Translator: Truth
Editor: Dhael Ligerkeys
Lu Ye was about fifty or sixty kilometers away from the center of the Burning Lands right now. It took him less than an incense stick to reach it.
There was a massive pit at the center. The heat rising from it was enough to distort even space itself.
Lu Ye circled around the pit for a bit in an attempt to see what was inside it. He could vaguely see what looked like a ball of flames.
It would seem that the female Primal was right after all. There was a ball of flame inside the pit. It was so hot that even the ground had been burned through.
He was the first person ever to discover the truth at the center of the Burning Lands. After all, the cultivators operating in the Spirit Creek Battlefield were only at the Spirit Creek Realm. Not even champions like Feng Wuchan and Li Baxian would be able to reach here safely. Even a Tyrant like that female Primal could not go deeper than fifty or sixty kilometers away from the center.
Lu Ye himself would never have made it here if he didn’t have the Tree of Glyphs.
His head felt a little faint right now. It was a sign of mental exhaustion. He had experienced this many times while he was challenging the Hundred Wards Tower.
He took out his last bottle of Soul Cleansing Water and consumed a single drop. Only then did his mental fatigue fade away swiftly.
He could not delay this any longer. The Spirit Boat beneath his feet was literally creaking from the sheer heat brushing against its surface.
He flew down into the massive pit. It was a couple of kilometers before he finally reached the bottom.
He then put away the Spirit Boat and looked at the ball of flame in front of him. He was amazed by what he saw.
The ball of flame was only the size of a washbasin. It was orange in color, and it gave off a noble and sacred feeling. Moreover, the flame contained both overwhelming destructive power and an indescribable sense of life. It was as paradoxical as it was powerful.
Lu Ye did not know what it was, but that was fine, since his curiosity was cursory at best. He was only here to consume it with the Tree of Glyphs.
The Tree of Glyphs was writhing about like it was alive inside his Source Spiritual Point. He applied Insight to his eyes again and saw the roots covering his whole body twisting and stretching like they desired nothing more than to root itself in the flame.
He had never seen the Tree of Glyphs reacting this lively.
Lu Ye slowly extended his hand toward the orange flame.This time, not even the Tree of Glyphs could fully insulate the heat emanating from the flame, but it was still nowhere hot enough to burn him. At the same time, the roots started absorbing its energy to strengthen its main body.
Lu Ye turned his gaze inward. He was curious to know how many leaves would be ignited after the Tree of Glyphs had consumed the ball of flame.
Something unexpected happened. Usually, the Tree of Glyphs would ignite the leaves in a sequential manner. This time though, the energy flowed past the unburned leaves and reached the upper part of the tree instead.
An instant later, an entire clump of leaves burst into light. At least one or two hundred leaves had lit up at the same time.
Lu Ye was surprised to say the least. In the past, the leaves on the Tree of Glyphs had ignited one by one. He had never seen two leaves igniting at the same time, much less two hundred.
[Is it because the flame is that powerful?]
He quickly realized his assumption was wrong though. The unknown flame was powerful—it could not have turned thousands and thousands of kilometers of land into a scorching hell otherwise—but these leaves hadn’t burst into flames. They were only covered in glowing patterns.
As the Tree of Glyphs continued to consume the flame, the patterns on the Glyphs started growing brighter and brighter.
Finally, the leaves burst into flames.
The flame of these leaves were different from the usual ones though. They looked as orange as the flame The Tree of Glyphs was devouring.
Moreover, Lu Ye felt that the flames had joined together to form a picture. At first glance, it looked like a burning bird was crouching on the crown of the Tree of Glyphs. That the flames were swaying here and there only made the bird more lifelike.
In fact, it looked very much like the Vermillion Bird of the Four Sacred Beasts. It was as beautiful as its tail was long.
Lu Ye couldn’t be sure if it was just a coincidence or not. .
He did not hurry to investigate the tree leaves. After all, there could be dozens of new Glyphs on the Tree of Glyphs right now. He could inspect them one by one at a later date.
By now, the orange flame had been fully consumed by the Tree of Glyphs. It was only then Lu Ye relaxed both literally and mentally.
He couldn’t relax while the Tree of Glyphs was active. That he managed to endure until now was a testament to his mental strength.
He was just about to leave when suddenly, he heard a whistling noise above his head. The next moment, a figure landed not far away from him.
She was as slender as she was bountiful at the center. Her crimson eyes shone like a pair of ghastly flames in this poorly lit pit.
Lu Ye immediately tensed up and gripped the Inviolable once more.
The pit wasn’t small, but it wasn’t big either. The surrounding rocks had all turned into glass due to constant exposure to extreme heat.
It would be extremely unwise to fight a Tyrant here.
His heart was heavy. He was so focused on consuming the flame that he had completely forgotten that the flame was the one thing that kept the female Primal away. She wasn’t able to get within sixty kilometers of the center because the flame was too hot for her. Now that it was gone, of course she could no longer be kept away.
