Scouting to Rescue

"I do have a way to break through this stone wall, but I'm not about to do it for free, am I?"

Ling Xi said leisurely.

"I want seventy percent of the Mysterious Yellow Quenching Spirit Milk inside. The three of you can have ten percent each."

"You're way too greedy!"

Cao Ying couldn't help but retort.

This Mysterious Yellow Quenching Spirit Milk was information she'd gotten from Xuan Kongzi, and now she could only get a tenth of it—naturally, she found that hard to accept.

"Then let's just stand here staring at each other. After you leave, I'll take the full hundred percent myself."

Ling Xi rolled his eyes and made as if to walk away.

"You!"

Cao Ying stomped her foot on the spot in frustration.

"My sister and I have no objections to this split."

Dan Xuan let out a long sigh.

"If not for Brother Ling, my sister and I would have had to use our Teleportation Jade Talismans to leave, let alone get any Mysterious Yellow Quenching Spirit Milk."

"Brother Dan, you're a straight shooter!"

Ling Xi gave Dan Xuan a thumbs-up, then glanced at Cao Ying.

"Miss Cao, what do you say?"

"Fine, you win! I'll take ten percent!"

Cao Ying gritted her teeth.

"A wise man adapts to circumstances. Miss Cao is quite magnanimous."

Ling Xi clapped his hands twice, a satisfied grin spreading across his face.

"Enough with the nonsense. Get to work."

Seeing Ling Xi's smug expression, Cao Ying wished she could bite him twice.

Ling Xi said nothing. With a wave of his hand, the golden-glowing Heavenly Demon Puppet appeared beside him.

"Is this... a puppet?"

Dan Xuan and Cao Ying were no strangers to such things. After sizing up the Heavenly Demon Puppet for a moment, they spoke in unison.

Only Dan Chen still wore a puzzled look.

"This puppet knocked out a seventh-tier Mysterious Armored Dragon Turtle with one punch. Could its strength have reached the Dou Zong... or even the Dou Venerate level?"

Dan Xuan stared at the Heavenly Demon Puppet, disbelief flickering in his eyes.

Whether Dou Zong or Dou Venerate, both were considered powerhouses on the Dou Qi Continent.

That a mere puppet on Ling Xi's person could possess such strength was truly astonishing.

"Ling Xi, who exactly are you?"

Cao Ying looked at him with a complicated expression.

"I'm just an ordinary person."

Ling Xi waved his hand with a smile, then pointed at the Heavenly Demon Puppet beside him.

"We'd better move back a good distance, so we don't get caught in the blast."

With that, he flashed backward. The other three followed suit.

They retreated all the way out of the cave.

"Boom!"

The moment the four of them exited the cave, a deafening roar accompanied by a violent shockwave erupted from within, sweeping outward in an instant.

The group felt unsteady on their feet, as if the entire mountain peak had shuddered violently.

"Cough, cough. I thought the cave was going to collapse."

Cao Ying covered her mouth and nose, her legs still weak from the impact of the shockwave.

"For a puppet to have such tremendous force..."

Dan Xuan and Dan Chen exchanged looks of lingering fear.

"The stone wall is broken. Let's go in and take a look."

Ling Xi, who had a connection with the Heavenly Demon Puppet, spoke up.

The four of them, no longer caring whether the cave might collapse, dashed back inside.

When they reached the end, they found that the stone wall that had blocked them earlier had been blasted open into a passage.

"It's empty inside, just as I thought. I knew my teacher wouldn't deceive me."

Cao Ying's face lit up with joy.

"Let's go."

Withdrawing the Heavenly Demon Puppet into his Nakai Ring, Ling Xi stood at the cave entrance for a moment before heading inside.

Cao Ying and the other two quickly followed behind him.

Illuminated by their respective flames, the group walked through the cave for a while before suddenly feeling their vision brighten.

Squinting slightly, Ling Xi's face revealed a hint of astonishment as he took in the scene before him.

What lay before the three of them was an underground world bathed in a mysterious yellow glow.

Looking around, every stone in the cave shimmered with a mysterious yellow radiance.

"Is this the Mysterious Yellow Earth Vein?"

After a long pause, Dan Xuan couldn't help but exclaim.

"This place truly steals the wonders of creation."

"Enough with the useless talk. Everyone, find where the Mysterious Yellow Quenching Spirit Milk is."

Ling Xi scanned the area, then slowly walked deeper into the cave.

As they advanced, the mysterious yellow light in the cave grew brighter and brighter.

After exploring this underground world for a while, the four finally stopped.

Before them were thick, dense strands of Mysterious Yellow Earth Qi that seemed impossible to disperse.

"It's said that this Mysterious Yellow Earth Qi has some connection to the Mysterious Yellow Flame, which ranks twenty-third on the Heavenly Flame Ranking."

Ling Xi clicked his tongue as he gazed at the nearly tangible Mysterious Yellow Earth Qi.

"It's a pity this is just a space opened up by the Pill Tower. Otherwise, in ten thousand years, a Mysterious Yellow Flame might actually have been born here."

"Every Heavenly Flame is a divine object born from heaven and earth over millennia. It's not so easy for one to emerge."

Cao Ying shook her head, a hint of emotion in her voice.

Her flame was called the Blood Demon Flame Fire, forged from the blood essence of thousands of fire-attribute Magical Beasts.

By all accounts, it was the strongest flame among the group.

Yet it was still worlds apart from a Heavenly Flame.

The group advanced a bit further and finally discovered a pool of viscous, mysterious yellow liquid on a slightly concave, massive mysterious yellow stone.

The nearly tangible Mysterious Yellow Earth Qi around it was also emanating from this spot.

"Just this inch or so of Mysterious Yellow Quenching Spirit Milk—who knows how long it took to form."

Looking at the meager amount before him, Ling Xi shook his head.

"Mysterious Yellow Quenching Spirit Milk isn't just a key ingredient for some Seventh-grade or even Eighth-grade pills; taking it directly can also increase Soul Power."

Dan Xuan stared at the mysterious yellow liquid with a burning gaze, swallowing hard.

"This stuff is a treasure you can only stumble upon by chance. Naturally, it's extremely difficult to form."

"How about we collect it first, then decide on the distribution?"

Ling Xi looked at the three beside him.

"Agreed!"

The three nodded in unison.

Without further ado, Ling Xi took a jade spoon from his Nakai Ring and carefully scooped the viscous mysterious yellow liquid into a jade bottle.

The amount of Mysterious Yellow Quenching Spirit Milk wasn't much. After Ling Xi filled just two bottles, it was nearly gone.

"What's wrong? Aren't you taking all of it?"

Seeing Ling Xi stop, Cao Ying frowned.

There was clearly still at least ten percent of the Mysterious Yellow Quenching Spirit Milk left in the stone trough.

"I'm leaving that for the Mysterious Armored Dragon Turtle. Count it as part of my share."

Ling Xi carefully sealed the jade bottle with a jade stopper.

"That Mysterious Armored Dragon Turtle must have spent who knows how many years digging this cave and guarding this thing."

"If we take it all, that would be going too far."

He paused, then gave a wry smile.

"After all, leave a little leeway, and you'll meet again someday."