From the beginning of Swordsman, he created a legend in the martial arts world.

The cave remained damp and cold, filled with a familiar, decaying smell.

Meng Fei lit a torch and cautiously moved forward, carefully listening to and observing the surroundings with each step.

Sure enough, not far along, some poisonous insects swarmed toward Meng Fei, drawn by the sound.

Seeing this, Meng Fei immediately sprinkled a small amount of dark green powder forward. As the scent of the powder spread rapidly, the poisonous insects hissed and quickly retreated into the shadows.

This situation put his mind at ease; the detoxifying powder that Aya had prepared was even more effective than he had expected.

So he followed the path he had come from and returned to the "Insect Valley" where poisonous insects gathered.

The vast cavern was still shrouded in a faint phosphorescent glow, and countless poisonous insects crawled and slithered on the rocks and stalactites, making a chilling rustling sound.

Meng Fei did not linger. The medicinal powder had a limited duration, and he had to find the secret cave containing the martial arts manual within half an hour. Otherwise, he would have to return to the valley, and the three of them might never be able to escape the Ten Thousand Poisons Cave.

Under the torchlight, Meng Fei finally discovered a hidden passage around a corner. After confirming the direction, he no longer hesitated and headed towards the passage.

The passage was narrow and winding, and the terrain gradually sloped downwards. Before long, some marks that looked like they were carved by human hands began to appear on the cave walls. Occasionally, some elegant and difficult-to-recognize patterns could be seen, like some kind of ancient sacrificial totem.

Before long, the view suddenly opened up, revealing another cave.

However, the moment he stepped inside, the venomous insects lurking in the cave seemed to be awakened instantly, surging towards him like a black tide.

Meng Fei's heart tightened, and he gripped the medicine pouch at his waist, but unexpectedly, the poisonous insects suddenly stopped advancing when they were three feet away from him.

These poisonous insects paced restlessly outside, their hissing echoing, yet they dared not cross the line.

Seeing this, Meng Fei secretly breathed a sigh of relief, then his gaze was drawn to the scene deep inside the cave.

There was a simple stone chair there, and on the chair... sat a skeleton.

Meng Fei held his breath and moved forward cautiously, constantly watching the movements of the poisonous insects beneath his feet.

It wasn't until he was three steps closer to the stone chair that he could see clearly—a dagger was stuck in the chest of the skeleton.

Not far from the stone chair, another skeleton lay prostrate on the ground, its arms outstretched, as if trying to grasp something in its final moments.

The two appeared to have engaged in a fierce battle, ultimately perishing together.

Meng Fei's gaze fell back on the skeleton on the stone chair, where he saw that its skeletal fingers were holding something.

Out of curiosity, Meng Fei bent down to examine it and found it to be a palm-sized, dark token, neither iron nor wood, with patterns of insects and snakes entwined around its edges and a strange groove in the center.

He gently took the token; it was icy cold to the touch.

Immediately, Meng Fei, holding a torch, searched the stone wall inch by inch. When the torchlight swept across a rock wall, it suddenly stopped—there was a very inconspicuous hole in the rock wall, the shape and size of which almost perfectly matched the edge of the token in his hand.

Meng Fei took a deep breath and slowly inserted the token into the hole.

"Click!"

With a soft click of a mechanism, the token was inserted into the hole perfectly.

Immediately afterwards, a dull grinding sound came from inside the stone wall in front of them, and a hidden stone door slowly opened from the center, revealing a dark crack.

But just as the stone gate opened halfway, and Meng Fei was about to step inside—

The scent of the medicine pouch at his waist suddenly dissipated!

The invisible barrier seemed to vanish instantly, and the previously hesitant poisonous insects let out frantic hisses, surging towards him like a black tide bursting its banks!

At the critical moment, Meng Fei did not hesitate and turned around to rush into the stone door crack that had not yet fully opened.

"boom--"

Almost as soon as he entered, the stone door behind him slammed shut, completely shutting out the overwhelming tide of poison.

Before Meng Fei could catch his breath, he raised the torch—

The flickering flames slowly illuminated the scene behind the stone gate.

The surrounding stone walls were densely covered with characters and diagrams, including palm techniques, poison manuals, Gu techniques, internal energy cultivation techniques... The martial arts secrets passed down by the Five Poisons Sect for a hundred years were all displayed before his eyes.

With his goal in sight, Meng Fei made no further hesitation and immediately offered up the martial arts manuals on the stone wall one by one.

The phantom of the Martial Arts Roulette silently appeared, and the flowing light swept across the rock wall like a tide. The words and graphics that carried the century-old heritage of the Five Poisons Sect disappeared one by one in the halo.

A moment later, there was no trace left on the stone wall, and Meng Fei stared at the accumulated number of draws on the martial arts roulette wheel, momentarily stunned.

"So easy...so many chances to win..."

Although most of the martial arts techniques of the Five Poisons Sect were only third- or second-rate, the sheer number of them being sacrificed at the same time still caused him to tremble slightly.

Although the Five Poisons Manual is a first-rate martial art, it is classified as a second-rate one because it is incomplete.

"Seventeen times... a full seventeen chances to win!"

The shock was fleeting, but Meng Fei suddenly remembered Aya and Alu, who were still waiting in the valley—he should go back.

Immediately, Meng Fei quickly regained his composure, tightly gripping the last packet of powder in his hand. He had only used one packet on the way here, and this last one would allow him to return safely.

After taking one last look at the now empty secret cave, Meng Fei put away the token and turned to walk out of the passage.

The journey was uneventful. When Meng Fei reappeared at the entrance of the valley, the two girls who had been guarding the stream stood up almost simultaneously.

The worry in Aya's eyes receded like the tide, but when she saw Meng Fei's empty hands, she was taken aback.

"Young Master Meng...you..."

She hesitated, thinking that Meng Fei's trip had been fruitless.

She paused for a moment, then immediately stepped forward to comfort her, saying, "It's alright if we haven't found it yet. We still have some medicinal herbs. Given more time, we'll definitely be able to concoct more powder."

Looking at the lingering concern and weariness in her eyes, Meng Fei felt a slight warmth in his heart.

"No need."

He shook his head, his voice calm yet carrying a hint of certainty.

"I've found it. Perhaps... it won't be long before we can leave this place."

After a brief exchange, Meng Fei walked alone to a blue stone by the stream and sat down.

"lottery--"

The illusory image of the roulette wheel slowly rotated in my consciousness, and as the light flowed, items appeared one by one:

"Qi Gathering Pill, Nine-Flower Jade Dew Pill, Qi Gathering Pill, Qi Explosion Pill..."

One name of elixir after another appeared, but none of them were the kind he most hoped for—a spiritual medicine that could repair meridians and heal the foundation, or a related secret manual.

The number of draws decreased rapidly: seventeen, ten, five...

With only a few chances left to participate in the lottery, Meng Fei's heart sank, and a chilling despair crept over him—could it be that he truly could not recover?

Just then, a purple light flashed across the roulette wheel, and in the center of the wheel, the phantom of a secret manual slowly condensed, with several large characters appearing on the cover.

"The Nine Yin Manual!"