And with the current relatively empty state of these territories the danger and opportunities that were usually in a stable balance were now disproportionally tilted toward the opportunities side and it was shown as without facing much danger Mikael was able to gather precious cultivation resources.

As Mikael was moving in search of further cultivation resources he caught sight of a lotus shaped herb with vivid crimson petals streaked by glowing golden lines, it was standing alone amidst a scorched valley.

He instantly recognized it as he previously took the time to memorize the entirety of the Herb Compendium, its description flashing in his mind for a moment.

{Herb Compendium Page 667

Herb Name: Blazing Vein Lotus

Herb Tier: Mid-Grade – Spiritual Foundation Realm

Habitat: Found in scorched valleys, volcanic slopes, or near natural fire-aligned spirit veins. Prefers high ambient heat and thrives in cracked, dry soil infused with yang energy.

Appearance: A lotus with vivid crimson petals streaked by glowing golden vein-like lines. The flower’s center emits faint waves of warmth and spiritual pressure when mature. The stem is long, sinewy, and resistant to flame.

Effect: Greatly enhances the flow and potency of fire-aligned spiritual energy within the meridians. Reinforces the dantian’s capacity to handle high-intensity energy cycles, reducing breakthrough instability for Mid-stage Spiritual Foundation cultivators.

Compatibility: Best suited for cultivators aligned with fire, yang, or explosive-type techniques. Peak Body Forging cultivators may benefit when preparing for foundation establishment, but improper use can scorch the meridians.

Harvesting Method: Pluck the flower at peak bloom using fire-insulated gloves or spiritual force. Avoid contact with the central stamen—it may release a burst of volatile fire Qi if agitated.

Refinable Into: Commonly refined into Blazing Meridian Elixirs, Fire Qi Stabilizers, or used as a primary catalyst in Flamebody Tempering Brews.

Notes

: The Blazing Vein Lotus is known for its explosive nature. Mishandling during alchemical refinement may result in fire backlash. Not recommended for water or ice-aligned cultivators under any circumstance.}

An herb like this one would generally have been protected by a Mid-stage demonic beast of fire attunement but currently—

Mikael scanned the scorched valley and the surrounding using his five senses, his Divine Sense and his Foresight of Heaven’s Mandate to make sure that no guardian of this herb was nearby.

It was pretty improbable for a demonic beast to be here considering the demonic beast tide existence, it was even less probable that if a demonic beast was able for a reason or the other, having not be caught in the demonic beast it wouldn’t be sleeping beside the herb if it was guarding but—

Mikael didn’t deal in if. He wanted to be sure that no Mid-stage demonic beast was lurking nearby, he preferred to waste some time to confirm it rather than recklessly rushing forward, as they say better safe than sorry.

Fortunately his caution proved itself to be unnecessary as after a short time of examination he was able to confirm that the Blazing Veins Lotus was well and truly unguarded.

Without wasting any more time, he quickly approached the spiritual herb and, following the harvesting method he remembered, cleanly extracted it before safely tucking it into his storage ring.

Once that was done, he immediately left the scorched valley and resumed his exploration, continuing to gather spiritual herbs.

This was just one example among many of how ‘easy’ herb gathering had become. Where once obtaining the Blazing Vein Lotus would’ve required a life-or-death battle with a Mid-stage demonic beast, now all Mikael had to do was harvest it.

And it wasn’t as if this situation was rare. On the contrary—the vast majority of spiritual herbs now lay completely unguarded, waiting to be picked like low-hanging fruit.

Of course, there were still times when a demonic beast was present, standing guard over the spiritual herb he happened to come across. But those cases were occasional at best, and nowhere near as frequent as the unguarded ones. 

Because of that, what he did upon encountering a ‘guarded’ herb was extremely simple—he ignored it entirely and kept moving. Rather than waste time or energy, he preferred to focus on spiritual herbs that were easier to collect.

This situation illustrated better than any words how skewed the current risk-to-opportunity ratio was—and Mikael fully intended to take advantage of it.

Swish

Mikael moved deeper into the devastated forest, having just secured another spiritual herb, his expression serious. ‘I need to be cautious not to let my greed overwhelm me… I have to constantly remember that my time here is limited.’

He glanced up at the sky, already beginning its descent. ‘...and that tomorrow, at the same hour, no matter how tempting it is to stay “a little longer,” I have to begin my “evacuation” of the Savagefang Mountain Range!’

