"Senior, sorry to disturb you."
Xiao Feng clasped his hands together and bowed to the skeleton. He then took the three keys from it and, after a moment of fumbling with the arm bones, retrieved the incomplete map of the Purifying Lotus Demon Flame hidden within.
After safely storing the valuable map, Xiao Feng took the three keys and successively opened the three stone boxes on the bluestone platform.
Each stone box contained a scroll: the Seven-Colored Poison Sutra, the high-grade Black class flying Dou Technique "Purple Cloud Wings," and the high-grade Black class Dou Technique "Wild Lion's Roar."
The Seven-Colored Poison Sutra recorded a wealth of information about various poisons, along with numerous poison concoction recipes.
Among these, the most potent poisons could even kill a Dou King level expert.
In the original plot, Xiao Yan had no interest in the Seven-Colored Poison Sutra because he was an alchemist and didn't need to divert his focus to studying poisons.
But Xiao Feng was different. He didn't have the talent to become an alchemist, and with his immunity to all poisons, he was well-suited to also be a poison master.
Xiao Feng briefly skimmed through the Seven-Colored Poison Sutra before turning his attention to the Purple Cloud Wings scroll.
Compared to ordinary Dou Techniques, flying Dou Techniques are more like special tools.
Most flying Dou Techniques are made from the wings of flying magical beasts, so the stronger the beast's original strength, the faster the flying Dou Technique.
The Purple Cloud Wings in front of Xiao Feng were made from the wings of the fifth-grade flying magical beast, the "Black Flame Purple Cloud Eagle." Its full-speed flight far surpassed that of ordinary Dou King experts.
However, with Xiao Feng's current three-star Dou Practitioner cultivation, even if he refined the Purple Cloud Wings, he wouldn't be able to fully unleash their power. At most, he could only glide at low altitude for a short time.
Additionally, according to the original plot, the Purple Cloud Wings still contained a remnant soul of the Black Flame Purple Cloud Eagle. The user had to withstand the soul attack of this remnant soul during the refining process.
If one couldn't resist the attack of this remnant soul, they would be influenced by its violent consciousness, turning into a beast driven only by a desire to kill.
Xiao Feng was not an alchemist, so his soul strength was not as high as Xiao Yan's. Refining the Purple Cloud Wings now was too risky.
Therefore, Xiao Feng decided to wait until he broke through to Dou Master before attempting to refine the Purple Cloud Wings.
As for the third scroll, "Wild Lion's Roar," it was a high-grade Black class spear Dou Technique.
Although Xiao Feng wasn't very interested in spear techniques, he could take it back to enrich the foundation of the Xiao family.
After collecting all the treasures in the stone chamber, Xiao Feng took out a shovel from his storage ring, dug a large hole in the corner, and buried the skeleton.
"Senior, I don't know who you are, but since I've taken your legacy, I've benefited from your kindness. Thank you."
After speaking, Xiao Feng took out a jug of fine wine and poured it in front of the simple stone grave. He bowed deeply before leaving without looking back.
...
In the dense jungle, dozens of figures were quietly moving forward.
The fully armed mercenaries scanned the dark areas among the trees with vigilant eyes, tightly gripping their weapons, ready to handle any sudden situation.
Most of the mercenaries hired by Myriad Medicines Hall were seasoned veterans who had roamed the Magical Beast Mountain Range for years, so even a temporary team could maintain basic coordination.
At the center of the team were over a dozen herb gatherers carrying medicine baskets, the herb-gathering team of Myriad Medicines Hall.
Among these herb gatherers, the most eye-catching was a young girl in white.
The girl appeared to be about fifteen or sixteen years old. Though not exceptionally beautiful, she was quite a rare beauty.
She exuded a fresh and ethereal aura, and her smile had a healing quality to it.
Especially her slender waist, which caught the attention of many mercenaries.
This charming girl in white was the specially appointed physician of Myriad Medicines Hall, Little Medical Fairy!
A physician is barely considered a type of alchemist. However, compared to true alchemists, physicians are lower in status.
Physicians cannot refine real pills; they can only use ordinary flames to fuse medicinal ingredients into various powders and ointments to treat illnesses and injuries.
Thus, most physicians dream of becoming alchemists one day, and Little Medical Fairy was no exception.
Unfortunately, becoming an alchemist requires specific talents, not just effort.
Although Little Medical Fairy was not an alchemist, her medical skills were excellent, and her healing medicines were cheap and effective, making her very popular in Qingshan Town.
Moreover, she was kind-hearted and often treated patients who were short on money for free.
At least half of the mercenaries in Qingshan Town had benefited from her kindness, making her the dream girl for many.
After several hours of continuous trekking through the rugged paths of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, many mercenaries felt tired, let alone Little Medical Fairy, who wasn't even a Dou Practitioner.
She gently wiped the sweat from her forehead with a white handkerchief, her breathless state truly evoking pity.
If not for fear of causing public outrage, some mercenaries would have volunteered to carry her.
While the mercenaries secretly worried about her, a handsome young man suddenly emerged from the crowd and approached Little Medical Fairy, whispering something.
After a brief conversation, Little Medical Fairy smiled and shook her head, politely declining his offer to carry her and continued walking forward.
The young mercenary who had been rejected showed no anger but followed closely, acting as her personal bodyguard.
"Damn! What's so great about that guy? He just has a good father!"
"Little Medical Fairy isn't a shallow woman; she wouldn't go for a second-generation rich kid."
"Exactly..."
Seeing the young mercenary taking advantage of his status to stay close to Little Medical Fairy, many mercenaries couldn't help but sourly complain.
The young mercenary, who followed Little Medical Fairy like a shadow, was named Mu Li, the vice leader of the Wolf Head Mercenary Group, one of the three major mercenary groups in Qingshan Town.
This time, Myriad Medicines Hall hired over fifty mercenaries for the herb-gathering mission.
Among them, more than twenty were from the Wolf Head Mercenary Group, while the rest were freelance mercenaries temporarily recruited.