Chapter 186: Earth Flame Golden Lotus

Two hours later, Li Xuan and Si Yu arrived at a wasteland outside Star Luo City, and seeing no one around, Si Yu finally slowed the carriage.

"Xuan Ge'er, what kind of good thing is that pendant? You haven't spoken to me all the way, is it really that good?" Si Yu asked Li Xuan with curiosity.

Although this was a desolate ridge, Si Yu had no ulterior motives toward Li Xuan, and Li Xuan was not stingy either, so he told Si Yu everything he knew.

"Si Yu big brother, this is truly a treasure, not just the Earth Core Sinking Gold you see on the surface. It just needs my handling to reveal the treasure inside; otherwise it's merely a simple pendant. And to be honest, the treasure inside is a special Seed." Li Xuan smiled at Si Yu, shook his head, then took from his bosom a delicate Lotus Pendant forged from Earth Core Sinking Gold, and showed it to Si Yu.

"Seed? There can be a seed inside? To forge Earth Core Sinking Gold you need over two thousand degrees of heat; what kind of seed could withstand such temperature? This thing is seamless, not assembled, but directly forged, so a seed couldn't be inside." Si Yu was stunned by Li Xuan's words, then quickly waved his hand, refusing to believe a finely carved pendant could contain a seed.

He didn't believe any plant could resist over two thousand degrees of heat.

Li Xuan gave no answer to Si Yu, extended his left hand, circulated soul power, and a burst of Nirvana Fire spewed from his palm.

Nirvana Fire is the hottest among the three flames Li Xuan can wield; if the flame's temperature is too low, it cannot melt the Earth Core Sinking Gold to expose its interior.

As the Nirvana Fire enveloped the Lotus Pendant, the scorching heat continuously baked it, and within minutes the pendant turned a gold‑red, as if it would melt at any moment.

After a while, under the intense heat of the Nirvana Fire, the Lotus Pendant began to melt slowly.

"The pendant forged from Earth Core Sinking Gold actually melted? Xuan Ge'er, your flame's temperature is that high? And you're only at thirty‑level cultivation, yet you can control such high‑temperature fire?" Si Yu stared at the flame in Li Xuan's hand, shocked, and said incredulously.

"This flame isn't a soul skill, so it doesn't require much soul power to maintain, and its temperature being high is normal." Li Xuan smiled and explained to Si Yu, without revealing his secret.

Soon, all the Earth Core Sinking Gold had melted into liquid, and Li Xuan had already prepared a basin of clear water.

The liquid Earth Core Sinking Gold dripped into the water basin Li Xuan had prepared, turning into specks of earth‑yellow gold beads.

As the Earth Core Sinking Gold melted, the thing wrapped inside the Lotus Pendant also became visible.

It was an earth‑yellow lotus seed, about half the size of a little fingernail, delicate and exquisite, with a faint golden floral pattern on its surface.

When the seed contacted the Nirvana Fire, it absorbed the scorching heat, transformed it into its own flame, and moments after touching the fire, a thin layer of yellow flame adhered to the seed's surface to resist the Nirvana Fire's erosion; the seed's golden pattern also began to glow faintly.

It seemed not only to endure the high temperature but also to absorb the Nirvana Fire's heat.

Watching the seed continuously absorb the Nirvana Fire's heat, Li Xuan nodded with satisfaction; though he didn't know how long it had lain dormant, the Earth Flame Golden Lotus seed still seemed quite vigorous.

After a while, the Earth Core Sinking Gold coating on the seed's surface had completely melted away, and Li Xuan slowly withdrew the Nirvana Fire. Although the seed could absorb the fire's heat, it was too slow; it would be better to plant it and use Green Spirit Liquid to accelerate maturation.

As the Nirvana Fire receded, the flame on the seed's surface also faded back into the seed, losing its external flame aura; the earth‑yellow seed, now floating in the air, fell into Li Xuan's palm.

The seed felt heavy and hard in the hand, like a small stone; from the front, Li Xuan could vaguely see the golden floral pattern on its surface.

"Hehe, looks like my Fourth Soul Ring finally landed." Li Xuan pinched the seed, raised an eyebrow, and said with some delight.

Then, Li Xuan cast a Medicine Appraisal Technique at the seed; above it, a familiar Light Screen reappeared before Li Xuan.

