### Chapter 89: Cave Opportunities (Part 2)
*Rumble!*
The stone door trembled, inching open as if forced by an invisible hand.
"So that's it," Lin Yi muttered,恍然大悟.
But his gaze froze. Another painting hung on the door's outer side—same man, but in white robes, radiating holiness. He stood on a cliff, watching the rising sun, with green forests and flying birds below. It breathed *life*, a stark contrast to the "death" painting inside.
"Life… death…" Lin Yi mused. "Two sides of a cycle?"
Staring at the "life" painting, he almost lost himself in its serenity—yet he sensed danger. Even "life" could trap you, letting you waste away in delusion.
"Extraordinary works," he murmured, quickly snatching both paintings.
*Crash!*
The chamber shook violently, as if collapsing. Lin Yi cursed—taking both paintings must have triggered this. He fled, but forgot the lingering array. A 无形的 (invisible) force yanked him into the void.
"Damned arrays!" were his last words.
…
Moments later.
"Mine! This is *mine*!" A burly man roared, his cultivation at Qi Refinement Level 10 Perfection.
Before him, a pit blazed with 妖异 (uncanny) flames—cold, not hot, their chill biting even from afar. But the real prize was a pill in the flames, pulsing with灵性, almost 化形 (shaping into a human form).
For a Level 10 cultivator, this pill was a fortune. Even if he couldn't use it, auctioning it would fund his cultivation for life.
Twenty-odd cultivators—ranging from Level 4 to 8—stared greedily, but none dared challenge the burly man.
"Imagine the 灵石 (spirit stones) this'll fetch," he chuckled, reaching for the pill.
*Ripple…*
Space扭曲 (twisted), and Lin Yi stumbled out, grinning. "What's all the fuss? Found something good?"
Silence. The cultivators gaped at him. The burly man glanced up, his spiritual sense probing—*Level 8*. He sneered, dismissing Lin Yi as a non-threat.
"Mind your own business, kid," the burly man said, refocusing on the pill.
Lin Yi's eyes lit up when he saw the pill. *A spirit-grown pill—near sentience!* This was rarer than top-grade artifacts.
"Looks valuable," he said, stepping closer.
The burly man's jaw tightened. "Scram. Before I 废了 (cripple) you."
Lin Yi feigned fear, stepping back. "No need to get angry. Just curious."
But his hand inched toward his storage bag. *This pill could speed up my cultivation by years. No way I'm letting him take it.*
The other cultivators watched, tense. A Level 8 vs. Level 10? It was suicide—yet they hoped Lin Yi would distract the burly man, letting them sneak in.
The burly man snorted, channeling spiritual energy to yank the pill upward.
Lin Yi struck.
*Whoosh!* He hurled a 爆炎符 (Fireblast Talisman)—not at the man, but at the pit. Flames erupted, masking his movement.
"Brat!" the man roared, swinging a fist.
Lin Yi dodged, summoning the *Kuang Wang* sword. He unleashed *Crescent Moon*, not aiming to hurt, but to disrupt.
The pill wobbled in midair.
"Grab it!" a Level 8 cultivator shouted, lunging. Others joined, chaos erupting.
The burly man roared, fending them off. "All of you—*die*!"
Lin Yi slipped past the fray, his *Body Technique: Earth* enhancing his speed. He dove for the pill, fingers brushing its cool surface.
*Got it!*
He tucked it into his bag, then sprinted away, using the chaos as cover.
"Stop him!" the burly man screamed, enraged.
Lin Yi laughed, vanishing into a side passage. *Another lucky break.*
Behind him, the fight raged on. But he was already gone, the pill secure—a treasure that might just change his fate.
The cave's dangers hadn't ended, but with each step, Lin Yi grew stronger, luckier. And somewhere in the darkness, Zhang Ziyan and Peng Qingyun fought their own battles, unaware their paths would soon cross again.