Chapter 125: Twin Flames of the Blazing Wood, Perfection in Qi Refinement

Chapter 125: Twin Flames of the Blazing Wood, Perfection in Qi Refinement

Following Ling Xiaobai's guidance, Chu Ning trekked for several miles until he reached the foothills of a mountain range.

Sensing the spiritual energy in the area, Chu Ning curiously asked Ling Xiaobai, "Xiaobai, the spiritual energy here is indeed richer, but it doesn't seem overly concentrated."

"Underground!" Ling Xiaobai transmitted his voice into Chu Ning's mind before wriggling out of his sleeve.

He then led the way, walking ahead on the ground.

Chu Ning followed, first climbing to the mid-point of the mountain and circling around to the other side. They then turned a corner and began descending along a slope that wasn't too steep.

Soon, they entered a mountain crevice hidden behind the peaks.

As soon as he stepped into the crevice, Chu Ning felt a difference in the spiritual energy density compared to the outside world.

"Turns out there's a hidden realm between these mountains," Chu Ning muttered as he looked up. Tall peaks surrounded them on all sides.

If one could fly, they might have discovered this place from above.

But under the current circumstances, where everyone had to walk, no one would go out of their way to climb to the top of a peak to inspect such a place.

"Meow!"

At that moment, Ling Xiaobai urged him on.

Chu Ning followed the little guy further, eventually entering the belly of another mountain.

After walking a short distance, Chu Ning felt the surrounding temperature rising noticeably.

The hotter it got, the further they went.

Fortunately, the heat was still bearable. Chu Ning simply circulated a cycle of the Green Wood Eternal Spring Art, immediately feeling refreshed.

Soon, the pair arrived in a cave.

Black sand, green trees, and red fruits—these three colors interwove before Chu Ning's eyes.

In this small cave, there was a large patch of spiritual plants, numbering several dozen.

Some of these plants resembled cacti from Chu Ning's memory, but they were over a person's height and grew in the black sand.

On each plant hung five or six spiritual fruits.

The fruits were entirely crimson, about the size of a goose egg.

"Are these...Twin Flames of the Blazing Wood?" Chu Ning asked, unsure.

He vaguely recalled seeing these spiritual fruits in a jade slip somewhere, but the slip had mentioned that they had almost disappeared from the nearby cultivation mountains.

So, Chu Ning hadn't paid much attention at the time, and he couldn't be completely sure now.

Chu Ning slowly stepped forward, carefully observing the fruits.

"Indeed, they are the Twin Flames of the Blazing Wood!" Chu Ning murmured softly, a hint of surprise in his voice.

Rumor had it that the Twin Flames of the Blazing Wood could only grow in places where wood and fire-attributed spiritual energy were extremely dense.

They contained extremely pure wood and flame-attributed spiritual energy, and what was even rarer was that the two types of energy were perfectly balanced.

Whether consumed directly or refined into pills, they were an excellent ingredient.

However, ordinary cultivators who didn't cultivate wood and fire dual-attribute techniques couldn't ingest them.

If one couldn't absorb both types of spiritual energy from the herb, the overwhelming concentration of the other attribute would interfere and easily cause a loss of control over their magic power.

Nevertheless, this herb was a treasure for cultivators with dual wood and fire spiritual roots.

Wood gives birth to fire, and these two attributes are inherently mutually beneficial. Cultivators with dual wood and fire spiritual roots often cultivate such dual-attribute techniques.

If they could consume these spiritual fruits or pills refined from them, their cultivation would greatly improve.

As these thoughts flashed through Chu Ning's mind, he took out the jade box.

Although these spiritual fruits were useless to him since he only cultivated wood-attributed techniques, he couldn't leave this treasure trove empty-handed.

Chu Ning plucked over thirty Twin Flames of the Blazing Wood and placed them in the jade box. Then, his gaze fell on the saplings growing next to the mature fruit-bearing plants.

There were three to four dozen of these saplings, possibly grown from fallen fruits.

