Gains

Lin Yuan waved his hand, and a cluster of azure flame appeared out of thin air, lighting up the pitch-black cave around them.

The warm azure flame drove away the darkness of the cave, and also the chill of the night. Xiao Yi Xian watched Lin Yuan summon the flame, a trace of yearning showing in her eyes.

Lin Yuan turned his head and looked at Xiao Yi Xian, then offered an invitation. "After working for so long, it's finally time to reap the gains. Let's go. Let's see what treasures are actually hidden in this cave."

Having said that, Lin Yuan walked into the cave. Xiao Yi Xian hesitated for a moment, bit her silver teeth, then stepped forward and followed, sticking closely behind Lin Yuan.

The two of them walked through the deep, secluded cave for more than ten minutes. Before they knew it, Xiao Yi Xian was already walking shoulder to shoulder with Lin Yuan.

As Lin Yuan advanced, he looked around the cave with great interest under the glow of the azure flame. His relaxed posture infected Xiao Yi Xian beside her, making her tense body relax as well. Although they were inside a deep cave, beside Lin Yuan, Xiao Yi Xian could feel a rare sense of security.

In the end, the two of them stopped before a stone door emitting a pale yellow light.

Lin Yuan stepped forward and touched the stone door. His soul power emanated, and he quickly figured out the mechanisms of the stone door and its surroundings. However, Lin Yuan did not choose to open the mechanism or directly break through the stone door. Instead, he took two steps back and looked toward Xiao Yi Xian.

"Xiao Yi Xian, do you know mechanism arts?" Lin Yuan asked.

"I've read some books on mechanism arts, but I can't be considered proficient," Xiao Yi Xian replied.

"Oh?" Lin Yuan waved his hand and looked at Xiao Yi Xian, the corners of his mouth revealing a mischievous smile. "Then you can open this stone door. I'll decide your share based on how fast you open it."

"With your strength, you should be able to open this stone door easily, right? Wouldn't making a move directly be faster?" Xiao Yi Xian looked at Lin Yuan with somewhat doubtful eyes.

"Because a whim just struck me, and I suddenly want to watch a beautiful woman work for me. Since you're here, naturally, that means you." A bit more delight entered Lin Yuan's serious tone.

"You..." Hearing Lin Yuan's words, Xiao Yi Xian did not know what to say. However, the youth's mischievous streak made her relax considerably. To Xiao Yi Xian, compared with a genius and a powerful expert, a youth with a mischievous streak was far easier to deal with.

Xiao Yi Xian did not resist either. She walked to the side of the stone door, placed her slender hand on it, then slowly moved it about and busied herself for a while. Lin Yuan, meanwhile, crossed his arms and watched the beauty at work before him, while also quietly using an image stone to record the scene.

"Found it." Just as Lin Yuan was estimating the measurements of Xiao Yi Xian's willow waist with great interest, Xiao Yi Xian's delighted voice reached his ears.

Beside the stone door, Xiao Yi Xian crouched down and gently pressed her slender hand on an inconspicuous bump beneath the stone door. Along with a creaking sound, the stone door slowly moved upward, and a faint light emanated from inside the stone door. Not long after, the stone door had already opened.

Xiao Yi Xian turned back to look at Lin Yuan, lifted her snow-white chin, and chuckled. "There. It's open. Let's go in."

Walking to Xiao Yi Xian's side, Lin Yuan patted Xiao Yi Xian's shoulder and praised, "Not bad. As a reward, I'll give you one more gold coin later."

Having said that, Lin Yuan stepped into the stone chamber. Xiao Yi Xian took a deep breath and followed.

After the two stepped through the stone door, a broad and bright scene appeared before their eyes.

This was an enormous stone chamber, spacious and desolate. Moonlight stones were embedded in the surrounding walls, illuminating the stone chamber brightly, while in the center of the stone chamber, a set of white bones sat upright on a large chair. It looked rather frightening, and Xiao Yi Xian unconsciously edged closer to Lin Yuan.

In front of the seat was a long bluestone platform, and on the bluestone platform sat three locked stone boxes.

Large amounts of gold coins and valuables were piled in the corners around the stone chamber. In one corner, a small flowerbed held quite a few medicinal herbs emitting waves of fragrance. Xiao Yi Xian's eyes lit up when she saw them, and she ran over there in small steps.

