Chapter 56: Red Lotus Qi Sea

Chapter 56: The Red Lotus Qi Sea

Leaving the sight of the others and distancing herself from the Medicine Valley, Elder You activated his lightwork. Moving as light as a swallow, he stepped swiftly across branches and leaves, racing toward the direction of the Southern Mountains.

Seeing this, Hua Changxi knew Elder You was trying to test her. After a moment of hesitation, she used the Lingbo Microsteps to chase after him.

Before this, she had intended to develop her strength in low profile.

Faced with Elder You's testing, she could choose to hide her strength, but what about next time?

If she encountered something similar again, should she hide it then too?

Having obtained a cultivation opportunity, she should have more confidence to face various situations; her conduct should be more free and forthright.

If she were to shrink back at every obstacle, worrying about this and that, then her cultivation opportunity would not be a weapon, but a shackle.

With this thought, the speed beneath Hua Changxi's feet increased further. Afterward, she maintained a distance of about ten meters from Elder You.

Ahead, Elder You saw that Hua Changxi had caught up to him with ease. No matter how much he increased his speed, she maintained a stable distance. Instead of feeling solemn, he felt quite pleased.

The stronger the abilities Hua Changxi revealed, the greater the value of the secrets she held.

The West Red Mountain, East Red Mountain, and South Red Mountain were not isolated peaks, but continuous mountain ranges crisscrossed with ravines.

As she sprinted through the South Red Mountains, Hua Changxi could clearly feel the fire spiritual qi in the air becoming increasingly dense.

An hour later, following behind Elder You, Hua Changxi entered the heart of the South Red Mountain range. In a narrow stretch between two peaks, a massive, winding rift appeared in their line of sight.

The rift was deep; looking down from above, one could vaguely see a red glow emanating from the bottom.

Elder You leaped downward. Just as Hua Changxi prepared to follow, a piercing bird cry struck her ears. Then, she saw a fiery red figure fly out from the rift, rushing toward Elder You at high speed.

It was a massive red eagle, its wingspan reaching five or six meters.

Soon, Elder You and the red eagle were locked in fierce combat.

Elder You was, after all, a Grandmaster. He could evade the eagle's attacks and even suppress it at first, but when the red eagle spat out a flame over ten meters long, Elder You was burned and fell directly to the ground.

"Chirp!"

As Elder You hit the ground, the red eagle immediately dove down, its cold, glinting beak piercing toward him like a sharp arrow.

From the canopy of a giant tree, Hua Changxi watched this scene, her expression torn.

The fire spiritual ore was likely inside the rift. She had achieved her goal; if Elder You died, she wouldn't have to expose her secrets.

But watching an old man die under the beak of a red eagle made her heart ache with pity.

In the end, the value of human life triumphed over her logic. Spiritual power gathered in Hua Changxi's hands, forming a fire blade, which then whistled through the air toward the red eagle.

When the eagle's beak was still two or three meters from Elder You, the fire blade pierced through the eagle's body.

*Boom!*

The massive body of the red eagle slammed heavily into the ground, kicking up rolling clouds of dust.

When the eagle had dove down, Elder You had already closed his eyes in despair. Feeling the eagle's body crash into him, his heart had momentarily stopped.

After a few breaths, realizing he was actually still alive, Elder You snapped his eyes open, only to see Hua Changxi landing a few meters away after flying down.

Looking at the motionless red eagle on his body, Elder You struggled to crawl out from under it. Once he stood steady, his face still bore the traces of lingering fear.

He had killed many fierce beasts before, but he had never encountered one that could breathe fire.

When the flames came, he hadn't even had time to release his astral qi before being burned.

Having escaped mortal danger, Elder You finally felt the searing pain across his body. Looking down, he found his limbs were a bloody mess, flesh and clothing stuck together in unbearable agony.

"Why did you save this old man?"

Elder You looked at Hua Changxi with confusion in his eyes. Given the cautious nature the girl had displayed earlier, she should have been unwilling to let anyone know she held secrets.

Hua Changxi was leaning forward to look into the rift. Hearing this, she turned her head to look at him. "I cannot stand by and watch a human life perish."

Elder You had not expected such an answer. Since embarking on the path of a martial artist, even if he was not bloodthirsty, killing had been unavoidable. Having killed many, he had lost his reverence for human life.

He never expected that today, he would be saved simply because he was a human life.

Elder You looked at Hua Changxi with a complex expression. She was indeed still a child, untainted by this treacherous mortal world.

"This old man found the red crystals in this very rift."

Seeing Hua Changxi looking into the rift, Elder You followed her gaze.

"I discovered this rift three years ago. Back then, I could still descend to the bottom to explore, but now, even standing at the top feels quite strenuous."

In a short while, Elder You was drenched in sweat. As the sweat ran over his wounds, the burning pain intensified, accompanied by a sensation of being scorched from within.

