Treasure in the Cave, Seven-Colored Poison Scripture

In the silent forest, the large group of mercenaries moved forward cautiously.

The Profound Heavy Ruler's immense weight and its strange ability to suppress Dou Qi caused Xiao Yan's feet to sink deeply into the soft earth with every step.

Little Fairy walked beside Xiao Yan, using a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

"Brother Xiao Yan, we're almost at our destination," she whispered into his ear.

Xiao Yan nodded, though his mind remained vigilant of their surroundings.

The Magic Beast Mountain Range was exceptionally dangerous. Though they were still only on its outskirts, they had already encountered five or six waves of magical beast attacks along the way.

Xiao Yan remained in the middle of the mercenary party, yet he still joined one battle and drove off a Snake-Tailed Leopard.

Of course, Xiao Yan had concealed his strength. If he had gone all out, how could that Snake-Tailed Leopard possibly have escaped?

Even so, Xiao Yan's strength had earned the recognition of many mercenaries.

"Everyone, we're getting close to the herb-gathering area. Let's make camp here and rest for the night. We'll continue tomorrow."

After traveling a little farther, Little Fairy's clear voice rang out.

The mercenaries immediately stopped. Some spread out to stand guard, some cleared away weeds and shrubs, and some set up tents, each performing their own task.

With a small medicine basket on her back and a little medicinal hoe in hand, Little Fairy entered the woods with Xiao Yan, picking the low-grade herbs they encountered along the way.

As the two ventured deeper into the dense forest, the light gradually dimmed. After walking a little farther, the view suddenly opened up, revealing the edge of a cliff.

"Brother Xiao Yan, the cave I found is below the cliff."

Standing at the cliff's edge and looking down, Little Fairy pointed in one direction and spoke softly.

It was halfway down the cliff. A horizontal tree trunk grew from the steep rock face, and behind the dense branches, a careful look would reveal a pitch-black cave entrance.

Xiao Yan nodded without drawing attention to it. Casually turning his head, he caught sight of shadows moving through the forest behind them.

With his soul perception, he had long discovered the Wolf Head Mercenary Group members following them.

However, Xiao Yan did not expose them.

Xiao Yan took out a bundle of thick rope from his Storage Ring, securely tied one end around a sturdy tree trunk, then walked to the cliff's edge and opened his arms.

"Little Fairy, come here."

Little Fairy's pretty face reddened slightly, but she obediently threw herself into Xiao Yan's embrace.

Xiao Yan wrapped an arm around the girl's slender waist, breathing in her delicate fragrance. With a tap of his toes against the cliff's edge, the two swung out into the air before rapidly dropping downward.

The sensation of sudden weightlessness made Little Fairy's face turn pale. Her hands tightly wrapped around Xiao Yan's neck, and her barely developed chest pressed against his broad chest, stirring his thoughts.

Xiao Yan took a deep breath and repeatedly kicked against the cliff face. The two traced an arc through the air and landed atop the tree trunk growing beside the cave entrance.

After patting Little Fairy's pert backside, her face flushed hotly. She released her arms, but her legs went weak, and she nearly fell off the cliff.

Xiao Yan hurriedly supported her and reminded her, "Be careful."

He then headed toward the cave entrance first. After clearing away the loose rocks and broken branches, he stepped inside.

Little Fairy looked back at the bottomless abyss behind her. A cold mountain wind swept past, making her delicate body tremble, and she hurried after him.

The passage was narrow, allowing only two or three people to pass through at once. It was dim inside, and the farther they went, the colder it became.

Suddenly, Xiao Yan, who was walking ahead, paused and stopped.

Just as he turned around, Little Fairy, following closely behind him, cried out and bumped into him.

Fearing that she would fall and hurt herself, Xiao Yan quickly reached out to catch her. Two soft mounds crashed into his sturdy arm.

Little Fairy's head also buried itself against Xiao Yan's shoulder and neck, her soft lips pressing against his neck.

"Be careful," Xiao Yan said with a frown, blaming her.

Little Fairy blushed as she pushed Xiao Yan away. "Who told you to stop so suddenly? And you're blaming me?"