【Plant: Earth Flame Golden Lotus】

【Quality: Immortal Grade】

【Cultivation: 1 year】

【Description: A supreme Immortal Grade that grows in the heart of raging magma, its growth conditions are extremely harsh, requiring it to sprout within the core of Earth‑vein fire. Its innate is mysterious earth‑core fire. Only a lotus seed cultivated with Ten Thousand Year Cultivation of this Heavenly Material Earth Treasure can be used as medicine; only one seed is produced every ten thousand years, other parts cannot be used medicinally, all contain Earth‑lung fire toxin, taste sweet‑bitter, neutral nature. It enters the spleen, kidney, and heart meridians.】

"I just don't know what's so marvelous about mysterious earth‑core fire, and the description didn't even say how likely it is to obtain it by ingesting the seed. Sigh, system, you still have room for improvement; the introduction isn't detailed enough." Li Xuan stroked his chin and muttered to the system.

But at that moment, Li Xuan suddenly saw Si Yu staring intently at the water basin he was holding.

"Si Yu big brother? What's wrong?" Li Xuan asked, puzzled, then whispered to Si Yu.

"Ah? Xuan Ge'er, look… if you don't need the Earth Core Sinking Gold, could you give it to me? This metal is extremely precious, needed to forge many high‑end weapons and armor. I've been wanting to forge a set of armor and lack a bit of Earth Core Sinking Gold. Xuan Ge'er, just give me a little, not too much." Si Yu said awkwardly to Li Xuan.

After all, asking a kid for something is indeed a bit awkward, especially when it's such a valuable item.

Moreover, Li Xuan had just spent many Soul Coins buying them a lot of ore.

But faced with such precious metal, Si Yu didn't want to miss the chance, so he shamelessly asked Li Xuan for it.

"Here, Si Yu big brother, I give it to you. I only need the seed; I don't forge, so keeping this here is wasteful. It's better to let you make the most of it." Li Xuan generously handed the water basin filled with gold beads of Earth Core Sinking Gold to Si Yu's hand.

"Thanks, Xuan Ge'er. Once I finish the final product, I'll definitely give you one." Si Yu cheerfully took the basin from Li Xuan, then used professional tools to extract all the Earth Core Sinking Gold from the basin, placed it into a fist‑sized crystal bottle, and filled the bottle with the gold.

Li Xuan's master and his apprentices truly love forging; when they see good material they can't move.

Li Xuan also enjoyed it, for dealing with such simple‑hearted craftsmen is relatively comfortable, with far less scheming.

Then, Li Xuan took out a crystal box and placed the Earth Flame Golden Lotus seed inside.

As a qualified medicine farmer, Li Xuan knew how to preserve the seed to increase its germination rate.

According to his memory, the Earth Flame Golden Lotus seed can retain its vitality only when stored in a crystal vessel.

Now Li Xuan and Si Yu were still in the wilderness, not the best time to plant the seed; after leaving Star Luo City they would go to a nearby town to collect slaves, then rush back to Ladi Canyon. During that period Li Xuan had no time to cultivate the seed. After Si Yu packed up all the Earth Core Sinking Gold, he finally glanced at Li Xuan.

"Xuan Ge'er, let's go collect the slaves now. Can your Soul Guide Device store these slaves? If not, we'll have to rent such equipment." Si Yu, holding the Earth Core Sinking Gold, asked Li Xuan.

"Let's rent one then." Li Xuan thought for a moment and nodded.

The space inside the Palm Sky Bottle is huge; finding an open spot would easily accommodate three thousand slaves without effort, but Li Xuan didn't want to expose his Palm Sky Bottle's capacity, so he finally decided to rent a Soul Guide Device that could hold people.

"Those tunnels rent such Soul Guide Devices; moving three thousand slaves is doable, though a bit exaggerated and conspicuous." Si Yu nodded and said.

Li Xuan also agreed, nodding; a line of three thousand people was indeed too extravagant.

"Xuan Ge'er, we'll go collect the slaves right now." Si Yu finished and drove the carriage with Li Xuan toward the nearby town where slaves could be taken.

Around Star Luo City there are twenty‑four guard towns, each not only garrisoned with troops and supplies but also running its own businesses. In wartime these guard towns watch over each other; in peacetime they scramble for profit, making the Star Luo Empire's layout quite impressive.

As a long‑time itinerant of the Blacksmith Guild, Si Yu was very familiar with this series of matters.

After arriving at a town near Star Luo City, Si Yu used Li Xuan's Token to successfully obtain three thousand slaves, and also spent Soul Coins to rent a Soul Guide Device that can hold living people.

