Finding the Cave

On the outskirts of the Monster Mountain Range.

Lin Feng, assigned to the front of the herb-gathering party to scout, was carefully making his way through the forest.

Before long, a clearing appeared ahead. After briefly searching the surrounding area,

and finding no danger, he gestured behind him to signal that it was safe.

The other mercenaries from the scouting party behind him saw the signal and gathered around Lin Feng.

Seeing the unfamiliar faces beside him, Lin Feng could not help sighing once more at the cruelty of the Dou Qi Continent.

He had originally been assigned as an ordinary member of the scouting party. Less than half an hour after setting out with them, they had been ambushed by three first-tier magical beasts.

Although Lin Feng had swiftly defeated the magical beast that attacked him before turning to help the others, they had still lost one member in that attack.

A small-scale magical beast attack had allowed Lin Feng, on his first trip into the Monster Mountain Range, to experience its brutality firsthand.

However, in order to avoid drawing attention, Lin Feng had only used Dou Qi at the level of a Two-star Dou Zhe until now.

At the same time, he had not used any Profound Tier Dou Skills, instead relying on a Yellow Tier mid-level Dou Skill called Stone Crushing Fist.

Yet after an entire morning, the other four members besides him had either died or were now lying in the rear recovering from their injuries.

And he had smoothly risen to become the captain of the scouting party.

Once everyone in the scouting party had arrived, Lin Feng looked at a scrawny mercenary among them and said, "The map."

Hearing this, the mercenary quickly took out the map and spread it open.

Lin Feng studied the map, then pointed at the nearby clearing. "The herb-gathering site is less than two hours from here. The herb-gathering party has been moving for quite a while, so they can rest in this clearing for a while. We can still reach the valley where we'll gather herbs before evening."

After speaking, Lin Feng marked the map and handed it to another mercenary. "Go inform the main party."

"Yes, Captain!"

The mercenary answered, took the map and put it away, then turned and ran toward the rear.

After watching him leave, Lin Feng looked at the other three again. "You three, come with me and thoroughly inspect the surroundings. Make sure no magical beasts are lying in ambush."

"Yes, Captain!"

"Everyone, we're close to the herb-gathering area now. Please take a rest. We've walked for so long; everyone must be tired."

Some time later, when the main herb-gathering party arrived where Lin Feng and the others were, a woman's gentle, crisp voice suddenly rang through the quiet group.

Their marching footsteps paused slightly, and the entire party stopped as though by prior agreement.

They turned around and looked at the woman in white, whose smile was utterly pure, then nodded obediently.

The arrival of the main party finally gave Lin Feng and the others in the scouting party some precious time to rest.

As for the guard duty, it was naturally left to the mercenaries in the rear.

Most of the others sat where they were, their eyes half-closed as they circulated their Cultivation Methods to replenish the Dou Qi depleted by the journey.

Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Lin Feng slowly walked toward a small grove nearby.

When he had studied the map earlier, he had memorized the locations of several nearby cliffs.

Now was the perfect opportunity to confirm whether there was a cave there.

As he entered the grove, the light dimmed slightly. However, this was an area he had already scouted, so he did not need to worry about being suddenly attacked by magical beasts.

As he went deeper into the woods, the light grew increasingly dim.

After walking a little farther, his darkened field of vision suddenly brightened.

Lin Feng looked up and discovered that he had reached the end of the small grove.

Stepping out of the woods, he found a rather steep cliff before him.

Below the cliff sprawled a lush green forest, creating a beautiful sight.

His gaze swept over the cliff's edge, then suddenly paused. He walked forward to the edge and continuously scanned the cliff face around him.

His eyes slowly swept across the steep rock wall before abruptly stopping at a section hidden by horizontal branches.

The strange trees on that cliff face had been arranged extremely cleverly, but Lin Feng still noticed something unusual.

Narrowing his eyes, he could seemingly make out a pitch-black hollow in the cliff through the gaps between the trees, aided by the slanting sunlight.

Lin Feng's lips immediately curled upward.

Hidden by horizontal branches on a cliff face and not far from the Myriad Medicine Hall herb-gathering party's gathering area—every detail matched the original story.

Unless he was unbelievably unlucky, this cave was the one that contained the Flying Dou Skill!

After memorizing the location, Lin Feng prepared to return to the party. After all, it was not suitable for him to be gone for too long.

"What's this?"

Just as he was about to turn back, the corner of Lin Feng's eye suddenly caught sight of what seemed to be a rope tied to a large tree directly above the cave. He cried out in surprise and hurried toward the tree.

Reaching it, Lin Feng picked up the object tied around the trunk. Once he confirmed that it was a rope, his expression turned ugly.

"Has someone gotten here first?"

As Lin Feng pondered this, something suddenly yanked hard on the rope in his hand, and it began moving rhythmically.

Seeing this, Lin Feng instantly understood. That person was still below!

He swiftly took a dagger from his Storage Ring, walked to the cliff's edge, and said with a dark expression, "If you had run away, there would have been nothing I could do. But since I've caught you, then sorry."

The rope swayed for a moment, and a jade-like, snow-white little hand suddenly reached up from the cliff before him.

Then, a soft and beautiful face with an ethereal air emerged from below the cliff.

Looking at the rather handsome youth crouching before her, Xiao Yi Xian froze, her little mind still unable to process what was happening.

However, when she saw the dagger gleaming with cold light in the youth's hand, panic instantly appeared on her pretty face.

"Xiao Yi Xian?"

Lin Feng was also taken aback, then said coldly, "Hand over the things, or don't blame me for being rude!"

At his words, panic first flashed through Xiao Yi Xian's beautiful eyes before quickly disappearing. Yan Ran smiled. "So it's Captain Lin Feng of the scouting party. Did you drop something down there? I was gathering herbs below just now, but I didn't see anything you dropped."

"Hand over the things in the cave below, or I'll kill you."

Lin Feng had no patience to waste time with her. Although Xiao Yi Xian was very beautiful and had great potential, what he cared about more right now was his own strength.

The things inside were too valuable, especially that Fragmented Map. He had to get his hands on it.

Hearing the word "cave," Xiao Yi Xian was startled, but she still refused to give up. "I was gathering herbs and didn't find any cave below. If you're looking for something, all my belongings are in the bamboo basket on my back. If you want them, take them."

The dagger in Lin Feng's hand shifted until it hovered beside Xiao Yi Xian's pretty face. He said coldly, "Don't play dumb with me. Where are the things in the cave? Keep talking nonsense, and I'll carve up your face a few times. Let's see how you face anyone afterward."