Ash Grass, Flame Flower

Instructor Song had better eyesight. He had already seen it clearly and he whispered, "Embers of a campfire? Someone has camped here!" As he talked, his feet surged with Mystical Energy and he dashed to the ashes of the campfire as fast as wind. 

"The realm of the Mystical Warrior is really much stronger than that of the Mystical Learner." Xu Yang and the teenagers sprinted along with Instructor Song. He sighed when he realized that Master Song's speed was almost double of his. 

The Python Mountains were scarcely visited. Normally, there would be no other people except for the ascetic teams. 

"This bonfire was big enough for more than a dozen people to sit around in a circle. It seems that there is another team in front of us." Instructor Song said with a pale complexion. "There were no other teams from Vast Gate Dojo. I am afraid that the team may be people from Fire-Cloud Dojo." 

Xu Yang understood that Vast Gate Dojo, Water Dojo, and Fire-Cloud Dojo were all historical dojos in Lin Yuan City. Although they were not as good as those of the three major families, they were not bad either. There were definitely a lot of fights between the dojos. 

After all, there were so many young Mystical Learners who cultivated the Mystical Way. The more members entered one dojo, the fewer members there were in the others. Since ancient times, people who worked in the same field naturally became enemies. 

"That's why we didn't find any elixirs along the way. Someone was ahead of us all this time." Some teenagers were dissatisfied, and asked, "Don't we, of Vast Gate Dojo, possess our own ascetic route?" 

"This route was originally owned by Vast Gate Dojo. The Fire-Cloud Dojo has gone too far this time. They have stolen our hard work!" Instructor Song spat spitefully, but could not do anything about it.

The Ascetic Road would usually be tread three times a year with at least one month between each time. In this way, the herbs and spirits on both sides of the Ascetic Road would have enough time for growth and reproduction, thus giving the teams a chance of getting resources. 

Now the team from Fire-Cloud Dojo had been running ahead and had dug up all the spirit herbs. The Vast-Gate Dojo team who came after them was left with nothing. 

There were complaints everywhere in the team all at once. Instructor Song felt slightly powerless. Suddenly, Liu Zishan stood up and said loudly, "You guys, listen to me! Since we have seen their bonfire ash they must not have gone far. They are at most one day's distance ahead of us! Let's fight for justice!"

"Yes, fight for justice!" 

With the rumblings of the group of teenagers, Instructor Song finally made a decision. He nodded and said, "Let's move forward quickly. We must find Fire-Cloud Dojo's members and confront them about it." 

Xu Yang did not say a word. After asking Instructor Song about the current situation of Lin Yuan City, he merely kept silent. He was like a character who was independent of the team. He did not communicate with the others whereas the others dared not approach him. 

After all, all of them in the team had oppressed the old Xu Yang before. They were afraid Xu Yang would want to get revenge. 

Xu Yang was not feeling optimistic about Vast-Gate Dojo's action of seeking justice. He began to think about how he should return to Lin Yuan City if the team were to split up. 

'The two teams will surely fight head-on and that would be the time for me to grab the map!' Xu Yang glanced at the leather pouch on Instructor Song's back, and thought to himself. 'The Fire-Cloud Dojo is prepared. They might have more than one guide. It's hard to tell whether they are Mystical Masters or not. And the truth of the matter is? Whoever held the most power would win. What can you do if they steal your route? If a battle were to ensue, the deaths of Vast Gate Dojo's members would be buried right here in the mountains." 

Instructor Song was gullible. With the uproar of the group of unsophisticated youth, he seemed to be completely unsure of what to do next. 

What made Xu Yang somewhat puzzled was why Vast Gate Dojo's team only managed to find the traces of Fire-Cloud Dojo's team after having walked for more than a month. If both teams shared the same route, they should have been discovered earlier. 

It was not the time to contemplate this question. Xu Yang had made up his mind. He had decided to snatch the map and run for it once things go south! 

For the whole day, the team was in a hurry. While setting up camp, Instructor Song's face turned gloomy when he found fire embers and even a section of a burnt belt with the sign of Fire-Cloud Dojo in a sunken valley by the road. 

"They are really too much!" Instructor Song said as he gritted his teeth. 

Liu Zishan and the others said, "Instructor, we don't need to rest at night. Let's move on and find those rascals of Fire-Cloud Dojo and beat them to a pulp!" 

"Okay!" Instructor Song went ahead with their suggestion. Although it was more dangerous at night as the beasts would be out prowling everywhere, his mind was clouded by anger. "Let's go!" 

Those Solo Cultivators like Liu Zishan treated Vast-Gate Dojo as their enlightened place of Mystical Cultivation. They had a strong sense of belonging in the dojo. 

Xu Yang was not a disciple of Vast Gate Dojo. He had his own reasons for joining the ascetic team of Vast Gate Dojo. He was naturally unwilling to stay on the same boat with them. Moreover, these people had humiliated him in every way. 

After a night of traveling without any rest, the group finally made new discoveries when the morning light shone to the east again. 

"Look at that cliff!" Liu Zishan exclaimed excitedly. "There are several clumps of Ash Grass!"

The team looked at where he was pointing. There were indeed a few humble gray-black blades of grass that swayed in the wind, diffusing a medicinal fragrance on the cliff. 

