Mu Chengfeng controlled his body, holding the shy Xiao Yixian in his arms, and carefully slid down the cliff face, stopping in front of a strangely steep mountainside.
On this oddly steep cliff face grew a peculiar tree jutting out from the rock. It served as a barely acceptable foothold.
Behind the strange tree was a tangled mass of dried vines and bushes. If one looked closely, they could faintly hear the sound of wind through the gaps in the shrubs.
"Danger!!" Xiao Yixian suddenly cried out in alarm.
As Mu Chengfeng reached out with one hand to part the vines, his pores suddenly tightened. A sense of danger exploded in his heart. He tapped his toe against the cliff face, yanked the vine in his hand, and swung a Dou Qi-infused fist fiercely toward the ambusher.
With a sharp whooshing sound, a snake-like creature with a color matching the cliff shot out of the cave. Fortunately, it failed to harm Mu Chengfeng. The impact of their clash only left his hand slightly sore.
"A Rock Scorpion, huh?"
The Rock Scorpion, as the name suggests, is a scorpion-shaped magical beast that lives in cliff faces. It's about first-rank in level. Due to its flat body and wings, it can glide through the air like a falcon.
Moreover, because it's a mutated stone-type beast, its body surface is as hard as rock. Ordinary blades are no match for it.
On a normal day, even if Mu Chengfeng encountered this beast alone, he would need to struggle for a while. Victory wasn't guaranteed, but escape would be doable.
But right now, hanging midair and holding Xiao Yixian, he had no chance to fight back.
"A Rock Scorpion? What should we do?" Xiao Yixian's delicate body trembled slightly as she asked hurriedly. She had heard of this beast's reputation.
Mu Chengfeng squinted his eyes, staring at the gray Rock Scorpion circling in the air with its blood-red glowing eyes. His heart stirred slightly.
He asked in a low voice, "Do you still have that powder you use to make perverts fall asleep?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yixian's dark eyes shifted. She then nodded and took out a packet of powder from her bosom. Handing it to Mu Chengfeng with slight reluctance, she said, "This is the last bit. Use it wisely…"
Taking the powder, Mu Chengfeng poured all of it into his hand and clenched it tightly. His gaze was cold as he stared at the Rock Scorpion, ready to strike at any moment.
"Hiss…"
The screech rang out again. The Rock Scorpion's narrow wings fluttered slightly as its gaze grew more ferocious. Then it dove straight at them, its huge mouth revealing sharp fangs that gleamed with a chilling light.
Mu Chengfeng coldly stared at the rapidly approaching beast. The Dou Qi surging through his clenched hand swelled wildly.
"Attack it already, you little rascal!" From his arms, seeing that Mu Chengfeng still hadn't counterattacked, Xiao Yixian urged anxiously.
Mu Chengfeng ignored her urging and remained silent. The Dou Qi in his body had already begun flowing steadily through his meridians.
Seeing the Rock Scorpion nearly within striking range, Xiao Yixian grew furious and clawed Mu Chengfeng's back. "Idiot, you're going to get us killed!"
Just as the Rock Scorpion was only a few meters away, Mu Chengfeng finally moved. His clenched hand suddenly opened. From his palm, fierce Dou Qi mixed with white powder burst forth like a white energy blast, slamming into the Rock Scorpion.
The white powder exploded into a cloud that instantly enveloped the creature.
Plop!
The Rock Scorpion struggled for a while inside the cloud, then went rigid as if paralyzed and fell straight into the bottomless ravine below.
Watching the gray scorpion vanish into the chasm, Mu Chengfeng finally let out a slow breath. From that height, it would definitely be smashed into pulp.
After escaping the crisis, Mu Chengfeng slowly descended with Xiao Yixian to the cave entrance. Looking at the rubble and twisted trees around the entrance, he felt a strange sense of familiarity.
The cave entrance wasn't wide, only enough for two or three people to pass. Inside, it was pitch black, so dark one couldn't see their fingers. However, a faint glow emanated from within, giving it a mysterious atmosphere.
The two of them used their fire starters to make a simple torch and began walking deeper into the cave.
In the depths of the cave, there were many blade-like markings on the surrounding walls. But due to their age, they had become extremely faint. If Mu Chengfeng hadn't looked closely, he might not have noticed them.
"Holy crap! We finally reached the end!"
The two of them laughed excitedly. Mu Chengfeng planted the torch into the nearby wall and scanned his surroundings. Before long, he found himself beside a yellowish stone door.
He crouched down, felt for a raised point, and gently pressed it. With a creaking sound, the stone door slowly rose.
"You actually know mechanism techniques? Isn't that usually something wood- or earth-type Dou Practitioners specialize in?" Xiao Yixian asked curiously.
Mu Chengfeng responded awkwardly, "I've just read a few books on the subject. Come on. Let's go see what's inside."
The stone room was simple and spacious. Moonlight stones embedded in the walls provided illumination. At the center of the room stood a chair.
On the chair sat a skeleton. Its white skull was no longer in place but had fallen onto its lap. The skeleton's limbs were splayed toward the entrance, creating a chilling and eerie sight.
Directly in front of the skeleton was a long greenstone table. On the table were three locked stone boxes, neatly arranged.
In three other corners of the stone room were piles of glittering gold coins and rare treasures.
The sheer number of gold coins was staggering. A rough estimate suggested there were no fewer than several hundred thousand. With the addition of other valuable items, the total worth easily exceeded a million.
In another corner was a small flowerbed built from precious medicinal mud. Inside it grew a wide variety of rare herbs.
A strange floral fragrance lingered in the air. The herbs here were all high-grade and extremely difficult to find in the market. In terms of value, these priceless herbs were the true treasure.
The rarest among them was a strange herb in the center of the bed, colored red and white. The white stalk was covered in crystal-like frost, while the fiery red crown resembled a burning flame.
Mu Chengfeng didn't let his gaze linger on the herbs or treasures. Though precious, they weren't what he needed most at the moment. But Xiao Yixian, on the other hand, was visibly excited, her eyes glued to the small flowerbed.
What Mu Chengfeng truly desired was… his gaze shifted to the three locked stone boxes atop the greenstone table.