"Although these Twin Flames of the Blazing Wood require a high concentration of wood and fire-attributed spiritual energy, there might be suitable places for them to grow outside. I should take them with me. Even if I can't plant them, they should still be valuable," Chu Ning thought to himself as he squatted down, preparing to dig up all the saplings.

However, just as he crouched down, his face suddenly changed.

The next moment, Chu Ning straightened up and, in the same instant, executed the Thunderstartle Step, darting to the side.

Simultaneously, two dark pincers shot out from under the black sand, snapping where Chu Ning had just been standing.

Immediately after, a crab-like demon beast with two heads and a colorful underside, primarily colored in crimson, emerged from the black sand.

It leaped and pounced towards Chu Ning.

"Redfire Doublehead Scorpion!" Chu Ning subconsciously held his breath as he pulled out the Greenlight Pearl, a mid-grade spiritual tool, from his storage bag.

In the next moment, one of the scorpion's heads sprayed a cloud of crimson mist.

However, as the mist reached Chu Ning, it was blocked by an invisible barrier of energy.

Chu Ning once again executed the Thunderstartle Step to dodge while swiftly pulling out several Clearwind Talismans and Binding Beast Talismans from his storage bag.

As the Clearwind Talismans were activated, the crimson mist dissipated.

At the same time, Chu Ning activated another Binding Beast Talisman, and a white strand of spiritual power wrapped around the Redfire Doublehead Scorpion.

But in just an instant, the fire scorpion broke free.

Simultaneously, the scorpion's body swelled, growing to the size of a calf.

It completely blocked the cave entrance.

Chu Ning consecutively unleashed several techniques of the Azurewood Sword Scripture, but these wood-attributed spells had little effect on the Redfire Doublehead Scorpion.

As for the talismans in Chu Ning's hand, the Crimsonfire Talisman, an upper-grade primary level talisman, would likely be ineffective against this fire-attributed demon beast.

However, the scorpion was incredibly agile in the air, lunging forward and dodging the spell attack.

As the scorpion rushed towards him, Chu Ning held his breath and dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding the scorpion's massive pincers.

At the same time, he cursed inwardly.

"Is this a Level 1 Advanced Demon Beast?"

Based on the aura it exuded, it was indeed a Level 1 Advanced Demon Beast.

But judging by its defense and intelligence, Chu Ning refused to believe that it was merely a Level 1 Advanced beast.

As his figure flickered, a halberd-like artifact appeared in Chu Ning's hand.

It was the water-attributed, high-grade offensive artifact he had obtained from the disciple of the Transmission Hall.

Facing the charging Redfire Doublehead Scorpion, Chu Ning infused his right hand with spiritual power and thrust the halberd forward.

Instantly, a water-attributed spell condensed on the halberd.

As the scorpion collided with the halberd, the spell struck the demon beast.

A layer of white light appeared on the scorpion's body, and its crimson color faded slightly.

"Meow!"

At that moment, Ling Xiaobai, who had missed his target earlier, let out an angry meow.

He opened his mouth and sprayed another beam of white light.

As the scorpion was hit by Chu Ning's water-attributed artifact and couldn't leap up, the beam of light accurately landed on the Redfire Doublehead Scorpion, encasing it in a layer of frost.

Ling Xiaobai's spell froze the scorpion in place.

However, the scorpion's body began to glow red, and it seemed to be breaking free of the ice.

Seeing this, Chu Ning frowned.

He was about to reach into his storage bag for a mid-grade water-attributed talisman, but hesitated and stopped.

"I don't know how long we'll be staying in this spirit realm, and we might encounter more dangers. I should conserve my high-grade talismans as much as possible.

Using a mid-grade talisman to deal with this kind of demon beast would be too extravagant."

Instead of taking out a talisman, Chu Ning pulled out a pitch-black shield.

Having always felt that he might have developed a new form of attack, Chu Ning never had the chance to test it until now.

"Xiao Bai, stop, let me handle this!"

Chu Ning stopped Ling Xiaobai from casting another ice-attributed spell.

