20demayo Chapter 229 Strange Fire
Chapter 229 Strange Fire
Watching a show wasn't entirely without its benefits. For example, although the human-faced fox in my hand had a low cultivation level, the illusion beads it produced were remarkably effective for setting up illusion arrays.
It was a worthwhile trip. After leaving Sister Hua and Qiao Song's place, Cheng Jiu did not continue to join in the fun, but instead took Ying Yue to start exploring this little secret realm.
With Cheng Jiu's strength, he would naturally have no obstacles.
After dealing with a Cold Pool Serpent and picking the Heavenly Cold Grass it guarded, the communication jade slips in their hands began to vibrate wildly.
Upon taking it out, they saw that Wen Sishu had sent messages to several people asking for help.
Without delay, the two flew towards Wen Sishu's direction, following the guidance of the jade slip.
When they arrived at the place indicated by the jade slip, a huge rock stood there, with a tall mountain behind it.
The whole place looked unremarkable. If there was anything strange about it, it was the unusual barrenness. Apart from a few stalks of yellow grass, there were only pebbles scattered all over the ground.
Liu Shaoyuan was standing on top of the large rock when he saw the two men waving their arms wildly.
"What happened? Senior Brother Liu! Where's Senior Brother Wen?" Cheng Jiu and his companion landed in front of each other and asked curiously.
"Oh, this is great! We need your help, Junior Sister, the two of us can't handle this."
As he spoke, Liu Shaoyuan led them down from the boulder. He gathered spiritual energy into his palm, gave a soft shout, and pushed hard. The boulder slowly moved until it revealed an entrance large enough for one person to enter.
Without saying a word, Liu Shaoyuan jumped into the cave, followed closely by Cheng Jiu and the other two. As the three of them entered, the boulder slowly returned to its original position.
"What is this?" Cheng Jiu looked at the resealed cave entrance.
"A clever trick! It works! My junior brother Wen and I have tried to open it!"
As they talked, Liu Shaoyuan led Cheng Jiu and the other person down the road. The further they went, the hotter the temperature became, and the stronger the fire spiritual energy in the air became, until finally it was all fire spiritual energy.
The scorching heat caused the air to momentarily distort.
The surrounding area is filled with lava caves formed by magma intrusion, and boiling lava constantly bubbling up from the ground.
Even the stones here are crimson red, which is strange. In places with such rich fire elemental energy, how come some fire-attribute spirit ores grow?
And all of this is stone except for the stone itself; even the crimson stone cannot change its essential nature as stone.
Beside the enormous pool of lava, Wen Sishu, sweat beading on his forehead, faced off against a bright orange flame.
No wonder they asked for help; it was a naturally occurring strange fire!
However, this strange fire had no consciousness, but even so, Wen Sishu's small body was no match for this spiritual treasure of heaven and earth.
There is a strange fire here, and it is a strange fire that has only recently formed. No wonder there is no spirit mine. Even if there were, it would probably be devoured by this strange fire as nourishment.
And among those present, only Cheng Jiu possessed the strength to subdue this newly born strange fire.
Seeing Cheng Jiu arrive, Wen Sishu breathed a long sigh of relief. It was fortunate that Junior Sister Jiu had come; otherwise, he would have been unable to subdue her.
Wen Sishu was quite lucky; he was teleported here as soon as he entered the secret realm, even though there wasn't any spirit mine growing here.
But it is indeed a natural fire vein. For an alchemist, encountering such a natural fire vein is no different from returning to their hometown.
If we're even luckier, we might be able to collect some high-quality fire from this fire vein.
But it was also lucky that, while searching for a high-quality fire source, he happened to come across this newly born strange fire coming out to forage. At first, the little thing disguised itself quite well, and he thought that it was a high-quality fire source produced by this fire vein.
It wasn't until the other party ran away that they realized it was actually a strange fire born from this fire vein!
And isn't he just missing a different kind of flame?
A gift from heaven!
Wen Sishu was overjoyed!
Unfortunately, he found that he couldn't subdue this strange fire at all. Even a newly born strange fire was not to be underestimated. More importantly, this was the other party's home ground, and the surrounding fire spiritual energy and fire source could be used by the other party.
He was really suppressed here, but luckily Liu Shaoyuan was not far away. As soon as he asked for help, Liu Shaoyuan came over quickly, which greatly relieved his pressure.
But to truly obtain this strange flame, Cheng Jiu still needs to come.
"Senior brother, leave it to me!"
The Heavenly Wood Sword in Cheng Jiu's hand gleamed as if it were brand new, its sharpness unparalleled, reflecting the enemy's silhouette.
It is evident how much its owner cherished it; such a deadly weapon, held in one's hand, sends chills down one's spine.
