Even so, Wang Guan wasn't in a rush to start searching; instead, he sat down to drink water and regain his strength.

After resting for half an hour, he finally took out a small shovel and began hacking his way through the undergrowth. He carved out a narrow passage leading to the center of the hollow.

Standing there, Wang Guan looked all around, yet could discern absolutely nothing unusual about the entire hollow.

At this moment, Wang Guan sighed, wishing he were one of those legendary tomb raiders, the Mojin Xiaowei. With the Xunlong Jue and the art of Fenjin Dingxue, perhaps he could have pinpointed the exact location of the buried treasure with just one glance.

"Thank heavens for the last resort," Wang Guan exhaled, focusing intensely and activating his special ability. Centering it on his own body, he began to slowly scan the surroundings.

Streams of qi flowed into the earth like water—one meter, two meters, three meters… By four or five meters deep, the detection could penetrate no further. This was only because the soil layer in the hollow was relatively loose; in hard clay or solid ground, it likely wouldn't have reached such a depth.

During the scan, Wang Guan could clearly see tangled rocks, roots, and earthworms buried underground, but there was no trace of the rumored treasure.

Soon, three minutes passed. Wang Guan felt utterly drained, his forehead slightly dizzy, knowing he had reached his limit. He quickly deactivated the special ability and closed his eyes to rest his spirit.

Since the special ability was upgraded, this feeling of debilitating exhaustion had become rare. Rubbing his temples, Wang Guan rested for over ten minutes before feeling slightly better.

"Purely asking for it."

Wang Guan gave a self-deprecating smile. If there was no treasure here, he would have suffered a significant loss.

After a few more minutes, he resumed using the special ability to search again. For the remainder of the day, Wang Guan repeated this process, continually expanding his scanning radius. Starting from the center of the hollow, he spread out towards the southeast, southwest, northeast, and northwest.

Each time he activated the special ability, Wang Guan would tell himself that this was the final attempt; surely, he would discover the treasure now. Yet, each time, his hopes were dashed, leaving him deeply disappointed.

However, during this cycle of using the special ability, exhausting his spirit, resting, and then using it again, Wang Guan noticed that his special ability seemed to have improved slightly. The duration he could use it had doubled, and his visual range had extended to a depth of six or seven meters.

Thus, the later he got, the easier Wang Guan felt, giving him a sense of unexpected pleasant surprise, making the trip worthwhile.

Of course, there is an old saying: "A person's heart is never satisfied, like a snake trying to swallow an elephant," which speaks to the endless nature of human greed. Wang Guan harbored a similar sentiment, hoping for double good fortune—to enhance his special ability while successfully locating the treasure.

However, the final result left Wang Guan severely disappointed.

From the bright morning sun to the current moment of setting sun, twilight. If the time taken to arrive here was excluded, the process of searching the hollow for treasure spanned approximately seven or eight hours.

Wang Guan had worked tirelessly, enduring thorns and thickets, carving out several narrow paths within the weeds and brambles of the hollow, thoroughly and meticulously searching an area of nearly one hundred square meters, spreading out from the center in all four cardinal directions.

But within the earth of the entire hollow, there was nothing but mud, tangled roots, gravel, worms, and insects. Let alone treasure, he hadn't even spotted a single pheasant or wild rabbit.

"I really was tricked," Wang Guan sighed, but he refused to give up and activated his special ability once more. This time, he scanned for a full ten minutes, pushing past his known limit. Sadly, there was still nothing to be found.

Finally, Wang Guan felt a darkening in front of his eyes, the world spun, and his body swayed, nearly causing him to collapse. As his frame teetered precariously, he flailed his arms like a drowning man, desperately grabbing onto a clump of weeds just in time to prevent a fall.

Once he managed to steady himself and open his eyes, Wang Guan realized he had stumbled to the base of a mountainside. He was leaning against a sheer rock face, his hands tightly gripping some weeds growing from the cliff, which kept him from falling to the ground.

"A cliff face..."

In an instant, a shiver ran down Wang Guan's spine, and hope sparked anew. He had been focused only on searching the earth, forgetting that in the chaos of the past, people hiding valuables likely wouldn't have had time to dig pits for burial.

If there were naturally occurring caves within the mountain or cliff face, sealing the entrance after hiding things inside would have been far simpler and easier.

Of course, this was merely Wang Guan's speculation, and he knew this was his last shred of hope. If there was no treasure even within the mountain belly, he would have to beat a hasty retreat.

After resting briefly, Wang Guan walked to an open area of the hollow and carefully surveyed the five large mountains encircling it. This would be his final attempt; regardless of the outcome or whether he found the treasure, he planned to leave afterward and seek lodging in a nearby mountain village.

After all, Wang Guan wasn't a true vagabond hiker; his backpack only contained sufficient water and dry rations. Without a tent, he dared not camp out in the wilderness.

