Yun Che nodded, helped Shi Xiaomu sit on a stone stool nearby, then took a bottle of healing pills from his storage ring and handed it to him.
"Wait here. I'll take you out once I've collected the inheritance."
With that, he carried the sheathed Immortal-Splitting Saber toward the entrance behind the stone tablet. The little snow-white ball of fur hesitated, then actually bounded after him, its fluffy tail held high.
Yun Che smiled and did not drive it away. He pushed open the stone door blocking the cave entrance, and immortal qi even more powerful than on the first level rushed into his face. Heavy breathing could faintly be heard within. Something extraordinary really was hidden inside.
He took a deep breath, tightened his grip on the Immortal-Splitting Saber, and stepped inside. The little ball of fur ducked its head and darted in right behind him, leaving the stone door to close slowly behind them.
After just a few steps, the ground began to tremble. A deafening roar came from deep within the cave, shaking loose fragments of rock from the walls. Yun Che hurriedly braced himself against the rock wall beside him. Looking up, he saw a giant bear a full thirty feet tall emerge from the darkness. Its fur gleamed dark gold, its palm-sized claws were stained with blood that had already blackened, and its two protruding fangs were a full half-foot long.
The giant bear lowered its head to stare at Yun Che. Two streams of scorching white vapor shot from its nostrils, and low growls rumbled constantly in its throat as it readied itself to pounce.
"So it's the immortal beast guarding the cave. It certainly looks fierce."
Yun Che did not rush to attack. He could sense that the giant bear had fully developed