Battle Through the Heavens: Beginning the Road to Rise at Jia Nan Academy, Part 19

"I don't know what you're talking about!" With that, Xiao Yi Xian turned her head away.

Qin Chen did not get angry. He merely crouched down slowly and teased, "In the Magical Beast Mountain Range, there is a type of magical beast called the Mating Ape. I heard they are very interested in certain treasures and human women."

"How about I take you there and have a look?"

"You!" Xiao Yi Xian glared at him, fear showing on her pretty face.

As a physician, she had naturally heard of the Mating Apes' vile reputation. These magical beasts did nothing but eat, sleep, and mate every day. Sometimes, they could even keep at it for several days straight.

"Hmph! Looks like you still don't understand your situation. Then let the Mating Apes teach you." Qin Chen feigned anger, as though he were about to throw Xiao Yi Xian into a pack of Mating Apes the next moment.

"Don't! Don't! Spare me! I'll tell you everything!" Seeing that Qin Chen truly seemed ready to act, Xiao Yi Xian hurriedly begged in panic.

"That's more like it. Wouldn't it have been better if you'd done that earlier?" The moment Xiao Yi Xian gave in, Qin Chen immediately put on a gentle smile.

Damn bastard! Xiao Yi Xian cursed inwardly.

The moment the two stepped out the door, Qin Chen raised an eyebrow.

"What is it?" Xiao Yi Xian asked, her red lips parting slightly.

"Oh, nothing."

Without drawing attention to himself, Qin Chen glanced at a figure lurking in the shadows, then turned to the girl beside him. "Tell me first. Where is the cave?"

"After entering the Magical Beast Mountain Range, continue for two li and you'll reach the herb-gathering area. Near it is a small dense forest. The cave is beneath the cliff beyond that forest," Xiao Yi Xian answered unwillingly.

"Two li ahead, near the herb-gathering area, beneath the cliff beyond the dense forest. I hope you aren't lying to me."

Qin Chen deliberately stressed those locations.

Then, abandoning the idea of flying, he ignored Xiao Yi Xian's struggles, wrapped an arm around her waist, and leaped out of the manor in several flashes.

"Xiao Yi Xian! Damn it!" Watching Qin Chen leave with Xiao Yi Xian, a young girl dressed as a maid stood somewhere in the manor, her face full of anxiety.

After gritting her teeth in hesitation for a moment, the girl stomped her foot, then hurried out of the manor and ran in a familiar direction.

That was where Green Mountain Town's strongest mercenary group, the Wolf Head Mercenary Group, was stationed.

Elsewhere, the moment Qin Chen left Green Mountain Town, he formed Dou Qi wings behind his back and shot into the sky with Xiao Yi Xian.

"D-Dou Wang!" Seeing the cyan wings behind Qin Chen, Xiao Yi Xian's pretty face was filled with shock.

She had been unable to discern Qin Chen's strength earlier. Given how young he was, she had assumed he was at most a Dou Shi or Da Dou Shi. She had never imagined that he was actually a Dou Wang expert.

"Tell me, which way do we go now?" Qin Chen asked with a smile.

Xiao Yi Xian shook her head and carefully looked around. Then she raised a slender jade finger and pointed toward a forest. "That way."

Qin Chen nodded. With a gentle beat of his wings, he sped toward the forest Xiao Yi Xian had indicated.

Wolf Head Mercenary Group Headquarters.

Not long after the maid entered, more than twenty fierce-looking mercenaries rushed out with weapons in hand.

The young man at the front had a savage expression as he barked at the maid beside him, "If you dare lie to us, I'll skin you alive!"

The maid trembled all over in fright and nodded repeatedly. "It's absolutely true! I heard it with my own ears!"

Mu Li snorted coldly and waved his hand. "Brothers, grab your weapons and chase them! Whoever catches Xiao Yi Xian will be handsomely rewarded! All the treasures on that brat belong to us!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the twenty-some mercenaries charged in the direction the maid had pointed like a pack of hungry wolves.

Qin Chen was extremely fast. Before long, the two arrived atop a cliff.

Swallowing nervously, Xiao Yi Xian probed, "The cave is below the cliff. Can you let me go now?"

The moment Qin Chen revealed his Dou Wang strength, Xiao Yi Xian had given up on the thought of sharing this secret with him. Now, she only prayed that he would spare her.

Hearing this, Qin Chen's lips curled into an amused smile. He spread his arms and said to Xiao Yi Xian, "Come here."

"Y-You, what are you trying to do?" Seeing this, Xiao Yi Xian immediately crossed her arms over her chest and asked warily.

Chapter 35: Exploring the Cave for Treasure

"Of course I'm taking you down. Don't you want to see what's below?"

Then Qin Chen said seriously, "I am an upright man. Do I look like some lustful scoundrel?"

Xiao Yi Xian did not move. She merely rolled her eyes at Qin Chen, her meaning obvious.

Someone had been acting far from honestly while they were flying earlier!

"You..." At that moment, Qin Chen's eyes shifted, and he smiled. "Look down."

Xiao Yi Xian did not understand what he meant, but she still lowered her head.

Then...

She saw her own toes.

Xiao Yi Xian frowned, still not understanding what that meant, when Qin Chen drawled, "With goods like yours, once your face is covered, no one could tell your front from your back. Who would even be interested in you?"

"Bastard!" Once Xiao Yi Xian understood, her cheeks flushed red with anger. She pointed a slender finger at Qin Chen, but could not utter a single word in rebuttal.

"Enough nonsense. Are you going down or not?"

"Hmph!" Xiao Yi Xian snorted coldly, but in the end, she still stepped into Qin Chen's embrace.

She had already been carried by him before. Once more would not make much difference.

