Vol.3-Chapter 12 – Holy Flame Spirit Spring

He was happy that he was able to meet Little Black again. This caused the sorrow Zhao Jiuge felt before to fade a bit.

Little Black was much cuter than before, and he led the way in front. Every few steps, he would turn back, afraid that Zhao Jiuge would suddenly leave again.

Su Su couldn’t help but laugh at the little fellow’s actions. His mouth curved up into a warm smile and his heart was filled with a sense of satisfaction.

They followed Little Black deep into the valley and walked into the belly of the mountain. Zhao Jiuge could clearly see a stone platform and a stone table still here. This was where Zhao Jiuge cultivated the golden dragon and the Sanskrit Divine Body.

Su Su’s eyes opened wide as she looked around. She wasn’t going to let anything go. She was going to learn about everything that had happened to Zhao Jiuge.

After following Little Black into the belly of the mountain, he showed no signs of stopping. Zhao Jiuge was shocked and wondered where Little Black was taking him.

They walked deep into the mountain and arrived at some uneven terrain. There was a gap about ? of a meter wide, just enough for a person to squeeze in.

After arriving here, a damp smell came from inside. The unknown was the most scary, and Zhao Jiuge was secretly on guard. He had no idea what could happen inside.

Su Su quietly followed Zhao Jiuge and also squeezed inside. Seeing that Little Black had already gone in, Zhao Jiuge quickly followed. However, the gap was too narrow, so he couldn’t move very fast.

Perhaps because there wasn’t much sunlight in here, the area gave off a damp smell. Zhao Jiuge entered and saw that there were some mushrooms growing along the walls. However, they contained no spirit force and were not worth anything.

Fortunately, this uncomfortable movement didn’t last for too long before the space opened up. Little Black was happily waiting for him here. Su Su also squeezed through the gap, then Zhao Jiuge began observing his surroundings.

This should be a naturally formed gap between the mountains that surrounded the valley. That was why this area looked a bit odd.

Zhao Jiuge clearly felt that the spirit force here was much denser than outside, but it wasn’t that much more. At this moment, Little Black stood in front. He looked at Zhao Jiuge and then looked to the side. He had a finger in his mouth and his eyes were filled with desire.

After seeing Little Black’s cute expression, Zhao Jiuge simply smiled. This was too cute and much more lethal and those mounts he saw his fellow sect members use.

He followed Little Black’s gaze and saw a small pool less than a meter wide and less than a meter deep. Zhao Jiuge didn’t understand how a small pool like this had appeared here. Everything here was naturally formed, with no trace of being man-made.

The water was blue, but if one looked deeper, there was a faint hint of red. Feeling the fluctuations from the small pool, Zhao Jiuge found the reason why the spirit force was dense here: it was because of this little pool.

There was a plant growing in the center of the pool. It looked delicate and it gave off a soft, green glow. It looked like bamboo and grew in sections with two branches. Its leaves were oval and it looked like water was dripping down from the tips of the leaves.

This was the first time Zhao Jiuge had seen something like this. A spirit herb that grew in the middle of a small pool? Although this spirit herb was strange, it didn’t have a lot of spirit force like other spirit herbs.

While Zhao Jiuge and Su Su were observing the pool and the spirit herb, Little Black eagerly jumped into the pool.

The pool was already small, but Little Black was every smaller. He floated in the pool and began playing around. Little Black’s fur was instantly soaked, making him look very cute.

Zhao Jiuge looked at Little Black with an eager and glutinous expression and asked with some doubt, “What the hell is this? Could it have been this broken pool and that ordinary-looking herb that brought about Little Black’s rapid increase in cultivation and change? However, I don’t feel much spirit force from them; it can’t compare to those heavenly treasures at all. How could it have such a big effect?”

Su Su had a serious expression, and when she heard Zhao Jiuge’s words, she burst out laughing. Her smile was like a flower.

“Blockhead, you’re going to make me laugh to death. Only you would call the Holy Flame Spirit Spring a broken pool. If others heard this, they would laugh themselves to death.”

Su Su had never felt as happy as now in the last few years. She felt just like the past now that she was with Zhao Jiuge, and he was still a blockhead like before.

“What is the Holy Flame Spirit Spring and what is it used for? From its spirit force, it doesn’t look particularly precious.”

Although he didn’t know why Su Su had laughed so much from his words, he cared more about his curiosity.

“A Holy Flame Spirit Spring is formed by the Holy Flame Flower in the middle. When the Holy Flame Flower first sprouts, there is no spring around it. However, as it grows, it releases liquid and forms a spring around it. Thousand-year-old Holy Flame Flowers have springs hundreds of meters wide and are filled with spirit force. This one is probably only a few decades old. It hasn’t been here for long, but it is still precious.”

