A faint whooshing sound echoed in the night sky.
Using the dim firelight, both recognized the creature hurtling towards them.
"A Rock Serpent!"
Little Fairy Doctor's pretty face changed slightly, her expression immediately tense.
Although the Rock Serpent was only a first-tier magical beast, she didn't even possess any cultivation, and Xiao Lei was only a low-tier fighter. Moreover, they were suspended in mid-air; facing the Rock Serpent, they feared they had no chance of victory.
Of course, this was only Little Fairy Doctor's thought.
As for Xiao Lei, he didn't take the Rock Serpent seriously.
Xiao Lei temporarily stopped his forward charge, creating some distance between himself and the Rock Serpent, and said to Little Fairy Doctor, "Hold on tight, I need to free my hands to deal with that Rock Serpent."
"Can you handle it?" Little Fairy Doctor, no longer caring about being shy, tightly hugged Xiao Lei, asking with some worry.
"Don't worry, no problem," Xiao Lei replied with a smile, gripping the rope tightly with his right hand and releasing Little Fairy Doctor with his left.
The rock serpent's vertical pupils gleamed with ferocity as it stared at Xiao Lei and Little Fairy Doctor.
"Hiss..."
Suddenly, it hissed, its narrow wings flapping as it swooped down towards them!
Its gaping maw opened, its sharp fangs gleaming with a chilling light.
"Attack it, you idiot!" Little Fairy Doctor, seeing the rock serpent rapidly approaching and Xiao Lei seemingly inactive, urged him anxiously.
Xiao Lei ignored her. His internal fighting spirit flowed through his meridians, and soon purple fighting spirit condensed in his hands, arcs of lightning crackling in his palm!
"Damn it, what are you waiting for? If you wait any longer, we'll both die!"
Seeing the rock serpent already within ten meters, Little Fairy Doctor grabbed Xiao Lei's back in anger and panic.
"Don't move!" Xiao Lei hissed, still not attacking.
Only when the rock serpent was within three meters of them did his lightning-crackling left palm swiftly strike down!
"Thunder Palm!"
With a single strike, swift as thunder, a thunderous boom echoed.
A palm print, crackling with purple lightning, slammed into the rock serpent's triangular head in an instant!
"Bang!"
With a deafening explosion, the rock serpent's head was instantly shattered by the purple palm print, flesh and blood flying everywhere!
Immediately afterward, the rock serpent's headless corpse was charred by the purple lightning and crashed heavily into the bottomless valley.
"You killed the rock serpent with a single palm strike?" Little Fairy Doctor's eyes widened, her gaze towards Xiao Lei filled with shock.
Although the rock serpent was only a first-tier magical beast, its body was as hard as stone, impervious to swords and blades. Xiao Lei had shattered its head with a single palm strike—such strength was indeed formidable!
"Just killing a rock serpent, what's the big deal?"
Xiao Lei smiled faintly, his left arm once again encircling Little Fairy Doctor's slender waist, and slowly descended to the cave entrance.
Gazing at the messy rubble and strange wood at the cave entrance, Xiao Lei frowned slightly. He then opened his left hand again, his internal fighting spirit surging forth and gathering in his palm.
"Go!"
With a low shout, Xiao Lei thrust his palm forward, and instantly, a burst of violent fighting spirit erupted from his palm.
Like a whirlwind sweeping away fallen leaves, it sent all the messy rubble and strange wood flying into the mountain stream.
After clearing everything away, Xiao Lei led Little Fairy Doctor into the cave.
The cave entrance wasn't wide, only allowing two or three people to pass through. The cave was dark, yet faintly glowed, giving it a mysterious air.
Around the entrance, there were many blurry knife marks.
"Finally here..."
The feeling of solid ground made Little Fairy Doctor breathe a sigh of relief. She stepped out of Xiao Lei's embrace, her pretty face showing surprise as she looked around the cave.
"Let's go, let's see what good things we can find in this cave," Xiao Lei smiled at Little Fairy Doctor, then took out a tinderbox, lit it, and led the way into the dark cave.
Looking at the dark interior, Little Fairy Doctor hesitated slightly, then stamped her foot and gritted her teeth to follow.
Although she was a little nervous, she clearly couldn't give up now that she had come this far.
