Treasure Hunt

Three months later.

A heaven-shaking beast roar suddenly rang out from a valley in the rear mountains of Jia Nan Academy. Then a furious bellow followed. "Little runt, yesterday I let you get away by accident. Today, I'll definitely eat you!" A burly white giant ape, fully thirty to forty feet tall, stood upright. Its entire body emanated a sharp, icy aura as it roared angrily at the petite figure in the air ahead. It was none other than the fifth-tier magical beast, the Snow Demon Sky Ape.

"Pah, pah, pah! A big stupid brute like you wants to eat me? And you dare call me a little runt? Today, I'll beat you flat!" Zi Yan shouted angrily when she heard this. She immediately raised her small fist and charged fearlessly at the giant ape, whose size was utterly disproportionate to hers.

The two figures clashed instantly. Strength slammed against strength, sending out thunderous booms one after another.

About several hundred meters from where Zi Yan and the Snow Demon Sky Ape were fighting, inside a stone wall, Lin Yuan's eyes narrowed slightly. He held an energy longbow in his hand, already aiming it at the battlefield. The Dou Qi around him turned into flames, continuously spinning and compressing, gathering on the energy longbow in his hand into a solid azure arrow. The energy compressed to the extreme at the arrowhead seemed as though it could pierce through space itself.

Lin Yuan divided his focus three ways. First, he prepared his sure-kill move. Second, he used Soul Power to isolate and seal off the space within several meters around him, preventing the energy fluctuation here from being discovered. Third, he used his Soul Perception to monitor the battle, waiting for the moment to unleash the fatal strike.

In the valley, Zi Yan was raising her fists and clashing head-on with the Snow Demon Sky Ape. After the two exchanged dozens of hard blows, the Snow Demon Sky Ape, unable to gain the upper hand, grew impatient. A fierce roar burst violently from its mouth. In an instant, a snow-white ripple of icy energy spread out rapidly. Wherever it passed, some massive rocks were caught by the icy ripple and, in the blink of an eye, turned into snow-colored blocks of ice.

Seeing this, Zi Yan's forward-rushing figure moved like a cloud dragon flipping over, perfectly dodging the icy energy and fully displaying the results of her recent training in the movement Dou Skill, Cloud Dragon Dance.

When the Snow Demon Sky Ape saw that its move had failed, a vicious glint flashed in its eyes, and it began to activate its Berserk Bloodline.

Hidden in the dark, the instant Lin Yuan sensed the Snow Demon Sky Ape's energy rapidly improve, his gaze sharpened. "Now is the time." He released the attack he had been charging for so long.

"Heavenly Fire Tribulation, Setting Sun Divine Arrow!"

The high-speed spinning azure arrow shot out explosively at extreme speed, instantly piercing through the stone wall. In the blink of an eye, it struck the Snow Demon Sky Ape from behind while it was activating the Berserk Bloodline in its body and had no time to dodge. The icy energy on its body surface and its tough flesh were broken through in an instant, and the Azure Fire Arrow drove into the Snow Demon Sky Ape's body.

After the azure arrow pierced into the Snow Demon Sky Ape, the wisp of Soul Power attached to the arrow dispersed. The energy of the arrow condensed from flame and Dou Qi exploded instantly inside the Snow Demon Sky Ape. Scorching energy destroyed the magical ape's body from within in an instant. The Snow Demon Sky Ape's rising aura came to an abrupt halt, and it died on the spot.

Afterward, Lin Yuan flew over from behind the stone wall where he had been hiding. He took a longsword from his storage ring and swiftly cut off the Snow Demon Sky Ape's head before beginning to examine its corpse. He saw that the place where the arrow had entered had already been turned by the arrow's energy into a hollow a meter in diameter.

Lin Yuan looked at the Snow Demon Sky Ape's corpse, a faint, unreadable expression on his face. "Charging up to transform on a battlefield is very dangerous!"

Zi Yan also flew over from afar. She looked at the Snow Demon Sky Ape's corpse and wound, and could not help clicking her tongue. Looking at Lin Yuan, she said, "Even though this isn't the first time I've seen it, that move of yours really is amazing. This big guy died all at once. Can you teach me?"

