Treasure Hunt, Fire Taking (Seeking Collection~)

When Qin Han arrived, Zi Yan had already plunged headfirst into a small valley overflowing with spiritual energy.

Her eyes gleamed as she pounced like a starving little beast toward a cluster of fiery red berries, plucking off a handful and stuffing them into her mouth.

"Mmm... sweet! Just a little hot on the mouth!"

She mumbled indistinctly, juice trickling down the corner of her lips.

Qin Han rushed in right behind her. The moment he saw the scene, black lines formed across his forehead.

This place was likely one of the Fallen Fire Sect's medicinal gardens.

The Earthfire Berries and Lava Berries growing on the ground were only Fourth Grade, but there were too many of them. Every now and then, a few Fifth Grade Crimson Ginseng could be seen hidden within the cracks in the rocks.

Zi Yan specifically went for the ones with the richest energy. After taking two bites and finding the taste mediocre, she casually tossed them aside and moved on to ravage the next plant.

"Spare the herbs!!"

Qin Han hurried forward and grabbed Zi Yan just as she was about to pounce on a Fire Cloud Fungus.

"Don't ruin good stuff! These are excellent materials for alchemy. Do you think they're carrots? Put them away, now."

Zi Yan paused, blinking her large eyes before decisively giving up on eating them raw.

With a wave of her little hand, an invisible force swept through the area. The intact medicinal herbs, along with the soil around them, were uprooted in unison and flew toward the inconspicuous Storage Ring on her wrist.

Qin Han did not idle either. Faint flames danced at his fingertips as he precisely cut away several Fifth Grade medicinal herbs that required special methods to harvest intact, carefully storing them away.

Before long, the small valley had been stripped bare, leaving only a few crooked, inferior remnants behind.

Zi Yan licked her lips and looked at Qin Han with lingering reluctance. "Any more? There's a lot of energy here. There should be something else, right?"

"Who are you asking? Aren't you the one with the treasure-finding talent?"

Qin Han replied irritably.

Zi Yan's little head immediately bobbed. She hurriedly closed her eyes and began sensing carefully.

However, after sensing for a while, she found nothing else.

"What is it?"

"Seems like... that's all?"

Zi Yan wore a bitter expression.

Qin Han was startled at first, then fell into thought. "You little glutton, don't tell me you can only sense medicinal herbs and food?"

Zi Yan's little face reddened. She gave an embarrassed chuckle. "Once I grow up, I should be able to sense more..."

Qin Han rolled his eyes at her. This Maniac King truly was unreliable.

He could only close his eyes and slowly sense the fire-attributed energy around them.

With two Heavenly Flames within him, Qin Han could sense the flame energy inside the Fallen Fire Sect with exceptional clarity.

The energy currents in most places were scattered and faint. Only in the southeast was there a barely perceptible yet extraordinarily pure source of heat.

"Come on, this way!"

Qin Han opened his eyes, grabbed Zi Yan, and shot toward the southeast.

Rather than following the crowd or heading toward the area with the strongest energy in the ruins, the two of them wove through rubble and burnt earth. The farther they went, the more remote it became. Even the ruins around them grew sparse, leaving only bare Crimson Mountain Rock.

Zi Yan looked around, her little face drooping. "It's so desolate here. There isn't even a blade of grass. There definitely won't be anything tasty."

Qin Han said nothing, his sharp gaze sweeping over the steep rock wall before them.

The source of that restrained scorching heat was right here.

He extended a hand and pressed it against the rough rock wall, controlling a thread-thin wisp of Green Lotus Core Flame as it slowly seeped inside.

Like nimble fingers, the flame traveled along the rock's natural crevices and certain artificially preserved energy channels. Qin Han could clearly sense everything within the cracks.

A few breaths later, Qin Han's gaze sharpened. He forcefully pressed a fingertip against a slightly protruding rock that was a shade darker than the rest!

Buzz!

An area roughly several meters wide on the rock wall suddenly rippled like water, and dim fiery patterns flashed past.

