Treasures Within the Stone Chamber

"Only one vine?"

Xiao Yi Xian looked around but did not find any other vines Mu Chen had prepared.

"I'm telling you, if we don't go down soon, they'll probably find us.

And look at how delicate and weak you are. With me looking after you, going down together will definitely be safer.

Let's make this clear first—I'm doing this for your safety, not trying to take advantage of you." Mu Chen winked innocently at Xiao Yi Xian, a faintly wicked smile on his face.

Xiao Yi Xian froze for a moment, then stamped her foot angrily. How could that handsome face in front of her be so shameless?

Grinding her little pearly teeth, Xiao Yi Xian said indignantly, "Now I understand. You're not a good person either.

"I'm warning you, don't try anything, and don't entertain any evil thoughts. If you dare mess around, I'll poison you to death."

Mu Chen had already discovered the cave below, and judging by his expression, he was determined to go down. Xiao Yi Xian did not want all her careful planning to be snatched away by him.

After shooting Mu Chen a fierce glare, Xiao Yi Xian's pretty face flushed red like a ripe apple. Then, carrying a fragrant breeze with her, she threw herself into Mu Chen's arms and said bashfully and angrily, "Hurry up and go down already."

The soft beauty in his arms was boneless. Mu Chen took a deep breath and suppressed the restlessness in his heart, wrapping an arm around that slender waist praised by countless mercenaries.

It truly was so delicate it seemed impossible to grasp, utterly wonderful...

"Ah..." Mu Chen bared his teeth as pain shot through his arm. His hand around Xiao Yi Xian's slim waist tightened instinctively as he cried, "Damn, you bit me... You're so vicious."

"Bastard, if you don't go down now, I'll be even more vicious."

"Alright, then hold on tight. Here we go."

Mu Chen held Xiao Yi Xian with his left arm and gripped the vine with his right. After picking his spot, he swiftly leaped toward the cave.

A howling wind immediately filled his ears, forcing his eyes into a squint. As they neared the cave, Mu Chen yanked the vine, bringing their rapidly falling bodies to a halt. He braced his toes against the smooth rock wall and slowly slid toward the cave not far below.

At that moment, a weathered section of rock suddenly broke loose and fell into the abyss. Amid hissing sounds, a long, withered-yellow snake with a twisted body poked its triangular head out from where the rock had fallen. It carried a faint stench as its cold snake eyes fixed on Mu Chen and Xiao Yi Xian hanging from the cliff, its purple-black tongue flicking with hisses.

"It's a Rock Snake! Mu Chen, what do we do? We're hanging off a cliff!" Xiao Yi Xian cried out. Her blushing face instantly turned pale. Because she had spent years treating mercenaries, she had heard of the Rock Snake's fearsome reputation from their conversations.

The Rock Snake was a magical beast that lived on cliff walls. Though only a first-rank beast, it was extremely troublesome. Its body was impervious to ordinary blades, and it possessed a little-known venom. Anyone bitten would become petrified and unable to move, left completely at its mercy.

And now, suspended on the rock wall, they had scarcely anywhere to gain leverage. Fighting a Rock Snake in the environment it inhabited put them at an obvious disadvantage.

"Don't panic. Trust me." Mu Chen gently patted Xiao Yi Xian's fragrant shoulder, comforting her in his arms. He wrapped the vine around his shoulder with his right hand to secure himself. His freed hand curled slightly as his eyes locked onto the Rock Snake slithering toward them, Dou Qi surging rapidly through his body.

Xiao Yi Xian looked up at Mu Chen's grave expression and pressed her cherry lips together. Her arms around him tightened. Faced with a life-or-death crisis, she instead became calm.

"Perhaps this ending isn't so bad. At least I won't have to taste that pain again."

When she looked up again, a packet of medicinal powder had appeared in Xiao Yi Xian's flawless jade-like hand. But before she could throw it, Mu Chen flicked his finger. A blazing dark-yellow streak of fire shot out, accompanied by his cold shout.

"Die!"

The Xuan Huang Flame turned into a streak of fire and, with a sharp hiss, pierced through the Rock Snake that had come within ten meters of them.

A hole appeared in the Rock Snake's head, which was said to be impervious to blades. Then dark-yellow flames rose and engulfed its entire body, ultimately reducing it to fine ash that scattered into the abyss below.

Mu Chen's face turned slightly pale. With the strength of a six-star Dou Zhe, using Heavenly Flames for an attack outside his body was truly too taxing. That single strike had consumed nearly a third of his Dou Qi.

That was only possible because Mu Chen cultivated an Earth-tier Technique. Otherwise, there was no way a Dou Zhe's Dou Qi could have driven Heavenly Flames.

After letting out a long breath, Mu Chen finally noticed the beads of cold sweat on his forehead. Then he scolded Xiao Yi Xian irritably, "Silly girl, I told you to trust me. Throw away that thing in your hand. You're about to crush it. Don't end up poisoning yourself before you can hurt an enemy."

Xiao Yi Xian nodded blankly and softly murmured, "Mm."

Tap...

