Ice Spirit Flame Grass!

Xiao Yuan spread his arms slightly and curled both hands around empty air!

Crackle! Crackle!

Violent thunderclaps erupted from both palms as two dazzling streaks of purple lightning rapidly gathered and compressed.

In the blink of an eye, two fist-sized lightning spheres, coursing with savage electricity, hovered steadily above his palms.

Electricity churned restlessly inside the spheres, brimming with terrifying energy capable of shattering the rock walls, their devastating power held in check.

"Hiding instead of coming out?"

Xiao Yuan's gaze turned cold and stern as he barked out a single word:

"Thunderstorm!"

He knew that magical beasts guarding cave entrances were extremely patient, but fiercely territorial. They would never let an intruder linger at the entrance indefinitely.

He only needed to wait a moment, and it would launch another sneak attack.

Sure enough!

Less than two seconds later!

A sudden gust burst from a pitch-black crack in the rock to his left!

Hiss—!

The chilling hiss rang out again. Its patience exhausted, the Rock Snake used his blind spot as cover and abruptly sprang out, opening its hideous, venom-smeared maw to sink its fangs viciously into the side of Xiao Yuan's face!

Now!

The instant the Rock Snake briefly left the rock wall and exposed its entire body, its weakness lay completely bare!

Xiao Yuan's eyes sharpened. Both hands thrust forward at once, launching the two tightly compressed lightning spheres straight into the middle of the Rock Snake's thick body!

Bang! Bang!

Two muffled explosions rang out simultaneously!

The savage power of lightning detonated in an instant!

Dazzling purple electricity swallowed the Rock Snake's entire body, and raging lightning flooded crazily through the gaps between its scales!

"Hiss—!!!"

The Rock Snake let out an agonized shriek, its enormous body twisting and convulsing violently beneath the Thunderstorm's bombardment.

Its hard, rocky scales shattered layer by layer and flew apart, leaving its body a mangled mass of torn flesh and blood.

Overwhelming lightning Dou Qi crushed through it, utterly destroying its organs and meridians.

In one brief instant.

The piercing hiss cut off abruptly.

The massive snake went limp and crashed heavily onto the stone ledge. Residual electricity still crackled across its body, but every trace of life was gone.

One Thunderstorm, and the killing blow brought it all to an end.

Silence instantly returned to the cliffside ledge, leaving only a faint burnt smell and the scent of smoke drifting through the cold air.

Xiao Yuan raised his hand and dispersed the remaining electricity in his palms. His silver robe remained neat and spotless.

He cast a casual glance at the Rock Snake's corpse, his expression utterly unruffled.

A mere first-rank magical beast, clinging to life by exploiting the terrain.

Beside him, Xiao Yi Xian had already fallen into a stunned daze, her clear, almond-shaped eyes filled with shock.

He had dealt with a top-tier first-rank magical beast so effortlessly.

His strength had to be at least that of a high-star Dou Zhe.

Then she thought of the boy's youthful face and his clear voice, still touched with childishness...

A Dou Zhe this young!!

At that thought, her awe of Xiao Yuan deepened further.

With the final obstacle removed, Xiao Yuan stepped forward and turned his attention back to the cave entrance covered in old vines.

"The nuisance blocking our way is gone."

He swept his hand casually, sending Dou Qi howling outward to rip apart and shake loose all the damaged old vines.

The vines concealing the entrance peeled away layer by layer, fully revealing the dark, deep mouth of the ancient cave before them.

"Let's go. We'll take a look inside."

Xiao Yuan entered first, spreading his soul power outward like a tide to probe every corner of the cave, guarding against hidden mechanisms and poison formations.

The cave was dim, with only a sliver of moonlight entering through its mouth to barely illuminate the path ahead. Dark green moss covered the damp stone walls.

A smell of decay mingled with a faint medicinal fragrance washed over them. The ground was uneven and scattered with weathered fragments of rock; one careless step could easily send them slipping.

Xiao Yi Xian followed closely, staying right behind Xiao Yuan and not daring to stray too far.

One hand gripped the Purple Glow Grass against her chest, while the other still instinctively guarded her cuff. Though she no longer intended to ambush him, years of caution kept her on her guard.

"Watch your footing. This cave dwelling is ancient, and the rock walls are loose. There might be traps hidden here."

Xiao Yuan did not turn around. His voice echoed softly through the long, narrow passage.

Xiao Yi Xian murmured an acknowledgment, her gaze continually sweeping the ancient rock walls on either side.

Some indistinct carvings were faintly visible on the walls, resembling ancient runes, but the ravages of time had worn most of them beyond recognition.

The passage was not particularly long. After they walked several dozen zhang, the space before them suddenly opened up.

Beyond the passage, an enormous stone door emitting a dim yellow glow appeared before them.

"There's no way forward."

Xiao Yi Xian frowned slightly, stepped forward twice, and pressed her palm against the thick stone door as she mused aloud.

"This stone door is very thick. I'm afraid it would take at least a Dou Shi to force it open."

Xiao Yuan walked slowly up to the stone door, swept his gaze over the enormous blue-black slab, and shook his head.

"Blasting it with brute force isn't the best approach. Since someone left this cave dwelling behind, they wouldn't have simply sealed it shut. There must be a mechanism hidden in the door."

He raised his hand and set his fingertips against its surface. Weathered grooves covered the uneven stone door, and thick dust had accumulated in many places.

Xiao Yi Xian stood quietly beside him, inwardly curious as she waited.

Xiao Yuan traced his fingers downward along the door's seams and grooves, reaching its bottom near the ground.

His fingertips suddenly brushed a protrusion entirely different from the surrounding stone.

That small section of stone bulged slightly beneath a thick coating of dust. Without a careful search by touch, it would have been almost impossible to discover.

"Found it."

Xiao Yuan spoke softly, placed his fingertips on the protrusion, and applied a little pressure to push it inward.

Click!

A crisp mechanical sound came from inside the stone door.

Immediately afterward, the entire heavy door trembled slightly, and a muffled rumble slowly rose.

The enormous blue-black stone door slid gradually inward along the grooves on either side.

"Why do you seem so familiar with this mechanism? You opened it so easily."

Watching Xiao Yuan open the door with such clean efficiency, Xiao Yi Xian asked in puzzlement.

She had just seen his fingers move straight toward the bottom with barely any searching at all.

Then, with a click, the door before them had opened.

"Ahem, I just happened to have read some books about mechanisms like this."

Faced with Xiao Yi Xian's question, Xiao Yuan rubbed the back of his head and gave two light coughs, feigning embarrassment as he offered a random excuse to brush it aside.

He could hardly tell Xiao Yi Xian that he had read the original novel and therefore knew the door's mechanism was at the bottom.

As the door opened, stone chips pattered down and the gap gradually widened. A rich medicinal fragrance, mingled with an ancient air, drifted out from behind it.

Once the stone door stood fully open, the chamber beyond came into full view.

The chamber was not particularly spacious. A chair stood in its center, with a dried skeleton seated upon it. Three wooden boxes were neatly arranged on the stone platform in front.

Dense heaps of gold coins lay scattered across the floor. In one corner, stones enclosed a small flower bed planted with various spiritual flowers and herbs.

"Ice Spirit Flame Grass?!"