Wu Jian opened his eyes after hearing Yōuměi’s soft growl. He looked at the panther who was staring without blinking at the Yang Fire Flower. The flower was beginning to bloom, meaning it was almost time to pluck it.

He took a deep breath. The world’s energy seemed to permeate his body, strengthening him, and then he exhaled, releasing a slightly black fog from his mouth. Those were the impurities he had just released. They dissipated into the air.

“My cultivation has gone up,” he murmured, clenching and unclenching his hand. He was now at the second subrealm of the Anima Realm. “This must be thanks to that pill Huǒ Shuchang gave me. It’s quite miraculous.”

He looked at the older man sitting not far from him, his legs crossed, eyes closed, and hands forming a seal as he gathered chi into himself. The hairs on Wu Jian’s neck stood on end as red streamers of energy swirled around Huǒ Shuchang. It looked almost violent, like flames were engulfing him.

“He must be trying to break through.”

Huǒ Shuchang was a half-step Asura Realm cultivator, which meant he was just a single step away from truly entering the Asura Realm. To break through, he needed to create so much chi within his body that he felt like he was going to burst, then compress it and gather more. This needed to be done continuously until the cultivator broke through.

And it looked like Huǒ Shuchang was almost there.

Wu Jian stood up and walked over to Yōuměi. He rubbed her head, which caused the large cat to purr and rub her head against him.

“Looks like the flower is ready to be gathered. It’s almost open.”

“Grrrrr.”

Wu Jian watched the flower as it slowly opened. Its crimson petals ignited with pale blue fire, creating a contrast that he found aesthetically pleasing. Heat emitted from the flower. However, it did not burn. It was a very mild, pleasant heat, like sitting by a warm fire with a cup of hot tea in hand.

“All right. Let’s do this.”

Wu Jian held out his ring finger, which had his father’s storage ring on it. He channeled his chi and watched as all the flowers surrounding the 1,000 year old Yang Fire Flower were sucked into it. Then he walked over to the real prize and knelt down.

“Now… how to cut this…”

There were a number of naturally created treasures like this that required a specific method of moving them. If you just cut such a flower, it was sure to wither within seconds. Should he not cut this at all but remove it by the roots? But… hmm… he didn’t think that was how you were supposed to remove this flower.

Great. I’m not sure how to remove this, and Huǒ Shuchang is in the process of breaking through, so I can’t ask him. I should have thought about this before now. What am I supposed to do now?

“Grrrr.”

“I’m not sure what to do here, Yōuměi. Guess we’ve got no choice but to wait for Huǒ Shuchang to break through.”

“Grrrr.”

“I know. I don’t like waiting either.”

Since they couldn’t do anything about the Yang Fire Flower, the two turned to look at Huǒ Shuchang, whose entire body had become a blistering red. It was like all the blood had risen to the surface of his skin. His red hair had also turned a startling shade of vermillion as it whirled around him like strands of fire.

A small shockwave suddenly erupted from the man.

“Oh, it looks like he’s about to break through.”

A second shockwave soon followed the first. Wu Jian and Yōuměi backed away as they felt the chi within their bodies roil. It was not good to be too close to a cultivator who was breaking through. They could inadvertently damage their cultivation.

Sweat poured down Huǒ Shuchang’s face and his teeth were grit. He must have finished compressing the chi within his body, and now he was trying to gather that last bit to break through.

When a cultivator’s body received more chi than it could hold, it would undergo a qualitative change, adapting so as to allow it to contain the excess chi. This not only increased the amount of chi a person possessed, but it also increased their physical abilities and could even change their appearance.

That was happening right before their very eyes. Huǒ Shuchang’s body was undergoing a dramatic change. His red hair became several shades more vibrant, and his body became more streamlined. The muscles that he had cultivated became small and veins sprouted along the surface of his skin. In exchange for decreasing in size, his muscles were becoming denser.

Just as Wu Jian thought the breakthrough was about to end, Huǒ Shuchang burst into flames.

“Whoa!”

Wu Jian backed up as the fires spread throughout the cavern. They quickly swept over him. He and Yōuměi panicked, expecting to get hurt, but the flames did not hurt them at all.

After spreading out, the flames were soon sucked back toward Huǒ Shuchang. Wings of fire sprouted from his back and a bird’s cry rang out as though singing an ode of joy. The song lasted for a full minute. Then the flames dispersed and a startling silence entered the cavern.

Huǒ Shuchang breathed out, expelling flames and black smoke, the impurities that his body had contained. A symbol soon appeared on his forehead. It looked like a fire bird. The symbol remained there for a moment, then disappeared as Huǒ Shuchang opened his eyes.

“Congratulations on your break through. How do you feel?” Wu Jian asked.

Huǒ Shuchang grinned. “I feel great, thanks for asking!” He stood up and threw a few casual punches, which caused the very air to ignite. “So, this is the Asura Realm? Feels good.”

Wu Jian said nothing as the man continued to throw punches and kicks, then brought out his sword and did a few practice swings. Each swing created an arc of fire that was both beautiful and deadly. The sword was now glowing a bright red. It was as if the sword had changed along with its wielder, or perhaps Huǒ Shuchang was just able to bring out more of the swords power?

“You about done?” asked Wu Jian.

Huǒ Shuchang chuckled as he stored his sword back in his storage ring. “Sorry. Guess I got carried away. Yeah, I’m done for now.”

