oppressive cloud that swept towards Zhao Sheng and Zhen Yue.
"Three Corpses and Seven Deadly Gu!"
Seeing the strange insect rushing towards her, Zhen Yue cried out in alarm.