Dragon Bone Torch Epiphyllum

Dan Hong's fifth Soul Ring suddenly lit up as she formed seals with both hands.

Wisps of red flame rose from the black Soul Ring, tracing a complex, ancient totem before Dan Hong. She chanted, "Heaven and earth bear witness—"

As Dan Hong's voice fell, the totem was completed. The flames surged skyward, and a Slender-Headed Fire Bird with long trailing tail feathers flew out of the ancient totem. As the fire bird emerged, the flame-drawn totem slowly faded away, replaced by an even larger black totem beneath it.

"Spirit Seeking!"

The fire bird raised its head and let out a silent cry. Its claws swept across the totem beneath it, and the black lines instantly blazed with golden light, turning into tiny motes that clung to the bird like a coat of golden feathers.

With one beat of its Wings, the fire bird cleaved through the air and flew unhesitatingly in one direction.

Nan Li watched Dan Hong's rather grand fifth soul skill with some surprise. A soul skill for finding treasures rich in spiritual energy? Dan Hong truly was a pharmaceutical genius. Every one of these soul skills suited her better than the last.

The two chased after the fire bird.

Following its direction, Nan Li and Dan Hong arrived above an even larger sandstone pit.

The fire bird vanished without a sound, but golden light surfaced in Dan Hong's eyes.

With the aid of that golden light, Dan Hong immediately looked toward a pile of crimson rocks in the southeastern part of the pit. In an inconspicuous corner of the rock pile, a medium-sized stone had split open along a crack, and a solitary flower bud protruded from within.

Without the guidance of her fifth soul skill, Dan Hong would have had to spend quite some effort finding it.

"This is roughly near the heart of the Stone Forest, so it hasn't delayed your journey too much." Standing beside the rock, Dan Hong examined the plant within it. "It's actually a Dragon Bone Torch Epiphyllum!"

"Is it very valuable?" Nan Li looked at the wildly excited Dan Hong, a question mark practically appearing over her head.

"Look. Thick, serrated teeth grow symmetrically along the stem of the Dragon Bone Torch Epiphyllum, resembling dragon bones. The epiphyllum blooms at night. When it opens, it is like a torch beneath the night sky, but after a quarter of an hour, it immediately withers and buries itself, stem and all, back into the rock to await its next bloom."

"The rock the Dragon Bone Torch Epiphyllum grows from is actually formed from its cultivation. The older the epiphyllum, the more lifelike the rock becomes. But if you look carefully, you'll find faint patterns on the stone resembling sword marks. Split the rock open by an inch, and distinct silver veins can be seen within. That's why the Dragon Bone Torch Epiphyllum is also called the Waiting for Night Silver Sword Flower."

"Oh. Okay. Very good." Nan Li nodded repeatedly.

"The Dragon Bone Torch Epiphyllum usually hides within the rock. Only on the night it blooms will the rock crack open. No wonder I didn't find it the last time I came."

"So what do we do? Dig it up roots and all?" Nan Li thought for a moment. "Can your Soul Tool hold living things?"

"Don't worry, it won't be a problem!" Dan Hong studied the patterns on its leaves, unable to tear her eyes away.

"The Dragon Bone Torch Epiphyllum absorbs light and heat through the rock it grows in. Each one must grow for a thousand years before it blooms, and after every bloom, it takes another sixty years before it blooms again." Dan Hong shook Nan Li by the arm. "That's what they mean by better timing than an early arrival!"

Nan Li was getting dizzy from being shaken and hurriedly interrupted her. "What's it useful for, then? It can't just be for watching it bloom, can it?"

"What a brute!" Dan Hong shot Nan Li a disdainful glance. "The epiphyllum is beauty in an instant, eternity in a moment. Cultivating atop the rock that accompanies it can accelerate the cultivation of fire-element Soul Masters and Soul Beasts. If you're fortunate enough to pluck one of its blooms, it is said to allow a Soul Beast to instantly take Humanoid Form!"

"It is said?" Nan Li saw the icy look Dan Hong gave her and quickly corrected herself. "It's that powerful?"

