novelraw Chapter 585 - 584: Eighth on the Spirit Fire List—Ice Flame
Chapter 585 - 584: Eighth on the Spirit Fire List—Ice Flame
Since childhood, the young boy from the village who had been bullied and oppressed had very simple thoughts. He believed that as long as the monster in the Black Stone Slab hadn’t come out to harm people, keeping it might prove to be useful someday.
However, the rat demon suddenly stormed into the village, killing and setting fires, capturing strong laborers, breaking the years of peace in Riverfront Village. His father was burned alive, and his mother and sister were nowhere to be found.
For a moment, Lin Chunsheng regretted. If he had trusted the monster in the Black Stone Slab earlier and learned some of the monster’s skills, could the tragedy have been avoided?
But when he picked up the Black Stone Slab, reason jumped out again to tell him not to trust the monster’s words carelessly.
Otherwise, he might not only fail to find his mother and sister but also get himself involved. If things went wrong, regret would be of no use.
In case they were trapped somewhere waiting for him to rescue them, as the only man in the family, if anything were to happen to him, who could his mother and sister rely on?
That period was very tormenting for Lin Chunsheng. On one hand, he had to think of ways to find his family’s whereabouts; on the other hand, he had to resist the temptation from the monster in the Black Stone Slab.
Fortunately, not long after, his mother and sister were rescued and returned to the village.
"At that time... although you saved my mother and sister, I actually didn’t trust you much." Lin Chunsheng embarrassedly scratched his head, his voice becoming smaller, "I was inexperienced back then, didn’t understand anything. I only knew that a stranger suddenly came to the village and broke the Divine Statue, causing it not to block the monster from invading the village;
plus, the villagers often said that refugees would steal and rob, and no village would want to take them in. So I preconceived that you, a suddenly appearing stranger, needed to be guarded against.
Later, I went with my sister and Wan Mingchuan to Shuiyun Lake and saw with my own eyes that you could start fires just like the rat demon, and felt even more that you might not be human but a demon instead.
My dad said many demons are most adept at tricking children, pretending to be good people to ease vigilance before eating them when they’re not paying attention, finding scared and nervous children even tastier.
At that time, other villagers who went to Shuiyun Lake with us were all clamoring that you were a demon and ran away. My heart kept pounding, thinking you probably weren’t a good thing."
Jiang Yuan couldn’t help but twitch at the corner of his mouth when he heard that, thinking to himself that this was indeed a cautious child, even though the process and result of the inference were completely wrong, living in such an environment, it’s really not suitable to trust strangers too easily.
It coincided with the system’s determination back then. He vaguely remembered that Wan Mingchuan sincerely accepted apprenticeship at 100%, but Lin Chunsheng only had a little bit, marked as likely to betray at any time.
Revealing a desire to learn skills, but fundamentally not trusting at all, no wonder.
"This kid is young, but his thoughts are quite heavy." Bai Heqing smacked his lips, putting himself in the perspective of a young boy.
Thinking about him being able to resist strange temptations in the face of the tragic death of his father and the disappearance of his mother and sister was really not easy.
Qiao Mei’s expression was complex, reproachfully saying: "Since you don’t even trust the little Immortal who saved our lives, why trust the trifle in the Black Stone Slab?"
Lin Chunsheng felt both wronged and indeed dumb, hanging his head shamefully: "That day I was also afraid of the stranger who could spit fire, but my sister said he was a good person who wouldn’t harm us.
Wan Mingchuan was very excited after seeing the fire, insisting on accepting apprenticeship and learning skills, my sister also chimed in.
The little Immortal handed us a book to look at, but it was all flashy and messy, and I didn’t understand anything. I just thought it was a demon fooling us, but Wan Mingchuan said he understood it.
I was thinking at the time that maybe he lost his grandfather and was bullied by the three major surnames, so he found an excuse not to want to return to the village. I was worried he might get eaten... Later, the little Immortal gave us rabbit meat and gold, so I thought he might be a good demon."
