「One day later, at the foot of a mountain near Sheng City.」
Wen Qingye gazed at the Black Arrow and bow in his hands, lost in thought.
Wen Qingye sensed a hint of danger from the Black Arrow. Yet, no matter how he examined it, the arrow seemed perfectly ordinary, with no strange features whatsoever.
Qingg Ruo’ai slowly floated out and said, "You’ll never figure out what makes it special just by looking at it. If you ask me, you need to test it."
Wen Qingye nodded. "Yes. I’ll use it when the right opportunity presents itself."
Then, Qingg Ruo’ai looked at the lush, vibrant mountains surrounding them and frowned slightly. "Are you sure this is the place? Why can’t I sense anything?"
Wen Qingye smiled. "This is what Qiuu Ming’s message said. I’m sure this is the right place. Besides, how could a divine object like the Qilin Fire be so easily sensed? If that were the case, it would’ve been found and taken long ago."
After speaking, Wen Qingye looked ahead. He saw a stretch of lush greenery with a narrow, winding path weaving through the forest. Just then, an old woodcutter emerged from the trees, a carrying pole with two bundles of firewood balanced on his shoulders.
The old woodcutter seemed to notice Wen Qingye, and a flicker of confusion appeared in his eyes.
"Sir, I’d like to ask you something," Wen Qingye said, slowly approaching the woodcutter.
The old woodcutter set down his carrying pole, wiped the sweat from his brow, and gave a rustic smile. "Go ahead and ask, Young Hero. I’ll tell you anything I know."
Wen Qingye glanced around before asking, "With all these mountains here, I was wondering if there are any that are particularly strange or unusual."
"A strange mountain?" Hearing Wen Qingye’s question, the old woodcutter frowned slightly. After thinking for a moment, he shook his head. "I don’t think there are any. I’ve lived here for over fifty years and have never heard of any strange mountains in this area."
Hearing this, Wen Qingye nodded at the old man. "Thank you for your time, then."
’This old man seems like a commoner who rarely ventures deep into the mountains,’ Wen Qingye thought. ’He’s probably only familiar with the areas close to where people live. He wouldn’t know much about the interior.’
’The cave Qiuu Ming mentioned is probably deep within this mountain range.’
With that, Wen Qingye turned and started down the winding path, intending to investigate on his own. But just then, the old woodcutter suddenly called out.
"Wait, Young Hero!"
The old woodcutter smacked his forehead. "Come to think of it, there is one mountain that’s a little different from the others. A terrible natural disaster happened there a long time ago, and very few plants grow around it. It’s always been a peculiar place, almost forgotten by us folks from the Zhu Family Manor over the years."
"Oh?" Wen Qingye turned back around upon hearing the old man’s words.
The old man continued slowly, "Quite a few Martial Artists have gone to explore it, but without exception, they all came back with nothing. In fact, many were seriously injured, and some never came back at all."
As he said this, the old woodcutter stared intently at Wen Qingye.
"Do you know where this mountain is?" Wen Qingye asked.
The old woodcutter pointed to the path ahead. "Follow this path for five li, then turn left and walk for another three. You’ll know you’re there when you see the strangely-shaped Fire Fox Trees."
"Thank you very much," Wen Qingye said with a nod.
The old woodcutter offered enthusiastically, "Young Hero, let me lead the way."
Wen Qingye raised an eyebrow, sizing up the old man before smiling. "Alright. I’ll have to trouble you then, Sir."
"No trouble at all! We haven’t had an outsider here in a long time," the old woodcutter said, leading the way. "Besides, I know this area well. With me as your guide, Young Hero, you won’t get lost."
As they entered the winding path, they were surrounded by a lush forest. Growing among the branches of the trees were round, bun-like buds, which were filled with liquid and covered in tiny pores.
These were called Zike Trees. When exposed to firelight, their buds would secrete a fluid known as Zike Liquid, which had powerful fire-extinguishing properties.
Noticing Wen Qingye looking at the trees, the old woodcutter chuckled. "These Zike Trees... we planted them ourselves. They’re several thousand years old."
Wen Qingye asked, puzzled, "Oh? And why did you plant them?"
The old man explained, "A long, long time ago, this area was a volcano. It erupted three times, and each eruption brought heavy casualties and devastating losses to our Zhu Family Manor. But we didn’t want to leave our ancestral home, so we came up with all sorts of ways to deal with it. Planting these Zike Trees was one of those methods. Later, for some unknown reason, the volcano suddenly became dormant, and the trees weren’t of much use anymore."
Wen Qingye nodded, but then a thought struck him. ’Something’s not right. These Zike Trees only spray their liquid when exposed to red light. Even if a volcano erupted and they sprayed their liquid, it would be impossible for them to pose any real threat to a tide of lava. How could the people of the Zhu Family Manor have survived a rampaging lava flow with only ’heavy losses’?’
’And these Zike Trees have another meaning. They are the sacred tree of the Qinghuo Race. The Qinghuo Race is one of the Hundred Races of the Spirit Race. Although they hold no real status in the Immortal Realm and their power is minuscule, I still remember them.’
As if remembering something, the old woodcutter added, "Oh, right. The place I’m taking you to... that mountain used to be the volcano."
With that, the two of them continued onward.
Soon, just as the old man had said, they rounded a bend and saw black rocks littering the ground. They were volcanic rocks, thousands of years old. ’The old woodcutter was right,’ Wen Qingye mused. ’There must have been a volcano here in the past.’
’Usually, besides volcanic rock, there should be other things like volcanic ash and volcanic bombs. The classification depends on the size of the fragments from the solidified lava.’
’No, the timeline is wrong,’ Wen Qingye realized, looking at the volcanic rocks on the ground.
The old woodcutter pointed to a grove of red trees ahead. "Those are the Fire Fox Trees. Once we pass through them, you’ll be able to see the volcano."
Ahead of them stood rows of red trees with bizarre, crooked trunks. Their branches were covered in crimson leaves that seemed to give off faint, red wisps of energy.
Behind the trees, a majestic, towering black mountain loomed, appearing to pierce the very heavens. It stood in stark contrast to the surrounding peaks, a world apart.
’So these strangely-shaped trees are Fire Fox Trees. They usually grow in places with heavy Yang Qi and high temperatures.’
The old woodcutter looked at Wen Qingye and asked again, "Young Hero, are you sure you want to go in?"
"Yes," Wen Qingye nodded.
’I have a strong feeling that the Qilin Fire is closely related to this volcano,’ he thought. ’It’s very likely hidden inside this dormant peak.’
Taking a step, Wen Qingye started walking toward the Fire Fox Trees ahead.
Suddenly.
Wen Qingye froze mid-step.
A furious roar erupted from behind him, accompanied by a violent gust of wind.
"Brat! I didn’t want to kill you, but since you dare to covet the non-existent treasures of my clan’s Holy Land, then you can die!"