"I've exhausted every means..." "So have I..." "There's nothing we can do..." The bandit group watched as several apothecaries shook their heads and departed. "It seems his body contains a massive amount of metal. If only we could extract it, perhaps that would solve the problem!" One apothecary's words instantly drew the attention of the assembled crowd.

"It's a pity—this vast quantity of metal appears to be shattered. To remove it all would require draining every drop of his blood, otherwise..." "Get out!" Bāhuāng Wúshēng, his temper flaring for the first time, angrily ushered the apothecary out of the room. He had finally found someone, only for him to be grievously wounded by Qián Zhànxuán to this extent!

If he had arrived even a moment sooner, perhaps things wouldn't have devolved to this state. Draining the blood? Bāhuāng Wúshēng couldn't fathom how that apothecary could suggest such a thing.

If there's no blood left, how could the man possibly survive? "Perhaps... I have a way..." From the crowd, Fén Tú Kuánggē, who had remained silent and was often completely overlooked and forgotten, spoke a sentence that arrested everyone's attention.

"That's right! The Great True Gold Dou Qi!" Duàn Fēng Bù'èr grabbed Fén Tú Kuánggē and hurried toward Qián Jìn. "How could we forget you!" Fén Tú Kuánggē's smile held a shade of helplessness.

Within the group, his individual strength was the weakest; his utility only truly shone when coordinating plans. In daily life, his presence naturally paled compared to the others. The Great True Gold Dou Qi?

Pán Hóngjī stared at Fén Tú Kuánggē with suspicion. Didn't the Fén Tú Clan always practice the Heaven-Burning Art? How could this youngster be cultivating a Dou Qi secret technique called the Great True Gold Dou Qi?

Had the Fén Tú Clan stumbled upon some new fortuitous encounter? Or perhaps they had developed an entirely new Dou Qi secret method? As Fén Tú Kuánggē approached Qián Jìn, his expression immediately turned solemn.

Since beginning to cultivate the Great True Gold Dou Qi, he had never before felt such an intense resonance with any metal, regardless of what he encountered. Qián Jìn’s body was clearly still flesh and blood, yet Fén Tú Kuánggē could not detect even a trace of human vitality emanating from him. Instead, the man radiated an overwhelming metallic aura, making one feel as though they were standing within a colossal iron mine.

This severe? Fén Tú Kuánggē drew a sharp breath, staring curiously at Qián Jìn. How could there be such a concentration of metallic essence within him?

The Great True Gold Dou Qi whirled rapidly inside Fén Tú Kuánggē’s body. His palm slowly became coated with a metallic sheen visible to the naked eye. The relentless hardships and various incidents of these recent days had rapidly honed his strength, making the Gold-Absorbing Hand of the Great True Gold Dou Qi increasingly formidable.

The Gold-Absorbing Hand! A specialized Dou Technique of the Great True Gold Dou Qi. It was not merely capable of drawing metal from weapons; its terrifying power lay in its ability to absorb the metal from living bodies.

According to the technique's description, human blood contains a certain amount of iron. Though small, this iron is critically important to the human body. If one could extract the opponent’s iron during combat, that person would instantly become weak, their fighting power plummeting drastically, potentially even resulting in death from iron depletion.

The moment the Gold-Absorbing Hand touched Qián Jìn’s back, Fén Tú Kuánggē’s body violently shuddered. Usually, the Gold-Absorbing Hand could smoothly draw out metallic essence from any metal it encountered. This time, however, the Gold-Absorbing Hand could not absorb a single wisp of metallic energy.

On the contrary, there was a distinct sensation that the metallic energy within him was about to be forcefully drawn back out. How could this be? Fén Tú Kuánggē instantly focused his spirit, channeling power.

The one hundred and eight Dou Apertures within his body, cooperating with his Dou Heart, erupted violently. The formidable suction force became like a leviathan gulping water. The strange metallic essence within Qián Jìn finally began to stir, seeming poised to break free from Qián Jìn's body.

At that instant, Qián Jìn’s body also jolted. In his state of unconsciousness, surrounded by what seemed like relentless, cruel darkness, Qián Jìn felt as though he could perceive his surroundings clearly even without opening his eyes. He felt suspended in the air, adrift among the stars.

A sliver of light appeared in the oppressive blackness, a light that seemed to puncture the surrounding void—the flavor of the Great True Gold Dou Qi! Fén Tú Kuánggē was assisting from outside! Qián Jìn felt a surge of joy.

This undigested metallic powder possessed an unusually high concentration of special energy. Even a fraction of it would greatly benefit Fén Tú Kuánggē, and retrieving it from his body would also aid his own recovery. The surrounding darkness was violently shaken, appearing on the verge of collapse, as if these metals had finally found a centralized point of convergence.

Initially, these metals had been wandering aimlessly, searching for a focal point, unsure where to gather. Now, Fén Tú Kuánggē’s Gold-Absorbing Hand had effectively established that central point for them. Not good!

