Gaining the Sunfire, Gaining the Character "Sharpness"

"Stop! Stop!"

"I surrender! I surrender!"

"You won! You won! I swear by the Immortal Cult—you won!"

Lu Xuan raised his sword to strike, but the Bright Ape immediately cried surrender, even throwing the spirit weapon from its hand onto the ground.

It still possessed the fire wheels in its eyes, yet it no longer wished to fight.

Lu Xuan's Marrow-Burning Sword Fiend was driven and empowered by a Life-Burning Talisman. It was tyrannical beyond compare. Blocking it earlier had already consumed most of the ape's Qi; using its illusion technique had completely exhausted what remained.

At this moment, it had only its physical body and the fire-wheel technique in its eyes.

But with only those, it knew it could not withstand Lu Xuan's Sword Fiend.

Since it could not block it, it might as well surrender outright and spare itself an injury.

Most crucially... Lu Xuan's fighting style was far too desperate. He had actually spat out his essence blood, turning it into a rain of blood to forcefully break its illusion.

Was this still a contest over a spirit item?

Even life-and-death struggles beyond the Immortal Cult were probably not this brutal.

"Thank you, Ape Warrior."

Seeing this, Lu Xuan smiled faintly and swung his sword aside, sending the Sword Fiend slashing elsewhere.

This was a Tiger-Wolf Method obtained by burning marrow. He could not dismiss it at will and could only direct it away.

"Boom!!"

The strike immediately made the cave shudder. A deep sword scar was carved into the rock wall, so profound that its bottom could not be seen.

The Bright Ape jolted in fright.

Had that struck its body, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

"Pfft!"

After that strike, Lu Xuan's face instantly turned deathly pale, like gold paper, while blood continuously seeped from the corners of his mouth.

"Oh no!"

"Are you all right? Are you all right?"

"Stop the bleeding! Stop the bleeding!"

The Bright Ape was instantly alarmed. Its expression turned anxious as it urged him on.

It truly had not expected a mere contest over a spirit item to reach such a point.

The Sunfire Branch was certainly a top-grade Class A spirit item, but it was only used for Opening the Orifices at the Qi Refining First Layer. It might not even guarantee victory over someone in the middle stage of Class A. Why go this far? Why go this far?

"It is nothing, merely a minor injury."

Lu Xuan smiled faintly, wiped away the blood at his lips, then slowly rose to his feet and walked to the center of the cave, taking out a cold-patterned knife he had prepared beforehand.

"But you're bleeding! Your blood marrow is about to run dry!!"

The Bright Ape was even more anxious than Lu Xuan himself.

The Heaven-Gazing Sect only admitted several dozen inner disciples every nine years. Their status might not be incomparably exalted, but they were still of great importance. If one died in its clan's cave over an Opening the Orifices spirit item, it might bring down heaven's wrath!

Lu Xuan merely smiled, unconcerned.

"What Qi did you cultivate, exactly?! Are you truly all right?"

Seeing that Lu Xuan remained unmoved, the Bright Ape seemed to realize something. Yet Lu Xuan had used almost nothing but cruel, unorthodox methods in this battle. It could only guess that he cultivated Yang-aspected True Qi, but it had no way of knowing which True Qi it was.

That was also one reason it had surrendered.

It did not even know what True Qi its opponent cultivated—what was the point of continuing to fight?

"Be careful—be very careful. I brought no pills with me when I entered this cave. Wait here; I will find someone to fetch medicine for you."

Seeing Lu Xuan continue to cough blood, the Bright Ape immediately activated its [Flowing-Roselight Token]. It uttered "Flowing Roselight," transformed into a streak of light, and left the Sunfire Cave.

Lu Xuan could only laugh helplessly at the sight.

He knew his own condition best. His injuries looked frightening, but in truth, they were only due to depleted blood marrow. Once dawn came and the Dawn Yang Qi shone upon him, he would recover.

The mysteries of True Qi were beyond ordinary imagination.

Within the morning sun, there also lay boundless great power.

That was the confidence that disciples of great sects possessed over ordinary minor sects.

Lu Xuan breathed in and out a little, using Qi to suppress the bleeding, then raised his head toward the center of the cave.

There, on the cliff wall, was a fire hole around an inch wide. Blazing fire Qi constantly surged from within like magma. When it fell to the ground, it scattered into clouds of rosy light, making that inch-wide fire hole shine brilliantly.

Within the fire hole, a spirit branch over a foot long extended quietly outward. It was charred black like lightning-struck wood, yet within it, faintly visible golden flowing fire gleamed. It hung suspended above the rosy clouds.

