Nuwa, the goddess of immortality, said that cultivating immortality does not require spiritual energ

"Speaking of which, what exactly are you doing here in the underworld all of a sudden?"

Qing Youhe looked at Qin Le with curiosity. Her father, the Emperor of Fengdu, had only instructed her to come and pick him up, but had not told her why this famous person had suddenly visited the underworld.

"I need to buy a large quantity of Netherworld Grass," Qin Le said honestly.

"A large quantity? How much do you need? Do you really have to make the trip yourself?" Qing Youhe still found it puzzling.

The Netherworld Grass isn't some rare treasure; a regular purchase order can be made by simply passing on a message.

Qin Le touched his nose, a little embarrassed, and said, "I want... five tons."

"Five tons?!" Qing Youhe's voice rose instantly, her beautiful eyes widening in shock. "Are you kidding me? Do you know how much Netherworld Grass can be grown naturally and reliably in Fengdu City in a year?!"

In her opinion, this number was outrageous, practically tantamount to robbery.

"Uh... well," Qin Le tried to ease the tension, "His Majesty the Jade Emperor pointed me in the right direction, saying that I could collect 'Imperial Fire' to exchange for it."

Although he was not yet clear on the specifics, he believed that the Jade Emperor's advice could not be wrong.

Upon hearing the words "Imperial Fire," Qing Youhe fell silent for a moment, her surprise slowly turning into contemplation. Then she sighed.

"The Emperor's Fire... can indeed be exchanged for that amount of Netherworld Grass. And for you, it might not be too difficult."

"Please enlighten me, senior." Qin Le's eyes lit up, and he immediately asked for guidance humbly.

Qing Youhe shook her head, and a dark cloud rose from beneath her feet: "Come with me."

The dark clouds lifted the two of them, and they quickly left Fengdu City, flying off into the distance.

After flying for about ten thousand miles, Qin Le once again felt that domineering, supremely yang, and extremely powerful aura—the aura of the Emperor's Fire.

Moreover, it was many times more intense than the sub-fire used to assist cultivation in the central square of Fengdu City!

The mere aftershocks of its aura had already enveloped a vast area, completely dispelling the inherent gloom and deathly silence of the surrounding underworld, creating a unique and pristine paradise.

The two landed on the ground. The earth here was a dark red, as if it had been baked by high temperatures for a long time. The air was filled with distorted heat waves, and nothing grew.

Qing Youhe took out five small wooden sticks, all black in color and with a texture as smooth as jade, from her sleeve and handed them to Qin Le.

Qin Le recognized the object—fire-nurturing wood. It was a similar container used by Laozi when he took the fuel and embers from him.

"If you can collect five 'Emperor's Fire Sub-Fire's," Qing Youhe pointed to the core direction from which the aura was emanating in the distance, "you can exchange them for five tons of Netherworld Grass... no problem."

While five tons of Nether Grass is an astonishing quantity, Nether Grass itself is not an irreplaceable top-tier resource.

In the underworld, there is a hard currency of equivalent value.

Emperor Fire Child Fire is one of them.

It is of immense benefit to ghost cultivators in tempering their Yin souls and purifying their origins, making it far more precious than Netherworld Grass. If Qin Le could truly produce the Five Paths of Emperor Fire Sub-Fire, the major forces of the Underworld would likely vie to trade with him for it.

"Understood." Qin Le took the firewood and nodded with a smile.

The next moment, his figure swayed slightly, and he directly used spatial displacement to disappear from Qing Youhe's sight, teleporting towards the core of the Emperor Fire aura.

"Hey! This guy..." Qing Youhe looked in the direction Qin Le disappeared, both annoyed and amused: "He's way too impatient!"

She wasn't worried about Qin Le's safety.

She was well aware of the power of the Emperor's Fire. In the Underworld, those whose cultivation level was below the Quasi-Saint level could not get close to its core to collect its sub-fire; and in the mortal realm, beings needed at least the Great Luo Golden Immortal level to barely resist that terrifying extreme Yang fire power.

Qin Le's reckless rush in seemed rather impulsive to her.

However, with the goddess Nuwa protecting her, she didn't think Qin Le would really be in danger, but...

Perhaps we'll suffer a little hardship?

She even had a slightly mischievous urge to see Qin Le come out looking disheveled.

On the other side, Qin Le performed several long-distance spatial swaps in succession.

However, he had to stop before he could even catch a glimpse of the Emperor's Fire.

