BTTH : From Humble Beginnings to Dou Di

"Cliff Snake? What should we do?"

Hearing the name, Xiao Yixian trembled slightly, her voice filled with urgency.

She had heard of this Magic Beast before—ordinary high-rank Dou Zhe would struggle to kill it.

As the name suggested, the Cliff Snake was a snake-type Magic Beast that lived within rock walls, typically at the Rank One.

Thanks to its long, flat body, it could glide through the air like a hawk.

Moreover, due to its mutated stone attribute, its body was as hard as rock, making it nearly impervious to ordinary blades.

If Lin Feng had encountered a Cliff Snake under normal circumstances, he could have easily defeated it with his Low-Grade Black-Class Dou Technique.

But in this terrain, things were a little tricky. Fortunately, he had prepared in advance.

Seeing Xiao Yixian's pale, frightened face in his arms, Lin Feng shouted, "When I swing over, aim for the right moment and use your powder to knock it out!"

"Uh... okay!"

Xiao Yixian snapped out of her panic at Lin Feng's command, remembering that he had asked her to prepare poison powder before they came down.

Seeing her regain composure, Lin Feng kicked off the cliff once more.

His body swung forward rapidly, closing the distance toward the Cliff Snake.

When they were only a few meters away from it—

Xiao Yixian abruptly opened her palm, scattering the white powder in her grasp toward the Cliff Snake.

As the powder collided with the beast, it burst into a dense cloud, completely enveloping the creature.

"Thud!"

The yellow silhouette struggled in the mist for a moment before its body stiffened, and it plummeted into the bottomless valley below.

"I didn't expect you to be good for something other than bullying women."

Now that the danger had passed, Xiao Yixian let out a deep sigh of relief, looking at Lin Feng with newfound appreciation.

If he hadn't told her to prepare the powder in advance, who knew what might have happened?

"Heh, you'll come to know more of my talents soon enough."

Lin Feng chuckled as he controlled his descent, gliding toward the cave.

Before long, he made his final push off the rock wall, and the two of them arced through the air before landing steadily at the cave entrance.

As soon as they touched down, Xiao Yixian quickly stepped away from Lin Feng's embrace.

She then turned her bright, joyful gaze toward the entrance, which was partially obscured by debris.

After the two worked together to clear away the scattered wood and stones, the full view of the ancient cave was finally revealed.

The entrance was narrow, allowing passage for only two or three people at a time. The interior was pitch black.

However, a faint, ethereal glow emanated from within, giving the place an eerie, mysterious air.

Around the entrance, numerous blade-like marks covered the stone walls.

But due to the erosion of time, these carvings had become extremely faint.

"Let's go."

Smiling slightly at Xiao Yixian, Lin Feng took out a flint and lit a small fire before stepping into the darkness ahead.

Xiao Yixian hesitated as she looked into the pitch-black cave.

After a moment of hesitation, she stomped her foot, clenched her teeth, and followed him inside.

As they walked through the silent, dark cave, a faint chill curled around them.

In the quiet passage, only the faint sound of two sets of footsteps could be heard.

The surrounding darkness made Xiao Yixian instinctively cross her arms, hugging herself slightly.

She looked up at Lin Feng, who was walking ahead at a steady pace. After a brief hesitation, she quickly stepped forward and followed closely behind him.

In an environment like this, the only one who could give her a sense of security was the young man in front of her.

They walked in this eerie silence for more than ten minutes.

Just as Xiao Yixian was reaching her limit, feeling that the darkness and silence of the passage were enough to drive someone mad—

The young man in front of her suddenly stopped.

"Ah—"

Lin Feng's abrupt halt caught Xiao Yixian off guard, causing her to bump into his back. The rebound from the impact made her stumble backward a few steps.

She instinctively crossed her arms over her chest, covering the spot where they had just collided. Her delicate face flushed red as she stared at Lin Feng's back in embarrassment and frustration. "What are you doing?"

That brief moment of ambiguous contact also made Lin Feng take a deep breath.

He coughed awkwardly and pointed ahead at a stone door emitting a faint yellow glow. Waving his hand, he said, "There's no path forward."

Hearing this, Xiao Yixian frowned slightly, took a few steps forward, and studied the stone door. She mused, "Behind this door should be our destination. Since the person who created this cave went through all this trouble, I doubt they would leave us with a dead end."

Lin Feng naturally understood this as well and replied casually, "Then there must be some kind of mechanism nearby. Let's search for it."

"Alright, fine."

Xiao Yixian nodded with slight disappointment.

She had been hoping to show off her skill in mechanisms, but Lin Feng didn't even give her the chance.

Moments later, Lin Feng found a small protrusion on one side of the stone door. He called out to Xiao Yixian, who was bending over to search on the other side, "The mechanism is here."

Hearing this, Xiao Yixian quickly ran over and examined it. She smiled in delight. "This should be it! Hurry and open it!"

"Alright."

Lin Feng nodded and pressed down slightly with his fingers.

A series of creaking sounds echoed through the cave as the stone door slowly lifted.

As the door rose, a soft glow radiated from within, completely dispelling the surrounding darkness.

When the stone door fully opened, revealing the illuminated interior,

Xiao Yixian smiled slightly but took two steps back. She then lifted her delicate chin at Lin Feng and chuckled. "Go on, after you."

"No problem. The first one inside gets priority in choosing their rewards."

Lin Feng shrugged with a grin and walked in without hesitation.

"Aren't you afraid there might be traps?"

Seeing Lin Feng act so boldly in contrast to his earlier cautiousness, Xiao Yixian called out in alarm.

Lin Feng replied nonchalantly, "With the strength of the predecessor who left this place, if they had set up traps, no matter how cautious we are, it wouldn't make a difference."

"That makes sense."

Hearing this, Xiao Yixian quickly followed behind him.

Upon entering the stone chamber, their vision suddenly widened.

The room was massive yet simple and empty. The walls were embedded with moonlight stones, illuminating the space.

At the center of the chamber stood a stone chair. Seated upon it was a skeleton, its sunken skull having fallen onto its pale thigh bones.

In this silent atmosphere, the scene carried an eerie chill.

In front of the chair was a wide, long green stone table.

On the stone table, three locked stone boxes were neatly arranged.

Additionally, in three corners of the chamber, piles of gold coins were stacked, shimmering brightly. By a rough estimate, there were at least several hundred thousand coins.

Upon seeing the gold, Lin Feng's eyes lit up.

He was in dire need of gold coins.

Whether it was for purchasing medicinal ingredients, pill recipes, or even cultivation techniques and Dou Techniques, having enough gold was essential.

Shifting his gaze away from the glittering gold, he scanned the chamber.

Finally, his eyes landed on the last corner, and a faint smile appeared on his face.

In that corner, a small flowerbed had been built using soil.

Various types of flowers and herbs were growing inside, their rich fragrance filling the air.

Seeing these herbs, Lin Feng and Xiao Yixian instinctively quickened their pace.

Others might not recognize these plants, but the two of them were well aware of their significance.

These seemingly ordinary herbs, in terms of value, far exceeded the piles of gold coins in the room.