Death-Defying Snake Cavern

Ten Thousand Medicine Hall.

After escorting Little Fairy Doctor to Ten Thousand Medicine Hall, Xiao Le stayed there for the night.

With a flip of his hand, an ordinary storage ring appeared in Xiao Le's palm. He had stripped it from Hu Wei's finger.

With a flicker of light, pills, medicinal herbs, scrolls, magic cores, and other collected items scattered across the ground. If any mercenary group outside discovered this, it would surely stir up a bloody struggle.

Yet Xiao Le curled his lip and cursed under his breath, "What a poor bastard!"

A suction force rose from his palm, drawing over a gilded scroll. When he unfurled it, it was the Divine Silkworm Technique.

"Alas!"

Regret showed on Xiao Le's face. Just now, he had wanted to test whether he could download the Divine Silkworm Technique from the scroll. After all, it had a red trait. Unfortunately, it could not be downloaded.

As the ancient scroll was opened, it gave off an aura of great age. The three words "Divine Silkworm Technique" gleamed brilliantly.

"This combat technique is anything but simple!"

Beast Venerable's illusory, bubble-like figure slowly emerged. As he stared at the combat technique in Xiao Le's hand, a sharp gleam shone in his eyes.

Stroking his chin, Beast Venerable considered it for a moment before saying, "An exceedingly rare body-tempering combat technique. Boy, your fortune is truly enviable!"

Xiao Le secretly laughed. He had already downloaded the Divine Silkworm Technique, so why would he need to read the scroll? He had only wanted to lure Beast Venerable out.

The supplementary ingredients required for the Divine Silkworm Technique were manageable, but Xiao Le did not have the slightest clue about the three main medicinal ingredients.

"That's not right!" Beast Venerable's gaze turned firm as he cried out, interrupting Xiao Le's thoughts.

It was the first time Xiao Le had seen Beast Venerable so unsettled, and he was filled with curiosity.

Beast Venerable seemed to have fallen into confusion, muttering without pause.

After a long while, a sigh sounded. Beast Venerable had regained his composure. Before Xiao Le could ask, he let out a regretful sigh.

"The circulation route of this combat technique is far more complex than that of an Earth-tier combat technique. It truly should not belong to the high Xuan tier, yet its power has not surpassed that of an Earth-tier combat technique."

Beast Venerable pondered bitterly, then sighed again. "Its complexity cannot be reduced. There must be some profound truth within it that has yet to be discovered. Alas, this old man is powerless!"

Even Beast Venerable could not figure it out?

Xiao Le felt rather troubled. He had long suspected that the Divine Silkworm Technique should not be so simple. After all, as a red-tier technique, the power recorded within was truly rather underwhelming.

"Beast Venerable, where can Snake-Saliva Fruit and Tempering Heart Mist Grass be found?" Since it could not be explained, Xiao Le gave up on it and asked about two of the three main medicinal ingredients he still had no leads on.

An elder at home was like having a treasure!

After composing himself, Beast Venerable said, "Snake-Saliva Fruit, as its name suggests, grows where snakes gather. It can usually only be born in dark snake dens deep within forests and mountain ranges. As for Tempering Heart Mist Grass, it may grow in places shrouded in mist all year round, where the fog gathers and never disperses."

Early the next morning, the biological clock Xiao Le had long developed caused him to leave his cultivation state on his own.

After washing up, Xiao Le headed straight for Little Fairy Doctor's residence. Compared to him, Little Fairy Doctor had spent years among mercenaries, so he was sure to gain something by asking her.

Knock, knock, knock!

Before he even drew near, a string of herb-pounding sounds reached Xiao Le's ears. As he stepped inside, a strange feeling struck his mind, leaving him dazed for a moment.

By the window, Little Fairy Doctor, dressed in an elegant light-colored gown, was diligently pounding herbs, occasionally adding other ingredients.

"Hm?" Sensing someone's arrival, Little Fairy Doctor hurriedly turned around. When she saw that it was Xiao Le, she finally relaxed.

Then, as if recalling something, she took out a pill from her storage ring and tossed it to Xiao Le.

