Chapter 55: Chapter Fifty-Five: The Thousand-Year Treasure Herb, Condensing the Three Flowers

Standing in the empty Wang Mansion.

Dou Changsheng wandered for a long time, meticulously searching every inch.

There was not a single living soul in the mansion; clearly, Wang Chongguang had prepared for the worst and had already settled his family.

After a thorough search, Dou Changsheng was deeply disappointed.

Though the Wang Mansion covered a large area, it held no valuables—only immovable property, entirely useless to Dou Changsheng; without land deeds, it couldn’t be sold, and taking it would create too terrible a reputation. Dou Changsheng knew Wang Chongguang harbored ill intent, but ordinary people would assume he had murdered to seize property.

He searched every room, large and small, looking for martial arts manuals, weapons, or spirit pills—but his main target was the secret chamber.

Everything else could be carried away, but the thousand-year treasure herb could not.

This thousand-year treasure herb had likely grown here naturally; transplanting it would be extremely difficult.

If Wang Chongguang had time, he could have managed it—but Dou Changsheng calculated that Wang Chongguang’s hostility stemmed from the Renbang list and knowledge of his arrival in Beiyang.

In such a short time, the thousand-year treasure herb could not be transplanted unless Wang Chongguang had directly plucked it.

Dou Changsheng had no absolute certainty the herb still existed—he was merely gambling on luck.

After all, seeing this empty mansion, one would never expend great effort searching for a thousand-year treasure herb unless already aware of its existence.

After great effort, Dou Changsheng finally found the secret chamber.

As he opened the chamber door, a wave of heat struck him, forcing him to instinctively recoil; his face burned fiercely.

The underground chamber was intensely hot; firepots lined all four corners, each containing a certain kind of wood burning violently.

Dou Changsheng examined closely and saw the wood burned endlessly, never fully consumed, sustaining flames that radiated heat far beyond ordinary fire.

Because of this, the chamber’s temperature was extremely high—already exceeding a hundred degrees.

Primordial true qi continuously spread, forming a one-foot-thick qi wall that encircled Dou Changsheng like a turtle’s shell, protecting him completely; only then did he dare take a single step forward.

As he advanced step by step, Dou Changsheng felt mounting pressure.

Had it not been for his Earth-Submerging Talisman as a last resort, he would never have entered this chamber, fearing it might self-destruct and bury him alive.

Wang Chongguang had invested heavily in building this chamber, clearly demonstrating how demanding the treasure herb’s growing conditions were.

Dou Changsheng stepped forward toward the treasure herb at the chamber’s center.

The herb, growing in red mud, stood about a foot tall, its leaves a deep crimson, veined like burning flames, radiating terrifying heat.

Firefly Grass.

The moment he saw it, Dou Changsheng recognized it.

His recent intensive study had yielded remarkable results—he could now identify many high-value herbs.

Firefly Grass required harsh conditions, typically growing only in fire domains; ordinary people rarely saw it, as the extreme heat made it impossible for regular martial artists to endure, rendering it priceless.

What made this herb most rare was that after reaching a thousand years, it could condense flame patterns from its leaves, gathering the Dao of Fire.

In simpler terms: consuming it enhanced one’s innate Fire talent, increased the power of Fire-based martial arts, and lowered the difficulty of learning Fire techniques.

This was a treasure herb capable of altering innate talent—each one was exceedingly precious.

For those born into privilege but lacking talent, this was nothing short of a divine herb.

Compared to enhancing talent, its secondary effect—aiding the condensation of the Three Flowers—was comparatively weaker.

Any treasure herb exceeding a thousand years inevitably possessed extraordinary effects.

Ordinary plants reaching a thousand years were already considered spirit herbs, let alone treasure herbs.

Truly a rare and priceless treasure.

But immediately, Dou Changsheng cursed inwardly.

Fuck.

He thought of future Dou, with that indifferent, aloof expression.

Looking at his own ecstatic reaction, he felt like a country bumpkin who’d never seen the world—the gap was simply too vast.

Fortunately, he had his sister.

How was one supposed to consume Firefly Grass?

After careful thought, Dou Changsheng remembered—he had to swallow it whole.

It wasn’t a matter of deliberation; the herb’s heat made him nervous, uncertain.

He stepped forward two paces, reached the thousand-year Firefly Grass, and extended his hand, coated in primordial true qi; if the heat proved too intense, he would abandon it immediately.

But as his palm touched it, he realized the leaves emitted no heat at all—contrary to the surrounding scorching temperatures, a phenomenon that would make a botanist from his past life leap from a building.

As he plucked one leaf, the root and stem of the thousand-year Firefly Grass began wilting visibly before his eyes.

He couldn’t help but look disappointed; this ruined his plan to harvest the entire root and chew it all together. Still, he instinctively grabbed the root and bit down, chewing it together with the leaf.

Eat it.

Definitely eat it.

Just because it was wilting didn’t mean it wasn’t the root of the thousand-year Firefly Grass anymore.

Dou’s principle was never to waste anything.

As he swallowed the Firefly Grass, Dou Changsheng clearly felt warmth spreading from his stomach, slowly seeping into his flesh, bones, and internal organs.

His entire body grew pleasantly warm, as if bathed in soothing heat; he instinctively closed his eyes.

Inside him, his primordial true qi surged; the thousand-year Earth Pearl, long dormant, suddenly revived, absorbing and expelling primordial true qi.

Simultaneously, a phantom flower appeared outside Dou Changsheng’s body.

Primordial true qi poured in relentlessly until the phantom flower solidified, pure and translucent, blooming into nine petals.

This was a true qi flower, entirely formed of primordial true qi—one of the Three Flowers had fully blossomed, effortlessly, without any resistance.

This was the Heaven Flower, the hardest to condense—and now it was complete.

His primordial true qi began transforming, growing viscous, like liquid.

With the Three Flowers blooming, his primordial true qi was now beginning to evolve into primordial true essence.

Dou Changsheng stepped outside the chamber and dismissed the one-foot qi wall. Standing at the doorway, he carefully sensed the chamber’s scorching heat—once unbearable and dangerous, now as gentle as a breeze. His primordial true qi surged, shielding him as he walked back to the firepots, extended his palm into the flames, feeling the searing, burning pain.

But it remained within tolerable limits.

Game terminology!

Fire Resistance +20!

He took another step toward the inhuman—stronger than before.