A door, its edges flowing with flickering Runes, silently emerged.

The instant the door opened, a mixed wave of scorching heat surged straight at them!

Qin Han's heart shook violently. The Myriad Flames Compendium in his mind churned like a pond struck by a stone, transmitting an incomparably clear yearning.

He stepped through the doorway.

The stone chamber was not large, but dozens of orderly stone niches had been carved into its four walls.

Within every niche floated a cluster of flame!

Blood Burst Flame, Ice Blue Heart Flame, Earth Vein Golden Fire, Thunderbolt Fire...

There were no fewer than seventeen or eighteen varieties!

The spirituality of these flames was far inferior to that of Heavenly Flames, but their origins were all quite formidable. At the very least, they were beast flames from Magical Beasts above the fifth rank, or refined earthfire that had been nurtured for many years!

Their grades generally ranged from the fifth to sixth rank.

Qin Han guessed that this was the secret vault where the Fallen Fire Sect stored all manner of unusual flames!

"Wow!" Zi Yan followed him in. Though she had little interest in flames themselves, the surging energy rushing toward her still made her gasp in amazement. "So much fire! How much meat could this roast?!"

But after her initial surprise, she immediately wrinkled her cute little nose. "Hey, the fire seeds in these flames are almost completely depleted. They can't be refined."

"You came too late!"

Zi Yan pouted smugly.

She was absolutely right. After a hundred years, the source energy of these flames had nearly been exhausted.

What remained in the wall niches was merely the last trace of rootless flame. Forget refining it—even a gust of wind could extinguish it.

But to Qin Han, as long as they had not gone completely out, they were treasures!

He stepped before the nearest stone niche, where a flickering cluster of Blood Burst Flame was sealed.

Qin Han directly extended his right hand, spread his fingers, and slowly reached into the crimson flames.

The instant the skin of his palm touched the fire, he felt none of the expected scorching pain. Instead, it was like reaching into a mass of warm, viscous liquid.

[Myriad Flames Compendium] suddenly trembled.

[Contacted special flame: Blood Burst Flame, source beast flame of the fifth-tier Magical Beast Bloodflame Berserk Lion]

[Beginning flame analysis... Analysis complete.]

[Replicating Origin Fire Seed... Replication successful.]

[Blood Burst Flame recorded. Current development level: 10%. Juvenile state. Possesses basic form and partial traits.]

The moment the voice fell silent, Qin Han clearly sensed a blood-red pattern on the compendium light up.

It was faint, yet brimming with life.

As the Blood Burst Flame in the stone niche was withdrawn along with Qin Han's hand, its color rapidly dimmed. After several breaths, it let out a soft puff and went completely out.

"See? I told you that you came too late."

Zi Yan leaned over and curiously poked the ashes with a finger, wrinkling her little nose.

Then, with an air of maturity, she patted Qin Han's arm. "It's fine. Follow this young lady—I'll take you to find even more treasures!"

But Qin Han had no time to explain. Without stopping, he immediately turned toward the next stone niche.

He repeated the process.

[Contacted special flame: Ice Blue Heart Flame... Recorded successfully. Current development level: 10%.]

[Contacted Thunderbolt Fire... Recorded successfully. Development level: 10%...]

[Recorded successfully...]

[Recorded successfully...]

As Qin Han recorded the final flame, the radiance in the stone chamber faded away, leaving it in lifeless silence.

Zi Yan had initially watched with curiosity, but eventually she simply squatted in a corner, pulled out the Crimson Ginseng she had picked earlier, and nibbled on it in boredom.

"I really don't understand you fire-playing types..." she mumbled indistinctly.

Qin Han stood where he was and slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

Eighteen brand-new flame patterns had lit up on the Myriad Flames Compendium!

These flames were not high-grade and held little value for cultivation, but what Qin Han wanted were their fire seeds. With these eighteen flames, the development of the Green Lotus Core Flame should reach its maximum level!