10 Quenching of Herbs (1/2)
The hole was strange. It was completely even in size. When Su Ming saw the end of the hole some hundred feet later, he started slowing down.
He approached the exit carefully. As he looked out, he was momentarily stunned, then he took a deep breath.
This was a fire cave. There were vast amounts of stalactites hanging from the ceiling. The surface of these rocks were dry and cracked, as if they would crumble into pieces at any moment. The ground was black, but there were lines upon lines of red rocks flowing downwards, turning the place brown. The heat was even stronger in here compared to when they were outside.
There was a black skeleton hanging near him. The skeleton was about eighty to ninety feet long, and Su Ming could tell with just one glance that it was the skeleton of a python.
On the python’s head was a horn about the size of an arm. It was black in color.
Su Ming had never seen such a long python before, but he remembered hearing from his elder that there was once a species of pythons in Dark Dragon Mountain. They were fierce creatures, and these pythons all possessed horns on their heads. They were known as Horned Pythons, and the sharpness of the horn could be given to the tribe as tribute.
There was one such horn in Dark Mountain Tribe, and it was treated as the symbol of the tribe leader in the tribe.
”Could this be the Horned Python?” He looked at the Horned Python’s skeleton, then at the cave he was located, and an answer formed in his head.
In his silence Su Ming took out one of the herbs from the basket and threw it downwards.
As the herb floated downwards and was about to touch the floor, it let out a sizzling sound. About fifteen minutes later, it withered. He tried a few more times to test the heat on the ground, and decided that while the heat was strong, he could withstand it for some time, as long as he did not touch the red stones.
Xiao Hong was already growing impatient. If it did not know the dangers of this place, it would have jumped down much earlier.
Su Ming climbed out of the hole carefully, then jumped downwards and landed on the floor. Immediately, there were sizzling sounds coming from underneath his feet. A wave of heat seeped into his body from his feet, but it would not be strong enough to burn his feet for the time being.
When Xiao Hong entered the fire cave, sweat poured down its body like a river. It pondered for a while before returning once more to the small hole, refusing to go back into the fire cave. Instead, it chose to go somewhere else to play.
Su Ming did not continue trying to persuade it, but chose to carry the basket on his back and hurry onward. He could tell that this was connected to the inner parts of Black Flame Mountain, and there just might be a suitable place to perform the quenching of herbs later.
Not far down the road was an empty space. Su Ming did not know where it was connected to. There were a few potholes on the ground, and the heat was even stronger over there. Su Ming could even feel a scalding heat underneath his feet.
He was just about to step on the empty space after a brief moment of hesitation when he felt a strong wave of heat bursting forth. Su Ming let out a yelp and immediately retreated, his pupils dilating in fear. He saw a blast of fire the size of an arm rushing forth from one of the potholes, lighting up the cave instantly.
Su Ming took in a deep breath and retreated once more until he reached the mouth of the cave. Then he cast his gaze forward. About half an hour passed before the fire gradually disappeared. But no sooner than it did, another blast of fire emerged from another pothole.
As soon as it disappeared, another blast of fire came out once more. It was an endless cycle.
”Fire…” Su Ming stared at the potholes, then his eyes gradually lit up in excitement.
”There is fire here! But they will appear only once in a while, and it’s not a stable source of fire either…” Once the excitement faded, Su Ming took a moment to gather to gather his thoughts, feeling a little disappointed.
”No matter. I might be able to reach the deepest parts of the mountain through the peak of the mountain, and I might even find a better place which might be hidden here. If there’s any danger, I can leave quickly as well.”
”Very well, this will be my very first place to perform the quenching of herbs!” Su Ming’s eyes were bright with excitement as he looked around.
”I have fire now, so the only thing I’m missing now is the Barren Caldron…I’ll make one myself!” Su Ming then cast his gaze on the scattered rocks on the ground.
These stones have been here for many years, but have not turned into ashes. They must be able to withstand a great amount of heat, so they should be able to be used for quenching…” Su Ming scratched his head then changed the herbs underneath his feet before jumping down once more. He chose a more suitable looking piece of stone, then touched the surface after a brief moment of hesitation. It was not too hot, just a bit warm.
Once he was certain of using the big stone as a material, Su Ming took out his own spatula. The spatula was extremely sharp and had been constantly polished by Su Ming himself. As he took up the spatula, he used every ounce of his strength and started cutting into the stone.
It was an extremely dull process, but one Su Ming was already used to. There was no hesitation within his movements, but as he was cutting into the stone, a thought suddenly crossed his mind. He looked at the skull of the python, and especially at the horn on its skull.
Su Ming went over quickly and looked at the skull for a moment. He gave a light knock at the skull, and when he did, there was a cracking sound, and the entire skeleton immediately turned into ashes.
Only the black horn remained unscathed.
”I knew it. This horn is extraordinary. I was just wondering how the python came to this place.” Su Ming picked up the horn and sliced it across the wall to his side. There was a crack following his motion, but the scene did not surprise Su Ming.