Chapter 96: Red Crystal Pillar

After a long while, a Fire Bird, having absorbed too much fire energy from the walls, began to sway unsteadily.

"Having absorbed too much fire energy, its body cannot contain it, and instead, it has become a burden," Junior Brother Bai Ming observed closely.

"However, that Fire Bird is also at the late stage of Foundation Establishment; it is impossible for it not to understand such a simple principle." Feeling puzzled, Junior Brother Bai Ming continued to observe.

The Fire Bird's lower abdomen was slightly distended, and its slender beak opened and closed repeatedly, spewing out wisps of flame.

It flapped its wings up and down, finally stabilized itself, and flew toward a small path.

His eyes lit up slightly; Junior Brother Bai Ming instinctively felt there was something unusual, so he followed far behind the Fire Bird.

Perhaps because its stomach was full, the Fire Bird's speed was not fast.

The path was a narrow, straight road that could be seen to the end at a glance.

Yet the Fire Bird wove back and forth, flying up and down, sometimes to the left and sometimes to the right.

Watching this strange behavior, Junior Brother Bai Ming was puzzled, but he still followed suit.

He had just flown ten meters when a booming explosion sounded behind him.

Several pillars of fire erupted, covering what he had originally assumed to be the shortest path.

With his back feeling hot, Junior Brother Bai Ming turned to look, feeling somewhat fortunate in his heart.

He turned back around, closely following the Fire Bird, mimicking its every movement.

After a difficult series of twists and turns, Junior Brother Bai Ming finally reached the end of the small path.

The path was filled with high heat, and waves of intense heat brought by the fire pillars washed over him in succession.

His forehead was covered in sweat, and his face felt very sticky and uncomfortable, but he dared not be distracted to wipe it off.

The Fire Bird completed its final circle and entered a cave entrance.

Having learned the final route, Junior Brother Bai Ming's eyes narrowed, and he accelerated as he flew past.

Just as he entered the cave, a wave of even hotter air rushed toward his face.

Facing the airflow, his hair became disheveled, and he landed headfirst on the cave floor.

After adjusting his breathing, Junior Brother Bai Ming slowly stood up and turned his head to survey his surroundings.

Various red crystals were embedded in the ceiling walls; they were enormous and protruded from the stone.

Interspersed between the gaps in the crystals were various medicinal herbs of different shapes.

Most of them appeared a deep red, complementing the red crystals, while a few appeared golden, which seemed somewhat peculiar.

"So, all the medicinal herbs are concentrated here," Junior Brother Bai Ming said, walking deeper inside while continuing to look around.

High up, the walls revealed numerous cave entrances, appearing like other small paths.

In other words, there was more than one path leading here, or perhaps this was the destination for all the paths.

After analyzing for a moment, Junior Brother Bai Ming felt his direction was correct; the undying phoenix feather flower was right here.

After searching for a while, he collected some medicinal herbs that appeared precious, but he still had not discovered the undying phoenix feather flower.

The spiritual energy became denser the further forward he went, so Junior Brother Bai Ming simply headed straight for the center.

Along the way, several Fire Birds circled above his head, their eyes fixed upon him.

After being vigilant for a while, Junior Brother Bai Ming realized the Fire Birds had low aggression and were, instead, more curious.

Junior Brother Bai Ming's eyes lit up. "It should be somewhere around there."

A giant crystal pillar stood tall, connecting the ceiling and the ground like a pillar supporting the entire cave.

The crystal pillar was about ten meters in diameter, with the center resembling an oval shape, a circular contour, protruding to both sides.

Looking from afar, Junior Brother Bai Ming made a discovery at the base of the crystal pillar: a strange flower.

His face filled with joy, and he accelerated.

The Fire Birds circling above his head stopped following him and scattered to the sides.

"The Fire Birds have left," Junior Brother Bai Ming realized something was amiss.

The Fire Birds that had been following him above his head left just as he approached the crystal pillar.

Had they lost interest in him?

No, he could still feel several gazes on him.

For the sake of safety, Junior Brother Bai Ming reached out to form a hand seal, summoning a small Qingming Storm Soul sword. With a flick of his sleeve, the small sword shot straight toward the flower.

