Chapter 309: Soul Flame
"White flames..., could this be soul flame?" Jiang Yue grabbed Yu Nianzhen’s arm and asked excitedly.
Soul flame was a natural flame generated when the soul was cultivated to the fifth level.
However, not all souls could produce a soul flame.
"It’s soul flame." Yu Nianzhen confirmed.
Looking at the flames, he was also excited.
Cultivating soul fire could not only purify the soul but also provide a powerful means of attack.
"This soul flame should be one of the nine core treasures of the soul beast forest."
"Mmmmh."
"Let’s enter the lake." Jiang Yue said and was ready to jump into the flames.
However, Yu Nianzhen held his hand and pulled him back.
"Don’t be reckless." He reminded.
Although soul fire was beneficial, it was also dangerous.
If one was not careful, their soul would be burned to nothing and they would die without a burial place.
"Sorry." Jiang Yue said and forced himself to calm down.
Now that he was calm, he noticed several soul beasts cultivating in the soul flame lake.
The soul beasts seemed to have noticed the intruders but they didn’t make a move to hinder them.
"Let’s try the periphery first." Yu Nianzhen said.
"Good." Jiang Yue agreed and turned to XiaoLan.
"XiaoLan, do you want to cultivate in the soul flame or do you want to refine the soul marrow?"
"XiaoLan wants to cultivate in the soul flame." XiaoLan answered without hesitation.
Although it was greedy for the soul marrow, it knew the value of the soul flame.
This kind of opportunity was rare to find and she didn’t want to miss it.
"You can also try to refine the soul marrow while cultivating in the soul flame." Yu Nianzhen suggested and XiaoLan flew around to show that she understood.
"Remember to be careful of the soul beasts."
"I know." Jiang Yue nodded.
After that, the three chose a place that was furthest from the soul beasts and stepped into the soul flame lake.
"It burns." Jiang Yue grimaced and his face turned a little red.
"Don’t force yourself to endure. Get out of the lake when you can’t handle the burn."
"Why don’t we make a bet?" Jiang Yue asked and winked at Yu Nianzhen.
"What kind of bet?"
"The first one to step out of the lake will owe the other a favour. How about it?"
"Okay." Yu Nianzhen agreed and rubbed Jiang Yue’s hair.
However, he didn’t take this kind of bet seriously.
After all, he was willing to do anything for Jiang Yue and he didn’t need this kind of bet to force his hand.
"Let’s start now."
"Good."
A moment later, Jiang Yue and Yu Nianzhen sat cross-legged and closed their eyes.
As soon as Yu Nianzhen closed his eyes, he used his divine sense to observe his soul.
’It’s as I expected.’ He thought and sighed in pleasure.
Although soul marrow could purify the soul, its effect couldn’t compare to soul fire.
Most importantly, the soul marrow they refined wasn’t the best quality and contained a lot of purities.
However, under the effect of the soul fire, those impurities were burning rapidly and his soul was becoming purer.
At the same time, the soul was becoming more compact and the mind was becoming clearer.
’I wonder what will happen when we cultivate at the hottest part of the soul flame lake.’ He wondered.
Unfortunately, his thoughts were too optimistic.
In less than a day, Yu Nianzhen felt like his soul was on fire and he could barely stand the burning.
Since he didn’t dare to take chances with his soul, he opened his eyes and immediately looked at Jiang Yue.
At this time, Jiang Yue’s face was contorted and he looked like he was in severe pain.
However, he was still enduring and Yu Nianzhen couldn’t help but frown.
’I will get out first.’ He thought and immediately did so.
Soon after, Jiang Yue opened his eyes and when he saw Yu Nianzhen wasn’t in the lake, he smiled and also got out.
"I win." He said and looked at Yu Nianzhen playfully.
"What favour do you want from your husband?" The swordsman indulged.
However, Jiang Yue hadn’t thought that far.
In truth, he knew he didn’t need to win a bet to get Yu Nianzhen to do things for him. Now that he won, he was at a loss and didn’t know what to ask for.
