Against the Gods - Volume 01 - Red-Colored Calamity

by Mars Gravity

  Just a moment ago, this princess had told you that the true dragon possessed extreme intellect. Even if the middle of its cave indeed has some sort of treasure, it’s certainly not an item that you can easily obtain.”

  But Yun Che had already ignored Jasmine’s discouragement. As he carefully concealed his figure and odor, he passed through the left side of the mountain in a roundabout way and headed in the direction of the cave’s entrance.

  Chapter 51: Seed of the Evil God: Fire (4)

  Although hidden, Yun Che still didn’t dare to be reckless and carefully moved closer toward the direction of the cave.

  After walking around at a considerably large right angle, Yun Che’s feet stepped onto the scarlet colored soil. A wave of scorching-hot heat immediately transmitted from below his feet; then quickly permeated his entire body and promptly gave him a feeling of standing on open flames.

  This Flame Dragon existed here for at least a century, and its power over fire had long ago turned this place into a world of the fire element. His current position was only about one kilometer from the intense fight between the Flame Dragon and the Burning Heaven Clan. Yet this was already an extremely dangerous distance, since the residue waves of their battle could easily spread to here.

  Yun Che’s footsteps were careful, but his speed had not diminished at all. Jasmine had said this Flame Dragon was clearly hiding its true strength; if it sudden released its true strength and strikes down the five from Burning Heaven Clan, not to mention profiting while taking advantage of the chaos, he would probably lose this life then and there.

  What’s reassuring, however, was the fact that the Flame Dragon evidently didn’t want its residence to be damaged. Not only did it purposely pull them away, it also tried to not let his attack power blow in that direction as much as possible. After Yun Che came around to the north side of the cave, he braced his mind and dashed toward the cave entrance with his utmost speed. As the cave got closer and closer, and after few dozens of breaths of time, he had advanced to the point where there was only thirty-three meters between them. Along the way, there was only an intimidating feeling but no real danger.

  When the goal was close at hand, a huge wave of ember suddenly fell from the sky and covered a few square kilometers of land. These embers weren’t very big, nor did they have much attack power. However, they were extremely concentrated, and one of the pieces directly fell onto Yun Che’s body.

  Immediately, Yun Che’s shirt briskly ignited. As he took an attack, the Star Concealing Pellet’s effect disappeared at once. However, Yun Che had reacted fast and dodged behind the huge boulder on his left in a flash. After he stomped out the fire on his clothes, his eyebrows completely sank.

  Drats…..

  Star Concealing Pellet’s concealing effect would immediately be negated if he were attacked or touched by someone else. It did not matter if he rushed for the cave entrance or retreat back to the start; if he came out from behind the boulder, he would be easily discovered. But if he kept on hiding here, he’ll be discovered immediately all the same when the Burning Heaven Clan’s people return.

  This time, he had almost stepped into a realm of certain death!

  Booom!!

  A ball of dragon fire that came from the Flame Dragon suddenly dropped from the sky, landing in an area not even one hundred meters ahead of Yun Che. With a loud crash, the dragon-shaped flame exploded, bringing a flare that reached the skies and a terrifyingly high temperature that could even almost, melt rocks.

  The moment the flare exploded, the Yun Che behind the boulder suddenly widened his open eyes….

  Chance!!

  In the next moment, Yun Che shot out from behind the boulder like an arrow that had just left the bow. Using all his profound energy, he rushed toward the cave entrance with his utmost speed. The pillar of flare that soared up to the sky blocked the line of view of the Flame Dragon and people from the Burning Heaven Clan. The huge wave of energy was enough to drown out his insignificant Profound Energy, and furthermore they wouldn’t dare to be distracted during their intense fight.

  These few dozens of meters at this moment were undoubtedly a situation of life and death to Yun Che. He glanced at the dissipating flare with the corner of his eye and clenched his teeth, wishing that he could inject all of his willpower into his legs. When in danger, time seemed to have suddenly slowed down, and the cave entrance was also closing in very slowly. At the last span of distance, he abruptly breathed in, kicked the ground with both of his legs, and pounced toward the cave entrance with a flying dive.

