https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-304-Capturing-the-Earthfire-Revealing-Traces/12549993/
Chapter 303: Vein Earthfire, the Forge of All Things
Chapter 303: Vein Earthfire, the Forge of All Things
"No wonder Snow Mist Valley attracts so many cultivators each time it opens," Chu Ning couldn't help but marvel as he put away a piece of top-grade material, the Blue Candle Stone, used for refining wind-attribute magical artifacts.
There weren't many demonic beasts in Snow Mist Valley. In his journey so far, he had only encountered a handful. However, the valley was abundant in treasures, not too different from gathering spirit stones.
The most important thing to be cautious about was perhaps the threat of other cultivators trying to steal his findings.
But with his powerful spiritual sense, the secret technique of the Forbidden God Art, and his Yin Wood spirit body's innate ability to conceal his presence, Chu Ning had managed to avoid any conflicts with other cultivators on his path, aside from the encounter with the dwarf-like late Golden Core cultivator.
Of course, his swift progress through the valley without much delay could also be attributed to his haste in reaching the depths and finding the Nine Ritual Gold.
As he ventured deeper, the temperature continued to drop noticeably. By the third day in the valley, the surroundings had transformed from the initially vibrant spring scenery to a white expanse, and the icy chill had surpassed what an ordinary mid Golden Core cultivator could withstand.
However, Chu Ning didn't feel much cold at the moment; instead, he felt a slight warmth.
"This Icefire Silk Armor is truly a treasure. I didn't feel much wearing it usually, but in this extreme environment, its effects are evident."
Chu Ning paused briefly, looking ahead. "According to the map recorded on the jade slip, we're only thirty miles away from the deepest part of the valley. That's where they found the Nine Ritual Gold in a cave."
With only a glance to confirm the direction, Chu Ning continued on his way.
The icy chill intensified rapidly, far beyond what it had been before. After traveling about ten miles, even a late Golden Core cultivator would likely struggle to withstand the cold.
But with his robust physical body and the protection of the Icefire Silk, Chu Ning merely circulated his spiritual power slightly and pressed on without slowing down.
After another ten miles, with only ten miles left to the location described in the jade slip, Chu Ning paused once more, gazing at the scene of swirling snow and wind before him, reminiscent of the valley entrance.
He sensed the environment for a moment, his brows furrowing slightly. "The blizzard here, infused with spatial force and icy power, has already reached the intensity it had in the valley before it dispersed. If we go further in, it will likely surpass even this level of intensity. Seems like we're out of luck this time around."
If the intensity remained at this level, a late Golden Core cultivator at their peak or with a strong enough cultivation technique might still be able to push through. But if it intensified further, even those late Golden Core cultivators at their pinnacle would find it challenging.
This was quite different from what was recorded on the jade slip, which mentioned that even at the deepest part of the valley, the intensity was similar to what it was now.
While he could withstand the icy power with the help of the Icefire Silk Armor, he had to be cautious about the spatial force. Even with his robust physical body and spiritual power, there was still a certain level of risk involved.
With that thought, Chu Ning took out a ring from his storage bag—the magical artifact he had obtained from Jiu Yan Shangren on Wuling Island. This artifact could resist spatial force and was powered by Origin Stones. Fortunately, Chu Ning had brought a substantial number of Origin Stones with him from Wuling Island.
After affixing an Origin Stone to the ring and putting it on, he continued forward. As he advanced, the oppressive feeling from the spatial force on his body lessened significantly.
After traveling another ten miles, a cave appeared before Chu Ning. "This is it!"
A glint of joy flashed in Chu Ning's eyes as he sent his spiritual sense into the cave. It was hard to tell if the interference was due to the spatial and icy forces or the uniqueness of the cave, but his spiritual sense was noticeably affected.
When he probed deeper into the cave, he found that he could only extend his spiritual sense for about five hundred zhang before it became impossible to go further. After sensing that there weren't any obvious abnormalities in the cave, Chu Ning entered without hesitation.
As soon as he stepped into the cave, the blizzard outside seemed to vanish, and Chu Ning felt the spatial and icy forces dissipate. What surprised him even more was that the temperature seemed to return to normal.
"This is strange. Even if there wasn't a blizzard here, given that it's connected to the icy world outside, it shouldn't be this warm, even if it's not bone-chillingly cold."
