Chapter 78: Provocation

Cheng Xi no longer paid any mind to Yan Qingli; she had seen countless people like her, merely relying on their family background. If she were to come and provoke her again once she had true ability of her own, perhaps she would think a little higher of her.

Exiting from the back gate of the Academy, she entered directly into the mountains. The scenery was beautiful, filled with lush green, and the faint sound of a murmuring stream came from afar. She followed the mountain path forward; there was almost nothing of value on the outermost perimeter.

The outermost perimeter had the least risk and was suitable for Academy students to come and explore; the Academy would not forbid it.

However, as Cheng Xi walked deeper and deeper, she rarely found traces of anyone having been there. Discovering a few rare Spirit Plants, she casually dug them up by the roots to see if they could be grown back at Qingtian Peak.

She also discovered a few pieces of ore; it was a pity she had no use for them, but taking them to trade for Talisman Beads could still be considered a small gain.

It was a pity that she hadn't even seen a shadow of the Nine-Turn Profound Ginseng, Ice Soul Snow Lotus, or Red Flame Dragon Blood Fruit she wanted. Having traveled to this point, she had already crossed two mountain peaks, so she sat down on the spot to meditate and rest.

The Spirit Essence here was denser than on the outer perimeter; after resting for half an hour, the fatigue on her body was swept away.

The Phoenix Fire within Cheng Xi, which had been motionless all along, suddenly had a hint of movement. As it stirred, Cheng Xi noticed it immediately.

Huh?

She had almost forgotten about it.

Ever since it had chased the Giant Axe into her dantian that day, it had been as weak as if it had died on the spot. As time went on, she had forgotten it.

She hadn't expected it to actually have movement now.

With a shift of her thoughts, the Phoenix Fire appeared in her palm; the flame, which had been on the verge of death, was now a circle larger.

As soon as it came out, it immediately flew forward, with the posture of wanting to flee.

Cheng Xi gathered her five fingers, trapping it in her palm, and looking at it, she said, "I know you have already cultivated your own spiritual consciousness and can understand my words. I give you two choices: either form a contract with me and refine artifacts for me, or fight me. If you win, you are free; if you lose, you must still form a contract with me."

A flame like the Phoenix Fire, born from the nature of heaven and earth, had high spirituality; it was even rarer for it to nurture its own divine consciousness.

It had not been afraid when it contended with the axe back then, but for some reason, even though Cheng Xi clearly did not look powerful, it felt a trembling from its very bones.

Although it had nurtured its own consciousness, it only had the intelligence of a seven or eight-year-old child. This oppressive fear made it instantly cautious in its treatment of Cheng Xi.

"I want to become stronger."

Cheng Xi:!

"Huh? You can talk?"

The little milky voice sounded so cute.

"Of course I can! I am the strongest among the Spirit Fires, only a little bit worse than the Divine Fire," the Phoenix Fire said proudly.

Cheng Xi raised her eyebrows slightly; its intelligence was quite high, knowing to show its value as soon as it opened its mouth.

This did not look like it wanted to fight to determine who was superior, so she asked, "What do you want?"

"I want to become stronger, so you must give me Fire Ore to eat, or let me devour other fire seeds."

"Fine," Cheng Xi nodded, "but this depends on fate. If we encounter them, I will certainly get them for you; if we don't, you are not allowed to make a fuss."

Phoenix Fire:...

It sounded like this person didn't have a very good temper. It pursed its lips, "Alright, but you want me to help you refine artifacts. I haven't grown up yet, so what I can help with is limited; you aren't allowed to blame me then."

"... Fine!" Cheng Xi lifted the Phoenix Fire onto her fingertip; it was a tiny little ball, but its temper was quite big.

Well, it was fire-attributed, so they were all prone to exploding at the slightest touch.

"Then keep walking forward. I smell the scent of Fire Flame Stone. Although the grade isn't high, I'm not picky right now."

Since Cheng Xi had promised the Phoenix Fire, she did not go back on her word, so she let it point the way and brought it along as she traveled.

