Luna's words instantly reminded Evan Chu: no matter how sharp your eyesight, you can't see what's buried in the mud—only spiritual sense can pierce through. If you don't even understand such a simple truth, you really are hopeless.
Seeing Evan Chu close his eyes, possibly sensing something, Rhea Yang asked, "Lin Feng, is there really something going on at the lake bottom? I think we should just leave—I’m getting the creeps."
"Don’t talk—let me check carefully for a bit. There might be a rare treasure at the lake bottom, and we need to find it," Evan Chu said.
Rhea originally wanted to ask how Evan knew there was a treasure at the bottom of Red Lake—was it just because the water sometimes turned red? But since Evan told her not to disturb him, she could only let it go. She was curious to see what exactly Evan could dig up here.
Evan Chu slowly spread out his spiritual sense and began searching the lakebed. While his current spiritual sense couldn’t cover the entire bottom, it was still enough to scan a large area.
Evan searched slowly. Before long, a faint energy fluctuation entered his mind, coming from a spot about a mile away.
Evan Chu opened his eyes and said to Rhea Yang, "Rhea, let’s go check out what treasure is at the bottom of this lake. It can turn the water red and then make it disappear—there’s got to be something strange going on."
Soon, the two of them arrived at the spot where Evan Chu sensed the energy fluctuation. He didn’t let his guard down—instead, he pushed his Watershift technique to the limit, making sure that even if something unexpected happened, Rhea Yang wouldn’t get hurt.
Rhea Yang looked around the lakebed—aside from some water plants and mud, there were just the occasional fish or shrimp passing by. Nothing seemed special at all. She stared at Evan Chu in confusion, wondering what he was really up to.
Evan Chu slowly took out the Frostbane Sword from his storage ring and studied the area ahead. The energy fluctuation there had gotten much stronger—and it carried a distinctly ancient, primordial aura.
With a swift motion, Evan Chu swung his sword, unleashing Tempest Shroud from the Windchaser Sword Art. All he needed was to clear away the mud and reveal whatever was hidden underneath. If he used an attack as powerful as Tyrant Cleave or Earthsplitter, he'd probably destroy whatever treasure lay below.
Even Tempest Shroud, at Evan's current strength, was terrifying. Instantly, a massive vortex erupted at the bottom of the lake, sweeping up all the mud and water plants within a five-meter radius.
If anyone was on the lake right now, they'd be absolutely stunned—a giant water column spun skyward, nearly ten meters tall. Anyone who saw it would think a water monster had appeared!
As the attack faded, the lakebed slowly calmed. Strangely, the swept-up mud didn’t make the water cloudy at all. Rhea Yang found this unbelievable—she knew Evan Chu couldn’t be judged by normal standards anymore. Everything he did was beyond ordinary.
Evan scanned the exposed lakebed. Sure enough, something was there—and it was red. He hurried over and found a crimson stele, its surface covered in tiny carved characters. He could see the writing, but couldn't understand a single word.
The red stone looked just like blood-jade, dazzling and vivid. Evan had no idea how this Crimson Jade Heaven Stele could dye the whole lake red, or what those carved characters meant—he didn’t recognize even one.
The strangest thing was that it sat right at the heart of the lake. Evan was sure there was a huge secret hidden in this Crimson Jade Heaven Stele, but only Luna, his sword spirit, might be able to explain it.
Evan tried to store the stele in his storage ring, but it wouldn’t budge. A powerful restriction was binding it—he couldn’t move it at all. With his current strength, he could easily lift a ten-thousand-pound boulder, but this little stele felt like it weighed tens of thousands of pounds, or was nailed in place by some invisible force. He couldn’t believe it.
Just then, Luna’s voice rang out in his mind: "Evan, you really are favored by fate! To encounter such a rare treasure—I’m truly happy for you."
Luna’s words left Evan completely baffled. This red stele was a treasure? Even if it was, what use was it if he couldn’t pick it up, let alone use it? He didn’t even know what it was for.
Luna understood Evan’s thoughts perfectly. "Evan, the Crimson Jade Heaven Stele is sealed by a restriction. You’ll have to break it before you can truly obtain it. This treasure is incredibly rare—do you know where it comes from?"
Evan shook his head, indicating he had no idea. Rhea Yang saw his gesture and immediately asked, "Evan, why are you shaking your head? Is there something weird about that red stele? Why do I feel like it’s gripping my soul?"
"You feel something? I don’t sense anything. Are you feeling sick?" Evan asked urgently. He wasn’t familiar with this red stele—it could be some kind of powerful evil artifact for all he knew.
"My chest aches a little, and my head feels fuzzy. I think I’d better head up and wait for you on the shore!" Rhea said.
Evan agreed it was safer to get Rhea out of there. With a quick movement, he surfaced and instantly teleported to the shore, gently setting her down. "Wait here for me, and don’t wander off!" he warned.
Rhea looked herself over, stunned to find she was completely dry. She’d just spent at least an hour underwater—how was this possible? It was almost unbelievable.
"Go on, but be careful!" Rhea called out. Evan nodded, then teleported back to the spot where he’d surfaced and activated Watershift, diving straight into the lake again.
Evan returned to the Crimson Jade Heaven Stele, quietly studying it without making a move. He needed to figure out what kind of stele this was and why Luna called it the Crimson Jade Heaven Stele—a name he’d never heard before.
"Evan, the Crimson Jade Heaven Stele isn’t from this world at all. Its appearance here is truly bizarre. The script on its surface is an unimaginably ancient seal script—even I can only read a small part. There’s definitely a gigantic secret sealed inside, but to uncover it, you’ll have to break the stele’s restriction," Luna explained.
Even Luna could only recognize a handful of the characters, which proved just how ancient this stele was—and that it didn’t belong to their world. Evan’s shock was beyond words.
After a long silence, Evan finally asked, "Luna, how do I break this restriction? You know I’m clueless when it comes to arrays and seals. Is there any danger if I try?"