The Sunfire Branch!

A top-grade Class A spirit item!

The spoils of Lu Xuan's battle.

Without hesitation, he used the patterned knife to carefully cut along the gaps in the Sunfire Branch's spiritual veins, where golden fire flickered.

"Hiss!"

Golden flames streamed loose. The Sunfire Branch fell, and Lu Xuan caught it firmly.

Feeling the scorching Yang-aspected power within the branch, Lu Xuan smiled faintly and carefully stored it in a jade box he had prepared in advance.

"Boom!!"

At that moment, an explosive roar echoed through the Sunfire Cave, as though some colossal creature were flying through it at incredible speed, stirring the spiritual energy into violent tremors.

Before long, a golden Bright Ape over ten feet tall, with a deep and powerful aura, appeared before Lu Xuan.

It was the middle-aged Bright Ape from before, at the Sixth Layer of Qi Refining.

"Your vital blood is withered, and your blood marrow is nearly exhausted?"

"Boy, are you really all right?"

"Do not die in my Sunfire Cave!"

Two brilliant fire wheels rose in the Bright Ape's eyes as it stared gravely at Lu Xuan and questioned him.

At the same time, however, it sniffed lightly, sensing the lingering aura in the cave. A look of realization appeared on its face. "So that is it. I was wondering why a mere contest over a spirit item had driven a dignified Heaven-Gazing Sect disciple of True Qi to risk his life. So you cultivated Dawn Yang Qi—Dawn Radiance?"

The Bright Ape Clan had settled in the Red Pine Fief for several centuries, so it naturally knew much about the Heaven-Gazing Sect.

Yin-Yang Temporal Order, Cosmic Stars and Moon, Central Balance, Supreme Clarity... the six attributes of True Qi were the foundation of the Immortal Cult.

Yet even among those six attributes, there were branches. Yin and Yang alone had many transformations. Moreover, the Immortal Cult's Jade Disc could conceal and obstruct detection, which was why it had not been able to identify Lu Xuan's True Qi earlier.

But now, despite being badly wounded, Lu Xuan's expression had not changed, and the radiant True Qi in the Sunfire Cave had yet to disperse. No matter how foolish the ape was, it could now guess Lu Xuan's background.

"Ape Warrior's eyes are as keen as torches."

"I took advantage of a trick today."

Lu Xuan smiled faintly and made a Daoist salute.

Yet he put slightly more weight into his tone, especially upon the words "took advantage of a trick."

The Bright Ape's eyes rolled, and it immediately understood. It laughed loudly. "Immortal Cult disciples truly are extraordinary. But since you were injured in my Sunfire Cave, I naturally cannot ignore it. I have some spirit items here—take them and heal your wounds!"

With that, it swept its furry arm, tossing an embroidered storage pouch with cloud patterns toward Lu Xuan.

Lu Xuan accepted it without ceremony. After activating it with Qi and probing it briefly, a smile appeared on his face.

The storage pouch naturally did not contain spirit items for healing. Instead, it contained two portions of [Golden-Cry Fruit] and [Clear-Rainbow Water], which could enhance the cultivation of Yang-aspected True Qi.

These were mid-grade, second-rank spirit items that aided True Qi cultivation. In an outside market, they would cost no fewer than twelve Spirit Stones.

That was equivalent to four months' income for an ordinary cultivator at the Qi Refining First Layer.

Having received this compensation, along with the [Sunfire Branch], Lu Xuan naturally would no longer fuss over the matter of the [Tiger Tendon Grass].

The victor ought to show a little more tolerance.

Besides, they were not truly mortal enemies.

After nine years at Hibernation Academy, Lu Xuan had long understood one principle.

The many demonkind of the Red Pine Fief were resources as well. Making more connections with them brought no harm.

"Junior Brother, are you all right?!"

At that moment, echoes rang through the Sunfire Cave again as his two senior sisters hurried over, concern evident in their voices.

"Thank you for your concern, Senior Sisters. I am unharmed."

Lu Xuan made a Daoist salute to show that he was fine.

Yet his mind sank into the Jade Disc deep within his consciousness.

Though only a few days had passed, he had already carried out several "Sharpness Walks." The battle for the Sunfire Cave had been even more fierce and domineering.

At this moment, dazzling streams of light shimmered across the Jade Disc. The character [Sharpness] had completely taken shape.

Lu Xuan's consciousness entered it. After sensing it briefly, joy rose in his heart.