Treasure Secured!

At the edge of the cliff, jagged rocks jutted everywhere.

The terrain here was exceptionally perilous. One careless step would send someone plunging into the bottomless abyss, their body shattered to pieces.

Lu Heng stood atop the cliff and looked down at the cave entrance below, half-concealed by vines.

"Hidden pretty well."

He took out a thick vine rope he had braided beforehand from his Storage Ring, tied one end to a massive boulder at the cliff top and the other around his waist, then gripped the rope and slid down the cliff face like a gecko.

The moment he landed, a damp, rotten stench rushed at him.

The cave entrance was not large. It was pitch-black inside, and the faint sound of dripping water could be heard.

Lu Heng did not enter immediately. Instead, he took a Magic Core dug from a second-tier fire-attributed magical beast from his robes and injected a trace of Dou Qi into it.

A red glow lit up, illuminating the passage ahead.

"Hiss!"

Almost the instant the light appeared, a scalp-tingling hiss rang out from the depths of the darkness.

Then a foul wind surged forward.

A giant snake as thick as a bucket, its entire body covered in scales as hard as stone, shot out of the darkness. It opened its bloody maw and bit down at Lu Heng's head.

A first-tier magical beast—the Rock Snake.

Lu Heng did not even blink. He shifted slightly to the side, and the stinking snake head swept past the tip of his nose.

At the instant they passed one another, Lu Heng reached out with both hands and grabbed the scales seven inches below the Rock Snake's head. Then he exerted force with both arms, veins bulging.

"Get down here!"

He let out a low shout.

The Rock Snake, weighing several hundred pounds, was forcibly yanked from midair and slammed viciously against the nearby rock wall like a whip.

Bang!

The entire cave trembled.

Loose stones rained down.

The Rock Snake was left utterly dazed by the slam. Several pieces of its hard scales had shattered away, exposing the crimson flesh beneath.

It writhed in pain, its tail sweeping toward him with a whistling gale as it tried to retaliate.

Rather than retreat, Lu Heng advanced. He stepped forward and stomped heavily on the snake's tail with his right foot, pinning it firmly to the ground.

At the same time, he formed a blade with his right hand. Firelight curled around his fingertips as they shot straight toward the Rock Snake's dark yellow slit-pupil eye.

Blazing Sun Finger!

The next instant, the Blazing Sun Finger erupted inside the Rock Snake's skull.

The Rock Snake's body convulsed violently a few times before collapsing limply to the ground like a heap of mud, never moving again.

"A first-tier magical beast really isn't much to look at."

Lu Heng withdrew his hand and casually wiped the blood off on the snake's body. He could not even be bothered to dig out its Magic Core, simply stepping over the corpse and heading deeper inside.

At the end of the cave was a crude stone chamber.

A set of dried bones in the center was especially eye-catching.

Lu Heng bowed toward the skeleton. "Senior, lend me some fire—and while you're at it, lend me some wealth. Bless me from the afterlife so I can strike it rich. I'll burn plenty of paper money for you later."

After saying that, he stepped forward without the slightest ceremony and began looting the corpse.

First were three stone boxes.

He opened the first one.

The colorful gold coins nearly blinded Lu Heng.

With a sweep of his hand, Lu Heng stuffed all one hundred thousand or so gold coins into his Storage Ring.

The second stone box.

It was packed full of precious medicinal ingredients.

Purple Blue Leaf, White Spirit Ginseng Fruit, Snow Lotus Seed...

All of them were good stuff.

Especially that Ice Spirit Flame Grass. Its entire body was crimson red, yet it radiated a chilling aura. It was precisely the key ingredient for refining the Blood Lotus Pill.

Finally, the third stone box.

It was also the main attraction.

An ancient book with a seven-colored cover lay quietly within.

Seven-Colored Poison Scripture.

Lu Heng picked up the book and felt somewhat moved. This was the cultivation technique Xiao Yi Xian had focused on during the early and middle stages.

"This thing..." Lu Heng hesitated for a moment before putting it away. "I'll hold on to it for now. It'll come in handy eventually."

Besides the Poison Scripture, there was also a scroll radiating purple light.

A high-grade Xuan-class flying Dou Technique: Eagle Wings (Purple Cloud Wings)!

In this world, where only Dou Wangs could master Dou Qi Transformation Wings, a flying Dou Technique was truly a powerful trump card in the early stages.

Lu Heng happily put away the scroll, then finally turned his gaze toward the skeleton.

According to the original story, the Fragmented Map connected to the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame was hidden in a gap between the bones.

He reached into the gap in the skeleton's broken arm bone and felt around for a while.

Sure enough.

His fingertips touched a fragment of worn leather paper with an unusual texture.

When he pulled it out, he saw obscure, incomprehensible patterns drawn upon it, faintly exuding an ancient and desolate aura.

The Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame Fragmented Map!

This was one of the crucial tickets on the road to becoming a Dou Di.

"That's everything."

Lu Heng clapped his hands in satisfaction.

This trip had brought him a fortune beyond measure.

He did not leave immediately. Instead, he sat cross-legged in the middle of the stone chamber and spread the Eagle Wings scroll across his knees.

"No time like the present. I'll practice it here."

Lu Heng took a deep breath, formed hand seals, and began guiding the Dou Qi within his body according to the method recorded on the scroll.

As he moved, the two lifelike black eagle patterns on the scroll seemed to come alive. They gave a sharp cry, transformed into two purple-black streaks of light, and shot into Lu Heng's back.

"Hiss!"

Intense pain struck him in an instant.

It felt as though someone were using two red-hot, dull knives to forcibly pry open his shoulder blades before stuffing something inside.

The veins on Lu Heng's forehead bulged with pain, and cold sweat instantly soaked through his back.

Yet he did not make a sound, only gritting his teeth hard.

Five months of fighting magical beasts had long since tempered his nerves into something as tough as steel wire.

This little pain? It was nothing!

At the same time.

Several hundred miles away, in Wutan City.

On the third floor of the Miteer Auction House, the room that had once been filled with laughter was now permeated by a heavy atmosphere.

Ya Fei held an exquisite teacup in her hand. It was the one Lu Heng had liked to use most before leaving.

She sat by the window, staring blankly at the bustling street outside.

"Uncle Gu Ni."

Ya Fei suddenly spoke, her voice giving no hint of joy or anger.

Gu Ni, who was sorting through account books, jumped in fright and quickly raised his head.

"What is it?"

"What date is it today?"

"October twenty-eighth," Gu Ni replied.

"Five months."

Ya Fei's fingers gently stroked the rim of the cup, her knuckles turning slightly white.

"That little bastard said it would take two months at the shortest, half a year at the longest. It's almost been half a year now, and there's not even a trace of him."

She suddenly turned around, a murderous air on her beautiful, captivating face.

"Does my little brother have someone else out there? Or did some vixen lure him away?"

Gu Ni wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"Miss, the Magical Beast Mountain Range is far away, and communication is difficult. That's perfectly normal.

"Besides, that kid Lu Heng is clever. He'll definitely be fine."

"Clever?"

Ya Fei sneered and slammed the teacup heavily onto the table.

"I think he's just having too much fun out there! When he comes back, if I don't break his legs, I won't call myself Ya Fei!"

Though she spoke harshly, Gu Ni could clearly see that her eyes were filled with worry and longing she could not hide.

"Stupid little brother..."

Ya Fei turned back toward the window, her voice so soft that only she could hear it.

"If you dare come back missing even a single hair, I won't let you off."