Chapter 167 - 166: Such an Immortal’s Cave

Luo Tian wanted to obtain the Red Lotus Fruits.

His train of thought was the same as Zheng Wei and the others.

The first step was to lure away the numerous Fire Salamanders, including the Fire Lizard King.

This was an especially difficult part.

Luo Tian’s idea was to have the Crow complete this step.

Back during the Beast Tide, the Crow had been chased by thousands of flying Demon Beasts, including Great Demons, yet had emerged completely unscathed.

The second step.

Luo Tian would use the Shadow Cloak to hide his presence, then use that hooked Black Whip to quickly harvest the Red Lotus Fruits.

Once the Fire Lizard King discovered him, he would use Invisibility to leave.

In Luo Tian’s eyes, this plan had at least a sixty percent chance of success.

Of course.

He didn’t act rashly.

The people from the Qiu Yue Kingdom were not too far from the Molten Rock Pool; acting now might alert them.

Zheng Wei and his group had excitedly entered a hall, seemingly having made a major discovery.

’I’ll go take a look.’

Luo Tian moved through the dim and shadowy areas, following them while invisible.

Before long, an ancient Artifact Refining Room came into Luo Tian’s view.

’The Red Lotus Martial Venerable’s Artifact Refining Room?’

Luo Tian’s pupils contracted.

’It’s a good thing I followed them, or I would have missed out big time.’

Luo Tian analyzed the situation.

The Molten Rock Pool from before was just to provide fuel for the Artifact Refining Room, a logistical component.

The Artifact Refining Room was the true heart of this place!

Luo Tian moved to a shadowy corner and concealed himself.

From this position,

the scene inside the room was laid out before him, completely unobstructed.

The most conspicuous object was a massive Melting Furnace.

Besides that, there was a messy pile of ore and a dozen or so pieces of Treasure Armor and Weapons.

’Are these all relics left by the Martial Venerable?’

Luo Tian’s heart burned, and he felt a little resentful.

Zheng Wei and his group were busy ransacking the Artifact Refining Room.

Strangely,

there wasn’t much surprise or excitement on the faces of Zheng Wei’s group.

"How can a Martial Venerable’s Artifact Refining Room only have this much?"

Zheng Wei’s brow furrowed slightly.

Dongmen Lin and the others also looked confused.

They had entered the Artifact Refining Room with immense excitement.

But in the end, they hadn’t found any of the legendary, world-shaking Supreme Divine Soldiers.

Instead, the room held a pile of leftover, inferior ore, suitable at best for crafting some ordinary Treasure Artifacts.

Furthermore,

there were some defective products from failed Artifact Refining attempts, most of which were Low Grade Treasure Artifacts.

The greatest find was a Middle Grade Treasure Artifact sword, which also seemed to be a failed creation.

Although a Middle Grade Treasure Artifact was extremely valuable, worth ten times more than a Low Grade Treasure Artifact, and something most Spirit Sea Realm cultivators would covet...

However,

this fell far short of what they had imagined a Martial Venerable’s Artifact Refining Room would be like.

’This can’t be right...’

Luo Tian looked surprised. He pieced together the general situation from their expressions and conversation.

Normally,

the Molten Rock Pool should be like a cesspit, providing fuel for the Artifact Refining Room, and its status should be far inferior.

But,

the value of this Artifact Refining Room was actually far less than that of the Molten Rock Pool.

Luo Tian even suspected...

that the Fire Lotus Flowers and Red Lotus Fruits in the Molten Rock Pool might have grown there naturally.

If that was the case, it was all very strange.

’What is the deal with this Martial Venerable’s Cave Mansion?’

"It seems this place must be a temporary cave mansion of the Red Lotus Martial Venerable, not his main legacy one."

Zheng Wei looked disappointed.

"A temporary cave mansion?"

Dongmen Lin and the other two fell into thought, starting to believe his words.

Because,

ever since entering the cave mansion, they had felt it was a bit crude and haphazard, lacking the grandeur expected of a Martial Venerable expert.

It gave the impression of a temporary setup.

This Artifact Refining Room only contained some scrap metal. If they didn’t know it was a Martial Venerable’s cave mansion, the loot would have been considered decent.

"Young Master Zheng, even the scraps left behind by a Martial Venerable are of decent value to us. What if the Martial Venerable missed something when he left?"

