Chapter 186

Chapter 186: When Opportunity Appeared

“I’ve seen pictures of Purple-Gold Meteorite Iron Stone in the library pavilion, but this is my first time seeing a thousand-year one. Why does it look different from the pictures I saw?” Yun Xi studied the black lump in her hand and asked uncertainly.

Zi Yan explained, “Purple-Gold Meteorite Iron Stone is a stone from beyond the heavens that falls into the Cultivation World. It must be nourished by spiritual qi for a thousand years before it forms. It’s extremely precious as a refining material. You only need to add a little to improve a magic tool’s hardness and grade. Even in the spirit realm, it’s something people would fight over.”

Zi Yan continued, “That black outer layer is just its protective coating. It needs to be burned at high heat without stopping for a full year before it disappears. The Purple-Gold Meteorite Iron Stone is sealed inside.”

“A year? That’s way too long.” Yun Xi was surprised. That was slow, grinding work.

“That’s for ordinary flames. For a strange flame, it’s at most three days…”

“Wow. Didn’t expect you to be that capable.” Yun Xi praised immediately.

Zi Yan wiggled its flame-body and kept talking. “Master, I’m not done. I’ve lost two-thirds of my original body, so my strength has dropped a lot. To refine away the black protective layer on this Purple-Gold Meteorite Iron Stone, I’ll need about twenty days.”

Yun Xi drew out an “Oh” with a rise and fall in her voice.

Zi Yan instantly hopped in anger. “Master, compared to a whole year, I’m already fast! You can’t look down on me.”

Yun Xi’s lips curved upward. She had only been teasing Zi Yan. As a strange flame, it was naturally far beyond ordinary earthfire. Even in its weakened state, its strength was still unquestionable. She smiled and soothed it. “Zi Yan, I’m not looking down on you. I was just joking.”

She went on, “Since we can’t get out right now, let’s prepare this Purple-Gold Meteorite Iron Stone first. Once I’m back at the sect, I’ll find a senior brother from Artifact-Refining Peak to help upgrade the Purple Jade Coiling Dragon Cauldron.”

Yun Xi acted fast. Once she had something to do, she worked with Zi Yan and began refining the protective layer off the Purple-Gold Meteorite Iron Stone bit by bit.

At this time, Wei Yun Qing had already returned to the sect, but she had been brought back by a Nascent Soul male cultivator using Universe-in-His-Sleeve.

True Lord Fire-Commanding heard a disciple report that a visitor had arrived, claiming to be an old friend. He could only put down the spirit herbs he was sorting and go to the main hall of Pill Peak to meet the guest.

When True Lord Fire-Commanding saw the visitor, he smiled and cupped his hands. “So it’s True Lord Qing Yu. What wind blew you to Hao Ran Sect?”

True Lord Qing Yu returned the salute. Then he flicked his sleeve and shook Wei Yun Qing out before taking a seat and replying, “Is this one your named disciple?”

True Lord Fire-Commanding glanced at the female cultivator who had just steadied herself. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Yes. She’s a disciple of my Pill Peak. What fault did she commit? Why did you bring her back, Qing Yu?”

After confirming Yun Qing’s identity, True Lord Qing Yu said, “I brought her back from Yan Dang Mountain. At the time, she was fighting to seize the strange flame.”

True Lord Fire-Commanding had not cared much at first. He thought his old friend had simply saved a disciple in passing. But once he heard it involved a strange flame, his expression turned serious. He looked at Wei Yun Qing.

Wei Yun Qing finally let go of her worry. She immediately bowed respectfully. “Disciple Wei Yun Qing greets the Peak Master.”

“Tell me what happened.”

“Yes. Because I’d already reached Foundation Establishment, and I’d been away from home for ten years, I planned to visit my family before the tournament. But on the way back to the sect, something went wrong with the flying ship, so I stopped at Yan Dang Mountain…”

Wei Yun Qing spoke clearly and in an orderly way. In the time it took an incense stick to burn, she explained everything from beginning to end. At last, she concluded, “Peak Master, the strange flame was taken by a black-robed female cultivator, and she should have a lightning spirit root.”