  The instant he entered the cave, the flare had completely disappeared. The fierce battle between the Flame Dragon and the five Sky Profound Realm dwellers were also cleanly presented in his vision again.

  Standing behind the sizzling hot boulder at the edge of the cave entrance, Yun Che breathed heavily. His entire body was doused with sweat, and one couldn’t tell if his face was red because of the heat or the excitement.

  “Phew…. Finally made it in.” Yun Che patted his chest, and muttered to himself as fear still lingered in his heart. After somewhat composing his mind for a bit, he walked over to the interior of the cave with slow steps.

  Since the Flame Dragon had an enormous frame, naturally the cave it resided in was also gigantic. Yun Che sharpened his vigilance and slowly strolled forward. The temperature inside was much higher than what it was outside. Every step that Yun Che took, a puddle of sweat would sprinkle downwards, evaporating into a white mist, the instant it met with the ground with a *Sss Sss* sound.

  The true depth of this cave was unknown, so as Yun Che gradually went deeper, the light also became dimmer and dimmer. After continuing onwards for a hundred steps, a haze of red luminescence suddenly emerged from the area ahead.

  Yun Che’s footsteps halted for a bit, then sped up again as he hastily walked toward it. As he saw the source of the red luminescence, both his eyes suddenly radiated a searing light.

  “Fire Spirit Grass!!”

  A mature Fire Spirit Grass was around seven inches tall with extremely shallow roots, usually had nine leaves, and glowed in the darkness. It was exceedingly rare and only grew in areas with concentrated fire elements. At the same time, the Fire Spirit Grass’s growth speed was extremely slow and usually took more than ten years to reach maturity, and as a result, caused the value of mature Fire Spirit Grass to be remarkably high. Fire Spirit Grass could be refined into a Fire Spirit Pellet, and after consuming it, one would be able to resist a large degree of fire elements for a certain period of time. It could also temporarily change a person’s profound energy, which resided in the Profound Veins, into one of the fire attribute without any harmful side effects of burning or injuring oneself. To profound practitioners who practiced fire attribute Profound Arts, the benefits it would bring were unmeasurable.

  And this hard to find, extremely valuable Fire Spirit Grass, was actually growing here, with an incredible total of two to three hundred strains; moreover nearly one-fourth of them had already reached maturity. There was also a chunk of area behind that only had roots leftover. It was obvious that these strains of Fire Spirit Grass were the food of the Flame Dragon.

  The other reason why the Fire Spirit Grass was valuable, was due to the fact that it was extremely difficult to collect and store. Even the slightest amount of carelessness may cause the fire spirit inside the grass to all disappear. However, to Yun Che, this issue posed no problem at all. He extended his left hand and grabbed at the mature strains of Fire Spirit Grass in a frenzy, easily collecting them into the Sky Poison Pearl.

  Even a random strain of Fire Spirit Grass could be sold for a very high price outside. However at this time, they were being harvested in great amounts by Yun Che, as if they were ordinary cabbages.

  Soon enough, more than fifty strains of mature Fire Spirit Grass were all gathered into the Sky Poison Pearl. Yun Che didn’t even touch a single one that was not mature. He rubbed his palms together as a cry came from withi
n the depths of his heart: I’m rich!

  If these were sold to the Burning Heaven Clan through an intermediary, how much of a profit would come in!

  He would never have to worry about not having enough money to spend anymore!

  Yun Che took out a Fire Spirit grass that he collected, and swiftly used the Sky Poison Pearl to refine it. The Fire Spirit Grass quickly shriveled under the Sky Poison Pearl’s processing, and in the end turned into a very small, ruby-like object. Yun Che didn’t even bother to think before he threw it in his mouth.

  A searing feeling slid down his insides, along his oral cavity; followed by the sensation of heat rapidly dispersing outwards from the inside of his body, in the blink of an eye, it propagated throughout his entire body. Afterwards, the scorching heat slowly faded away…. at once, even the surrounding space was suddenly no longer burning hot. The sweat on Yun Che’s body no longer streamed and the stifling feeling of dry heat completely vanished without a trace.