Then, using the Thunderstartle Step, he rushed forward.

The Redfire Doublehead Scorpion had just broken free of Ling Xiaobai's freezing spell when it saw Chu Ning charging towards it. Its two pitch-black pincers, tinged with purple, snapped at him.

"Clang!"

The pincers missed Chu Ning but collided with the black shield he swung towards them.

In the next moment, the scorpion flew backwards and crashed into the rocks.

The heavy impact seemed to daze the scorpion, and it flipped over onto its back, motionless.

Seeing this, Chu Ning, shield in hand, rushed forward again using the Thunderstartle Step.

The Redfire Doublehead Scorpion also spotted Chu Ning, and as he approached, it swept its tail towards him.

"Clang!"

In a scene almost identical to the previous one, the scorpion's tail slammed into the black shield.

Once again, the scorpion was sent flying and crashed into the rocks.

"Meow!"

Watching Chu Ning's violent assault, Ling Xiaobai was left slightly stunned.

Subsequently, Chu Ning continued to use his shield to batter the scorpion, sending it flying with each strike.

After five consecutive blows, the scorpion lay on the ground, unable to move.

Chu Ning then proceeded to smash the scorpion against the ground with his shield.

Soon, the scorpion was completely immobilized, though its shell remained intact. However, a faint trail of red poison dripped from its mouth.

Evidently, its internal organs had been thoroughly damaged by Chu Ning's relentless pounding.

"Meow!"

Only then did Ling Xiaobai approach, his gaze fixed on Chu Ning.

"I let you conserve some spiritual power, little guy," Chu Ning said with a smile.

Of course, he also wanted to test his own strength against the scorpion.

Up until now, his offensive techniques primarily consisted of the Thunderstartle Step and the Heaven Shaking Fist.

Chu Ning wanted to see how effective his physical attacks would be without relying on those secret techniques.

Now it seemed that with the right weapon, his normal physical attacks could also be very powerful.

Since he was able to bludgeon this scorpion with its incredibly tough defense to death, he could certainly use this technique against other opponents as well.

Chu Ning examined the pitch-black artifact in his hand and, seeing no signs of damage, returned it to his storage bag.

Then, he took out the jet-black dagger he had kept as a last resort and chopped off the scorpion's pincers and tail, storing them in his storage bag.

These were the most valuable parts of the demon beast.

Chu Ning used his spiritual sense to scan the black sand once more to ensure there were no other demon beasts nearby before digging up all the Twin Flames of the Blazing Wood saplings.

He carefully placed them in the jade box and stored it away.

"Meow!"

Ling Xiaobai meowed at Chu Ning.

"Go in?"

Hearing Ling Xiaobai's meow, Chu Ning looked at the dark cave entrance leading further down and hesitated slightly.

However, after some thought, he continued forward into the cave.

Of course, Chu Ning remained vigilant and released his spiritual sense to scan the area. He also released his puppet bird to fly ahead and scout.

What was unfortunate was that the passage from the cave entrance sloped downward at an angle, extending for more than 300 zhang. Even with the puppet bird, Chu Ning couldn't see what lay at the end.

After some hesitation, he instructed the puppet bird to continue scouting ahead while he slowly made his way down the passage.

After traveling about 50 zhang, the view in Chu Ning's scrying mirror, which displayed the puppet bird's perspective, changed slightly.

The end of the passage opened up into a small cave that was only 5 zhang in size.

The next moment, Chu Ning's jaw dropped in amazement.

Scattered haphazardly across the small cave were dozens of irregularly shaped fire-red crystals of various sizes.

"Could these be Fire Spirit Crystals?" Chu Ning wondered aloud.

Staring at the scene in his scrying mirror, he was filled with astonishment.

Without rushing forward, he directed the puppet bird to fly around the small cave to ensure there were no other creatures or anomalies. Only then did Chu Ning continue down the passage towards the small cave.

Soon, he reached the entrance of the small cave.