“Good. Then perhaps you can tell me how the proper way to remove this thing?” Wu Jian hitched a thumb at the now fully-bloomed Yang Fire Flower.

“Oh. Right. I never did tell you how to do that, did I?”

Wu Jian twitched. “No, you didn’t.”

Huǒ Shuchang scratched the back of his head, looking quite sheepish. “My bad. The best way to remove it is to pull it up by the roots. While the petals are the most important part, the roots can also be used to help cleanse the body of impurities. Of course, only magical beasts have the ability to consume them. Humans like you and me would simply get sick. I recommend giving the roots to your panther.”

So it was that easy. I feel like an idiot now.

Wu Jian knelt beside the Yang Fire Flower and grabbed it by the stem. He expected to feel a burning sensation, but all he felt was a comfortable heat. It was easy enough to pull the flower up by the roots. He quickly stored it inside of his storage ring so it wouldn’t wither.

He turned to Huǒ Shuchang, who was still brimming with energy.

“We about ready to leave?”

“In a bit. I need to stabilize my cultivation first.”

“Right. In that case, I guess I’ll feed Yōuměi the Fire Flower stem.”

Wu Jian quickly removed the Yang Fire Flower, cut the roots from the stem, stored the flower back in his storage ring, and held the roots out to Yōuměi.

“Here. Take this.”

Yōuměi sniffed at the roots a couple times before consuming them. She sat back on her haunches and blinked several times. Nothing seemed to happen at first, or that was how it seemed to Wu Jian, but then he noticed a strange smell emanating from the panther. He took a closer look and noticed strange black gunk was being secreted from her poores.

“That looks kinda gross…”

A black puddle soon formed underneath Yōuměi, who didn’t seem to like the gunk coming from her body and tried to swat it away. This just caused her black paws to get sticky. She mewled helplessly and looked to Wu Jian for salvation, but there was nothing he could do until the roots purpose ran its course.

Once the process ended, Yōuměi looked absolutely miserable, like a bedraggled cat who had been swimming in muddy waters. There was also the rancid smell coming from her. All those impurities that had been expelled from her body created a poignant odor that made Wu Jian’s nose wrinkle.

“Come on, Yōuměi. Let’s go and find a stream or something to wash you off in.”

“Mreow…”

Yōuměi followed Wu Jian as they left the cave and wandered into the surrounding forests. He looked back to see a trail of black pawprints leading to the cave. Yōuměi had her head down as she followed him. If he didn’t know any better, he would have said she was embarrassed.

Well… at least we’ll be able to find our way back.

They eventually found a stream and Yōuměi didn’t hesitate to jump in. She quickly began cleaning herself. Wu Jian remained outside of the stream. The black gunk covering her body created a thick, oily substance that flowed downstream, and he didn’t want to get any of that on him.

Once he determined that most of the gunk was gone, he stripped his clothes and waded into the water. There was still impurities stuck to Yōuměi’s fur that she wouldn’t be able to get off on her own. He began combing his fingers through her fur to remove them. He really hoped his hands wouldn’t smell after this.

Wu Jian decided to spend more time in the stream. He wanted to be sure the gunk on Yōuměi was gone, and he also was pretty sweaty himself. Staying in that cave while Huǒ Shuchang cultivated whatever method he was using had caused his own body to become quite sticky.

Even after he finished washing both himself and Yōuměi, Wu Jian decided to just relax near the stream and let the sun dry his body. Yōuměi shook her wet fur and lay next to him. She fortunately did not smell.

“How long do you think it will take Huǒ Shuchang to stabilize his cultivation?”

“Grrr.”

“I guess you wouldn’t know. Haaaah. I hope it doesn’t take too long.”

There was a lot that Wu Jian wanted to do. He wanted to check on Xing Zhenya to make sure she was okay. He also wanted to pay Mao Yuhan a visit. Wu Jian did not consider himself a vengeful person, but he hated Mao Yuhan. That man was vile and could not be allowed to continue existing. Who knew how many more people he would hurt if no one put a stop to him.

That man needs to be buried beneath the ground.

Wu Jian closed his eyes as he remembered the power Mao Yuhan possessed. He was a half-step Asura Realm cultivator. That would normally mean he was well beyond Wu Jian’s reach, but Huǒ Shuchang was stronger than Mao Yuhan even before breaking through, and Wu Jian could fight him on more or less even terms. He was sure he could defeat that man now that he had reached the Anima Realm.

Wu Jian and Yōuměi returned to the cave to find their companion still stabilizing his cultivation. Since that was the case, they had no choice but to wait. They cultivated, sparred, hunted for food, and trained. Just like that, several days passed.

“Nnnnnngggg!”

On the third day, Huǒ Shuchang finally moved, stretching his arms above his head. Wu Jian opened his eyes as the man’s back popped several times.

“Maaaan, that feels good!” said the cheerful Huǒ Shuchang.

“You finished stabilizing your cultivation?” asked Wu Jian.

“Yup! I’m all good now!” Huǒ Shuchang grinned, raised his arm, and flexed.

“Great. Then let’s go. We need to leave.”

Wu Jian stood up. Yōuměi followed suit. Huǒ Shuchang stared at the two in confusion.

“Wait. Leave? Now? Why are you in such a hurry? Hey! Wait! D-don’t leave me behind like that, dammit! Wait up!”

Huǒ Shuchang cursed as he ran after Wu Jian and Yōuměi as the two left the cavern.