"I'm willing to teach you, but this kind of move isn't suited to you. It requires very strong soul ability and control over Dou Qi, while your main body is a magical beast. You're naturally lacking when it comes to Soul Power," Lin Yuan said casually as he dealt with the Snow Demon Sky Ape's corpse.

Heavenly Fire Tribulation—Setting Sun Divine Arrow was the result of Lin Yuan continuing to deeply develop and perfect his Pill Flame Technique after becoming a Dou Wang. It was a composite ultimate art formed by Lin Yuan fusing and summarizing the Alchemy Department's Pill Flame Technique, the Dou Qi compression and control techniques of Spiral Force, Lin Yuan's own Fire Control Technique, and the energy circulation and force exertion techniques of several archery-type Dou Skills.

This ultimate art was extremely difficult. It required powerful Soul Perception, exceptionally fine Dou Qi Control, and fire control ability. At present, it was Lin Yuan's proudest creation. Although it could not draw on World Energy like an Earth Tier Dou Skill and use vast energy to cause powerful destruction, in terms of focused power, it was not inferior to ordinary Earth Tier Dou Skills. Moreover, its Dou Qi consumption was much lower than an Earth Tier Dou Skill's.

"Oh! But your fighting style really is very different from other people's. I always feel like fighting you is really dangerous," Zi Yan said after hearing this, not dwelling on it. Instead, she spoke of her impression of Lin Yuan's combat style.

Lin Yuan smiled, but did not explain. His combat style was indeed very different from others. Unlike many people who pursued the cultivation of high-level Dou Skills, he placed greater importance on how well a Dou Skill matched his own fighting style. His own combat style pursued three points: speed, precision, and effectiveness. Therefore, when he fought, most of the time there was a great deal of planning, not much commotion, but extreme danger. However, there was no need to tell Zi Yan these things. Everyone had a fighting style suited to them, and his style was not suited to Zi Yan.

A short while later, after finishing with the Snow Demon Sky Ape's corpse, Lin Yuan waved his hand at Zi Yan. "Let's go. We'll retrieve the Earth Core Body Tempering Milk."

The two swept toward the depths of the valley. Wherever they passed along the way, they could see some exposed magical beast bones on the ground. Presumably, these were magical beasts that had once fought the Snow Demon Sky Ape over the Earth Core Body Tempering Milk.

When they reached the end of the valley, the two saw a pitch-black cave. Lin Yuan used Soul Perception to investigate the cave. After discovering there was no danger, he brought Zi Yan inside. The white fur in the cave, similar to the Snow Demon Sky Ape's, proved that this place was indeed its den.

"The Earth Core Body Tempering Milk is born beneath the earth. It is originally formed from pure earth power after being compressed over the years, so it must be underground. Then the passage leading underground is..." Lin Yuan also released his Soul Perception, searching for the passage. "Found it!"

Lin Yuan walked to a place piled with white fur and lightly swept his hand. At once, a gust of wind surged out, blowing the pile of white fur away.

With a flick of his sleeve, a stream of Dou Qi turned into a whirlwind, continuously rolling up the sand beneath the pile of white fur. In an instant, wind and sand filled the cave. Lin Yuan opened a Dou Qi shield that enveloped him and Zi Yan, preventing the sand from falling on them.

Not long after, a dark, gloomy entrance leading underground appeared in view. Lin Yuan used Soul Perception to investigate for a while and confirmed there was no danger inside. He then brought Zi Yan and jumped into the hole.

After entering the hole, Lin Yuan formed a ball of azure flame, illuminating the pitch-black interior. The passage inside was spacious enough to somewhat exceed his expectations. As he used Soul Perception to investigate ahead, he brought Zi Yan swiftly along the huge, winding underground passage.

After walking for nearly ten minutes, a faint white speck of light suddenly appeared at the end of the pitch-black passage in the distance. Lin Yuan hurriedly increased his speed, and as they drew closer, the white speck gradually enlarged. In the end, it had turned into a cave entrance glowing with white light.

Passing through the entrance, what entered Lin Yuan and Zi Yan's eyes was an underground world filled with stalactites. Looking out, milky-white stalactites stretched endlessly to the end of their vision. Pale white light emanated from them, driving away all the darkness here. Stalactites grew everywhere. Some hung from the mountain peak above, and some were even as long as a hundred meters. At a glance, the mountain dome was densely hung with enormous stalactites. Occasionally, drops of white liquid fell down, splashing milky-white ripples on the ground.

