Chapter 300: Yin-seng and Yang-seng [1]

Yu Xuan and the group stepped into the cave.It was pitch-dark inside, but thanks to Number One’s concealment artifact, their presence vanished completely, like shadows swallowed by deeper shadows.

As they walked, Yu Xuan noticed something strange.

There were no beasts along the path.

Not a single one.

But deep within, deep in the hollowed heart of the cave.

He sensed an enormous presence.

"Boss... do you feel it too?" Number Two whispered, unusually serious.

Yu Xuan nodded.

They ventured deeper.

But the moment they stepped into the vast hollow chamber.

BOOM!!

A massive slab of rock crashed down behind them, sealing the entrance completely and shaking the entire cave.

Dust exploded into the air.

"Was that a trap?" Yu Xuan muttered as everyone tensed.

Ahead, illuminated faintly by itself, was a massive creature.

A lion-like beast with a scorpion’s tail, bat-like wings, and an aura of scorching heat.

Behind it sat a stone radiating intense Yang energy, spiraling upward like flames in invisible currents.

Number Four tightened his stance.

"Boss judging by its aura, that’s a mid Tier Four beast. And with that Yang treasure nourishing it, it’s definitely stronger than the average, it will be a difficult fight."

Yu Xuan blinked.

"What are you talking about? We’re not fighting that thing."

At that exact moment, the beast’s eyes snapped open.

It exhaled and twin streams of fire rolled from its nostrils.

Fwooooosh!

The temperature spiked violently.

Number One panicked.

"Boss!! What do we do?! If we fight this thing in a cramped cave we’re doomed!"

Yu Xuan waved his hand dismissively, as if the flaming monster behind him were a minor inconvenience.

"Relax, our goal is the treasure. The beast just happens to be near it, someone else will take care of it for us."

"But Boss, the beast’s body could sell for a fortune..." Number Three whispered hopefully.

"Shut Up!"

Yu Xuan cut him off instantly.

His brief experience with the Immortal Chef was till not pleasant to him.

The beast would fetch a lot but he had priorities.

Also, keeping Number Three away from corpses was starting to feel necessary.

Yu Xuan continued calmly, "Besides, someone has been following us the whole time. If we stay here too long, they’ll steal treasures from the other areas."

The effect was instantaneous.

Everyone’s faces hardened.

"Boss, let’s move fast," Number Four said.

"Time is the essence."

Meanwhile, the beast, already offended let out a low growl.

From its perspective.

One moment, it’s chilling or rather grilling peacefully.

The next, a squad of black-clad weirdos bursts into its home uninvited.

Clearly, these intruders needed to be roasted, eaten, but first needed a dangerous beating.

The temperature kept rising.

Yu Xuan sighed lightly then spread his spirit sense.

It swept through the entire cave system then beyond wrapping around the group that had been tailing them this whole time.

He smirked.

A mischievous smirk.

It was time for the stalkers to receive divine punishment.

***

After extending his spirit sense, Yu Xuan picked up a random stone using [Telekinesis] and flicked it lazily upward.

The stone arced gently through the air.

The beast reacted first.

ROOOAAAARRR!!!

Its furious bellow shook the cavern, but then its expression froze.

Because in the blink of an eye, the harmless rock in mid-air morphed into... its own Yang stone.

The treasure it had been guarding.

The treasure which raised its cultivation.

The treasure that should have been behind it.

Number Four’s jaw dropped.

"Short-distance spatial transposition boss actually swapped it..."

The beast whipped around.

Where its treasure had sat proudly a moment ago, lay an ordinary pebble.

A pebble.

The lion-scorpion beast’s pupils shrank.

Its breath hitched.

Then.

Its rage detonated.

Its body swelled, doubling in size as red lines of fury pulsed through its fur.

ROOAARRRRR!!!

It was no longer angry.

It was homicidal.

"Bye-bye, Beast," Yu Xuan said cheerfully.

He tossed the Yang stone upward once more then clapped his hands lightly.

CLAP.

Space warped.

In an instant, Yu Xuan, his group, and the Yang stone vanished.

And in their place six completely unsuspecting disciples materialized inside the cave.

"W–WHAT!?"

"TELEPORTATION?!"

"WHERE ARE WE—?!"

"WHY IS THERE A GIANT FIRE LION STARING AT US!?"

The green-haired senior sister froze mid-sentence, eyes going wide.

A moment ago, she’d been outside planning how to ambush the "demon."

But now.

No entrance.

No exit.

Just her group and a Tier Four fire beast losing its mind.

"WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE A FIRE BEAST?! I’M A WOOD-TYPE CULTIVATOR!!" she cried.

The lion roared again, blasting a wave of heat at them.

"ATTACK!!!"

The frantic disciples unleashed everything they had, their spells and weapons exploding across the cavern in disorganized panic.

Meanwhile, outside.

Yu Xuan and his group appeared quietly at the exact spot where the stalkers had been earlier.

Yu Xuan dusted off his hands.

"Alright. That solves the beast problem."

Number One wiped cold sweat from his forehead.

"Boss remind me never to follow you secretly."

Yu Xuan pretended not to hear him.

"Anyway, what’s our next destination?" he asked, completely ignoring the violent shaking and screams echoing from the cave beside them.

Number One sighed.

They had at least secured the Yang Stone.

It wasn’t ideal, but better than leaving empty-handed.

"Just a minute, Boss."

He and Number Two crouched down and unfurled the map again, their expressions serious.

Meanwhile.

Yu Xuan, Number Three, and Number Four were playing catch-catch with the Yang Stone.

Number Three tossed it lightly.

Number Four caught it with a controlled thread of Qi maintaining the Yang energy inside the stone.

Yu Xuan lobbed it back, guiding it so the Yang stone hovered exactly one centimeter above the ground.

Without burning a single blade of grass beneath it.

Despite looking like a playful pastime, the exercise demanded extreme Qi precision.

One slip, and everything would ignite.

Number Three was sweating from focus.

Number Four was trembling slightly.

Yu Xuan looked interested in this new game, he named it Qi Gym.

After a heated discussion, Number One and Number Two finally straightened up.

"We’ve decided, Boss."

They pointed at the map.

"Our next destination is the most important place in the inner region."

Yu Xuan stopped mid-throw, catching the Yang Stone with a flick of his fingers.

"Oh?"

His eyes shined with interest.

Number One inhaled dramatically.

"We’re heading toward," He paused for effect.

"The Central Vein of Heaven and Earth."

Others paused and looked at Number One.

It was, after all... the rumored heart of the hidden realm.

And possibly the greatest treasure within it.

[A/N: Three Hundred Chapters, new Milestone!!!]