Before the cyan small sword had flown very far, several tongues of fire erupted and engulfed it.

Watching the weak cyan mass float back, Junior Brother Bai Ming's expression turned grave; he felt it was quite tricky.

Those tongues of fire from just moments ago were, without a doubt, close to the peak power of the Foundation Establishment stage.

If he took a single hit, Junior Brother Bai Ming definitely would not be able to withstand it.

No wonder even the Fire Birds dared not approach; so that was it.

"I was wondering why such an obvious undying phoenix feather flower had no birds coming to eat it."

Junior Brother Bai Ming used his spiritual energy to restore the Qingming Storm Soul and transformed it back into a small sword.

The small sword flew past and was engulfed by the tongues of fire again.

This happened several times in a row; whenever they sensed something unusual, the tongues of fire would erupt.

Even a non-living entity like the Qingming Storm Soul was like this, let alone a real physical body like Junior Brother Bai Ming's.

Junior Brother Bai Ming pursed his lips; seemingly unwilling to give up, he summoned several cyan small swords in succession.

"Swish, swish."

The small swords were divided into two batches, advancing from different directions.

Tongues of fire erupted one after another, sealing off the route with no blind spots.

Withdrawing the Qingming Storm Soul, Junior Brother Bai Ming perceived some clues.

With the Qingming Storm Soul wrapped around his fingertips, he narrowed his eyes and looked toward that undying phoenix feather flower.

Being hit once, or even just grazed, would result in severe injury.

"Since that was the case, there was only one way."

Junior Brother Bai Ming flipped his arm and pushed his hand forward, causing a cyan longsword to condense and take form.

He pointed with a sword gesture, and the longsword broke through the opening, charging straight ahead.

Behind the longsword, a series of tongues of fire erupted one after another, but they were always a step too slow.

Just as the tongues of fire receded, Junior Brother Bai Ming exerted all his spiritual energy and drifted forward, stepping on the breeze.

The tongues of fire that had just receded sensed Junior Brother Bai Ming, their surfaces beginning to boil as they prepared to erupt.

However, there is a time interval between receding and erupting again.

During this interval, Junior Brother Bai Ming had already drifted past on the wind.

Stepping onto the scorching mud, Junior Brother Bai Ming exhaled gently and looked at the tongues of fire erupting one after another behind him, still feeling a lingering fear.

"Fortunately, I have already crossed it," Junior Brother Bai Ming said, looking at the flower beside him.

The undying phoenix feather flower was about three to five feet tall, its stem semi-transparent like glaze, with what appeared to be golden magma flowing slowly inside.

A single stem stood upright, without branches or vines, holding a single flower at the top, proud like a phoenix holding its head high. Its leaves were sparse, only three in opposite pairs, shaped like phoenix tail feathers.

With joy on his face, Junior Brother Bai Ming approached slowly and gently picked it using his spiritual energy.

Just as he was being careful, an aura appeared beside him and began to strengthen at a terrifying speed.

In just a few short breaths, it had risen from the first layer of Qi Refining to the first layer of Foundation Establishment.

Gripping the flower stalk, Junior Brother Bai Ming immediately sensed something was wrong and turned his head to look at the red crystal pillar beside him.

The aura continued to strengthen.

"Third layer of Foundation Establishment, fourth layer of Foundation Establishment."

The ground vibrated, and the entire cave was shaking.

Fire energy gathered rapidly onto the red crystal pillar, and the surrounding Fire Birds began to flee the center at high speed.

His brows knitted slightly; Junior Brother Bai Ming knew he could not delay any longer, so he followed the same method, attempting to cross the land of fire tongues once more.

Tongues of fire erupted behind him, spraying scorching impurities everywhere.

At the most critical moment, Junior Brother Bai Ming escaped by a hair's breadth.

He turned his head to look behind him, wanting to see what exactly had happened.

But in the next instant, a massive suction force came from behind him.

His sleeves were blown wildly, and Junior Brother Bai Ming's figure became unstable, unable to maintain flight.

Compelled by necessity, he landed in front of a rock, bracing himself against the suction force from behind.