Inside the research institute in Madrid, Ignacio picked up the phone. Seeing Qi Yun's name, he quickly pressed the answer button: "Hello, Qi Yun, why haven't I been able to reach you these past two days?"

"I took a trip to Lop Nur and just got back," Qi Yun explained briefly, then asked, "Is there any progress on your end that you're eager to share with me?"

"You went to Lop Nur?" Ignacio was a bit surprised, "Was it about the map?"

Qi Yun nodded: "Sort of."

"Did you discover anything?" Ignacio pressed on.

"I found some clues, but I'm not sure if they're related. I'll send them to you later." Qi Yun chose not to conceal anything, as he needed to rely on experts like Ignacio to unravel the map's secret.

"Do you have any progress on your end?"

"There indeed is progress." Ignacio picked up a piece of paper from the table, glanced at it, and replied, "After some research with my professor, we might have found the hidden secret within the map."

Qi Yun perked up, lit a cigarette, and quietly waited for more information from the other side.

"The Louis Family has been searching for something for over a thousand years, and it might be related to eternal life!"

"Eternal life!?" Qi Yun couldn't help but exclaim at those words.

The last time he heard this term was from Wei Xueming, who told him a rumor about the last king of the Ancient Loulan. The king supposedly obtained a stone tablet from somewhere and believed it was an oracle from the Sun God, leading to the path of eternal life.

So when Qi Yun discovered that stone tablet at the altar, he subconsciously linked the two together.

However, the term 'eternal life' sounded too elusive. As someone educated in modern times, he found it hard to believe such a concept.

But now, with Ignacio bringing up this term again...

"That's right," Ignacio said with a grave tone, "it's about eternal life!"

"However, my professor said this eternal life is not what modern people imagine as immortality, but rather a dual transcendence of spirit and body, achieving a kind of"

"Transcendent realm?" Qi Yun was somewhat confused, "Can you explain in more detail?"

"It's like..." Ignacio pondered how to phrase it, aware of the significant cultural differences between East and West, and provided an Eastern example, "Like your Daoism's ascension, or Buddhism's nirvana and Pure Land."

"Cough, cough!" Qi Yun coughed several times upon hearing this, choking on his smoke, "So it's essentially dying?"

"Seeking eternal life is actually seeking death?"

"You can't understand it that way... it's too simplistic," Ignacio said with a hint of helplessness, "It might be a special place or some kind of artifact that helps one transcend..."

Qi Yun remained silent for a moment, then shook his head, "Alright, let's not talk about life or death for now. Do you have any other discoveries on your end?"

"Yes!" Ignacio continued, "We found out that Duke Tieren once went to Lop Nur under the orders of Louis II, searching for a lost ancient city with the intention of bringing back a stone tablet from the city."

"And on that stone tablet is the recorded method to attain eternal life!"

Qi Yun was taken aback. This... this is identical to the lore about the King of Loulan, isn't it?

So, the city Duke Tieren was looking for was actually the satellite city of the Loulan people... and that stone tablet was the one on the magnetic altar...

Could it be that the Loulan people didn't vanish due to environmental degradation, but, as the legend suggested, were exterminated by the Xiong Nu?

Thinking of this, he became increasingly curious about the inscriptions on that stone tablet.

"The stone tablet you mentioned... I think I've already found it."

"You found it!?" Ignacio was even more surprised this time, his voice full of disbelief.

"That's right." Qi Yun recounted the discovery of the satellite city and the stone tablet to him.

"Oh my God!" Ignacio exclaimed urgently, "Quick! Quickly send me the photos of the stone tablet!"

"Alright, I'll send them to you shortly. Do you have anything else to tell me?"

"Yes! We've gone through a lot of precious materials, and Duke Tieren not only went to Lop Nur but also visited other places."

Upon hearing this, Qi Yun got excited again and quickly asked, "Which places?"

"The Northern Mongolia Grassland. He went there to look for a mirror," Ignacio narrated at a steady pace, "Although he couldn't find it in the end, he later brought back a blue stone from Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa."

"For this, Louis II richly rewarded him."

A mirror?

A blue stone?

Qi Yun absorbed the information Ignacio provided.

The shipwreck map depicts a total of six regions: Lop Nur, Northern Mongolia, and Mount Kilimanjaro, making three points, and each point has a treasure.

The other three points should be similar...

It seems that to unlock the map's secret, gathering information from these six points might be necessary to uncover the truth.

Wait, Northern Mongolia!

Wasn't the intelligence from a couple of days ago related to Northern Mongolia?

These people opened many tombs but didn't take any burial items, clearly not typical tomb raiders.

Could it be that these people were also looking for that mirror? Qi Yun couldn't help but connect the two.

"Do you have specific coordinates for Northern Mongolia?"

Ignacio shook his head, "Not yet. After researching for days, we found that the coordinates on this map are hidden, like an encrypted puzzle."

"To get the exact coordinates of each region, we need to solve the puzzle."

"Alright," Qi Yun sighed, knowing there's no rushing such things, "For now, I'll send you the photos of the stone tablet. We'll communicate again once there's further progress."

"Okay."

After Ignacio responded, the two ended the call.

