Chapter 72: Black Flame Enters the Body

The fire lotuses appeared suddenly. While not necessarily lethal, the pain of being scorched was still something most cultivators could not endure. Even with the abundant resources in Mount Wuzhi, cultivators from all sides dared not linger and retreated one after another.

"Let's retreat too."

The disciples of the Grand Void Gate were faster. Having penetrated into the second peak of Mount Wuzhi, Liu Yiyun gathered everyone to retreat after helping a few junior brothers and sisters extinguish the fire lotuses.

"Wait a moment."

Just as they were about to fly out of the second peak, Yan Xiaoyang suddenly stopped.

Liu Yiyun looked over: "Sixth Junior Brother, what is it?"

Yan Xiaoyang looked around: "I sense a peculiar aura." Feeling that the aura was coming from the east, he immediately flew over.

Seeing this, the others hurriedly followed, and soon they saw Yan Xiaoyang pull a golden bundle of something out of a crevice in the cliff.

"What is that thing?"

Liu Yiyun and the others crowded around, then saw clearly what was in Yan Xiaoyang's arms.

It was a small golden monkey, looking like it had been born only a few days ago.

Yan Xiaoyang looked at the small monkey in his arms with pity: "The little monkey's parents have likely met with misfortune. Who knows how it managed to survive being trapped in the stone crevice all these days?"

Liu Yiyun and the others exchanged helpless glances as they watched Yan Xiaoyang's expression.

Well, given the Sixth Junior Brother's kind nature, he would surely be taking this monkey back to the Grand Void Gate.

Liu Yiyun: "Let's get out of the mountain quickly; don't keep the elders waiting."

Yan Xiaoyang carefully held the little golden monkey and followed the team at a fast pace.

On the other side, the people from the Asura Gate were also fleeing frantically toward the outside of the mountain. Just as they were about to fly out of the first peak, a fire lotus appeared out of thin air, blocking their path.

"Helmsman, what do we do?"

The helmsman of the Asura Gate's Qingzhou branch quietly took out a black jade lotus petal. As black light lit up the helmsman's fingertips, black flames soon emerged from the jade petal.

"Shoo, shoo, shoo~"

Several wisps of black flame flew out and merged into the bodies of the Asura Gate disciples.

"Go and block the fire lotus."

Once these words were spoken, the Asura Gate people, as if controlled, rushed toward the fire lotus regardless of their lives, while the Qingzhou helmsman took the opportunity to escape.

However, what he did not expect was that he hadn't run far before he was blocked by two figures, one large and one small.

The Qingzhou helmsman looked at the two people in front of him with a guarded expression, the black light at his fingertips flaring, looking as if he were ready to ignite the jade lotus petal in his hand at any moment.

Hua Changxi frowned as she glanced at the Asura Gate disciples in the distance who didn't know how to flee and were only desperately fighting the fire lotus, confirming once again that this Asura Gate was not some righteous sect.

"Leave the Mineral Spirit behind."

Upon hearing this, the Qingzhou helmsman's expression turned cold: "The Mineral Spirit is something we caught with great difficulty. If you want it, go catch it yourselves. Don't look to reap without sowing, and see who you are standing in front of."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Qingzhou helmsman ignited the black jade lotus petal in his hand.

"Whoosh~"

"Whoosh~"

Two wisps of black flame rapidly attacked Hua Changxi and the Mountain Spirit.

Hua Changxi also threw out a fire lotus at the very first moment.

The fire lotus and the black flame passed through each other like two unrelated forces; neither could do anything to the other.

Seeing this scene, Hua Changxi was stunned for a moment, and it was this moment of distraction that gave the Qingzhou helmsman his chance.

Seeing the fire lotus, the Qingzhou helmsman immediately recalled the grand fire lotus that had blocked the giant monkey. He was nearly scared to death, guessing that the person intercepting him was the ruthless character who dared to fight the giant monkey. Gritting his teeth, he exhausted more than half of his spiritual power and unleashed a ball of black flame.

