Chapter 38

Chapter 38: Fire Lotus Seed
“Hm?” Qin Yefeng turned his head, a frown creasing his brow.
Luo Wo immediately stepped forward, expressing his gratitude. “My name is Luo Wo. Thank you so much for intervening to save us. If not for you, I fear the Princess would already be dead.”
The young girl, Princess Ming Yuexin, also hurried over. She was clearly still shaken, her chest heaving, but her dreamy eyes gazed at Qin Yefeng with curiosity.
“Thank you for saving my life. I am Ming Yuexin, a Princess of the Great Ming Empire.”
Qin Yefeng’s gaze lingered on Ming Yuexin for a moment.
It had to be said, Ming Yuexin was a girl of exceptional temperament. Her endearing aura was innate, requiring no elaborate voice or attire to create.
In truth, when Qin Yefeng had moved to save the girl, he had been deeply torn. If he didn’t act, she would surely be crushed to death.
But by acting, he risked exposing himself, potentially failing to acquire the White Lotus Earth Flame for the evolution of his Burning Heaven Dragon Flame, and even inviting deadly trouble upon himself.
Yet, in the end, Qin Yefeng hadn’t hesitated. He sliced through the Fiery Rock, scooped up the young girl in the aqua-blue robe, and evaded the crushing impact of the Fiery Rock.
“Friend, I see you’ve also come to Flame Mountain for cultivation. It’s quite dangerous to venture deep into this Flame Cave alone. How about you join our team to explore the interior of Flame Mountain?”
At this moment, Luo Wo spoke, extending an invitation.
“No, I prefer to adventure alone!” Qin Yefeng flatly refused, then turned to leave, heading deeper into the Flame Cave.
“What? This fellow dares to refuse the General’s request? He’s courting death!”
“Kid, what arrogance! Today, your grandpa will teach you a lesson.”
The group of Martial Artists behind Luo Wo were all indignant.
Just then, a burly man blocked Qin Yefeng’s path and said indifferently, “My name is Niu Dadun. Don’t be ungrateful and ignore General Luo Wo’s advice. You were following us, which is why you saved the Princess. Tell us, what are your intentions?”
“You brat, who exactly are you? Why were you following us?” Another Martial Artist also crowded around.
“I bear you no ill will. I merely saw you hunting demonic beasts without taking their Demonic Cores, so I thought I’d come in and scavenge,” Qin Yefeng said, continuing deeper into the cave.
“Bullshit! You, a mere Early Xiantian Realm kid, dare to enter the Flame Cave? If you don’t explain why you’re here, we won’t let you leave!” Niu Dadun roared crudely.
“Move aside!” Qin Yefeng’s eyes turned cold, and his Spiritual Power erupted throughout his body.
“Oh, an Early Xiantian Realm brat dares to lay hands on your grandpa Niu? I think you have a death wish,” Niu Dadun chuckled nonchalantly, looking at Qin Yefeng.
“I’m warning you one last time, move aside!” Qin Yefeng clenched his fist, glaring intently at the burly man before him.
“I won’t…” Niu Dadun couldn’t finish his sentence.
A golden flame shot up, directly sending Niu Dadun flying to smash against the wall of the Flame Cave, his gushing blood splattering onto the rock debris.
Afterward, Qin Yefeng prepared to leave and enter the interior of Flame Mountain.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
A dark figure appeared before Qin Yefeng. Luo Wo said gravely, “Friend, I assure you, as long as you tell us why you were following us, we will let you join us in entering the interior of Flame Mountain.”
“I told you, I came into this Flame Cave to scavenge. And now I want to explore the interior of Flame Mountain. Don’t block my way!” Qin Yefeng said sternly, gripping his Battle Saber.
Princess Ming Yuexin quickly ran over and said to Luo Wo, “General, you cannot treat my benefactor this way. He is absolutely a good person.”
Then, Ming Yuexin turned to Qin Yefeng and said softly, “Um, could you be my guard? We can enter the interior of Flame Mountain together to search for Fire Lotus Seeds. I can offer you many Spirit Stones, and even a promotion and nobility. As long as you help us find the Fire Lotus Seeds, we guarantee your safety.”
Finally, Ming Yuexin pointed to the inner entrance of the Flame Cave and warned Qin Yefeng with concern, “General Luo told me that the Sea of Flames inside Flame Mountain is not only intensely hot and harsh, but it also harbors Demonic Beasts at the Peak of the Xiantian Realm. You really shouldn’t go down alone; it would be very dangerous!”
“You’re really entering Flame Mountain’s interior for Fire Lotus Seeds?” Qin Yefeng’s expression showed a hint of surprise.
“Yes, I was born with an innately frigid constitution. I came to Flame Mountain this time specifically to obtain Fire Lotus Seeds to counteract it. The General wants you to join our team because your body is attuned to fire, which would indeed be a great help to us,” Ming Yuexin explained to Qin Yefeng with a sincere expression.
“Princess, don’t waste words on this fellow. He won’t agree. Let’s just hurry down,” Niu Dadun shouted provocatively, having climbed back to his feet and wiped the blood from his mouth.
“Shut up! If this friend hadn’t shown mercy, you would have been a headless corpse by now,” Luo Wo said, giving Niu Dadun a cold glance.
Niu Dadun immediately shut his mouth but still looked at Qin Yefeng resentfully.
“Alright, I accept your invitation. However, I’m not joining your team, but rather acting as Princess Ming Yuexin’s guard to explore this Flame Cave with you. I agree to help you acquire the Fire Lotus Seeds, but after they are obtained, you must not interfere with my actions,” Qin Yefeng said calmly, sheathing his Battle Saber.
“I agree to your condition. It’s excellent that you’ll come with us into the Flame Cave for the Fire Lotus Seeds. Your fire attribute makes you perfectly suited for the high temperatures of this Flame Cave,” Luo Wo said with a smile, accepting Qin Yefeng.
Subsequently, Qin Yefeng followed the group of Martial Artists towards a downward sloping set of steps inside the Flame Cave.
From the narrow opening at the top of these steps, visible tongues of flame licked out, and the interior was a deep crimson inferno.
Immediately, Niu Dadun and the other Martial Artists clutched their blood-red robes tightly to ward off the extreme heat.
Qin Yefeng also felt the unusually high temperature, but he clearly noticed that the closer he was to Princess Ming Yuexin, the less intense the heat became.
After observing her, Qin Yefeng discovered that the aqua-blue robe Princess Ming Yuexin was wearing was actually a treasure.
Within the intensely hot Flame Cave, this aqua-blue robe surprisingly released a chilling aura to mitigate the invasion of high temperatures. No wonder Princess Ming Yuexin, despite having no Spiritual Power, could walk through this Flame Cave without being scalded.
The group of eight entered the Flame Cave, proceeding through the narrow passage beneath the steps, where they suddenly discovered an immensely spacious area.
This was a ten-thousand-meter deep Core Sea of Flames, filled with rolling, fiery red lava, as terrifying and magnificent as a sea of flames from hell, yet rugged and untamed.
At this moment, Qin Yefeng, Luo Wo, Niu Dadun, Princess Ming Yuexin, and the others were walking on steps made of fiery rock, preparing to descend to the bottom of this great Sea of Flames.
Niu Dadun looked at the Sea of Flames and asked with a hearty laugh, “These Fire Lotus Seeds are a byproduct of the White Lotus Earth Flame. Lord Luo, do you have any thoughts on acquiring the White Lotus Earth Flame itself?”