Qing Xuanzi

The hardships of cultivation at the bottom rung left Red Cloud deeply moved, but he neither would nor could change them.

The environment of this era did not allow him to spread the Dao. Once his intentions were exposed, the Three Clans and other great clans would never let him live. They would hunt him down through heaven and earth.

Even when Hong Jun preached to the world, it was only after the Three Clans declined, the Dao and Demonic paths clashed, and Hunyuan became a saint. The rise of a new order would inevitably encroach upon the interests of the old one. Without the overwhelming power to suppress everything, it would be no different from striking a rock with an egg.

Especially during this period when the Three Clans stood at the height of their power, even Hong Jun and Luohou had to avoid their edge. Naturally, Red Cloud would not do something so dangerous.

Next, Red Cloud began wandering around Heavenly Treasure City. Though he called it wandering, he had a purpose.

He did not mind purchasing unfamiliar ores, spiritual herbs, divine abilities, and cultivation methods.

The ores and spiritual herbs could be used for artifact forging, pill refinement, or planting, while the divine abilities and cultivation methods could be recorded in the Illustrated Record of Literary Fortune.

In Red Cloud's view, the Illustrated Record of Literary Fortune was a combination of a hardware supercomputer and software artificial intelligence.

The supercomputer was the Illustrated Record of Literary Fortune itself, while the artificial intelligence was its artifact spirit.

The defining difference between magical artifacts and spiritual treasures was whether they possessed an artifact spirit. Those with artifact spirits were called spiritual treasures.

Speaking of artificial intelligence and large AI models, big data was indispensable. For the Illustrated Record of Literary Fortune, vast numbers of divine abilities and cultivation methods constituted big data.

Big data and artificial intelligence had been the two core technologies of the digital age in his previous life. Deeply integrated and mutually dependent, they had jointly formed a data intelligence technology system.

Big data provided artificial intelligence with its indispensable fuel and foundation, while artificial intelligence was the engine that deeply mined big data and enabled intelligent decision-making.

The broader and deeper the Illustrated Record of Literary Fortune's big data pool became, the stronger its extrapolation capabilities would be, and the faster it could deduce divine abilities and cultivation methods.

Nourished by vast quantities of divine abilities and cultivation methods, the Illustrated Record of Literary Fortune would grow ever more powerful. So long as he had enough merit, even becoming a merit supreme treasure would not be a dream.

After buying what he wanted, Red Cloud found an inn to stay in and took the opportunity to sample the local food and wine specialties of Heavenly Treasure City by Sunfire Lake.

"Mm, this Eight-Treasure Chicken is quite good."

Red Cloud looked at the inn's signature dish, the Eight-Treasure Chicken. Eight rainbow lights of different colors rose from it, and within those lights, a thumb-sized golden chicken fluttered about.

After being cooked by the chef, the essence within the ingredients had been stimulated, making its effects no less potent than medicinal pills.

Compared with pills, dishes that produced the same effects were obviously more beloved by cultivators.

Though the Eight-Treasure Chicken was good, to Red Cloud, it merely satisfied his appetite. How could a Heavenly Immortal-level Flame Sun Chicken possibly affect a Golden Immortal?

Besides the Eight-Treasure Chicken, Red Cloud ordered a pot of Sunfire Lake's specialty Sunlight Brew, paired with a small dish of Jade Spirit Peanuts, and leisurely poured himself drinks.

The Sunlight Brew was pale gold in color. It entered the mouth with a fiery burn, carrying a faint trace of Sun Power.

The wine flowed down his throat and into his stomach, transforming into a warm current that nourished Red Cloud's limbs and bones. Though it was a drink meant for those below the Golden Immortal realm, its taste was indeed quite good.

"Fellow Daoist, may I share your table?"

At that moment, a gentle voice sounded.

Red Cloud looked up and saw a young man in a green robe standing before the table. He had an elegant, scholarly air and carried an ancient-looking longsword on his back. The aura around him was concealed extremely well.

However, Red Cloud's senses were exceptionally sharp. Though the young man had hidden himself well, Red Cloud could still tell that he was a Golden Immortal.

"Please, sit." Red Cloud nodded slightly.

The young man clasped his hands in greeting and sat across from him. He beckoned over a waiter and ordered a pot of Sunlight Brew as well.

"I am Qing Xuanzi, an independent cultivator. Seeing that you possess an extraordinary bearing, Fellow Daoist, I came to make your acquaintance."