When his feet touched solid ground, Mu Chen finally relaxed. His tightly wound heart settled at last. Hanging from a cliff wall in the wind was not a pleasant experience.

Eliminating the Rock Snake had seemed easy, but it had still been a risk. Releasing Dou Qi outside one's body was a skill only a Da Dou Shi could master. If he had not possessed the Xuan Huang Flame, and if his technique's special nature had not allowed him to wield it away from his body, he would have had to fight that Rock Snake at close range.

After sweeping the rubble and fallen branches piled at the entrance into the abyss, the dark passage within the cave appeared before Mu Chen and Xiao Yi Xian.

"You... still aren't letting go of me."

Xiao Yi Xian blushed as she tapped Mu Chen's arm. They had already reached the cave, yet the hand around her waist still showed no intention of withdrawing.

"Uh, I was afraid you hadn't recovered yet."

Mu Chen released her, his face full of lingering enjoyment. That punchable expression made Xiao Yi Xian sneer before she viciously stomped on his foot.

Seeing Mu Chen's face twitch slightly, Xiao Yi Xian snorted smugly. "Serves you right for taking advantage of me." Then she took out a firestarter and entered the cave first, leaving Mu Chen to follow gloomily behind her, secretly swearing that he would get even someday.

Inside the quiet, deep cave, a chilly aura surrounded them. Thin streams of water flowed from cracked gaps in the rocks and dripped through the dim passage. Other than that, only their footsteps echoed through the empty stillness.

After walking for roughly half a minute, a huge pale-yellow stone door came into view.

Some patterns were carved into the massive door. They looked like writing, yet also like drawings, but they had become so blurred that nothing could be made out.

Xiao Yi Xian furrowed her brows and said, "Behind this stone door should be the residence of the senior who built this cave. Since he built this place, this door definitely isn't a dead end.

"Judging by the yellow glow on the door, this should be an Earth Attribute mechanism. We only need to find the trigger to open it."

Hearing this, Mu Chen silently took two steps back, consciously making room for Xiao Yi Xian.

Not long after, Xiao Yi Xian said happily, "I found the mechanism."

Clack, clack, clack!

The stone door slowly rose. With it no longer blocking the way, the spacious interior of the cave came into their sight. Mu Chen praised, "Impressive."

Xiao Yi Xian proudly raised her jade-white chin and gave a dainty snort. "Good that you know. Let's hurry inside."

Beyond the stone door was a spacious stone chamber. Several Moonlight Stones were embedded in the surrounding walls, so the chamber was not particularly dark.

By the light, they could see a nearly rotten chair in the center of the chamber. A pale skeleton sat upon it, its skull having fallen onto its thighbone, adding a hint of eerie horror to the stone chamber.

Three ancient stone boxes sat neatly on the ground before the skeleton. Mu Chen knew these were the cave owner's treasures. The flying Dou Technique Purple Cloud Wings and the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture were among them.

Glittering gold coins had been casually piled in a corner. Judging by the amount, there were at least six or seven hundred thousand.

Mu Chen glanced at them before withdrawing his gaze, only to see Xiao Yi Xian staring wide-eyed at a corner filled with all kinds of exotic flowers and herbs emitting medicinal fragrances.

"Purple Blue Leaf, White Spirit Ginseng Fruit, Snow Lotus Seed..." Xiao Yi Xian named the medicinal ingredients as though reciting treasures from memory. Finally, her gaze settled on an unusual plant, and she cried out, "Ice Spirit Flame Grass."

Mu Chen also examined the Ice Spirit Flame Grass in surprise. He had heard of its fame before. It was an exceptionally rare medicinal ingredient, one of the main ingredients for refining the Blood Lotus Pill, and was incredibly precious.

"Ice Spirit Flame Grass," blue quality, worth 200 points.

Mu Chen raised his brows. Just this single herb was worth two hundred thousand gold coins—enough to exchange for a lower-grade Profound Tier Dou Technique.

Thinking of the points needed for the lottery, Mu Chen frowned slightly before saying to Xiao Yi Xian, "You seem to like these medicinal ingredients a lot. How about this? Other than this Ice Spirit Flame Grass, all the other herbs are yours."

Due to an innate reason, Xiao Yi Xian could not become an alchemist. But through perseverance and hard work, she had become a highly regarded pharmacist. Thus, these medicinal ingredients were precious treasures to her, far more enticing than gold coins.

Seeing that Mu Chen had not turned hostile and claimed everything for himself, Xiao Yi Xian quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Then she rolled her eyes at him. "You're really impressive. The first one you picked was the best and most valuable Ice Spirit Flame Grass."

"Didn't I learn that from you?" Mu Chen teased. He slowly walked over to the Ice Spirit Flame Grass, blocking Xiao Yi Xian's view, then stored the precious herb in his backpack.

He then swept up every last gold coin in the stone chamber, leaving nothing behind, drawing repeated looks of contempt from Xiao Yi Xian.

However, Xiao Yi Xian did not remain idle either. She harvested all the remaining precious medicinal herbs.

Mu Chen walked over to the three stone boxes and said with a light smile, "Finally, these three boxes."