Looking at the still-fresh and unaffected Hua Changxi, Elder You felt a surge of eagerness. Enduring the intense pain, he asked humbly

"Little Miss Hua, you have no internal strength, yet you could catch up to me and easily slay this beast. Can you tell me how you did it?"

The fire spiritual qi in the rift was extremely dense. Bathed in it, Hua Changxi felt as if she had returned to the womb, her entire body feeling refreshed. Hearing Elder You's question, she thought for a moment and said

"Martial artists train the physical body to produce internal strength and astral qi. What they are stimulating is the body's potential, but essentially, they are consuming the body's foundation."

Elder You nodded, agreeing completely. A Grandmaster was the highest realm of a martial artist, but as they aged, their combat power would decline along with the decay of their vital essence and blood. Once their essence was exhausted, they would die.

Hua Changxi looked at Elder You. "I am not a martial artist. I do not consume my body's foundation; I harness the power of Heaven and Earth for my own use."

Elder You's expression jolted, and he asked urgently, "Then how does one harness the power of Heaven and Earth?"

Hua Changxi smiled. "Elder You, bringing me to this rift only bought you one piece of information, which I have already given you. The path I walk is not the same as that of a martial artist."

"Now that you know such a path exists, as for how to step upon it, you will have to find it yourself."

Elder You frowned, pointing at the lifeless red eagle on the ground. "Then please trouble the little miss to clear one more doubt: does this beast walk the same path as you?"

Hua Changxi nodded. "Yes."

This red eagle could no longer be considered a mere fierce beast; it should be classified as a demon beast.

Elder You's expression changed drastically. "In recent years, there have been more and more fierce beasts in the mountains. Could those beasts also become like this one, capable of breathing fire?"

Hua Changxi's expression also turned serious. "It is highly likely."

Humans could cultivate; animals and plants could, naturally, do the same.

Elder You could not imagine the threat to humanity if the forests were filled with beasts like the red eagle.

However, he could not afford to think about that now. The burns on his body were too painful to allow for thought, and standing at the mouth of the rift only exacerbated the agony. He was reaching his limit.

Seeing his pained expression, Hua Changxi said, "Elder You, go back and tend to your injuries first."

Elder You looked at Hua Changxi, knowing she likely intended to explore the rift. He nodded. "Be careful. When I came last time, I did not encounter this beast."

"This creature either came from elsewhere, or its strength has suddenly increased."

Hua Changxi: "Alright, I will be careful."

The rift did not go straight down; there were protrusions and buffer zones on the cliff walls. Once Elder You left, Hua Changxi stowed the red eagle into the Shennong Cauldron and leaped down, using the protrusions as steps to descend layer by layer.

After descending about a hundred meters, pale red crystals appeared on the cliff walls. The deeper she went, the darker the color of the crystals became, and simultaneously, the fire spiritual qi grew increasingly dense.

"This really is a fire spiritual ore mine!"

Hua Changxi was both excited and invigorated. Just last month, she was anxious over a lack of cultivation resources; now, she had not only discovered spiritual plants at the base of the stone cliff but also a fire spiritual mine of considerable scale.

She was going to strike it rich!

The bottom of the rift was like a riverbed washed by flowing water.

The red glow seen from above the rift was all emitted by bright, translucent red crystals.

As Hua Changxi made her way down, she collected four types of crystals by the time she reached the bottom.

One was the fire spiritual stone with a light, somewhat turbid color, about the size of a walnut. Absorbing it yielded one point of spiritual power.

One was a deep red crystal with many granular spots; absorbing it yielded ten points of spiritual power.

One was an even deeper red crystal with a few thread-like veins; absorbing it yielded one hundred points of spiritual power.

The last was a pure red crystal, transparent without a single impurity; absorbing it yielded one thousand points of spiritual power.

Hua Changxi did not know how others distinguished spiritual stones, but after seeing these four distinct levels in the rift, she directly categorized them as Low-grade, Mid-grade, High-grade, and Top-grade spiritual stones.

Having stumbled upon a fire spiritual mine, Hua Changxi naturally intended to collect the stones.

Top-grade spiritual stones were only found in a one-meter-long strip at the very center of the rift bottom, where the red light was most intense.

With Top-grade stones available, she naturally had no interest in the others and headed straight for that one-meter strip.

Fortunately, the Shennong inheritance had taught her Wind Control. Hua Changxi condensed her spiritual power and swung out wind blades, using them to cut the fire spiritual ore.

Hua Changxi dug her way forward with great joy, placing all the excavated Top-grade fire spiritual stones into the Shennong Cauldron.

Being too focused, she didn't realize she had dug deep into the heart of the mine.

*Hiss—*

A low, almost inaudible hissing sound snapped Hua Changxi out of her joy. Looking up, she realized that as far as the eye could see, there was nothing but fire spiritual ore; the sky was no longer visible above her.

She had entered the heart of the mine!

This discovery made Hua Changxi alert; in the next moment, the hair on her neck stood up.

