Not long after Xu Mingyang left the spiritual spring, he met several cultivators who had chased him before.
The group of cultivators were overjoyed when they saw Xu Mingyang.
Xu Mingyang looked at the cultivators, and a cold light flashed in his eyes.
“Fellow Daoist Xu, I heard that Ye Fan opened the heaven-level spiritual spring, and you went in too. Why did you come out so early? Could it be that the backyard caught fire?”
“You are the mistress, after all. You can’t compete with the first wife.”
“I didn’t expect Fellow Daoist Xu, who was once a famed talent, would have to rely on a native from a foreign land to save his life.”
…
Xu Mingyang looked at the sneering cultivators in front of him, smiled coldly, and launched an attack.
Xu Mingyang, whose soul had recovered, was no weaker than anyone in the secret realm. A dozen flying swords flew out and bombarded several people indiscriminately.
Several cultivators were beaten up by Xu Mingyang and fled.
Xu Mingyang glanced at the tree on the side, ignored it, and left.
After Xu Mingyang had left for a while, Ma Rui dared to come down from the tree where he was hiding.
“This guy is really powerful! No wonder he dared to compete for favor with Bai Yunxi, but it seems that he lost. It seems that Bai Yunxi is more powerful…” Ma Rui said.
Feng Mo’er shook her head and said, “I don’t see it that way.” Feng Mo’er felt that the relationship between Ye Fan and Xu Mingyang was a bit strange, not like that kind of entangled relationship.
“Senior sister, they said that Ye Fan opened the heaven-level spiritual spring,” Ma Rui said.
Feng Mo’er nodded and said, “Yes.”
Feng Mo’er and Ma Rui had good luck. Those experts all went to grab the earth-level spiritual springs at first. They seized the opportunity and got a black-level spiritual spring by luck. They soaked in the black-level spiritual spring for more than a month. After more than a month, they felt that they could no longer absorb the spiritual energy in the spiritual spring so they came out.
“The spiritual energy of the black-level spiritual spring is so strong. It must be even better at the heaven-level!” Ma Rui couldn’t help but be full of envy.
“How did this guy, Ye Fan, break the heaven-level prohibition? Could it be that his formations ability has also reached the spiritual level?” Feng Mo’er asked suspiciously.
Ma Rui shrugged and said, “I don’t know. Maybe his old ancestor left him some powerful spiritual weapon.”
Feng Mo’er secretly thought: Ye Fan and Bai Yunxi spent more than half a year in the heaven-level spiritual spring. They would probably be in the late stage of Foundation Establishment when they came out. Back then, when she first arrived in Luosha Town, Bai Yunxi had just established his foundation. Now, Bai Yunxi was about to catch up and overtake her. Cultivation was like sailing against the current. If you didn’t advance, you would retreat!
…
Half a year later, there was no trace of spiritual energy in the heaven-level spiritual spring.
“You rice bucket*. A spiritual spring of such good quality has been completely absorbed by you.” The Taotie ghost looked at the spiritual spring, which had become clear soup.
Ye Fan snorted softly and said, “It’s shameful to waste. Of course it must be absorbed.”
“You have absorbed it so cleanly, yet you haven’t yet reached the peak of Foundation Establishment.”
Ye Fan said indifferently, “Cultivation is a step-by-step process. I can’t eat hot tofu in a hurry*.”
The Taotie ghost pouted and said, “The heaven-level spiritual spring has been absorbed so cleanly by you. The next time the secret realm is opened, it may not have recovered.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Ye Fan shrugged and said, “Then those unlucky people who come later can only blame their bad luck. However, the restriction is not so easy to break. Without my talent, the restriction can’t be broken.”
The Taotie ghost pouted and said, “What kind of talent do you have?!”
Bai Yunxi glanced at Ye Fan and said, “Okay, we’re done here. Let’s go out.”
Calculating the time, the inner city should be about to open. If Ye Fan wanted the flame of life, he should be able to fight for it.
…
Not long after Ye Fan and Bai Yunxi came out of Spiritual Spring Valley, they received a message from Xu Mingyang. Ye Fan and Bai Yunxi immediately rushed over to join Xu Mingyang.
Xu Mingyang’s cultivation had completely recovered, and he had the aura of an expert.
Bai Yunxi looked at Xu Mingyang and raised his eyebrows. Ye Fan said that Xu Mingyang was very powerful, but he was a little worse than his elder brother. When Bai Yunxi first met Xu Mingyang, Xu Mingyang was a little beaten down, and Bai Yunxi couldn’t see where Xu Mingyang was so powerful. When he saw him now, he felt that Xu Mingyang was full of sword energy and looked very powerful.