Qing Xuanzi raised his cup and drank one as a penalty before asking, "May I ask for your honored name, Fellow Daoist?"

"Hehe, just call me Red Cloud." Red Cloud took a sip from his cup and replied calmly.

A trace of surprise flashed through Qing Xuanzi's eyes.

Clearly, he had never heard that name. Still, Qing Xuanzi did not think much of it. The Primordial World was vast beyond measure, and there were countless powerful recluses. It was normal not to have heard of someone.

"Is this your first time at Sunfire Lake, Fellow Daoist Red Cloud?" Qing Xuanzi asked tentatively.

Red Cloud raised a brow. "What makes you say that?"

"When you ordered earlier, Fellow Daoist, you showed curiosity toward the Eight-Treasure Chicken. Clearly, it was your first time tasting it."

Qing Xuanzi smiled. "If you were a regular at Sunfire Lake, you would have grown tired of these things long ago."

Red Cloud nodded without denying it.

"That is correct. I have only just arrived and was looking for someone to ask about Sunfire Lake."

Qing Xuanzi's eyes lit up, and he smiled. "Hehe, then you have asked the right person, Fellow Daoist."

"I have been making my way around Sunfire Lake for three thousand years. I would not claim to know everything, but I can at least be considered half a local tyrant. There is nothing in Sunfire Lake that I do not know."

Red Cloud became interested. Looking at Qing Xuanzi, he asked curiously, "Oh? Then could you tell me what the greatest opportunity in Sunfire Lake is?"

"Sunlight Divine Water."

Qing Xuanzi lowered his voice, paused, then continued, "But that is something the big figures fight over."

"Fellow Daoist Red Cloud, for independent cultivators like you and me, obtaining a few Flame Yang Stones would already be quite good."

Red Cloud asked noncommittally, "Other than Sunlight Divine Water, are there any other opportunities?"

After thinking for a moment, Qing Xuanzi said, "As for other opportunities, there are the Sunflame Mystic Stones."

"Sunflame Mystic Stones? Are they related to Flame Yang Stones?"

"Haha, Fellow Daoist, you have seen right through it."

"These Sunflame Mystic Stones are upgraded versions of Flame Yang Stones. Only Water Beasts at the Golden Immortal realm or above have a certain chance of dropping them. These mystic stones contain pure Blazing Sun Power and a trace of Sun Law. Whether refined directly or used for artifact forging and pill refinement, they are all top-grade treasures."

A trace of yearning flashed through Qing Xuanzi's eyes. "If one could obtain a single piece, it would save at least ten thousand years of bitter cultivation."

Red Cloud said thoughtfully, "Golden Immortal-level Water Beasts must be difficult to deal with, no?"

"That is only natural."

Qing Xuanzi sighed.

"Golden Immortal-level Water Beasts are quite intelligent and travel in groups. Even Taiyi Golden Immortal-level experts generally do not dare provoke a large beast tide lightly."

Red Cloud asked curiously, "Does Sunfire Lake have any Great Luo Golden Immortal-level Water Beasts?"

Qing Xuanzi's expression changed. He looked around, then lowered his voice. "Fellow Daoist, speak carefully."

"Legend says that an ancient Great Luo Golden Immortal-level Water Beast sleeps in the depths of Sunfire Lake. Once, a Great Luo Golden Immortal-level expert tried to force his way into the heart of the lake, only to be swallowed whole by that Water Beast. Not even scraps remained."

Red Cloud's heart stirred, and he asked curiously, "Which clan was that Great Luo Golden Immortal from?"

"An elder of the Nine-Headed Golden Serpent Clan."

Qing Xuanzi clicked his tongue. "The Nine-Headed Golden Serpent Clan was enraged and sent three Great Luo Golden Immortals to take revenge."

"In the end, the Water Beast retreated into the heart of the lake and used Sunfire Lake's geographical advantage. The three Great Luo Golden Immortals were helpless against it, and the matter was eventually dropped."

Red Cloud silently committed this information to memory.

Qing Xuanzi sighed emotionally. "That is why, when making a living at Sunfire Lake, the most important thing is knowing how to read the situation."

"Fellow Daoist, you need to know in your heart which places you can go and which places you cannot."

"I have learned much. A toast to you, Fellow Daoist."

Red Cloud raised his cup toward Qing Xuanzi and drank deeply.

"You are too polite, too polite!"