Sensing danger, Hua Changxi immediately gathered spiritual power in both hands, clenched her fists, and instinctively punched forward amidst the sea of red light.

*Boom!*

A violent collision rang out.

Before Hua Changxi could see what had attacked her, she felt her body being entwined by a soft, massive object as thick as a water bucket.

The hissing and the constriction made Hua Changxi's scalp tingle instantly; she guessed what had attacked her.

She formed her fingers into claws and lunged violently at the snake body wrapped around her.

Her fingertips pierced the giant snake's skin and sank into its flesh. Simultaneously, she concentrated spiritual power at her fingertips to increase the damage to the giant snake.

The hissing intensified, and the snake body writhed uncontrollably, tightening its constriction.

Hua Changxi struggled to breathe. Lacking combat experience, she could only cling desperately to the snake's body, continuously increasing her spiritual power output.

*Bang!*

She forcibly snapped the snake's body into two segments.

Even so, the giant snake did not die and attacked Hua Changxi again.

This time, Hua Changxi saw glowing snake eyes. She dodged the frontal attack and continuously unleashed fire blades and fireballs to prevent the giant snake from approaching.

*Whoosh!*

During the fight, the giant snake actually spat out flames, attempting to burn Hua Changxi.

Fortunately, Hua Changxi was not afraid of fire and remained uninjured.

Finally, as the giant snake's movements slowed due to excessive blood loss, Hua Changxi thrust her clawed fingers into the snake's "seven-inch" vital spot, finally killing it completely.

*Pant...*

*Pant...*

*Pant...*

Hua Changxi sat on a rock, gasping for breath for a while, before quickly standing up to pack the excavated Top-grade fire spiritual stones and the giant snake into the Shennong Cauldron.

She had been careless. The world she was now touching was full of danger; she could no longer afford to act with such complacency as before.

Not daring to go deeper, but having already mined quite a few Top-grade stones, Hua Changxi intended to head back. After turning to walk out a few steps, she suddenly stopped.

Places guarded by demon beasts usually held treasures.

After a moment of hesitation, she turned around and cautiously continued toward the depths of the fire spiritual mine.

After about a hundred meters, she caught a scent that was refreshing to the soul.

Having learned her lesson from the giant snake, even though she suspected treasure lay ahead, Hua Changxi did not dare be careless. She walked vigilantly toward the source of the fragrance.

Before long, at a corner, a red lotus that looked as if a red sunset had fallen upon it appeared in her vision.

The only reason she could see the red lotus clearly amidst the sea of red ore was that it was too radiant, looking like a frozen, brilliant red firework.

The Flowing Light Red Lotus!

A top-grade ancestral fruit among fire-type divine abilities!

Hua Changxi swallowed hard. The fragrance emitted by the Flowing Light Red Lotus was too tempting, but she did not move.

The "Notes on the Classic of a Hundred Herbs," Spiritual Plant Chapter, provided a detailed introduction: only by consuming the lotus seeds of a Flowing Light Red Lotus could one achieve the effect of ancestral reversion.

At this moment, the red lotus was in full bloom, and as the light overflowed, the seeds were about to congeal.

Suppressing her urgency, Hua Changxi waited for the lotus to bear seeds while vigilantly scanning her surroundings, fearing another demon beast might leap out.

A quarter of an hour later, the rosy light dissipated and the flowing light vanished. The red lotus withered instantly, leaving only thirty-six brilliantly red lotus seeds on the pod.

With a *whoosh*, Hua Changxi rushed forward and quickly plucked the seeds. She didn't even put them in the Shennong Cauldron, eating them directly.

Once a lotus seed leaves the pod, its ancestral reversion effect diminishes rapidly unless kept in a special container.

She had none, so she had to eat them.

With every seed she swallowed, Hua Changxi felt a roar emanating from her Dantian Qi Sea.

After finishing all thirty-six seeds, Hua Changxi inspected her Dantian internally, and her pupils constricted sharply.

Her Qi Sea was surging and boiling, with red lotuses emerging one after another.

More sounds echoed from the depths of the mine. Hua Changxi did not dare linger and quickly retraced her steps. Half an hour later, she arrived back at the top of the rift.

By now, the sky had turned dark.

Dreading spending the night in the deep mountains, Hua Changxi exerted her full strength, racing toward the Medicine Valley at top speed.

It had taken her over an hour to get here, but only fifteen minutes to return.

At the entrance of the Medicine Valley, the one-armed man was waiting for Hua Changxi's return as per Elder You's instructions.

Seeing that it was already dark and Hua Changxi had not yet returned, the one-armed man was about to go back to report when he heard a whistling sound from the distance.

Following the sound, he saw Hua Changxi, her clothes burned and tattered.

The one-armed man was somewhat speechless, pointing at her. "You..."

Hua Changxi glanced at her body. She hadn't noticed in the mine, but now she realized she had been burned beyond recognition by the fire spat by the giant snake.

"I'm fine. I just fell into a fire pit."