Chapter 56: Red Lotus Qi Sea
Leaving the sight of the crowd and far from Medicine Valley, Elder You activated his lightness skill, his body as light as a swallow as he stepped on leaves, speeding towards South Mountain.
Seeing this, Hua Changxi knew Elder You wanted to test her. After hesitating, she still used Lingbo Microsteps to chase after him.
Before this, she had intended to develop low-key.
Facing Elder You’s test, she could choose to hide her strength, but what about next time?
Next time she encountered a similar situation, would she still hide?
Having obtained a cultivation opportunity, she should be more confident to face all kinds of situations, and her actions should be more free and upright.
If she were to be timid and worried about this and that whenever something happened, then the cultivation opportunity would not be her sharp weapon, but her shackle.
Thinking this, Hua Changxi’s speed increased, and she maintained a distance of about ten meters from Elder You.
Ahead, Elder You saw that Hua Changxi easily caught up to him. No matter how he sped up, she could maintain a stable distance from him. Instead of feeling solemn, he was very happy.
The stronger the abilities Hua Changxi displayed, the greater the value of the secrets she held.
West Red Mountain, East Red Mountain, and South Red Mountain were not isolated peaks but continuous mountain ranges with deep ravines.
As she continued to speed through South Red Mountain, Hua Changxi could clearly feel the fire spiritual energy in the air becoming more and more concentrated.
An hour later, Hua Changxi followed behind Elder You deep into the heart of the South Red Mountain range. In a narrow strip between two peaks, a winding, giant rift valley appeared in their sight.
The rift valley was deep. Looking down from above, one could vaguely see a red glow emanating from the bottom of the rift valley.
Elder You leaped down. Just as Hua Changxi was about to follow, ‘Chirp~’, a piercing bird cry sounded. Then, Hua Changxi saw a fiery red figure fly out of the rift valley and speed towards Elder You.
It was an enormous red eagle, its wings spread, spanning five to six meters wide.
Soon, Elder You and the red eagle were locked in a fierce battle.
Elder You was a Grandmaster, after all, and could evade the red eagle’s attacks. In the beginning, he could even suppress the red eagle, but when the red eagle spewed out flames over ten meters long, Elder You was burned by the flames and fell directly to the ground.
“Chirp~”
As Elder You fell to the ground, the red eagle immediately swooped down, its beak, glinting with cold light, stabbing towards Elder You like an arrow.
From the canopy of a giant tree, Hua Changxi watched this scene, her expression struggling.
The location of the fire spirit mine was probably in the rift valley. She had achieved her goal. With Elder You’s death, she wouldn’t have to expose her secrets.
But to just watch an old man die under the beak of a red eagle, she couldn’t bear it.
In the end, the value of human life triumphed over reason. Hua Changxi gathered spiritual power in her hand, forming a fire blade. Then, the fire blade whistled as it struck towards the red eagle.
When the eagle’s beak was still two to three meters away from Elder You, the fire blade pierced through the red eagle’s body.
“Rumble~”
The red eagle’s massive body crashed heavily onto the ground, kicking up billowing dust.
As the red eagle swooped down, Elder You had already closed his eyes in despair. Feeling the red eagle’s body smash onto him, his heart stopped beating.
A few breaths later, realizing he was still alive, Elder You quickly opened his eyes and then saw Hua Changxi, who had leaped down and landed a few meters away.
Elder You looked at the motionless red eagle on top of him, struggled to climb out from under it, and after standing firm, his face was still filled with lingering fear.
He had killed many fierce beasts before, but he had never encountered one that could breathe fire.
When the flames attacked, he didn’t even have time to release his Gang Qi before being burned by the flames.
Having escaped the danger to his life, Elder You then felt the searing pain all over his body. Looking down, he saw that his limbs were burned to a bloody mess, flesh and clothes stuck together, causing unbearable pain.
“Why did you save this old man?”
Elder You looked at Hua Changxi with confusion in his eyes. Given her cautious nature shown before, she should be unwilling for people to know she had secrets.
Hua Changxi was looking down into the rift valley. Hearing this, she turned her head and looked at Elder You, “A human life, I cannot turn a blind eye.”
Elder You never expected to hear such an answer. Since embarking on the path of a martial artist, even if he wasn’t bloodthirsty, killing was unavoidable. The more people he killed, the less reverence he had for human life.
He never expected that today he would be saved because he was a human life.
Elder You looked at Hua Changxi with a complex expression. As expected of a child, she hadn’t been corrupted by this treacherous mortal world yet.
“This is where I found the red crystal in this rift valley.”
Seeing Hua Changxi looking into the rift valley, Elder You also looked over.
“I discovered this rift valley three years ago. At that time, I could still go down to the bottom of the rift valley to explore, but now, even standing at the top makes me feel quite strained.”
In a short while, Elder You felt drenched in sweat. As the sweat flowed over his wounds, the burning pain intensified, and he felt a burning sensation internally.
