Treasure Hunt

After eating and drinking their fill, the group sat around the campfire, reviewing the evening's battle.

Huo Yuhao acknowledged that Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian had managed to join forces and instantly kill his puppet.

"Normally, I wouldn't have been able to stop him. After all, that guy was a five-star Dou Zhe," Xiao Yan explained smugly. "In a moment of desperation, I used a technique I created myself. I named it Whirlwind Force!"

"Wasn't it all thanks to Brother Yuhao's Qi Control Art?"

Xiao Yi Xian looked at Xiao Yan with disdain.

Huo Yuhao praised them. "Qi Control Art is only a foundation. The techniques derived from it still depend on your own ingenuity. Whether it's Xiao Yan's Whirlwind Force or Xiao Yi Xian using the air to control silver needles, both are very good ideas."

"Tch! Flattering me won't erase the sin of charging in by yourself!"

"Hehe!" Huo Yuhao narrowed his eyes and smiled. "But Little Yan, it's about time you improved your Dou Qi cultivation. You nearly failed to defeat a Black Grade low-level opponent with a Black Grade high-level Dou Technique. You're just a mere one-star Dou Zhe."

"Huo Yuhao, just you wait. I'll surpass you soon enough."

Staring at Huo Yuhao's irritating expression, Xiao Yan spoke indignantly.

"Master, do you have any way to help me raise my Dou Qi quickly?"

Yao Chen was lying on a bluestone, savoring the memory of dinner. Hearing this, he floated up and teased, "I do, but Little Yan, are you sure you want to use it?"

"Of course. I'll show Huo Yuhao that the young must not be looked down upon!"

"What's gotten into him?"

Xiao Yi Xian looked at Xiao Yan, who seemed as if he had been injected with chicken blood, completely baffled.

"That's his catchphrase. Ignore him. He's about to have bad luck."

Huo Yuhao looked at Xiao Yi Xian and explained the effects of the "Bloodburn" Yao Chen had prepared for them. He then asked whether she needed help finding poisons for her cultivation.

"No need! Consuming poison to improve Dou Qi is only one method. The Calamity Poison Body can cultivate normally too."

Listening to the strange cries coming from Xiao Yan's direction, Huo Yuhao said with satisfaction, "Then cultivate on your own. If you need anything, remember to tell me."

"What about you, Brother Yuhao?"

"I'm going to study the weapons seized from the Wolf Head Mercenary Group."

The next day.

After breakfast, they continued toward the cave dwelling. At Yao Chen's request, Huo Yuhao no longer activated Spirit Probe. They encountered quite a few magical beast attacks along the way, though most were first-tier magical beasts and were handled by Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian. Near noon, the three arrived safely at their destination.

"This is the cave dwelling I discovered before." Xiao Yi Xian pointed at the strange tree below the cliff.

Xiao Yan observed it carefully for a while before noticing the cave hidden completely behind the strange tree.

"You managed to spot that? That's... impressive!"

After marveling at it, Xiao Yan estimated the distance from the top of the cliff to the cave entrance. He took out a bundle of rope from his Storage Ring and said, "I'll go down first. Yuhao, you cover the rear?"

Huo Yuhao did not reply. His gaze traced several marks along the cliff wall.

"There's a magical beast. I'll go down first."

Without taking the rope Xiao Yan offered, Huo Yuhao drew a short blade. It was a first-grade spirit weapon he had forged during the past two months. Holding the blade horizontally, Huo Yuhao leaped down. His toes tapped lightly against the cliff face, slightly slowing his descent. When he was halfway down, he swung the blade into the rock wall and pinned himself there.

Sensing the disturbance outside, a Rock Serpent flew out of its nest. Upon seeing Huo Yuhao, it dove toward him.

Seeing this, Huo Yuhao drew a refined steel longsword as well, an ordinary weapon seized from the Wolf Head Mercenary Group. He infused it with Dou Qi, aimed at the Rock Serpent's eye, and hurled it with all his strength. At the same time, a rock and a medicine bottle were thrown down from the cliff top. The three attacks struck the Rock Serpent's head almost simultaneously.

It did not even let out a cry of pain before its body lost control and fell into the valley.

After sweeping the area with his spiritual power and confirming there was no second magical beast nearby, Huo Yuhao called for Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian to come down. He then pulled out the short blade, pushed off with his toes, and landed at the cave entrance.

Soon, Xiao Yi Xian and Xiao Yan also used the rope to reach the entrance. Looking at the pitch-black cave, Huo Yuhao took out a... flashlight from his Storage Ring!

"What is that?"

Seeing such a small stick, something she had never seen before, illuminate the cave, Xiao Yi Xian was extremely surprised.

"Haha, never seen one before, have you? It's a flashlight, made specifically to light up places as dark as this."

"You made it?"

"No, Yuhao made it..." Seeing Xiao Yi Xian's expression asking what he was so proud of, Xiao Yan hurriedly added, "But it was my idea. Yuhao only made it. Without me, he couldn't have made it either."