"My brother is really good, but he’s not a demon." Qingniao laughed softly to correct him.
With an increasingly red face, Lin Chunsheng nodded: "When the village was in turmoil, and the River God chose my sister, I thought there was no other way out. Even if the monster in the Black Stone Slab was bad, I had to give it a try, couldn’t watch her go to die. But when it was time to use it, the monster didn’t respond!
Luckily my mother went to Shuiyun Lake for help, and the little Immortal saved my sister and even retrieved my father’s soul from the Underworld. I personally witnessed Wan Mingchuan apprenticing and acquiring real skills!
At that time, I was both envious and regretful. I learned from my father’s mouth that the little Immortal was a cultivator among humans capable of cultivating immortality. He also said if one could cultivate immortality even the Ghost Messengers in the Underworld would revere them.
But I couldn’t understand that book. It’s definitely not happening to apprentice the little Immortal as a master anymore. When we settled down in Anping Town, that voice in the Black Stone Slab kept reciting about cultivation techniques and I was very moved.
He said high realm cultivators could summon wind and rain, move mountains and fill seas, like the immortals often spoken of by ordinary people. He also said he was a high tier cultivator, but encountered some natural disasters making him not so powerful now.
I wanted to ask him to save my sister, but he actually couldn’t respond due to insufficient spiritual energy. If I could just listen to him and pray, he could establish a stable connection with me and respond anytime I summoned him when needed.
He spoke a lot about cultivating immortality. I am so eager to be able to cultivate myself and enable my family to live a good life, allowing my father not to suffer in the Underworld, no matter what happens, at least being able to solve it on my own without needing to seek help everywhere. So I..."
After listening to Lin Chunsheng’s story, Jiang Yuan thought gloomily, now that really does involve me.
Although there’s not much interaction with him, as an observable example, thinking about the whole process from mistrust to suspicion to belief, and then being enchanted, from his perspective, the logic is completely self-consistent.
I have to say, this child is quite young, but he likes to use his brain when encountering things.
If he could meet the system criteria to plant a Spirit Root, it would be great. Unfortunately, the green tick never appeared above Lin Chunsheng’s head from start to finish, so there’s no way.
"Once you’re enchanted and establish a connection with the mysterious forces, it can gradually pollute and enter your body, controlling your every word and action," Jiang Yuan concluded: "That’s why your father cannot reach you in the Netherworld, and your mother noticed your temperament has changed recently."
Lin Chunsheng looked bewildered, "Well, I’m not really sure. Ever since I promised to learn cultivation, my mind has felt fuzzy.
Sometimes I know people are talking to me, but my mind seems unable to understand what was said, until just now, I finally fully woke up and felt particularly tired."
"Of course you’d be tired!" Qingniao jumped off the bed and sighed, "Luckily for you, my brother came across you, and thankfully that mysterious force was cautious enough. Otherwise, your soul would have been swallowed by it long ago, likely polluting the entire Anping Town. Alright, I’m going to help purify and dispel the sickness your sister has, so don’t mess around anymore in the future."
It’s getting late, the Wilderness has already descended, and Jiang Yuan still has many things to do. He got up to say goodbye, advising: "You’re still young. After experiencing all this, you should calm your mind. Settling down in Anping Town has made life stable; study diligently, cultivate virtue, and pursue goodness. Even if devoid of immortal destiny, you can accumulate virtue and blessings."
Lin Chunsheng obediently agreed, and Qiao Mei thanked him repeatedly.
After Qingniao purified the sickness from Lin Chunxi, she also worked with Bai Heqing to filter the entire Anping Town, ensuring no safety hazards were left, thereby closing a Chapter.
"I, Bai, owe a life-saving debt to two fellow cultivators. However, I’ve brought nothing noteworthy as a gift during this trip. This is a copper thorn shed during my body’s ascension in realm, it’s superbly effective for crafting weapons. Fellow cultivators, if you don’t find it beneath you, please accept it."