  Yun Che’s body felt considerably more relaxed afterwards. However, he still hadn’t reach the end of the cave, so he quickened his footsteps and walked deeper inside. Not long after, a huge den of rock came into view before his eyes. When considering the size and shape, it was obvious that this place was where the Flame Dragon normally stayed and slept in.

  To Yun Che’s disappointment, this Flame Dragon’s den was considerably clean; aside from the searing rocks that constructed the den, there was nothing else of importance.

  Rumble…..

  An enormous rumbling sound suddenly came from the outside. Even standing in the deepest part of this cave, Yun Che still could vaguely feel a wave of heat rush toward his face. The Flame Dragon’s heavy voice drifted in from the outside:

  “Ignorant insatiable humans, prepare to receive the punishment you deserve!”

  Right after that, came the panicked voices of the Burning Heaven Clan:

  “Ah!! What’s going on! How did its strength suddenly…..”

  “This…. This Flame Dragon is not a Sky Profound Beast at all! It’s clearly an Emperor Profound Beast! It had concealed its true strength all along; just to lure us to this place!”

  “This is bad! The intelligence was wrong, retreat! Quickly retreat!!”

  Jasmine’s words perfectly came true. Sure enough, the Flame Dragon hid its true strength the entire time, and at this moment, it finally unleashed its true power. During the panicked cries of the Burning Heaven Clan, the earth started to tremble…. Even the entirety of the Scarlet Dragon Mountain Range was faintly trembling. Yun Che’s heart abruptly became cold. Since the Flame dragon had started to display its true power, it also meant that the battle may come to an immediate end. If he didn’t leave now, there may never be any chance of escape after that!

  Fifty strains of mature Fire Spirit Grass was already a large profit. Yun Che no longer hesitated and swiftly rushed outside with quick steps. However, only after dashing a mere three steps, his heart fiercely leapt all of a sudden…. His footsteps stopped along with it.

  “What are you stopping for? If you’re not leaving now, are you waiting for the Flame Dragon to roast you into ashes!” Jasmin coldly yelled.

  Yun Che, however, gave no reaction to Jasmine’s words at all. He turned around, and with his hands on his chest, he stared blankly at the empty rock den…. It’s the same feeling as before, and this time it’s really really close…..

  What exactly is calling me……

  Instead of fleeing at full speed, Yun Che walked toward the rock den, until he had entered the den once again. The rate of his heartbeat had also suddenly accelerated at this time.

  Yun Che congealed his gaze as he looked all around, and in the end, his gaze locked onto the rightmost corner of the den. The rocks here had all existed for a countless number years, and were indurated and aged. However, there was one rock that actually looked to be untainted by even a speck of dust and seemed to have been frequently moved around. Yun Che hastily walked over, pressed his hand onto the rock, and exerted his strength to move it.

  Accompanied by the sound of the falling rock, a dot of scarlet-red light immediately appeared in Yun Che’s line of sight.

  This was a very small and round bead, close to the size of a common marble. It had an ordinary ruby’s sparkling translucence, but the radiance it emitted was far richer and more vibrant than that of a common ruby. As he looked at this red-colored round bead, Yun Che’s heart suddenly, without reason, gave rise to an intense longing. Under the urge of this longing, he quickly extended his hands and reached for it.

  “Don’t touch it! There’s a Flame Dragon’s inflammatory imprint on it!”

  Jasmine’s warning was slightly late. As soon as her voice yelled out, Yun Che’s hands had already grabbed onto the round bead.

  Immediately, as if awakened, the bead suddenly discharged an incomparably intense red light that was strong enough to envelope Yun Che’s entire body.

  Chapter 52: Seed of the Evil God: Fire (5)

  “What is… this thing?” Yun Che asked in bewilderment as he held the bizarre scarlet-red bead. He was definitely holding onto it, but he couldn’t get a solid grasp of its weight nor temperature. Its rays were enticing and burned fiercely, emitting a familiar scarlet-red color, but also gave Yun Che a strange feeling of never seeing this color before.

