Chapter 55: Fire Spirit Stone

In order not to run into Master You and the one-armed man on the stone cliff, Hua Changxi shifted her original position when climbing the cliff wall, which caused her to take a big detour in the mountains before returning to the Herb Valley when she went up.

As soon as she arrived at the herb field she was responsible for, Hua Changxi immediately waved her spiritual energy, used the Soil Turning Technique to tidy up the herb field, and then began to plant the herb seedlings rapidly.

Half an hour later, she had planted four mu of herb fields full of herb seedlings.

After that, she didn't continue planting.

According to the speed of other laborers, planting so many herb seedlings was a normal speed.

After planting the herb seedlings, Hua Changxi carried the water buckets to fetch fertilizer.

When she came back carrying two buckets of smelly farm fertilizer, she saw the one-armed man on the ridge of the field.

"Master Guo."

After Hua Changxi walked closer, she took the initiative to greet the one-armed man.

The one-armed man looked Hua Changxi up and down, focusing on Hua Changxi's shoes. Seeing nothing unusual and that the herb fields were all planted, he gave an "En" and then, without saying anything, left directly.

Watching the one-armed man's departing back, Hua Changxi let out a breath.

Anyone who has been in the mountains knows that when wandering in the mountains, one will get some things on their body, either mountain soil or some special odor traces in the mountains. Fortunately, as soon as she came back, she used the Cleansing Technique to clean her clothes and shoes.

Afterwards, Hua Changxi applied the fertilizer. After finishing the work in the herb field, she didn't immediately return to the dormitory but walked to a remote place and summoned the Shennong Cauldron.

"The Shennong Cauldron is not big, how can it hold so many things?"

Hua Changxi knocked and tapped on the Shennong Cauldron. When she accidentally pressed her head against the Shennong Cauldron, the scene inside the Shennong Cauldron suddenly appeared in her mind.

The inside of the Shennong Cauldron was very large. She couldn't say exactly how big it was, but she 'saw' the Origin Spirit Grass and jujubes she collected, which were like rice grains inside the Shennong Cauldron.

Hua Changxi was somewhat tongue-tied. Could she control such a large Shennong Cauldron?

Thinking this way, she couldn't help but condense a ball of flame and threw it directly under the Shennong Cauldron.

During this period, Hua Changxi continuously outputted spiritual energy to make the flame larger.

After one hundred points of spiritual energy, there was not a trace of temperature on the surface of the Shennong Cauldron.

After two hundred points of spiritual energy, it was still like this.

After five hundred points of spiritual energy, discovering that under the roasting of the flame, there was still not a trace of heat on the surface of the Shennong Cauldron, Hua Changxi withdrew her spiritual energy.

She knew it; she couldn't use this Shennong Cauldron.

At least, she couldn't use it now.

"Can only be used as a portable magic treasure."

Hua Changxi thought about taking out a jujube in her mind, and a jujube immediately appeared in her hand: "Fortunately, it is quite convenient to put things in and take them out."

After withdrawing the Shennong Cauldron, Hua Changxi made a "Crack" sound and gnawed on the jujube.

Sure enough, it was worthy of being something that made her saliva overflow at a glance; this jujube was incredibly delicious.

This was not an ordinary jujube; this was a fire jujube, a spiritual fruit containing rich fire spiritual energy.

If Hua Changxi didn't know her spiritual root attribute before, but after entering the Qi Sea Realm, looking at the spotless red Qi Sea opened up in her dantian, she guessed her attribute.

She should be a single fire spiritual root.

Sure enough, after eating the fire jujube, she had no discomfort, and her stomach immediately warmed up. Then, a warm current attacked her limbs and bones.

Hua Changxi was not unfamiliar with this feeling; it was the same when taking, absorbing, and refining the Origin Spirit Pill.

Feeling the growth of spiritual energy, Hua Changxi immediately checked the data and found that eating one fire jujube could actually increase ten spiritual energy points.

