Chapter 81: Pride

Xiao Yan's body tensed as he slowly approached the side of the skeleton, his peripheral vision keeping track of every move it made.

Three steps...

Two steps...

Just as Xiao Yan was only one step away from crossing over the skeleton, the skeleton suddenly raised its arm bone, blocking his path!!!

Xiao Yan instantly focused his mind, raising his fist and staring fixedly at the skeleton's movement. 

His gaze kept shifting between the skeleton and Xiao Yixian behind it.

If the skeleton's target was only himself, then it would be fine. 

Xiao Yan was afraid that the skeleton would also perceive Xiao Yixian as a target.

In that case, to prevent Xiao Yixian from getting hurt, it would be difficult for Xiao Yan to ensure their safe departure without harming the skeleton.

Intruding into someone's tomb, seizing their inheritance, and potentially damaging their remains...

Xiao Yan couldn't accept doing any of this deep inside his heart.

But, in the end, the dead are still dead.

Xiao Yan's righteousness may seem rigid, but it wasn't so rigid that he would disregard the lives of the living just to uphold the dignity of the deceased!

Xiao Yan tightly clenched his fist, gradually gathering power for the Octadic Smash in his fist.

If it came to the point where there was no other choice, then he would have to smash the skeleton and apologize afterward!

Just as Xiao Yan was resolute in his decision, the skeleton in front of him made another move.

However, there were no signs of an attack. 

Instead, it reached into its tattered clothing and began to search. 

As Xiao Yan felt perplexed, the skeleton took out two items from its body.

A string of three connected keys and a scroll.

Seeing this, Xiao Yan was stunned.

These were... the keys to the three treasure chests in the secret chamber? And what about that scroll?

While Xiao Yan's mind was in a daze, the skeleton handed these two items to him. 

Xiao Yan came to his senses belatedly, his finger pointing at himself in a somewhat bewildered manner, questioning the skeleton.

"Are these... for me?"

After Xiao Yan spoke, the skeleton nodded slightly. 

Xiao Yan remained dumbfounded for a while, then slowly reached out his hand, hesitantly reaching for the string of keys and the scroll on the skeleton's hand bone.

Throughout the process, Xiao Yan was still concerned that the skeleton might suddenly attack him. 

However, the reality proved that he was overthinking it.

Until Xiao Yan had the two items in his hand, the skeleton remained motionless, leaving Xiao Yan with a head full of question marks.

What exactly is this...

(Xiao Yan, could it be that the skeleton... intends to give everything to you?)

Yao Chen's voice resounded in Xiao Yan's mind, further confusing him.

(Why?)

(…)

Even Yao Chen fell silent this time.

She only made such a judgment based on the skeleton's actions, but as for the reason behind why the skeleton did this, she had no idea.

Just as the master and disciple were perplexed, the skeleton reached into its clothing again and took out something. 

Xiao Yan and Yao Chen immediately recognized it at first glance.

It was... a storage ring.

The next moment, the skeleton flicked the storage ring with its finger bone, initiating the collection of all the medicinal plants and coins in the cave, causing Xiao Yixian to panic.

"My medicinal plants! My money!!"

Feeling that something was amiss, Xiao Yixian immediately tried to grab a handful of coins to keep, but it was futile.

In just a few seconds, everything in the secret chamber that could be considered as treasures was collected into the storage ring by the skeleton.

Then, the skeleton extended its hand to Xiao Yan once again, with a securely placed storage ring resting in its palm.

This scene left Xiao Yan even more dumbfounded, and he asked in a daze, "Are all of these... for me?"

The skeleton remained silent but nodded slightly.

After seeing the nod, Xiao Yan slowly reached out his hand and picked up the storage ring, staring at it in a daze.

Meanwhile, the skeleton turned around and returned to the stone chair, sitting down once again.

At that moment, Yao Chen suddenly noticed something and immediately alerted Xiao Yan.

(Xiao Yan! The inscription on the stone tablet has changed!)

