Finding the Cliff Cave

At the edge of the cliff, Ling Li carefully examined the cliff face in the sun's final lingering glow. The dim yellow light fell upon the somewhat smooth gray rocks, making them difficult to see clearly.

Ling Li had originally planned to first scout out the route today, then search carefully at another time. Yet in the end, he could not resist. Taking advantage of the mercenary party's breaks along the way, he had searched most of the cliffs on this route. Tonight, he planned to make his move and seek the treasure.

The feeling was like opening loot boxes in a game. Reason told him to stay calm and make thorough preparations first, but he simply could not stop himself from reaching for that golden legendary drop or SSR. Besides, Ling Li knew there truly was abundant treasure inside this cliff cave.

As for Myriad Medicine Pavilion, although he was currently employed by them, they had only paid half the commission. The other half would only be given after they returned to Qingshan Town. Moreover, Ling Li had been forced to act twice along the way, resolving two problems for the party. They owed each other nothing.

If anyone dared set their sights on him, hehe. Over the past year, Ling Li had improved far more than just his cultivation. Slaughtering all of Qingshan Town might be difficult, but wiping out this hundred-man mercenary party would not be a problem.

Come to think of it, it was because some Potato had written too carelessly. Otherwise, this would not have been so troublesome, forcing him to search everywhere. Of course, even if Potato had written it down, Ling Li could not possibly remember every detail from the book perfectly. After some analysis, however, he had roughly determined the location of that cliff cave.

This location was only an estimate. Ling Li had not investigated carefully along the way, so he might have missed one or two places. But that was nothing. At worst, he would follow this route and search the cliffs one by one.

If he still could not find it that way, then there was nothing Ling Li could do. Some things could not be forced. A forcibly twisted melon might quench thirst, but he still had to find it and crack it open first. Otherwise, what the hell was the point?

"Then, let's begin!"

Ling Li took a deep breath and swept his gaze across the dense forest behind him. Only after repeatedly confirming that no one else was inside did he take out ropes and other supplies needed to explore the cliff from the System Space.

He tied one end of the rope to a large tree and secured the other around himself. After tugging on the rope, which was as thick as two thumbs, and confirming there was no problem, he slowly gripped it and slid down along the cliff face.

By the fading sunlight, Ling Li swiftly inspected the cliff face. This cliff was extremely steep, its surface uneven and covered in jagged rocks, yet it was quite clean. Only a few strange trees grew from it, adding scattered flecks of green. Everywhere else was gray stone, with nothing particularly unusual in sight.

A cliff could easily span hundreds or thousands of zhang. Naturally, it could not be fully explored in such a short time. Ling Li had not expected to find the cliff cave in one try, but after discovering that there was no so-called cave here, he could not help feeling somewhat disappointed.

Just as Ling Li prepared to descend further, his gaze fell once more upon a withered strange tree growing sideways. Beneath it seemed to be a protruding stone ledge, scattered with bones and other debris. Many bird-type magical beasts nested in such places, so the sight was normal enough. The tree itself looked ordinary. At first glance, there seemed to be nothing strange about it, but upon closer inspection, he realized that the dead tree just happened to completely block the area behind the stone ledge, making it impossible to see what lay beyond.

"You're suspicious." Ling Li muttered inwardly. Perhaps it was because the tree was so ugly. At first glance, it seemed like nothing, but the longer he looked, the more wrong it felt.

His legs exerted a little force as he kicked off the cliff face, then swung hard to the side. His body floated toward the strange tree like a feather on the wind.

"Hiss!"

Ling Li had just been about to release the rope and land on the stone ledge when a faint sound reached his ears with startling clarity. The hairs across his body stood on end, his pupils contracted slightly, and a powerful warning surged in his heart. He forcibly halted his descent, grabbed the rope again, lightly tapped the cliff face with his toes, and yanked hard on the rope. His entire body abruptly changed direction, swinging several feet away in a completely different direction.

At the same time, Ling Li took Dark Night from the System Space and gripped it in his other hand. With a powerful flick, Dark Night spun through the air with a faint dark gleam and slashed toward a spot on the cliff face.

After cultivating in the Monster Beast Mountain Range for an entire year, Ling Li's already sharp senses had been further honed. He could easily detect the slightest movement within ten feet.

Unlike the humanoid radar effect granted by alchemists' immense Soul Power, Ling Li's ability came purely from superior senses and the combat instincts forged through countless battles with savage magical beasts.

"Pfft!"

Dark Night sliced horizontally into the uneven cliff face with effortless ease. Blood suddenly burst from the seemingly empty rock wall, and two halves of a creature nearly identical in color to the cliff face fell onto the stone ledge below, ceasing all movement.

Ling Li beckoned with one arm. Dark Night, embedded in the cliff face, trembled slightly before pulling itself free and returning steadily to his hand. He had discovered this ability the last time he chopped at that second-tier wild boar and Dark Night had been taken from him. Any item that had been placed inside the System Space was regarded as Ling Li's possession. With a thought from him, it would return to his hand. However, items he had sold and not bought back were excluded.

It was also because of that experience with the wild boar that Ling Li disliked using thrusting attacks. Compared to slashes, thrusts were more precise and penetrated deeper, but their range was relatively smaller. Furthermore, with a long weapon like Dark Night, there was also the risk of it being snatched away by the enemy.

"Almost got bitten. How terrifying." Ling Li landed steadily, looked at the Rock Snake that had been cut in two on the stone ledge, and clicked his tongue.

Rock Snake, a low-star first-tier magical beast. It lived on steep cliffs, surviving by stealing the eggs of bird-type magical beasts and hunting smaller bird-type magical beasts. It possessed earth and wood attributes, was highly venomous, had a flattened body, and could spread fleshy membranes along its abdomen to glide between cliff faces.

"You've already been chopped in half, so just die obediently. Playing dead like this is not what a good child does." Ling Li stepped on the "corpse" formed by the Rock Snake's head section.

Many magical beasts in the Monster Beast Mountain Range possessed the innate skill of playing dead. Naturally, this skill was not for acting cute to muddle through the situation and beg predators to spare them. It was meant to make predators lower their guard before delivering a fatal strike.

Sure enough, once Ling Li stepped on it, the motionless Rock Snake body began struggling violently. The section of its body near the severed end coiled around Ling Li's ankle. The intense pain made the Rock Snake constantly twist its head, attempting to retaliate against Ling Li, who had stepped on it. However, Ling Li's foot was firmly pressed less than an inch behind its head. The Rock Snake could not turn its head at all. Other than spitting out a few more mouthfuls of bloody foam and hastening its own death, this counterattack had no effect whatsoever.