She picked at least thousands of fire jujubes, which meant that after eating the fire jujubes, she could increase ten thousand points of spiritual energy.

It just so happened that in the Herb Valley, being watched by the one-armed man, she had no chance to refine pills, so she could just eat fire jujubes to increase spiritual energy.

Thinking that there were still many places at the bottom of the cliff that hadn't been investigated, Hua Changxi felt itchy and couldn't wait. She wanted to go down and see again; maybe she could find some more good things.

Even if she couldn't find them, picking more spiritual plants to come back and refine pills could also upgrade the rank of the alchemist.

Fortunately, Master You was going to send medicine the day after tomorrow. She should be able to find an opportunity to go down to the bottom of the cliff that day.

On the fourteenth of the third month, Hua Changxi still followed the routine and, like other laborers, diligently planted herb seedlings, only in places where people couldn't see, she would take out fire jujubes to eat from time to time.

On the fifteenth of the third month, Hua Changxi got up early and paid close attention to the movements of the Xishan.

When the laborers were eating breakfast, Master You, who had never appeared in front of people, came down from the Xishan with the one-armed man.

As soon as the two appeared, all the laborers put down their bowls and chopsticks and stood up respectfully: "Master You."

Master You looked around, his gaze swept over Hua Changxi, and didn't stay, just like a casual glance: "I am going to the Medical Department with Guo Yu today. You must take good care of the Herb Valley."

When the Grandmaster spoke, everyone didn't dare to have any opinions and could only respectfully watch the two leave.

After leaving the Herb Valley, Guo Yu looked at Master You suspiciously: "Master, usually when sending medicine, you go alone. Why did you call me along this time?"

Master You's expression was faint: "If we don't leave, how can that little girl take action?"

Guo Yu suddenly looked enlightened: "Master, the disciple understands what you mean. I will first pretend to follow you to the Medical Department, and then I will quietly sneak back. If Hua Changxi really has any plans, I can catch her in the act."

Master You looked at Guo Yu, feeling a bit of a headache.

This disciple had been drifting in the Jianghu all along and was used to acting straightforwardly. He didn't know that many things in this world couldn't be achieved just by fighting and killing.

"If you want to catch that girl, have you thought about the consequences?"

"The consequence is that you can't beat her, but you discovered her secret, and you die; even if you can beat her and catch her, then what? Are you sure she will tell you her secret?"

Guo Yu frowned: "Then we just do nothing?"

Master You: "Haven't we left the Herb Valley?"

Guo Yu was still a bit confused: "Master, we have all left. Even if Hua Changxi takes action, we won't know."

Master You smiled. This time he didn't explain, ran his light-body technique, and ran toward the Medical Department.

Seeing Master You like this, Guo Yu immediately understood in his heart that he already had a way, so he didn't ask more and followed quickly.

On the Herb Valley side, Hua Changxi was indeed extremely happy to see that Master You and Guo Yu had both left. Even if she was suspicious of the two's departure, it couldn't stop her determination to explore the bottom of the cliff again.

Hua Changxi didn't go to the Xishan immediately but planted all the herb fields she was responsible for. After confirming that Master You and the one-armed man had both left, she secretly went to the stone cliff side while everyone was having lunch.

For the second time jumping off the cliff, Hua Changxi was much more composed. With the experience of the last time, this time she landed steadily.

There were dozens of types of spiritual plants at the bottom of the cliff. Hua Changxi picked some of each, spaced them out when picking, and then used the Soil Turning Technique to fill the ground afterward, erasing the traces of her movements.

The most eye-catching thing at the bottom of the cliff was a lush green fruit tree. The green fruits on the tree were dense, but they were all very small, only the size of a thumb.

Although the green fruit was small, it was fragrant and intoxicating.

Green fruit, wood-attribute spiritual fruit, because it is rich in life force, is a very good healing and repairing spiritual fruit. The longer the year, the higher the rank.