"There's no path ahead," Xiao Yan said helplessly with a shrug.

Little Fairy adjusted her white dress and tucked several stray strands of hair behind her jade-like ear, then looked at the stone door before them.

"Step back. I'll smash it open."

"You only know how to use brute force. This clearly has an earth-element mechanism. Be more careful—it won't be difficult to open."

Little Fairy shot Xiao Yan a reproachful look as her slender palm slowly moved across the stone door.

"Found it!"

At the bottom of the stone door, Little Fairy placed her finger on a small protrusion. She gently pressed it, and the stone door began to tremble faintly before slowly rising.

As the stone door rose, it revealed a spacious stone chamber behind it.

Moonlight Stones used for illumination were embedded in the chamber walls, allowing its interior to be seen clearly.

The first thing they saw was a headless skeleton seated in a chair at the center of the room. It looked rather eerie and terrifying, frightening Little Fairy into moving closer to Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan's soul perception had already spread throughout the stone chamber, and he had found no danger.

He raised his foot and walked inside, with Little Fairy close behind.

"Medicinal herbs! So many high-grade medicinal herbs!"

Little Fairy suddenly exclaimed in delight. No longer afraid, she hurried toward the small flowerbed in the corner of the stone chamber.

For a doctor who had studied medicinal herbs since childhood, these herbs possessed an immense attraction.

Xiao Yan shook his head. His target was the three stone boxes before the skeleton. Those were the true purpose of this journey.

Before long, Xiao Yan found three black keys in the skeleton's right palm.

"There seems to be a fragmentary map here containing clues to the Pure Lotus Demon Flame."

Xiao Yan murmured softly.

"The Pure Lotus Demon Flame?"

Medicine Elder's startled voice rang out from within the Portable Space.

The Pure Lotus Demon Flame ranked third on the Heavenly Flame Ranking and possessed the ability to purify all things.

"Found it."

Xiao Yan attached his soul perception to the skeleton and quickly sensed something unusual within its right arm.

He lightly squeezed the skeleton's arm, and the withered limb immediately snapped apart, revealing a small scroll.

Xiao Yan took it out without looking at it and casually tossed it into the Portable Space.

Within the space, Medicine Elder caught the scroll and carefully opened it. In one corner of the scroll, he saw the image of a black lotus.

"This really is a map containing clues to finding the Pure Lotus Demon Flame, but it's only a fragment," Medicine Elder said in surprise. "So, can you really see the future?"

Xiao Yan neither confirmed nor denied it. Holding the black keys, he opened the three stone boxes one by one.

The first stone box contained the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture.

Xiao Yan quickly opened the book. Its first page contained an introduction to the Calamity Poison Body.

Little Fairy had learned that she possessed the Calamity Poison Body only after reading the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture. That was when she began consuming poison and awakened her constitution.

Xiao Yan wanted to engage in Dual Cultivation with Little Fairy, so naturally he could not allow her to awaken the Calamity Poison Body. Otherwise, even with the Vajra Saint Body, he would not be able to touch her.

He glanced at Little Fairy, who was still digging up herbs, and with a slight movement of his fingers, placed the Seven-Colored Poison Scripture into the Portable Space.

The second stone box contained a high-level Xuan-class flying Dou Technique—Wings of the Eagle.

The third stone box contained a high-level Xuan-class Dou Technique—Roar of the Mad Lion.

Afterward, Xiao Yan went to the corner of the stone chamber and stored all the gold coins piled on the ground in his Portable Space.

There were hundreds of thousands of gold coins, equivalent to the Xiao Household's profits for three or four years. There was no reason to leave them behind.

"Brother Xiao Yan, I've dug up all the herbs. Most of them are high-grade herbs—there are nearly a hundred plants in total."

At that moment, Little Fairy walked over with her medicine basket on her back and spoke excitedly.

"Someone's coming."

Xiao Yan suddenly spoke. He pulled Little Fairy behind him and looked toward the passage they had entered through.

It was also the stone chamber's only entrance and exit.

"Hehe, it seems the information I received was correct. Little Fairy, thank you for leading the way."

A voice familiar to Little Fairy came from the passage.