Nan Li felt that if a single flower could instantly grant a Soul Beast Humanoid Form, it ought to have been eaten bare long ago.

"There are conditions. The Dragon Bone Torch Epiphyllum has to be ten thousand years old!" Dan Hong looked at the flower bud. "This one should be about to bloom. We're not in a rush, so why not wait until it blooms before leaving?"

"Once every sixty years!" Dan Hong tempted her.

Though sixty years was but the blink of an eye to a Soul Beast, they were already here.

"Alright." Nan Li nodded in agreement.

"Can you tell how old this epiphyllum is?" Nan Li stood atop the rock, arms folded as she surveyed the surroundings.

"We'll have to wait until it blooms to know that."

Perhaps seeing Nan Li's lack of interest, Dan Hong added, "The Dragon Bone Torch Epiphyllum isn't the only Immortal Grass that can let a Soul Beast take Humanoid Form, but it is definitely the most special!"

"How so?"

"Look, the ten-thousand-year Holy Soul Grass can increase spiritual power, while the ten-thousand-year Nine-Rank Ginseng King can help a Soul Beast take Humanoid Form. But the Nine-Rank Ginseng King is a ninety-thousand-year Immortal Grass! Where are you supposed to find one?"

"A ten-thousand-year Dragon Bone Torch Epiphyllum is different. Just one can allow a fire-element Soul Beast to take Humanoid Form! And it is no less rare than a ten-thousand-year Ginseng King of the seventh rank or higher!"

"Only fire-element Soul Beasts?"

Dan Hong gave a soft hum, then continued, "According to the records of the Holy Land, the 'Buddha Bone Spiritual Root' can allow a Soul Beast to take Humanoid Form, and there is even a chance for the Soul Beast to leap past its juvenile stage in one stroke! In other words, it would possess the cultivation of a level-seventy human Soul Master the moment it takes Humanoid Form."

"The Spiritual Root in this 'Buddha Bone Spiritual Root' refers to a Dragon Bone Torch Epiphyllum that is over ten thousand years old."

Nan Li looked down at her and asked, "Then what does the 'Buddha Bone' refer to?"

"'Buddha Bone' refers to the 'Futuo Buddha Jin'!"

"Futuo Buddha Jin? Where can we find it?" Nan Li sat down and looked at Dan Hong.

"Futuo Buddha Jin... well, I haven't seen one before." Dan Hong smiled awkwardly. "But it's fine. Once the Dragon Bone Torch Epiphyllum blooms, I'll pluck off all its petals and refine them into medicine!"

So that was your real reason for waiting for it to bloom. Nan Li looked up at the sky and silently mourned for the epiphyllum.

The sun completely sank beyond the horizon. There was no moon tonight, and the stars shone with extraordinary brightness.

"Can't we put the epiphyllum into your Soul Tool first? We only need a quarter of an hour. If we move quickly, we should be able to fly beyond the Stone Forest." For some reason, Nan Li felt uneasy.

It was the instinct that came before danger arrived.

"This..." Dan Hong looked troubled. "When an epiphyllum blooms, it needs to absorb the spiritual energy between heaven and earth. I once tried putting an ordinary medicinal epiphyllum into a Soul Tool, but the flower bud that had been blooming immediately withered. This Dragon Bone Torch Epiphyllum is incomparably precious. A human might never encounter even one in an entire lifetime. I don't dare try it lightly..."

It was true that Dan Hong was passionate about refining medicine, but almost all the medicine she refined was supplied to the clans on Sun Island.

It was used not only by the Flame Feather Clan and the Sumeru Clan themselves; the clans under their protection also occasionally came to seek medicine.

There were many fire-element Soul Beasts on the island. Dan Hong never passed up fire-element medicinal herbs when she encountered them, much less such a rare Immortal Grass.

Dan Hong had been searching for medicine far too frequently lately, and now she was so delighted that Nan Li could not help thinking: Could it be that something happened to one of the younger generation on the island?

For "Dragon Bone Torch Epiphyllum," refer to "Waiting for Night Peacock (Dragon Bone Epiphyllum)" and "Silver Sword Chrysanthemum."