The small cave was strange. The sizes were all the same. After crawling for about 100 feet, Su Ming saw the end of the cave and slowed down.
He cautiously approached the exit. When he saw it, he was stunned for a moment before he took a deep breath.
It was a fire cave. Numerous cone-shaped stones hung from the ceiling. The surface of the stones was dry and cracked, as if they were about to fall off at any moment. The ground was originally dark but there were red stones scattered all over the place, illuminating the place with a brown hue. The heat was much stronger than outside.
There was a black skeleton not far away. The skeleton was about 80 to 90 feet long. Su Ming could tell with just one glance that it was the skeleton of a python.
There was a horn as thick as an arm on the python's skull. The horn was also black.
Su Ming had never seen such a long python before, but he had heard from the elder that there was a type of python in Dark Dragon Mountain a long time ago. It was incredibly ferocious. This type of python had a horn on its head and was known as a Horned Python. The sharpness of that horn was usually used as a treasure to be offered to the tribe.
There was a Horned Python's horn in Dark Mountain Tribe. It was an item passed down through generations of tribe leaders.
'Could it be a Horned Python?' He looked at the python's skeleton and then at the small cave he was in. He had an answer.
In silence, Su Ming took out an herb from the basket behind him and threw it downwards.
The herb floated down. When it touched the ground, it let out a sizzling sound. After about 15 minutes, it slowly withered. He tried a few more times and confirmed that the temperature of the ground was not low, but he could endure it for some time as long as he did not touch the red stones.
Xiao Hong was getting impatient. If it was not because it knew the place was dangerous, it would have jumped down a long time ago.
Su Ming crawled out cautiously and jumped down. When his feet touched the ground, sizzling sounds came from his feet. A wave of heat spread from his feet to his entire body but it would not burn his feet for a short period of time.
Once Xiao Hong entered the fire cave, it was immediately drenched in sweat. After thinking for a long time, it returned to the small cave and refused to enter. Instead, it left to play somewhere.
Su Ming did not try to persuade him. He carried the basket on his back and walked forward quickly. He guessed that this place was connected to the inner parts of Black Flame Mountain. Perhaps there was a place suitable for quenching herbs.
Su Ming did not walk too far before he found himself in an empty space. He did not know where it led to. There were some potholes on the ground, and the heat was much stronger there. Su Ming could even feel the heat under his feet.
He hesitated for a moment. Just as he lifted his foot and was about to step down, a wave of heat suddenly erupted, causing Su Ming to cry out in surprise and retreat. His pupils shrank. He saw a flame the size of an arm bursting out from a pothole on the ground before him, instantly illuminating the entire cave with a fiery light.
Su Ming took a deep breath and retreated once again. When he reached the entrance of the pit, he focused his attention on it. He looked at it for an hour before the flames gradually disappeared. Yet not long after, another pit erupted in flames once again.
Over and over again, they went on and on.
"Fire …" Su Ming stared at the potholes, and a bright light slowly appeared in his eyes, along with pleasant surprise.
"There really is fire here! But it only appears intermittently. It's not a stable eruption … "After Su Ming recovered from his pleasant surprise, he fell silent for a moment and felt that it was a pity.
"Oh well. Even if I can enter the inner parts of the mountain from the top, I might be able to find a better place. But this place is hidden. If there's any danger, I can leave quickly.
Then I'll temporarily make this my first quenching cave in my life! "There was excitement on Su Ming's face as he mumbled under his breath and looked around him.
"I have fire now, but I still lack a Barren Cauldron … I can make my own Barren Cauldron!" Su Ming's gaze fell on the scattered stones on the ground.
"These stones have been here for so many years, yet they have not been burnt to ashes. It's clear that they are very resistant to heat. I should be able to quench them …" Su Ming scratched his head and changed the herbs under his feet. He jumped down again and chose a stone that seemed more suitable for him. After a moment of hesitation, he touched the stone. It was not too hot, just warm.
Once he was sure that he wanted to use the stone as a material, Su Ming took out his own medicinal knife. The knife was very sharp and he often used it to sharpen it. Su Ming held the knife and used all his strength to cut the stone.
It was a boring process, but Su Ming was used to it. He did not show any signs of impatience. However, as he was cutting the stone, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He looked at the python's bones not far away, especially the black horn on its skull.
After a moment of silence, Su Ming walked towards the python's skull and looked at it for a while. Then, he knocked on the python's bones. With that one knock, there was a cracking sound and the entire set of bones immediately turned into powder and scattered on the ground.
