Douluo Traversal, I Pull Out a Dou Technique and You Don't Explode? Part 40

Xiao Yi Xian looked even more embarrassed and bashful after hearing Liu Bai's words.

She had confidently claimed to know the location, yet when they actually arrived, she could not remember it.

She bit her lip and tried hard to recall the details from her previous visit.

Just as Liu Bai was considering whether to use his soul perception to search the entire cliffside, Xiao Yi Xian's gaze was suddenly drawn to an especially dense thicket below the cliff, made conspicuous by the moonlight.

"Ah! I remember now!"

Xiao Yi Xian's eyes lit up as she pointed beneath the thicket.

"It's over there! The cave entrance should be on the cliff wall hidden behind those bushes!"

Liu Bai looked in the direction she indicated. It was indeed a sheer cliff covered in dense vegetation, making details difficult to discern in the darkness.

But now that they had a general direction, things were much easier.

As she spoke, Xiao Yi Xian reached into her little bag for a bundle of thick hemp rope she had prepared, intending to secure it and climb down as she had last time.

"No need to go through all that trouble."

Liu Bai reached out and pressed down the hand she was using to take out the rope.

"Huh?"

Xiao Yi Xian froze.

The next moment, Liu Bai swept an arm around her waist and, before Xiao Yi Xian could react, lifted her into his arms in a standard princess carry, holding her securely against his chest.

"Ah!"

Caught off guard, Xiao Yi Xian cried out and instinctively wrapped her arms around Liu Bai's neck. Her wind lantern nearly slipped from her hand.

Feeling Liu Bai's firm, powerful arms and the masculine scent so close at hand, her cheeks instantly flushed crimson, and her heart began pounding wildly.

"Y-you, what are you doing? Put me down!"

"We're going down now."

Liu Bai lowered his head and smiled faintly at her.

Before his words had even faded, Dou Qi surged beneath Liu Bai's feet. Carrying Xiao Yi Xian in his arms, he leaped without hesitation into the pitch-black abyss below!

"Waaaah—!"

The sensation of weightlessness struck instantly. Wind howled past her ears as Xiao Yi Xian squeezed her eyes shut in terror, buried her face in Liu Bai's chest, and let out a string of screams, her arms clamping tightly around his neck.

However, the anticipated rapid fall did not last long.

Holding her, Liu Bai lightly tapped his toes against the steep cliff face several times, using protruding rocks and jutting trees to bleed off momentum, change direction, and borrow force. His figure was elusive yet steady, and after several rises and falls, he landed lightly on a narrow platform half-concealed by vines behind the dense thicket Xiao Yi Xian had indicated.

The moment her feet touched solid ground, Xiao Yi Xian's screams stopped abruptly.

Still shaken, she opened her eyes and discovered that they had landed safely. Liu Bai was looking at her with a smile, his arms still securely holding her.

"W-we're here?"

Xiao Yi Xian's voice still trembled, her cheeks bright red from either fright or embarrassment.

"Mm, we're here."

Liu Bai nodded and gently set her down, then casually helped smooth her windblown hair.

"See? Wasn't that much faster than using a rope?"

With her feet firmly on the ground, Xiao Yi Xian took several deep breaths to calm her racing heart. Looking up at Liu Bai's handsome profile under the moonlight and his smiling eyes, the fear in her heart slowly faded.

"You nearly scared me to death! Hmph, fine, you're amazing, all right? Now hurry and see whether the entrance is here."

She raised the wind lantern high, illuminating the cliff wall before them.

Pushing aside the thick vines, a pitch-black cave entrance suddenly appeared before them!

A cool current carrying the scent of long-sealed dust slowly flowed out from within the cave.

A sharp gleam flashed in Liu Bai's eyes, and the smile on his lips widened.

At last... they had found it!

Liu Bai raised a hand to brush aside the vines at the entrance. The glow of the wind lantern entered the cave first, dispelling some of the gloom.

He walked inside with brisk steps, clearly having already predicted the route. Xiao Yi Xian clutched the wind lantern and followed closely behind. The chill inside seeped into her bones, and she unconsciously moved a little closer to Liu Bai's side.

After walking for just over ten minutes, they saw a stone door ahead blocking their path, glowing faintly with an earthy yellow light.

"It's a stone door. Doors like these usually have mechanisms."

Xiao Yi Xian was about to crouch down and look for the mechanism when Liu Bai had already pressed his hand against an inconspicuous protrusion on the side of the door. He twisted it lightly with his fingertips, and with a soft creak, the stone door slowly rose. His practiced movements left Xiao Yi Xian stunned.

"You seem to have known where the mechanism was all along?"

She raised her brows in surprise.

Liu Bai merely smiled without explaining and stepped into the stone chamber beyond the door first.

