15, Seeking the Cave

Fiddling with the four Storage Rings in his hand, Xiao Han casually tucked them into his own Storage Ring.

Although they were all low-grade Storage Rings, these things were still quite rare. At the time, Xiao Han had been puzzled—how could those bandits afford Storage Rings?

But upon second thought, Xiao Han let it go. These Storage Rings must have been snatched by those bandits from the wealthy young masters they had robbed and killed.

Though they were of no use to him now, keeping them around to store things or give as gifts wasn't a bad idea.

As for the four bandits he had killed, they were only slightly richer than the average mercenary group member. They had converted all the money they stole from robbing travelers into cultivation resources, most of which were First Grade pills, some gold coins and gold cards, and a few Yellow Rank techniques and Dou Skills.

Xiao Han had no interest in these things, but he could bring them back later and place them in the Family Dou Technique Hall.

As the saying goes: "Do not display your wealth."

Xiao Han reflected and realized that he had indeed been a bit too generous today, acting like he didn't care about money. No wonder those brigands who liked to fleece fat sheep had targeted him.

Sigh, still lacking in worldly experience.

Shaking his head to dismiss these thoughts, Xiao Han pulled out his map to check the route. Following the mountain path, he would head deeper into the Magical Beast Mountain Range, then pass through a stretch of dense forest. After exiting the forest, he would see a steep cliff, beneath which lay vast woodlands.

Beside the cliff was an enormous basin that stretched beyond sight. The so-called herb-gathering grounds of the Herb Gatherers were merely the outer edges of this massive basin.

In the original work, the treasure cave that Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian discovered was located halfway up the cliff. It was said that Xiao Yi Xian had found it while gathering herbs.

Xiao Han couldn't recall the exact details, so he decided he would figure it out when he got there.

As for the four bandits he had just killed, they provided him with a total of 25 Energy Values. Though not much, it was better than nothing.

Along the way, Xiao Han carried a longsword on his back, steadily advancing deeper into the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

Since it was early morning, the only road leading to the Herb Gathering Basin was filled with many mercenaries traveling in groups.

Some mercenary groups consisted of only three or four people, their eyes gleaming with murderous intent. One look and you could tell they were Desperadoes, with countless lives on their hands.

These kinds of people were extremely dangerous to provoke, so no other teams were willing to group up with them. Moreover, these individuals were relatively strong, with quite a few being six- or seven-star Dou Practitioners.

Other mercenary groups ranged from a dozen to twenty people. These groups were generally weaker, with one- or two-star Dou Practitioners making up the majority, a few four- or five-star Dou Practitioners, and one strongest member at seven-star Dou Practitioners leading them.

Though their strengths varied, they all shared the same vigilant gaze.

This vigilance was not only to guard against Magical Beast attacks but also to watch out for their fellow travelers heading up the mountain. After all, in this world, the human heart is a den of deceit, and one must always be on guard.

Of course, there were also Lone Wolves like Xiao Han, but without formidable strength, these solo travelers were often the first to die.

Because Magical Beasts would prioritize attacking lone humans to fill their stomachs.

As for solo travelers like Xiao Han, they didn't dare stray too far from the grouped mercenaries, so the Magical Beasts wouldn't be too bold in their ambushes.

Of course, this was still the outer edge of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, where only first-tier Magical Beasts lived. Second-tier Magical Beasts generally dwelled deeper in the mountains, where the Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi was stronger.

With Xiao Han's cultivation capable of killing a Dou Master, although he was ambushed by Magical Beasts several times along the way, not a single one managed to injure him. Instead, they all turned into Energy Values for Xiao Han, and he also harvested a large pile of Magical Beast corpses and Magic Cores.

The mercenaries who had initially harbored some thoughts about Xiao Han, after witnessing him kill an Emerald Green Snake equivalent to a seven-star Dou Practitioner with a single sword strike, wisely kept their distance from him.

Xiao Han was happy to have the peace. He spent the journey alone, slaughtering Magical Beasts, and his sword technique proficiency was skyrocketing. He estimated that after a few more battles, he would be able to cultivate the Cloud Crushing Swordplay to perfection.

In just a few short days, Xiao Han's swordsmanship had improved again. It was clear that the sword dao talent brought by the Kai Dad template was truly terrifying.

Walking like this, Xiao Han followed the large group of herb gatherers deeper into the mountains, finally arriving at the Herb Gathering Basin in the Magical Beast Mountain Range around noon.

Since this was a natural treasure land for herbs within the Magical Beast Mountain Range, it was inevitable that many Magical Beasts would be lurking here.

After the mercenary groups drove away the Magical Beasts, the herb gatherers who had hired the mercenaries for protection took out jade boxes one by one and carefully used small knives to cut down the mature herbs, leaving behind enough roots for regrowth.

Always leave a way out—this was common sense for many wild herb gatherers.

Even the mercenaries who ventured out knew that if you pulled the plant out by the roots, it would lose the chance to regenerate. As long as you were careful while gathering, a new herb would grow the following year.

Speaking of herbs, one couldn't help but mention Alchemists.

A month ago, from the moment Xiao Han refined his first pill, he noticed that a new section had appeared on his system panel.

"Secondary Profession: Alchemist (First Grade)

Experience (1/1000)

Refinable Pills:

First Grade Pills:

Qi Returning Pill; Blood Coagulation Powder; Energy Accumulation Pill; Gold Warehouse Medicine.

Can spend 999 Energy Values to advance to Second Grade Alchemist."

Back then, lacking Energy Values, Xiao Han had to learn alchemy on his own. With Old Man Yao, an Alchemist Master, by his side, Xiao Han's alchemy experience skyrocketed.

So even though Xiao Han now had plenty of Energy Values, he didn't think about using them to advance to Second Grade Alchemist.

Ahem, getting off track.

As for the herbs, although Old Man Yao had taught Xiao Han how to collect them, Xiao Han looked around and found no herbs here that met his requirements. Besides, these herbs weren't anything rare—anything truly valuable had probably already been picked clean.

Xiao Han figured there was no point in staying, so he turned and left.

He glanced back at the mercenaries guarding the herb-gathering team nearby, then swiftly disappeared into the jungle. With a few flashes, he vanished from everyone's sight.

The mercenaries wisely chose not to follow Xiao Han. Someone who could kill a seven-star Dou Practitioner-level Magical Beast with one sword strike—how could such a person be easy to mess with?

Though he roughly knew the general location of the cave, Xiao Han, unlike Xiao Yi Xian in the original work, had never climbed down there. He only knew it was beneath the cliff after exiting the dense forest.

No choice, Xiao Han could only investigate along the edge of the cliff.

Even just a single cliff was not something Xiao Han could fully explore in a short while.

Two hours later, Xiao Han finally found something. His feet involuntarily stepped forward, and the steep cliff face came into view.

Between the sheer cliffs, the walls were steep and covered with broken stones, tangled wild trees, and some bone-like objects.

Xiao Han's gaze slowly swept across the steep wall. A moment later, it abruptly stopped at a section of the mountain wall hidden by a horizontal tree.

The wild trees here on the cliff were arranged quite cleverly, but after repeated inspections, Xiao Han still noticed something off about this spot. If he hadn't known there was a cave inside, he definitely wouldn't have paid it any mind.

Squinting slightly, using the slanting sunlight, Xiao Han could just make out a pitch-black hollow on the cliff through the gaps in the trees.

Found it!