Among the fragments, there was only a black bone horn that did not shatter.
"This horn is indeed extraordinary. I was wondering how the python managed to get in here." Su Ming picked up the horn and slashed at the wall beside him. Immediately, a crack appeared on the wall. This did not surprise Su Ming.
"I just don't know why the Horned Python forced its way in from the outside …" Su Ming could not understand. He took the horn and walked to the stone and started cutting.
With the horn's help, a stone quenching furnace that was about 50-60% similar to the Barren Cauldron in Su Ming's memories was formed a few hours later. Su Ming even made a lid so that the heat within the Barren Cauldron would not escape.
"Let's give it a try first." Su Ming was excited. He pushed the Barren Caldron towards the potholes and calmed himself down as he waited.
Another few hours passed. Flames erupted again and again. Finally, flames erupted from a pothole near Su Ming.
The moment the flames erupted, Su Ming pushed the stone quenching furnace, causing it to cover up the pothole where the flames erupted.
Su Ming was nervous. Whether or not he could quench the fire would depend on whether the Barren Caldron could withstand the high temperature.
Very soon, the stone furnace turned red. Waves of heat spread out and cracking sounds echoed in the air. A large amount of cracks appeared on the surface of the furnace. Su Ming's heart skipped a beat. But after waiting for a while, the stone did not crack. Only then did he relax.
"Two hours … I only have two hours to quench the fire. It shouldn't be enough …" Su Ming was deep in thought. He had put in a lot of effort to quench the fire.
"I can do that!" Su Ming took a few steps back. He might have an idea in his head, but he did not act rashly. Instead, he stood at a spot where the ground was not too hot and stared at the potholes. He stared at them for the entire day.
During that time, the little monkey came by. It left behind some wild fruits when it was too hot and ran out to play again.
As for the stone Barren Caldron, it also withstood the test. It did not shatter even after being hit by the flames.
"The flames erupting from the potholes seem to follow some rules, but there are also no rules at all …" A day later, Su Ming took the horn and went to one of the potholes. He quickly drew a trench on the ground and connected one of the potholes to the bottom of the Barren Caldron.
He did not stop. He drew six trenches and quickly retreated. Not long after, flames erupted from one of the potholes. It was clear that most of the flames were diverted to the bottom of the stone Barren Caldron through the trench on the ground.
"It's done!" Su Ming observed for a while and found a gap to draw another five trenches. He continued observing for the entire day and was certain that his method had extended the range of the fire in the Barren Caldron. Only then did he relax.
In truth, he was also hesitant. The lines and connections of the trenches were not drawn randomly. He had to keep the flames at the spot where the Barren Caldron was located. The flames could not be too big or too small, or else it would be easy for something to go wrong.
After all, based on his observations, there were a few times where flames erupted from a few potholes at the same time. If he made a mistake in connecting the trenches, he would be in danger.
Once he solved the two most basic problems, Su Ming calmed himself down and started quenching for the first time in his life in Black Flame Mountain based on the scenes in his memories.
His food was either taken care of by the little monkey or Su Ming would hunt some small beasts and drag them over to the fire to roast and eat. There was also the matter of the elder from Black Mountain Tribe. Su Ming also told them about it when he met the hunting team from his tribe when he went out to hunt.
Days passed by. Occasionally, frustrated voices would come from the place that belonged to him for the quenching of herbs. During this half a month, Su Ming's eyes were already bloodshot. During this half a month, he had tried countless times, but not once had he succeeded!
He was already at the first level of the Blood Solidification Realm and had four blood veins. If he could form two more blood veins, he would be able to step into the second level of the Blood Solidification Realm.
Once he reached the second level, Su Ming would be able to cast his first Berserker Art from the inheritance he received from the statue of the God of Berserkers!
This was Su Ming's dream. It was also the source of motivation for him to continuously create medicinal pills.
Yet the failure of quenching for a month made Su Ming feel disheartened. Yet the stubbornness in his bones made him unwilling to give up just like that.
"I don't believe it! Xiao Hong, help me gather more herbs! "Su Ming mumbled as he threw the basket at the little monkey that was baring its teeth at the entrance of the cave and continued creating the pills.
The little monkey caught the basket and grinned. It turned around and ran out.
One day passed, and another day passed …
Failure, failure, failure …
Another half a month passed. One afternoon, Su Ming stood before the Barren Caldron with his hair in a mess. He held two herbs in his hands. They were both red. One of them had six petals and the other had five petals.
"Which one should I use …" Su Ming knew that he did not have much time to think. He gritted his teeth.
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