Huh?!

Xiao Yan looked at the stone tablet next to the stone chair, and the original words slowly disappeared, replaced by two completely different lines.

Upon seeing the two lines of text, both Xiao Yan and Yao Chen understood. 

Yao Chen couldn't help but feel emotional.

(I see... Xiao Yan, I never expected that your sincere bow would grant you such favor. It truly surprises me.)

Yao Chen understood that, at least among the people she had known so far, none of them would sincerely bow to the body of someone unrelated who died in their secret chamber. 

They simply didn't believe in the necessity of such a gesture.

The skeleton had indeed guarded its treasures, but in turn, it also held a faint hope of encountering someone who would sincerely pay respects to a lonely person who died in the secret chamber.

At this moment, Xiao Yan finally came back to his senses and chuckled softly, helplessly saying, "Senior Yao, I never thought that I would gain anything by paying respects to someone's corpse. This is the first time." Xiao Yan looked at the items in his hand, his eyes shimmering. "To be honest, I'm feeling a bit proud right now."

Although Xiao Yan never anticipated that his adherence to the righteous path would bring him any benefits, it's actually the opposite. 

In truth, he had lost a lot because of his commitment to the righteous path.

However, the items bestowed upon him by the skeleton made Xiao Yan truly feel, for the first time, that his righteous path was recognized by others.

"Hehe... Only you could obtain this opportunity," Yao Chen chuckled lightly.

The strength of the skeleton, of course, wouldn't amount to much in the eyes of true powerhouses. 

But those true powerhouses probably wouldn't even bother with the treasures in the secret chamber.

At least, for those who would value the treasures in the secret chamber, the threat posed by that skeleton was absolutely lethal.

Never in their wildest dreams could they have imagined that Xiao Yan would acquire everything in the secret chamber so effortlessly through this method.

No... it wasn't effortless at all.

Yao Chen silently corrected herself.

Seemingly a simple act of paying respects, it was the result of Xiao Yan's unwavering adherence to his beliefs, step by step along the righteous path. 

This was not something that could be easily achieved.

"Hey!"

At this moment, Xiao Yixian walked over, full of indignation, glaring at Xiao Yan.

"I was the one who brought you here, you know."

The implication was clear: Xiao Yan shouldn't think about keeping everything here for himself, even if it was given to him by the owner of the secret chamber!

"I know, I know~" Xiao Yan snapped back to reality and waved his hand, taking out the Ice Spirit Blazing Grass from the storage ring in front of Xiao Yixian. 

He then tossed the storage ring to her.

"I'll only take this one. You can have the rest."

"Huh?!" Xiao Yixian caught the storage ring thrown by Xiao Yan in a fluster, staring at him in a daze. 

After a while, she hesitantly asked, "You... Aren't you taking more?"

Xiao Yixian was shocked and surprised. 

She had initially thought it would be best if she could take half of the treasures, but she never expected that Xiao Yan would only take that peculiar herb and give her the rest.

"I won't, because at the moment, I only need this." Xiao Yan replied calmly, retrieving the Ice Spirit Blazing Grass and storing it back in his own storage ring. 

He continued, "Even if it's a gift from the owner of this secret chamber, I don't want to acquire too much ill-gotten wealth through this method. It can easily disturb my path."

As Xiao Yan spoke, he expressed his reluctance to pursue the righteous path solely for the sake of gaining more benefits. 

If he began to view the righteous path as a means to achieve personal gain, his future journey along the righteous path would become even more difficult.

This time was merely an exceptional case, and Xiao Yan deeply understood this. Hence, only this Ice Spirit Blazing Grass was necessary.

If it weren't for the need to absorb the Heavenly Flame and evolve the Flame Mantra, Xiao Yan wouldn't even have taken this herb.

Absorbing the Heavenly Flame and evolving the Flame Mantra, as well as forging a body for Senior Yao in the future, were all necessary tasks for Xiao Yan's righteous path.

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