Hua Changxi dodged, but although she avoided it quickly, the black flame unexpectedly exploded in mid-air. Countless black flames scattered, and in the end, a wisp of black flame struck the back of her hand.

The black flame, like a drop of water into the sea, instantly burrowed into Hua Changxi's body.

"Clear the path and go kill the other cultivators in the mountain."

Seeing the black flame merge into Hua Changxi's body, the Qingzhou helmsman let out a heavy sigh of relief and immediately began chanting a mantra to issue orders.

Hua Changxi heard a fairly loud voice crashing into her ear, making her want to act according to the instructions, but the voice was somewhat floating and not firm enough.

The Qingzhou helmsman was only a Qi Sea Realm cultivator; Hua Changxi was only dazed for a moment before she quickly shook off the control.

Hua Changxi, who originally had no intention of killing, felt a thick murderous intent surge in her heart as she looked at the Qingzhou helmsman at this moment.

"Boom~"

The fire lotus, which could have been extinguished with just a little effort, suddenly flared with intense light. The Qingzhou helmsman, who was trying to take the opportunity to escape, watched helplessly as the fire lotus became increasingly solid until he was completely trapped by it.

"No~"

In terror and despair, the Qingzhou helmsman was swallowed by the flames.

The cultivators still in the mountain holding onto a glimmer of hope all shivered upon hearing the Qingzhou helmsman's final scream.

The people from the Grand Void Gate and the Demon Suppression Army heard it too.

"Sure enough, it's not that the owner of Mount Wuzhi doesn't kill."

"Not starting a massacre from the beginning is already a mercy."

"Retreat quickly!"

"Fairy, are you alright?"

After the Qingzhou helmsman was incinerated, Hua Changxi began to sense her own body, wanting to find that wisp of black flame that had merged into her.

Seeing her motionless, the Mountain Spirit was somewhat worried.

Hua Changxi's brows knotted: "Actually, I didn't want to kill anyone."

The Mountain Spirit nodded repeatedly: "I know, I know, the Fairy is a benevolent and kind person."

Seeing that the Mountain Spirit misunderstood her meaning, Hua Changxi said: "Don't flatter me. I really didn't want to kill, but just now, I couldn't suppress the murderous intent."

Although that Asura Gate person couldn't control her, she was definitely affected by the black flame.

What on earth was that black flame?

Hua Changxi felt a bit worried and prepared to return to the third peak to thoroughly check her body after resolving the matter of the Mineral Spirit.

"Fatty, are there any trees in the mountain that can isolate aura?"

"Yes, Mysterious Wood can isolate all auras."

Hua Changxi pointed at the black jade lotus petal left behind by the Asura Gate person: "Get me a piece of that to store this."

The Mountain Spirit nodded, disappeared with a 'whoosh', and not long after, appeared again with a 'whoosh', holding a tree branch as thick as an adult's thigh in its arms.

Hua Changxi manipulated her spiritual power to make a simple wooden box, placed the black jade lotus petal inside, and stored it in the Shennong Cauldron.

Seeing that the Asura Gate matter was settled, the Mountain Spirit grabbed the inch-long five-colored insect jumping on the ground: "Fairy, look, this is the Mineral Spirit."

Hua Changxi looked down, and with a wave of her hand, the five-colored insect floated on her palm: "This is the Mineral Spirit?"

The Mountain Spirit nodded: "Yes, those black-robed people were too evil and greedy. Digging for ore is one thing, but they actually wanted to take the Mineral Spirit away. Once the Mineral Spirit is extracted, the spirit mine becomes a dead mine; once used up, it's gone."

Hua Changxi looked at him: "You mean, with the Mineral Spirit present, the spirit mine can continuously regenerate?"

The Mountain Spirit thought for a moment: "If the circulation of spiritual energy between heaven and earth is not obstructed, that is the case."