Qián Jìn’s heart leaped. This was disastrous! With such a vast quantity of metal, Fén Tú Kuánggē’s strength couldn't possibly consume it all; he would be the one to suffer the backlash!

Realizing Fén Tú Kuánggē's aid had become counterproductive, Qián Jìn hastily mobilized the Dou Soul within him to block the metals. But these particles behaved like warriors utterly unafraid of death, rushing fearlessly into the searing heat of the Earthly Fire Heart. Fast!

Fierce! Ruthless! The metals gathered with terrifying speed; Qián Jìn couldn't even hope to intercept them.

In the blink of an eye, a large mass of metallic energy had coalesced. The shape of a half-shield did not reappear, but instead... Qián Jìn felt the darkness around him begin to lighten.

It wasn't the radiance of the sun that illuminated the earth, but rather the way starlight pierces the sky when one is utterly lost on a pitch-black night, making the darkness less unforgiving. The starlight rapidly gathered. Qián Jìn watched the sudden transformation with bewildered astonishment.

What was happening? The light of the stars in the void grew brighter and more numerous, gradually assembling into an image—an image that Qián Jìn neither recognized immediately nor entirely failed to recall. A sea chart!

It was that peculiar map imprinted on the half-shield! Now, rendered in starlight, it reformed itself, revolving slowly and continuously, creating a dynamic picture. Qián Jìn gazed as the colossal, half-shield shape gradually merged into it.

The Dou Qi within his body instinctively began to circulate according to the rotation of these starlights, refining thin strands of Dou Qi into a completely unprecedented Dou Technique. The mental projection of Qián Jìn suddenly ‘waved a hand.’ The ordered flow of Dou Qi actually condensed into a shield! Strictly speaking, it was a half-shield!

It possessed an aura of immensity and crushing power, a shield seemingly impregnable to any attack! Qián Jìn trembled slightly as the shield Dou Technique enveloped him, granting him the sensation of physically transforming into that very half-shield. What is this?

Qián Jìn’s eyebrows twitched repeatedly. This was actually a Dou Technique! He had held onto it for so long, yet he had been utterly ignorant that it concealed a technique—and an incredibly potent defensive one at that!

Could it be? This wasn't a sea chart at all? The instant the question flashed through Qián Jìn’s mind, the rotating starlight flared several times brighter than before, as if answering his doubt.

They rotated faster and faster, coalescing... "This... is a Star Map!" Qián Jìn’s eyes widened significantly.

If it weren't for the various tomes he had studied during his time with the Qián family, especially those concerning celestial cartography, he might never have realized that the map on the shield was not a sea chart, but a Star Map! Yes! A Star Map!

Qián Jìn scoffed internally. He had carried this shield for so long, yet it held so many secrets that he should have uncovered. He only discovered its true nature after being critically injured by Qián Zhànxuán.

The Star Map, composed of countless moving points of light, suddenly vanished entirely! The next moment, this massive, three-dimensional star map materialized around Qián Jìn’s body. They rolled gently and ceaselessly.

Qián Jìn subconsciously raised a hand, attempting to ascertain the reality of these surrounding stars. The slight movement of his hand stirred the air, causing the surrounding stellar bodies to shift instantly, momentarily encircling his arm. In that moment, gazing upon the scene—so real yet so illusory—Qián Jìn’s eyes glazed over, lost in thought.

He felt as though he was the central axis of this Star Map, and all the stars should orbit around him! Countless battles flashed through his mind like a galloping panorama. The past experience of the Rushing Thunder Slash descending like a river of stars from the heavens; the memory of a punch that felt like grasping a star in his palm; the recollection of successive slashes resembling a meteor shower of stellar bodies.

Scene after scene of combat, battle after wearying battle—Qián Jìn, suspended in the void, suddenly opened his eyes and looked down beneath his feet. Where there had been only black emptiness, he now saw green, blue, and endless yellow... The Earth!

Qián Jìn felt as if he were a god seated upon the constellations, looking down upon everything on the ground. That once boundless land! That ancient, vast Desolate Sand Sea that once inspired awe and reverence!

From the perspective of one enthroned among the stars, it presented an entirely different view. Be it the Desolate Sand Sea or the End of the Boundless Sea, along with the myriad forbidden zones—they were all changing, bit by bit. These changes were imperceptible to humans, the Demon Race, or the Savage Race, as each minute shift required the passage of several generations of life.

Only the constellations, eternally unchanging, could witness all these transformations! Only before the ever-constant stars did the vast, immense Desolate Sand Sea, or the Boundless Sea, amount to merely one forbidden zone among many. The power of the Desolate Sand Sea stretched back far longer than human history, yet measured against the stars, it was fleeting.

In the brief span of a thousand years that passed on the sands, for the stars, it was merely the blink of an eye. A treasure! Yes!

This was an unparalleled treasure trove! Qián Jìn snapped his eyes open. This half-shield truly contained infinite wealth!

This Star Map was indeed a treasure map, but its riches were not limited to a single location marked upon the stellar chart. It also contained profound ultimate truths that every warrior dreamed of discovering!