What an underground world.

Looking at the vast expanse of identical stalactites before him, Lin Yuan turned to Zi Yan and said, "Zi Yan, sense where the treasure is."

"Watch me!" When Zi Yan heard this, she confidently patted her chest, closed her eyes, and sensed for a while. Then she opened her eyes and pointed in one direction. "Over there. Follow me!" Having said that, she walked in the direction of her finger, and Lin Yuan followed Zi Yan.

After the two of them moved through this stalactite world for nearly ten minutes, they stopped in front of a huge stalactite. One end of this stalactite was connected to the top of the mountain dome, while the other hung straight down. Its enormous body was over a hundred meters long, and its width was thick enough for two people to wrap their arms around. Pale white light lingered beside it, making it appear like a crystal pillar. It was the largest stalactite in this underground world.

His gaze moved downward. Beneath this stalactite was an extremely large bluestone. More than half of the bluestone was buried underground. At this moment, at the top of the bluestone, there was a groove less than half a foot deep. The groove happened to face the pointed end of the stalactite above, and within that groove was a pool of milky-white liquid about two inches deep. Above the liquid, faint white mist drifted, gathered without dispersing.

Zi Yan stared fixedly at the milky-white liquid in the groove, and her throat could not help bobbing. Lin Yuan, who was on the side, glanced at the dazed Zi Yan, reached out, and waved his hand in front of her eyes. "Zi Yan, snap out of it. Wipe your drool. I'll put these away first. When we go back, I'll use this to make you something tasty. Besides, there's something even better!"

Immediately, he took out several jade bottles and, under Zi Yan's covetous gaze, collected the milky liquid in the groove. Afterward, he spread his fire wings, flew upward, and continuously used Soul Perception to sense where the surrounding earth energy gathered. Finally, at the point where the stalactite and the mountain dome connected, Lin Yuan sensed vast earth energy.

"Found it!" Lin Yuan took out a piece of jade and melted it into a small jade sword without the slightest impurity. Carefully, he cut out a palm-sized circle and removed the fragment. Inside the stalactite, there was actually a mass of jadeite-colored viscous liquid slowly flowing within. Sensing the extremely pure and vast energy contained in the viscous liquid, Lin Yuan said with some joy, "It is indeed a good treasure. This harvest really isn't bad."

He took out a jade bottle and a jade spoon, then carefully scooped up the "Earth Core Body Tempering Milk" and placed it into the jade bottle. After leaving behind a small bit of "Earth Core Body Tempering Milk," he pressed the stalactite fragment back into place. Immediately, the bright light gradually diminished, and the stalactite once again returned to its previous calm appearance.

Looking at the bottle of "Earth Core Body Tempering Milk" in his hand, Lin Yuan let out a long sigh of relief. After working hard for so long, this thing was finally in hand.

Turning his head to look at Zi Yan beside him, who had been staring eagerly at the "Earth Core Body Tempering Milk" the entire time, Lin Yuan smiled and tugged at her little face. "Don't worry, your share won't be missing."

When Zi Yan heard this, she immediately beamed with joy. She pulled Lin Yuan's hand and shook it, smiling awkwardly as she tried to curry favor. "Thank you, Brother Lin Yuan. I knew you doted on me the most!"

Lin Yuan rolled his eyes. He had become immune to this form of address. This little girl usually called him Lin Yuan carelessly, but whenever there were benefits, she sweetly called him Brother Lin or Brother Lin Yuan.

He continued exploring the underground world with Zi Yan for a while. After confirming there were no other opportunities, the two left this vast underground world.

After leaving the underground world, under Zi Yan's somewhat puzzled gaze, Lin Yuan directly took action and blasted the Snow Demon Sky Ape's cave into collapse, completely covering the passage leading to the underground world. Inwardly, he thought, This underground world is quite well hidden. Maybe it'll be useful in the future. I'll remember it for now!

Looking at the already collapsed cave, Lin Yuan waved his hand at Zi Yan.

"Let's go, Zi Yan. We're heading back to the Inner Academy."