Starting as a spiritual plant master, may I eventually become the master of all lands.

Inside the cave, Song Chuan sat in front of the large cauldron, glancing somewhat awkwardly at the three of them.

"Good heavens, so your surname is Song. You even tricked us back in Daicheng!" Yu Banji glared at Zhuang Xiuya.

Zhuang Xiu frowned, stretched out her jade hand and turned the half-chicken's head to face Song Chuan.

She clapped her hands, then made a "crack" sound, before saying:

"Fellow Daoist Song, it's been a few years, and your cultivation has improved tremendously! The kid who was only at the fourth level of Qi Refining back then has now reached the same level as me, both of us at the late stage of Qi Refining."

"I received some rewards from the sect, so my cultivation progressed a bit quickly, but it's nothing to mention. Fellow Daoist Zhang, on the other hand, has already reached the eighth level of Qi Refining."

Song Chuan changed the subject and chuckled.

"What's the point of refining Qi to any level if you don't build a foundation?" Old Goose Zhang muttered.

"It seems that Brother Zhang is also determined to compete for the Emperor's Elixir," Song Chuan said.

"That's right, the three of us are prepared to wait here for the Emperor's Dew to appear, and we won't risk looking for other spiritual objects."

"The three of you have a really good plan! So many people have lost their lives before they even saw the Emperor's Dew." Song Chuan laughed self-deprecatingly.

"There's nothing we can do. Many people are caught in the middle, caught between sect missions and their own greed. Sigh," Zhuang Xiuya sighed softly.

"We have a good master. Before we came, he told us that our priority was to save our lives and leave safely."

Yu Banji said with a proud look on his face.

Song Chuan remained silent, and for a moment, the others were speechless.

These three people seemed odd, but in Daicheng he could tell they weren't bad people at heart.

Having a good guide is very beneficial to a cultivator's character and path of cultivation.

Her parents were murdered by members of her family and abandoned by them; only her great-aunt cared about her.

As a low-level cultivator in the sect, he was cautious and walked on thin ice.

The only hope to change your life is to build a foundation!

Luckily, I have this bead, otherwise this reincarnation would really be worse than the previous one!

He composed himself and broke the silence:

"What's cooking in this pot?"

"The soup base is made from the flesh and bones of a first-tier yellow-tailed rat, supplemented with spiritual plants such as Spirit Gathering Grass and Qi-Consolidating Flower to nourish spiritual power and blood energy, and finally sprinkled with our Long Spoon School's exclusive white jade scallions."

Eating this pot is equivalent to a month of arduous training!

Zhuang Xiuya chuckled.

Song Chuan's expression was strange as he asked, "A Tier 1 Yellow-tailed Rat? Mid-stage?"

"Huh? It's all overcooked, how do you know it's in the middle stage?" Yu Banji asked in confusion.

"Ahem! Just a guess." Song Chuan coughed lightly; he couldn't eat this "delicious" pot anymore!

"Okay, you can eat now."

Each of the three birds took out a set of exquisite tableware and began to enjoy their meal.

Song Chuan sat quietly to the side, thinking about whether he could get these three to lend him a hand later in order to harvest the Flame Flower!

He had actually investigated the Flame Flower before, but this flower was more dangerous than the Fire-blowing Floss.

It would be extremely difficult to pick them all by yourself; you might even perish from these Flame Flowers.

As he was using earth magic, he smelled other scents in the underground energy, which seemed to be food.

So I cautiously slipped over, only to find these three old acquaintances. It was truly a stroke of luck!

Zhuang Xiuya glanced at Song Chuan, her mouth still full of food, and mumbled incoherently:

"This yellow-tailed rat doesn't seem to be from the Kongsang Mountains. It still has the aura of someone recognizing its master. It must have been some unlucky guy who was killed."

Judging by its plump body and mid-stage first rank, its owner is definitely not a poor wretch; they might even be a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator from the Beast Taming Sect.

"A few days ago, two cultivators from the Beast Taming Sect at the seventh level of Qi Refining tried to trap me, but I killed them. This yellow-tailed rat was one of their spirit beasts."

After thinking for a moment, Song Chuan decided to tell the story.

"What? Quack!" Zhuang Xiuya patted her neck, swallowed the food in her mouth, and said in an unseemly and anxious manner.

"You killed two Qi Refining Level 7 cultivators all by yourself? And they were from the Beast Taming Sect!" Old Goose Zhang's eyes widened.

Yu Banji muttered a few words in shock, but it was unclear what he was saying.

Song Chuan glanced at the three men's expressions and chuckled:

"This matter is over and there's no need to make a fuss. However, I do have a request, which concerns the Flame-Leaving Flower you mentioned. It's an important mission for my sect. I've investigated it, but I need help."

He revealed his killing of the Beast Taming Sect cultivator so that these three would know his strength.

If the three of them do not agree to pick the fruit together, then let's give up.

If you are willing to pick fruit with him, let them know that you have the ability and means to protect yourself.

This will also help avoid unequal distribution and any unpleasantness.

Deep down, he didn't want to have any conflict with these three people.

"Hmph! Fellow Daoist Song has really grown in skill. He killed two cultivators of the same level without hesitation."

"But there's only one Flame Flower left. If we pick them, how should we divide them? We can't just risk our lives to help you for nothing!"

"In this cruel world of cultivation, isn't gaining a sincere friendship enough?" Song Chuan laughed.

"Go away! Don't give me that crap. We've been friends for a long time. As for our relationship, we'll see in the future," Zhuang Xiuya scoffed.

"Just kidding, how could I let you help me for nothing? I only want the flowers, stems, and roots of the Flame Flower; how about you take them?"

"Gah! That's a good idea. But do you have a plan for how to collect the flame flowers?" Zhuang Xiuya nodded in agreement and then asked.

"The three of you are all skilled chefs from the long-spindle school, so controlling the fire shouldn't be a problem, right?" Song Chuan asked.

"Of course. To be honest, in my guess, for a Qi Refining cultivator to harvest a third-tier Flame Flower, at least two people would need to use fire control techniques to restrain it and prevent the flower from suddenly releasing flames."

The other person cannot use their spiritual energy to harvest the fruit. But I'm not sure if two people are enough; if we can't control them, that person will be in trouble!

Zhuang Xiuya shared her earlier thoughts.

"Fellow Daoist Zhuang is right, and the flames of the Li Yan Flower cannot be blocked by magical artifacts."

This fire penetrates earth, melts metal, remains unextinguished by water, and burns even brighter with wood! Even top-tier magical artifacts could be destroyed by it.

Song Chuan nodded and continued:

"It must be a cultivator who uses their magic to cast a fire control spell to firmly control the fire elemental power it releases, preventing anyone who tries to pick the flower from getting close and accidentally igniting it."

As for the two people Fellow Daoist Zhuang mentioned, they are definitely not enough. Unless one of them is at the ninth level of Qi Refining!

"The three of you working together would be about the same."

Yu Banji suddenly patted his head in fear and secretly glanced at Zhuang Xiuya.

Zhuang Xiuya rolled her eyes at him and sneered.

"Even so, do you dare to approach and pick them?" Zhuang Xiuya asked again.

"Of course I have the sect's specially made spiritual water and other magical artifacts," Song Chuan said with a smile.

Zhuang Xiuya pondered for a moment, then turned to Zhang Lao'e and Yu Banji and asked, "What do you think?"

Old Goose Zhang let out a burp: "Let's give it a try!"

"None of the spiritual plants used by these Core Formation cultivators are easy to harvest."

Yu Banji muttered to himself, looking somewhat dejected.