Although human deforestation meant fewer dangerous beasts remained on the mountains, the biting of insects was far worse. Moreover, winter was setting in, and he was in the mountains. Without bedding, he might endure the first half of the night, but the latter half would be agonizing. Being too cold to sleep would be the mildest consequence; getting sick from the cold would be far more troublesome.

Upon surveying the peaks, Wang Guan observed that four of the five surrounding mountains were relatively short, while the central one was majestic and towering—the most likely candidate to contain a cave.

Without further hesitation, Wang Guan activated his special ability and began scanning slowly, from the base to the summit.

Initially, there was no discovery, but upon reaching the midpoint of the slope, Wang Guan felt his Bao Qi—treasure sense—suddenly penetrate the rock, reaching into an enclosed space.

"As expected."

Wang Guan was first startled, then overjoyed. Just as he prepared to drive his Bao Qi to explore the space further, he felt his spirit gradually wither and scatter.

Simultaneously, the sun was nearing the mountain crest, and the sky was already darkening. Wang Guan could only sigh in frustration, retracting his special ability, carefully marking the location in his mind, and reluctantly returning the way he came.

The return journey was much easier than the ascent. Since his tracks remained visible, Wang Guan simply followed them back.

Not long after, Wang Guan arrived at the village comprising only twenty or thirty households. At this hour, the entire sky was pitch black, moonless, yet a few stars glittered above.

Wang Guan shamelessly knocked on the door of one of the houses. Mountain folk were simple and were quite surprised to see him. Fortunately, in recent years, itinerant hikers often traversed the mountains and occasionally visited this small settlement.

That household had some experience with such visitors and didn't turn Wang Guan away. Instead, they offered him warm hospitality. However, given the conditions of a mountain dwelling, there were no spare rooms for him. Wang Guan had anticipated this, borrowing a straw mat to lay down in an empty space in the main hall.

Wang Guan was largely sleepless that night. This wasn't just due to the unfamiliar environment, but primarily because he couldn't stop thinking about the cave in the mountain.

By now, he was ninety percent certain that the cave must contain the treasure. Yet, he couldn't shake the 'what if'—what if the cave was naturally formed, perhaps completely empty inside?

Thus, plagued by uncertainty and anxiety, Wang Guan tossed and turned, finally drifting into a shallow sleep.

However, it seemed not long after when Wang Guan heard the crowing of roosters.

Hearing movement nearby, Wang Guan woke up. He opened his eyes only to find the sky outside still dark; the sun hadn't risen yet. Checking his phone, it was only 5:30 AM.

Yet, at this hour, the twenty-odd households in the mountain village were already stirring, boiling water, washing up, and preparing breakfast.

The family hosting him had also risen early to start their chores, and Wang Guan felt embarrassed to sleep longer, getting up to wash his face and brush his teeth. The icy water on his face brought him full clarity.

The family was extremely hospitable and prepared breakfast for Wang Guan as well. Though not lavish—just simple white rice porridge with pickled sour vegetables—Wang Guan ate heartily.

Then, Wang Guan packed his belongings, ready to depart.

He intended to leave some money for lodging, but the family insisted on refusing payment. Unable to persuade them, Wang Guan rummaged through his backpack and gave some miscellaneous items he didn't need to the family's children as gifts before departing with sincere gratitude.

Leaving the mountain village, Wang Guan hurried his pace, running and climbing, finally arriving back at the hollow twenty minutes later. He then made his way to the mountainside where he had previously scanned.

Afterward, Wang Guan activated his special ability. The Bao Qi seeped into the space within the earth stratum and began a slow, meticulous probe.

Concentrating intently, Wang Guan saw that the space revealed a winding, tortuous tunnel. The tunnel was long, its destination unknown. However, near the closer entrance of the tunnel, several skeletons were scattered about.

Seeing this scene, Wang Guan was momentarily horrified, and his special ability abruptly cut off. But once he calmed his shock, an indescribable, wild ecstasy surged within him; he felt one hundred percent certain he was in the right place.

Looking around quickly and seeing no one, Wang Guan immediately started digging without a second thought.

"Crack, crack..."

The small steel shovel easily sank into the soil, indicating that this layer of dirt was quite loose. Furthermore, the excavated earth was mixed with many dead branches and fallen leaves, further convincing Wang Guan that this layer had been filled in deliberately.

"Pop!"

After digging more than a meter deep, Wang Guan felt the shovel go empty, and a gap the size of a fist immediately appeared before his eyes. Following this, a pungent, decaying odor drifted out from the opening.

Seeing this, Wang Guan quickly shoveled a few more times to widen the gap, then retreated to the side.

After another half hour, the stagnant air in the tunnel had dispersed. Wang Guan, filled with nervous excitement, trepidation, and thrilled joy, cautiously squeezed through the opening...

........................ There will only be two updates today, but the word count remains the same. To accommodate the plot progression for the chapter release, the pacing will accelerate slightly; please understand. Finally, please remember to save, vote with recommendation tickets, and support me greatly, I beg you. C