After walking for a stretch, the Phoenix Fire asked with some surprise, "Why are there no Demons coming to attack you?"

Cheng Xi moved forward by the moonlight, saying as she walked, "I used a pill to conceal my aura."

The Phoenix Fire nodded, "So that's how it is."

After walking for a full hour, Cheng Xi finally smelled the scent of Fire Flame Stone too. The Phoenix Fire was already restless in her palm, and without waiting for Cheng Xi to speak, it dove headlong into the cave ahead.

Cheng Xi had no choice but to chase after it quickly. Soon, she reached a broken wall covered by weeds; just now, the Phoenix Fire had passed through, burning a palm-sized mark into the weeds that were taller than a person.

She pushed aside the weeds, revealing a small path two people wide. Broken rocks were intertwined and jagged stones grew everywhere, leading all the way to the underground. It was dark and damp. Walking down the long stone steps, she instantly felt a scorching aura in the air, and red light shone through from the stone walls.

Cheng Xi leaned slightly toward the stone wall; it was warm to the touch. Continuing forward, the temperature of the stone wall was even higher; if touched by hand, there was already a sense of burning heat.

The further down she went, the wider it became, and the red light became more and more abundant and brighter.

From afar, she saw a flame that had grown fat as a ball, and the corners of her mouth couldn't help but twitch. She looked again at the stone wall in front of the Phoenix Fire, which was already pitch black.

She immediately stepped forward and grabbed it, "You can't eat any more; aren't you afraid of bursting to death?"

The Phoenix Fire looked at the stone wall with some regret; it was still too weak and couldn't swallow that much all at once.

Seeing that the Phoenix Fire refused to leave, Cheng Xi said, "Once you refine and absorb the Fire Flame Stone in your body, I will bring you back."

The Phoenix Fire was happy at once. It zipped out from Cheng Xi's palm and soon used its flames to hold a fruit, handing it to her ingratiatingly.

Cheng Xi was stunned, "Red Flame Fruit?"

That was right, Red Flame Fruit mostly grew in places with high temperatures. She had gained nothing before, but she hadn't expected to find a way out of the woods.

Although the Red Flame Fruit was not as effective as the Red Flame Dragon Blood Fruit, the Red Flame Dragon Blood Fruit was simply too hard to come by; the Red Flame Fruit could be used for now.

"Are there any more?" Cheng Xi looked at the Phoenix Fire and asked.

The Phoenix Fire turned its head and went away, soon returning with two more fruits, "There are only these two left; the others aren't ripe yet."

Having obtained three at once, Cheng Xi was overjoyed and said to the Phoenix Fire, "Well done. Today's harvest is quite abundant; let's go."

The Phoenix Fire jumped onto Cheng Xi's arm and looked at her, asking, "We're just leaving like this? Aren't you going to take some Fire Flame Stone back?"

"I don't have a fire-attributed Storage Bag yet. I'll refine one later and then I'll store treasures for you."

"You are an Artifact Master?" the Phoenix Fire asked in surprise.

"I suppose so," Cheng Xi nodded.

The Phoenix Fire became happy at once, "Then do you have Heavenly Silkworm Silk and Void Nether Stone? You have to take some Fire Flame Stone too, otherwise you can't add the fire attribute, and then you won't be able to store treasures for me."

"You even understand these things?" Cheng Xi asked, very surprised.

"I was caught by an Artifact Master before," the Phoenix Fire said, "but he was too stupid, and I escaped not long after."

Cheng Xi:...

You really are a little clever Spirit Fire!

Just at this moment, Cheng Xi's expression suddenly turned stern, and he sent the Spirit Fire into his dantian in one motion, then immediately took out an Invisibility Talisman and vanished from the spot.

Very quickly, a figure appeared in the passageway Cheng Xi had walked into earlier, holding a glowing orb in their hand, the light from which illuminated their features.

Cheng Xi was stunned for a moment; it was actually Cheng Fenglan!