On a light brown solid wood round table, a small, flickering flame hovered in the air, watched intensely by five pairs of curious eyes.
Seemingly frightened by these stares, the small flame wobbled and trembled weakly—appearing fragile, pitiful, and helpless.
Lu Yaoyao, who knew the true nature of the fire, wasn’t deceived by its appearance, but her friends felt a twinge of pity.
“Don’t be too pushy. We’re scaring the little flame.”
“So tiny and cute….”
Lu Yaoyao: “…”
Yan Zihui, who was more experienced, noticed the trace of bloody aura on the flame. “It has taken human lives,” he noted.
Lu Yaoyao nodded, “Probably people who tried to capture it.”
Hearing that this seemingly fragile and harmless little thing had taken lives, Wen Zixing and the others withdrew their gazes slightly.
“So this is the legendary spiritual fire?”
“It doesn’t look very powerful.” It was as tiny and cute as Lu Yaoyao’s chubby little fist.
“You mean there was no monster in the core and instead, this small thing was causing trouble?” Du Qianshan belatedly realized.
Wen Zixing and Lu Yaoyao spoke in unison: “You just figured that out?”
“Tsk tsk.” Wen Zixing shook his head. Patting Du Qianshan on the shoulder, he spoke earnestly, “Qianshan, being too gullible isn’t good, we need to be flexible and adaptable.”
Du Qianshan: “…”
“You know you shouldn’t flaunt your wealth, right? Those people clearly had bad intentions, if we hadn’t lied, they would’ve kept pestering Yaoyao about what she got, maybe even demanding a share,” Wen Zixing paused. “Believe it or not, but if not for our strong backing—well, more accurately, Yaoyao’s strong backing—Hall Master Cao would definitely have tried to take her loot by force. Have you forgotten? If we hadn’t been clever and moved first to edge him out, we almost got Bu Yang thrown down. So, in the future, when we’re out traveling, no matter what good things we come across, we have to keep it well hidden! Let’s make our fortune in silence!”
Speaking of this, he felt quite pleased with himself, “All thanks to my quick reaction. Of course, Yaoyao was very clever too, seamlessly cooperating with my sudden acting. Fortunately, you reacted quickly, or we would’ve been exposed.””
Lu Yaoyao was proud, “Of course! Muxue and Senior Brother were also very smart, they cooperated well.”
Yan Zihui was modest: “You’re too kind, I only used a fraction of my ability.”
Chao Muxue smiled, “Next time, we’ll definitely coordinate even better.”
“…” Du Qianshan, being the last one to catch on, suddenly felt out of sync.
“Ahem, Qianshan, you don’t have to be discouraged. Remember the saying: ‘Those close with ink will get smeared black, and those close to cinnabar will be tainted red.’ As long as you keep interacting with us, you’ll soon get the hang of it.” Wen Zixing patted Du Qianshan’s shoulder again, encouragingly, “You did pretty well, too. Just keep it up—I believe in you.”
Du Qianshan nodded solemnly.
Lu Yaoyao brought the conversation back on track, “This spiritual fire has recognized me as its master. I want to use the Spark Blossom to brew some wine, we’ll share it together then, or I could just give you all the Fire Crystals since I don’t really need them.”
The spiritual fire, sensing Lu Yaoyao’s intentions, immediately swelled in anger, jumping up and down furiously. That’s its food! It isn’t going to share!
“What’s wrong with it?”
“Nothing. It just has a bit of a temper and can get cranky at times.” Lu Yaoyao mercilessly subdued the tantruming fire.
“All of these things are yours,” Yan Zihui remarked, “We didn’t contribute anything and shouldn’t take them.”
“Yes, we’re just happy that you got so many harvests,” Chao Muxue added with a smile.
“This spiritual fire, even if we encountered it, we wouldn’t be able to tame it. It’s useless to us. Besides, you practice alchemy, so you need the spiritual fire the most.”