“Brother Xu, you changed your spiritual weapon!” Ye Fan said.
Xu Mingyang waved the sword in his hand and said, “Something went wrong with my spiritual weapon. I killed a cultivator and robbed this one. I can only make do with it for now.”
Bai Yunxi: “…”
“Brother Xu, you said the inner city is going to open?” Ye Fan asked.
Xu Mingyang nodded and said, “Yes, but don’t hold your hopes too high. There are many good things in the inner city. In the past, some people found the Nascent Soul Pill in the inner city, which can help cultivators advance to Nascent Soul. However, because the secret realm has been opened many times, the good things have already been robbed. In the inner city, the most valuable thing left is probably the flame of life.”
Bai Yunxi nodded and said, “I see.”
…
A few days later.
There was a burst of movement, and a city emerged.
In the city, towering trees reached into the sky, and there were buildings in the air floating on the trees.
Looking at the unique tree houses, Ye Fan couldn’t help his eyes widening, “What a unique building!”
“The dangerous buildings are a hundred feet high, and the stars can be picked by hand. The higher the status of the tree people in the tree people clan, the higher they live from the ground. The people above seemed like they lived next to the stars,” Xu Mingyang said.
“What a poetic and picturesque clan! It’s a pity that they all died.” Ye Fan sighed.
“These buildings are really special.” Bai Yunxi couldn’t help sighing.
“This is a type of building that belongs exclusively to the tree people. The tree people worshipped trees, and their houses were built on trees. Thousands of years ago, it would have been even more spectacular. Now, some big trees have been destroyed, and the tree houses have also been destroyed.” Xu Mingyang shook his head and said.
Ao Xiaobao jumped out and said, “I’m telling you guys, you should take action now and sigh over the past later. You know, eat the pig trotters first, then gnaw on the bones. If you continue to linger like this, there won’t be any food left!”
Bai Yunxi: “…” Eat the pig trotters first, then gnaw on the bones later. This was really a good phrase that belonged to the Taotie clan!
“He’s right. Let’s go,” Xu Mingyang said.
Ye Fan nodded and replied, “Okay.”
As soon as the inner city opened, a large number of cultivators rushed in.
Ye Fan walked into the inner city and immediately frowned, “Why are there so many trees in this inner city? The greenery is also very good.”
Bai Yunxi said with confusion, “What’s wrong with there being many trees?”
“The flame of life can transform into a tree and can also hide within trees. With so many trees, it will be hard to find,” Ye Fan said.
Bai Yunxi said in confusion, “If that’s the case, has anyone thought about burning the whole city down?”
“It can’t be burned,” Xu Mingyang said.
Bai Yunxi asked in confusion, “Why?”
“This type of tree can absorb flames, so it is said to be fireproof. Moreover, once someone sets fire to the trees here, it will provoke the flame of life! The previous owner of the flame of life should have been a member of the tree people clan. The flame of life had a close relationship with the tree people. It is said that the flame of life is actually the guardian of the tree people clan,” Xu Mingyang said.
Bai Yunxi nodded and said, “So that’s how it is.”
Ye Fan broke into a tree house and found that the tree house was empty.
“Everything’s gone!”
Xu Mingyang nodded and said, “Most tree houses have been looted. Even tables, chairs, and futons have all been looted.”
Ye Fan suddenly felt the urge to vomit blood, “Is it necessary to search so cleanly?”
“Do people also want the tables and chairs from here?” Bai Yunxi asked Xu Mingyang.
“The tree people were quite special. Their tables and chairs were all made of spiritual wood. Moreover, the tree people were very skilled craftsmen, and the things they made are beautiful in shape. If you have a set in your cave residence, it will give you a lot of face,” Xu Mingyang said.
Bai Yunxi nodded and said, “So that’s how it is.”
Ye Fan activated the wood-heart flame in his body, but unfortunately there was no response.
…
Bai Yunxi looked at Ye Fan and asked, “How is it?”
Ye Fan shook his head and said, “I don’t feel anything. Maybe it’s too far away, or maybe this guy fell asleep and is on strike!”
Bai Yunxi frowned and said, “Let’s go somewhere else.”
Ye Fan nodded and replied “Okay”.
There was the sound of fierce fighting, and the wood-heart flame in Ye Fan’s body rioted.
“It’s the flame of life. I feel the breath of the flame of life. It should be where the fight is.”