Once again, Chu Ning released his spiritual sense to sweep the area, confirming the absence of any dangers before truly stepping into the cave.

"Such dense fire-attribute spiritual energy!" Chu Ning exclaimed in awe as he entered the cave.

Earlier, the puppet bird could only provide him with a visual perspective. But now, as Chu Ning stood within the cave himself, his perception was heightened.

Even though he cultivated wood-attribute techniques, the density of the fire-attribute spiritual energy was palpable to him.

"Meow!"

Ling Xiaobai, on the other hand, let out a plaintive meow.

For a creature of the ice element, being in a place with such dense fire-attribute spiritual energy was inherently uncomfortable.

Seeing this, Chu Ning decided to put Ling Xiaobai back into his spirit beast bag.

Then, he slowly made his way towards the fire-red crystals he had spotted earlier.

Crouching down to examine them, Chu Ning couldn't help but whisper in delight, "They really are Fire Spirit Crystals."

Having dug up Earth Spirit Crystals before, he could recognize them at a glance.

Knowing that there were dozens of these crystals here, he wasted no time in taking out his tools and starting to dig them up.

With a clear understanding of the value of spirit crystals, he was well aware of the fortune that lay before him.

These Fire Spirit Crystals varied in size, with the smallest being no bigger than a fist.

The largest crystal was even twice the size of the Earth Spirit Crystal he had obtained before.

Carefully, Chu Ning dug up each crystal and placed them in his storage bag.

...

While Chu Ning was busy digging up the Fire Spirit Crystals, an attractive young man appeared outside the large cave where Chu Ning had previously killed the Redfire Doublehead Scorpion.

Holding a map in his hand, the young man glanced at the cave, his proud face revealing a hint of anticipation.

Then, he quickly stepped into the cave, but his expression turned ugly as his eyes fell upon the scene within.

"What happened here? Where are the Twin Flames of the Blazing Wood?"

The young man's gaze fell on the motionless body of the Redfire Doublehead Scorpion, his face flickering with shock, anger, and other emotions.

"Someone has already picked the Twin Flames of the Blazing Wood?

I went to great lengths to obtain this information, and despite the tremendous effort it took to leave my post and come here, it was all for those fruits.

And now, someone has beaten me to them?"

The young man's face twisted with anger.

According to his sect's instructions, he should have left the area months ago when the restrictions were lifted.

However, he had managed to deceive everyone and stayed behind.

The primary reason for his decision was that he had learned from a junior sect member that the place where he had been teleported to contained the Twin Flames of the Blazing Wood.

The only reason he hadn't entered the cave earlier was because of the presence of the Level 1 Advanced demon beast.

He had spent a considerable amount of effort and resources to obtain information from the other person, even going as far as to disobey his sect's orders, all for the sake of the Twin Flames of the Blazing Wood.

Now, to find that someone had gotten to the fruits first filled him with rage.

The young man quickly approached the motionless Redfire Doublehead Scorpion and gave it a cursory examination. His expression grew even more unsightly.

"This demon beast died not long ago, and I just entered from outside. That means..."

The young man glanced at the dark cave entrance, his eyes narrowing.

His gaze flickered, and he stepped towards the cave entrance, intending to enter.

But as he lifted his foot, he paused, and instead of stepping forward, he retreated, moving back outside the large cave.

Then, he hid himself in the gap between two large rocks, his eyes fixed on the entrance, coldly gleaming.

At this moment, Chu Ning, deep within the small cave, was oblivious to the newcomer's presence.

With the slope included, the distance from the small cave to the cave entrance exceeded 200 zhang, far beyond the range of his spiritual sense.

Chu Ning carefully dug up each Fire Spirit Crystal and placed them in his storage bag.

He even used his spiritual sense to meticulously scan the surrounding area, including the underground, to ensure he hadn't missed anything.

Only after confirming that he hadn't left anything behind did he put away his tools and the scrying mirror.

Then, with the puppet bird leading the way, he began to make his way up the sloping passage towards the cave entrance.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end