飘零影音

Arc 15: Heavenly Secret Realm | Chapter 260: Treasure

All thirty-two demon vines surged into the air, capturing every single thousand-faced bat in an inescapable net.

Yun Lie, gripping his spirit sword, swiftly consumed a few pills before launching himself straight toward the Bat King.

The Bat King, equally desperate, mustered all its strength to drive the sharp axe into a fierce strike.

Two massive light auras collided, obliterating all vegetation, trees, and rocks within a ten-mile radius.

Xu Ziqing merged his will with the demon vine, braving the intense, bloody aura within, his eyes fixed on the mid-air clash.

The external pressure was immense. He tightened his focus on his dantian, continuously circulating his true energy to protect himself, but still felt the damage to his internal organs.

The aftermath of the impact was indeed violent, yet it too had to cease eventually.

When the fight finally subsided, silence reigned, with all surrounding life obliterated.

Suddenly, a black figure plummeted from the sky, hitting the ground and turning into a puddle of mud.

Xu Ziqing took a deep breath, ignoring the pain in his chest, and wiped the blood from his lips. His eyes anxiously scanned the scene. Relieved, he realized it wasn’t his shixiong.

He continued searching for Yun Lie, spotting another figure descending quickly. After landing and skidding a few feet, it stabilized. Xu Ziqing hurriedly made his way over, seeing his shixiong’s complexion pale and nearly transparent, with a deep flush of blood between his brows—a clear sign of severe injury. His heart clenched again. “Shixiong, are you alright?”

Yun Lie stood firm, but only the hilt of his spirit sword remained. The blade had shattered in the intense impact. He opened his mouth to speak, but blood streamed down his face, it was a shocking sight.

Xu Ziqing realized the severity of Yun Lie’s injury, rendering him unable to speak—a first in a confrontation with an opponent below the Nascent Soul stage.

Overwhelmed with worry, Xu Ziqing rushed to support his shixiong.

Yun Lie shook his head slightly and pointed weakly at the Bat King’s body.

Understanding immediately, Xu Ziqing said, “I understand, shixiong. I’ll retrieve it right away. But please, take your healing medicine first.” Mustering the remaining 10% of his true essence, Xu Ziqing infused Yun Lie’s wrist with Yinmu1Previously Ethereal Wood Energy energy to heal his internal injuries. He then took a bottle from his storage bag for Yun Lie, extracted three vermilion pills the size of longans, and administered them to his shixiong.

At this point, Xu Ziqing felt a sense of relief. He turned to the Bat King’s body, retrieving the sharp ax and other treasures from its hand, as well as the storage bag on its body.

Considering the numerous monsters in the secret treasury and the unknown number of cultivators who might come across this place, leaving these items behind could spell disaster for others. Therefore, taking them away to exchange for cultivation resources was necessary.

Yun Lie, appearing somewhat recovered, said, “You should take care of these things.”

Xu Ziqing naturally responded, “Yes,” understanding that even if he held the items, they still belonged to his shixiong.

Yun Lie added, “Go to the Bat King Cave, adjust our breath, and then we’ll move on.”

Xu Ziqing nodded, “I understand, shixiong.”

After taking some pills on the spot, the two regained some strength. Using the Wind Control Technique, they flew into the Bat Demon Cave above.

Xu Ziqing left Rongjin outside to guard the cave entrance, ensuring no enemies could enter. Both of them were severely injured after this battle, and without proper recovery, moving forward would mean certain death.

As they landed in front of the largest cave, the scent of blood hit them.

White bones covered the cave entrance. Inside, skulls of humans and beasts were embedded in the walls, with baby bats nestled in them. Xu Ziqing frowned and released the Qingyun Needle, killing the baby bats instantly.

Considering the countless creatures this bat demon had consumed, its death was well-deserved.

As they moved forward, Xu Ziqing cleaned the cave for his shixiong. With a wave of his sleeve, many seeds sprouted, forming grass under a hazy blue light, which cleansed the dirt and grime. The fragrance of the grass also dispelled the cave’s stench.

After walking a hundred feet, they reached the cave’s depths.

There had been an illusion earlier, but judging by the layout, it seemed the bat demon had imitated the luxurious lifestyle of wealthy humans, enjoying it greatly.