The first-order green fruit is the size of a fist. The green fruit on the tree was clearly not yet grown. Thinking of the fruit that Master You and the one-armed man picked yesterday, Hua Changxi guessed that the fruit they sent to the Medical Department should be the green fruit.

The fruit was not ripe, so it was useless to pick it. Hua Changxi felt a bit of a pity.

The second type of spiritual fruit at the bottom of the cliff was the fire jujube. Unlike the fragrance of the green fruit tree, as soon as one approached the fire jujube tree, it gave people a feeling of being roasted surrounded by fire.

Hua Changxi possessed a fire spiritual root, so under the fire jujube tree, it was like soaking in a hot spring, but if someone else came, it would be very uncomfortable.

This should be the reason why there were so many fire jujubes, but Master You didn't pick them.

The fire jujube tree was also lush, and the red fire jujubes hanging on the tree were particularly pleasing.

"Eh?"

Hua Changxi discovered that the fire jujube tree actually bore second-order fire jujubes, and the quantity was not small.

She hadn't looked carefully at the fire jujubes she had knocked down with spiritual energy before and hadn't discovered this point.

Hua Changxi climbed up the fire jujube tree and picked all the second-order fire jujubes. In the end, she got a total of five hundred second-order fire jujubes.

Afterward, she wandered around the bottom of the cliff again and found that there were more fire-attribute spiritual grasses, and only fire-attribute spiritual grasses and spiritual fruits had second-order ones.

"Here in the Herb Valley, the fire spiritual energy is the densest."

"Where does this fire spiritual energy come from?"

Although Master You and the one-armed man were not there, Hua Changxi couldn't stay at the bottom of the cliff for too long, lest she be discovered by other laborers that she was not there. Seeing that she couldn't find anything else at the bottom of the cliff, she flew up the stone cliff rapidly and returned to the Herb Valley.

Master You and the one-armed man returned early the next morning. After returning to the Herb Valley, Master You didn't say anything and went directly to the Xishan. The one-armed man called the Herb Valley steward to inquire about it before returning to the Xishan.

"Master, the steward said that Hua Changxi left for a period of time yesterday noon."

Master You gave an "En" and jumped off the stone cliff directly. Half an hour later, he returned to the stone cliff.

Seeing Master You with joy on his face, Guo Yu couldn't help but ask: "Master, did you discover something?"

Master You nodded: "That girl has been to the bottom of the cliff."

The things at the bottom of the cliff involved imperial secrets. Even if it was a blade of grass or a fruit, he knew it by heart. Even if Hua Changxi erased the traces of her visit, the missing herbs and fruits could not be made up.

Guo Yu's expression changed: "Then what should we do now? Should we go find Hua Changxi?"

Master You shook his head: "Nothing needs to be done."

Guo Yu was confused: "Why?" After a pause, he probed, "Master, do you already know the secret on Hua Changxi?"

Master You shook his head again: "I don't know."

Guo Yu couldn't figure it out even more: "Since you don't know, why not call her over and ask clearly?"

Master You looked at him: "If I call that little girl over, will she say it?"

Guo Yu: "The things at the bottom of the cliff belong to the imperial court. She stole things from the imperial court. With such a big handle in our hands, would she dare not listen to us?"

Master You sneered: "The things at the bottom of the cliff don't belong to the imperial court. Don't forget, the Three-Fork Herb Valley was first discovered by the surrounding people."

Hearing this, Guo Yu fell silent.

When he was walking in the Jianghu in previous years, he had seen many times the imperial court forcibly occupying the ancestral land and hills of the people. Many ethnic groups who had lived in one place for generations were forced to migrate just because some new medicine appeared in some mountains and forests and was spotted by the government.

Things in the mountains and forests were originally ownerless.

If the ownership was divided according to first come, first served, the imperial court could be said to be robbers.

Master You continued: "Our goal is to find out the secret on that girl. It won't work to threaten her as soon as we go up."

Guo Yu's brows knotted: "Then what should we do?"

Master You: "The best and fastest way to get things done is to exchange. That girl has the secret we want to know, and we have to take out corresponding things to exchange."

Guo Yu thought for a while and said: "Let Hua Changxi enter and leave the bottom of the cliff freely?"

Master You shook his head: "We don't need our consent; she can also enter and leave the bottom of the cliff, just a little bit of trouble. This bargaining chip is not enough."

"The things in the herb field will at least be busy until the end of March or the beginning of April. During this time, I will think carefully about what conditions I need to give to move that girl."

Guo Yu saw it; Master was very concerned about the secret on Hua Changxi, so concerned that his contact with Hua Changxi had to be cautious, for fear of making Hua Changxi unhappy.

Master You was indeed very concerned. Hua Changxi was the only person he could contact who might know the secret of the bottom of the cliff.

Don't look at him as a Grandmaster; because he didn't want to be controlled by the powerful, he didn't rely on anyone. He was free, but he also had no backing, so his news was very blocked.

In recent years, as more and more fierce beasts were killed, and as more and more young high-rank martial artists appeared, he felt more and more that something was wrong.

This world seemed to be undergoing some kind of huge change!

The source of the huge change all pointed to those newly appeared treasure herbs and strange fruits.

There must be a big secret hidden in this!

He had a strong premonition that if he didn't investigate the secret in this, he would be left behind and would be thrown far behind by those young high-rank martial artists.

Hua Changxi discovered that the one-armed man was no longer watching her, which made her a bit confused.

She wouldn't go down to the bottom of the cliff in the short term, so she was too lazy to care about the reason why the one-armed man did this. She did the work of a laborer honestly, ate fire jujubes during the day, and cultivated at night.

Looking at the rapidly rising data, Hua Changxi was in a very good mood: 【Realm: Qi Sea Realm/】.

When the realm points broke through, Hua Changxi discovered that the red Qi Sea in the dantian had expanded by more than double.

Looking at this scene, she understood that the external manifestation of the improvement of the Qi Sea Realm was the expansion of the Qi Sea.

In the blink of an eye, time reached the last day of March.

The herb fields in the Herb Valley were all planted with herb seedlings, and Hua Changxi and her group should also return to the Three-Fork Herb Farm.

Before leaving, Master You appeared.

"Hua Changxi, come here, Master You is looking for you."

Looking at Master You waiting for her at the entrance of the Herb Valley, Hua Changxi frowned, her heart was vigilant, but her face was smiling: "Master You, what do you want with me?"

Master You smiled at Hua Changxi, his expression very kind: "I know, you have been to the bottom of the cliff." Seeing Hua Changxi wanted to deny it, he raised his hand to stop her.

"I am not here to pursue this matter, but to take you to a place."

Hua Changxi naturally wouldn't agree and opened her mouth to refuse, but at this time, Master You took out a red crystal the size of a fist.

Looking at the red crystal and feeling the rich fire spiritual energy inside, Hua Changxi's expression changed.

Fire Spirit Stone!

She should have guessed it. Where could spiritual energy come from? Of course, it was emitted from spiritual mines.

The fire spiritual energy here in the Herb Valley was so dense; there must be a fire spirit mine underground.

Master You looked at Hua Changxi's expression change, and his heart relaxed. Fortunately, this was a little girl, and her face work had not been cultivated to the home, which made him further confirm his guess.

"Little girl, do you want to know where I found this stone?"

Hua Changxi looked at Master You, thinking quickly in her heart.

Master You discovered that she had been to the bottom of the cliff but didn't make a move and even brought a fire spirit stone to find her. This was asking for her help.

The only thing about her that was worth a Grandmaster's concern was cultivation.

Master You saw that Hua Changxi didn't speak, turned around, and walked toward the South Mountain. After walking a few steps and seeing that Hua Changxi didn't follow, he even stopped and waited for her.

Hua Changxi looked at him and followed. ===== CHAPTER 56 =====