Battle Through the Heavens: Rising from Canaan Academy, Part 20

"You! Hmph! You damn bastard!"

Having the matter brought up again by Qin Chen, Xiao Yixian's pretty face instantly flushed crimson. Yet there was nothing she could do but grit her pearly teeth and curse angrily.

This man was far too hateful!

A Minor Interlude

Seeing Xiao Yixian's puffed-up expression, the smile at Qin Chen's lips deepened. "All right, stop being angry. Hurry up and put these medicinal herbs away."

After a pause, Qin Chen continued, "Since you look so pitiful, I'll help you out a little more."

With that, Qin Chen waved his hand, and many exquisite jade bottles appeared on the ground. He then handed her a jade shovel and a storage ring.

"Hmph!"

Suppressing the embarrassment and anger in her heart, Xiao Yixian accepted the jade shovel and storage ring from Qin Chen. She carefully dug up the herbs one by one and placed them into the jade bottles.

As Xiao Yixian began excavating the medicinal herbs, Qin Chen turned his gaze toward the skeleton on the chair. Three black keys hung from the skeletal hand bones.

Qin Chen first pressed his palms together and respectfully bowed to the skeleton. Only then did he slowly step forward, take the three keys, and retrieve the ancient scroll hidden within the bones.

When he opened the scroll, a yellowed piece of parchment lay inside.

It was the fragment of the Pure Lotus Demon Flame map, an opportunity left behind by the Pure Lotus Demon Saint for future generations!

By then, Xiao Yixian had also finished digging up the herbs. The two of them then walked over to the stone table together.

Although the three keys looked nearly identical, Qin Chen's soul power far surpassed that of ordinary people. He easily sensed which stone boxes matched the keys in his hand.

Qin Chen first opened the stone box on the far right. Inside lay a yellowish-brown scroll.

"A high Xuan-class Dou Technique, Crazy Lion's Roar." Qin Chen opened the scroll and found that it was a Xuan-class Dou Technique. It was likely the item Mu Li had stolen in the original story.

Though the Dou Technique was called Crazy Lion's Roar, it was not some precious soundwave Dou Technique. It was completely useless to him now.

"Tch, useless junk. You can have it."

Qin Chen casually tossed it to Xiao Yixian beside him, and she hurriedly caught it.

Ignoring Xiao Yixian's stunned expression, Qin Chen continued opening the next stone box.

This time, a black scroll appeared within the box. Several small words were written along its side.

"High Xuan-class flying Dou Technique: Eagle Wings."

"A flying Dou Technique? What's that?" Xiao Yixian blinked her watery eyes, her delicate face full of confusion.

"As the name implies, once cultivated, this flying Dou Technique allows anyone below the Dou King realm to fly. As for those above the Dou King realm, they can combine it with the Dou Qi wings they manifest, greatly increasing their flight speed," Qin Chen explained.

"What? It can give someone the ability to fly?" Xiao Yixian's voice suddenly rose, her eyes gleaming with disbelief.

After all, in this world, the ability to fly was the signature privilege of Dou King experts. No matter how strong an ordinary cultivator was, if they had not reached the Dou King realm, they could only move about on the ground.

Xiao Yixian looked at the black scroll in Qin Chen's hand, then raised her head to look at him. Her lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something, yet she was too embarrassed to speak.

"What? You want it?" Seeing Xiao Yixian's expression, Qin Chen could not help laughing.

With her thoughts exposed in a single sentence, a blush instantly spread across Xiao Yixian's cheeks.

"If you want it, just say so. It's not like I need it."

Handing the scroll to Xiao Yixian, Qin Chen reminded her, "With your current soul strength, you still can't contend with the soul of the Purple Cloud Eagle within the wings. Remember to wait until you break through to the Dou Master realm before cultivating it."

With this thing, Xiao Yixian's rise in the Chu Yun Empire would become much easier.

Xiao Yixian carefully accepted the scroll. The cool sensation in her hand made her heart tremble. Stroking the rough patterns on its surface, she softly said, "Thank you."

Qin Chen waved his hand. "We've gotten to know each other. This little bit of stuff is nothing."

Next, Qin Chen opened the final stone box and took out an ancient, multicolored scroll.

"It's a Poison Manual. You can have this too."

"Hehe..."

Xiao Yixian truly had not expected Qin Chen to be so generous. Among so many treasures, he had taken only a piece of parchment. Thinking of how she had cursed him in her heart earlier, her cheeks could not help growing even hotter.

Qin Chen did not find it a pity at all. If such trifles could win Xiao Yixian's heart, then he would be making an enormous profit.

"Hm?"

At that moment, Qin Chen raised his brows and turned his gaze toward the outside of the cave.

"What is it?" Xiao Yixian asked, puzzled.

"Nothing. A dozen or so mercenaries have arrived outside the cave," Qin Chen said calmly.

"Mercenaries?" Xiao Yixian grew even more confused. This deep mountain region had always been sparsely traveled. How could so many mercenaries suddenly appear?

Could they be here for the treasures in this cave?

A few breaths later, a jumble of footsteps suddenly sounded outside the stone door.

"Hahaha, Xiao Yixian, I finally found you!" A familiar voice entered Xiao Yixian's ears.

"Mu Li!" Xiao Yixian gritted her pearly teeth and immediately recognized the owner of the voice.

After having his men block the stone door, Mu Li swept his gaze over the glittering gold coins before finally settling it on the two of them. "My apologies for disturbing you both."