When Ye Fan and the others rushed over, the flame of life had disappeared. From the mouths of several cultivators watching the battle, Ye Fan heard that the flame of life had turned into a green jade ginseng. Several people rushed to pick it. As a result, the flame of life got angry and scorched the hands of these people.
When Ye Fan and the others passed by, they happened to see a few cultivators in a state of embarrassment.
…
Ye Fan followed the direction indicated by the wood-heart flame and rushed over, and finally saw the legendary flame of life.
A cyan flame floated in the air. There was a fleshy fire spirit in the center of the flame. The fire spirit flashed in the air, looking at Mu Xue with interest.
Mu Xue manipulated a dark green copper bell and shook it in the direction of the fire spirit.
“Sleepy Flame Bell! The quality is good!” Xu Mingyang said.
Ye Fan curled his lips in disapproval and said, “That’s it.”
The Sleepy Flame Bell in Hundred Flames House had a good reputation. Both Bai Yunxi and Ye Fan had heard of it.
The fact that Hundred Flames House could grow to such a large scale had a lot to do with the Sleepy Flame Bell. The material of this bell was special, and the refining method was also a secret of Hundred Flames House. The flames covered by this bell would be trapped in the bell. Hundred Flames House was able to catch so many kinds of fire seeds because of this Sleepy Flame Bell.
Every time Mu Xue’s Sleepy Flame Bell tried to capture the flame of life, the flame of life slid away, as if it had narrowly escaped.
“The speed of this onion* is quite fast!” Ye Fan squinted. Mu Xue seemed to only be a little short every time she controlled the Sleepy Flame Bell to capture the flame of life, but, in fact, it was the flame of life playing with her. The flame of life seemed like it was playing a game with Mu Xue.
The fire spirit’s body suddenly froze, and then rioted.
Mu Xue seized the opportunity and immediately covered the fire spirit. The fire spirit was rioting, and its movements were not as nimble as before, so Mu Xue actually succeeded.
“Bang!” With a loud noise, the Sleepy Flame Bell suddenly burst open.
Mu Xue took a few steps back, dodging the aftermath of the explosion.
The fire spirit screamed and its body inflated like a balloon. The flame that seemed quite gentle at first suddenly became fierce.
The flame turned around and rushed toward Ye Fan. Seeing the raging fire spirit, Ye Fan had to turn around and run.
Ye Fan’s heart was full of unhappiness, and he secretly thought: The person who took the broken bell and trapped the fire spirit was obviously Mu Xue! What was going on with this fire spirit? Why was it rushing at him? Could it be that it was face blind?
Ye Fan ran in front, and the fire spirit chased after him. The fire spirit was like a small cannonball and seemed to want to burn Ye Fan to ashes. Ye Fan was chased by the fire spirit like a rabbit.
“What’s going on? Why did the fire spirit suddenly riot?” Bai Yunxi was puzzled.
Xu Mingyang frowned and said, “Maybe it’s because Ye Fan said it was an onion.”
Bai Yunxi said in surprise, “Can the fire spirit understand human speech?”
Xu Mingyang nodded and said, “It’s possible.” Plants and trees could give birth to spiritual wisdom, not to mention something like heavenly fire?
When Xu Mingyang and Bai Yunxi caught up to Ye Fan, Ye Fan’s clothes were in tatters and his hair was scorched, and he looked very embarrassed.
A cyan flame floated in the air, and the crisp laughter of the fire spirit floated into Bai Yunxi and Xu Mingyang’s ears. Ye Fan stared at the fire spirit in the sky full of anger, with a look of rage.
“Fuck you,” Ye Fan scolded through gritted teeth.
Bai Yunxi reluctantly handed Ye Fan some clothes. This guy, Ye Fan, had his privates exposed.
The fire spirit made a face at Ye Fan, who looked gloomy.
The fire spirit seemed to sense something, flipped over in the air, and ran away.
Ye Fan frowned and said, “That’s strange. Has that guy met his nemesis?”
***
T/N: Yep the flame of life has a fire spirit – in cultivation, spiritual objects can give birth to spirits after a long time, but it’s pretty rare. We’ve already seen it a few times in this novel (the Pill Pagoda also gave birth to a sentient pagoda spirit), so it makes it seem common, but it’s actually not (Ye Fan just has a protagonist halo).
*Rice bucket – Chinese slang for a person who is a bottomless pit and consumes a lot.
*Can’t eat hot tofu in a hurry – Chinese idiom that means you can’t rush some things.
*Ye Fan calls the flame of life/fire spirit an onion because flames are drawn with a similar shape to an onion in manhua (round body, pointy tip head), so it looks similar to an onion to him.