  Although his heart no longer throbbed as furiously as before, his profound veins suddenly went into a violent turmoil, causing the blood vessels in his entire body to slightly boil. A strange feeling also assaulted Yun Che’s heart at this moment… He was sure he had never seen this scarlet-red bead before but when he held it in his hand, he felt calm and composed, as if it was originally his and had finally returned back to him.

  “This princess has no idea what that is, but I* can assure you that you’re a goner.” Inside the Sky Poison Pearl, Jasmine’s voice lowered as the expression on her tiny face became incomparably solemn. Despite dissuading Yun Che countless times, she was unable to stop him from taking a risk time and time again… After all was said and done, it still ended up like this.

  If not for the fact that her life was intertwined with Yun Che’s, she really wanted to use her little hand and slap this reckless and fearless man, that would forsaken his life for a so called “Opportunity”, to death!

  Just after Jasmine had finished speaking, a world-shaking dragon roar suddenly came in from outside the cave!

  “ROOAR!! Despicable humans!! So it turns out that you’re actually lusting after this king’s treasure! All of you are repulsive scoundrels, unforgivable… UNFORGIVABLE!!!”

  Ten at the tenth level of the Sky Profound Realm may not even necessarily win against the lowest level of the Emperor Profound Realm, let alone a tenth level Sky Profound and four other practitioners that were below the sixth level of the Sky Profound Realm. In a blink of an eye, after the Flame Dragon had unleashed its true power, the five people of the Burning Heaven Clan were forced into desperate straits. Those waves of dragon-shaped flames were not only incomparably hot, but also brought along a huge rippling strength that dragged the five people of the Burning Heaven Clan slowly, into a maelstrom of death.

  At this moment, as soon as the five experts of the Burning Heaven Clan displayed an expression of a despair that revealed their lost hope, the Flame Dragon suddenly bursted out in fury. Its entire body emitted an aura that could cause a person to tremble in fear as it let out a deafening and angry roar yet again. Within the roar, a ball of fire that measured up to a few dozen meters smashed into the five people, causing all five to scream in agony… However, the Flame Dragon did not continue to attack but instead turned to a different direction, and angrily rushed towards its cave.

  The five experts from Burning Heaven Clan escaped, battered and exhausted, from the Flame Dragon’s fire, with each suffering different degrees of burn; the greater parts of their hair, beards, and even the clothes on their body were incinerated by quite a bit. As they watched the Flame Dragon’s suddenly withd
rawal, each and every one of them were still in a panicked state.

  “What happened, why did it suddenly flee and go back?” One man coarsely asked while panting heavily.

  “From what it had just said, it seems like someone took advantage of our battle and tried to sneak into his old nest…”

  “What’s the point of caring about that now! Quickly retreat! We are lucky to retrieve our lives and live after actually provoking a Emperor Profound Beast!”

  “Anyways, let’s scram!”

  The five experts of Burning Heaven Clan didn’t dare to stay there any longer; after gathering their strength and were too afraid to look back, they quickly retreated. At this moment, the thoughts in their hearts were one and the same… Once they return back to Burning Heaven Clan, they were going to find the guy that said the Flame Dragon was only a high level Sky Profound Beast, and ruthlessly beat him up.

  Inside the cave, Yun Che sensed the approach of great danger. He scrunched his eyebrow, and not daring to delay any longer, dashed toward the exit with the fastest speed possible. However, before he could even take half a step, an ear-splitting stomp came from his front and a wave of boundless anger, followed by a wave of scorching air, rushed at his face. The walls and floor of the cave all trembled faintly and not long after, the huge head of the Flame Dragon appeared in Yun Che’s line of sight.

  Yun Che’s aura was so weak that the Flame Dragon was stunned for a second. However, when it noticed the scarlet-red bead on his hand, its huge eyes radiated an indignant blaze: “Presumptuous human, to actually lust after this king’s treasure! Prepare to suffer this king’s wrath!”

  Shit!!

  Yun Che’s heart became apprehensive; he quickly calmed down and tried to think of a way to escape. Of course, it was obvious that he would obediently return the bead in his hand… However, it was absolutely impossible that the Flame Dragon would even give him a chance to speak; this formidable force kept him firmly in place, and in the next second, he would be burnt into ashes.