Chapter 95: Fire Bird

Pushing open the wooden door gently, Junior Brother Bai Ming entered the wooden cabin, his eyes filled with confusion.

"Senior Brother, did you just say 'wait'?"

Senior Brother Wei Yu had his back turned, his right hand lightly massaging his neck. "It is nothing, just some trivial matters. I wonder what brings Junior Brother here?"

Looking at the figure in white before him, Junior Brother Bai Ming felt a bit bewildered; he thought he had just heard a woman's voice.

And one more thing.

That fragrance was so strong.

Remembering the purpose of his visit, Junior Brother Bai Ming went straight to the point. "I came here at night to offer an explanation to Senior Brother."

Senior Brother Wei Yu's body trembled slightly. "Oh? What does Junior Brother wish to explain?"

"Senior Brother went to look for me these past few days, didn't you?" Junior Brother Bai Ming slowly approached.

Glancing lightly at the bronze mirror, Senior Brother Wei Yu looked flustered. "Junior Brother has not visited me in a long time, so I was worried that something might have happened to you."

"So that is how it is. Actually, I have been cultivating elsewhere these past few nights." Junior Brother Bai Ming casually fabricated an excuse.

Seeing Junior Brother Bai Ming getting closer and closer, Senior Brother Wei Yu hurriedly spoke up. "Junior Brother, stop right there!"

Junior Brother Bai Ming paused his steps, his face full of confusion. "Very well."

He looked at the white-clad back. "Senior Brother, why will you not turn around? Are you studying some technique?"

"Let us converse like this, Junior Brother. It is currently inconvenient for me as I am at a critical moment." Senior Brother Wei Yu forced himself to calm his heart, his tone flat.

Had Senior Brother become thinner?

Looking closely, Junior Brother Bai Ming felt that the back actually resembled that of a woman.

He could not help but feel this was absurd; how could one judge by a back? He himself was not exactly a towering figure either.

Perhaps to others, he appeared the same way.

Senior Brother Wei Yu broke the silence. "Junior Brother, you likely have other matters to discuss with me, do you not?"

Junior Brother Bai Ming snapped back to reality. "Rest assured, Senior Brother, my intention to escape this place has not changed one bit."

He concealed part of the truth. "It is just that before leaving this place, I wanted to practice my alchemy skills as well."

"So that is it." Senior Brother Wei Yu nodded his head slightly. "Is there anything else?"

Junior Brother Bai Ming pursed his lips. "No."

"Very well, I understand your intentions, Junior Brother." Senior Brother Wei Yu lowered his eyes, his tone deep.

Junior Brother Bai Ming's eyes gleamed. "Rest assured, Senior Brother, in just a few more days, we will be able to leave this place."

"Very well." Senior Brother Wei Yu hesitated.

Having finished expressing his thoughts, Junior Brother Bai Ming turned and left, closing the wooden door behind him.

Confirming that Junior Brother Bai Ming had left, Senior Brother Wei Yu relaxed his neck and turned to look at the bronze mirror on the table.

The smooth bronze mirror reflected a woman's face, beautiful and refined, though a shadow of gloom tainted those heroic brows and eyes.

…

The starry night was brilliant; dots of starlight adorned the sky, casting their twinkling light upon the earth.

Leaving Senior Brother Wei Yu's residence, Junior Brother Bai Ming dared not waste any more time and prepared to collect the medicinal herbs.

Taking out the jade slip, Junior Brother Bai Ming probed it with his divine sense to compare the few remaining medicinal herbs.

To be safe, he decided to tackle the difficult tasks before the easy ones.

The longer the plan dragged on, the more troublesome it would become. Not knowing what might happen later, he intended to prepare early.

Among the four remaining medicinal herbs, the undying phoenix feather flower had the highest difficulty.

The undying phoenix feather flower was the furthest from his residence and bloomed at the bottom of a volcano.

It was said to be the place where a phoenix fell. He had asked Senior Sister Tao Yu about it, but it was merely a saying; in reality, no one had ever seen it.

However, it did indeed grow in the volcanic crater, surrounded by raging flames.

Clenching the scale in his palm, Junior Brother Bai Ming rode the wind, a cloak composed of Qingming Storm Soul draped over his body.

With the cloak on, his speed increased by a few notches.