The dark and cold cave was eerily silent except for the faint sound of their footsteps.
The dim environment made Little Fairy Doctor instinctively hug her arms tightly and quicken her pace, closely following behind Xiao Lei.
In this environment, only the young man in front of her gave her a sense of security.
After walking for more than ten minutes in the dark cave, Xiao Lei, who was in front, suddenly stopped.
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"Ah..."
Little Fairy Doctor, unable to stop in time, bumped into Xiao Lei's back, her soft skin slightly deformed.
"What are you doing?"
Little Fairy Doctor blushed and took a step back, her face full of embarrassment and annoyance.
Xiao Lei shrugged, raised his chin slightly, and gestured to a stone door emitting a pale yellow light in front of him. "There's no way forward. I haven't even told you yet, and you've already hurt my back."
"You rascal," Little Fairy Doctor cursed, then frowned slightly, took two steps forward, looked at the stone door, and pondered,
"Behind this stone door should be our destination. This stone door should have a mechanism to open it."
"You know about mechanisms?" Xiao Lei raised an eyebrow, looking surprised. "In that case, the important task of opening this stone door is entrusted to you."
"I've only read some books on mechanisms. I wouldn't call myself an expert, but it's fine for probing."
Little Fairy Doctor replied casually, her slender hands slowly moving across the stone door.
"Found it!"
After a moment, Little Fairy Doctor exclaimed in surprise. At the same time, she squatted down, touched a small bump under the stone door, and pressed down hard.
"Creak!"
Instantly, a crisp sound echoed in the dark cave.
"Well done!"
Looking at the stone door gradually moving upward, Xiao Lei gave Little Fairy Doctor a thumbs up and praised her.
As the stone door moved upward, a faint light emanated from inside, brightening the surrounding area considerably.
Looking at the brightly lit interior of the stone door, Little Fairy Doctor smiled, took two steps back, raised her snow-white chin at Xiao Lei, and chuckled, "Here, go in."
Xiao Lei teased, "So kind of you, letting me go in first to choose the treasure?"
"You wish! I'm letting you go ahead and scout," Little Fairy Doctor rolled her eyes at Xiao Lei and said irritably, "I helped open the stone door, now it's your turn."
"Alright, I'll let you have your turn," Xiao Lei shrugged and stepped into the stone door.
Seeing Xiao Lei easily enter the stone gate, Little Fairy Doctor followed closely behind.
As they stepped through the gate, their view suddenly widened.
Inside was a vast stone chamber.
Moonstones for illumination were embedded in the walls of the empty chamber. In the center stood a chair.
A skeleton sat on it, its sunken skull resting on its pale thighbone.
This scene, in the dim cave, exuded a somewhat eerie atmosphere.
In front of the chair was a blue stone platform, upon which lay three locked stone boxes.
In three corners of the chamber were piles of gleaming gold coins and other valuables.
In the last corner, however, was a small flower bed made of earth, filled with various medicinal herbs.
"Purple-blue leaves, white spirit ginseng fruit, snow lotus seeds..."
When Xiao Lei discovered those herbs, Little Fairy Doctor noticed them as well, her pretty face immediately lighting up with surprise as she rattled off the names of the herbs as if they were precious treasures.
The most precious of them all was a fourth-grade spiritual herb, the Ice Spirit Flame Grass!
"I'll take this Ice Spirit Flame Grass," Xiao Lei said after a moment's thought.
Xiao Lei knew that Xiao Yan needed some aids to absorb the strange fire, and the Blood Lotus Pill was one of them.
Since he had encountered it, Xiao Lei planned to take it and give it to Xiao Yan later; it was just a small favor.
"Since you recognize this, you should know how precious it is. Asking for the most precious herb right away, don't you think that's going too far?"
Little Fairy Doctor frowned slightly, muttering somewhat reluctantly.
"I won't take advantage of you. Besides the Ice Spirit Flame Grass, you can take any of the other herbs you want. How about you share with me?"
Xiao Lei chuckled at Little Fairy Doctor's reluctant expression.
"You said it yourself," Little Fairy Doctor's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and she seemed to find Xiao Lei much more agreeable.
"Yes," Xiao Lei smiled, then said, "Let's see what good things are in those three boxes."
(End of Chapter)