"There's a chronic poison I prepared in my room. Its toxicity isn't strong, but it can affect cultivation. This is the antidote!"

Worthy indeed of the future saintess of the Poison Sect. In just one night, she had already concocted poison.

Xiao Le showed neither hesitation nor suspicion and swallowed the antidote directly. The sight sent a trace of warmth through Little Fairy Doctor's heart.

"This time, I came to ask you two questions, and also to say goodbye." Xiao Le looked at the elegant, otherworldly Little Fairy Doctor and continued, "I'll come back to deal with the Tiger Fist Mercenary Group. Don't worry."

"Mm!"

Little Fairy Doctor's movements paused briefly. She nodded lightly, then continued working the herbs in her hands.

The only sound remaining in the room was Little Fairy Doctor pounding herbs. As Xiao Le watched her delicate figure, he could not help becoming entranced.

After a long while, Little Fairy Doctor finally broke the silence.

"Weren't you going to ask me two questions?"

Xiao Le came back to himself and laughed awkwardly. "Right. You've been in Qingshan Town for so long. Have you heard of any place in the Magic Beast Mountain Range where snakes gather, something like a snake den? And is there any place shrouded in mist year-round, where it never disperses?"

"A snake den? Mist?" Little Fairy Doctor gently stroked her delicate chin as she thought. Before long, she said, "The Magic Beast Mountain Range is vast and rich in resources. Such places must exist. But as for a place covered in mist all year round, where it never dissipates, I've only heard the older generation mention it. I don't know where it is. As for a snake den, I do know of one, but it's extremely dangerous. In recent years, it has been named one of the three great forbidden zones: the Death-Defying Snake Cavern."

From the scattered information Little Fairy Doctor had heard from mercenaries, Xiao Le learned that the Death-Defying Snake Cavern had only become widely known in recent years. A few years ago, it had merely been an ordinary snake den. Yet for some unknown reason, almost no one who entered in recent years had returned alive. Rumor had it that even a Dou Wang had entered and never emerged again.

With his direction confirmed, Xiao Le left impatiently.

Hiss!

His clawed hand pulled free from seven inches below the snake's head. Dou qi trembled, and the snake's blood scattered apart.

"I haven't even reached the snake den yet, and snake-type magic beasts have already been appearing without end!" Xiao Le muttered to himself as he gathered up the corpses of the snake-type magic beasts on the ground.

"Your methods are becoming more and more clean and decisive, boy!" Beast Venerable's figure appeared before Xiao Le, praising him.

Three days had already passed since Xiao Le bid farewell to Little Fairy Doctor at Ten Thousand Medicine Hall. During those three days, Xiao Le had been traveling, and the journey had been anything but peaceful.

Magic beast attacks came without end, but the ones Xiao Le found most dangerous were the mercenaries. During those three days, he had once rescued a mercenary group, only for them to launch a sneak attack while he was off guard and treating his injuries.

Fortunately, Beast Venerable had helped him. Otherwise, Xiao Le might have lost his life in the Magic Beast Mountain Range.

From that day onward, Xiao Le became far more vigilant, guarding against another unforeseen disaster.

After three days of travel, he had finally arrived at the location of the snake den. Before even reaching its entrance, he had encountered an extraordinary number of snake-type magic beasts along the way.

He had encountered quite a few second-tier snake-type magic beasts, which he dealt with using the Heavenly Beast Spirit-Burning Art. As for third-tier magic beasts, he could only rely on Beast Venerable. The cost of fighting them himself was simply too great and not worth it.

A dense smell of blood permeated the air, making Xiao Le feel as though an oppressive weight was pressing down on his heart, leaving him terribly stifled.

A deep, gloomy cavern stood before him, but the snake corpses carpeting its entrance made Xiao Le hesitate to take another step.

That thick bloody stench came from within the cavern. The Death-Defying Snake Cavern, once a place where snake swarms gathered and a forbidden zone feared by all, was now covered in snake corpses, without a single survivor.

Summoning a measure of courage, Xiao Le slowly stepped into the snake cavern.