Chapter Thirty-Nine: Ice Spirit Flame Grass-Batalha Contra o Céu: Nove Infernos Ardentes(Com o travesseiro sobre os livros, permanecerei por muito tempo.)

Xiao Yan continued his search for clues to open the stone boxes within the chamber. His gaze drifted toward a corner, where he spotted an inconspicuous little flower bed.

The bed was small and circular, crudely fashioned from a collection of irregular stones of varying shapes and sizes. Despite its humble appearance, a closer look revealed a surprisingly diverse array of medicinal herbs.

The herbs within the bed were a riot of color—fiery reds, lush greens, gem-like blues, and sunset purples—all possessing wildly different forms. Some were as thin as needles, others as round as spheres, while some spread out like tiny umbrellas. A faint, unique fragrance wafted from them, permeating the entire stone chamber with a refreshing scent.

Xiao Yan’s heart skipped a beat. His intuition told him these herbs were extraordinary; they might be rare species he had been searching for in vain. He walked toward the flower bed, his steps measured and cautious.

Little Fairy Doctor, who had been busy gathering herbs elsewhere in the chamber, caught the scent with her keen nose. Following the fragrance, she too discovered the flower bed. Her eyes brightened, and she followed Xiao Yan closely, reaching the bed without hesitation. To her, a connoisseur with a deep passion for herbology, these plants were far more precious than the gold coins and vessels scattered about the room.

She knelt down and observed the herbs closely, murmuring in a tone filled with surprise and excitement, "Purple-Blue Leaf, White Spirit Ginseng Fruit, Snow Lotus Seed..."

Xiao Yan followed her gaze as she named them, scanning the patch until his eyes locked onto one specific plant: the Ice Spirit Flame Herb. It was a peculiar specimen, with leaves showing both white and red hues. Its white stem was coated in tiny, crystal-like frost that shimmered coldly under the light of the moonstones. The vibrant, fiery red center provided a striking contrast to the white frost, making the herb look uniquely precious.

Xiao Yan’s heart surged. This was one of the primary ingredients he needed to refine the Blood Lotus Pill. He had spent countless hours and immense effort searching in Wutan City to no avail. Finding it here, in this mysterious cavern, filled him with immense delight.

Noticing Xiao Yan’s expression, Little Fairy Doctor guessed the truth and asked, "You recognize this herb?"

Xiao Yan nodded. "Yes, I do. I am in need of this particular one."

Little Fairy Doctor looked at the Ice Spirit Flame Herb, then at the rest of the patch, a look of reluctance crossing her face. Seeing her hesitation, Xiao Yan quickly offered, "How about this: I will take only this herb, and you can have all the rest. What do you say?"

She glanced around at the remaining plants. Although the Ice Spirit Flame Herb was incredibly valuable, the others were also worth a fortune and were quite numerous. She nodded in agreement. "Very well."

She pulled out her harvesting tools and began carefully gathering the other herbs. Xiao Yan did not hesitate; he plucked the Ice Spirit Flame Herb and stored it away in his storage ring.

As she worked, Little Fairy Doctor muttered to herself, "If it weren't for you, all of these would probably be mine." She softly added, "Damn bastard."

Once the herb was secured, Xiao Yan continued to survey the room. He spotted three black keys hanging from the bones of the skeleton. The keys were ancient in design, engraved with mysterious patterns and emanating a faint black glow that hinted at their extraordinary origin. Delighted, Xiao Yan surmised these were the keys to the three stone boxes.

He approached the skeleton, pressed his palms together, and bowed before reaching for the keys. In his haste, he accidentally applied too much force, causing the skeleton's arm to snap off with a crisp sound.

Xiao Yan stared at the fallen arm in embarrassment. He quickly picked it up and managed to reattach it, whispering, "No offense intended, truly an accident." As he did so, he felt something was slightly off about the arm, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Just then, he noticed a scroll tucked between the bones. After verifying that the skeleton remained undisturbed, he acted with lightning speed, snatching the scroll and tossing it into his storage ring. He let out a long sigh of relief.

He turned his attention to the three stone boxes on the bluestone pedestal. Walking over, he reached out to touch the locks. He glanced at Little Fairy Doctor, who was still busy gathering herbs nearby, and called out, "Come over here, before I open these and you accuse me of trying to hoard everything."

Little Fairy Doctor stopped her work, brushed the dirt from her clothes, and walked over. "At least you have a conscience and know to wait for me."

Xiao Yan smiled. "Don't worry, I'm not that kind of person. Besides, we agreed to split everything, didn't we?" He held up the three keys, dangling them before her. "Look, I found the keys. These should open the boxes."

Little Fairy Doctor looked a bit reluctant, but she bit her lip and pulled a dozen small, exquisite bottles from her robe, handing them to him. "Here, these are for you."

Xiao Yan looked at the bottles, then at her, with genuine surprise. Seeing his expression, her face flushed slightly, and she snapped, "What are you looking at? Consider it payment for bringing me down here. Don't read too much into it; I just don't like owing favors."

Xiao Yan chuckled. "Then I won't be polite." With a wave of his hand, he stowed the bottles in his storage ring.

With the bottles collected, Xiao Yan turned back to the stone boxes. "I'm opening them now."

Little Fairy Doctor nodded, her eyes filled with anticipation, yet tinged with a hint of nervousness.