"You will owe it first." He said.
"Okay." Yu Nianzhen agreed and pulled Jiang Yue to sit beside him.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"I am fine. What about you?"
"I am more comfortable now that I am out of the soul flame lake."
"Let’s rest for a while and then go back."
"Good."
In this way, Yu Nianzhen and Jiang Yue spent three months making their way to the hottest part of the soul flame lake.
During that time, they killed a lot of soul beasts and discovered that soul flame could also purify soul beast cores.
This meant that they didn’t need to soak soul beast cores in lightning liquid to kill the trace of consciousness within.
When they reached the hottest part of the soul flame lake, all the soul beasts had already been eliminated and the two could be a little at ease.
"XiaoYue, you should refine the soul flame seed in this lake." Yu Nianzhen suddenly said.
"Okay." Jiang Yue did not hesitate to agree.
Between the two, he was the one that needed a soul flame more.
In that case, it was only natural for him to refine the soul flame seed since doing so would increase the probability of condensing a soul flame.
"Azhen..."
"I know." Yu Nianzhen said and sighed.
A soul flame seed was a heaven and earth treasure.
Regardless of Jiang Yue’s talent, it would take a long time to refine the seed and generate a soul flame.
"I will wait for you."
"You have to be careful when I am not around."
"Don’t worry, I won’t be reckless."
Although Yu Nianzhen assured him, Jiang Yue was not at ease.
Anything could happen in the secret realm and he worried about leaving his husband alone.
If he could, he wanted to wait until they reunited with Yang Xu, Bing Lan, and Xuan Ke.
Unfortunately, they didn’t have anything that could store a soul flame seed so he had to refine it right away.
"Will you miss me?"
"I will you every second." Yu Nianzhen answered obediently and Jiang Yue chuckled.
He pulled his husband closer and their lips met in a lingering kiss.
It was the kind of kiss filled with yearning and they sighed when they finally pulled apart.
"Go ahead."
"Mmmh."
Soon after, Jiang Yue captured the soul flame seed and entered the ancient palace for retreat.
As for Yu Nianzhen, he didn’t leave the soul flame lake right away.
Instead, he used the remaining flames to cultivate and when they dissipated, he left the area.
.....
In the fourth month since the group separated, Yang Xu and Bing Lan arrived at a cave entrance.
The cave looked like a cultivator’s abode and was hidden behind a thicket of soul trees.
"There is something inside." Yang Xu stated and frowned.
With his soul power, it wasn’t difficult to discover that there was something in the cave.
However, he couldn’t tell what it was which made him a little more vigilant.
"Stand behind me." He said and pulled his wife behind him.
"Be careful." Bing Lan reminded.
"Don’t worry."
After taking a sip from his wine gourd, Yang Xu began to clear the soul trees.
At the same time, his divine sense focused on the cave to make sure they weren’t walking into an ambush.
However, whatever was inside didn’t make a move even after Yang Xu cleared all the soul trees and exposed the cave entrance.
[Could it be a soul beast?] Bing Lan sent a sound transmission.
[Most likely.] Yang Xu answered.
They had been in the soul beast forest for almost one year and they hadn’t encountered any creatures except soul beasts in that time.
[Let’s go in.] Yang Xu said and held Bing Lan’s hand.
Cautiously, the two entered the cave.
As soon as they entered, they noticed there was nothing inside except a set of stairs that led downwards.
[Do you want to follow them?"] Yang Xu asked.
[I will follow your lead.] Bing Lan answered and Yang Xu smiled.
When it called for it, Bing Lan was stubborn and wouldn’t change the decisions she made.
However, when the situation didn’t call for it, she allowed herself to relax and let Yang Xu lead her wherever.
In this way, they had learned a lot about each other and their relationship was getting better and better.
[Raise your soul shield.] Yang Xu reminded.
[I know.]
After that, the two walked across the cave and Yang Xu led the way down the stairs.
Unknown to them, a pair of eyes opened and looked at a set of stairs; as if waiting for something.
