Chapter Thirty-Eight: The Origin of the Crimson Hue

As the ferocious beast fell to the ground, Chen Qi was still in a daze when the Ao-named outer disciple standing by joked,
“Senior Sister heard from the steward that you nearly lost your life at Scarlet Flame Mountain, so she came here specially to help you vent your anger.”
Was it just his imagination? Chen Qi seemed to detect a hint of jealousy in his tone.
The round-faced woman beside them laughed and added,
“Yes, just look at how miserably this fifth-rank beast, the Scarlet Mist Striped Tiger, has died—it’s practically the little overlord of this mountain.”
Only then did Chen Qi notice that six disciples were already standing nearby, their expressions varied: some admiring, some envious, some with mischievous smiles, but all eyes shifted to Chen Qi with good-natured amusement.
Embarrassed, Chen Qi turned toward Sun Ruohai, only to find him gone; at some point, he had vanished into the crowd, leaving Chen Qi alone.
“Who would have thought even the thick-browed, honest-looking would betray the cause,” Chen Qi cursed Sun Ruohai inwardly, feeling awkward, and then shifted his gaze to the leading senior sister.
She stood with her usual composure, her black hair swept up and pinned high, slightly damp with sweat. Her hands hung by her sides, exuding an air of serene confidence, as if nothing could disturb her, not even the collapse of the heavens.
A sense of shame washed over Chen Qi, and he quickly banished the fleeting, restless thoughts that had arisen. Suddenly, a gentle, magnetic voice sounded in his ear,
“Don’t misunderstand. I only worry that disciples might encounter danger again at Scarlet Flame Mountain.”
Hearing her words, Chen Qi paused, unable to suppress a few threads of disappointment. At that moment, he caught her sneaking a playful wink at him out of the corner of his eye.
“This...”
Witnessing the strikingly heroic woman suddenly display a girlish playfulness beside the beast’s corpse, the stark contrast gave Chen Qi a sense of unreality—his calm heart stirred once more.
“Alright, everyone is here. Let’s rest for half an hour, then head to our first destination—Scarlet Flame Cavern!”
The senior sister spoke with her usual gentle voice. The disciples settled cross-legged to rest and alleviate their travel fatigue.
After a brief rest, Chen Qi spoke,
“Senior Sister, let me help you cut up the beast materials.”
Seeing her nod slightly, Chen Qi rose, sharpening his blade as he approached the fallen beast.
The round-faced woman turned to the group,
“Look at him, so swift and clever.”
Sun Ruohai, feeling a little resentful, blurted out,
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“With Senior Sister’s strength, do we really need to meddle?”
Everyone shot him strange looks, and Sun Ruohai awkwardly raised his brows, stammering,
“Isn’t it true? Senior Sister is a master beyond the Innate Realm—she could slice up beasts with a flick of her wrist.”
Sensing the tension, the sharp-faced outer disciple quickly tried to smooth things over,
“Heh heh, what Sun calls a point isn’t without merit... ”
By then, Chen Qi had finished cutting the materials and walked toward the group, holding two tiger paws dripping blood.
After so many rounds of practice, Chen Qi’s skill at butchering beasts had grown increasingly adept.
Seeing Chen Qi’s butcher-like appearance, the senior sister couldn’t help but smile,
“Keep the materials for now—return them to me when we’re back at the sect.”
Her smile bloomed like spring flowers, her voice clear as a mountain stream. Chen Qi was once again momentarily entranced.
With everyone gathered, the senior sister cleared her throat and spoke in earnest,
“Do you all know why Scarlet Flame Mountain is red?”
Hearing the discussion turn to the source of the mountain’s oddity, Chen Qi listened closely.
A handsome inner disciple answered,
“I saw it in the sect’s records. They say centuries ago a demon phoenix fought an enemy here; a drop of its true blood fell and caused it.”
The senior sister nodded approvingly,
“That’s right. The demon phoenix’s true blood fell, igniting the land with its blood-fire. The mountain’s heart burned out a cavern, and its glow gradually spread, turning the mountain red. That is how it got its name.”
Seeing everyone’s interest deepen, she continued,
“At the heart of the phoenix blood’s power lies the cavern—a treasure trove, but also fraught with danger. Inside are rare treasures and the fiercest beasts within dozens of miles.”
Chen Qi recalled a passage he’d seen in the Scarlet Flame Mountain illustrated guide, and asked,
“I read that the mountain’s strongest beast used to be a fourth-rank Blood Python, slain by Elder Yun San. Is that...”
“Yes, that happened decades ago. Now, after so many years, who knows what the cavern holds.”
The senior sister gave Chen Qi an approving glance, her voice crisp,
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“Our purpose is to see if any treasures have matured, and to eliminate dangerous beasts to prevent harm to future disciples.”
By the time she finished speaking, the group had rested. Chen Qi tightened his grip on his Scarlet Blood Saber; a fierce battle could break out at any moment.
But he was no longer the same as he had been in his previous world. After countless hunts, Chen Qi was now half a veteran hunter.
“Sss sss sss~”
A fresh breeze rustled crimson trees, their scarlet leaves swaying, resembling flames from afar.
Chen Qi walked in the middle of the group, steadying his breath, ready to face whatever battle awaited.
The senior sister led at the front; her azure robe embroidered with cloud patterns billowed, a refined aura radiating outward, intimidating any lurking beasts.
Without incident, the group arrived at a mountain valley, where a cave sloped downward at a thirty-degree angle. The cave glowed with a reddish light, heat wafting out, like a beast’s maw ready to devour.
After observing for several seconds, without hesitation, the group filed in. The senior sister still led, but her demeanor was no longer as relaxed as outside—the air around her rippled with tension.
“I wonder if Senior Sister can defeat a fourth-rank beast...”
As soon as they entered, the temperature rose sharply, and the stifling atmosphere silenced everyone. Chen Qi wondered about her strength as he gripped his saber in readiness.
After the battle with the tiger, he had no doubt she could defeat a fifth-rank beast. But deep within the cavern, where a fourth-rank beast once appeared, who knew what changes had occurred in the intervening decades.
After ten minutes, the passage opened up.
The cave’s red light flickered, casting a glow that softened its darkness.
Stalactites hung down, gleaming with a strange red glow, while the stone pillars below twisted across the uneven ground, making the path tortuous and draining everyone’s patience.
Cracks lined the columns and walls, some shallow, some deep, shadows gathering like beasts poised to leap.
Suddenly, the senior sister halted, her gaze fixed on a shadow, vigilance in her eyes, true energy already gathering at her fingertips.
“Careful, there’s...”
Before she finished, fist-sized black shapes burst from the shadows, swarming toward the group.
The buzzing was deeper and heavier than Earth’s bees, almost like drums, and Chen Qi’s face showed a trace of horror as he drew his saber, a thought flashing through his mind,
“Good heavens—even the bees here have become monsters!”