The surrounding environment had become extremely terrifying. The invisible heat wave was like a real oven. Even though he was in the spatial interlayer, the scorching heat still penetrated the spacetime barrier and directly affected his senses and...physiology.

He felt his mouth was dry, his throat felt like it was on fire, and his skin was burning.

He hurriedly took out a bottle of specially chilled spiritual spring water from his storage ring and gulped it down, but it was like a drop in the ocean, unable to relieve the heat rising from the depths of his soul.

"This Imperial Fire... is just too outrageous," Qin Le couldn't help but complain.

He is still far from the true core of the Emperor's Fire; the residual heat from the very outermost layer is already making it impossible for him to move an inch.

He had no doubt that if he forced himself to take another step forward, this terrifying yang fire would instantly vaporize his still-unrefined body and soul, leaving not even ashes behind.

Trying to hide oneself more deeply using the Great Way of Time and Space?

Useless.

That heat seemed to ignore the Dao of Time and Space, or rather, the level of the Dao it contained was too high, and Qin Le's current mastery of the Dao of Time and Space was not enough to completely avoid it.

Left with no other choice, Qin Le could only cry out in his heart, "Mother Nuwa, save me! What is the origin of this Imperial Fire? Even my Great Dao of Time and Space cannot withstand its residual power."

When in doubt, ask Mother Nuwa; you can't go wrong.

"Oh dear, is Little Lele already stumped?" A familiar voice with a smile rang out.

Immediately, a small, exquisite clay figure, about the size of a palm, appeared out of thin air above Qin Le's head.

As soon as Nuwa appeared in her clay figure form, without even making a move, the terrifying heatwave that enveloped Qin Le and almost cooked him alive was instantly blocked as if it had encountered an invisible barrier, leaving behind a comfortable and cool area.

"These are things that Emperor Yan left in the underworld back then," the little clay figure Nuwa explained with a grin, wiggling her toes.

"Emperor Yan? Shennong?" Qin Le asked subconsciously.

In the mythological knowledge he came into contact with, Emperor Yan and Shennong were often regarded as the same being.

"Pfft—" The little clay figure Nuwa couldn't help but laugh out loud: "If the people involved heard you say that, they would be very unhappy."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Qin Le hadn't reacted yet.

The little clay figure Nuwa did not answer directly, but then, two completely different voices rang out in his mind almost simultaneously.

A majestic, resonant voice, carrying an unquestionable imperial air, spoke with considerable displeasure: "Boy! Listen up! I am the 'Flame Emperor,' who rules the South, governs fire, and commands conquest! I am not the same person as that 'Shennong,' who only knows how to taste hundreds of herbs and cultivate crops all day long! Don't confuse us!"

The other voice was much gentler and more mellow, with a hint of helpless laughter. It was Shennong, whom Qin Le had met before: "Little fellow, it seems the legends of the mortal world have misled you. Emperor Yan and I are two independent individuals. He was in charge of conquest and the virtue of fire, while I was in charge of agriculture and medicine. Our paths are different."

Qin Le: "..."

He felt his brain was a bit overloaded.

Is the gap between mythological accounts and reality really that big?

He always thought that Emperor Yan and Shennong were different titles or aspects of the same being!

Rubbing his temples, Qin Le tried to process the information and couldn't help but confirm again, "These two seniors... you really aren't the same person?"

"Of course not!" Emperor Yan's voice was filled with resolute displeasure: "It was those mortal historians who, to save trouble or based on hearsay, mixed up our deeds! I act with integrity and have conquered all sides; how could I be the kind of person who would stuff insects and grass roots into his mouth... cough, that kind of person!"

He stopped himself from speaking in time, but his disdain was already quite obvious.

"Who are you calling someone who 'puts even insects and grass roots in their mouth'?" Shennong's voice remained gentle, but clearly carried a hint of displeasure. "If I hadn't tasted all the herbs and discerned their medicinal properties and toxicities, how could humanity resist disease and pain? Emperor Yan, are you trying to 'spar' again?"

"Let's have a spar! Do you think I'm afraid of you? I'll show you what real flames are!" The Flame Emperor showed no weakness, his voice filled with fighting spirit.

"Huh? A fight? Count me in! It's been ages since I've stretched my muscles!"

A rough, bold, and excited voice suddenly broke in; it was Chi You.

Qin Le: "..."

He opened his mouth, looking at the little clay figure of Nuwa above him with an expression of amusement, and for a moment, he didn't know how to react.

So this is what these legendary, supreme sages and great figures were like in private?