Chapter 16 - Lair of the Scarlet Dragon

Lair of the Scarlet Dragon, this is the most dangerous place within the whole Scarlet Dragon Mountain Range, because in this place lies the habitat of the dragon itself. As of now, no one had ever reached its place, aside from the cultivators that had reached Emperor Profound Realm.

Despite that, everyone knew that entering the lair of the Scarlet Dragon is like asking the death reaper to cut off your head. But right at this moment, two figures stood before the gigantic entrance of the Scarlet Dragon's lair. What followed those two, are the said owner of the lair itself.

"Indeed, there's a big amount of Fire Spirit Grass…"

"What is the Fire Spirit Grass, big brother Tatsuya?"

"It' a kind of medicinal herb that, once you ate it, you will gain a certain degree of immunity towards the fire element. It also allows you to wield the fire element for a certain amount of time."

"I see…"

Chu Xin felt enlightened, as she received new knowledge from Tatsuya himself. She knew that she would encounter far more amazing things from now on, albeit she could only experience it for herself, as Tatsuya would leave her at the New Moon City.

(But, if I became stronger in the future, maybe I could… join big brother!)

That was the thought that she used on herself to feel relieved, as she knew that she could still work things out by becoming stronger soon. Chu Xin always wanted to tell Tatsuya, just how badly she wants to accompany him. But, she knew that such act is selfish and inappropriate.

"Let's go, then…"

Tatsuya took a step forward, as Chu Xin followed him while tugging his sleeves. The Scarlet Dragon tried its best to avoid making any noise, as it seriously followed Tatsuya inside its own lair. It was clueless as to why Tatsuya is interested about its own lair.

After a few minutes, they all reached the center of the lair, as it showcased how big the lair is. Certainly, with the size of the lair, it could indeed fit the whole Scarlet Dragon, and maybe another dragon too.

"There it is…"

Tatsuya whispered to himself, as he stared into a single direction. In that direction, lied a bountiful amount of Fire Spirit Grass. However, aside from that, only a wall stood on that direction.

(I could sell these Fire Spirit Grasses to get some purple profound coin…)

Right now, Tatsuya only had around 10,000 yellow profound coins on the bag that he got from Xia Hongyi. He knew that such amount wouldn't be enough for his tasks from now on. And he was also planning to give Chu Xin quite a large amount of money to sustain herself for a few years.

(Well, once I reach a certain level of strength, whereas I could carry the responsibility of that Purple Divine Veined Crystal, I will dig it out…)

Tatsuya always had his innate ability Elemental Sight, active. He knew almost everything about this planet, at least on surface level. And the Puple Divine Veined Crystal close to the Floating Cloud City, is not an exception.

100 yellow profound coins is equivalent to a single cyan profound coin. At the moment, Tatsuya only had a single purple profound coin, which is obviously not enough for his agendas. If Tatsuya someday managed to dig out the Purple Divine Veined Crystal close to the Floating Cloud City, he would get 1,000 Purple Profound Crystal which equivalents to 1,000,000 Purple Profound Coins.

(Sigh, but that will take at least a month or so… Either way, the amount of Fire Spirit Grass here could give me at least 100 purple profound coins…)

Tatsuya thought to himself, as he extended his right hand forward whereas a dark ring hung on his ring-finger. Some type of energy flowed out of the pitch-black ring, as it devoured the Fire Spirit Grasses and stored it into the spatial dimension. Tatsuya felt quite content that the spatial ring had done its job.

After a few minutes, the lair of the Scarlet Dragon had become deprived of the Fire Spirit Grass, as the dragon could only stare helplessly at Tatsuya's brutal act of plunder. It knew that the strong decides everything, and obviously the dragon is weak compared to the young man before it.

"I changed my mind, dragon."

"W-what do you mean, milord?"

The Scarlet Dragon asked, as it fearfully stared at Tatsuya's back. When Tatsuya almost decided to pierce through the wall that once placed the Fire Spirit Grass, he suddenly remembered that the fire divinity within the Evil God's Fire Seed would make the Scarlet Dragon insane.

If he allowed the Scarlet Dragon to sense the Evil God's Fire Seed, things would get out of hand. Tatsuya obviously didn't want that to happen, after all, he wants to avoid getting associated to some people within this world.