Hua Changxi: "Our spiritual energy is not obstructed now, is it?"

Mountain Spirit: "It is obstructed, and severely obstructed at that. We have been sealed off, and now the spiritual energy recovery has just begun."

"Wait."

Hua Changxi hurriedly stopped him: "We have been sealed off, what does that mean?"

Mountain Spirit: "It means we have been sealed, that's all."

Hua Changxi: "We have been sealed? Why would we be sealed?"

The Mountain Spirit shook its head: "I don't know."

Hua Changxi found that some things became more confusing the more she learned: "If we are sealed, then where does the spiritual energy come from?"

Mountain Spirit: "From what was accumulated before. Now that the seal has loosened, the spiritual energy is slowly seeping out. Only when the seal is completely broken and the spiritual energy from outside can come in will the spiritual energy begin to circulate. Otherwise, it's just consuming the existing spiritual energy, and it will eventually dry up."

Hua Changxi felt a bit overwhelmed, feeling that she had learned something incredible: "Who sealed us?"

The Mountain Spirit shook its head again: "I don't know either." As it spoke, it extended its right hand, pinching its little finger with its thumb, and said in an old-fashioned tone, "The Mountain God is the most minor of gods; there is no way to know about things above."

Afterwards, Hua Changxi learned quite a few things about cultivation from the Mountain Spirit, knowing that if the Mineral Spirit were placed anywhere, the spiritual energy of that place would become rich, and after a period of accumulation, new spirit mines could be formed.

Hua Changxi and the Mountain Spirit returned the Mineral Spirit to the spirit mine that had been dug.

Watching the Mineral Spirit merge into the spirit mine, Hua Changxi narrowed her eyes: "Most people, upon seeing a spirit mine, only care about digging for ore and are satisfied with getting some spirit stones."

"But the people from the Asura Gate... they seemed to have known about the existence of the Mineral Spirit for a long time. Upon seeing the spirit mine, they didn't dig for spirit stones but went straight for the Mineral Spirit. This Asura Gate's heritage is quite long-standing."

Only with a sufficiently long heritage would one know of the Mineral Spirit's existence.

Having retrieved the Mineral Spirit, the Mountain Spirit went to patrol the mountain, while Hua Changxi returned to the third peak.

The original monkey cave had become the current Fire Spirit Spring Pool. Previously, she had been in such a hurry to follow the Mountain Spirit to chase the Mineral Spirit that she hadn't properly looked at the scenery here.

Compared to the previous desolation, it was now full of vitality, with patches of spirit fruit trees, which made Hua Changxi feel wonderful inside.

She now truly had an unreal feeling of having struck it rich overnight.

Happiness had come too suddenly!

Hua Changxi picked some fire-type spirit fruits, eating while strolling, and at a distance of 100 meters from the spring pool, she saw the Buddha hand that had suppressed the Monkey King.

At this time, the Buddha hand was covered in cracks, as if it could turn into powder at any moment.

Hua Changxi walked over and carefully picked up the Buddha hand. When she looked at it from the top of the cave while stepping on clouds, she felt it was profound, but now that she held it in her hand, she felt it was even more unfathomable.

"Buddha Kingdom in the Palm."

Hua Changxi saw these four characters on the thumb of the Buddha hand, and her eyes lit up immediately.

Thinking of the giant hand that had covered the sky and sun and seemed to want to destroy the world, she felt a yearning. If only she could have such ability.

"Buddha Kingdom in the Palm... this should be a divine ability."

Hua Changxi examined the Buddha hand carefully, but no matter how she looked at it, she couldn't make heads or tails of it.

Helpless, Hua Changxi could only put the Buddha hand aside for now, deciding to look at it when she had time. She had wanted to put the Buddha hand into the Shennong Cauldron, but couldn't put it in.

With no other choice, she could only carefully place the Buddha hand by the spring pool.