Under the starry night, a cyan-green ball of light shot into the sky, leaving a green trail in its wake.

After some time, Junior Brother Bai Ming arrived at the outskirts of the volcano, feeling a wave of dry heat and his cheeks flushing red.

He formed seals with both hands, and the cyan ball of light slowly shrank, eventually adhering to the surface of his body to form a barrier.

A gentle airflow circulated over his skin, isolating the heat and reducing the burning sensation on his body.

With a grave expression, Junior Brother Bai Ming faced the oncoming hot air currents and arrived at a cave entrance.

The depths of the cave were filled with firelight; the surrounding area was as bright as day, and even the nearby muddy ground was illuminated in a bright red.

Focusing his gaze, Junior Brother Bai Ming could see tongues of fire erupting within.

Using his full power to unleash the Qingming Storm Soul, he suspended the cyan scale in front of him to avoid any unobservant creatures.

Prepared, he flew gently into the cave entrance and began to examine the environment inside.

Although it was a volcanic crater, the interior was actually quite vast, stretching beyond sight, and was filled with various scorched rocks and crystals.

Red crystals were embedded in the walls; they seemed quite precious and contained significant energy.

But that was not the purpose of Junior Brother Bai Ming's trip, so he paid them no mind and ventured deeper inch by inch.

The further he went inside, the higher the surrounding temperature became.

Fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead, which Junior Brother Bai Ming wiped away with the back of his hand.

Only then did he realize that even with the adjustment of the Qingming Storm Soul, his body temperature was still constantly rising, and the dry heat was difficult to dissipate.

Deep in the cave, warm winds blew from time to time, growing hotter with each gust.

A lizard shook its scales and burrowed into the wall.

Junior Brother Bai Ming glanced at it in passing, feeling a sense of wonder.

Even in such an environment, there were still spirit beasts and spirit plants surviving.

Some simply gave up resisting the heat, absorbing the fire energy with all their might and using it as their source of energy.

Others possessed unique heat-resistant methods, such as scales or snail shells that insulated them from the temperature.

Bang— A pillar of flame erupted from the ground, spraying semi-viscous substances into the surroundings.

Narrowly avoiding it, Junior Brother Bai Ming became even more cautious. He did not know the power of the flame pillar, but taking a hit would certainly be unpleasant.

A small cyan sword floated in the air, moving in front of Junior Brother Bai Ming to scout the path for him.

To be on the safe side, he separated a portion of the Qingming Storm Soul.

Just like that, with the Qingming Storm Soul scouting, Junior Brother Bai Ming did not encounter any danger along the way.

Not knowing how long he had been venturing deeper, a small object on the ground caught his attention.

Bending down to reach it, Junior Brother Bai Ming picked it up and held it in his palm to examine it.

This was a golden feather with a reddish tinge; the part near the base was blood-red, while the outer edge was a ring of golden yellow.

"It seems it is just ahead." Junior Brother Bai Ming stood up and increased his speed.

A Fire Bird spat out flames, but seemingly sensing the Golden Core aura, it flew past, avoiding Junior Brother Bai Ming.

Venturing further inside, Junior Brother Bai Ming saw different species of spirit birds, but without exception, their bodies were all surrounded by flames.

The positions differed; some were atop their heads, while others were attached to their tail feathers.

"Is it by absorbing fire energy and consuming spirit plants that they survive?" Junior Brother Bai Ming speculated.

At the outskirts of the cave entrance, the species of creatures were numerous, and their survival methods were also different.

But approaching the center, they were exclusively birds, and all of them fed on fire energy, cultivating different flames.

Their auras were also gradually becoming stronger; apart from a few in the outskirts at the early Foundation Establishment stage, most of the Fire Bird were concentrated at the middle to late Foundation Establishment stage.

Even with the scale protecting his body, Junior Brother Bai Ming felt a sense of difficulty.

"Fortunately, it is of the water-wind attribute." Junior Brother Bai Ming felt a bit of relief.

He could clearly perceive that some at the peak of Foundation Establishment were actually not very afraid, but they still kept their distance.

It seemed they were not interested in Junior Brother Bai Ming; it was more like they were avoiding a plague god.

After searching for a while, Junior Brother Bai Ming did not see any trace of the undying phoenix feather flower.

He decided to observe the Fire Bird for a while, hoping to find some opportunity from them.