Cave Exploration

"What are your terms? Go ahead."

Xiao Yi Xian thought for a moment before saying, "First, everything in the cave must be distributed by me! Second, you can't force me to do anything!"

Xiao Yan smiled. It seemed Xiao Yi Xian was still just a young girl; she could even make such demands. They offered no real protection at all.

"Fine, I agree. Then let's set off now."

Xiao Yi Xian shook her head and continued, "I need to go back and prepare a few things. You'll have to wait for me."

Naturally, Xiao Yan agreed. He knew Xiao Yi Xian was going back to prepare all sorts of medicinal herbs for self-defense.

But things of that level posed no danger to Hai Bodong.

After waiting for half an hour, Xiao Yi Xian finally emerged from her room, and the three of them set off at once. Mr. Yao merely watched them leave without trying to stop them.

Once Xiao Yan's group had completely departed, Mu She emerged from the rear courtyard.

"Mr. Yao, how did the matter I asked you to handle go?"

Mr. Yao gave a cold smile.

"Don't worry. I put all the poison you gave me into their tea, and I saw with my own eyes that both of them drank it."

Mu She nodded after hearing that, his face twisted as he said, "They dared kill members of my Wolf Head Mercenary Group. Even if they're Da Dou Shi experts, this can't simply be forgotten."

Mr. Yao shook his head. "Commander Mu, even if they took your poison, that old man is still a Da Dou Shi expert. You alone can't threaten him."

Mu She immediately understood Mr. Yao's intentions and got straight to the point. "Mr. Yao, let's speak plainly. How much will it cost to have you make a move?"

Mr. Yao was also a Dou Shi expert. If the two of them joined forces, along with the poison's effects, they might truly be able to take down a Da Dou Shi.

"Commander Mu is as clever as ever. Working with you is convenient. I added a little more to your poison and improved it as well. Otherwise, your poison could only injure Dou Shi experts at most. It couldn't possibly threaten a Da Dou Shi expert." Mr. Yao spoke smugly.

Mu She licked his lips and said complacently, "Then many thanks, Mr. Yao. Once we deal with them, the Wolf Head Mercenaries and the Ten Thousand Medicine Pavilion will be one family. We'll work together to drive the Blood Battle Mercenary Group out and split all of Green Mountain Town's businesses between us."

A glint flashed through Mr. Yao's eyes as he smiled. "In that case, let's tidy up and follow them."

Xiao Yan had long been on guard against poisoning. Moreover, Hai Bodong had spotted the poison in that cup of tea at a glance.

Mr. Yao had indeed poisoned it skillfully. Even a Da Dou Shi would not have detected the poison in the tea, but Hai Bodong had once been a Dou Emperor. Even with his strength sealed, he still possessed the power of a Dou Ling.

To him, such a small amount of poison was nothing.

Without Mr. Yao noticing, Hai Bodong extracted the poison from the cup and placed it in Mr. Yao's cup.

And the poison from Xiao Yan's cup as well. That meant Mr. Yao's cup contained a double dose of enhanced poison.

Since Xiao Yi Xian was still only at the ninth stage of Dou Qi, the three of them were not moving very quickly.

They did not reach the cliff until evening. Xiao Yi Xian pointed below with her fair, delicate finger.

"The cave is down there, but we'll need to find some vines before we can climb down," Xiao Yi Xian said.

Xiao Yan nodded, then found some nearby vines and tied them into a rope, securing one end to a large tree.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian slid down like that. Once they reached the platform before the cave, Xiao Yi Xian asked, "Where is that old grandpa?"

Xiao Yan said, "He'll be down in a moment."

As soon as he finished speaking, Hai Bodong leaped down from above and landed steadily on the platform.

Xiao Yan gave a bitter smile. "Old Hai, your entrance is even cooler than mine."

Hai Bodong snorted. Life without being able to form wings from Dou Qi was truly unbearable.

"Don't worry, Old Hai. Your seal will be broken soon. Within a few months at the latest, we'll definitely break it." Xiao Yan smiled, and Hai Bodong nodded.

Xiao Yi Xian reminded Xiao Yan, "Don't you dare forget our agreement. I trust you very much."

Xiao Yan gave an acknowledging hum and led the two of them into the cave.

After walking for several minutes, they saw an enormous stone wall.

Xiao Yan turned to Hai Bodong. Hai Bodong understood immediately and stepped forward, preparing to smash through the wall.

But Xiao Yi Xian stopped him.

"Wait, what are you trying to do? That's far too violent. Stone doors like this usually have mechanisms."

After saying that, Xiao Yi Xian went over to feel around the stone door. Xiao Yan could only wait helplessly.

After the time it took to burn half an incense stick, the stone door opened with a rumble.

Xiao Yi Xian immediately rushed inside, with Xiao Yan and Hai Bodong following behind her.

It was an extremely spacious tomb chamber, and its owner sat atop a raised platform.

Xiao Yan headed straight for the platform, but Xiao Yi Xian called out to stop him.

"Wait! You said half the things in here would be mine. You can't just touch things!" Xiao Yi Xian puffed out her cheeks and glared at Xiao Yan angrily.

Xiao Yan smiled. "Don't worry. Look, isn't there a patch of medicinal ingredients over there? Take whatever you want, all right?"

Only then did Xiao Yi Xian turn away and slowly begin digging up the herbs.

Taking advantage of the moment, Xiao Yan collected the fragment of the Purifying Demonic Lotus Flame's scroll from the tomb owner's forearm, then turned his gaze toward the three boxes.

"Old Hai, please open all these boxes."

The instant Xiao Yan finished speaking, Hai Bodong froze all three boxes with icy Dou Qi. Xiao Yan then gave them a light touch, and all three boxes shattered into fragments of ice.

Xiao Yan put away the Purple Cloud Wings, tossed the Seven-Colored Poison Manual to Xiao Yi Xian, and after some thought, threw the item from the final box to Hai Bodong.

When Xiao Yi Xian saw that, she said, "Didn't we agree to split things equally? What do you mean by this?"

Xiao Yan scratched his head. "Aren't there three boxes? One for each of us seems pretty fair. Otherwise, I wouldn't know how to divide them."

Xiao Yi Xian snorted. When she opened the scroll in her hand and discovered it was a poison manual, the dissatisfaction in her heart subsided again.

"This suits me quite well. In that case, I won't argue with you over it. But I'm taking more of these herbs." Xiao Yi Xian smiled.

Xiao Yan waved his hand generously. "Fine, fine, take whatever you think is fair. But leave that Ice Spirit Flame Grass for me."

Xiao Yi Xian rolled her eyes at Xiao Yan, but she still tossed the herb to him.

Just as they were dividing the spoils, two dark figures entered the cave.