Chapter 51: Evil God Seed · Fire (4)
Although he was in a concealed state, Yun Che still did not dare to be careless. He carefully circled toward the cave, taking a roundabout route.
After making a considerable right-angle turn, Yun Che stepped onto the crimson-red ground. A scorching sensation immediately came from beneath his feet, rapidly spreading throughout his entire body, giving him the terrifying feeling of standing on flames.
This Flame Dragon had existed here for at least a hundred years, and its flame power had long since transformed this area into a world of fire elements. His current position was only about one kilometer from where the Flame Dragon was fiercely battling the Burning Heaven Sect—already a fairly dangerous distance, as the shockwaves of their fight could easily reach him here.
Yun Che moved cautiously but did not slow his pace at all. Mo Li had said that this Flame Dragon was clearly hiding its strength. If it were to unleash its power and kill the five members of the Burning Heaven Sect, then not only would he fail to take advantage of the chaos, but he might even lose his life.
But the most comforting thing was that the Flame Dragon clearly did not want its habitat to be damaged. It not only deliberately kept its distance but also tried as much as possible not to direct its attacks in this direction. After circling around to the north side of the cave, Yun Che tensed up, rushed toward the cave entrance at full speed, and got closer and closer to the cave. After dozens of breaths, he had closed in to within about ten zhang. The journey had been eventful but without incident.
His goal was now within reach. However, at that moment, a large shower of fire suddenly fell from the sky, covering an area of several li around. Although these fire sparks were not large and not particularly aggressive, they were extremely dense. One of them fell directly onto Yun Che.
Immediately, Yun Che's upper garment quickly caught fire. Under attack, the effect of the Star Concealment Pill vanished instantly. Fortunately, Yun Che reacted quickly, swiftly dodging behind a large boulder to his left, extinguishing the flames on his clothes as his brow furrowed deeply.
Damn it...
The concealment effect of the Star Concealment Pill would disappear immediately if he was attacked or touched by someone else. If he came out from behind the boulder, whether he rushed toward the cave or retreated back, he would be easily discovered. And if he stayed here, when the Flame Dragon drove back the Burning Heaven Sect people and returned, it would also find him instantly.
This time, he had walked into a death trap!
Boom!!
A fireball from the Flame Dragon suddenly descended from the sky and struck the ground less than a hundred meters ahead of him. With a loud explosion, the fireball burst, sending up towering flames and terrifying heat that could almost melt even the rocks.
The moment the flames exploded, Yun Che, hidden behind the boulder, widened his eyes...
Opportunity!!
In the next instant, Yun Che dashed out from behind the boulder like an arrow from a bow, unleashing all his profound force and rushing toward the cave at his maximum speed. The towering flames blocked the line of sight between the Flame Dragon and the Burning Heaven Sect, and the massive energy fluctuations were enough to completely suppress his weak profound force. Moreover, they were in the heat of battle and certainly dared not be distracted... So Yun Che boldly released all his profound force...
Several dozen meters—this distance was a path of life and death for Yun Che at this moment. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched the flames gradually fading. He gritted his teeth, wishing he could pour all his will into his legs. Amid the danger, time seemed to slow down, and the cave entrance slowly approached him. In the last stretch, he took a deep breath, kicked off the ground, and dove into the cave in a flying leap...
The moment he slipped into the cave, the flames completely disappeared, and the scene of the Flame Dragon fiercely battling the five Heaven Xuan experts once again became clearly visible.
Standing behind the scorching boulder at the edge of the cave entrance, Yun Che panted heavily, drenched in sweat, his face flushed red from either the heat or excitement.
"Phew... I finally made it in." Yun Che patted his chest and muttered to himself with lingering fear. After calming down a bit, he slowed his pace and walked deeper into the cave.
The Flame Dragon was enormous, so the cave it inhabited was naturally also immense. Yun Che heightened his alertness and advanced slowly. The temperature here was much higher than outside. With every step Yun Che took, large drops of sweat fell onto the ground, evaporating instantly with a faint "hiss" into white steam.
This cave was of unknown depth. As Yun Che went deeper, the light gradually dimmed. After another hundred steps, a patch of red light appeared ahead.
Yun Che paused, then quickened his pace and walked over. When he saw the source of the red light, his eyes suddenly blazed with burning intensity.
"Fire Spirit Grass!!"
A mature Fire Spirit Grass was about seven inches tall, with shallow roots and typically nine leaves. It emitted firelight in darkness and grew only in places where fire elements were dense, active, and pure. Thus, it was extremely rare. At the same time, Fire Spirit Grass grew very slowly, often taking over a decade to mature, which made mature Fire Spirit Grass extremely valuable. Fire Spirit Grass could be refined individually into Fire Spirit Pills. After taking one, a person would gain significant immunity to fire elements for a certain period and could temporarily convert the profound force in their profound veins to fire attribute, without negative effects like self-burning. For profound practitioners cultivating fire-based profound arts, its effects were immeasurable.