Bai Heqing first took out a Communication Stone to add the other party, then handed over five copper thorns gleaming with cold light, "Whenever, wherever, if you need the help of Bai, just let me know!"
Jiang Yuan couldn’t refuse, so he had to accept the gift. Seeing the other party full of gratitude wanting to repay the favor, he casually said: "It was just a helping hand. Fellow cultivator, you don’t need to hold it in mind. If you feel uneasy, perhaps keep an eye out for news regarding the mysterious forces or Ghost Realm; no need to verify, just inform me via Communication Stone."
Without a doubt, given the system’s nature, after completing this task of 500 Mysterious Soul Fragments, it is likely to publish a long-term task of 1000 fragments. Gathering more news as reserves will certainly not be wrong.
Bai Heqing thanked again, keeping the commission firmly in mind. Watching the other party disappear before him, his heart was filled with countless thoughts.
"The mysterious force discovered this time comes from the Human World; the last rumors about the Ghost Realm not far from Anping Town were also attached to the daylight Human World."
He stroked his white beard, looking up at the night sky stars of the Wilderness World, unable to help sighing, "The barrier of the Wilderness is still safe, but it can’t withstand the crisis-ridden Human World.
The two worlds merge at night, and the mysterious forces from the Mortal World easily mix into the Wilderness. No wonder some radical factions keep a covetous eye on human cultivators, this world truly is inept and full of trouble!"
But upon further thought, the Human World with its many mortals is the only place providing incense support for demon cultivators like him, neither too low nor too high up. If humans were efficient everywhere, how could it be his turn to play the role of an Immortal receiving incense?
Bai Heqing collected his thoughts, taking out the Communication Stone to start contacting various friends.
Cultivators repay kindness, especially life-saving kindness, how can it only be left in words? This requires devising ways to scout for useful information for the benefactor and returning it as soon as possible.
On the other side, Jiang Yuan took Qingniao directly into the Miasma Ridge dungeon. Upon landing, he smiled and asked the other party, "Qingniao, can that Enlightenment Stone be purified thoroughly using the Purification Technique?"
"If I cultivate to the Nascent Soul Realm, perhaps yes." She replied crisply: "Right now, no, my Ice Flame is not that powerful yet."
"I see. Then, can your Purification Technique..." Jiang Yuan had personally witnessed his sister’s skills and was quite envious.
Having one more purification skill could make dealing with mysterious forces much easier.
"Does brother want to learn?" Qingniao quickly responded, proudly placing her hands on hips and smiling, "It’s not impossible, but it depends on whether brother can withstand it.
To be frank, the cultivation technique I’ve practiced, whether the technique itself or the cultivation direction, is mainly centered around the innate Ice Flame of our race. Everything is aimed at nurturing it to become more powerful."
While channeling Spiritual Power to resist the poisonous miasma, she lit a small Ice Flame at her fingertips, "Look, as its name suggests, it is both ice and flame. When I reach the Golden Core Realm, I can separate it: one half as ice, the other as flame, adeptly used depending on different environments.
Our race’s innate purification ability originates from the Ice Flame. The stronger it becomes, the higher my realm and the more filth I can purify and burn away.
If brother wants to learn purification techniques, those are non-existent. Not to mention I don’t have it, rarely seen across the entire Cultivation Realm; the purification methods I know mostly rely on racial talent.
However, I can separate a small spark from this innate Ice Flame and gift it to brother. If you can refine it and make it yours, you can seek Earth Treasures to nurture and strengthen it. Then, when encountering mysterious forces, you can naturally use the Ice Flame to burn and purify them."
She paused for a moment and added: "Ice Flame is ranked eighth on the Spirit Fire List. As it belongs to racial talent, very few people are willing to share their innate Ice Flame with other cultivators, so it’s rare but not unique, and its comprehensive combat power is ranked slightly lower. Brother must not underestimate it, failing to tame it may lead to backlash, burning you to ashes."