Cultivation begins with harvest.

Not thorny.

One-tenth of the leaves, starting from the main stem and extending outwards, have already turned a tender yellow color. The leaves have also evolved from round leaves the size of a fingernail into long, narrow shapes. Moreover, the thorns that were originally hidden under the leaves have become like newly grown branches, supporting the long leaves from below and forming squares that gradually expand from top to bottom.

Within these squares are emerald green round leaves. Although sooner or later these round leaves will also turn into long, yellow leaves with overlapping squares, at least for now they retain this characteristic.

At this rate, it may take another six months for the thorns to transform all the leaves into this shape.

The change in form actually originates from the inside out.

The fruit of the Unblemished Thorn is one of the elements of water and fire. By arranging water and fire elements in a ratio of three to seven, and refining them into a simple "Water and Fire Pill," the process of cultivating and attaining enlightenment can be made smoother.

Watery things do not irritate thorny fruits.

Things made of fire, leaves of the Zhan Yang flower.

Both are relatively mild and of high quality, so combining them will have a better effect. Some potent drugs are not suitable. If there are no other suitable materials, they can be refined using water or fire elemental extracts.

The Water-Fire Pill also has its own drawbacks. The reason why this method is considered to be unorthodox is that its effect will only become weaker and weaker. It is more of a stimulation effect. The first time is the most effective, and it will become worse and worse afterward. In fact, due to too much stimulation, it may even cause the patient's reaction to the cultivation of ginseng flame to become more and more sluggish. Especially if the main ingredients are not used in the first time, it will be even more difficult to surpass the main ingredients of the first time, and the effect will only become weaker and weaker.

It's not conventional enough, and it even has side effects.

Chen Guang cautiously approached the Unyielding Thorn. Around the Unyielding Thorn, the most massive feature was the vines that grew along the ground like flowing water, exuding a cool, moonlit feel.

The Art of Flowing Vine is nourished by various spiritual liquids. Here, it is mainly composed of Cold Water Spiritual Liquid and Moon Essence Liquid, which gradually formed this scale. There are also a few other spiritual plants. Since they exist as secondary spiritual plants of Huangcheng, they are naturally adapted to the environment here. However, they do not receive the best treatment and cannot be expected to have higher hopes.

"I never imagined that the Unyielding Thorn would mature so quickly, possibly even before other spirit plants like the Art of Flowing Vine."

After harvesting the fruits of the Unyielding Thorn, Chen Guang planted the seeds of the Black Lotus while passing by the Mysterious Pattern Bamboo. He had obtained the lotus pods in the Fanglin of the Cang Clan, and in recent days he had also condensed some seeds using the Void Spirit Seed. This spiritual plant, which cannot withstand the sun, could be planted in the irrigation ditch next to the Mysterious Pattern Bamboo after the bamboo forest gradually took shape.

As for the specific cultivation conditions, they are quite demanding. It requires some special true qi or popularity to cultivate a good quality black lotus. Chen Guang just wanted to see what the rewards for black lotus were before deciding whether it was worth spending more money to cultivate it.

The refining of the Water-Fire Elixir continued that day, as a single leaf of the Zhan Yang Flower was enough to be paired with a large quantity of Unyielding Thorn Fruit.

The ample room for trial and error gave Chen Guang enough confidence to refine this Water-Fire Pill. In the end, it would be enough if ten portions could be refined into one. This was the confidence Chen Guang had after his resources were abundant.

The process of refining pills involves adjusting water and fire, which is a unique experience in cultivating ginseng flames and makes Chen Guang somewhat addicted to alchemy.

Just as Chen Guang was enjoying his alchemy to the point of forgetting his homeland, Dongfang Lieming visited again.

Inside the courtyard, they sat facing each other at a stone table.

"Are we going to explore the Firebeard Cave next year?"

Chen Guang gripped the teacup brimming with spiritual energy tightly. Over the past few days, his skill in refining spiritual tea had naturally improved, but his mind was elsewhere at the moment.

"Yes, my elder brother and I have made up our minds." Dongfang Lieming's attitude was firm. "We will not enter the inner region. Firebeard Cave has been quiet for many years. Its spiritual energy has dissipated, and demonic beasts no longer dwell there, and spiritual herbs are hard to grow. This time, we are only going to explore the special features of Firebeard Cave. I'm sure you've guessed it, senior brother. My brother and I do have some clues about Firebeard Cave."