And this rare, highly valuable Fire Spirit Grass—here, it grew in dense clusters of two to three hundred plants, nearly a quarter of which were mature. Behind them were large patches of only roots left, clearly the food of that Flame Dragon.
Another reason Fire Spirit Grass was precious was that it was difficult to pick and store. A slight mistake would cause all the fire spirit within to leak away. However, this was no problem at all for Yun Che. He extended his left hand and swept wildly at the mature Fire Spirit Grass, easily collecting them all into the Heavenly Poison Pearl.
Any single Fire Spirit Grass could be sold outside for a considerable price, yet now they were being reaped by Yun Che like common cabbages.
Soon, over fifty mature Fire Spirit Grass had all been taken into his Heavenly Poison Pearl. Yun Che did not touch any of the immature ones. He rubbed his hands together and exclaimed inwardly: I'm rich!
If he sold these through an intermediary to the Burning Heaven Sect, what a huge income that would be!
Then he'd never have to worry about being broke again!
Yun Che took out one of the harvested Fire Spirit Grass and quickly refined it with the Heavenly Poison Pearl. Under the refining light of the Heavenly Poison Pearl, the Fire Spirit Grass rapidly shrank until it became a very small, ruby-like object. Without a second thought, Yun Che tossed it directly into his mouth.
A scorching sensation slid down his throat and through his body. Then, that burning feeling rapidly spread outward from inside him, extending to his entire body before slowly fading away... Even the surrounding space suddenly no longer felt so hot. Yun Che stopped sweating, and the feelings of suffocation and dryness vanished completely.
Yun Che's body felt much lighter. The cave still had no end in sight, so he quickened his pace and continued inward. Before long, a huge rock nest appeared before him. From its size and shape, it was clearly where the Flame Dragon usually rested and slept.
But to Yun Che's disappointment, the dragon's nest was quite clean. Aside from the scorching rocks that formed it, there was nothing else.
Rumble...
A loud rumbling suddenly came from outside. Standing at the deepest part of the cave, Yun Che could faintly feel a wave of scorching air hitting his face. The Flame Dragon's heavy voice came from outside:
"Ignorant, greedy humans! Prepare to suffer the punishment you deserve!"
Then came the panicked voices of the Burning Heaven Sect people:
"Ah!! What's going on? How did its power suddenly..."
"This... this Flame Dragon is not a Heaven Xuan Beast at all! It's clearly a King Xuan Beast! It has been hiding its strength all along, just to lure us here!"
"Damn it! Wrong intelligence! Retreat! Retreat quickly!"
What Mo Li had said proved true. The Flame Dragon had indeed been hiding its strength, and now it had finally unleashed its true power. Amid the panicked shouts of the Burning Heaven Sect, the ground began to tremble... even the entire Red Dragon Mountain Range seemed to shudder faintly. Yun Che's heart tightened. The Flame Dragon had started to use its real power, meaning the battle might end very soon. If he didn't leave now, he might not get another chance!
Fifty mature Fire Spirit Grass was already a huge harvest. Yun Che didn't hesitate and rushed out quickly. But just as he took three steps, his heart suddenly leaped... and his steps came to an abrupt halt.
"What are you stopping for? If you don't leave, are you waiting for the Flame Dragon to burn you to ashes?" Mo Li said coldly.
Yun Che seemed completely unresponsive to Mo Li's words. He turned around, pressed his hand over his heart, and stared blankly at the empty rock nest... It was that same feeling again, and this time, it was very, very close...
What exactly is calling to me?
Instead of fleeing at full speed, Yun Che walked back toward the rock nest and stepped right into it. At that moment, the beating of his heart suddenly accelerated.
Yun Che narrowed his eyes and looked around. Finally, his gaze fixed on the far right corner of the nest. The rocks here had existed for countless years—hard and old—but one stone there was spotless, as if it had been frequently moved. Yun Che quickly walked over, pressed his hand on that stone, and moved it with force.
The stone fell away with a clatter, and a deep red light appeared before Yun Che's eyes.
It was a very small round bead, about the size of an ordinary glass marble, crystal clear like a ruby, but its emitted light was far deeper and richer than a ruby. Looking at this red bead, Yun Che felt an inexplicable, intense desire arise in his heart. Driven by this desire, he quickly reached out and grabbed it.
"Don't touch it! It has the Flame Dragon's flame imprint on it!"
Mo Li's warning came a little too late. As she shouted, Yun Che's hand had already grasped the bead.
Instantly, the bead, as if awakened, burst forth with an incredibly intense red light, so strong that it enveloped Yun Che's entire body.