Small green flames slowly emerged, and the surrounding fire elemental energy split into two waves. One wave was the darling of this fire vein, a newly born bright yellow flame, and the other wave was the veteran elder, who had a stronger control over fire.
Although the bright yellow flames had not yet developed intelligence, they could sense that the humans in front of them were different from the two humans before them, and were much more dangerous.
escape!
It is etched into the very bones of these spirits.
Before the opponent could escape, a green light pierced directly through the flames.
Tiny green shoots spread from the flames; the wood, which is supposed to be restrained by fire, parasitizes in the fire and is difficult to burn away.
It is the law, the law of wood!
It transcends the limitations of fire overcoming wood, directly addressing its most essential characteristics.
What appears to be an ordinary sword strike is actually a return to the ultimate essence of the Great Dao.
The ability to infuse the Wood Law within a strange fire, which is said to be born from the Law of Fire, is due not only to Cheng Jiu's wholehearted preparation but also to his own understanding of the Law of Wood.
Cheng Jiu found himself increasingly fond of simple moves, a single sword strike, a single technique, easily resolved.
Looking back on past battles, Cheng Jiu thought that if it were him now, he probably wouldn't use those fancy sword moves. These moves were already deeply ingrained in every stance Cheng Jiu took.
The emerald green vines meandered and coiled, trapping the orange-yellow flames in the air, and the green ball fell into Cheng Jiu's hands.
Cheng Jiu tossed the ball up and down in his hand: "Senior brother, wait a minute. Although it is very weak now, it may be difficult for your body to absorb it. I'll go talk to it."
"I'm counting on you, Junior Sister Jiu!" Wen Sishu trusted Cheng Jiu completely.
Cheng Jiu slowly extended his divine sense towards the flames. Unlike the grassland before, his soul felt extremely uncomfortable in this place filled with fire spiritual energy.
Cheng Jiu pulled out a strand of spiritual energy and pricked the little guy in his hand, conveying his meaning: "Don't play dead, I know you have some intelligence."
The bright yellow flames were tormented by the Wood Law inputted by Cheng Jiu, especially since it was a pure, strange fire that had escaped from its fire veins. The Wood Law within its body was no different from a deadly poison.
The bright yellow flames burned silently, as if they hadn't heard anything.
Cheng Jiu originally wanted to say some good things about Wen Sishu to make him more willing, since there are two kinds of strange fires: one that can develop divine consciousness and one that has no divine consciousness at all.
But now it seems that this little guy is the type to refuse polite advice and then have to suffer the consequences; only a simple and direct approach will make the other party understand.
After a series of "friendly" exchanges, and under the dual test of life and death, the bright yellow flames successfully recognized Wen Sishu.
Agree to enter into a contract with the other party.
However, this little guy was also quite fierce. He really tormented Wen Sishu during the signing, burning himself with flames. If they hadn't known that the other party was expanding Wen Sishu's meridians, Cheng Jiu and Ying Yue, who were watching from the side, would have almost attacked him.
Fortunately, there was no serious injury. Although he experienced some pain, Wen Sishu said that he feels better than ever before.
The fact that this strange fire could be born means that the vital energy of this fire vein has been completely exhausted.
It would probably take thousands of years to recover, so as soon as Wen Sishu finished absorbing the strange fire, the four of them went up without lingering.
They had barely left when the huge rock was moved again, and the group hurried down.
"Thanks to the message specially passed down by our ancestors, who would have thought that there would be a newly born strange fire here."
If Cheng Jiu and the others hadn't gone far, they probably would have recognized this group of people as the Shang family members who had been driven away by Sister Hua.
"There's going to be a tough battle ahead, so let's conserve our strength first." Shang Qi was also very excited. This was a strange fire! Besides Medicine King Valley, how many other cultivation worlds could have one?
However, a strange emotion flashed in his eyes as he looked at Shang Xiao beside him. There was only one strange fire, and he was not a fire spirit root. He had come out to train, and his family had not given him any definite information about it.
I wonder if he has any self-awareness about who owns this strange fire.
"If it weren't for that Sister Hua, we wouldn't have needed to come here right now. The fire spiritual energy is so abundant, it would be better to let it develop a little longer."
Shang Xiao, unaware of his brother's thoughts, took the strange fire for granted, since he possessed a fire spirit root while his brother only had metal and water spirit roots.
Of course, he'd absorb the strange fire!
The two brothers each had their own agendas, but they did not break off their relationship until they subdued the strange fire.
The strange fire, born of nature, is violent and powerful. Even if they all attacked together, it was uncertain whether they could subdue it.
Therefore, they would not intentionally disrupt their cooperation before this.
Upon arriving at the lava cave, the orange-red magma flowed silently. Looking at the barren cave, the two brothers did not show any disgust, but instead praised it highly: "Only a place like this can nurture extraordinary fire!"
After sighing, he instructed the tribesmen who had come with them to set up camp. If they still hadn't appeared, they were to stay and keep watch.