"Purple Blue Leaf, White Spirit Ginseng Fruit, Snow Lotus Seed... there's even Ice Spirit Flame Grass!" Looking at the flowerbed, one medicinal herb name after another popped from Xiao Yi Xian's rosy little mouth.

"Oh? Looks like your basic knowledge of medicine is quite solid." Spinning the key he had just obtained around his right index finger, Lin Yuan teased her. As for the greatest target of this trip, the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame Fragment Map hidden in the gaps of the skeleton was already lying inside his storage ring, so Lin Yuan was in an excellent mood at the moment.

Hearing this, Xiao Yi Xian glanced at Lin Yuan, and a hint of pride entered her tone. "I'm the best physician in Qingshan Town. This level of medicinal knowledge is only natural. Unfortunately, I don't have the aptitude to become an alchemist." As she spoke the last part, Xiao Yi Xian could not help but feel a bit more sorrowful. Her dream had been out of reach from the very beginning.

"Clap, clap!"

Lin Yuan clapped his hands twice, lacking romantic sensibility as he interrupted Xiao Yi Xian's sorrowful mood. After Xiao Yi Xian looked over at him somewhat speechlessly, he spun the key and laughed. "Stop, stop. At a time like this, when we're making a huge treasure-hunting haul, don't let sadness ruin my good mood. Come on, let's open the treasure chests!"

Lin Yuan directly pulled Xiao Yi Xian over to the bluestone platform. Looking at the three stone boxes before them, curiosity could not help but appear on Xiao Yi Xian's face.

"Time to open the treasure chests."

Under Xiao Yi Xian's expectant gaze, Lin Yuan first opened the stone box on the left. After the treasure chest opened, an azure scroll appeared before the two of them.

"Mm, Profound Tier High-Grade Dou Skill, Mad Lion's Roar."

Xiao Yi Xian's eyes lit up when she heard this. This was her first time seeing a Profound Tier High-Grade Dou Skill.

"Here." Lin Yuan tossed the scroll toward Xiao Yi Xian. Seeing Xiao Yi Xian catch it in a bit of a fluster, a bit more pleasure appeared on his face.

Xiao Yi Xian charmingly rolled her eyes at Lin Yuan, then carefully held the scroll in her hands and quietly watched Lin Yuan open the next stone box.

Afterward, Lin Yuan opened the stone box on the right. A black scroll appeared before their eyes, and a string of small words on the side of the scroll entered their view.

"Profound Tier High-Grade Flight Dou Skill: Wings of the Eagle. Mm, a rare flight dou skill. This one does have research value."

"Flight dou skill? What's that?" Xiao Yi Xian blinked in confusion and asked curiously.

"As the name suggests, it's a dou skill that lets people whose cultivation hasn't reached Dou Wang fly in the sky. It's quite rare. Want it?" Lin Yuan explained briefly, then tossed the scroll up and down in his hand, raised his brows, and asked Xiao Yi Xian.

"Are you willing to give this to me?" Xiao Yi Xian asked with some pleasant surprise.

"Of course not. It's a flight dou skill, and I want to study it." Lin Yuan's tone suddenly changed amid Xiao Yi Xian's slightly happy expression, and he refused decisively.

Xiao Yi Xian was startled, then said no more. She merely looked quietly at Lin Yuan with her clear eyes, while Lin Yuan looked back with eyes carrying a hint of amusement. Their gazes met, and it was as if they were clashing, neither willing to move away first. After a while, Xiao Yi Xian was ultimately the one who retreated, her face slightly red as she moved her gaze away.

Coughing lightly twice, Xiao Yi Xian calmed herself and said seriously, "There's still one box left. Hurry up and open it."

Xiao Yi Xian's tone has become more casual too. Looks like the goal of drawing closer to Xiao Yi Xian is already completed. She can barely be considered a friend now. Lin Yuan thought this to himself and did not tease Xiao Yi Xian further. He walked to the final stone box, preparing to open it.

These next two days, I might be put on a recommendation slot, so follow-up reading data is extremely, extremely important. Please, everyone, help out a little. Read along more, and try to catch up to the latest chapter. Qing Ping is infinitely grateful.