Qi Yun flicked off some ash from his cigarette and sent the photos of the tombstones he had taken to the other party, then pocketed his phone.

Beside him, Zhong Rui was staring at him curiously, clearly very interested in the conversation that had just taken place.

But he had a good quality, which was a tight mouth. The boss would tell him what he needed to know, and what he shouldn't know, he absolutely wouldn't pry.

This is probably the professional quality of someone from Tilanqiao.

Chen Wei was the same way, generally not inquiring except when Qi Yun's safety was involved.

Sitting in the passenger seat beside him, Duan Pingyu felt restless; just earlier, Qi Yun mentioned things like "immortality" and "dead," which made him want to snatch away the phone in Qi Yun's hand...

At one in the morning, the business car stopped at Qi Yun's doorstep.

"Everyone, go home and get some rest." After greeting them, Qi Yun pushed the door open and got out of the car.

Inside, Zhao Qing heard the commotion outside, hurriedly wiped her tears, and quickly applied a mask to her face, hiding her slightly swollen eyes.

After changing into his slippers, Qi Yun went to the second-floor bedroom and noticed the lights were still on, so he pushed the door open and asked, "Hmm? Why aren't you asleep yet?"

Zhao Qing wiped her cheeks: "Hmm, waiting for you. Have you eaten? I'll heat up the food for you."

"No need, I ate at the service area earlier." Qi Yun approached and hugged her from behind.

Zhao Qing pretended to be disdainful: "Ugh, you smell terrible."

Qi Yun laughed: "Alright, you go ahead and sleep, I'll go take a shower."

"Mm."

Qi Yun went down to the first floor, took out a clay pot he hadn't used for several days, skillfully tossed in the herbs, added water, and lit the fire.

During his days in the desert, even drinking the medicinal concoction was delayed, so upon returning home, of course, he had to make up for it right away.

After finishing everything, he went to the bathroom for a shower.

At two in the morning, Qi Yun carried a large bowl and downed the medicinal soup in one gulp; after drinking, he contentedly wiped the corners of his mouth.

Others despise the taste of Chinese medicine, but he relishes it now.

Having slept in the car all afternoon today, he wasn't really tired at the moment, and went to the study, lit a cigarette, and began checking the news reports for the day.

[Current Intelligence Points: 43]

[Today's Intelligence 1 (Red): Yesterday, De Gaulle Gwen requested the family to dispatch two experts, planning to capture Niu Da and his group completely]

Upon seeing this intelligence report, Qi Yun was startled and quickly picked up the phone on the desk, dialing Ah Jiao's number.

The phone rang twice and was soon answered.

"How's it going on your side?" Knowing that he had already informed Ah Jiao and the others before heading into the desert, Qi Yun hadn't received any news from them these past few days.

"We captured that white guy from last time on Hong Kong Island! The other party hasn't confessed yet; Brother Niu is interrogating him," Ah Jiao replied succinctly.

Qi Yun paused; that guy was skilled, yet they managed to catch him?

"Is everyone okay?"

"Yes, that guy kept following Lao Hei and was then ambushed and subdued by Brother Niu."

Upon hearing that no one was hurt, Qi Yun's heart eased a bit and he continued to instruct: "Listen, the other party dispatched two experts to capture you all, and those two must be better than the one you've caught. So be extra careful, don't show yourselves lately, and retreat if necessary."

Upon hearing this, Ah Jiao nodded solemnly: "Alright, I understand, and will be cautious."

"Okay, that's it for now. Call me anytime if there's a situation."

[Today's Intelligence 2 (Purple 2/6): 111°167′22″E, 44°517′55″N]

Another set of purple coordinates! The original 1/6 is now 2/6!

Qi Yun started to understand; this purple intelligence seems to be akin to game fragments, where each time only a part is obtained...

Now it seems that this purple intelligence likely corresponds to those six area points on the map.

Otherwise, it couldn't be such a coincidence.

He immediately took out his phone to check this coordinate, which showed it near Hu Cha in Northern Mongolia.

That place isn't far from the border crossing, almost about to leave the country.

"Must quickly make arrangements... Can't let that group snatch the item away!"

[Today's Intelligence 3 (Green): Tonight, a Christie's auction in Shanghai will be held, featuring a Golden Buddha Head as an auction item. This Buddha Head contains something extraordinary, hiding the long-lost Dog Head of the Twelve Bronze Heads]

Twelve Bronze Heads! Treasures from Yuanming Garden!

Qi Yun had learned about the story of the Twelve Bronze Heads before, which are said to be part of the fountain at Yuanming Garden, with these bronze statues rotating to spray water according to the hour, creating an impressive scene.

Unfortunately, after being plundered, some went missing without a trace, including the Dog Head mentioned in the intelligence.

If he could obtain this item and donate it to the country at the right time, as long as he hasn't committed any heinous crimes, he should have no more worries, right?

Even discovering Satellite City likely isn't as significant as this...

Considering this, Qi Yun started to have lively thoughts; to prevent national treasures from flowing overseas, it must be obtained!

However... the auction starts tonight, and he doesn't even have a number plate, making it seem a bit tight on time...

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