Chapter 382: Treasure Hunt

"You've done quite well." Xiao Yan and the others followed Xiao Yu as they walked deeper inside; the large courtyard bore a resemblance to the one in Wutan City.

Inside the courtyard were numerous refined rooms; not everyone from Xiao Hall could reside here at the headquarters—only core members were eligible.

For example, only Xiao Yu, Xiao Mei, Hu Jia, and Wu Hao had the privilege to live here; other Xiao Hall members continued to reside in the student dormitories as usual.

"This is your room," Xiao Yu said, pointing to the largest, most luxurious guest room at the very back of the courtyard. "The layout is the same as your room in Wutan City."

Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow and grinned mischievously. "How do you know how my room in Wutan City was arranged? Did you sneak in before?"

Hearing this, Xiao Yu's face flushed crimson. She gritted her teeth, bared a fierce expression, and swung her long leg to kick him.

But this time, Xiao Yan revealed a sly smile, dodged the kick, and seized her ankle. "You really haven't learned your lesson."

"Let go! You big pervert!" Xiao Yu hastily clutched her skirt and snapped angrily.

At that moment, Xiao Yixian noticed that the room next to Xiao Yan's was equally refined—and also locked, just like his, proving no one lived there. Yet it was clearly kept meticulously clean.

Moreover, the room was directly opposite Xiao Yan's, making it the closest possible—its owner was clearly no ordinary person.

The moment Xiao Yixian spoke, Xiao Yan's playful smile faded slowly. He shrugged and released her.

Xiao Yu glanced at Xiao Yan, then spoke with a faintly dimmed expression: "This room is reserved for Xun Er."

Xiao Yixian did not know Xun Er—she had never even heard the name before—but like Cai Lin, both sensed that Xiao Yan had long carried a shadowed figure in his heart.

"So her name is Xun Er," Xiao Yixian murmured silently.

Xiao Yan smiled and said, "Xiao Yixian, pick any room and settle in. We don't know when we'll enter the Library Pavilion—rest here for these few days."

Xiao Yixian nodded lightly. Just as Xiao Yan was about to enter his room to change clothes, he suddenly felt space twist violently. His eyes sharpened as he gazed toward the distance—then came two thunderous booms, accompanied by violent tremors.

"Xiao Yan! Come quick!!" Zi Yan's voice, rivaling an Ancient Dragon's roar, rang out from nearby.

Xiao Yan paused, sighed helplessly, and led Xiao Yixian and Xiao Yu toward an open area behind the courtyard. When they arrived, they froze—before them stood a massive iron vault and a cave, appearing out of nowhere.

Zi Yan had dug up the entire ground and brought it over!

"You could've just taken the stuff—why did you dig up the vault too?" Xiao Yan was speechless. You've uprooted the whole thing—leave them something!

"Hehehe, this way it's faster! Come on, come on, pick out the good stuff—I didn't even go inside myself. Isn't that considerate?" Zi Yan gave Xiao Yan a thumbs-up. Xiao Yan met her gaze with a grin, like two conspirators in league.

Well, Zi Yan had been corrupted by Xiao Yan.

Beside them, the Grand Elder sighed deeply, as if aged fifteen years. Zi Yan had reached Seven Rank! When she left, she was only at Fifth Rank Peak—how had she broken through so rapidly? It was devastating!

Zi Yan punched a massive hole straight through the Black Emperor Sect's iron vault. But the group felt a pang of regret—they were too late. Had they arrived just a week earlier, the vault would've held priceless auction items, such as the Heavenly Demon Phoenix Clan's mummy and Puti Huati Yan.

Now, aside from vast quantities of Gold Coins, there were only some Elixirs and Scrolls, with Medicinal Materials mostly at Six-Grade—after all, the Black Emperor Sect had a Seven Rank Low Grade Alchemist named Qi Shan.

But Qi Shan was now inside the Soul Command.

After glancing briefly, Xiao Yan lost interest. He planned to have Ya Fei send people in a few days to inventory everything and store it in Xiao City. He also intended to give part of the Elixirs and Scrolls to Jia Nan Academy, since he had borrowed their Library Pavilion.

Seeing Xiao Yan show no interest even in the few Seven Rank Low Grade Medicinal Materials, Su Qian's heart jolted—Xiao Yan's Pill Alchemy must be far beyond Seven Rank Low Grade!

"I hope the Black Flame Valley's vault won't disappoint us."

Boom—one punch from Zi Yan shattered the stone gate of the Black Flame Valley vault. Dust erupted, and a dark shadow lunged from the cloud—unfortunately, the Doubao Peak beast had barely touched Zi Yan before space power tore it into bloody pulp.

"You, a Doubao Peak beast, dare ambush me? Hmph." Zi Yan tossed her head up haughtily.

"Let's go—see what's inside." Xiao Yan waved his hand; Wind Fury Dragon Flame whipped up a vortex that swept away the dust, and he stepped inside first.

Xiao Yan naturally filtered out the low-grade items on the front shelves and walked straight to the back of the cavern.

But both Xiao Yan and Zi Yan were greatly disappointed—the Black Flame Valley, though long dominant in the Black Horn Region, possessed very few Medicinal Materials, and none exceeded Seven Rank. Not a single Eight Rank herb.

Even in the Black Horn Region, Eight Rank main herbs were exceedingly rare. Even Puti Huati Yan was only Seventh Rank Peak. Clearly, herbs of this caliber could only be found in Zhong Zhou.

"Earth-Class… sigh."

ε=(ο｀*))) sigh

Seeing that the items protected by the Earth Demon Old Ghost's energy barrier were merely Earth-Class Scrolls, Xiao Yan couldn't help but feel deeply let down. Of course, he knew finding a Heavenly Rank Scroll here was pure fantasy.

Whoosh—Xiao Yan swept his hand, and a swirl of Black Flame surged like a tiger descending the mountain, devouring the energy barrier in an instant.

From within, Xiao Yan retrieved a wooden box containing two Scrolls glowing with lightning.

"Thunder Rush Scroll, Earth-Class Mid-Level, Lightning Attribute Cultivation Method. Startle Thunder Technique, Earth-Class Mid-Level Dou Technique—a matching pair with 'Thunder Rush Scroll.'" Xiao Yan nodded. Such paired Cultivation Methods and Dou Techniques held considerable value, and Earth-Class Mid-Level—even if he didn't use them, his second brother Xiao Li might.

"True Flame Manipulation Scripture?" Only after reading did Xiao Yan realize this was the real Flame Manipulation Scripture—the true version. Compared to the fake Flame created by Fang Yan and the others, this one produced far stronger Hua Sheng Flame, but was far harder to cultivate.

Xiao Yan shrugged. He already had many True Flames—he had no interest in this fake one.

"Forget it. Give it to Master Yao. Even if it's fake, its power is real."

(End of Chapter)