The duo entered the dark and empty cave; their footsteps echoed as they walked deep inside. The yellow torch faintly illuminated the walls and many blade marks were visible. From them, Xiao Ning inferred that the strength of the owner of these marks was not high. 

After silently walking for a few minutes, Xiao Ning noticed a rock door emitting a faint yellow light in front of him. 'The room should be behind this entrance,' he thought in his mind. 

"It's an earth element trap," suddenly Xiao Xi Yian, who stood quiet the whole time, spoke. She pointed her finger towards the yellow light on the door. 

Xiao Ning threw a surprised glance at her and again focused on the stone door and estimated that he could smash through it; yet, he did not. 

Who knew what trap he would trigger if he broke the stone door. Moreover, he wanted to keep his strength hidden. 

"Do you know how to crack this trap?" Xiao Ning asked plainly. 

She carefully glanced at the door and said, "I am no expert, but I can still try." 

Xiao Ning nodded and curiously looked at Xiao Xi Yian without disturbing her. Even for him, it was a new thing. People rarely used traps; instead, they preferred relying on their strength. 

Xiao Xi Yian ignored him; she placed her graceful hand on the rock and began to study the pattern. A ray of excitement appeared in her eyes as she felt close to breaking the trap.

"I got it," suddenly, she spoke excitedly. Xiao Xi Yian squatted down, and her slender hand pressed the protruding mark on the stone wall. 

"Thump!" With a creaking sound, the stone wall started rising. Xiao Ning on the side couldn't help but nod his head. 

After the stone wall disappeared, the faint light from the other side; illuminated the area in which they stood. 

Seeing the interior, Xiao Xi Yian stood up; she raised her head and looked towards Xiao Ning. Her look indicated that she completed her part, and now it is his turn. 

Xiao Ning's lips twitched; yet, he stopped his urge to smack her again; he took a deep breath and looked towards the interior. He glanced around, picked up a few stones, threw them into the cave, and waited to see the result. 

After noticing that nothing was out of the ordinary, his eyes flashed, and he barely controlled his excitement. 

Xiao Xi Yian curled her lips and mocked him, "I never thought you were this cautious." 

Xiao Ning smiled wickedly; he raised his right hand and smelled the lingering fragrance. 

After looking at his actions, Xiao Xi Yian's face turned red from shame and humiliation. She gritted her teeth and cursed him, "You bastard!" 

He did not bother to argue with her and passed through the entrance and entered the interior. She also hurriedly followed him. As they arrived inside, a simple room appeared in front of them. 

A few moonlight stones attached to the walls illuminated the room, and at the center, a skeleton sat on a stone chair. In front of the skeleton, there were three locked stone boxes placed on a rock table.

Xiao Ning glanced at the room as he looked for other traps and hidden dangers; finally, he looked at the skeleton and thought, 'He must be the owner of this cave.' 

Besides him, Xiao Xi Yian looked at the gold, other jewels scattered around but did not show any interest. 

Finally, both of them collectively glanced at the last corner of the room, and happiness flashed in their eyes. Rare flowers and plants grew in this hidden corner. 

It seems that the owner of the cave took extraordinary measures to ensure their growth. 

"Purple Blue Leaf, White Spirit Ginseng Fruit, Snow Lotus Seed…." Xiao Xi Yian subconsciously muttered the names of rare plants present. 

"Ice Spirit Blazing grass!" Xiao Ning intently stared at the red-blue plant growing in the middle. Even though he may only be a second-tier alchemist, he read the alchemy scroll from time to time and became knowledgeable about many rare plants. 

"I am taking the 'Ice Spirit Blazing Grass,'" Xiao Ning spoke domineeringly without giving her a chance to discuss. 

Xiao Xi Yian's face became ugly, and she unwillingly muttered, "I should have never approached you to cooperate." 

A wry smile appeared on Xiao Ning's face, and he said, "I won't let you suffer a loss. Leave me with one-third, and the rest of the plants are yours." 'Anyway, it would have taken me a lot of time to find this cave without her,' he thought in his mind. 

She nodded, and her expression improved. Without delaying any further, Xiao Ning stepped forward, dug away the entire plant, including the soil, and stored it in a jade bottle. 

Not to be outdone, Xiao Xi Yian also stepped forward and started picking the plants. Seeing this, Xiao Ning shook his head and headed towards the skeleton. 

A green-golden glow covered his hand as Xiao Ning grabbed the bunch of keys from the skeleton's hand. As a result, he pulled out the entire arm of the skeleton with the keys. 

He quickly separated the two and placed the latter's arm back on the stone chair. 

Xiao Ning glanced at Xiao Xi Yian and said, "Hurry up, I am going to open up the stone boxes." Xiao Xi Yian snorted; still, she walked over.

Before opening, Xiao Ning glanced at the jade bottles in her arms. She understood his look and threw him an angry glance. Yet, Xiao Xi Yian honestly placed a few bottles on the table and stored the rest around her waist. 

Xiao Ning smiled and nodded in satisfaction; he stored the bottles in his storage ring. He laughed after seeing her eager look and unhurriedly selected a key and inserted it into the lock. 

'Click!' As he rotated the key, the sound of metal unlocking sounded in the room. 

"It's unlocked!" Xiao Xi Yian muttered. 

Xiao Ning stepped forward; the color of his hands changed again, and he slowly lifted the lid of the stone box. 

Without waiting for him to react, she took out the scroll from the stone box, and a smile appeared on her face. 

Even though he knew the contents, Xiao Ning still asked, "What is this?"

It seems as if Xiao Xi Yian forgot about her previous grievance after obtaining the scroll. She happily explained, "It records the methods of making poison." 

After seeing the smile on his face, she became vigilant and said, "I am taking this." 

"Okay," Xiao Ning nodded and did not bother with the ownership of the scroll. 

A relief appeared in her eyes, and Xiao Xi Yian said, "you can keep the contents of the other two boxes." 

Note - I have been sick for the last few days, and it turned out to be COVID. Hence, the delay in chapters. I am better now, but the updates will be slow for the next few days until I recover completely.