Leave both the people and the treasure behind.

Meanwhile, in the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

Beneath the cliff, inside the cave.

"Is this the place Fairy Doctor Sister mentioned?"

The three sisters of the Azure Mystic Sect held their longswords, vigilantly looking around as they groped their way along the direction in their memories.

Ye Shu had only set up a visual illusion array.

Therefore, the people inside the cave did not notice the commotion outside and were still joyfully searching for the "treasure"!

The three sisters walked in the front.

Su Xiao followed behind, his heart full of weird feelings.

Wasn't this supposed to be a training expedition?

How did they end up at the exact place where the male lead had his fortuitous encounter?

He had wanted to stop them, but Qin Ke'er had shouted something like, "As long as you jump off a cliff, you'll have a fortuitous encounter! That's how it's written in all the books."

And then she just leaped right off.

What else could he say to that?

He had no choice but to follow.

The problem now was that they were inevitably going to steal the male lead's fortune. How was the original plot supposed to progress then?

Su Xiao stroked his chin.

Maybe... he should leave something behind after they take it?

Little did he know, this was exactly what the System wanted to see.

"Hehehe... Not only are we snatching the Child of Destiny's fortune ahead of time, but we're also leaving a grand gift behind." The System thought gleefully. This feeling of toying with everything was simply addictive.

Just then, Qin Ke'er, who was walking in front, suddenly cried out, "Look! There's a giant snake ahead!"

Everyone looked up.

Sure enough, in the corridor was a giant python as tall as a person, flicking its tongue and staring fiercely at them.

Zheng Yunshu's face lit up with joy.

Since the snake was still here, it meant this place hadn't been visited yet. As expected, they were the first!

"Don't be afraid, it's just a Tier-3 demonic beast."

Lu Qinghuan chuckled lightly, her right finger gently flicking the hilt of her sword.

Clang.

A flash of sword light passed, and the snake's head fell to the ground.

With that, Brother Snake fulfilled his mission.

The group continued forward.

"Sigh..."

Su Xiao, lingering behind, gently closed Brother Snake's eyes with his hand. "You've suffered, Brother Snake."

But the moment his hand touched the snake's head.

Hiss!

The snake's mouth bit down viciously, sinking its fangs into the webbing of Su Xiao's hand.

"Holy crap!"

Su Xiao let out a miserable shriek and quickly shook it off. He blew on the two deep bite marks on his hand. "Son of a bitch, I wasn't even the one who killed you, yet you bite me?"

"Senior Brother! Hurry up and follow us!"

Lu Qinghuan called back from the front.

"Coming, coming."

Clutching his right hand, Su Xiao quickly caught up.

"Senior Brother, why is your face so red?" Qin Ke'er couldn't help but ask when she saw Su Xiao's flushed face.

"N-nothing."

Su Xiao forced himself to act calm.

He couldn't exactly tell them that he was bitten by a dead snake because he couldn't keep his hands to himself, could he? That would be utterly humiliating.

"As long as you're fine."

The group passed through the corridor, and a massive stone chamber came into view.

In the center of the stone chamber stood a stone statue.

It had its hands clasped behind its back, facing away from the world.

"Hiss, what a familiar feeling..." Lu Qinghuan looked at the back of the stone statue, feeling a sense of familiarity, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Look, there are words over there."

Just as she was about to take a few steps forward to go around the statue and take a closer look, Qin Ke'er pointed at the futon behind the statue and called out.

The group gathered around and saw a few lines of text carved into the stone slab in front of the futon.

"Why cry in sorrow? Lamenting the few years of lifespan."

"I swept through the mortal realm with my martial skills, but alas..."

"........."

"If destined, kowtow a thousand times, and the meaning will naturally reveal itself."

"Kowtow a thousand times?!"

After reading the words, Qin Ke'er was so angry she almost jumped up.

"What the hell is this?! Asking me to kowtow to this broken stone statue, and a thousand times at that? Who does he think he is? Just some old geezer who's been dead for who knows how many years!"

"Does he really think he's some big shot!"

With that, she raised her hand, ready to destroy the broken statue with a single sword strike.

