Discovery of the Cave Mansion

In the boundless forest, the trees resembled an overturned green palette. Dark-green ancient branches twisted together like the sinews and bones of old dragons, while light-green new leaves adorned the boughs, hiding scattered wildflowers and moss. When the wind blew, the branches and leaves rustled, and even the air was thick with the damp fragrance of grass and wood.

A team moved through the forest. Four mercenaries at the front wielded heavy machetes, cutting down branches and weeds blocking the way to clear enough space for the group to advance.

"Why do we always get stuck with this dirty, exhausting work? The Wolf Head Mercenary Group is really bullying us too much," one mercenary complained. "What choice do we have? We have no faction to rely on, so all we can do is let them push us around," another mercenary said helplessly.

As soon as they entered the Monster Mountain Range, the Young Leader of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group began assigning tasks. He gave the most dangerous and exhausting jobs to the independent mercenaries in the team, while his own mercenary group took the easiest task—guarding against Magical Beasts that might appear at any moment. Xiao Yi Xian and Mu Li remained in the center of the group, tightly protected by the crowd.

Amid the crowd, Mu Li gazed at the lovely figure ahead of him with delight. Just as he was about to step forward and speak to her, a cry of alarm rose from the group.

"Everyone, be careful! There's a Magical Beast!" Instantly, the entire team became solemn. Everyone tightened their grip on their weapons, ready to strike at any moment.

"Ah!" A miserable scream rang out. The mercenary who had been complaining just moments ago had already been swallowed halfway by a giant python. The mercenaries beside him hurriedly swung their weapons at the python's vital spot.

"It's a first-order Magical Beast, a Green Python! Save him!" An experienced mercenary recognized the giant python and thrust his weapon straight at its eyes. As the python was in the middle of swallowing the other mercenary, it reacted a beat too slowly. Its eyes and vital spot were struck at the same time, and it fell directly from the tree.

The mercenary whose upper body had been swallowed lay on the ground without moving, clearly dead. One mercenary stepped forward and pulled the corpse from the giant python's mouth, then took out a dagger and plunged it into the python's head, rummaging around inside.

Xiao Yi Xian stepped forward and looked at the dead mercenary, a trace of pity rising in her heart. "With that kind of strength, he still dared enter the Monster Mountain Range? He was courting death." An ill-timed voice came from behind her. A trace of disgust flashed across Xiao Yi Xian's face. Mu Li was truly unbearable. He had arranged for others to clear the path ahead, yet now that someone had died, he was still mocking him.

"Dig a pit and bury this brother. We will give his reward to his family. Everyone, you have all seen how dangerous the Monster Mountain Range is. I hope you will remain fully alert from now on. I do not wish to see any more casualties in the team," Xiao Yi Xian said as she reminded everyone.

Soon, a mercenary buried the dead man, and the group continued onward. This time, the atmosphere in the team had become heavy. Everyone stayed on high alert, afraid of ending up like their fallen companion.

On a pitch-black giant tree not far from them, Xiao Jin quietly observed the advancing team. What he had not noticed was that the giant tree beneath his feet was actually a second-order Magical Beast, a Sand Iron Tree. Sharp branches behind him had already aimed at the back of Xiao Jin's head and were just about to strike. Dou Qi gathered in Xiao Jin's palm and formed a sword tip, which instantly appeared at the tree trunk. The sword tip in his hand pierced into the trunk, and he extracted a green Magical Core. The giant tree trembled twice before falling silent.

"The Monster Mountain Range really is dangerous. I encountered a second-order Magical Beast the moment I entered." Xiao Jin tossed the green Magical Core in his hand. A Second-Grade Wood Attribute Magical Core—worth around five thousand gold coins, perhaps. Xiao Jin stored the Magical Core in the System Space and continued following the main group ahead.

After a difficult journey, during which several more mercenaries died, Xiao Yi Xian's group finally reached their destination: a basin filled with medicinal herbs.

