Zeng Tian surveyed the valley and silently marveled, Such dense fire energy. This is a great place to cultivate.
This place suited Zeng Tian even better than the Lake of Life. He even had a feeling that his cultivation speed here could increase by twenty or thirty percent.
In the language of Soul Masters, this was a natural simulated-environment cultivation ground, and one of the very finest at that.
Then Zeng Tian flapped his wings and took flight, slowly making his way into the valley.
The red herbs in the valley were clearly of higher quality than those on the cliff walls. Some even shimmered with red light, making it obvious at a glance that they were far from ordinary.
"Is all of this blazing fire grass?"
Zeng Tian pointed around him and asked the Scarlet King.
The Scarlet King leaped to Zeng Tian's side and said in a deep voice, "All of it. But most are only a hundred years old, so they won't do much for you now. Thousand-year blazing fire grass makes up roughly one percent of what grows here, and there are only nine plants over ten thousand years old."
"None a hundred thousand years old?"
Apart from a tiny handful of unusual varieties, spiritual herbs could only be considered top-grade spiritual herbs even after reaching ten thousand years of age. They still did not qualify as immortal herbs.
Given Zeng Tian's current condition, anything short of hundred-thousand-year blazing fire grass would struggle to raise his base stats any further.
Hearing this, the Scarlet King gave a bitter smile. "No. Besides, even if there were, I would have eaten it long ago. The oldest plant here is an eighty-thousand-year-old Blazing Fire Grass King. I originally intended to cultivate it to a hundred thousand years before eating it. That might help me break through to ultimate fire."
Listening to the Scarlet King, Zeng Tian inwardly exclaimed, Well, damn.
After all, this was not the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well. It had no cheat-like tenfold growth boost.
The Blazing Flame Valley was extremely well suited to the growth of blazing fire grass, but raising an eighty-thousand-year-old Blazing Fire Grass King to the hundred-thousand-year level would still take at least ten thousand years.
Soul Beasts really did live up to their name. Their lifespans were so long that they measured the cultivation of spiritual herbs in tens of thousands of years.
"Scarlet King, with just these few ten-thousand-year blazing fire grass plants, I'm afraid you don't have enough to cultivate a hundred-thousand-year spiritual herb."
The Auspicious Beast surveyed the valley and spoke calmly.
The Scarlet King sighed. "I know the chances are slim, too, so I don't hold out much hope."
Ten years, a hundred years, a thousand years, ten thousand years, a hundred thousand years-each threshold was a life-or-death tribulation for spiritual herbs.
The odds of transforming into an immortal herb at the hundred-thousand-year level were especially pitiful.
The Scarlet King had cultivated ninety-thousand-year-old Blazing Fire Grass Kings before, but they had all died while attempting to reach a hundred thousand years.
"All right, enough of that."
The Scarlet King shook his head, shaking off his sorrow, then continued speaking to Zeng Tian. "Though none are a hundred thousand years old, these ten-thousand-year and thousand-year plants are still very useful to you. If you consume them all, their effects won't fall much short of the Ten-Thousand-Year Dragon Scale Fruit. They might even be stronger."
"I'm very satisfied."
Zeng Tian carefully surveyed his surroundings and nodded in satisfaction. "Scarlet King, from now on, whenever I teach the Auspicious Beast skills, you can join us. No need to eavesdrop from the sidelines anymore."
"You knew?"
The Scarlet King looked at Zeng Tian in surprise. He thought he had concealed himself well whenever he eavesdropped, staying several kilometers away. How on earth had Zeng Tian discovered him?
Zeng Tian smiled. "I knew from the very beginning, so I was actually rather surprised when you came to ask me for guidance. Still, it was certainly a wise decision on your part.
"Isn't increasing your strength the whole reason you've gone to such painstaking lengths to cultivate hundred-thousand-year blazing fire grass? Now you can accomplish the same thing by learning from me.
"You might even... become stronger than you would if you actually cultivated hundred-thousand-year blazing fire grass and transformed your own attribute into ultimate fire!"
"Excellent!"
At those words, the Scarlet King's eyes immediately lit up, and hot air blasted from his nostrils.
That speech set the Scarlet King's blood boiling and sent waves surging through his heart.
Afterward, Zeng Tian explained some more key points of Flame Charge to the Auspicious Beast and the Scarlet King, then sent the two beasts away and began his secluded cultivation.
He needed to digest this blazing fire grass quickly and raise his level further.
Looking at the blazing fire grass laid out before him, Zeng Tian murmured, "I wonder how far this blazing fire grass can raise my level."
Three months later.
Above a vast desert, three streaks of light in different colors intertwined, covering several kilometers in an instant. The shock waves of their battle made the ground tremble for dozens of kilometers around.
After an indeterminate amount of time, one of the dark-red streaks suddenly accelerated, ramming the golden streak beside it and sending it flying hundreds of meters.
The other red streak changed course at the last moment and dodged the blow.
The dark-red light faded, revealing a ferocious-looking, enormous three-headed dark-red hound. It was none other than the Scarlet King!
"Hahaha! I never thought I, the Scarlet King, would see this day! Flame Charge-I've finally grasped the basics!"
The Scarlet King threw back his heads and howled in excitement. His savage pressure left the Soul Beasts for dozens of kilometers around unable to raise their heads.
It had been anything but easy. Cultivating Flame Charge had proved harder than he imagined. Even with an outstanding teacher like Zeng Tian helping him, it had taken him three full months just to barely grasp the basics. Who knew how many brain cells he had burned through along the way?
"What are you howling for? It took you three months just to grasp the basics. You've got the worst comprehension of the three of us. What's there to be happy about?"
The speaker was the Auspicious Beast. Just now, the Scarlet King had suddenly accelerated and sent her flying with a vicious collision. She was not happy.
And now that the Scarlet King had grasped Flame Charge, she had once again become the slowest of the three. Who knew how many beatings she would take in their future free-for-alls?
Hearing the Auspicious Beast's words, the Scarlet King gradually calmed down.
Just then, red light flashed, and Zeng Tian flew up before the Scarlet King. Clapping his hands, he congratulated him. "Congratulations, Scarlet King. You've finally grasped the basics of Flame Charge. From here, you just need to practice hard to steadily master the skill."
"Thank you, Zeng Tian. Without you, I would have needed at least several hundred thousand more years of cultivation to gain this kind of strength."
The Scarlet King's gratitude was sincere. Over these three months, he had learned far more than just Flame Charge. He had also learned fine control over flames, along with some of Zeng Tian's combat techniques and insights.
Only after truly studying under Zeng Tian did the Scarlet King discover that he had never known how to fight. He had simply been flailing around wildly, without even bringing out half of his body's potential.
Now, even without using Flame Charge, his strength had increased by more than thirty percent. An ordinary level-ninety-seven Titled Douluo would be no match for him.
With Flame Charge added to the mix, level-ninety-seven Titled Douluos not only stood no chance against them, but would even struggle to escape.
And this was still not the limit of his strength. Once he digested these experiences, his strength would continue to rise. Saying he had saved himself hundreds of thousands of years of detours was no exaggeration.
"Scarlet King, come see me at once!"