Xu Ziqing sighed in relief. Inside the cave, there were no human skulls or anything of the sort. While the evil aura was still strong, it was bearable.

Immediately, Xu Ziqing used his fingertips to produce grass stems, quickly crafting two futons. He handed one to his shixiong and sat down opposite him, beginning to exercise his energy and regulate his breathing.

Fortunately, Xu Ziqing was a wood attribute cultivator with strong recovery abilities. Moreover, he hadn’t faced the full brunt of the Bat King’s attack. Although seriously injured, his wounds weren’t too troublesome. In just over two hours, his injuries were healed, and his true essence had recovered by about 70% with the help of various pills. He opened his eyes and saw that his shixiong was still healing, so he didn’t disturb him but stood up instead.

According to usual practice, any cultivator who enters a secret store, or realm, or kills a life-and-death enemy can claim the spoils, but they must not kill others to seize their property. Violators are punished if caught. These rules primarily govern Immortal Dao cultivators, though many may not follow them privately. In contrast, those on the evil path have no such restrictions, often killing to steal goods as they wish. The path of cultivation is fraught with battles. While some practice restraint, many are unscrupulous.

As an Immortal Dao cultivator, Xu Ziqing originally sought treasures to enhance his cultivation resources. Killing monsters or finding caves naturally allowed him to claim what he needed. Despite his gentle temperament, he wasn’t hypocritical. With his healing complete, he began searching for the Bat King’s treasure trove.

Xu Ziqing methodically searched the inner cave, using his spiritual sense to scan every inch.

Monsters typically have rough skin and thick flesh. Unless they are demon cultivators, they usually lack skills in fine arts like alchemy, weapon refining, formations, and talismans.

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Xu Ziqing sensed something unusual.

In the northwest corner near the stone wall, he found a dim plant that blended with the wall—a simple concealing illusion array.

After discovering it, Xu Ziqing chanted an incantation, using the Qingyun Needle to break the formation.

With a loud “bang,” the formation shattered.

As the fog dissipated, a stone door appeared.

Xu Ziqing pushed it open vigorously, and a wave of intense heat hit his face, making it feel slightly hot.

There’s so much fire here!

Xu Ziqing’s curiosity was piqued. Such a strong fiery aura indicated valuable treasures, well hidden by the bat demon.

With that thought, he cast a protective layer around himself and walked in.

A long stone staircase stretched before him, descending hundreds of steps.

Heat waves surged from all directions, so intense that they nearly solidified into a tangible form. Below, a hidden volcanic mouth revealed itself, with a pool of magma about a foot in radius, bubbling and churning with energy.

At the center of this magma pool was a small, crimson stone platform, or more accurately, a patch of scorching soil. Growing from this soil was a fiery red plant that resembled fire jade, standing about a foot tall. Atop this plant were three fist-sized fruits, so full and ripe that the branches seemed ready to snap under their weight.

Xu Ziqing’s extensive knowledge of plants allowed him to recognize it immediately. This was an extremely rare spiritual plant known as the “Lihuo Demon Plant.”

To cultivate such a Lihuo Demon Plant would require 70,000 years.

The fruit of the Lihuo Demon Plant cannot be consumed directly, but each fruit contains a cluster of extremely pure Lihuo. Fire cultivators across the world covet Lihuo, a rare fire birthed by heaven and earth, known for its overwhelming power and difficulty to harness. Its destructive capabilities are formidable.

However, obtaining the fruit of the Lihuo Demon Plant allows one to simply drop a bit of blood onto its peel. The blood would seep into the fruit, and the Lihuo within would recognize the blood donor as kin, making it easy to control.

Such a demon plant is incredibly rare and highly prized by fire cultivators.

The most fortunate part was that this Lihuo Demon Plant seemed to have matured.

Perhaps the bat demon was waiting for the right moment to use the fruit or had other plans. At this moment, however, Xu Ziqing found himself at a rare advantage.

Xu Ziqing felt a surge of joy. He had spent Nan Zhengya’s resources and hadn’t known how to repay him, expecting to owe a favor for a long time. But now, it seemed he could repay him sooner than expected.

One of these three fruits could be given to Nan Zhengya, and the other two could be used as valuable bargaining chips to obtain precious resources for his shixiong.

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