At the heart of the Fire Spirit Ground, within the centralmost palace, Du Rufeng strode quickly forward and halted before the great hall at its deepest reaches. He bowed respectfully. "Venerable!"
The heavy doors of the hall slowly swung open, revealing a gap just wide enough for a person to pass through. Du Rufeng stepped inside and soon saw Duan Hai, the Venerable Guardian of the Fire Spirit Ground, seated cross-legged in meditation, refining an Opening Heaven Pill.
It was nearly half an hour before Duan Hai finally exhaled a breath of turbid air and opened his eyes. "How did things go?"
Du Rufeng's face lit up with excitement. He cupped his fists and replied, "Reporting to the Venerable — we've made a tremendous discovery."
"A third-grade Chixiao True Flame wouldn't exactly count as tremendous. Did you find something else?" A sharp gleam flashed in Duan Hai's eyes.
Du Rufeng hastily said, "The intelligence was wrong. It isn't a third-grade Chixiao True Flame — it's a fourth-grade Chixiao Golden Flame!"
"Fourth grade!"
"Please see for yourself, Venerable!" As he spoke, Du Rufeng stepped forward and presented the Heaven-Catching Net. Duan Hai took it and swept it with his spiritual sense, then nodded. "Indeed, it's a fourth-grade Chixiao Golden Flame. You've done well this time. A fourth-grade material is a precious find even for our Seven Effulgence Ground. Keep it for yourself." He tossed the Heaven-Catching Net back.
Du Rufeng was overjoyed. "Thank you for the Venerable's generosity." The Chixiao Golden Flame was exactly what he needed, so he was naturally delighted.
Duan Hai said, "Give Zhou Zheng a little something as well. After all, he was the one who discovered it, and he's also resolved a major hidden danger for the orchard."
"I was actually about to report this matter to the Venerable." Du Rufeng carefully tucked the Heaven-Catching Net away. "What happened today actually had nothing to do with Zhou Zheng. The person who discovered the Chixiao Golden Flame was a laborer. Zhou Zheng simply claimed he'd found it himself, with the sole intention of profiting from it."
Duan Hai let out a derisive chuckle. "It's not a big deal. He's the orchard steward, and since a fourth-grade material was found in the orchard, he deserves some reward regardless."
"Indeed."
Duan Hai then asked curiously, "But a mere laborer managed to discover traces of the Chixiao Golden Flame. That's rather impressive."
Du Rufeng smiled. "He is quite capable, and his luck is extraordinary. Do you remember, Venerable, the batch of newcomers brought back a few months ago?"
Duan Hai looked surprised. "Don't tell me it was one of them?"
"It was. A fellow named Yang Kai made the discovery, and he also played a major role in collecting the Chixiao Golden Flame this time."
Duan Hai's interest was piqued. "How exactly did he contribute?"
Du Rufeng gave a brief account of the trip to the orchard to collect the Chixiao Golden Flame, then continued, "I had my suspicions at the time. I couldn't figure out what was special about the Wood-attribute power Yang Kai condensed — he was the only one who could draw out the Chixiao Golden Flame. So I had him release his Dao Imprint for me to observe. What I found was that he had condensed a Wood-attribute power above the fourth grade!"
"Above the fourth grade!" A sharp gleam flashed in Duan Hai's eyes. "Are you certain?"
"I'm absolutely certain. His Wood-attribute power is purer and more concentrated than my own. If it weren't above the fourth grade, it couldn't possibly have given me that sensation."
"That is rather interesting… A junior who just entered this Three Thousand World to have such an opportunity."
Du Rufeng said, "I asked him about it. He said that before he encountered you, Venerable, he stumbled upon a small white-jade-like tree about this tall, somewhere in the vast expanse of the cosmos. It had a few branches and leaves, and gave off a peculiar fragrance. He absorbed it unintentionally, and that was how he condensed his Wood-attribute power."
"A small white-jade-like tree? With a peculiar fragrance?" Duan Hai furrowed his brow and stroked his beard in contemplation.
Du Rufeng watched his expression from the side and didn't dare interrupt.
After quite some time, Duan Hai's hand suddenly froze mid-stroke, and a look of shock crossed his face.
"Venerable, what exactly is that tree? What grade of material is it?" Du Rufeng asked upon seeing this.
Duan Hai took a deep breath and said gravely, "If I'm not mistaken, what he found should be a Bodhisattva White Jade — and it had already grown into the form of a small tree. At minimum, it would be fifth grade, and very possibly sixth-grade material!"
"Fifth grade! Sixth grade!" Du Rufeng cried out in astonishment, his eyes turning almost red with envy.
The most powerful figure in the entire Seven Effulgence Ground was Lord Tianjun, a fifth-grade Open Heaven cultivator. The other Guardian Venerables were all fourth-grade Open Heaven, and they had all been elevated through the use of Opening Heaven Pills. In other words, when Lord Tianjun had first achieved Open Heaven, he had been only fourth grade, and the Venerables had been third grade.
And this laborer, Yang Kai, had somehow stumbled upon fifth- or sixth-grade materials for Open Heaven? Was he defying the heavens? If he found a few more such materials, wouldn't he be able to directly achieve fifth- or sixth-grade Open Heaven? At that point, who in the entire Seven Effulgence Ground could stand against him?
"What extraordinary luck, what extraordinary luck!" Duan Hai kept nodding.
Du Rufeng's expression shifted for a moment as he suppressed the envy in his heart. He cupped his fists again and said, "There is one more matter I must report to the Venerable, also concerning this laborer Yang Kai."
"Speak."
"Somehow, this fellow has offended Grand General Sichen. The Grand General has taken to nesting on top of his head. When I went there, the Grand General was still perched right on his crown."
Duan Hai was taken aback. "Sichen was sitting on his head?"
"That's correct."