Su Su slowly explained the situation and was curious about it as well. This was the first time she had seen it in person. Before, she only saw it in records. It took her a long time to determine its identity.

Zhao Jiuge nodded without really understanding the situation. “So that’s the reason. This one is only a few decades old, no wonder it doesn’t have dense spirit force. So is this the reason why Little Black’s cultivation increased so rapidly?”

“That’s right, but it's unfortunate it was used by Little Black—a bit wasteful. If it were used by a cultivator, it would allow a cultivator below the Nascent Soul Realm to directly break through a bottleneck.”

Su Su felt a bit of pity but didn’t care too much. This pool was not useful to her unless it was much older. Also, it was best to make breakthroughs on your own without external help.

Little Black, who was inside the spring, revealed an annoyed expression when he heard Su Su’s words. He started to slap the water, but his palms were even smaller than Zhao Jiuge’s fingers, so he didn’t cause any splashes. He could only reveal his discontentment toward Su Su through this. Su Su wasn’t angry about this at all and instead found it very funny.

Only Zhao Jiuge muttered to himself on the side, “They say there are treasures everywhere outside the sect. Even this broken pool is considered so precious. I think I would get more spirit force from a few spirit stones.”

Su Su was laughing at Little Black. but when she heard Zhao Jiuge’s complaint, she bent over from laughing.

“Blockhead, you really are a blockhead. You only know part of the information. This Holy Flame Flower will produce a Holy Flame Fruit. The Holy Flame Fruit is what’s precious here, and it’s the key to the treasure house that is the Holy Flame Spring. Only by devouring the Holy Flame Fruit can you properly use the Holy Flame Spring. This is why I said it was regrettable. Also, the older the fruit is, the larger the spring will become and the more you will be able to absorb.”

Hearing Su Su’s explanation, Zhao Jiuge felt a little embarrassed and thought he was still lacking too much insight. It was fortunate that Su Su would be accompanying him for two years; otherwise, he would likely encounter treasures and not even know about them. He had really broadened his horizons today. He didn’t expect spirit herbs to have such uses.

In order to avoid his own embarrassment, Zhao Jiuge quickly shifted the topic and raised his brows. “Doesn’t that mean Little Black has to remain here to continue absorbing the spring and we can’t take him with us to train?”

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𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

Originally, he intended to take Little Black and never come back to this place, but he didn’t expect this kind of situation. Although he wanted to take Little Black with him for selfish reasons, he didn’t want to delay Little Black’s future. If required, he would allow Little Black to stay here and cultivate to quickly reach the Nascent Soul Realm so he could begin taking human form.

Before Su Su answered, Little Black, who was playing happily inside the spring, heard Zhao Jiuge’s words. He immediately jumped out of the spring, ignoring the attraction he had toward it. He began pulling Zhao Jiuge’s clothes and even splattered water all over him.

“No need. Normally, it only takes about half a month to one month at the longest. We’ll just wait here for him.”

“Okay, okay, okay, we’ll wait for you. Stop pulling my clothes.”

Zhao Jiuge was a bit helpless. He looked at the palm-sized Little Black with a tender gaze. He could tell from how anxious Little Black was that Little Black also depended on him a lot.

At the beginning, after this escape from the village, they had formed a deep bond together. This bond made them almost like brothers.

Hearing Zhao Jiuge say this, Little Black finally let go of his clothes. However, his little eyes were filled with doubt while he looked at Zhao Jiuge.

Zhao Jiuge laughed and stroked Little Black’s head. “Go ahead, we won’t suddenly leave. Last time, I didn’t have a choice. Go quickly absorb the spring yourself, we’ll wait for you in the valley outside.”

Little Black reluctantly jumped off Zhao Jiuge’s body and walked into the Holy Flame Spirit Spring once more. However, this time, he no longer looked eagerly at the spring but was instead staring at Zhao Jiuge.

Zhao Jiuge had a silly smile on his face and helplessly shook his head. He turned toward Su Su and said, “Let’s go head out to the valley so we can talk. In truth, I wanted to talk with you the day we met but haven’t found the opportunity. Let’s talk about it today.”

Zhao Jiuge had already decided to tell Su Su about the matter between him and Ling Bo Re. Although nothing had actually happened between them, he didn’t want to hide anything from Su Su.

Su Su nodded but didn’t speak. She felt a bit strange when she saw Zhao Jiuge’s somewhat serious expression. Could he have already noticed something?