Upon the steep cliff, two figures, under the faint moonlight, flickered in and out of sight. “Shall we begin?” Xiao Yan took a step forward, gazing at the pitch-black bottom of the mountain, and then turned to the little Healer Immortal, who was dressed in tight-fitting black clothes, and asked with a smile.
Nodding slightly, the Little Healer Immortal squatted down, picking up some dry wood from the ground. She deftly bundled it together to form two torches, sprinkled a bit of light yellow powder on them, and then took out a fire starter from her bosom, lighting them. “Take this,” she said, handing a torch to Xiao Yan, and then pulled out a long rope from her bosom, waving it at him. “You’re a man, surely you won’t let a weak woman like me take the lead, right?”
Holding the torch, Xiao Yan gave the rope a firm tug, testing it. After finding no problems, he glanced at the softly smiling Little Healer Immortal, shook his head gently, and said calmly, “Let’s go down together. I can’t trust my back to someone I’ve only just met.”
“You… aren’t you being too unmanly?” Faced with Xiao Yan’s doubts, the Little Healer Immortal felt a bit indignant. The mercenaries she usually saw were much more straightforward, and she rarely encountered anyone like Xiao Yan, who would be so cautious with a mere ordinary fighter like herself.
“I only have one life; I can’t afford to play games. To show off in front of a beauty and put myself in danger… hehe, I’ll pass,” Xiao Yan said, unperturbed, ignoring the Little Healer Immortal.
“You…!”
“Are we going down or not? If we delay any longer, it will be dawn,” Xiao Yan asked, smiling, turning his head.
“Fine!” Staring at Xiao Yan’s annoying smile, the Little Healer Immortal gritted her teeth and stomped her small foot in anger.
Xiao Yan smiled and tied the rope to a sturdy tree, giving it another tug. Then, he spread his arms open towards the Little Healer Immortal, “Come here.”
“I have my own rope! I don’t need your help!” Seeing Xiao Yan’s gesture, the Little Healer Immortal stepped back, her face flushed with shame and anger.
“Alright, you go by yourself. But I must warn you, there might be venomous snakes, scorpions, and rats in the night-time cliff…”
Xiao Yan shrugged, speaking nonchalantly.
“You… damn you, you won’t die a good death!” A black figure threw a bundle of rope at Xiao Yan, who caught it deftly.
“If you dare to mess around, I’ll poison you to death!” As the Little Healer Immortal finished her threat, a fragrant breeze blew past Xiao Yan, and a soft, fragrant body collided into his arms.
The soft, fragrant body colliding into his arms felt like it hit his heart, causing Xiao Yan’s heart to quiver. Taking a deep breath to suppress the rising flames of desire, Xiao Yan wrapped his arms around the slender waist that he once praised as exquisite.
Hugging the soft, slender waist tightly, Xiao Yan was momentarily lost in thought.
“Aren’t you going yet?” The Little Healer Immortal’s angry voice broke through his reverie.
“Sorry,” Xiao Yan laughed, though his words held no apology. Tightening his embrace around the beauty, he lightly tapped the cliff with his toes, and the two of them fell straight down into the darkness below.
The fierce wind howling in their ears made their clothes cling tightly to their skin. Xiao Yan held the Little Healer Immortal with his left hand, and with his right, he pulled the rope, causing their falling bodies to slowly hang in mid-air.
Taking a deep breath, Xiao Yan looked down at the Little Healer Immortal, who was now tightly hugging him, and couldn’t help but chuckle.
Scanning the dark surroundings, he whispered, “Can you tell where the cave is?”
Hearing Xiao Yan discuss the matter at hand, the Little Healer Immortal relaxed a bit from the tension of bungee jumping. She scanned the area, and after a moment, pointed to a dark spot, “It should be over there…”
Following the Little Healer Immortal’s finger, Xiao Yan nodded and reminded her, “Hold on tight.”
Hearing this, the Little Healer Immortal hesitated for a moment, but when Xiao Yan pushed off the cliff again, she quickly wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face in his chest, too scared to move.
Xiao Yan’s toes kept tapping the cliff, using the rope’s pull to gradually bring them closer to the cave.
“Throw the torch over there,” Xiao Yan instructed, pointing to a dark spot a short distance away, his voice low and steady.
“Oh,” she nodded, her face pale, and threw the torch toward the dark area with all her might.
The torch struck the cliff, sending sparks flying. With the faint light, Xiao Yan could make out the hidden cave not far away.
“Whew…” Seeing their destination was near, Xiao Yan was about to breathe a sigh of relief when his body suddenly tensed. A sense of alertness flashed through his mind, and he pushed off the cliff hard, his body springing upwards.