"You've all worked hard. Rest for a while and recover your Dou Qi before we begin gathering the herbs," Xiao Yi Xian said to the mercenaries with a smile.

At that moment, Mu Li, who had remained in the center of the team, stepped forward and asked, "Xiao Yi Xian, you've walked for so long too. You should rest." As he spoke, he moved to support her. A trace of impatience flashed across Xiao Yi Xian's face. Mu Li before her was truly repulsive. The mercenaries who had died earlier were all independent mercenaries. The Wolf Fang Mercenary Group's members were clearly much stronger, yet they had made the weaker mercenaries clear the path ahead. After those people died, Mu Li had mocked them without restraint. If most of the team had not belonged to the Wolf Fang Mercenary Group, he likely would have been torn to pieces long ago for provoking everyone's anger.

"There is no need to trouble yourself, Young Master Mu Li. Xian'er still needs to inspect the quality of these herbs, so I will not be resting." Xiao Yi Xian discreetly avoided Mu Li's outstretched hand, ignored him, and walked into the basin to examine the medicinal herbs one by one. Mu Li watched Xiao Yi Xian walk away, his heart burning with desire. Keep acting proud for a little longer. Once those trash are all dead, let's see how long you can stay so arrogant.

After everyone rested for a while and recovered their Dou Qi, they began gathering medicinal herbs. After all, selling these herbs to the Myriad Medicine Pavilion after returning to Qingshan Town would earn them quite a few gold coins, making for a considerable extra income.

As Xiao Yi Xian watched everyone begin gathering herbs on their own, she quietly slipped away from the crowd. She cautiously made her way toward the nearby Cliff. The last time she had gathered herbs by the Cliff, she had discovered a Cave below it. This time, she had come back to this place to gather herbs precisely so she could go down and investigate it.

Xiao Jin, who had been observing Xiao Yi Xian from behind with Soul Power, smiled. "Have we finally arrived? After wasting so much of my time, I hope the things inside the Cave Mansion do not disappoint me."

Xiao Yi Xian cautiously arrived at the edge of the Cliff and took out a rope she had prepared in advance. She tied one end to a large rock nearby and the other around herself, then carefully began climbing down the Cliff.

Xiao Jin quickly arrived at the edge of the Cliff. Watching Xiao Yi Xian struggle to climb down, he laughed.

Xiao Yi Xian was startled and hurriedly looked up toward the top of the Cliff. Her expression changed when she saw Xiao Jin, and she was at a loss for what to do.

"Miss, what are you doing down there?" Xiao Jin asked, feigning confusion. "Young Master, I am looking for medicinal herbs along the Cliff," Xiao Yi Xian replied with a forced smile.

"Is that so? I thought you had discovered some Strongman's Cave Mansion down there." Xiao Jin pretended to look disappointed. Xiao Yi Xian's heart skipped a beat, but her expression remained unchanged. "Young Master must be joking. How could a place like this contain a strongman's cave mansion?" Xiao Jin grabbed the rope at the edge of the Cliff and looked down at Xiao Yi Xian with a smile. "Are you sure?" As he spoke, he began shaking the rope in his hand, startling Xiao Yi Xian into screaming repeatedly.

"What are you doing? Don't you know this is dangerous?" Tears welled up in Xiao Yi Xian's eyes as she shouted at Xiao Jin. "Nothing. I thought it looked quite fun to see you hanging down there, so I decided to play a little joke on you." Xiao Jin looked teasingly at Xiao Yi Xian below and shook the rope in his hand even more violently.

This time, Xiao Yi Xian was frightened into tears. She was only a young woman in her twenties—how could she endure Xiao Jin's intimidation? "I'll take you there. Stop shaking the rope, I'm scared."

Looking at Xiao Yi Xian's tear-streaked face, Xiao Jin felt a trace of guilt. "Wouldn't it have been better if you had done this from the start? When you find something good, you should learn to share." With that, Xiao Jin also climbed down the rope toward Xiao Yi Xian.