Xiao Yixian stepped forward and coldly asked, "How did you find this place?"

Mu Li shrugged, a smug smile appearing on his face. "Naturally, someone led us here."

"Someone? Only my assistant Li Fei and I knew about this... Was she the one who brought you here?" Xiao Yixian's voice trembled with disbelief. She could never have imagined that the assistant she trusted most would betray her.

The smile on Mu Li's lips widened. "Hehe, that foolish woman obediently told us everything she knew without us even having to question her."

"You bastard!" Rage surged in Xiao Yixian's eyes as she cursed furiously.

Perhaps because Qin Chen, a Dou King expert, was here, she did not feel much panic in her heart.

"Sorry, but our mercenary group needs these things badly. With them, we can expand beyond Green Mountain Town. Xiao Yixian, you know how I feel about you. Just submit to me. I'm destined for great success, and I definitely won't treat you poorly," Mu Li said with a faint smile.

"Then congratulations to you." Having watched the show for quite some time, Qin Chen had somehow walked in front of Xiao Yixian. He spoke nonchalantly.

"Kid, what are you trying to do?" Mu Li's gaze instantly turned cold, and the men behind him also assumed guarded stances.

"Nothing. I just don't like the sight of you, so I want to send you to hell."

As soon as he spoke, immense soul power burst forth, transforming into sharp needles that shot toward the mercenaries' foreheads.

Pop!

Sounds like bursting bubbles rang out one after another. The mercenaries had no idea what had happened. Their eyes rolled back, and they fell stiffly to the ground, without a single drop of blood splashing within the stone chamber.

That was the advantage of soul attacks. Though Qin Chen did not know any soul techniques, he could still mobilize soul power to attack his enemies, albeit with greatly reduced effectiveness.

It would not work against opponents of the same realm, but dealing with trash like Mu Li was effortless.

Seeing Qin Chen so easily deal with the mercenaries who normally strutted about so arrogantly, a trace of surprise flashed through Xiao Yixian's beautiful eyes.

Knowing and witnessing were two entirely different things. Seeing it with one's own eyes was always far more shocking than reading about it in a book.

The True Burial Chamber

"Wait here. I'm going to deal with a few stragglers."

Before Xiao Yixian could respond, Qin Chen's figure had already darted out of the stone chamber like a ghost.

Some time later, Qin Chen returned, but there was now a young woman in his hand.

Thud!

Qin Chen casually threw the woman in his hand onto the ground and said blandly, "This woman who nearly got you killed is yours to deal with."

"Li Fei!"

When Xiao Yixian clearly saw the woman's face on the ground, her delicate body trembled violently, and anger once more flared in her eyes, which had only just calmed down.

Li Fei's face still held lingering terror from being captured by Qin Chen. Seeing Xiao Yixian looking at her, she scrambled frantically to get up.

"Xiao Yixian, I... I didn't mean to do it. I only wanted to save you!"

"Shut up!"

Xiao Yixian shouted angrily. She casually grabbed a rusted longsword from the pile of gold coins and walked toward Li Fei. "If you truly wanted to save me, why didn't you notify the other mercenary groups? Why did you specifically bring these ambitious bastards here instead?"

"Xiao Yixian, I... Urgh..."

As Xiao Yixian swung the longsword, Li Fei clutched her neck. After struggling for several breaths, she stopped moving.

Xiao Yixian looked at Li Fei lying in a pool of blood. The hand gripping her sword trembled slightly, her knuckles turning white from the force, but there was not the slightest trace of regret in her eyes—only a cold sense of relief.

"I didn't expect you to be so decisive." Qin Chen was the first to break the silence.

"Aren't you even more ruthless? You killed so many people without even blinking." Xiao Yixian rolled her eyes, casually tossing the longsword aside with a clanging sound.

Though Xiao Yixian was still young, several lives had already been stained on her hands. Otherwise, how did she think Xiao Yixian had arrived at Green Mountain Town and survived there?

Qin Chen chuckled softly and collected all the items in the stone chamber into his storage ring.

"Are we leaving?" Xiao Yixian looked at Qin Chen.

Qin Chen shook his head. "No rush. Don't you think this place is a little strange?"

"Strange?" Xiao Yixian did not understand.

"If someone wants to hide items within their own body without causing themselves discomfort, only spatial power can accomplish that. And to wield spatial power, one must at least reach the Dou Zong realm."

"I examined that skeleton earlier. It was only at the Dou King realm. It absolutely could not have done this on its own," Qin Chen explained.

Xiao Yixian's brows furrowed slightly. "You mean the owner of this skeleton was not the one who hid the treasures, and there was someone else?"

"It's only a guess."

Qin Chen laughed aloud and lowered his head to look at the stone tiles of the chamber. "But how will we know unless we search?"

Qin Chen circulated the Dou Qi within his body and clenched his hand toward the ground. One stone tile after another was lifted into the air and collected into his storage ring.

As the ground was continuously dug up, a deep, shadowy hole appeared before them.

"So the entrance was sealed with a special material that could block soul power. No wonder I hadn't noticed it before."

Qin Chen sighed inwardly. It seemed this was why Yao Lao had failed to discover it in the original story.

"There really is a hidden passage." Xiao Yixian leaned toward the hole and peered inside by the faint light.

Qin Chen smiled without speaking. He took Mu Li's corpse out of his storage ring and casually tossed it into the opening. After seeing that nothing unusual happened, he turned sideways with a smile. "Come on. Let's go down and take a look."