The skinny man said with a hopeful expression.

For him, the haul just now was already a pleasant surprise.

It was just that the most valuable treasures had all been taken by Zheng Wei.

"Yes. Let’s check the other areas, especially the place where the Red Lotus Martial Venerable used to practice his Cultivation."

Zheng Wei nodded.

The group went to check several adjacent storerooms.

The results were disappointing.

Most of the rooms were empty, with only some junk left behind at most.

’Heh, so this is the truth behind the Red Lotus Cave Mansion that Zheng Wei went to such great lengths to find!’

Luo Tian couldn’t help but smile.

He stopped following Zheng Wei’s group.

Luo Tian doubled back to the Molten Rock Pool.

Perhaps,

the Red Lotus Fruits in the Molten Rock Pool were the most valuable treasures in the entire cave mansion.

"CAW CAW... So hot! Where is this?"

The Crow was let out, its beady black eyes sizing up its surroundings.

"Ugly Bird, do you see the Red Lotus Fruits in that Molten Rock Pool?"

Luo Tian said with a smile.

"CAW CAW! It’s actually Red Lotus Fruits!"

The Crow’s eyes widened, and it practically drooled.

Its look of eager desire was several times stronger than when it first encountered the Dragon Scale Grass.

"To get these fruits, we’ll need to work together."

Luo Tian smiled and told the Crow his plan.

"No problem! There are four Red Lotus Fruits in total. This god wants half!"

The Crow said with great excitement.

"One at most. And I’ll let you borrow the Demon Emperor Bone for another ten days. Otherwise, you can stay cooped up in the Celestial Book for three years."

Luo Tian said coldly.

"Fine! Stuck with a stingy Master of the Celestial Book like you."

The Crow grumbled.

FLAP! FLAP! FLAP!

The Crow flapped its wings and flew above the Molten Rock Pool.

Then, it flew straight for the Red Lotus Fruits in the center.

WHOOSH! SPLASH! SPLASH!

The Crow’s blatant action provoked the Fire Lizard King’s fury, causing it to unleash a wave of crimson flame.

That single strike was enough to instantly kill an ordinary Mentor from the Holy Mansion.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa..."

The Crow dodged in a sorry state, the crimson wave of flame barely grazing it.

The Fire Lizard King was stunned, not expecting its sure-hit attack to miss.

The Crow circled above the Molten Rock Pool, directly attracting nearly all the Fire Salamanders.

In an instant,

the Fire Lizard King and dozens of Fire Salamanders were relentlessly chasing and attacking the Crow.

’Not bad!’

Luo Tian looked on with approval. Using the Invisibility effect of the Shadow Cloak, he quickly arrived at the edge of the Molten Rock Pool.

SWOOSH!

The hooked whip in his hand grew thicker and longer, wrapping around a Red Lotus Fruit like a ghost.

The strange thing about this whip was its silent nature, making it a perfect match for the Shadow Cloak.

SWISH!

Luo Tian quickly obtained one Red Lotus Fruit, taking only a breath’s time.

Afterward,

he quickly snatched the other three Red Lotus Fruits.

ROAR—

As Luo Tian snatched the third fruit, the Fire Lizard King noticed and let out an enraged roar.

However,

it had been lured several hundred meters away by the Crow and couldn’t possibly stop him in time.

After taking all four Red Lotus Fruits,

Luo Tian’s figure quickly melted into the shadows, concealed himself, and vanished.

ROAR! SPLASH! BOOM!

The Fire Lizard King returned to the Molten Rock Pool, but Luo Tian was nowhere to be seen. It roared in fury as waves of molten rock churned endlessly.

A moment later, Luo Tian met up with the Crow in a corner.

"My Red Lotus Fruit!"

The Crow demanded nonchalantly.

"Here."

Luo Tian tossed it a Red Lotus Fruit.

The Crow swallowed it in one gulp.

Luo Tian was stunned. This was a Three-star Spiritual Material, corresponding to the Earth Element Realm.

’Isn’t this Ugly Bird afraid its stomach will explode?’

In any case, Luo Tian wouldn’t dare to swallow one whole.

After swallowing the Red Lotus Fruit,

the Crow’s belly quickly swelled up.

Immediately after,

a trace of fatigue appeared in the Crow’s eyes.