With the special horse Li Xuan owned, the journey from Star Luo City to Ladi Canyon took about seven to eight days.

Li Xuan thought for a moment, then gave each person five Fasting Pills, blindfolded them, inspected them, and then tossed them into the rented Soul Guide Device.

Renting a Soul Guide Device for three thousand people cost three thousand Soul Coins, and the deposit demanded three million golden Soul Coins from Li Xuan.

After settling these slaves, Si Yu and Li Xuan finally left the vicinity of Star Luo City.

……

Seven days later, at the entrance of Ladi Canyon.

"The immortal master's carriage, the immortal master has returned!" A Yellow Turban Warrior who spotted Li Xuan's carriage shouted, immediately calling nearby people as if summoning friends.

Seeing the Yellow Turban Warriors respectfully waiting at the canyon mouth, Li Xuan was also taken aback.

What is going on? "Immortal Master, you finally returned!" the Yellow Turban Warrior immediately stepped forward, grabbed Li Xuan's carriage, and looked at him excitedly.

"Your enthusiasm is a bit overwhelming for me." Li Xuan, slightly nervous, looked toward the Yellow Turban Warrior.

"Immortal Master, what about our building materials, our slaves?" the Yellow Turban Warrior asked Li Xuan with a serious expression.

"I was wondering what it was? You want this, then let's go, let's go into the canyon, I'll take out the stuff." Li Xuan gave the Yellow Turban Warrior a disdainful glance, then drove the carriage slowly into the land behind Ladi Canyon.

Li Xuan glanced at Ladi Canyon behind him, then jumped from the carriage, handed his belt to the Yellow Turban Warrior, and released all the slaves.

After handing over all the slaves and building materials to the Yellow Turban Warrior, Li Xuan suddenly remembered the little hammer, so he randomly grabbed a Yellow Turban Warrior and asked.

"Warrior, where is the hammer?" Li Xuan said to the Yellow Turban Warrior.

"The little hammer is a bit busy right now; he's dealing with the heavy water of the Mysterious Pool in this land. He's basically a mobile Mysterious Pool heavy‑water attractor—just by walking he can draw all the heavy water of the Mysterious Pool out of the ground. We built a special carriage, and now we take the little hammer around the domain every day; it can also reabsorb the heavy water of the Mysterious Pool." the Yellow Turban Warrior laughed and explained to Li Xuan.

"I see, this little fellow's true form is a top‑grade medicinal material; it can indeed attract the heavy water of the Mysterious Pool. Let him stay busy." Li Xuan smiled and nodded at the Yellow Turban Warrior.

"Immortal Master, since that's the case, I'll get busy first; the slaves and building materials have arrived, so we can start working." The Yellow Turban Warrior also nodded, then without waiting for Li Xuan's response, left the place and began his work.

Li Xuan didn't mind the Yellow Turban Warrior's behavior; he smiled and shook his head.

Now that he's back in his own domain, Li Xuan finally has the chance to cultivate the Earth Flame Golden Lotus.

Although Li Xuan is only Level 34 now, still some way from Level 40, the Earth Flame Golden Lotus also needs time to grow, so Li Xuan must plant it in advance, and its growth conditions are special, requiring a special layout.

Li Xuan's spirit stirred and he entered the space of the Palm Heaven Bottle.

First, Li Xuan found a suitable spot beside the Hot Spring, then dug a basin‑sized pit and collected some spiritual water from the Hot Spring.

Next, Li Xuan carefully took the lotus seeds out of the crystal bottle and planted them in the Hot Spring pool.

The Spiritual Energy near the Hot Spring is abundant; although the Earth Flame Golden Lotus requires special conditions, Bing Huo Liang Yi Yan can ignore such conditions, so planting the Earth Flame Golden Lotus is much easier.

After planting the Earth Flame Golden Lotus, Li Xuan summoned a drop of Green Spirit Liquid and threw it directly into the Shui Chi.

The Green Spirit Liquid was quickly absorbed by the lotus seeds of the Earth Flame Golden Lotus.

In the next second, a wholly golden lotus leaf slowly grew, then unfolded as a golden lotus leaf on the surface of the Shui Chi.

"Wow, so beautiful! Only within Bing Huo Liang Yi Yan can one see the lotus leaf of the Earth Flame Golden Lotus; otherwise you'd have to go deep into the earth veins to have a chance to see such a golden lotus." Li Xuan looked at the Earth Flame Golden Lotus, his eyes full of affection, and nodded contentedly.

(End of Chapter)