"This thing is actually that powerful?" Chu Feng was stunned upon hearing those words.
Although he had already realized that this Flame Iron Lotus was terrifying, he never imagined that even Hong Qiang couldn't fully subdue it.
And if this continued, the Flame Iron Lotus would reach maturity. At that point, even someone as formidable as Hong Qiang would have no choice but to flee—otherwise he would surely perish. This… was beyond Chu Feng's imagination.
"I am not exaggerating in the slightest."
"The Flame Iron Lotus has long held a fearsome reputation. It is said that a mature Flame Iron Lotus will undergo a qualitative leap in power."
"In the history of the Martial Sacred Land, three mature Flame Iron Lotuses have appeared, and every single one of them was a bloodthirsty monster."
"They annihilated all living things wherever they went, destroying everything in their path. Rather than calling them monsters, it would be more fitting to call them demons."
"Only a Martial Emperor-level powerhouse could destroy one."
"Unfortunately, there are no Martial Emperor-level experts in the Falling Leaves Bamboo Forest."
"The Spirit Alliance has one, but if we were to alert that old monster… I'm afraid the Flame Iron Lotus I've painstakingly suppressed for years would become the Spirit Alliance's prize, and have nothing to do with me anymore." Hong Qiang shook his head, clearly unwilling to give up the Flame Iron Lotus.
After all, a rare treasure of heaven and earth—no matter how dangerous—was still an invaluable treasure whose worth was impossible to estimate.
The reason Hong Qiang had gone to such lengths to try and subdue the Flame Iron Lotus was, of course, to obtain it.
"Since Senior hasn't given up, you must have a way," Chu Feng said.
"There is one way—to destroy it before it reaches maturity."
"But I'm sure you can see that even before its maturity, I currently have no ability to destroy it. Otherwise, I wouldn't have gone through all this trouble to seal it here, postponing again and again."
"However, there is something that can drastically weaken the Flame Iron Lotus's power, and then I can seize the opportunity to destroy it."
"So I need you to do me a favor—go find that thing and bring it back," Hong Qiang said.
"Senior Hong Qiang, if there's something that can suppress the Flame Iron Lotus, why don't you go look for it yourself?" Chu Feng asked, puzzled.
"This Flame Iron Lotus is extremely violent. The barrier array I've set up needs to be reinforced daily; otherwise, even the slightest weakening would allow it to break free."
"So I absolutely cannot leave this place."
"But fortunately, you've come. I can see that your barrier technique is very powerful—otherwise, you wouldn't have been able to find the Flame Iron Lotus's place of genesis."
"And obtaining that item requires an extremely strong command of barrier techniques, which makes you the best candidate to help me."
"But most importantly… I trust you."
"Of course, I won't let you help for nothing. Once we destroy the Flame Iron Lotus, we can split the Flame Iron equally between us," Hong Qiang said to Chu Feng.
"Flame Iron? Could it be that metallic substance on the Flame Iron Lotus—the one wreathed in blazing fire?" Chu Feng asked.
He could tell that it was no ordinary metal. Though different from Cangming Goldsteel, it was also an exceedingly rare metallic material.
"That's right. The blazing metal is Flame Iron," Hong Qiang said.
"But that doesn't seem to be the core of the Flame Iron Lotus—it appears to be nothing more than a shell," Chu Feng said.