Chapter 32

The Earthfire Cavern was usually reserved for lower-ranked disciples; inner sect and elite disciples had their own earthfire sources in their abodes and rarely came here. The reason Li Mengze chose to come here right after the medicinal garden was because, strangely enough, someone had placed both the weapon-forging and alchemy inheritances in this place—not, as most would assume, in the main hall or the Hall of Transmission.

If she moved quickly, she might even find the sword cultivator's inheritance.

Here at the Earthfire Cavern, the three of them did not stick together. First, because no one else was present, it was relatively safe; second, by searching separately, they could maximize their chances of finding valuable items.

Even the best of friendships could not withstand the lure of treasure.

Ba Yicheng and Wen Yuanyuan had each chosen a celestial-grade room—one even-numbered, one odd—where the earthfire was of the highest quality and the odds of finding something good were best.

Li Mengze had no interest in forging weapons and began her search alone on the other side, leisurely and unhurried.

Each room had a warding restriction and a jade slip to open it, both hanging by the main entrance. By the time they arrived, these had already been divided among them.

Li Mengze wasted no time. She trusted Little White, so she only entered the rooms it indicated—there was always something to be found, however small.

Even if the artifacts were of low grade, a collection of them self-destructing together could unleash formidable power. Li Mengze never disdained such things; as long as she won by numbers, it was enough.

After searching several rooms, the artifact spirit grew impatient. Weren’t these things a waste of time? In its opinion, she should just go for the real treasure and let anyone who wanted these worthless items have them.

For reasons unknown, though the artifact spirit rarely appeared, Little White and the others were clearly wary of it. Whenever the spirit spoke, the two fell silent.

Li Mengze had asked about this, but Little White and the others could not explain. She chalked it up to their youth—though the artifact spirit looked small, its age was considerable. It was like how she could be bold before her father and uncle, but fell silent before her grandmaster.

Li Mengze realized there might not be anything exceptional here besides inheritances, and even those were not the usual soul-imparting kind—just a nondescript jade slip that most would overlook. She might as well take it and sort it out later.

With this thought, she went straight for the last earth-grade room, opened the restriction, and began searching.

At last, she found a movable switch at the lower right of the furnace. Her heart leaped as she twisted it, hearing the mechanism grind into motion.

Following the sound, she saw a crack appear in the floor, slowly widening until the entire slab lifted.

This secret realm was truly unconventional. Aside from a few important locations protected by formations, most places used the simplest of Qimen Dunjia mechanisms, unreadable by spiritual sense and often overlooked, causing many to leave empty-handed.

Once the floor was fully open, Li Mengze peered in. Inside two fist-sized hollows lay three jade slips, neatly arranged: two dull gray, one a strange purplish-red. With just a glance at the latter, Li Mengze felt a wave of danger—like a blaze surging toward her, as if it could consume the world.

The artifact spirit in her space abandoned any hint of composure, its small phantom form hopping in agitation, its voice trembling. “Quick! Quick! That’s a treasure—get it into your space, now!”

Despite her trust in the artifact spirit’s good intentions, Li Mengze still felt uneasy. Cultivators’ instincts were sharp—she sensed no malice, yet danger lingered.

Little White and Little Black seemed to feel it too. Normally lively and curious, they now cowered in her embrace, trembling.

Li Mengze first put the other two jade slips into her storage pouch, then sat down and studied the strange one. The original novel mentioned nothing of such a jade slip, suggesting things had diverged from the storyline. Though she knew her actions had changed events, she hadn’t expected changes to the treasures themselves.

After a moment’s hesitation, she decided to ignore the artifact spirit’s frantic urging and simply tried to store the jade slip. No matter what she did, it would not budge.

Puzzled, Li Mengze’s eyes suddenly lit up. This was not an ordinary cultivation jade slip but a Spirit-Sealing Jade Talisman—far more advanced than a Spirit-Sealing Box, capable of sealing living beings.

That was why it refused to enter her pouch: something alive was sealed within.

A purplish-red talisman, sealed with spirit fire, that radiated scorching heat—the answer was obvious.

Inside was a fire spirit, a little being that had already gained sentience.

Li Mengze gingerly touched the talisman with her finger. At first, the heat was intense, but on contact, she felt a coolness from within.

She had struck gold. Sealed within was the Myriad Vitality Flame.

It could burn away all impurities, refine pills, and enhance the quality of spirit herbs—a wondrous fire full of life force. Though only ranked third among the middle-tier exotic flames, it was the most coveted by alchemists.

Judging by its size, the fire spirit was still young, likely just awakened when it was captured and hastily hidden away—fortunate for her!

With this in mind, Li Mengze swept her hand and sent the Myriad Vitality Flame into her spatial storage. She dared not refine it immediately—time was short, and if anyone disturbed her, the risk was too great.

Besides, sentient spirits were notoriously difficult to tame. If released before it was pacified, it could cause a huge commotion.

So she stored it away, trusting that the artifact spirit, so anxious over it, would take good care of it.

Li Mengze believed she had thought of everything and planned perfectly, but she underestimated how much the artifact spirit valued this exotic flame.

She had just stood up and reset the mechanism when, before she could leave the room, a searing pain exploded in her mindsea—like being consumed by wildfire.

To a cultivator, the mindsea was vital. Any harm was not only hard to heal, but suitable pills were rare and difficult to find.

Supporting herself against the door, she slowly slid to her knees, the agony so intense she couldn’t even scream.

In moments, she was drenched in sweat, as if she had just been fished from water.

Her vision blacked out; she could see nothing.

Little Black and Little White leapt from her arms, squeaking in alarm.

Fortunately, due to their quirks, Li Mengze always kept them with her, never storing them away.

Sensing something was wrong, the two exchanged anxious squeaks. Then Little White burrowed back into her arms while Little Black scampered off in another direction.

Author’s Note: A minor adjustment—Wei Qing, also at Nascent Soul stage, should be of the same seniority as Li Yunzan and thus will be addressed as “Shishu” (Martial Uncle) going forward. The “white lotus” character will seldom appear, merely as a seasoning to the story! Also, apologies—due to a short-term, closed training program, updates may not be timely, but I’ll try to prepare some stock chapters. Updates may be every other day for a while—sorry!