Looking at Hua Changxi, who was still refreshed and unaffected, Elder You felt a surge of eagerness. Enduring the severe pain, he humbly asked:
“Young Woman Hua, you don’t have internal energy, yet you could catch up to this old man and easily kill this beast. Can you tell me how you did it?”
The fire spiritual energy in the rift valley was very dense. Bathed in it, Hua Changxi felt as if she had returned to the womb, feeling comfortable all over. Hearing Elder You’s question, she thought for a moment and said:
“Martial artists train their bodies, cultivate internal energy and Gang Qi, stimulating the body’s potential. In essence, it still consumes the body’s foundation.”
Elder You nodded, greatly agreeing with this statement. Grandmaster was considered the highest realm for martial artists, but after aging, their combat power would decline with the decay of qi and blood. When qi and blood were depleted, they would die.
Hua Changxi looked at Elder You, “I am not a martial artist. I do not consume my body’s foundation; I absorb the power of heaven and earth for my own use.”
Elder You’s expression shook, and he said urgently, “Then how does one absorb the power of heaven and earth for their own use?”
Hua Changxi smiled, “Elder You, you brought me to this rift valley, and it can only exchange for one piece of information. I have already told you that what I practice and what martial artists practice are not the same path.”
“Now that you know such a path exists, how to tread upon it is up to you to find.”
Elder You frowned, pointing at the lifeless red eagle on the ground, “I still trouble Young Woman to enlighten me further. Is this beast walking the same path as you?”
Hua Changxi nodded, “Yes.”
This red eagle could no longer be considered a fierce beast; it should be considered a demonic beast.
Elder You’s expression changed drastically, “In recent years, there have been more and more fierce beasts in the mountains. Will those fierce beasts also become like this beast and breathe fire?”
Hua Changxi’s expression also became serious, “Most likely, yes.”
If humans can cultivate, then animals and plants can naturally do so as well.
Elder You could not imagine the threat to humanity if the mountains and forests were filled with fierce beasts like the red eagle.
However, he couldn’t think about these things at the moment. The burning wounds on his body were so painful that he couldn’t think. Standing at the rift valley entrance continuously aggravated the burning pain, and he was starting to falter.
Seeing his pained expression, Hua Changxi said, “Elder You, you should go back and recuperate.”
Elder You looked at Hua Changxi, knowing she might be going down to explore the rift valley. He nodded, “Be careful. The last time I came here, I didn’t encounter this beast.”
“This beast either came from elsewhere, or its strength suddenly increased.”
Hua Changxi: “Okay, I will be careful.”
The rift valley was not a straight drop. There were protrusions and buffer zones on the rift walls. After Elder You left, Hua Changxi put the red eagle into the Shen Nong Cauldron and leaped down, using the protruding walls as steps, descending one by one.
After descending about a hundred meters, shallow red crystals appeared on the rift walls. The deeper she went, the darker the crystals became, and the more concentrated the fire spiritual energy became.
“This really is a fire spirit mine!”
Hua Changxi was both excited and thrilled. Last month, she was still anxious about the lack of cultivation resources. Now, not only had she discovered spiritual plants at the bottom of the stone cliff, but she had also found this sizable fire spirit mine.
She was going to strike it rich!
The bottom of the rift valley looked like a riverbed scoured by water.
The red glow seen from above the rift valley was all emitted by the bright red, translucent red crystals.
Hua Changxi descended all the way. By the time she reached the bottom of the rift valley, she had collected four types of crystals.
One was a fire spirit stone with a light, turbid color, the size of a walnut. When held and absorbed, it could increase spiritual power by one point.
One was a dark red crystal with many granular spots. After absorption, it could increase spiritual power by ten points.
One was an even darker red crystal with a few thread-like patterns. After absorption, it could increase spiritual power by one hundred points.
The last type was a completely transparent pure red crystal without a single impurity. After absorption, it could increase spiritual power by one thousand points.
Hua Changxi didn’t know how others distinguished spirit stones. After seeing the four distinct types of fire spirit stones in the rift valley, she directly classified them as low-grade spirit stones, mid-grade spirit stones, high-grade spirit stones, and top-grade spirit stones.
Having encountered a fire spirit mine, Hua Changxi naturally had to collect spirit stones.
Top-grade spirit stones were only found in the center of the rift valley floor, in a one-meter-long strip where the red light was most intense.
With top-grade spirit stones available, Hua Changxi naturally disdained the other spirit stones and headed straight for that one-meter strip.
Fortunately, the Shen Nong inheritance had taught her the Wind Control Technique. Hua Changxi condensed her spiritual power and unleashed wind blades, using them to cut the fire spirit mine.
Hua Changxi happily dug forward, placing all the top-grade fire spirit mines she dug into the Shen Nong Cauldron.
So focused was she that she dug deeper into the fire spirit mine without realizing it.
“Hiss~”
A barely audible hiss brought Hua Changxi back from her joy of harvesting. Looking up, she realized that as far as her eyes could see, it was all fire spirit mine. The sky was no longer visible above her head.
She had ventured deep into the heart of the fire spirit mine!
This realization made Hua Changxi vigilant. The next moment, her hair stood on end.