The team was excited for a while. Although Ash Grass was not a graded elixir, it was a good body refining herb for Mystical Learners. It contained rich fire energy which can improve the sensitivity of whoever consumed it on the fire extreme's Mystical Qi. It could also improve the efficiency of Qi-Introduction. 

Not only that, the appearance of the clumps of Ash Grass were often accompanied by Flame Flowers, which was an actual graded elixir of high value. 

Xu Yang's eyes flickered, and he secretly thought to himself, 'It is indeed a golden age rich with Mystical Qi. Elixirs appear in a bunch even in this mountain range that is not extremely dangerous.' 

The team quickly rushed to the cliff while chatting with each other cheerfully. 

"Aren't those people at Fire-Cloud Dojo fools? They missed such an obvious opportunity."

"Maybe we have surpassed those rascals from Fire-Cloud Dojo. They are probably eating ashes behind our butts!" 

Xu Yang suddenly felt that something was off and stepped aside. 

"Xu Yang, what are you doing?" Instructor Song asked, puzzled by his actions. 

"I'm gonna go pee. I'll be back soon." Xu Yang replied. 

Instructor Song did not think much of his response. He led the group of Vast Gate Dojo's disciples toward the direction of the cliff. 

After the team had disappeared from his sight, instead of relieving himself, he rushed toward the opposite direction. There was a high post facing the cliff. He could see everything that was going on on the cliff at one glance. 

"Even though the Ash Grass is good, one needs to be alive to enjoy it!" Xu Yang's eyes flashed. "There are two doubtful points regarding this Ash Grass! First, the cliff stands on three sides like a pot. Once its entrance is blocked by someone, no one can escape except by breaking through from the front! Second, if the people of Fire-Cloud Dojo had truly gone through here, there is no way they would have missed the clump of Ash Grass!"

Thus, it had to be a trap! A trap made by Fire-Cloud Dojo to take advantage of Vast Gate Dojo! 

Xu Yang ran all the way and climbed up the high post. He lay down and overlooked the ground as he was covered by waist-high wormwood. 

He could see the valley from here. 

Instructor Song and the other team members had gone to the bottom of the valley. The area where the clumps of Ash Grass were located was four or five meters above the ground. It was difficult for a common person to climb up the cliff but it was much easier for a Mystical Cultivator to do this. 

Liu Zishan volunteered to pick the herbs. He took a small shovel from his leather pouch and clamped it in his mouth. He put on a pair of leather gloves with steel claws, and climbed up the cliff. 

After finally reaching the sunken area where the Ash Grass was located, Liu Zishan found a tint of red in the clumps of Ash Grass. He was excited. Could that be the graded elixir accompanying the Ash Grass, the Flame Flower?

Regardless of whether it was the Flame Flower or not, the warmth emitting from the red flowers made Liu Zishan breathe faster. He knew that it had to be a treasure. He immediately dug out the roots of the red flower with a small shovel and put it in a small pouch around his waist. Finally, he stuffed some Ash Grass into the leather pouch behind him. 

His actions were extremely stealthy as the rest did not notice what he was doing. Xu Yang from a distance could barely see his petty actions as well. 

'This should be the Flame Flower. Haha! I am a cultivator of the Fire Extreme Mystical Vein. Consuming the Flame Flower will help me a lot in forming the Fire Extreme Mystical Core. It can at least improve my success rate by ten percent.'

Liu Zishan thought to himself merrily. He did not dare to show his true feelings, but merely thought to himself gleefully, 'After I advance as a Mystical Warrior, Xu Yang will no longer stand a chance against me! Huh, useless trash. Don't think that you can change your destiny just by consuming one spirit herb.'

"Haha..." 

Liu Zishan was not laughing but the sound of laughter came from beyond the valley. 

"Good idea, Hong Xi. A good bait catches a big fish." A rough voice boomed. 

"No. It was only a small trick but these Vast-Gate Dojo members are way too stupid." Another slightly sharp voice responded.

"Stop gossiping. Kill these guys immediately. Don't let any of them escape." The third voice was ear-piercing. 

"Lu Zhuo, Hong Xi, and Wei Haoshan. The three guides of Fire-Cloud Dojo?" Instructor Song turned pale when he heard the three laughing, he knew something bad was about to happen. 

They had fallen into the trap of Fire-Cloud Dojo's ambush! 

"Lu Zhuo, Hong Xi, Wei Haoshan, it really is the three of you," Instructor Song tried to speak calmly. "How dare you steal Vast-Gate Dojo's route of the Ascetic Road? Aren't you afraid that the Vast-Gate's master will hold Fire-Cloud Dojo accountable? " 

"Haha, I was just wondering who would be so stupid. It turns out to be you, Song Ren." Lu Zhuo, with a thick voice, laughed out loud. "You are really naive. The Mystical Continent only respects the strong. Do you think that the route belongs to you Vast-Gate? Besides, as long as you all die here, no one will know it was Fire-Cloud Dojo's doing." 

Hong Xi, the one with a sharp voice, was a pale and thin man. He spoke spookily with a gloomy face, "The reputation of the Vast-Gate and their ascetic team will be completely destroyed in the Python Mountains. This is called killing two birds with one stone."

Wei Haoshan, as the last, had a scar cut across his face. The scar had nearly slashed the bridge of his nose into two sections. It made him look even more revolting. He said impatiently, "What are you all waiting for? Attack!"