She examined their surroundings once before asking, “Where is it?” She acted as if Lu Ye had promised to bring her the flame when he had, in fact, not.
“I didn’t see it.” Lu Ye brushed his fingers along the hilt of his saber while staring at the female Primal’s smooth, slender neck. He wondered what his chances of success were if he were to attack her now. In the end, he concluded that it could only end poorly for him.
“Impossible.” The female Primal shook her head. “I sensed it until a while ago.”
“You can search for it yourself if you want to.”
The female Primal did just that. She crouched down and started digging the crystallized earth with her bare hands. It instantly shattered into a million pieces and kicked up a lot of dust.
“I’ll leave you to your business,” Lu Ye said while summoning his Spirit Boat. He kept an eye on the female Primal in case she decided to attack him, but to his surprise, she didn’t. Right now, she was completely consumed by the task of finding her non-existent flame.
[This woman… She’s strong, but I think she’s not quite right in the head. Though to be fair, who would’ve thought it was possible for a Human to consume such a powerful flame?]
Lu Ye thought back to his previous encounter with the female Primal and eventually came to the conclusion that the woman wasn’t actually hostile toward him. She had attacked him only because that was what her animal instinct commanded her to.
The female Primal paid no attention to Lu ye and continued to dig the ground with all her might. It wasn’t until a long, long time later that she finally realized that something wasn’t right.
She tilted her head in thought before growing feathers on her arms all of a sudden. Once they had transformed into wings, she took to the sky and looked around as if she was trying to spot Lu Ye.
Of course, Lu Ye was long gone by then.
Right now, Lu Ye was flying forward with a Windwalk-empowered Spirit Boat.
The female Primal might be stupid, but he would be the stupid one if he thought she was stupid enough not to suspect him about the flame’s disappearance. That was twice he had run into the Tyrant in a single day, and he had no intentions of meeting her a third time.
It wasn’t until over three quarters of the day had passed that he finally came to a stop. He could have pushed further, but he had used up too much Spiritual Power already. He found a resting spot in the forest, brought out his ward flags and set up a couple of wards in the area. Only then did he finally relax somewhat.
Before he became a ward cultivator, he mostly relied on Yi Yi to keep an eye on his surroundings. Now, he was good enough in the Way of Wards to not need to bother her anymore. With the right ward flags, it was all too easy for him to set up wards meant to alert, conceal and protect.
While resting, he briefly recalled his experiences since he came to the Core Cicle. First, he was hunted by the Thousand Demon Ridge. Then, he was pursued by the Mutant Wasps. He thought he was finally safe after he ran to the Burning Lands, but then he encountered a Tyrant of all things…
It truly had been a harrowing two weeks.
He ate a couple of Spirit Pills to chase away the traumas. Then, he activated Gluttonous Feast to quicken his digestion. The pills quickly melted and replenished his depleted Spiritual Power.
First things first, Lu Ye contacted Yi Yi. Once he learned that they were safe, he shifted his attention to the Tree of Glyphs.
The Tree of Glyphs had ignited over a hundred leaves this time. It was a massive harvest to say the least. He wondered how many Glyph-bearing leaves there were.
He did not rush to investigate them though. It could wait until he had recovered fully.
Next, Lu Ye shifted his focus to a Storage Bag. It was the one containing the good stuff he had stolen from the massive wasp nest.
The superior quality honey alone weighed over a thousand catties. He could personally attest to its efficacy since he had consumed it multiple times while running away from the Mutant Wasps. While they did not restore Spiritual Power as quickly as a Mystic Fruit Tree, it was still much faster than a Spirit Pill. But of course, it wasn’t as convenient to consume as a Spirit Pill.
There might be other effects he hadn’t noticed. He should bring it back to his second senior sister for research. It might still have some pleasant surprises in store for him.
The other thing he swiped from the nest besides the superior quality honey was the half a bowl of royal jelly.
Lu Ye did not know what its effects were. He hadn’t tasted it yet. However, he did suspect that the biggest reason the wasp swarm had pursued him until they literally couldn’t was because of it!
The nest was massive, and the Mutant Wasps were innumerable. And yet, their combined efforts had culminated in just half a bowl of royal jelly. It was obvious how valuable he was.
If Lu Ye did not have Invisibility, he would’ve failed for sure. Heck, a Heaven Nine ghost cultivator might not necessarily have done better than him.
So, he took out an empty jade bottle and filled it up with the royal jelly. He then consumed the liquid in one gulp. For a while, sweetness permeated his entire mouth…
His Spiritual Power and stamina began recovering at an accelerated rate. It was more potent than the superior quality honey in this regard, but that was it. He did not feel anything—
[Wait.] Lu Ye suddenly noticed something odd going on with his body. An indescribable energy was beginning to circulate throughout his veins and bones, causing his flesh and blood to become more tight-knit. His vitality and even his Spiritual Power was starting to flow faster as well.
The royal jelly seemed to improve his circulation by a tremendous degree!