Afterwards, Hua Changxi took out the top-grade fire spirit stone bed, lay on it, and began to circulate the Little Bird Breathing and Exhalation Method—no, it should be called the Zhu Que Breathing and Exhalation Method—and she felt something was wrong.

Previously, the Zhu Que Breathing and Exhalation image in her mind had been very clear, but now it had become somewhat dim.

Was it because the Zhu Que had broken out of her body?

Hua Changxi could now be very certain that she had obtained an incredible heritage, and this heritage not only taught cultivation techniques but also came with life-saving functions.

She knew in her heart that if the Zhu Que hadn't flown out this time, she would definitely have died.

Thinking back on it now, she still felt some lingering fear.

It might be that her embarking on the path of cultivation was somewhat accidental, and in her subsequent actions, she often carried a reckless mentality of trying her luck, never carefully considering the severity of the consequences.

"In the future, I must not be this reckless."

"Steady and long-lasting is the correct path."

Immersing herself in cultivation, Hua Changxi's consciousness entered her Qi Sea. As soon as she entered the Qi Sea, she saw the Inner Core, and at this moment, she was standing on the Inner Core.

Previously, she and the Inner Core had been separated.

Hua Changxi didn't quite understand what was going on, but standing on the Inner Core, she saw that the range of her Qi Sea was significantly larger.

Moreover, she also saw a wisp of black flame the size of a fingernail under the Inner Core.

The black flame had actually run into her Qi Sea!

Hua Changxi tried to extinguish the black flame, but no matter what she did, the black flame burned steadily.

"What on earth is this black flame?"

Hua Changxi certainly couldn't rest easy without extinguishing the black flame. Thinking of the Asura Gate, the creator of the black flame, she decided that once her body had fully recovered, she would go find the people from the Asura Gate.

She had to figure out the function of the black flame!

Hua Changxi began to cultivate, and seeing that the black flame did not hinder her cultivation, she breathed a slight sigh of relief.

This cultivation lasted for a day and a night.

When Hua Changxi opened her eyes again, there was an irrepressible smile in them.

Her cultivation speed had increased. Previously, she could only increase her cultivation by 2,000 points of spiritual energy in one hour, but now she could increase it by 10,000 points of spiritual energy in one hour.

Could it be because she had merged with the Inner Core that the speed had become so fast?

【Realm: Golden Core Realm 2.05 million/10 million】

Hua Changxi loved this feeling of her cultivation data constantly climbing. For the next month, except for eating, occasionally talking to the Mountain Spirit, and observing the Buddha hand, she was immersed in cultivation.

Just as Hua Changxi was concentrating on her cultivation, because of the commotion caused by Mount Wuzhi, the entire Great Jin was in an uproar and boiling over.

The imperial court had been hiding the fact of the spiritual energy recovery, but with such a commotion at Mount Wuzhi, even if they wanted to continue hiding it, they couldn't.

Even the ordinary people with the least access to information began to spread the news of the Mountain God's appearance, not to mention the well-informed nobles and officials.

At the Medical Department, Hall No. 1 on Second Street, Gu Jinfan frowned as she listened to the discussions among the disciples in the hall.

"Have you heard? In this world, the strongest in combat are not martial artists, but cultivators."

"Do you know what a cultivator is? A cultivator is a god."

"Oh my god, are there really gods in this world? I always thought it was nonsense."

Gu Jinfan didn't listen to any more of this gossip and turned to walk toward the back plaza.

It was better for the spiritual energy recovery to spread early; this way, local cultivators would have more time to cultivate and wouldn't be completely defenseless when outside cultivators came knocking.

Gu Jinfan arrived at the plaza, looked at the Medicine Ancestor Cauldron with its pearls covered in dust, looked at the dilapidated Medicine Saint Hall, took a deep breath, and knocked on that dilapidated door again. ===== CHAPTER 73 =====