: Earth Fiend Fire

Author: Gu Zhenren

Date: 2024-08-10

Inside the Blaze Persimmon Mountain,

Within the Demon Ape's lair,

The ice mist inside the cave of the Ape Matriarch gradually dissipated.

Seeing this, the Golden Core cultivators present grew excited.

"He's out, he's out!" Zheng Shuang Gou exclaimed.

Ning Jiu Fan slowly drifted out from the thinning ice mist.

His face was as pale as gold paper, his lips bloodless, looking as if he had been completely drained, fragile like a sheet of paper swaying in the wind—extremely weak.

"Brother Ning, you've truly worked hard this time!" Zhu Xuan Ji took the lead, immediately stepping forward to support Ning Jiu Fan.

Ning Jiu Fan's body was still trembling slightly.

He looked at Zhu Xuan Ji with vacant eyes, his eye sockets reddening, overwhelmed with a mix of sorrow and joy, as if he had been reborn after a lifetime.

Zhu Xuan Ji also observed Ning Jiu Fan, startled by his sunken eye sockets and cheeks. "How could it have been so short a time?" he thought to himself.

The four Golden Core cultivators from the Zhou and Zheng families gathered around, expressing their gratitude and concern.

Their words were entirely sincere.

If Ning Jiu Fan hadn't taken the lead, one of them might have become the sacrifice.

"Brother Ning, your righteousness is unparalleled! We will remember your dedication and sacrifice for the rest of our lives!"

"You saved us all. This is a life-saving grace, and we will surely repay it in the future."

Ning Jiu Fan let out a deep sigh. "I was also saving myself. After this battle, I hope we can advance and retreat together, united, to build a brighter future."

All the Golden Core cultivators nodded in agreement.

Ning Jiu Fan's great sacrifice had elevated his status among them, earning him immense influence!

Zheng Shuang Gou took out a jar of Nine Suns Yellow Ox Ointment.

He said to Ning Jiu Fan with concern, "Brother Ning, you are extremely weak now. Please use this superior elixir from our Zheng family."

However, upon seeing the ointment, Ning Jiu Fan's eyes twitched violently.

Suppressing his disgust, he waved his hand repeatedly. "No, don't let me see this medicine."

"Alright, alright!" Zheng Shuang Gou quickly put the ointment away.

The Golden Core cultivators immediately understood that Ning Jiu Fan's injuries were not only physical but also psychological.

His sacrifice had been too great!

This made them admire him even more and feel a stronger urge to compensate him.

Next, they took out other spiritual medicines and elixirs, handing them to Ning Jiu Fan, almost feeding him like a child.

The effects of these medicines were excellent, and soon, Ning Jiu Fan's breathing stabilized.

Roar!

At that moment, the Ape Matriarch let out a low growl.

The overwhelming aura of an Ape Matriarch made all the Golden Core cultivators and the Blaze Ape King outside the cave tremble in fear.

By then, the ice mist had completely dissipated.

The Ape Matriarch looked satisfied as it lay down again, slowly closing its eyes.

Before falling asleep, it stretched out a finger and shot a streak of blood energy.

Like a shooting star, the blood energy swiftly struck Ning Jiu Fan's forehead, leaving a red dot between his eyebrows.

After this, the Ape Matriarch fully closed its eyes and fell into a deep slumber.

Soon, it began to snore.

Ning Jiu Fan anxiously touched his forehead, sensing the blood energy condensed to its limit, stubborn and difficult to remove. His expression turned grim.

Clearly, the Ape Matriarch had taken a liking to him and marked him as its own.

What was he to do now?

The other Golden Core cultivators stared at the red dot on Ning Jiu Fan's forehead, their faces filled with shock and disbelief. A strong sense of relief and庆幸 washed over them.

Zhu Xuan Ji quickly sent a voice transmission to comfort Ning Jiu Fan, assuring him that he would do his utmost to help.

The other Golden Core cultivators also pledged their support, vowing to solve Ning Jiu Fan's problem together.

At that moment, the Blaze Ape King, accompanied by several Golden Core-level demon apes, entered the cave.

The atmosphere inside immediately grew tense.

Zhu Xuan Ji stepped forward, shielding Ning Jiu Fan as he faced the group of Golden Core-level Blaze Apes.

However, the Blaze Apes, who had been roaring in fury and fighting to the death earlier, showed no intention of battling now.

Seeing the human cultivators on guard, they took a few steps back, raising their hands to signal their peaceful intentions.

Then, the Blaze Ape King pointed at Ning Jiu Fan, clapped its hands, and let out a series of roars.

The Golden Core-level apes behind it also clapped, danced, and looked at Ning Jiu Fan with admiration, some even with worship in their eyes.

The human cultivators exchanged glances before focusing their attention on Ning Jiu Fan.

Ning Jiu Fan's face turned even paler!

The Blaze Apes' admiring gazes and applause felt like slaps to his face, filling him with embarrassment and shame.

Zhu Xuan Ji and the others struggled to maintain straight faces, some frowning, some biting their tongues, and some tensing their muscles.