Chu Ning muttered to himself as he surveyed the cave, which was nearly a hundred zhang wide and seemingly bottomless.
The Golden Winged Spirit Butterfly was unable to withstand the blizzard infused with spatial force, so Chu Ning had kept it in his spirit beast bag.
After being released, the butterfly fluttered around the cave once before hovering in front of Chu Ning, unmoving.
"Hmm?"
Chu Ning frowned slightly at the butterfly's behavior.
Clearly, the Golden Winged Spirit Butterfly was unable to sense the presence of any metallic treasures.
He had tested its abilities outside, and the butterfly could sense metallic spiritual herbs or artifacts of higher grades even from a distance of five li away.
If the Nine Ritual Gold were present, it should have been detectable.
It was impossible for the butterfly to not sense it at all.
"Is there no Nine Ritual Gold in this cave, or has this cave's depth exceeded five li?"
Considering this possibility, Chu Ning looked at the deep valley that stretched diagonally downward, its bottom nowhere in sight.
After some thought, he finally continued along the valley.
"I seem to be heading deeper underground, and the temperature is rising.
This place is like a whole different world compared to the icy landscape outside. Could there be earthfire here?"
After advancing only about a hundred zhang, Chu Ning felt the temperature far exceed that of a typical mountain cave, filling him with surprise and suspicion.
At this moment, the spirit butterfly still showed no reaction.
Aside from the Nine Ritual Gold, there didn't seem to be any other metallic substances in the area.
Suddenly, the cave ahead narrowed abruptly. What was once a hundred zhang wide was now only ten zhang across.
At the same time, a scorching heat wave rushed toward them.
"As expected, there's earthfire here!"
Chu Ning murmured softly, and the Icefire Silk Armor that had protected him from the cold outside once again proved its worth.
A cooling sensation spread throughout his body.
Even in such a scorching environment, Chu Ning didn't feel too uncomfortable.
However, his spiritual sense still couldn't be fully unleashed, and he could only extend it to about three hundred zhang, even closer than the previous five hundred zhang.
After some consideration, Chu Ning continued forward.
Passing through a fifty-zhang-long narrow passage, the cave opened up once more.
What lay before him was a sea of crimson.
It was a massive lava lake, spanning three hundred zhang in width.
The lava churned and bubbled, its very sight causing one's heart to palpitate.
Chu Ning took out a fire-red scorpion from his spirit beast bag.
Before entering this valley, Chu Ning had purchased various demonic beasts of different attributes to prepare for any situation.
This Fire Scorpion had reached the level of a third-stage demonic beast.
Facing the lava, it didn't show any excitement but instead revealed a hint of fear in its eyes.
However, Chu Ning didn't spare it just because it was a third-stage demonic beast.
Instead, he directly threw it towards the lava.
"Chirp!"
The fire scorpion let out a shrill cry as it fell into the lava.
But as a fire-attribute demonic beast with an incredibly hard exoskeleton, its body began to dissolve at a visible rate as soon as it made contact with the lava.
Chu Ning's expression changed slightly at the sight.
After observing carefully, he let out a soft sigh.
"Aside from this lava, there doesn't seem to be anything else here.
This trip was for nothing."
As Chu Ning muttered to himself, intending to turn around and leave, he suddenly paused.
His eyes widened in surprise as he looked towards the center of the lava lake.
Amidst the churning lava, a ball of flame was slowly rising from the bottom.
Logically, in a place with so much lava, even if there were flames, they would merge and become indistinguishable to the naked eye.
However, with just a glance, Chu Ning could clearly see that there was indeed a ball of flame rising.
Moreover, as the lava churned, the flame rose higher and higher.
Soon, the flame floated above the lava.
The flame was about the size of a fist, purple-red in color, and exuded an incredibly powerful fire attribute energy that could be felt just by looking at it.
"Vein Earthfire!"
Chu Ning exclaimed in surprise as he got a clear view of the flame.
After carefully comparing it to the information he had seen in Jiuhua Zong, he finally confirmed that it was indeed Vein Earthfire.
Vein Earthfire could only be born in extremely pure, high-grade earthfire.
This vein earthfire would only form after countless tens of thousands of years of accumulation of earthfire.
