Walking through the serene and dark cave, a faint chill surrounded them. In the quiet passageway, only the subtle sound of their footsteps could be heard. The dim environment made Little Healer Immortal instinctively wrap her arms around herself. She looked up at Xiao Yan, who was walking slowly in front of her. After a moment’s hesitation, she quickened her pace to stay close behind him; in such an environment, only the young man in front of her gave her a sense of security.
After walking in this quiet atmosphere for more than ten minutes, just as Little Healer Immortal was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the silence that seemed to drive one mad, the young man in front suddenly stopped.
“Ah…” Unable to stop in time, she bumped into Xiao Yan’s back. Two soft and firm peaks, under the pressure, were compressed into two soft, small round balls on Xiao Yan’s back.
This intimate contact caused Little Healer Immortal’s face to turn red, and she took a step back, asking in embarrassment, “What are you doing?”
The earlier soft contact also made Xiao Yan take a deep breath. He coughed and pointed to a stone door emitting a faint yellow glow, saying helplessly, “There’s no way forward.”
Hearing this, Little Healer Immortal’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. She took two steps forward and, looking at the stone door, said, “Behind the stone door should be our destination. Since the predecessor created this cave, I don’t think they would have made it without a way in.”
Xiao Yan walked up, touched the stone door, and tested its thickness, shaking his head slowly. “The stone door is very thick. It might require at least a Dou Shi to break it open by force.”
“Just using brute force? Look at the yellow light on the stone door. Clearly, there’s a earth-based mechanism here. If we’re careful, it shouldn’t be difficult to open it,” she said, giving Xiao Yan a glance. Then, with her slender hand, she began to feel around the stone door.
“Do you know about mechanisms? I thought that was something earth or wood element practitioners were good at,” Xiao Yan asked curiously, noting her serious expression.
“I’ve just read some books on it. I’m not an expert, but it’s enough to figure out how to unlock it,” she replied casually, her movements remaining steady.
Xiao Yan nodded and didn’t disturb her further. He shifted his gaze from the stone door and, using the faint light, examined the surrounding stone walls.
On the stone walls, there were faint carvings. Although the carvings were now blurry, Xiao Yan could still make out some human figures. Presumably, these figures were left by the owner of the cave.
“Found it!” As Xiao Yan was examining the stone walls, Little Healer Immortal’s joyful exclamation made him quickly look over. Beside the stone door, she had squatted down, and with her slender hand, she was touching a small protrusion beneath the stone door. With a slight press, a creaking sound began to echo in the cave.
Watching the stone door slowly rise, Xiao Yan let out a sigh of relief and gave Little Healer Immortal a thumbs up.
As the stone door rose, a faint light emanated from within, driving away the darkness around it. Seeing the bright interior, Little Healer Immortal smiled and stepped back, tilting her chin at Xiao Yan. “Here, go in.”
Shrugging, Xiao Yan picked up a few stones and threw them inside the stone door. Seeing no reaction, he felt slightly relieved.
“You’re really overly cautious,” Little Healer Immortal shook her head in exasperation, watching Xiao Yan’s constant vigilance.
“Thank you for the compliment,” he replied with a smile and then cautiously stepped through the stone door.
Seeing Xiao Yan enter, Little Healer Immortal followed closely behind. As they stepped through the stone door, their vision suddenly widened.
Inside the stone door was a large, simply decorated and spacious stone chamber. The walls were embedded with moonstones for illumination. In the center of the chamber, there was a chair, on which sat a skeleton. The deep-set skull had fallen onto the pale thigh bones, making it look rather eerie in the quiet atmosphere.
In front of the chair was a long, wide bluestone platform. On the platform, three locked stone boxes were neatly arranged. In the three corners of the room, there were piles of gold coins and other precious items. The amount of gold coins must have been several hundred thousand.
Xiao Yan did not lack wealth, and the original owner of these treasures seemed to have placed them carelessly, indicating they did not value material possessions highly.
Turning his gaze from the gold, Xiao Yan’s eyes landed on the last corner, where a small flower bed made of soil was situated. Inside the flower bed, various herbs were planted, and a unique fragrance filled the air.
Seeing these herbs, both Xiao Yan and Little Healer Immortal hastened their steps. Though others might not recognize them, they knew these ordinary-looking plants were far more valuable than the piles of gold coins.
“Zilan leaves, White Spirit Ginseng, Snow Lotus seeds…” Staring at the small flower bed, Little Healer Immortal’s delicate voice whispered out the names of these rare and precious medicinal herbs.
“Ice Spirit Flame Grass!” As Xiao Yan’s gaze swept over the flower bed, his pupils contracted. He fixated on a plant in the center, which alternated between white and red. The white stems were covered with ice-like crystals, while the red crown resembled a burning flame. The two opposing colors and attributes were strangely growing on the same plant, a truly miraculous sight.
A faint mist surrounded the plant, giving it a dreamy appearance.
This strange herb was called Ice Spirit Flame Grass, extremely rare and one of the essential ingredients for Xiao Yan’s Blood Lotus Pill.
Staring at the herb with excitement, Xiao Yan’s face showed some agitation. After searching for half a year in Wu Tan City, he finally found it, filling him with joy.
“Do you know what this is?” Seeing Xiao Yan’s excited expression, Little Healer Immortal asked in surprise.
“Yes, I need this!” Xiao Yan nodded, turning to look at her.
“What a troublesome person, wanting the most precious thing first,” Little Healer Immortal pouted, a bit unwillingly.
Smiling awkwardly, Xiao Yan shrugged, “Sorry, I really need it. I’ve been searching for it for a long time.”
Seeing her still a bit sullen, Xiao Yan offered, “How about this? I’ll take the Ice Spirit Flame Grass, and you can take two-thirds of the rest of the herbs. I’ll only take one-third. How does that sound?”
Little Healer Immortal’s expression softened, and she nodded.
Relieved, Xiao Yan took out many exquisite jade bottles and a small jade shovel from his ring. Carefully, he dug up the Ice Spirit Flame Grass along with the soil and placed it gently in the jade bottle.
“Whew…” Quickly putting the jade bottle back into his ring, Xiao Yan handed the small shovel to Little Healer Immortal, signaling her to start digging up the other herbs.
As she began, Xiao Yan’s gaze swept over the stone chamber again, but this time, he found nothing new. He turned his attention to the three locked stone boxes on the bluestone table.
Walking to the table, he touched the metal lock, finding it slightly warm. This was not an ordinary metal, so using brute force to open it wouldn’t work.
“Where’s the key?” Muttering, his gaze fell on the skeleton behind the table. His eyes lit up when he saw three black keys hanging from the skeleton’s hand.
Rubbing his hands, Xiao Yan walked up, bowed respectfully to the skeleton, and carefully took the keys. With a slight tug, the arm of the skeleton snapped off.
Embarrassed, Xiao Yan bowed again and picked up the bone arm, trying to reattach it. As he held the bone, he noticed something was off with its weight.
Glancing at Little Healer Immortal, who was carefully transplanting the herbs, he secretly peeked at the bone arm. Through the broken part, he saw a small scroll hidden inside the bones.
Seeing the ancient scroll, Xiao Yan swallowed, his fingers reaching in and pulling it out, quickly stashing it in his ring.
Afterward, he dusted off the bone arm and returned it to the skeleton. With a grin, he twirled the black keys and approached the three stone boxes.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage