Chapter 56: Red Lotus Dantian

Leaving the sight of the others and distancing himself from Medicine Valley, Elder You activated his lightness skill, treading on branches and leaves as lightly as a swallow, speeding toward Nanshan.

Seeing this, Hua Changxi knew Elder You intended to test her; after a moment's hesitation, she still employed the Wave-Treading Subtle Steps to chase after him.

Before this, she had planned to develop quietly and unobtrusively.

Facing Elder You's test, she could have chosen to conceal her strength, but what about next time?

Would she have to hide again when encountering similar situations in the future?

Having obtained a cultivation opportunity, she ought to possess greater confidence to face all circumstances directly, conducting herself with more freedom and uprightness.

If she shrank back in fear at every turn, worrying about this and that, then this cultivation opportunity would not be her sharp weapon, but her shackle.

Thinking thus, Hua Changxi quickened her pace even further, thereafter maintaining a distance of about ten meters from Elder You.

Ahead, seeing Hua Changxi catch up to him so easily, and that no matter how he increased his speed she maintained a stable distance, Elder You felt not gravity in his heart, but great joy instead.

The stronger the abilities Hua Changxi revealed, the greater the value of the secrets she harbored.

West Chishan, East Chishan, and South Chishan were not isolated high peaks, but a continuous mountain range crisscrossed with gullies.

As she continued racing through South Chishan, Hua Changxi could clearly feel the fire spiritual energy in the air growing increasingly dense.

An hour later, following behind Elder You, Hua Changxi penetrated deep into the hinterland of the South Chishan range, where a winding, coiling massive rift valley appeared in their sight within a narrow strip of land between two peaks.

The rift valley was profound; looking down from above, one could faintly see a red glow emanating from its depths.

Elder You leaped downward; just as Hua Changxi prepared to follow, a piercing bird cry rang out—"Jiu~"—and then she saw a fiery red figure fly out of the rift valley, speeding toward Elder You to attack.

It was an enormous red eagle, its wings spread wide enough to span five or six meters.

Soon, Elder You was locked in fierce combat with the red eagle.

Elder You was, after all, a Grandmaster; he could evade the eagle's attacks and initially even suppress it, but when the red eagle spewed flames over ten meters long, Elder You was scorched by the fire and plummeted straight to the ground.

"Jiu~"

As Elder You hit the ground, the red eagle immediately dove downward, its beak gleaming with cold light, stabbing toward Elder You like an arrow.

Perched atop the canopy of a giant tree, Hua Changxi watched this scene, her expression torn with struggle.

The location of the fire spiritual ore was likely within the rift valley; she had already achieved her goal, and if Elder You died, she would not need to expose her secrets.

Yet, watching an old man die beneath the red eagle's beak stirred compassion in her heart.

In the end, the value of human life triumphed over rationality; Hua Changxi gathered spiritual energy in her hand, forming a blade of fire, which then rushed toward the red eagle with a whistling sound.

When the eagle's beak was still two or three meters away from Elder You, the fire blade pierced through the red eagle's body.

"Boom~"

The red eagle's massive body crashed heavily onto the ground, kicking up rolling clouds of dust and smoke.

As the red eagle dove, Elder You had already closed his eyes in despair; feeling the eagle's body smash onto him, his heartbeat seemed to pause.

A few breaths later, realizing he was still alive, Elder You snapped his eyes open quickly, only to see Hua Changxi leap down and land a few meters away.

Looking at the motionless red eagle atop him, Elder You struggled to crawl out from under its body; once steady on his feet, lingering fear remained on his face.

Previously, he had killed many ferocious beasts, but never encountered one that could breathe fire.

When the flames struck, he had no time to project his protective qi before being burned by the fire.

Now free from immediate mortal danger, Elder You finally felt the searing, intense pain throughout his body; looking down, he found his limbs burned into a bloody mess, flesh and clothes fused together, causing unbearable agony.

"Why did you save this old man?"

Elder You looked at Hua Changxi, confusion in his eyes; given the cautious nature she had displayed earlier, she should have been unwilling to let anyone know she harbored secrets.

Hua Changxi was stretching her neck to peer down into the rift valley; hearing this, she turned her head to look at Elder You. "It is a human life; I cannot turn a blind eye."

Elder You had never expected such an answer; ever since embarking on the path of the martial artist, even though he was not bloodthirsty, killing had been unavoidable, and having killed so many, he had lost all reverence for human life.

He never expected that today he would be saved simply because he was a human life.

Elder You gazed at Hua Changxi, his expression complex; indeed, she was still a child, not yet tainted by this treacherous mortal world.

"This old man found the red crystal within this very rift valley."

Seeing Hua Changxi staring into the rift valley, Elder You followed her gaze.

"This rift valley was discovered by this old man three years ago; back then, I could still descend to the bottom to explore, but now, merely standing up here leaves me feeling quite strained."

In just a short while, Elder You felt soaked in sweat; as the perspiration flowed over his wounds, the burning pain intensified, and internally he felt as though he were being scorched.

Looking at Hua Changxi, who remained fresh and completely unaffected, Elder You felt a surge of eagerness; enduring his severe pain, he humbly asked:

"Young Lady Hua, you possess no internal energy within your body, yet you can catch up to this old man and easily slay this vile beast; can you tell this old man how you achieved this?"

The fire spiritual energy within the rift valley was extremely dense; bathed in it, Hua Changxi felt as though she had returned to her mother's womb, her entire body comfortable and refreshed; hearing Elder You's question, she thought for a moment before replying:

"Martial artists temper their physical bodies, cultivate internal energy, and generate protective qi; they stimulate the body's potential, but in essence, they still consume the foundation of the flesh."

Elder You nodded, strongly agreeing with these words; a Grandmaster represented the highest realm for a martial artist, yet after aging, their combat power would decline along with the decay of their qi and blood, and once their qi and blood were exhausted, they would die.

Hua Changxi looked at Elder You. "I am not a martial artist; I do not consume my body's foundation. Instead, I draw upon the power of heaven and earth for my own use."

Elder You's expression shook violently; he asked urgently, "Then how does one draw upon the power of heaven and earth for their own use?"

Hua Changxi smiled. "Elder You, you brought me to this rift valley in exchange for only one piece of information, which I have already told you: I and martial artists do not cultivate the same path."

"Now that you know such a path exists, how to step onto it is something you must discover on your own."

Elder You furrowed his brows, pointing at the lifeless red eagle on the ground. "I must trouble Young Lady to resolve one more doubt for this old man: does this vile beast follow the same path as you?"

Hua Changxi nodded. "Yes."

This red eagle could no longer be considered merely a ferocious beast; it should be classified as a demonic beast.

Elder You's face changed drastically. "In recent years, there have been more and more ferocious beasts in the mountains; could it be that those beasts will also become like this vile one, capable of breathing fire?"

Hua Changxi's expression also grew somewhat serious. "In all likelihood, yes."

If humans can cultivate, then animals and plants naturally can as well.

Elder You could not imagine the threat such a scenario—mountains filled with ferocious beasts like the red eagle—would pose to the human race.

However, at this moment he could not afford to dwell on such thoughts; the pain from his burns was so severe he could not think clearly, and standing at the mouth of the rift valley only exacerbated the scorching sensation; he was now finding it difficult to endure.

Seeing his pained expression, Hua Changxi said, "Elder You, go back first and tend to your injuries."

Elder You looked at Hua Changxi, knowing she likely intended to descend and explore the rift; he nodded. "Be careful. When I came last time, I did not encounter this vile beast."

"Either this vile beast came from elsewhere, or its strength has suddenly increased greatly."

Hua Changxi replied, "Very well, I will be careful."

The rift did not descend straight down; its walls featured protrusions and buffer zones. Once Elder You left, Hua Changxi stored the Red Eagle inside the Shennong Cauldron, then leaped down, using the protruding ledges as steps to descend tier by tier.

After descending roughly a hundred meters, pale red crystals appeared on the rift walls. The deeper she went, the darker the crystals became, while the fire spiritual qi grew increasingly dense.

"This truly is a fire spiritual mine!"

Hua Changxi felt both excited and invigorated. Just last month, she had been anxious over a lack of cultivation resources; now, not only had she discovered spiritual plants at the base of the stone cliff, but she had also found this sizable fire spiritual mine.

She was about to strike it rich!

The bottom of the rift resembled a riverbed scoured by flowing water.

The red glow seen from above the rift emanated entirely from fresh, translucent red crystals.

As Hua Changxi descended, she collected four types of crystals by the time she reached the rift's base.

One type was fire spiritual stone, pale in color and cloudy in luster, walnut-sized; holding and absorbing one revealed it could increase spiritual power by one point.

Another type was red crystal, deep in color with many granular spots; absorbing it could increase spiritual power by ten points.

A third type was red crystal, even deeper in hue with a few filamentous veins; absorbing it could increase spiritual power by one hundred points.

The final type was pure red crystal, perfectly translucent without a single impurity; absorbing it could increase spiritual power by one thousand points.

Hua Changxi did not know how others distinguished spiritual stones, but after observing these four clearly stratified types of fire spiritual stone within the rift, she directly classified them as low-grade, mid-grade, high-grade, and top-grade spiritual stones.

Upon encountering a fire spiritual mine, Hua Changxi naturally intended to collect spiritual stones.

Top-grade spiritual stones existed only within that one-meter-long strip at the very center of the rift's base, where the red glow was most intense.

With top-grade spiritual stones available, Hua Changxi naturally disregarded the others and headed straight for that one-meter strip.

Fortunately, the Shennong inheritance had taught her the Wind Control Technique; Hua Changxi condensed her spiritual power, unleashed wind blades, and used them to cut through the fire spiritual ore.

Delighting in her task, Hua Changxi dug forward continuously, placing all the excavated top-grade fire spiritual ore into the Shennong Cauldron.

So focused was she that she dug deeper into the heart of the fire spiritual mine without even noticing.

"Hiss~"

A faint hissing sound barely audible to the ear snapped Hua Changxi out of her joyous reverie over her harvest. Raising her head, she realized that as far as the eye could see, there was only fire spiritual ore; the sky above was no longer visible.

She had penetrated deep into the heart of the fire spiritual mine!

This realization put Hua Changxi on high alert; the next moment, the hair on her body stood on end.

Sensing danger, Hua Changxi immediately gathered spiritual power into both hands, clenched her fists, and amidst the sea of red light, instinctively struck forward.

"Boom~"

A violent collision echoed.

Before Hua Changxi could clearly see what had attacked her, she felt her body ensnared by a soft, massive object as thick as a water bucket.

Hissing, coiling—Hua Changxi's scalp instantly tingled with numbness; she guessed what creature had attacked her.

Curling her five fingers into claws, she fiercely raked at the serpent's body wrapped around her.

Her fingertips pierced the giant snake's skin, sinking deep into flesh and blood; simultaneously, she condensed spiritual power at her fingertips to inflict greater damage upon the giant snake.

The hissing intensified, the serpent's body writhing incessantly as it tightened its constricting force.

Constricted until breathing became difficult, Hua Changxi, lacking combat experience, could only grip the serpent's body tightly, constantly increasing her spiritual power output.

"Snap~"

She literally tore the serpent's body in two.

Even so, the giant snake did not die; it attacked Hua Changxi once more.

This time, Hua Changxi saw the glowing snake eyes; she flashed aside to evade the frontal assault, continuously unleashing fire blades and fireballs to prevent the giant snake from approaching.

"Whoosh~"

Amidst the fight, the giant snake actually spewed flames, attempting to burn Hua Changxi with fierce fire.

Fortunately, Hua Changxi feared no fire and suffered no injury.

Finally, when the giant snake's movements slowed due to excessive blood loss, Hua Changxi formed her five fingers into claws and pierced the seven-inch vital spot of the serpent's body, killing the giant snake thoroughly.

"Huff~"

"Huff~"

"Huff~"

Hua Changxi sat upon the ore, panting heavily for a moment, then quickly rose to store both the excavated top-grade fire spiritual stones and the giant snake inside the Shennong Cauldron.

She had been careless; the world she now touched was filled with danger, and she could no longer act with the same heedlessness as before.

Not daring to venture deeper, and having already mined quite a few top-grade spiritual stones, Hua Changxi intended to return home; she turned and walked a few steps outward before suddenly stopping.

Places guarded by demonic beasts usually harbored treasures.

Hua Changxi hesitated briefly, then turned around and cautiously continued deeper into the fire spiritual mine.

After advancing roughly another hundred meters, she smelled a fragrance that refreshed the heart and spleen.

Heeding the lesson from the giant snake's attack, even though she suspected a treasure lay ahead, Hua Changxi dared not be careless; she proceeded vigilantly toward the source of the scent.

Soon, around a corner, a red lotus bathed in falling crimson mist appeared within her line of sight.

The reason the red lotus stood out clearly amidst the sea of translucent red fire spiritual ore was simply that the lotus itself was so radiant and colorful; it resembled a frozen, brilliant red firework.

Flowing Light Red Lotus!

The supreme ancestral-reversion fruit among fire-type divine abilities!

Hua Changxi swallowed hard; the fragrance emanating from the Flowing Light Red Lotus was utterly tempting, yet she did not move.

The "Spiritual Plants" chapter of the *Annotations on the Hundred Herbs Classic* provided a detailed explanation: only consuming the seeds of the Flowing Light Red Lotus possessed the effect of ancestral reversion.

At this moment, the crimson lotus bloomed, overflowing with flowing light; the lotus seeds were about to solidify.

Hua Changxi restrained her urgent impulses, waiting for the crimson lotus to bear seeds while vigilantly scanning her surroundings, fearing another beast might suddenly emerge.

After a quarter of an hour, the rosy clouds dispersed and the flowing light vanished; the crimson lotus instantly withered, leaving only thirty-six brilliantly glowing red seeds upon the seed pod.

Hua Changxi darted forward in a flash, swiftly plucking the seeds; without storing them in the Shennong Cauldron, she consumed them immediately.

Once detached from the seed pod, the ancestral reversion effect diminishes sharply unless contained within a special storage box.

She possessed no such box, so she could only eat them.

With each seed consumed, Hua Changxi felt a thunderous rumble echo from within her dantian's qi sea.

After devouring all thirty-six seeds, Hua Changxi turned her sight inward to inspect her dantian, her pupils contracting sharply.

Her qi sea was churning and boiling, surging forth with crimson lotuses rising and falling in endless waves.

Sounds emerged once more from the depths of the spirit mine; daring not to linger, Hua Changxi swiftly retraced her path, returning to the surface of the rift valley after half an hour.

By now, twilight had deepened into dusk.

Daring not spend the night in the deep mountains, Hua Changxi exerted her full strength, racing at maximum speed toward Medicine Valley.

The journey in had taken over an hour; the return required only a quarter of an hour.

At the entrance of Medicine Valley, the One-Armed Man waited for Hua Changxi's return, following Elder You's instructions.

Seeing darkness fall and noting Hua Changxi's absence, the One-Armed Man was just preparing to return and report when he heard a whistling sound approaching from the distance.

Following the sound, he spotted Hua Changxi, her clothes scorched to tatters.

The One-Armed Man stood speechless, pointing at Hua Changxi: "You..."

Hua Changxi glanced down at herself; having paid no attention while inside the Fire Spirit Mine, she now realized the giant serpent's flames had burned her beyond recognition.

"I am fine; I simply fell into a fire pit."