(Eidos Manipulation…)

That utter rang on his mind, as a sudden change occurred which shocked the Scarlet Dragon and the excited Chu Xin. The Scarlet Dragon suddenly lost its strength, as it weakly dropped to the ground. Tatsuya removed the Scarlet Dragon's senses to strip of its right to sense the Evil God's Fire Seed.

"W-what happened?"

"Well, that's a must for us to live peacefully…"

Chu Xin asked with widened eyes, as she stared at the carefree Tatsuya. She would occasionally steal a glance at the immobile dragon, but soon shook her head. If her big brother Tatsuya said that it was a must, then she won't question anything.

Suddenly, the wall that stood before Tatsuya suddenly disintegrated into mist, as a place lied within. Chu Xin took a look, as she gasped in surprise. Chu Xin felt a sudden urge to cultivate on the spot, as she forcefully suppressed that urge.

"Chu Xin, wait and suppress it more. It's better to cultivate inside the hidden cave."

"Mm…"

Tatsuya knew Chu Xin's current state, as he also felt a strong urge to cultivate on the spot. Back when he hadn't advanced his profound veins yet, he only possessed the cultivation of 3rd stage of the Elementary Profound Realm. But, when he advanced it, he instantly broke through up to the 9th stage of the Nascent Profound Realm.

While, Chu Xin only broke through up to the 1st stage of the Nascent Profound Realm, Tatsuya broke more levels because of the peculiarity of his profound veins that even Chu Xin's couldn't hope to achieve.

Actually, he hadn't even once tried to cultivate, he was continuously breaking through naturally, without any training and such. There was only a single thing that he hadn't stopped doing, which is the daily training of his ninjutsu. Other than that, he would always spend his time on recreating his innate abilities, or on sorting out the information about this world.

"Walk to that space, Chu Xin, and cultivate there."

Once they walked inside the hidden cave, they were immediately assaulted by a large amount of purer profound energy. Chu Xin looked at Tatsuya once, and quickly went to the place where Tatsuya pointed at. She knew that this was a chance to get stronger.

(This girl…)

Tatsuya shook his head, as he stared at the determined Chu Xin who was cultivating. He knew that Chu Xin desires to accompany him, but it really isn't something that could be changed. From now on, he would venture into far more dangerous places, and bringing someone else would only make it harder.

It had only been almost a month since he woke up to find himself in an unknown world. Despite that, he already experienced things that any ordinary person can't hope to encounter.

"Now, that should be the Evil God's Fire Seed…"

Tatsuya said to himself, as he stared at the sea of Fire Spirit Grass. The amount of Fire Spirit Grass that lied before him is unbelievable. But, the thing that really captured his attention is the shining object in the center of those Fire Spirit Grass, the Evil God's Fire Seed.

Tatsuya could instantly sense the endless amount of fire elemental energy within the Evil God's Fire Seed. Despite it, being fundamentally useless to himself, he knew that this seed might come handy sometime.

He extended his hand forward, as the pitch-black ring that lied within his ring-finger shone dimly. It exerted a devouring force, as it sucked in the Evil God's Fire Seed into the spatial storage.

"Now that I had secured the Evil God's Fire Seed… I should cultivate and see for myself, the peculiarity of my own profound veins…"

Tatsuya whispered to himself, as he walked towards the space whereas the Evil God's Fire Seed once lied. The vibrant amount of Fire Spirit Grass surrounded him, as he sat slowly on the ground. He left a sliver thread of his awareness, before fully closing his eyes.

In that instant, the Fire Spirit Grass around him shone brightly, as if responding into someone's call. They gradually released a large amount of fire elemental energy, as Tatsuya's profound veins kept absorbing all of it. Likewise, once Chu Xin's profound veins sensed the fire elemental energy, it also began absorbing the fire elemental energy.

Tatsuya's body suddenly lost the concept of heat and cold, as he entered the state of enlightenment. The profound energy within his body vibrated and trembled in excitement, as his profound veins throbbed in excitement.

Just a few minutes had passed, Tatsuya had already broken through into another stage. He was now at the 10th stage of the Nascent Profound Realm. And after 30 minutes, Chu Xin broke through into the 2nd stage of the Nascent Profound Realm.

The two figures silently cultivated in the hidden cave, as the Scarlet Dragon stood immobile outside the hidden cave. Time just went, while only stillness remained on the lair. The Fire Spirit Grass one by one decayed on its own, as Chu Xin and Tatsuya continuously absorbed the fire elemental energy…