Of course, they wouldn't just stand guard there empty-handed; the young master couldn't bear that kind of hardship.
There weren't many resources to collect in the lava cave. Even the most basic and noteworthy high-level fire source of the fire vein was thoroughly feasted by Cheng Jiu and the others before they left.
Even though the remaining high-level fire sources were taken away by the four of them, the cave was filled with nothing but lava, and all that remained was abundant fire spiritual energy.
After only one day, the two realized something was wrong: someone had intercepted the strange fire before they even arrived!
Aside from the disappearance of the high-level fire source that they had previously sensed was amiss, the crucial point was that after staying for a whole day, they hadn't detected any fluctuations in the strange fire!
And this is indeed the site where strange fire was produced.
What else could be unclear? Some bastard intercepted the strange fire before they even arrived, and they've been guarding it like idiots.
"Who, who is it?" With his hopes dashed, Shang Xiao paced back and forth like an enraged lion, letting out furious roars!
"If you hadn't insisted on causing trouble for that Sister Hua, we definitely wouldn't have been robbed of our things as soon as we entered the secret realm!" Shang Qi was also furious. He had already imagined several scenarios of everyone trying to curry favor with him after he obtained the strange fire.
Now that his hopes were dashed and he had no idea where the thief was, he felt even more annoyed when he saw Shang Xiao standing next to him as if he had lost something of his own.
Although he didn't get the strange fire, this kid's performance shows he's really going to compete with him!
Don't you even know if you're worthy?
Shang Qi, who had always looked down on his brainless younger brother, scoffed lightly.
"Are you blaming me, brother? Yes, I was the one who suggested getting revenge on Sister Hua, but you weren't the one who made the final decision, were you? And now that the Strange Fire has been intercepted, you're blaming me?"
Shang Xiao was immediately displeased when he heard him shift all the blame for the strange fire onto himself. When he brought it up, the other party hadn't objected!
They're fighting! They've started fighting!
The clansmen who brought them watched with a headache as the two young masters from the main branch started fighting over a mere disagreement, exchanging punches and kicks.
Even the usually image-conscious young master Shang Qi abandoned all pretense of decorum at this moment.
Whose side are we on?
But they were certain that if either of them got injured, they would be in serious trouble.
Yet he dared not get involved in the fight between the two, and could only scurry around like an ant on a hot pan.
Cheng Jiu and the others were unaware of everything happening here, and even if they had known, they wouldn't have cared.
While the Shang brothers waited for the fight to begin, the outside world had already turned upside down.
The most crucial ancient cave in the secret realm has been revealed ahead of schedule!
The commotion was so great that it nearly turned the entire secret realm upside down.
Almost everyone still alive in the secret realm witnessed the emergence of the ancient cave and rushed towards it.
The three forces have come together once again.
With the addition of Qiao Song's old team members, Sister Hua's team is now undoubtedly the strongest among the independent cultivators.
Unlike the previous representatives, Sister Hua is now the only undisputed representative of the independent cultivators.
In the cultivation world, strength is paramount, and this is especially true for independent cultivators.
The advantages of having only one representative became immediately apparent. At this time, the rogue cultivators were not only unafraid of the powerful families and sects, but even subtly gained the upper hand.
Since the Shang family didn't come, the aristocratic families nominated another representative, Qin Huaijun, the eldest daughter of the Qin family. She had been one of the aristocratic family representatives before, but she had never expressed her opinion and remained aloof from the influence of the aristocratic families.
A leader is extremely important to a power. When the Shang family was in charge, the aristocratic families were in a state of chaos, with sycophancy and flattery running rampant.
Now that the other party is in charge, the unhealthy practices have been swept away, and a certain noble air unique to aristocratic families has been revealed.
The sect's side had the same original team.
All three forces suffered losses to varying degrees, which is not surprising. For Cheng Jiu and his group, this secret realm might be an easy mode, but for these people, the secret realm is fraught with danger.
Even considering the Green-tailed Horned Ant Queen and the Human-faced Fox that Cheng Jiu dealt with casually, they were all life-or-death crises for these people.
There was another person in the group who looked familiar to Cheng Jiu; it was Cheng Jiu himself.
The unlucky guy I rescued from the ant nest in Qingweijiao before.
Although he was very unlucky, he didn't die!
I heard him confess that he had a family business to inherit, but he actually joined a group of independent cultivators.
A rich young master descends to earth to experience life?
Even without the Shang brothers, Qin Huaijun was not an arrogant or difficult person to get along with. Under her initiative, the three parties successfully reached a tripartite meeting, unlike the aristocratic families and independent cultivators who only had one person in charge.
We need to discuss this with the sect several times, because we need to reach a consensus with all the people in charge in order to maximize our interests and explore this ancient cave.