Searching for Treasure!

In the inner region of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, four men moved silently through the forest.

They were extremely careful. Even when stepping on fallen leaves, they tried their best not to make a sound.

At times, the four of them even moved back and forth through the trees.

Their duties were clearly divided, with each person watching one direction.

The leader occasionally took out a map of the Magical Beast Mountain Range to confirm their location and direction of travel.

The bald middle-aged man at the rear looked at the scar-faced middle-aged man walking at the front with the map and spoke softly.

"Danilo, how much farther do we have to go?"

Danilo, who was walking at the very front, answered without turning his head.

"At our speed, as long as no magical beasts block our path, we should arrive in a few more hours."

"Miga, Chen Jian, and Johnson, stay alert. A Fourth-Order Magical Beast could appear here at any time."

"If we encounter a Fourth-Order Magical Beast, none of the four of us will survive."

The other three said nothing, merely nodding in silence.

Soon, the four arrived atop a mountain peak. Danilo stood at the summit and looked toward a valley not far below.

A faint look of excitement flashed across his scarred face.

"It's there. That's where I saw it before."

"Come on, let's hurry over!"

With that, Danilo took the lead and headed toward the valley.

Seeing this, Miga and the other two hurriedly followed.

Faint excitement and anticipation also appeared on their faces.

The four of them moved faster than before.

However, they were all veteran mercenaries.

Even after speeding up, they remained extremely cautious, constantly alert to the movements around them.

Just then, Chen Jian, who was walking at the rear, suddenly spotted what seemed to be a tiny black shadow in the sky.

Thinking it was a flying magical beast, he hurriedly warned the others.

"Watch the sky!"

Upon hearing this, Danilo and the other two did not hesitate. They immediately hid beneath the canopies of several large trees.

At the same time, they peered through the leaves at the sky.

Miga, who had the sharpest eyesight, watched the small black shadow for a while. His expression abruptly changed, and a trace of surprise flashed through his eyes.

"That looks like a person. Could it be a Dou King expert?"

The others showed curiosity at his words.

"I wonder which Dou King expert from the Jia Ma Empire came to the Magical Beast Mountain Range to hunt magical beasts."

"It would be nice if we could pick up some leftovers."

"Even the flesh and bones of a Fifth-Order Magical Beast are worth quite a lot, but a Dou King expert probably wouldn't care about them."

Seeing the greed on Chen Jian and Johnson's faces, Danilo hurriedly warned them.

"Our goal this time isn't to profit off a Dou King expert."

"If trying to pick up leftovers draws his attention, it'll only do more harm than good."

"A Fifth-Order Magical Beast without its magical core is worth far less than..."

Before Danilo could finish, Miga spoke anxiously.

"Wait!"

"The figure in the sky is descending!"

"He seems to be flying toward the valley!"

At those words, Danilo and the other three immediately changed expression.

Danilo observed the increasingly large black shadow and the direction it was flying.

It really was heading toward the valley.

"Come on, hurry over there!"

At this point, Danilo could no longer worry about concealing their movements to avoid alerting magical beasts.

A layer of green Battle Qi Armor appeared over his body, and he immediately sprinted toward the valley.

Battle Qi Armor also appeared over Miga and the other two, and they followed closely behind Danilo as they raced toward the valley.

A week had already passed since Xiao Yang broke through to the Nine-Star Dou Practitioner level.

After staying in the small valley with Little Fairy Doctor for two days, Xiao Yang bid her farewell and headed for the inner region of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, intending to inspect the location marked on the treasure map rewarded by the system.

He had also made plenty of preparations before coming.

Snow-Treading Without a Trace, Eight Extremes Collapse, and Violet Cloud Wings—the three Black Tier High-Grade Battle Techniques Xiao Yang possessed—had all been raised to perfect proficiency!

After flying for several days, Xiao Yang was now very close to the location of the treasure.

He checked the map and saw that the location it indicated was in the valley below.

Xiao Yang did not hesitate and flew straight down.

A small river ran through the valley.

The moment Xiao Yang landed, he began searching for where the treasure might be hidden.

According to the map, the treasure was inside a cave.

However, after looking around, Xiao Yang found no trace of a cave on either of the surrounding cliff faces.

He flew low above the river, continuously observing the cliff walls on both sides.

Just then, the soul power that had been spread throughout the surroundings suddenly sensed a hidden hole in the river!

The moment Xiao Yang sensed its existence, his eyes lit up.

Could this be the cave mentioned on the map?

Xiao Yang did not hesitate. He took a deep breath and entered the river.

The icy river water enveloped Xiao Yang, making him shiver instinctively.

He circulated battle qi throughout his body, and the cold sensation immediately vanished.

Most of the river was relatively shallow. Even at its deepest, it was only two or three meters deep.

The hidden hole Xiao Yang had detected was at the bottom of the river.

Because of its angle, it would be difficult to notice the hidden hole even when looking down from above.

The entire hole was less than a meter in diameter.

Xiao Yang did not hesitate and entered it directly.

Not long after Xiao Yang entered the hidden hole, four more figures appeared in the valley.

Xiao Yang swam along the hidden passage for some distance before suddenly discovering an underground space.

With a thought, he used battle qi to evaporate the water from his body. A flame appeared in his hand, illuminating the underground space.

There was an underground river here. This place should have been inside a mountain.

Xiao Yang looked around and immediately spotted an opening.

Without hesitation, he walked toward it.

When he reached the entrance, he could tell at a glance that the cave had been excavated by human hands.

After walking only a few meters forward, he saw an exceptionally smooth rock wall.

Xiao Yang did not hesitate and extended his soul power toward the rock wall.

Once his soul power entered the rock wall, it encountered some resistance.

However, Xiao Yang soon discovered that his soul power had penetrated through the rock wall!

The entire rock wall was roughly three meters thick, and there was a somewhat spacious area behind it!

Sure enough, this was the location indicated by the treasure map!

A faint look of excitement flashed through Xiao Yang's eyes.

He directed his soul power toward both sides, preparing to search for a mechanism.

He was certain that there had to be a mechanism here.

But just then, Xiao Yang suddenly heard movement coming from the underground river behind him.