WHOOSH~

A layer of black mist rose from the Crow’s body, enveloping it.

Before long,

a black cocoon formed around the Crow’s body and fell into Luo Tian’s hand. The sound of snoring came from within.

’This works too?’

Luo Tian had a strange expression as he looked at the snoring black cocoon in his hand.

With a thought,

Luo Tian had the Celestial Book take the Crow away.

"What’s going on with this bird?"

Luo Tian asked the Celestial Book.

"It is absorbing the immense power through hibernation to undergo an evolution, breaking out of its cocoon."

The Celestial Book replied.

’So this Crow can actually evolve, huh.’

Luo Tian didn’t feel happy about this; instead, he felt a faint headache coming on.

Before its evolution,

the Crow had already caused huge trouble. Who knows what kind of mischief it would get into after it evolved.

After settling the Crow,

Luo Tian was about to head deeper into the cave mansion.

SWOOSH!

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a graceful, snow-white silhouette flash past in a nearby tunnel and disappear.

’That shadow... it looked a bit like Xia Bingyue?’

Luo Tian murmured.

This Martial Venerable’s Cave Mansion was built underground, its passages extending in all directions like a maze.

He didn’t know...

when Xia Bingyue had entered.

Luo Tian picked up his pace and went deeper into the cave mansion.

Along the way,

he saw traces of the Qiu Yue Kingdom group’s plunder. Several halls and storerooms were empty, with only worthless scrap metal left behind.

Luo Tian followed the traces and soon found the group from the Qiu Yue Kingdom.

By now,

they had reached the deepest part of the cave mansion.

Here, there was a garden with a small bridge over a flowing stream, blooming flowers and trees, creating a pleasant scene.

In the garden were some naturally grown precious materials, complementing a few exquisite and antique halls.

"This must be the place where the Red Lotus Martial Venerable lived and conducted his daily Cultivation."

Zheng Wei’s eyes lit up.

The group immediately began to search.

"The Red Lotus Martial Venerable’s study!"

The pink-robed woman exclaimed, having made a discovery.

It was a study with an antique fragrance.

The bookshelf was very empty, with only a few ancient books on it.

There were some ink brushes, ink, and paper on the desk.

"Excellent! We might find the Red Lotus Martial Venerable’s original writings and ultimate techniques here."

The group looked on with anticipation.

Zheng Wei was the first to pick up the ancient books, but the result was somewhat disappointing.

The ancient books recorded knowledge about birds and beasts, insects and plants, astronomy, and geography.

On the desk, the Martial Venerable’s original ink writings turned to dust with a single touch.

"Young Master Zheng, there’s a sword here."

Dongmen Lin pointed to a decorative sword hanging on the study wall.

"Red. Lotus. Sword."

Zheng Wei barely managed to recognize the three ancient characters on the scabbard.

Dongmen Lin subconsciously went to draw the sword, wanting to see its quality.

Huh?!

Dongmen Lin’s arm stiffened. He couldn’t draw the sword.

’Come out!’

His face flushed slightly as he immediately circulated his True Qi and tried to forcibly draw the sword.

CLANG—BUZZ!

He barely managed to draw the Red Lotus Sword an inch, but it released a Sword Light like the shadow of a crimson lotus.

In that instant,

the entire study was illuminated by that fiery, red lotus sword-glow, and an oppressive Sword Intent that made it hard to breathe washed over them.

"The Red Lotus Sword! This is the personal sword forged by the Red Lotus Sword Venerable himself!"

Zheng Wei’s face filled with ecstasy.

"Ah!"

Dongmen Lin cried out in pain.

A wisp of Sword Qi with red lotus patterns struck his arm.

PFFT!

The entire arm Dongmen Lin had used to draw the sword turned into charred smoke and evaporated into thin air!

And that wisp of lotus-patterned Sword Qi was just a single, hair-thin strand that had split off from the crimson lotus Sword Light, which appeared when just half an inch of the blade was drawn.

CLANG!

The Red Lotus Sword returned to its scabbard. The crimson lotus sword-glow that had illuminated the entire room, along with its light and shadow, dissipated.

On the wall, the seemingly ordinary decorative sword remained unchanged.

Everything returned to normal.

If not for Dongmen Lin’s arm, which had just evaporated into thin air, the group might have suspected that what just happened was merely an illusion.