A faint whooshing sound echoed in the night air. With the remaining light, Xiao Yan finally saw the ambushing creature.
“Rock Snake,” Xiao Yan muttered, his face darkening. The Rock Snake, as the name suggested, was a snake-like magical beast that lived in the cliffs. It was around level one, and with its flat, wing-like body, it could glide like a hawk. Moreover, its stone-variant attribute made its body as hard as rock, impervious to ordinary swords and blades.
On a normal day, even if Xiao Yan faced this Rock Snake alone, he would have to struggle for a while before winning. But now, suspended in the air and holding the Little Healer Immortal, he had no chance of fighting on this terrain, which was why his face was so grim.
“Rock Snake? What do we do now?” Hearing Xiao Yan’s alarmed cry, the Little Healer Immortal’s body trembled, and she anxiously asked, having heard of this beast before.
Xiao Yan narrowed his eyes, watching the yellow Rock Snake, with its triangular, blood-red eyes, hovering in the air. After a moment, he asked, “Do you still have that knockout powder?”
The Little Healer Immortal’s black eyes rolled, and she nodded, pulling out a small packet of powder from her bosom. “This is the last bit. Use it sparingly…”
Taking the powder, Xiao Yan poured it all into his palm, gripping it tightly, and fixed his gaze on the Rock Snake preparing to attack.
With another hiss, the Rock Snake flapped its narrow wings, charging down at Xiao Yan with a fierce gleam in its eyes. Its sharp fangs glinted with a cold, ominous light.
Coldly watching the approaching Rock Snake, Xiao Yan’s grip tightened.
“Attack it, fool!” In his arms, the Little Healer Immortal urged him on, seeing that he wasn’t taking action.
Ignoring her, Xiao Yan remained silent, but his Dou Qi had already begun to flow through his meridians.
As the Rock Snake neared within ten meters, Xiao Yan finally moved. He thrust out his tightly clenched fist, and a fierce force, mixed with the white powder, shot out like an arrow, colliding with the Rock Snake.
The white powder exploded into a cloud, enveloping the Rock Snake.
“Thud!” The yellow shadow struggled in the white powder for a moment, then fell stiffly to the ground, crashing into the bottomless valley.
Seeing the Rock Snake disappear into the darkness, Xiao Yan breathed a sigh of relief. At this height, even with its rock-hard body, it should have turned into a bloody pulp, right?
Looking up at the floating white powder, Xiao Yan waved his hand, dispersing it with a powerful burst of force.
“Didn’t know you had some skills besides bullying women,” the Little Healer Immortal said, impressed by Xiao Yan’s calmness during the dangerous encounter, despite his trickery.
Smiling faintly, Xiao Yan, now out of danger, slowly descended to the cave entrance, carrying the Little Healer Immortal. Looking at the pile of rocks and strange trees blocking the entrance, he frowned and shook his head, knowing he would have to do some more manual labor.
Extending his hand, Xiao Yan took a deep breath and shouted, “Fire Palm!”
With a roar, a powerful gust of wind shot out from his palm, sweeping the pile of rocks and strange trees into the dark ravine.
Sweating slightly, Xiao Yan’s breathing was a bit labored. Under the weight of the black sword on his back, he could only use about sixty to seventy percent of his Dou Qi.
After regaining his composure, Xiao Yan turned his gaze to the now-cleared cave entrance.
Without the obstruction of trees and rocks, and under the faint moonlight, Xiao Yan and the Little Healer Immortal finally got a close look at the ancient cave left by the predecessors.
The cave entrance was narrow, barely wide enough for two or three people to pass through. Inside, it was pitch-black, but a faint glow could be seen, giving it a mysterious and ethereal aura.
Around the entrance, there were many knife-carved marks, but due to the passage of time, they had become very blurry. If it weren’t for Xiao Yan’s keen eyesight, he might not have noticed them at all.
“Finally here…” Excited, Xiao Yan carried the Little Healer Immortal, and with a final push off the cliff, their bodies landed steadily at the cave entrance.
After landing, the Little Healer Immortal quickly freed herself from Xiao Yan’s arms and looked at the cave entrance with delight.
“Let’s go. See what we can find. Hope it’s worth it,” Xiao Yan said, smiling at the Little Healer Immortal, and pulled out a fire striker, leading the way cautiously into the dark cave.
Looking at the pitch-black interior of the cave, the Little Healer Immortal hesitated for a moment, then, with a stomp of her foot, she followed, biting her silver teeth.
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