After clapping for a while, the Blaze Ape King pointed at Ning Jiu Fan and then at the cave entrance.

It repeated this action three times before leading the Golden Core-level apes out of the cave.

The human cultivators understood its meaning—it was inviting them to leave.

Zhu Xuan Ji took the lead again, walking at the front.

One cultivator each from the Zheng and Zhou families stayed at the rear, protecting Ning Jiu Fan, the great hero, in the middle of the group.

The human cultivators exited the cave and returned to the previous battlefield.

The Blaze Ape King waved at the countless apes gathered there and let out a loud roar.

The Foundation Establishment-level apes quickly dispersed.

Soon, only Golden Core-level beings remained on the scene.

The Blaze Ape King suddenly beat its chest and vomited out a stone ball.

It then grabbed the ball and handed it to Ning Jiu Fan with a reluctant expression.

The legendary reward for a warrior from the ape tribe had occurred!

A golden light flashed in Zhu Xuan Ji's eyes as he immediately recognized the stone ball. "This is a Fire Core Pomegranate. Each seed is like an explosive talisman, comparable to a full-force strike from an ordinary Golden Core cultivator."

"But using it that way would be a waste!"

"The seeds can serve as fire cores, preserving special flames when combined with other fuels."

"I’ve never seen such a large pomegranate before. Even the royal treasury doesn’t have one of this quality."

Without a doubt, this was an extremely rare treasure.

After hearing Zhu Xuan Ji's explanation, Ning Jiu Fan immediately took the pomegranate. After inspecting it, he attached a talisman to its surface and stored it in his storage belt.

Zhou Nong Ying sighed in relief. "I never expected the Blaze Ape King to have such a trump card. It seems we were lucky to have accidentally entered the cave and avoided a deadly fight with it."

The two Zheng family Golden Core cultivators stared intently at the pomegranate, their eyes glued to it as if by glue.

They exchanged voice transmissions: "These pomegranate seeds can be used in many ways for artifact refinement."

"Exactly, I can think of at least thirty methods. Their effects will surely be remarkable!"

After presenting the pomegranate, the Blaze Ape King turned and called out a few times.

Three Golden Core subordinates immediately turned and left.

Within a dozen breaths, they returned.

The leading Blaze Ape held a massive flame in its arms.

The flame was the size of a carriage, mostly deep red but occasionally flickering with black. At its tip, thick black smoke often billowed out.

"Earth Fiend Fire!"

"Such a large flame—it’s a resource at the Ape Matriarch level!"

The cultivators exclaimed in amazement.

Earth Fiend Fire not only possessed terrifying heat, constantly emitting high temperatures, but also carried the intense toxicity of fire煞.

Its use in alchemy was limited, mostly for refining fire poison pills.

However, it could be used in artifact refinement.

This flame alone surpassed the Zheng family’s Heaven-grade refinement room in certain aspects.

The two Zheng family Golden Core cultivators stared wide-eyed, utterly captivated by the flame’s allure!

The Blaze Apes had no cultivation techniques, relying solely on natural growth and environmental tempering to reach Golden Core-level combat strength.

They had no spells to isolate the flame’s heat and could only endure it through their unique physical structures.

The Golden Core-level ape carrying the Earth Fiend Fire gradually couldn’t bear it, grimacing in pain from the burns.

Pushing to its limit, it handed the flame to the next ape.

The second ape also struggled, its hands emitting a burnt smell, and passed the flame to the third ape.

In this way, the three Golden Core-level Blaze Apes relayed the Earth Fiend Fire to Ning Jiu Fan.

This time, Ning Jiu Fan applied thirteen talismans in succession to barely seal the flame.

Under the longing gazes of the two Zheng family cultivators, Ning Jiu Fan stored the Earth Fiend Fire away.

Zhu Xuan Ji couldn’t hold back any longer and coughed, sending a voice transmission to Ning Jiu Fan: "Brother Ning, don’t forget our main objective for coming here."

So, when the Blaze Ape King prepared to offer more treasures, Ning Jiu Fan pointed to the mechanical commander among the pile of spoils.

The Blaze Ape King tilted its head, somewhat confused, but after Ning Jiu Fan insisted, it pulled out the mechanical commander and handed it to him.

The apes’ gifts were far from over.

The Blaze Ape King presented six more heavy rewards to Ning Jiu Fan.

Afterward, the apes began to shoo them away.

Having achieved his goal, Zhu Xuan Ji had no reason to stay in such a dangerous environment. He immediately led the Golden Core cultivators out of the ape lair.

They retraced their path back to the mountaintop, where they once again met Meng Kui.

Although Meng Kui was stationed atop the mountain, he had observed much of what transpired below.

Watching the cultivators leave, his expression remained calm, but inwardly, he felt deep regret.

This expedition had been fraught with danger, yet not a single Golden Core cultivator had fallen, dashing many of Meng Kui’s hopes.

Ning Jiu Fan held onto the mechanical commander, not handing it over to Zhu Xuan Ji immediately.

(End of )