Fearing that Chen Guang would refuse, Dongfang Lieming continued, "On this trip, only my brother and I, my senior brother and I, and you are going. There will be no outsiders. Exploring the Firebeard Cave is just entering the safest part of the Eastern Nine Regions."

Eastern Nine Regions?

Firebeard Cave was once a sacred place of a sage, extraordinary and not just a small corner of the land. Now it has declined and is divided into inner and outer areas. The further out you go, the more barren and safer it becomes.

The Eastern Nine Regions are the safest area.

Seeing that Chen Guang seemed to be wavering, Dongfang Lieming spoke even faster: "This time we are just familiarizing ourselves with the Fire Beard Cave. We have no other intentions. If there is any danger, Senior Brother may leave first."

Dongfang Lieming's somewhat eager attitude suddenly shifted Chen Guang's initial hesitation towards stability.

The more urgent the need, the stronger it is, and the situation is not as simple as it seems. The possibility of getting involved in other issues increases dramatically.

"I will think it over carefully." Chen Guang took a sip of the spiritual tea. The calming effect of the Dingzhen Tea Tree made Chen Guang even more determined in his mind.

I was initially drawn to it because of the Zhan Yang flower—the land of ultimate Yang, the Zhan Yang flower, the pure Yang energy…

This is a valuable path for developing cultivation resources, and it holds great weight in Chen Guang's heart. Otherwise, he wouldn't have spent such a great price to reach such an agreement with the Taoist of the Scripture Pavilion to set up the Supreme Yang Land.

The zephyranthes flower is naturally the core ingredient.

But once he calmed down and controlled his greed, he remembered that his advantage was that he had far more cultivation resources than others of the same level. Others took risks to obtain necessary cultivation resources, but Chen Guang was not lacking in them. The gains from the trip to Fire Beard Cave were also a highly rewarding operation. If Dongfang Lieming hadn't been in such a hurry, he would probably have agreed directly. Now, however, he needed to reassess his situation.

How could Dongfang Lieming not understand Chen Guang's polite refusal?

Chen Guang only possessed the strength of the fourth level of Qi Refining. What Dongfang Lieming valued was not that, but rather the wealth, resources, and reliable character that Chen Guang displayed. The transaction of the two Zhanyang flowers had been over for a long time, but Chen Guang had only given vague answers to those who questioned him, which allowed the Dongfang siblings to get what they wanted without attracting too much attention.

Moreover, even if a cultivator with substantial wealth has weaker cultivation on the surface, other cultivators will at most look down on them rather than despise them. After all, wealth can be used by people, and the more abundant one's wealth is, the more confident one is in dealing with unexpected events. No one will think they are lucky. Bound to such a cultivator, the safety is not much worse than that of a cultivator with extremely high cultivation.

Furthermore, Zhao intentionally or unintentionally released some vague information, which made the Dongfang siblings even more convinced that Chen Guang was an excellent choice.

"Senior brother..." Dongfang Lieming wanted to say something more, but was interrupted by Chen Guang raising his cup to invite him to drink.

"I'll give you an answer within a month. If you were setting off anytime soon, you wouldn't have bothered to ask me. I should be able to give you that much time," Chen Guang said directly. "I'm not just being perfunctory; I'm seriously considering it. But it's hard to make a decision in such a rush. Go back and discuss the details of the operation. If it's just the three of us, we're outnumbered and need to make more preparations."

"What you say is absolutely right, Senior Brother. I was too hasty." Dongfang Lieming went along with it and stopped talking about the topic. After chatting for a while, they talked about spiritual plants and cultivation before leaving.

Watching Dongfang Lieming leave, Chen Guangcai thoughtfully swirled his teacup, pondering how to determine other ways to obtain Zhanyang flowers and the difficulty involved. If there wasn't a reliable way to acquire a sufficient quantity of Zhanyang flowers, he would have to seriously reconsider his trip to Huoxu Cave.

I had considered exploring Firebeard Cave, but it was happening much earlier than I had anticipated.