"Enough chatting. Let's go in." Huo Yuhao interrupted them and walked into the cave. "Xiao Yan, you still take the rear."

More than ten minutes later, they reached the entrance of the cave dwelling. Looking at the tightly shut doors, Xiao Yi Xian said, "Last time, I was stopped by this stone door, so I studied some Mechanism Arts during this period..."

"The mechanism is here." Huo Yuhao crouched down, touched a protrusion beneath the stone door, and pressed it firmly.

"Eh? It might not need to be pressed..."

Creak! The stone door slowly opened.

Xiao Yi Xian stood there blankly with one hand extended.

"Don't worry. I used Spirit Probe to see how the mechanism worked."

"Yuhao, your Spirit Probe is really useful. Is this also a Dou Technique?"

"No. This should count as a Soul Skill." Yao Chen emerged and explained.

"A Soul Skill?" Three different voices rang out, each expressing confusion. Xiao Yi Xian and Xiao Yan naturally wondered what a "Soul Skill" was, while Huo Yuhao found it strange that Battle Qi Continent also had Soul Skills.

Yao Chen began explaining Soul Skills:

"Soul Skills are abilities performed through soul power. Ancient alchemists... Although Yuhao's isn't used for attacking, it still counts as a Soul Skill."

After hearing Yao Chen's explanation, Huo Yuhao sighed. The Soul Skills of this world were different from those on Douluo Continent. Then Huo Yuhao asked Yao Chen, "Teacher, do you have the kind of Soul Skill you mentioned?"

"I obtained some from the Pill Tower long ago." A nostalgic expression appeared on Yao Chen's face as he took out a scroll and handed it to Huo Yuhao.

"Master, let me have a look too!"

"You—" Yao Chen glanced at Xiao Yan, then took out two identical scrolls and tossed them to him and Xiao Yi Xian. "You can't cultivate them yet. Try practicing after you use the Spirit Condensation Formula to open your Spiritual Sea."

After finishing his explanation of Soul Skills, Yao Chen did not return to the ring. Instead, he entered the cave dwelling together with Huo Yuhao and the others.

The cave dwelling appeared somewhat spacious. Moonlight Stones used for illumination were embedded in the walls.

"That glowing stone—" The moment he entered, Huo Yuhao was drawn to the Moonlight Stones and moved closer to inspect them.

"That's a Moonlight Stone, not a material with spiritual nature," Yao Chen said.

"Let's take them with us when we leave. They might come in handy."

"To make your weapons glow at night?" Yao Chen joked.

Xiao Yan and Xiao Yi Xian had already passed the dried skeleton seated in the center of the cave dwelling, as well as the bluestone platform before the chair that held three stone boxes. They headed straight for the medicinal jars in the corner.

"Master, come quickly! There's Ice Spirit Flame Grass and Spirit-Concentrating Flowers here!" Ice Spirit Flame Grass was an ingredient needed to refine Blood Lotus Pills, while Spirit-Concentrating Flowers could be used to refine Spirit-Restoring Pills.

"Not bad luck!"

Xiao Yan had already begun digging up the herbs, while Xiao Yi Xian followed Huo Yuhao in examining the entire cave dwelling.

At first, it had seemed spacious only because there were so few things inside. Looking more closely now, the cave dwelling was actually rather small. Scattered across the floor were piles of gold coins and treasures. Xiao Yi Xian and Huo Yuhao stepped over the coins and approached the three stone boxes.

"They're locked, Brother Yuhao. Let's look for the key!"

"It's hanging on the skeleton."

"Uh..." Xiao Yi Xian was speechless and had just been about to say something when the skeleton sitting on the chair suddenly trembled. Everyone except Xiao Yan, who was gathering herbs, noticed the skeleton's movement. Perhaps someone's gaze had provoked it, because the skeleton suddenly sprang to its feet and charged at Xiao Yan.

"Ah! A ghost!" After warning Xiao Yan, Yao Chen hid behind him, exposing only his head as he cried out in terror.

"Tch, you're a ghost yourself, and you're afraid of a skeleton?" Xiao Yan complained as he swung the Profound Heavy Ruler and smashed it into the skeleton's head.

With a crack, the skeleton fell to the ground, its head flying toward Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao caught the skull and, without minding the dirt, examined it carefully.

It wasn't Necromancy. There was no soul fire, so how had it moved? Right, it seemed there had been bugs inside the skeleton just now?

Thinking of this, Huo Yuhao warned Xiao Yan, "Xiao Yan, it isn't finished yet. Burn it."

At those words, Xiao Yan summoned his Dou Qi flame and set the entire skeleton ablaze.

Within the flames, the headless skeleton twisted a few times before falling silent.

"It's a Living Corpse Gu. Yuhao, be careful. There are bugs inside the head you're holding too." Yao Chen explained as he waved a hand and extinguished Xiao Yan's flames.

After discovering the Demon Flame Fragment Map, Yao Chen briefly introduced the rankings of the Heavenly Flames to them. Afterwards, Huo Yuhao and the others opened the stone boxes and took out the scrolls.