“When the spark blossom wine is brewed, just give us a jar or two. By the way, I still have this.” Yan Zihui took out a box. “I picked these off the cavern wall. Add these with yours and brew all of them together.”
Lu Yaoyao knew well that they had specifically picked these flowers because she wanted them, so she gladly accepted. “Don’t worry—there’ll be plenty for everyone!”
As for the Fire Crystals, they couldn’t refuse Lu Yaoyao’s enthusiastic insistence, so each person accepted a crystal vein, though it remained in Lu Yaoyao’s possession for now and would be divided once they returned to the sect.
“It’s too inconvenient. We need to find a way to get some storage bags.” Lu Yaoyao said. Among them, only she and Yan Zihui had storage bags. Actually, she had more than one, but they weren’t enough for all her friends, so she decided not to give any to maintain fairness. To make it difficult, storage bags were rare in the Cultivation Realm and not easy to come by.
“If we’re not in a rush to return, how about we check out the trading house to see if any storage bags are available?” Lu Yaoyao’s eyes lit up. It was said that the trading house handled all kinds of goods, and if they didn’t find any, a purchase commission could even be made. They weren’t short of funds, after all.
“That’s a good idea,” the other three agreed wholeheartedly. Having a storage bag would be incredibly convenient—they wouldn’t have to worry about what to take on trips and could just pack everything.
“Should we inform Tianyan Sect?” Chao Muxue hesitated. After all, their significant gain this time was partly thanks to Tianyan Sect’s request for help; without it, they wouldn’t have come here.
Lu Yaoyao looked at Yan Zihui and asked, “Senior Brother, do you think they know?”
Yan Zihui pondered for a moment, “We don’t need to be too clear-cut about it. Sometimes it’s better to play dumb and not be too straightforward. Whether or not Tianyan Sect is aware, since they never brought it up, we don’t have to be overly explicit, as we are the ones who benefited.”
Lu Yaoyao nodded, “I understand.” She initially wanted to test if Tianyan Sect was deliberately withholding information from them, but Senior Brother Zihui was right—whether they were deceived or not, they had indeed gained a lot, so there was no need to dwell on it.
“Now that this matter is settled, when should we leave?”
“Since we’re going to make a stop at the trading house, let’s leave tomorrow.”
No one had any objections. There wasn’t much to do in Yanhuo Town, as it wasn’t a major trading city, so there was no reason to stay any longer.
Wen Zixing wanted to play with the cute-looking spiritual fire, so he asked Lu Yaoyao, “Does this little thing have the ability to confuse people’s minds?”
Lu Yaoyao shook her head. From the memories she gained, there was no knowledge of any mind-bewitching abilities. But she confirmed again with the fire, “Do you have any special abilities?”
The fire proudly swayed, and then, within Lu Yaoyao’s spiritual sea, it arrogantly declared, “Of course I do!”
It then proceeded to show Lu Yaoyao images of it scorching a person. In just an instant, even the most powerful cultivator would be reduced to nothing—their body and soul perished as they screamed in agony.
“…” For a moment, Lu Yaoyao didn’t know what to comment, but she noticed some cultivators who wore different robes from those of the Tianyan Sect. Turned out, this fire hadn’t just killed disciples of the Tianyan Sect; it had also taken the lives of several other cultivators.
It seemed that the news of the spiritual treasure appearing here wasn’t a secret. Most cultivators who had heard the news were probably keeping it to themselves, afraid of attracting more competitors. Since Lu Yaoyao and her group had been traveling quickly and hadn’t specifically sought out information, they had believed the Tianyan Sect’s initial story.
Lu Yaoyao said, “The legend about the magma at Yanhuo’s core can burn a person’s soul… I think this spiritual fire is the source of that.”
“In other words, now that this thing is no longer in the core, the magma won’t have that power anymore?”
Lu Yaoyao nodded. “Most likely.”
“Will you be alright?” Yan Zihui asked with concern.
