NoGift

Chapter 101: where is the sea of leng jing?

ALTHOUGH Argent told Lei Feng that they should go to the sea of Leng Jing, but she still had no idea how they should go around doing that. So they decided to stay a bit longer at the private box of the inn's restaurant. At least not until Argent managed to sort things out. And it didn't help that her head was currently filled with the details of the legend the innkeeper just told them.

The sword of the dragon king, the ring of the elven queen, and the crown of the king of the beasts - three sacred artifacts that was supposedly sent out to three different locations after the Mythos continent closed off. The one that could be found in the Temple of Tian Long was obviously the dragon king's sword. The legend Jaxon discovered in Sarmatia was most probably talking about the elven queen's ring. The only one with its whereabouts unknown was the crown of the beastking.

When speaking of artifacts, the first thing that came to her mind was a certain young man they met in Shandra - Clay. When they separated, he talked about how the Temple brutally murdered his parents because they refused to give the ancient artifact that their family was guarding for centuries. Argent immediately thought of the possibility that it could be one of those sacred artifacts. It would certainly fit the story Jaxon found. That the ring of the elven queen was entrusted to a family in Sarmatia.

But then again, if Argent remembered correctly, Clay said that his family lived somewhere in the Southeastern continent. Sarmatia was in the Northern continent. Her theory wouldn't fit if that was the case. Though it was still possible that that family migrated to the Southeastern continent and Clay was truly their descendant.

If that was the case, then that could be considered as evidence that these Apostles were indeed a part of the Temple of Gaia. Two equally powerful organization that just both happened to be searching for the sacred artifacts and also used the name of the goddess Gaia, it would almost be impossible to think that they were two separate groups. That would be too much of a coincidence, wouldn't it?

Argent still needed concrete evidence to prove that. But it wouldn't stop her from thinking that those Apostles were part of the Temple of Gaia.

Her dislike towards the Temple was increasing because of that. And if she proved that they were really the one behind her mother's abduction, then that dislike would most likely turn into deep hate.

Then there was that last part of the legend the innkeeper told them. That only a 'child of all' could enter the Temple of Tian Long safely and that once he gathered the three sacred artifacts, he could enter the long lost paradise.

What the heck was a 'child of all'? If Argent based it on the fact that Blackbourne blood was needed to unseal the dragon treasure, then wouldn't that mean that the members of their family could be considered as a 'child of all'? But what's the basis for that? She wouldn't really know the answer unless she investigate more. Or maybe she would just beat the crap out of one of those Apostles until they tell her everything.

Then how about her father? Did he manage to get the three sacred artifacts? But if he did, then why would those Apostles look for them again? And they were looking for it on the same place, no less. Wouldn't that mean that her father failed?

Argent clenched her fist. She resisted the urge to just punch the table in front of her just to release some of her frustrations.

"Don't think too much," a calm voice suddenly said in front of her. Argent raised her head and looked at Lei Feng. "Calm down and think of what you most needed to do right now."

Argent stopped. Lei Feng was right. If she kept overthinking like this, nothing would be done. She took a deep breath and calmed herself. Then she widened the screen of her light brain where the picture of the map Aurum drew was, so that Lei Feng could see it too.

"There's a high chance that my mother's abductors took her somewhere around that land mass."

The drawing was that of a circular island that was hollowed in the middle. The space at the middle was quite big. It looked like a large lake encircled by a land mass. And that center was where the words 'Sea of Leng Jing' was written. Not on the big amount of ocean surrounding it, but specifically on that center.

Argent didn't think that Aurum would make a mistake by putting the wrong label where it didn't belong. Which meant this hollowed center was really the sea of Leng Jing. And that was all that was shown on the map. No directions, not even a latitude or a longitude.

According to Aurum, the Empress received a letter from those Apostles saying that she gave them the right map. How could they possibly find this place with only this dismal drawing? Since a lot of people said that the sea of Leng Jing didn't exist, could it be that the clue could be found on its name?

Leng Jing in the Xing language meant 'calm'. Then the sea of Leng Jing could be roughly translated to 'a calm sea'. A calm sea could mean that there was no wave. An ocean couldn't be completely waveless but it was possible to have barely any waves on it. The most common reasons for that was either the water was too shallow or the tectonic plates underneath has no movements.

It's impossible for it to be shallow. Because then, how could a temple be submerged underneath? It if was because of tectonic reason, Argent couldn't possibly search every ocean in Xing just to check which one had unmoving tectonic plates.

"This shape, don't you think it's familiar?" Lei Feng suddenly asked.

"Huh? In what way?"

"A crater."

Something suddenly flickered in her mind when Argent heard that. A volcanic crater! What if there's a dormant volcano submerged somewhere under Xing's sea? If there was some way that the level of water could decrease and show just the tip of the crater, having the sea water remained in the hollow of that crater, then it would perfectly show the image of the map that Aurum drew. With that, it would no longer be weird for the sea water inside to be called the sea of Leng Jing. Because once the tip of the crater was out of the ocean, then the water inside it would no longer be a part of the said ocean. Thus, producing a still body of water.

Like a calm sea.

Argent assumed that that crater wouldn't just appear under normal circumstance. Because if it did, then people would have long discovered it. Some kind of magical enchantment was probably placed on it. Just like how it was possible that a temple could possibly be burried inside that volcano.

If that was the case, then a powerful enchantment was needed. But it probably would be the type that wouldn't be easily sensed by people. Not even by those powerful Gift users. Because if it wasn't, then people would come swarming on a place surrounded by that powerful Mana. No matter the reason.

She could use the Mana detector she made. Argent made something like that since she thought that it might be helpful to her one day. Considering how she couldn't naturally felt Mana. Unless it came from a very obvious and very powerful source. She made it in a way that could detect any kind of Mana, even if that Mana was not meant to be sensed by anyone. Then once she found it, she could destroy it just by simply touching it. Since she had that kind of special constitution.

But the problem now was, where could they possibly begin their search?

She looked at Lei Feng and told him all her conjectures. He didn't oppose her and seemed to agree to what she thought. Then she finally asked, "Where should we start looking?"

"Around the sea area of this island," Lei Feng answered. "The only reason I could think of why that legend was so prominent in this area was because the Temple of Tian Long was located somewhere near here." He took out a map of Xing from his space ring and laid it down on the table. He then encircled the island where the village of Hangzhou was located. The circle included some uninhabited small islands. "I think this should be the circumferential area that we should search."

Argent stared at the map and then raised her head to look at Lei Feng. "Let's start then."

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A lone figure stood on top of a small boat. His platinum blond hair was swaying with the wind. His pair of heterochromatic eyes - one forest green, one sky blue - were staring at the vast, empty ocean in front of him.

Viper scrunched up her brows. Was this really the place his master told him to go? But there was nothing here! He pouted. Maybe his master was just playing a prank on him. Sending him to this useless errand just so he wouldn't meet with Argent.

Viper suddenly sensed something and immediately dodged to the side. Because of his sudden movement, he lost balance and slowly fell. He looked up and saw the red arrow that flew by him. As his body fell on the sea, a wide grin appeared on his lips.

Looked like this was the right place after all.