"Nonsense!" Zheng Yunshu quickly scolded. "Ke'er, you must not disrespect a senior."

Su Xiao, on the other hand, didn't have much of a reaction.

Isn't this how novels always write it? The protagonist falls off a cliff, encounters a fortuitous opportunity, passes a test, and gets a treasure.

It seemed to be exactly like this in the original story too.

But in reality, the System was completely dumbfounded.

Wait, this isn't right, is it?

Where is my giant skeleton of a supreme expert? Where is my ancient tome? What the hell is this stone statue?

Could it have been claimed already?

No, no, at this point in time, the Child of Destiny shouldn't have arrived in Yuanyang Town yet. This group of female leads are the first to arrive, and the giant snake at the entrance isn't dead yet. How could someone have swooped in and stolen it?

Could it be a protective measure by the Heavenly Dao?

To prevent anyone other than the Child of Destiny from obtaining the fortuitous encounter?

Uncertain. Better keep observing.

"Ke'er!" Zheng Yunshu scolded in a low voice. "Since you disrespected the senior, as your Eldest Senior Sister, I will punish you to sincerely kowtow to him."

"On what grounds?!" Qin Ke'er cried out, her large eyes full of indignation.

"What, do you dare disobey your Eldest Senior Sister?" Lu Qinghuan cast a cold glance, her right thumb quietly pushing open her sword sheath with a crisp click.

"D-damn it, if only I could beat you..."

Forced by the authority of martial prowess, Qin Ke'er reluctantly knelt on the ground, supported herself with her hands, and kowtowed onto the futon.

One, two, three, four...

An hour passed, and Su Xiao couldn't bear to watch anymore.

"Junior Sister, let me kowtow in your place."

"No need, no need, Senior Brother, just stay seated." Qin Ke'er gritted her teeth and persisted.

Another two hours passed.

Qin Ke'er had kowtowed until she was dizzy and her vision blurred. Her mind was a bit muddled, and only muscle memory supported her to continue kowtowing.

The futon was practically smashed to pieces.

Finally, the sharp-eyed Lu Qinghuan noticed something.

"Little Junior Sister, stop kowtowing!"

She took a step forward, stopped Qin Ke'er from continuing, and took out an ancient manual from inside the ruined futon.

"Senior Brother, take a look, what is this?"

"Purple Cloud Wings?"

Su Xiao took the secret manual, glanced at it, and a strange expression appeared on his face.

He was familiar with this thing. It was Xiao Yan's ultimate escape skill in the early stages of Battle Through the Heavens, allowing flight before reaching the Dou Wang realm. But the problem was, this world was a freaking cultivation world!

Foundation Establishment cultivators could already fly on their swords.

What was the damn point of flying with some broken wings?

"Quick, let me see!"

Having recovered a bit, Qin Ke'er bounced forward, snatched the ancient manual, and haphazardly flipped through a few pages. Upon seeing the contents, her face flushed the color of pig liver.

"What kind of garbage is this? It's completely useless!"

"And to think I kowtowed a thousand times for this! I'm so mad!"

At the thought of kowtowing a thousand times only to exchange it for such a broken thing, Qin Ke'er was filled with rage.

She suddenly turned around, her sword striking out like a dragon.

Swish, swish, swish—

The stone statue with its back to them was instantly sliced into several pieces, shattering onto the ground with a crackle. The statue's head fell and rolled to Qin Ke'er's feet.

The face of the head happened to be looking right up at Qin Ke'er.

Qin Ke'er looked down and froze.

Why did this face look so much like...

The face of that heartless scoundrel from her memories?

"Are you kidding me?!" Even the System was shocked.

The Child of Destiny had already been here? That shouldn't be possible. How could he be so fast!

However, before they could even react, a sinister voice echoed from the entrance.

"Are you all here hunting for treasure as well?"

Everyone turned their heads in unison, only to see dozens of figures standing at the mouth of the cave, holding torches and staring at them.

The leader, Mu Lei, locked his gaze onto the secret manual in Qin Ke'er's hands and let out a chilling laugh.

"It seems there really are good things here."

"Leave both your lives and the treasure behind!"