Qin Chen held Xiao Yi Xian's fragrant, soft body in his arms, pushed off the ground, and slowly descended toward the bottom of the cliff.

When they were halfway down the cliff, Qin Chen pressed two fingers together and sent out a sharp Dou Qi blade. The yellow Rock Snake lurking in the shadows was cut into two.

"A Rock Snake?" Seeing the snake-like magical beast Qin Chen put into his storage ring, Xiao Yi Xian's delicate body trembled.

She looked up at Qin Chen and found his face utterly calm, as though killing a Rock Snake was no more difficult to him than brushing dust from his sleeve.

Is this what a true expert is like? Xiao Yi Xian murmured, lost in thought.

While Xiao Yi Xian's thoughts wandered, Qin Chen had already carried her gently down to the cave entrance. Only after he put her down did the girl snap back to her senses.

It seemed that no one had visited this cave for a very long time. Rubble and twisted trees covered its entrance. From afar, it had nearly blended into the cliff face. If not for a fortunate coincidence, no one would likely ever have discovered it.

Without any effort, Qin Chen cleared away all the rubble and twisted trees, revealing a deep cave.

"Come on. Let's see what treasures are inside." Smiling at Xiao Yi Xian, Qin Chen summoned a ball of cyan flame and entered the pitch-black cave first.

Looking at the dark cave, a complicated expression flashed through Xiao Yi Xian's eyes. After a moment, she stomped her foot, gritted her teeth, and followed him inside.

The cave was not only dim but also incredibly deep, as if it had no end.

The gloomy environment made Xiao Yi Xian shiver involuntarily. She instinctively moved closer to Qin Chen, only then feeling a rare sense of security.

After walking for a full quarter of an hour, the two finally reached the end of the passage.

There was a stone door emitting a faint yellow glow. Although the material it was made from was extremely rare, any Dou Shi could force it open. Its owner presumably had not intended to make things difficult for treasure seekers.

However, Qin Chen had no intention of forcing the door open. Instead, he turned his gaze toward Xiao Yi Xian and asked, "Xiao Yi Xian, you know mechanical arts, right?"

"A little," Xiao Yi Xian answered truthfully.

"Then go open the stone door."

"Wouldn't it be faster for someone of your strength to force it open? Why trouble a weak woman like me, who cannot even tie up a chicken?" Xiao Yi Xian frowned slightly.

"You little girl, how can you be so vicious at such a young age?"

Qin Chen glared at Xiao Yi Xian and said irritably, "This is someone else's final resting place. Taking their treasures is one thing, but you still want to disturb their eternal sleep?"

Hearing this, Xiao Yi Xian's face reddened. She scratched her head and said somewhat sheepishly, "I... I'll open it now."

Xiao Yi Xian walked forward on her slender legs, placed her delicate hand against the stone door, and slowly began searching.

"Found it!"

The earth-element mechanism left behind by the cave's owner was not complicated. A moment later, Xiao Yi Xian found the switch. She gently pressed a small protrusion with her slender hand, and a creaking sound rang out as the heavy stone door gradually rose.

As the stone door opened, a faint light shone from within, dispelling the darkness around them.

"Not bad!" Qin Chen praised her, then stepped through the doorway.

Xiao Yi Xian hurriedly followed.

Beyond the stone door was an extremely spacious stone chamber. Though many treasures were piled within, it still seemed somewhat empty.

The rock walls were embedded with moonlight stones used for illumination. In the center of the chamber was a skeleton seated quietly on a chair. Its hollow skull had already fallen off, creating an eerie sight.

A wide, long bluestone table stood before the chair. Three locked stone boxes were neatly arranged atop it.

Many piles of gold and silver were stacked in three corners of the chamber. In the final corner was a small flower bed built from earth.

The flower bed was filled with rare medicinal herbs scarcely seen outside. Though they grew in this sealed chamber, their vitality and value had not diminished in the slightest, and they emitted a faint, unusual fragrance.

"Purple Blue Leaf, White Spirit Ginseng Fruit, Snow Lotus Seed... There's even Ice Spirit Flame Grass!"

Staring blankly at the small flower bed, Xiao Yi Xian unconsciously recited the names of the rare medicinal herbs one after another.

"Looks like your knowledge of medicinal theory is quite solid. You even recognize so many herbs." Qin Chen raised an eyebrow, his words carrying a hint of approval.

At this, Xiao Yi Xian regained some confidence and unconsciously straightened her slender waist. "Of course. I began studying medicinal theory when I was young. My understanding of herbs far surpasses that of others."

"Unfortunately, because of my innate attribute, I can't become an alchemist." At the end, Xiao Yi Xian sighed helplessly.

"Don't test me. Since you want them, take them all." Qin Chen saw through the girl's thoughts at once.

To him now, the only herb among this pile that could be called rare was the Ice Spirit Flame Grass.

Besides, when he had refined the Blood Lotus Pill, he still had several stalks left in his storage ring.

"Really?"

Xiao Yi Xian's almond eyes filled with excitement and delight. For someone who loved medicinal herbs as much as she did, a rare herb was far more valuable than wealth of equal worth, not to mention so many precious medicinal herbs.

Therefore, seeing that Qin Chen was actually willing to give all these precious herbs to her, Xiao Yi Xian's impression of him immediately improved greatly. This person was actually quite nice. If she had come here to seek treasure alone, she might have died in the Rock Snake's jaws before finding anything.

In truth, Xiao Yi Xian was clearly worrying too much. How could the Woeful Poison Body possibly be poisoned to death by snake venom?

If the Rock Snake had truly bitten Xiao Yi Xian, that ignorant magical beast would probably have been poisoned to death by her first.

"Of course. I wouldn't stoop to lying to someone so utterly ordinary." Qin Chen teased.