The Girl in the Cave
"Junior Sister Yiyi, let's keep splitting up. It'll be much more efficient."
"Mm."
Having just gone from a girl to a woman for the first time, Gu Yiyi wanted nothing more than to cling to him now, but thinking of the mission materials, she could only agree.
With a stream between them, Gu Yiyi searched the left bank while Qin Yi took the right. With the [Ultimate Detection Technique], he only had to close his eyes to quickly detect the locations of [Thousand-Li Grass].
Moreover, within a hundred-li radius, a single sweep of his senses put all the [Thousand-Li Grass] within his grasp.
Naturally, he would tell no one that he possessed the [Ultimate Detection Technique], not even Gu Yiyi.
Because if word of this ever leaked, given his current circumstances, the Famous Sword Sect might seize him and work him like livestock.
No matter which world he was in, he would never underestimate the baseness of human nature.
Thus, caution was essential.
After parting ways with Gu Yiyi, he found five stalks of [Thousand-Li Grass] within the time it took an incense stick to burn.
Yesterday, he had spent ages finding just one stalk. Now that he had the [Ultimate Detection Technique], he only had to follow his senses and pick them. It was practically like picking things up off the ground, so naturally, he was a hundred times faster.
Whenever he picked [Thousand-Li Grass], he did the same as before, leaving either a section of root or a small offshoot. He also covered it with thorny vines to keep others from finding it later.
By the time nearly an hour had passed, he had gathered eight stalks of [Thousand-Li Grass] and thirteen stalks of [Heavenly Maiden Bamboo].
Indeed, both banks of this stream held not only Thousand-Li Grass, but Heavenly Maiden Bamboo as well.
Qin Yi gathered all of it while he was at it.
Then he called out to Gu Yiyi. When they met up, Gu Yiyi had also gathered one stalk of [Thousand-Li Grass] and two stalks of Heavenly Maiden Bamboo.
When Qin Yi showed her his harvest, little stars sparkled in her eyes with surprise. "Wow, Qin Yi, where did you pick these? How did you get so many?"
They had only been apart for an hour, yet Qin Yi's harvest equaled several days' worth of anyone else's.
Qin Yi smiled. "Just good luck. I happened to spot this Thousand-Li Grass in a crack in a large boulder, so I picked it all. There also happened to be quite a bit of Heavenly Maiden Bamboo beside that rock, so I brought it all along for you."
"Wow, that means I've found all the materials I needed. This was so fast! Before this, even my fastest time took three days." Gu Yiyi was delighted.
Now that she had finished gathering her materials, all that remained was the [Fire Salamander Bone] Qin Yi was responsible for.
Gu Yiyi asked, "Then are we going to look for [Fire Salamander Bone] now?"
Fire Salamander Bone was the most difficult to obtain. First, they had to find a fierce Fire Salamander Beast, then kill it before they could extract its bones.
Because of the special nature of Fire Salamander Bone, Qin Yi only needed to gather three portions.
"I'll look for the Fire Salamander Bone myself. Junior Sister Yiyi, take these materials and head out first."
Qin Yi did not intend to bring her along.
With his cultivation realm and knowledge of the Nine Turns Mountain Range, nothing on the mountain could pose a problem for him now.
More importantly, last night he had accepted the mission to steal Xu Xinran away.
The [Hand of Animation] he had received in advance only had 64:51:23 remaining.
If he failed to win Xu Xinran over within that time limit, he would lose the [Hand of Animation].
Thus, if he wanted to win Xu Xinran over, he naturally had to seek her out alone. Bringing Gu Yiyi along now would clearly be inappropriate.
"Are you trying to send me away? But I know where there are Fire Salamander Beasts." Gu Yiyi felt a little wronged.
Qin Yi drew her into his arms, kissed her, and said gently, "I just don't want my beloved little junior sister getting hurt. Besides, carrying these materials makes it inconvenient for you to go deeper with me. And don't forget, I have Foundation Establishment Realm cultivation. Fierce as Fire Salamander Beasts are, they can't do anything to me. I'll go alone and be back in no time. If I brought you along, I really wouldn't be able to stop worrying."
Soothed by his honeyed words, Gu Yiyi felt sweetness fill her heart, and her face flushed faintly.
"Just be good and head out first. Wait for me outside the Nine Turns Mountain Range. If things go smoothly on my end, I should be out to meet you very soon."
Although Gu Yiyi very much wanted to go with him, after Qin Yi reassured her for a while, she was not an unreasonable woman.
Under the present circumstances, following him really would make her a burden to Qin Yi.
Thus, she nodded with a murmur of assent. "Then I'll head out first. You... be careful."
"Mm."
Qin Yi held her and kissed her thoroughly, almost making her knees go weak.
Then, after watching her leave, he began detecting Xu Xinran's location.
The [Ultimate Detection Technique] could detect not only materials and medicinal ingredients, but people and fierce beasts as well.
As long as he pictured the target in his mind, the detection results would soon appear in his head.
I'll find Junior Sister Xu first. The Fire Salamander Beasts can wait.
Qin Yi closed his eyes and pictured Junior Sister Xu Xinran's graceful, shapely figure. Soon, the Ultimate Detection Technique located her.
Qin Yi immediately followed that strong sensation toward her location.
Only upon arriving did he discover that it was a huge limestone cave.
The cave was pitch-black, and its rocky walls were covered in bats.
Judging by the fluctuations he sensed, Xu Xinran should already have descended deep into the cave.
The moment Qin Yi stepped into the cave entrance, countless bats swooped toward him.
The bats had sharp teeth and pointed snouts, seemingly possessed of a bloodthirsty instinct.
Qin Yi picked up a stick and unleashed the [Heavenly Secrets Sword Technique]. With a few effortless moves, he cut down every bat flying toward him.
There are so many bats here. Girls should naturally be afraid of them, shouldn't they? Was asking Junior Sister Xu, a girl all on her own, to come looking for materials in a place like this too much to ask of her?
Just as that thought crossed his mind, he suddenly heard a scream from inside the cave.
Qin Yi immediately picked up speed and charged into the cave.
After winding his way through seven or eight hundred meters of passages, he finally saw a girl surrounded by five enormous lizards in a dark space.
The lizards had crimson skin, rough hides, and thick flesh.
The girl held a sword, sending out Sword Qi that struck the lizards again and again, yet failed to kill them.
Instead, the lizards drew ever closer, their outstretched tongues almost licking her.
One of the lizards, with particularly sharp teeth and a pointed snout, suddenly thrust out its head and caught her skirt in its jaws. With a ripping sound, it exposed the entire length of one fair leg to the air.
After that lizard succeeded, another stretched its neck out from the side and caught her skirt in its jaws as well. Another ripping sound rang out, leaving both her long, fair legs exposed.
The girl screamed in fright, her expression helpless and utterly panicked.