Moonlight Stones embedded in the four walls illuminated the chamber brightly. A skeleton slumped crookedly in the stone chair at the center, its skull rolled onto its knees. Three stone boxes were neatly arranged on a bluestone table, while glittering gold coins and jars full of rare herbs were piled in the corner, their exotic fragrance rushing toward them.

Xiao Yi Xian's eyes lit up. She hurried to the herb jars, lightly touching the plants with her fingertips as she cried out, "Purple Blue Leaf, Snow Lotus Seed, and Soul Condensing Grass!"

These were all medicinal herbs she had long dreamed of obtaining. There were actually so many of them here, and she immediately pulled out jade boxes in delight, preparing to harvest them.

Liu Bai's gaze swept over the gold coins and herb jars before he walked straight toward the bluestone table. As his eyes passed over the skeleton, they landed precisely on its dangling bony hand. Three black keys hung quietly from it, faintly warm to the touch and clearly not made of ordinary iron.

He slowly stepped forward and gave the skeleton a slight nod of respect before lightly pinching the keys free with his fingertips.

Just as he was about to turn around, he caught sight of a yellowed Fragmented Map hidden in a gap within the skeleton's ribcage. With a flick of his finger, he retrieved it. Its surface was rough, its patterns ancient—it was one of the objectives of his trip, the Fragmented Map of the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame.

"So the keys were here!"

Xiao Yi Xian walked over holding a jade bottle. Her eyes lit up when she saw the keys in his hand.

Liu Bai raised the keys, then lightly tapped the lock of the leftmost stone box with his fingertip and inserted a black key into it.

"Come on, let's see what good things are inside these boxes."

"Click."

The soft sound of the lock springing open was especially crisp within the silent stone chamber.

Liu Bai lifted the lid of the first stone box. An ancient scroll gleaming with seven-colored light lay quietly within, bearing three somewhat eerie words: Seven-Colored Poison Scripture.

"Poison scripture?"

Xiao Yi Xian leaned in for a look, her brows knitting slightly.

"I'm not interested in the art of using poison."

"Perhaps it also records some unconventional medical techniques, such as fighting poison with poison or treating strange illnesses."

Liu Bai picked up the scroll. It felt slightly heavy in his hand, and its surface was cold.

"You're well versed in medicinal principles, so you might as well keep it. Maybe it'll give you some useful insights. If you truly dislike it, you can always get rid of it later."

Xiao Yi Xian hesitated for a moment, then thought Liu Bai had a point. She nodded, accepted the scroll, and carefully tucked it into her clothes.

Though she did not like poison, there was no harm in learning a little as a healer. Besides, it could also be used for self-defense.

"Then I'll reluctantly accept it."

Fragmented Map of the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame, Purple Cloud Wings!

Liu Bai smiled and picked up the second key, inserting it into the lock of the middle stone box.

This time, the instant the lock opened, a light and ethereal aura drifted out through the crack.

As the lid opened fully, a dark purple scroll came into view. Its surface was painted with a lifelike image of a bird spreading its wings, and faint sounds of wind and thunder seemed to flow around it. Several ancient words on the side were clearly visible.

Purple Cloud Wings.

"What is this?"

Liu Bai reached out and picked up the purple scroll, smiling in satisfaction. A flying Dou Technique—it was finally his.

"This is useful to me, so I'll take it."

He looked at Xiao Yi Xian and waved the scroll in his hand.

Xiao Yi Xian had no objection whatsoever.

"Then this one is yours."

Without Liu Bai, she would not even have been able to get down to this cave, much less obtain any treasures.

Besides, Liu Bai had already clearly said that he would only take two items useful to him. This was obviously one of them.

"There's one last box."

Liu Bai picked up the final key and walked toward the last stone box.

Xiao Yi Xian followed him eagerly, curious about what might be in the final box.

Liu Bai opened it. Inside was a high-grade Xuan Tier sonic Dou Technique: Mad Lion Roar.

"This is a high-grade Xuan Tier sonic Dou Technique called Mad Lion Roar. As the name suggests, sonic Dou Techniques attack using sound waves. They're extremely rare, and they generally attack an opponent's soul directly."

Xiao Yi Xian instantly lost interest upon hearing that.

"That kind of Dou Technique? I thought it would be something special. You can take it; it's useless to me. Why would a girl like me need something that involves roaring all the time?"

Liu Bai directly put it away.

"Then I'll gladly accept it. This sonic Dou Technique is a good thing."

Seeing how delighted Liu Bai looked, Xiao Yi Xian rolled her eyes.

"You people only know how to fight and kill."

As she spoke, she took out her tools and began sorting through the various herbs on the ground. Seeing this, Liu Bai stepped forward to help as well.

"Huh, you know medicinal principles too? Your harvesting technique is pretty good."

Liu Bai worked as he spoke.

"Of course. I'm the Alchemist you dream of becoming, you know. Naturally, I understand this much about medicinal principles."

Xiao Yi Xian suddenly stood up.

"What! You're an Alchemist?"