“Don’t worry, it has recognized me as its master. The contract has even strengthened my soul, so it’s beneficial, not harmful.” As for the time when the spiritual fire had injured her soul before reluctantly recognizing her as its master, there was no need to mention it—she had recovered, and bringing it up would only cause unnecessary worry.
“But this fire doesn’t have the ability to confuse people’s minds.”
If that’s the case, what had happened with Wen Zixing that day? They were all puzzled.
Wen Zixing, carefree as always, no longer dwelled on the matter, “Anyway, I wasn’t hurt, and we won’t be coming back here, so who cares what the reason was? I’m sure I won’t encounter this kind of danger again.”
Even so, it was still a hidden danger. They couldn’t be on guard every single day, but they couldn’t afford to be caught off guard either.
“But isn’t that what you’re all here for? You won’t let me get into danger, right?” Wen Zixing said cheerfully, throwing his arm around Du Qianshan’s shoulder. Looking at the spiritual fire, he then said excitedly, “Why don’t we give this little thing a name? I think ‘Little Flame’ is a good name.”
“I agree, it sounds nice,” Chao Muxue chimed in. “The name ‘Miaomiao’ is also good?”
“I think we should call it ‘Huohuo,’ simple and straightforward.”
“Or ‘Yanyan,’ it’s full of fire!”1
“…” Lu Yaoyao thought hard, believing her opinion was the most important. “I have an idea!”
Seeing her friends looking at her, she quickly said, “I want the spiritual fire to turn over a new leaf and become a model spiritual fire. How about we call it ‘Wuhao’? That way, it will always be reminded to maintain virtuous traits.”
“Wuhao, Wuhao… five virtues?” Wen Zixing rubbed his chin. “That name works too. It sounds good.”
Seeing that the others had no objections, Lu Yaoyao solemnly announced, “Then it shall be called Wuhao.”
The spiritual fire jumped—why didn’t anyone ask for its opinion?!
“Yaoyao, you haven’t told us what it was like within the core,” Chao Muxue asked curiously.
“Right, was it all magma? Could you even see anything?”
“Even Senior Brother Zihui…” Wen Zixing started to say, but Yan Zihui cleared his throat, giving him a signal.
Wen Zixing’s eyes darted a bit, “Even Senior Brother Zihui said the visibility must be very poor inside the magma.”
Lu Yaoyao said, “The core is very deep, and at the bottom is an active volcano. I kept diving for a long, long time—it must have been tens of thousands of meters deep. Can you imagine? It was all magma everywhere, but at the very bottom, there was a huge cavern. Above was magma, and below was a vast, endless hole. The Hehe Spark Blossoms, Fire Crystals, and these other things were all found there. But there wasn’t a single animal.”
Lu Yaoyao pointed at Wuhao. “This little guy is pretty ruthless; it swallowed up all the living things down there.” Otherwise, she might have been able to catch a few rare spiritual beasts to bring back to the sect’s beast garden for breeding.
Even though Lu Yaoyao repeatedly emphasized how ferocious this little thing was, her friends found it hard to believe, looking at its soft and cute appearance.
After sharing her experience, Lu Yaoyao asked theirs, “When I came out and saw so many strangers, I was really shocked.”
“There was another disturbance in the core, probably caused by this little guy, which attracted all those people. But it’s okay, we didn’t suffer any losses.”
“Yes, we didn’t have to fight.”
Wen Zixing suddenly thought of something, “That Hall Master Cao failed to get anything. Do you think he might ambush us on our way back out of spite?”
“Xingxing, don’t jinx it!”
Wen Zixing quickly made an x-shaped motion at his lips.
Du Qianshan then remarked, “Do you think they might take their frustration on the weaker ones and attack Tianyan Sect after we leave?”
His friends: “…”
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Yaoyao finally has a cute little fire pet now haha 😆
I wonder when we’ll get a proper arc with her dads i miss this family 😔