As she spoke, she also showed the back of her hand, which had been injured by a lightning strike technique.

True Lord Fire-Commanding nodded slightly. He believed his disciple would not dare hide anything, unless she planned to never use strange flames for the rest of her life. Otherwise, the truth would come out sooner or later. He waved his hand. “Go treat your injuries first. Do not spread this matter.”

“Yes, Peak Master.”

Wei Yun Qing obediently agreed. Then she turned and thanked Qing Yu. “Thank you, True Lord, for saving Yun Qing from trouble.”

True Lord Qing Yu had only done it out of respect for the Peak Master of Fire-Commanding, so he merely nodded lightly.

Wei Yun Qing tactfully withdrew from the hall and returned to her residence. Not long after she got back, Ye Shao Hua came to find her.

Meanwhile, True Lord Qing Yu and Peak Master Fire-Commanding were discussing the strange flame.

“No matter who got the strange flame in the end, as long as it fell on our turf, it’s fine. Otherwise, wouldn’t we be letting the Central Domain cultivators laugh at us?”

“You’re right. At least a piece of meat has to rot in our own pot. I heard the Divine Transformation Venerable who seized it has already gone into closed-door cultivation. He’ll probably come out once he’s refined the strange flame.”

“Since it was taken by force, he must have been injured too. Going into seclusion is just an excuse.”

True Lord Qing Yu smiled, then changed the topic. “I heard that secret realm is about to fully stabilize. It should open in about half a year. This time, the secret realm is on our turf, so we need to fight for more slots.”

Peak Master Fire-Commanding nodded. “I received the news too. The sect tournament comes once every ten years, and it’s about to begin. We can use this chance to pick a batch of disciples to enter the secret realm. But since it’s a secret realm opening for the first time, the danger is high. The sect definitely won’t send all of its elite disciples inside.”

“I think your named disciple is pretty good. Have you ever considered letting her try?”

“She hasn’t formed a Golden Core yet. She’s still lacking.”

Peak Master Fire-Commanding shook his head and refused outright.

On the other side, what Ye Shao Hua said to Wei Yun Qing was about the same matter.

“Senior Brother Ye, you mean the secret realm in the Bao Hua Mountain range is about to open?”

“Yes. The news is absolutely reliable. I heard it from a direct disciple.”

Wei Yun Qing’s heart jumped. She felt her chance was coming again. She immediately asked, “Senior Brother Ye, since you told me this, does that mean we also have a chance to enter this new secret realm?”

Ye Shao Hua nodded, then continued, “A new secret realm often means opportunity comes with danger. As long as we seize the chance, it won’t be hard to gather resources to form a Nascent Soul. But there’s a restriction.”

Wei Yun Qing pressed, “What restriction?”

“Your cultivation has to be at least the Golden Core Stage.”

Hearing that, Wei Yun Qing was irritated. Her good little sister Yun Xi had already formed a Golden Core. Yun Xi qualified to enter the secret realm, but she did not.

When Ye Shao Tian saw Wei Yun Qing’s expression change, he immediately added, “Yun Qing, don’t rush. We still have time.”

“Only half a year. How is that enough?” It wasn’t that Yun Qing looked down on herself. She simply had no confidence she could form a Golden Core in half a year.

But Ye Shao Tian sent a voice transmission directly. “Little sister Yun Qing, don’t lose heart. I found a Dao-Enlightenment Fruit seed. If we can force it to ripen, maybe we can try to break into Golden Core.”

Wei Yun Qing’s eyes lit up. Heaven truly left no one without a path. She also sent a voice transmission. “Senior Brother Ye, you’re amazing. I was only gone for a trip, and you already found such a treasure. This junior sister really envies your good fortune.”

“Haha. Whether my good fortune brings a good result depends on your ability, junior sister. To force a Dao-Enlightenment Fruit to ripen, we not only need a huge amount of spirit stones, we also need you to nourish it every day with pure wood spiritual qi.”