120 Ancient Abandoned Manor 1

In the side of a hill, within a small cave that had been dug out then blocked with a large boulder, a red-haired youth was quietly meditating. Upon closer look, one could see his jaws slightly moving as if he were chewing something at an excruciating slow pace. Nine pristine and fragrant herbs lay on his lap. The scent in the air was thick and pungent, but refreshing and full of spiritual power.

After Van had dealt with the golem-like monsters that signaled the end of the 3rd day, he immediately sought out a peaceful and secluded place which he could meditate in. This place was dug out by himself personally and then the entrance covered with a rock for privacy. It was simple and wouldn't hold up to intense scrutiny but it was better than cultivating while exposed.

Drip.

Drip.

Van's brow knitted together. He was completely focused on siphoning the dripping of spiritual power into his stomach to the roaring river at his core. Each droplet of spiritual energy from the herb was hot and seared his body. The energy was incredibly potent – Van could see why Samuel had immediately fallen into a coma after consuming just two herbs a too quickly.

Since Van was in the 7th rank compared to Samuel's initial 5th rank, he needed to consume more herbs in order to level up.

Van's mouth moved faster. The hot energy drizzled like flowing lava into his gullet, where wisps of spiritual power then travelled to his spiritual river. Van saw in his mind's eye that the river was growing bigger and bigger.

As the last piece of the herb was fully consumed, Van's hand flashed out and picked up another herb from his lap. Without ceremony, it was stuffed into his mouth, leaves and all.

The amount of spiritual energy entering his body was significant, but due to the gentle nature of the spiritual power contained within the herbs, it was remarkably easy to cultivate.

Five hours passed.

BAM!

The boulder acting as the door to the cave blasted off its place as a strong force hit it from within.

A red-haired youth fiery eyes emerged from within. The small scuff on his leather boots suggested that he was responsible for the sorry state of the boulder that had been sent flying. Despite the dust on his clothes, his heroic demeanor could be seen.

Van stepped out of the cave. He clenched his fists.

[The half-step 8th rank!]

The herbs were potent but due to Van's higher rank compared to Samuel, he was only able to reach the peak of the 7th rank, also known as the half-step 8th rank. Obviously, the gentle nature of the power from the herbs wasn't enough to help Van break through the blockage that separated the 7th and 8th ranks.

Van needed something more powerful!

At that moment, Van suddenly heard Jet's voice.

[Mm, my resting spot just got another little fireplace. Nice and cozy, I like it!]

The black ring spun slowly around the small tyrannical amber flame in Van's mindscape.

[I suspected that such a powerful natural array would have been powered by a flame essence and I wasn't wrong. It's even the Abyssal Storm Flame. Very temperamental, but powerful in a fight.]

Van couldn't help his surprise.

"You call it the Abyssal Storm Flame, too? I just made a name and it turns out it's the real one!"

Jet was unperturbed.

[Its real name is not significant to me, I just called it the Abyssal Storm Flame because you did when you thought about it. Don't get that excited.]

"Oh," Van said dumbly, "Then what does it do?"

"Enhance the effect of your flame-type martial skills. The Tri-Divine Blood Flame increased your life essence to beyond the ordinary, while the Abyssal Storm Flame has increased the power of your flames. You should see a distinct difference when you practice your Fists of Devouring Flames."

Van immediately dropped into the appropriate stance.

"Searing Serpent Strikes!"

Pah pah pah

Van punched forwards three times in quick succession.

Three scarlet-red serpents formed entirely of flame shot through the air in quick succession. The heat they emitted scorched the air and caused the nearby rocks to sizzle.

Van was astonished.

Absorbing the Tri-Divine Blood Flame had made the mirages created by his fists more realistic, but the Abyssal Storm Flame had raised their power to another level. Van could sense the will of the tyrannical amber flame in the manifestation of the serpents. When they finally fizzled out, he could still feel the remnant heat on his face.

A smile finally spread over the red-haired youth's lips. Naturally one would be happy to learn that their combat power had just increased significantly.

"Good."

Van did not say anything more.

The red-haired youth extended his spiritual sense outwards, a thin gossamer-like web that expanded rapidly outwards and swallowed everything in its path.

"There!"

Van sensed a powerful spiritual fluctuation about 95km west from his current position, almost at the limits of what he could detect.

"If I'm not mistaken, then there is a powerful treasure there that should help me break through to the next rank!"

Van began moving towards his target, his steps gaining a smoky quality as he sped over the landscape.

Two hours later, Van arrived in front of what appeared to be an ancient manor complete with a large stately garden surrounding it. He stood a few hundred meters away, wary of approaching due to the powerful auras that he could sense within. Adding to that, the garden was not simple either – those blue flowers looked tame and pretty but Jet told him that they could spit acid that was powerful enough to melt a 9th rank cultivator if it touched even just the corner of their robes. The manor was probably an incredibly elaborate trap, however, he could also sense that there was a powerful treasure hidden within this ancient manor, more powerful than the other treasures he had sensed in the 100km radius he had searched earlier.

Van stared at the ancient manor for a few more seconds, expression unreadable. The manor was blackened and overgrown with vines in some areas but the material it was made of seemed to not have degraded with time.

Once more, Van extended his spiritual energy outwards.

"There are participants in there!"

Van could sense the aura of several cultivators within the manor. At this moment, the auras were flaring brightly, suggesting to Van that they were in the midst of an intense battle.

"Not good. I cannot let them take off with the treasure after coming this far!"

Van dashed forwards.

Peng!

The blue flowers in the garden of the manor responded to vibrations in the ground.  If one could somehow walk through the garden without making a single noise or vibration in the ground, they could avoid triggering the acid reflux of the flowers.

[Scattering Smoke Steps!]

A smoky and hazy image of a youth flickered through the garden. Not a single footstep could be heard or felt.

Thanks to his movement skill, Van defeated the first obstacle easily. He landed on the front doorstep of the manor and went within.

The sight that greeted him caught him slightly off guard.