Sensing danger, Hua Changxi immediately gathered spiritual power into her hands, clenching her fists. In the overwhelming red light, she instinctively punched forward.
“Boom~”
A violent collision sound rang out.
Before Hua Changxi could see what had attacked her, she felt her body being entangled by a soft, giant object as thick as a water bucket.
Hissing sounds, entanglement. Hua Changxi’s scalp tingled instantly, and she guessed what had attacked her.
Her fingers formed claws, and she fiercely grabbed at the snake’s body.
Her fingertips pierced the giant snake’s skin, digging into its flesh. At the same time, spiritual power gathered at her fingertips, increasing the damage to the giant snake.
The hissing intensified, and the snake’s body writhed, increasing the force of its entanglement.
Hua Changxi found it difficult to breathe due to the entanglement. She had little combat experience and could only grip the snake’s body tightly, continuously increasing her spiritual power output.
“Bang~”
She tore the snake’s body in half with her bare hands.
Even so, the giant snake didn’t die and attacked Hua Changxi again.
This time, Hua Changxi saw the glowing snake eyes, dodged the frontal attack, and continuously unleashed fire blades and fireballs to prevent the giant snake from getting close.
“Whoosh~”
During the fight, the giant snake actually spewed flames, trying to burn Hua Changxi with its fiery breath.
Fortunately, Hua Changxi was not afraid of fire and was not injured.
Finally, when the giant snake’s blood loss slowed its movements, Hua Changxi’s claws pierced the snake’s vital spot, finally killing the giant snake completely.
“Hoo~”
“Hoo~”
“Hoo~”
Hua Changxi sat on the ore, panting heavily for a moment, then quickly got up and put the excavated top-grade fire spirit stones and the giant snake into the Shen Nong Cauldron.
She had been careless. The world she was now in was full of danger, and she could no longer act carelessly as before.
Not daring to venture further and having already dug up a considerable amount of top-grade spirit stones, Hua Changxi decided to head back. She turned and walked a few steps before suddenly stopping.
Where there are demonic beasts guarding, there are usually treasures.
Hua Changxi hesitated for a moment, then turned around and cautiously continued deeper into the fire spirit mine.
After descending about a hundred meters, she smelled a refreshing fragrance.
Having learned from the giant snake’s attack, even though she guessed there was treasure ahead, Hua Changxi did not dare to be careless and cautiously walked towards the source of the fragrance.
Not long after, around a corner, a red lotus bathed in rosy clouds appeared in her sight.
It was possible to see the red lotus clearly amidst the overwhelmingly red fire spirit mine because the red lotus was too radiant, like a frozen, brilliant red firework.
Flowing Light Red Lotus!
The ultimate Ancestral Return Fruit in fire-element Divine Abilities!
Hua Changxi swallowed her saliva. The fragrance emanating from the Flowing Light Red Lotus was too alluring, but she didn’t move.
《Hundred Herbs Annotation》Spiritual Plant Chapter has a detailed introduction. Only by consuming the lotus seeds of the Flowing Light Red Lotus can one achieve ancestral return.
At this moment, the red lotus was blooming, its radiance flowing out, and the lotus seeds were about to form.
Hua Changxi suppressed her eagerness, waiting for the red lotus to bear seeds while vigilantly looking around, afraid another demonic beast might appear from somewhere.
A quarter of an hour later, the rosy clouds dispersed, the radiance vanished, and the red lotus instantly withered. Only thirty-six radiant red lotus seeds remained on the receptacle.
Hua Changxi darted over with a ‘swoosh’ and quickly plucked the lotus seeds. Without putting them into the Shen Nong Cauldron, she ate them directly.
Once the lotus seeds detached from the receptacle, their ancestral return effect would drastically weaken, unless there was a special storage box.
She didn’t have one, so she could only eat them.
With each lotus seed she ate, Hua Changxi felt a roar echo from her Dantian Qi Sea.
After eating all thirty-six lotus seeds, Hua Changxi looked inward at her Dantian, her pupils contracting sharply.
Her Qi Sea was churning and boiling, with red lotuses emerging one after another.
There was another commotion from the depths of the spirit mine. Hua Changxi dared not linger and quickly returned the way she came. Half an hour later, she was back above the rift valley.
By then, the sky was already darkening.
Not daring to spend the night in the deep mountains, Hua Changxi exerted her full strength and rushed towards Medicine Valley at full speed.
It had taken her over an hour to get here, but only a quarter of an hour to return.
At the entrance of Medicine Valley, the One-armed Man was waiting for Hua Changxi to return as instructed by Elder You.
Seeing that it was already dark and Hua Changxi had not returned, the One-armed Man was about to go back to report when he heard a whistling sound from afar.
Following the sound, he saw Hua Changxi, her clothes tattered and burned.
The One-armed Man was somewhat speechless, pointing at Hua Changxi, “You…”
Hua Changxi glanced at her body. She hadn’t noticed it in the fire spirit mine, but now she realized she was disfigured by the fire spewed by the giant snake.
“I’m fine, I fell into a fire pit.”
