Chapter 80: Scarlet Flame Ganoderma

Lu Han took out the lingzhi from his ring.

Old Man Ling held it in his hand.

“Heh heh, this is truly a treasure. It’s just that they didn’t recognize its value and left it forgotten in some corner—truly a pearl covered in dust.”

“A treasure?” Lu Han had never seen this kind of lingzhi before, but it didn’t look like anything particularly rare or powerful.

“This plant is crucial to whether your Heavenly Garment can reach perfection. Would you say that’s a treasure?”

“What? This can help me perfect my Heavenly Garment?” Lu Han’s excitement was palpable.

Although his Heavenly Garment had improved somewhat these days, it was still far from completion. If he could bring it to perfection, not only would his defenses increase greatly, but his physical body would approach the innate realm. Then, his odds of surviving the Soul Chaos Plains would rise considerably.

“This lingzhi is called Scarlet Flame Lingzhi. For most people, it’s not very useful—if they tried to consume it, they’d probably be burned alive by its heat. But for someone with an ice attribute, it’s the best thing for tempering the flesh. Use it to cultivate your Heavenly Garment, and you’ll achieve mastery in no time,” Old Man Ling chuckled.

“Scarlet Flame Lingzhi?” It was Lu Han’s first time hearing the name.

But the prospect of perfecting his Heavenly Garment filled him with excitement.

Yet Old Man Ling’s next words were like a bucket of cold water poured from head to toe.

“The Scarlet Flame Lingzhi can indeed strengthen the body of someone with the ice attribute, but only if you’re at least at the innate stage. The process is excruciatingly painful. As the name suggests, it’s fire attributed, while you are ice. The clash of fire and ice is more than even most innate experts can withstand. Lu Han, do you still wish to use this Scarlet Flame Lingzhi?”

Old Man Ling’s tone was teasing.

Though the process was agonizing, the Scarlet Flame Lingzhi would not take his life, so Old Man Ling wasn’t too worried—unless Lu Han gave up halfway, in which case all his efforts would be in vain.

Lu Han clenched his fist. “If I can’t even endure this pain, how could I dream of entering the Soul Chaos Plains, let alone capturing the Soul-Stealing Mink to cure my father’s poison?”

Old Man Ling’s eyes shone with satisfaction—this was the spirit he expected from his disciple.

“Find a secluded place and take the Scarlet Flame Lingzhi. In my current state, I can’t protect you,” Old Man Ling said, spreading his hands helplessly.

At this point, Old Man Ling’s soul force was almost depleted. He wouldn’t stand a chance even against a postnatal realm opponent, and if he forced himself to act, his soul would be drained completely, vanishing forever from this world.

Inside the azure ring, Old Man Ling turned his right hand over, gazing at the scroll in his palm. He muttered, “The day I entrust this scroll to you may not be far off, Lu Han.”

The two of them found a secluded spot on Death’s Call Mountain.

“After you swallow the Scarlet Flame Lingzhi, immediately circulate your Celestial Frost Qi. The heat will spread through your body, colliding with your internal cold. If you truly can’t bear it, let it go—at worst, you’ll lose a Scarlet Flame Lingzhi and we’ll think of another way,” Old Man Ling warned.

“At the same time, you must also activate your Heavenly Garment. Only by dividing your focus can you succeed. Now, take off all your clothes.”

Lu Han looked puzzled.

“When the Scarlet Flame Lingzhi erupts, the heat will be intense, and clothing would only hinder your cultivation of the Heavenly Garment,” Old Man Ling explained.

Lu Han sat cross-legged, circulating his Celestial Frost Qi. White frosty mist rose around him.

At the same time, a faint veil of energy formed over his body.

"Ah!"

When Lu Han finished consuming the last bit of Scarlet Flame Lingzhi, he couldn’t help but let out a low cry.

He swore he had never felt such searing heat in all his years—and it came from within, as if his entire chest would explode.

Crack!

Sweat poured from his brow as his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles cracked.

“This is the perfect moment to forge your Heavenly Garment!” Old Man Ling’s voice urged him on.

Lu Han formed seals rapidly, and the energy veil around him grew more substantial. Where before it was barely visible, it now became clearly defined—a faint, pale veil of energy.

Old Man Ling shook his head. “The hardest part is when the Scarlet Flame Lingzhi’s fire erupts outward. If your Heavenly Garment can withstand it, this energy will become the best force for tempering your flesh. If you can’t endure it, we’ll have to find another way.”

He wasn’t confident—few in the postnatal realm could withstand the Scarlet Flame Lingzhi’s heat.

Lu Han felt his Celestial Frost Qi was barely suppressing the blazing energy inside.

The visible energy veil began to fade…

“No! I must succeed. I still need to go to the Soul Chaos Plains. As long as my body reaches the innate level, I’ll have a place there.”

Driven by this determination, the fading energy veil slowly began to solidify again.

A trickle of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.

His entire body flushed red. If not for his Celestial Frost Qi and his naturally strong ice attribute, Lu Han would have been…

“Is it still not enough? Was I too impatient? The Scarlet Flame Lingzhi is still too much for someone in the postnatal realm,” Old Man Ling sighed.

Indeed, he’d been a bit hasty, wanting to help Lu Han perfect his Heavenly Garment as soon as possible.

“Lu Han, if it’s not working, let it go. As your master, I’ll think of another solution. Forcing it will only injure you,” Old Man Ling advised.

Lu Han frowned. He knew that if he forced it, the heat would surely burn him from within. But to let the chance to perfect his Heavenly Garment slip through his fingers—he was unwilling, so close to success.

Yet he understood he had to give up; an injury now would be a greater loss.

Just as he was about to surrender, the mysterious icy pearl in his brow, which had always remained dormant, suddenly began to spin.

“Hm?” Old Man Ling noticed the energy veil around Lu Han not only didn’t dissipate, but grew stronger.

“What’s happening?”

At that moment, the mysterious icy pearl spun rapidly, releasing a chilling aura that dwarfed Lu Han’s Celestial Frost Qi.

Delighted, Lu Han didn’t hesitate. He wrapped the Scarlet Flame Lingzhi’s heat within the energy veil, forging his body with it.

This process lasted the entire night.

At dawn, Lu Han’s pitch-black eyes snapped open.

The energy veil had disappeared, and the mysterious icy pearl in his brow was still.

“Did you succeed?” Old Man Ling’s spectral form hovered in the air.

Lu Han’s nose stung with emotion. Even while he was cultivating, he could sense that Old Man Ling had watched over him all night, fearing some beast or other disturbance.

“Yes,” Lu Han nodded.

“Lu Han, what happened yesterday? You were clearly about to lose control of the Scarlet Flame Lingzhi’s heat,” Old Man Ling asked, puzzled.

“I was about to give up myself. Master, do you remember the mysterious icy pearl we found at the bottom of the cliff when we first met? It helped me—it suddenly released a terrifying cold. My Celestial Frost Qi was nothing compared to it,” Lu Han said, baffled.

That mysterious pearl was strange indeed. He had no idea why it had settled in his brow, or why it had stayed dormant for so long.

“It was that pearl again?” Old Man Ling mused.

“What do you mean, again?” Lu Han asked.

“Lu Han, do you remember when you were unconscious after our first meeting? My pills helped you very little. It was the pearl that healed you. I kept it from you so you wouldn’t worry,” Old Man Ling explained.

Lu Han pondered for a long while, then smiled. “Master, even though I don’t know where the pearl came from, at least for now, it hasn’t harmed me, has it?”

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