Chapter 3: The Bead Resolves the Predicament

She hurriedly caught up with Zhu Xiaoyuan’s pace. Before long, they had crossed the sea of fire.

Zhu Xiaoyuan led her to his usual spot for chopping wood and asked, “What is it you’re looking for?”

Leng Qianxue quickly replied, “The Water Nurturing Pearl!”

“This pearl is entirely dark green, the greatest treasure of my sect. It was brought here by the founder of my sect, and since the founder perished in this place, the treasure was left behind as well.”

Zhu Xiaoyuan raised an eyebrow; it seemed he often saw such a pearl while chopping wood here, but he had always thought it ordinary and paid it no mind.

“I seem to recall something… Come with me. It’s just ahead, in the woods.”

Leng Qianxue’s eyes brightened with excitement. Yet when she arrived at the so-called “woods,” she was dumbfounded.

All around towered flaming red trees, massive and sturdy, their leaves gleaming with an intense fire energy. If a cultivator of fire were here, even a single leaf could be enough to begin their path.

“These are Sunfire Trees! Their hardness rivals ten-thousand-year refined iron. Even a powerful cultivator at the Transformation stage cannot move them. The legendary Immortal Tree…”

Leng Qianxue was so shocked she could hardly speak. The trees this elder chopped were actually Sunfire Trees?

At that moment, Zhu Xiaoyuan slowly lifted his axe and brought it down.

With a thunderous crash, a giant tree toppled instantly.

Leng Qianxue’s mind reeled. In the instant Zhu Xiaoyuan’s axe fell, she seemed to glimpse the patterns of the Dao at the end of all things.

That axe was terrifying.

“Who exactly is this elder?”

About half an hour later, Zhu Xiaoyuan wiped the sweat from his brow and took out his flask for a drink.

“You must be thirsty too,” he said, handing the flask to Leng Qianxue.

She took it, dazed. Even with the elder forging a path ahead, the heat of the True Fire was still overwhelming.

As the well water reached her stomach, a sudden coolness swept through her.

In the next moment, her expression changed drastically.

Her cultivation level broke through, one realm after another.

In an instant, she advanced from the second to the third realm of Golden Core.

And it didn’t stop there.

Fourth realm… Fifth… all the way to the ninth!

Her cultivation finally stabilized at the peak of Golden Core. Her beautiful eyes were filled with shock as she stared at the flask.

What kind of divine water or immortal elixir was contained within?

She truly wanted another sip—but she couldn’t allow herself. She took a deep breath, determined to leave a good impression on the elder.

“Thank you, senior,” she said respectfully, handing the flask back to Zhu Xiaoyuan, and then her gaze shifted.

“This… this is the aura of the Water Nurturing Pearl?”

With her breakthrough, her spiritual sense had grown much stronger.

Suddenly, a green divine light shot out from the depths of the giant tree, landing at Zhu Xiaoyuan’s feet and transforming into a dark green pearl.

“This is a spiritual treasure seeking its master…”

As a supreme treasure, the Water Nurturing Pearl would choose its own master, and it had come to Zhu Xiaoyuan of its own accord.

“As expected, I see this pearl again,” Zhu Xiaoyuan remarked calmly. He had grown used to the pearl appearing while he chopped wood.

He handed the pearl to Leng Qianxue. “This should be what you’re looking for.”

“Senior, you… you’re really giving it to me?” The normally composed Saintess Leng Qianxue actually stammered.

“Isn’t this what you wanted?” Zhu Xiaoyuan asked.

“Yes, yes! Thank you for your help, senior!”

Coming back to herself, Leng Qianxue’s jade hand trembled as she took the Water Nurturing Pearl, her expression elated.

Zhu Xiaoyuan could only shake his head, helpless. Truly, women are born unable to resist jewels.

How mundane.

He muttered a few words, tidied up the firewood, and said, “Let’s head out.”

Leng Qianxue hurriedly followed Zhu Xiaoyuan, and together they walked out of Fallen Leaf Valley.

Hong Li, who had been extremely anxious, was astonished to see Leng Qianxue return unharmed.

That elder had brought the Saintess out without a scratch…

“Saintess, that pearl…” Hong Li asked.

Leng Qianxue nodded, her expression excited. “It’s all thanks to the elder’s help. Without him, I wouldn’t have succeeded…”

Zhu Xiaoyuan’s lips twitched. For a mere pearl, was all this really necessary?

“All right, everyone. I need to return to the village. Farewell!”

With that, Zhu Xiaoyuan departed.

Leng Qianxue’s lips parted, wanting to say more, but she was afraid of disturbing Zhu Xiaoyuan.

If he were displeased with her… that would be troublesome.

Afterward, Leng Qianxue quickly led Hong Li and the others back to the sect.

Though the sect was remote, without the restrictive power of the mountain range, they could now fly on their swords.

A dozen streams of light soared into the sky, finally descending upon a grand, expansive mountain.

Countless buildings stood on the peak—this was the base of the Fire Moon Sect.

“Saintess, you’re finally here! Those people from the Scarlet Flame Sect have returned.”

Hearing this news, Leng Qianxue’s expression hardened and she rushed to the main hall.

Inside the main hall of Fire Moon Sect, two forces stood in confrontation, their auras tense.

“Huang Xiantang, the Fire Moon Sect’s power is weak now, and you’re the only Nascent Soul left. Soon you’ll fall to a one-star sect—why not submit to us?” A white-haired elder’s gaze was cold as he stared at the head of the hall.

He was Elder Zhuge Qi of the Scarlet Flame Sect.

At the top of the hall, Fire Moon Sect’s leader Huang Xiantang’s face was ashen. “You think you can swallow up my Fire Moon Sect? Never.”

Zhuge Qi sneered. “Times have changed. If your founder were still alive, we wouldn’t dare. But now, your sect’s strength is a tenth of what it once was.”

“Even if your previous leader, that old ghost, showed up, he couldn’t stop us.”

He paused, then he and two other elders beside him unleashed their powerful aura.

All three were Nascent Soul cultivators.

Huang Xiantang’s expression grew grim—must he really submit?

“Wait!”

At this crucial moment, a clear voice rang out from outside.

Leng Qianxue strode in resolutely, her gaze taking in the hall and the situation. She produced the Water Nurturing Pearl, her voice ringing out:

“Reporting, Sect Leader—the Water Nurturing Pearl has been found.”

What?

Everyone was shocked. “The Water Nurturing Pearl, missing for so long, has been recovered?”

“Wasn’t it rumored to have disappeared with the founder in the forbidden land? How could it…”

“They say that with this treasure, the holder’s power will be multiplied several times.”

Zhuge Qi and his companions’ expressions flickered, their faces darkening.

But Huang Xiantang’s face lit up with wild joy. In a flash, he appeared before Leng Qianxue, took the Water Nurturing Pearl, and was overcome with excitement.

“With this treasure, who dares to swallow my Fire Moon Sect?”

Yet Zhuge Qi turned a cold gaze on Leng Qianxue.

“Leng Qianxue, where exactly did you recover this treasure?”