In places like the alchemy and artifact refining sites of major sects, where earthfire was used continuously, it was impossible for vein earthfire to form.
And this clump of vein earthfire was about the size of a fist; one could only imagine how many tens of thousands of years it had taken to form.
"Vein earthfire is said to be able to refine all things. If I can absorb and refine it, not only will it greatly enhance the might of my fire-attribute spells, but I might even have a chance to melt and sever that Black Mysterious Metal!"
Chu Ning's eyes gleamed with fervor as he gazed at the vein earthfire.
Indeed, the records in Jiuhua Zong mentioned a method to refine this vein earthfire.
However, the only trouble now was how he could obtain the fire.
"Flying straight over is too dangerous. Aside from the fact that I'm not sure if this Icefire Silk Armor can withstand the heat from above, there might be demonic beasts or other dangers beneath the lava. If I get attacked and fall after reaching above the lava, there will be no coming back."
Chu Ning's eyes flickered with uncertainty as he stared at the distant vein earthfire.
Soon after, he waved his hand, performing the Fiery Flame Technique and transforming it into a giant fire hand that reached out to grasp the distant vein earthfire.
However, under the impact of the rolling lava's aura, the fire hand only traveled fifty zhang before it scattered apart.
Chu Ning's eyebrows furrowed slightly, and he quickly performed hand seals, summoning a Blazing Sun Spirit Bird.
As Chu Ning pointed forward, the ancient spirit bird, condensed from his spiritual power, flew towards the vein earthfire.
But after flying about a hundred zhang, it too scattered amidst the rolling lava's aura.
"The distance isn't enough! And even if I reach a distance of a hundred and fifty zhang, I won't be able to swallow the vein earthfire and return."
Chu Ning pondered for a moment, then opened his mouth and spat out a red spirit sword.
It was one of the three spirit swords he had refined, the Fire Spirit Sword.
Chu Ning hesitated for a moment before tentatively sending the sword forward.
Fifty zhang, eighty zhang, a hundred zhang, a hundred and twenty zhang!
When the Fire Spirit Sword reached a distance of a hundred and twenty zhang, Chu Ning felt the sword shaking violently, as if it was about to fall at any moment.
Startled, Chu Ning immediately recalled the flying sword.
The sword barely made it back into his hand, and Chu Ning wiped a cold sweat from his brow.
"When the flying sword goes out and wants to return, it can't go beyond a hundred zhang in distance, only a hundred. Otherwise, it's too risky. But I can give it a try."
Muttering to himself, Chu Ning once again sent out the flying sword.
At the same time, he performed hand seals, summoning a Blazing Sun Spirit Bird that disappeared into the Fire Spirit Sword.
The next moment, Chu Ning pointed forward, and the Fire Spirit Sword flew towards the vein earthfire.
When it reached a hundred zhang away, Chu Ning performed hand seals again, and the Blazing Sun Spirit Bird that had been hidden within the sword flew out.
It flew straight towards the vein earthfire below and swallowed it into its belly.
Vaguely, one could see a reddish-purple flame flickering within the spirit bird's stomach.
Chu Ning was overjoyed and immediately controlled the Blazing Sun Spirit Bird to return.
However, perhaps due to the consumption of energy from swallowing the vein earthfire, the Blazing Sun Spirit Bird, which could usually travel a distance of fifty zhang back and forth, now began to rapidly fade after flying only forty zhang.
Chu Ning's expression changed at this sight.
If the vein earthfire fell now, it would sink directly into the lava.
Gritting his teeth, Chu Ning urged the flying sword forward at full speed.
Just as the spirit bird was about to dissipate, the flying sword finally arrived.
The spirit bird found its anchor and flashed before merging into the sword once more.
Without hesitation, Chu Ning directed the flying sword to shoot back towards him.
A hundred and ten zhang, eighty zhang, fifty zhang, twenty zhang, ten zhang...
"Not good!"
Just ten zhang away from Chu Ning, the Fire Spirit Sword suddenly began to shake violently.
Whether it was due to the sword's earlier pause in the air that had consumed its energy or the burden of the Blazing Sun Spirit Bird carrying the vein earthfire within, the sword's energy was clearly insufficient.
Chu Ning forcibly urged it forward, but it only moved less than a zhang before the sword could no longer hold on and fell towards the lava below.
(End of Chapter)
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