"Phew..."
After all sorts of thoughts flashed through his mind, Xiao Ling finally relaxed. He then looked toward the sheer cliff face. There were very few places around him where he could get a foothold, but that still wasn't enough to stump him.
He took out a coil of rope he had prepared in advance from his Storage Ring and tied it around a boulder nearby. He wrapped the other end around his wrist twice, then leaped down.
The howling wind scraped across his youthful face like a massage with the back of a knife, bringing a faint sting. He paid it no mind.
Instead, he kicked his legs repeatedly, using the momentum in midair to adjust his direction. Then he swung like a pendulum and leaped toward the cave.
"Thud!"
After landing, Xiao Ling tied the rope to a crooked tree nearby. Only then did he have time to take in his surroundings.
The first things he saw were the crisscrossing vines and the cave entrance blocked by broken rocks.
Looking at the scene before him, a glint flashed through Xiao Ling's eyes. His heart raced. After all, nearly a million gold coins were waiting to be claimed inside that cave, along with close to a hundred rare medicinal herbs. They were all immensely tempting to him.
With that thought, Xiao Ling struck out with a single Crushing Stone Palm. In an instant, the rocks blocking the cave entrance were blasted into rubble.
This Yellow Tier Mid-Grade Dou Technique, now wielded with strength comparable to that of a three-star Da Dou Shi, truly lived up to its name: one palm, and stone shattered.
The scattered rocks turned to dust as soon as they came within ten centimeters of Xiao Ling.
With a casual wave, he cleared the obstacle in front of him, then looked into the cave. He saw a passageway one meter wide.
At the far end stood a thick stone door. It had no visible seams, looking just like a massive boulder blocking the way of anyone who might try to get inside.
Xiao Ling wasn't flustered at all. He went to the stone door and, following the memory in his mind, crouched down and felt along its base.
Soon, he found a small protrusion. He pressed it gently, and with a creaking sound, the stone door slowly rose.
"It worked."
Xiao Ling smiled, but still retreated a little, ready to strike at any moment. As the door rose, a dim yellow light spilled from within, gradually illuminating the entire passageway.
Only after seeing what lay beyond the stone door did Xiao Ling finally relax. The incident with Wu Ming had mainly prompted him to explore this opportunity ahead of time. Otherwise, he wouldn't have come here so soon.
At the very least, he would have waited until he had taken over the Marketplaces of the Aoba Family and the Jialie Family.
After all, he didn't believe those two old foxes would hand over their largest Marketplaces to the Xiao Clan so easily.
There was definitely something fishy between them and Wu Ming, too. Those were matters that needed to be dealt with, but this opportunity mattered more. After all, it concerned his future...
Xiao Ling's old face reddened. He hastily composed himself, then walked through the stone door.
The first things he saw were a skeleton seated in a chair and three locked Stone Boxes on a blue stone table in front of it.
At the sight of them, Xiao Ling hurried over to the skeleton and bowed slightly.
"Senior, forgive me. Rest assured, I'll find a suitable person to inherit your legacy."
With that, Xiao Ling straightened and looked at the skeleton's hands. There were three black keys there, which he promptly took.
Then he turned his attention to the skeleton's arm, removed it, and pulled out the map to the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame—a map that could drive the entire Dou Qi Continent into a frenzy. Only after that did he put the arm back in place.
Xiao Ling didn't intend to keep the map for himself, but he could trade it to his sworn younger brother, Yan Di, in the future and make him even more devoted to working for him.
After all, one had to uphold the principle of balancing the carrot with the stick when managing subordinates. That was the only way to make them work harder.
He had understood all those tricks perfectly in his previous life. Too bad he hadn't been born with the luck to put them to use.
At that thought, Xiao Ling looked at the three Stone Boxes. He stepped forward, opened them one by one, and took the treasure from the first. It was a colorful, ancient-looking scroll.
A glint flashed through Xiao Ling's eyes as he looked at it. He carefully put it away.
Then he looked into the second Stone Box. A black scroll lay inside. Xiao Ling recognized it; this was the treasure Xiao Yan had used in the original story to show off and slap people in the face.
High Xuan Tier Flying Dou Technique: Eagle Wings.
But he didn't plan to use it himself, since he had a better option. He simply hadn't traded for it before because he never had enough lifespan. He planned to leave Eagle Wings for that girl Xiao Yu.
After putting it away, he looked at the third Stone Box. Another scroll lay inside.
Xiao Ling raised an eyebrow, took it out, and glanced over it. It was a sonic Dou Technique.
High-grade Profound Tier Dou Technique: Mad Lion Roar.
He had seen Mu She use this Dou Technique in the original story, but in the end, Xiao Yan hadn't managed to make him reveal it.
"This one's pretty good. I can keep it for myself or reward a junior from the Xiao Clan..."
Murmuring to himself, Xiao Ling glanced to his right. A small pool sat there, densely filled with over a hundred rare medicinal herbs.
"Is that... Ice Spirit Flame Grass?"
Xiao Ling looked at the Tier 5 medicinal herb with two different attributes. One half was covered in icy crystals, while the other looked like a ball of flame.
A glint flashed in his eyes. He needed this herb too. Once everything else was settled, he planned to travel to the desert of the Snake-People Tribe and claim the Green Lotus Core Flame.
After all, he needed Heavenly Flames to refine pills, and he hadn't found any in the materials section yet.
The system's answer was that he needed to reach Level 2 before he could trade for a wondrous treasure of heaven and earth at this level.
Xiao Ling then took out a Jade Ruler and carefully cut the herb, placing it in a jade box before putting it away. Only then did he look at the other medicinal herbs. His eyes lit up again; quite a few of them were things he needed. They were:
Tier 3 Medicinal Herb: Purple Blue Leaf.
Tier 4 Medicinal Herb: White Spirit Ginseng Fruit.
Tier 4 Medicinal Herb: Snow Lotus Seed, an auxiliary ingredient for refining a fourth-grade Breakthrough Pill. He had prepared it for his own future breakthrough to Dou Ling.
Tier 3 Medicinal Herb: Red Blood Spirit Ginseng, an auxiliary ingredient for a third-grade Breakthrough Pill.
Tier 3 Medicinal Herb: Earth Poria Root, an auxiliary ingredient for a third-grade Breakthrough Pill.
Looking at the medicinal herbs before him, Xiao Ling swiftly cut them and packed them into jade boxes, taking them all with him.
After he had collected everything, he still felt a little reluctant to leave.
Finally, his gaze settled on a pile of gold coins in the corner on the other side. A glint flashed through his eyes. These were the means by which he would break through to become a Third-grade Alchemist. Anyone who dared to fight him for them would have to answer to him.
Xiao Ling flashed over to the pile and swept all the gold coins away with a wave of his hand.
Once he was done, he looked around the cave again. Seeing nothing else of value, he went back to the skeleton and bowed once more.
"This junior is indebted to you, Senior. There's nothing else I can do for you, so I'll at least lay you to rest."
"Boom..."
Xiao Ling dusted off his hands and smiled with satisfaction. Then he left the cave and returned to camp just as dawn broke.
But just as he was about to enter his tent, he saw Xiao Yi Xian staring at him in a daze.
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