Suddenly, Mikael veered sharply to the right, evading a demonic beast he had sensed ahead in his path. ‘If I leave tomorrow as the sun begins to fall, I should have more than enough time to escape before the territory gets filled—which would be extremely, extremely dangerous. That’s why I need to be gone before that happens.’

‘In a way, this is the “danger” of looting these empty territories after a demonic beast tide—it’s all counterbalanced by this moment. A moment that shouldn’t be dangerous in itself, since cultivators just have to leave before it hits, right?’

‘No! Things aren’t that simple. After all, how many cultivators can keep a clear mind when standing before a defenseless treasure trove of high-quality cultivation resources? Not many, that’s for sure. They’ll always tell themselves to “stay a little longer,” and in the end, they’ll get caught when the demonic beast territories fill back in. That’s the real danger I need to stay extremely cautious of. So tomorrow, as the sun begins its descent—I leave. No excuses.’

He reaffirmed the decision with himself before continuing his harvesting session. He kept gathering spiritual herbs, but not only the ones growing directly from the ground—after all, the term “spiritual herb” covered a much broader category. They could take the form of ‘classical’ herbs, sure, but also fruits, vines, moss, mushrooms, and more. No matter what “form” the herb took, as long as it held value, he harvested it without hesitation.

Of course, he didn’t only gather spiritual herbs. He also obtained other cultivation resources—precious ores, elemental materials, crystals, demonic beast carcasses, and more.

But compared to the spiritual herbs, these were clearly the minority, and often—especially in the case of demonic beast carcasses—he couldn’t harvest them, either because his storage ring lacked the space or simply because he didn’t know which of their leftovers parts were the most valuable since the demonic core was never there having been eaten by the killer.

Even with these “problems,” his harvest was absolutely monstrous, and it continued to grow by the minute—both in number and in quality—as Mikael ventured deeper into the Savagefang Mountain Range.

The deeper he went, the slower he needed to move in order to hide his presence, and because of that, his progress took time—but eventually, he entered a zone dominated by Late-stage demonic beasts.

Consequently, he began to find a good number of Late-stage spiritual herbs, though not as frequently as Mid-stage ones, and they were more commonly guarded by demonic beasts. Because of that, the overall quantity of his harvest dropped, but with the sharp increase in quality, Mikael knew it was a totally worthwhile trade.

In this way, time continued to flow like an unstoppable river, and soon, the second day arrived—right at the moment when the sun was beginning its descent.

“Ahhhhhh…” Mikael let out a long sigh as he caught sight of the vanishing rays of sunlight. “I can’t go back on my word, so I have to leave… now.” As he said that, his Divine Sense instinctively swept through his storage ring.

Inside, there were hundreds of Mid-stage Spiritual Foundation Realm spiritual herbs, dozens, nearly a hundred, Late-stage ones, and even Peak-stage herbs were present, with nearly a dozen in total!

Seeing this wonderful display, Mikael felt his heart contract at the idea of leaving when he could still harvest more of these high-quality herbs, but knowing full well that greed would kill him if he stayed, he let out another sigh—this time, a desolate one—before he began to walk away.

Step, step, step.

His footsteps collided with the grass below, echoing faintly through the quiet surroundings. Each of his steps was slow and reluctant, his back illuminated by the rays of the setting sun, and in that moment, Mikael’s figure seemed particularly lonely… but just as he came to terms with the idea of leaving all those ‘treasures’ behind—he heard it—

ROAAAAAARRRRRRR.

He heard the roar with his ears—but felt it in his bones. His body vibrated under the sheer force of it, and instinctively, he knew.

If whatever had caused that roar attacked him, he wouldn’t stand a chance—it was in a completely different category. That realization flashed through his mind in an instant, pushing him into a state of extreme alertness as every part of his body tensed.

Instinctively, he reacted—erupting with strength as he propelled himself upward, quickly reaching the canopy of one of the tallest trees nearby.

Crack.

Using his inhuman strength, he grabbed onto the trunk, making it splinter from the force as he held himself at that height, warily scanning his surroundings in search of the source of danger—so that he could flee in the exact opposite direction.

A flicker of red caught his attention.

And that’s when he saw it—tens of kilometers from his position, there was a ‘lion,’ if it could even be called that, when it wasn’t two meters tall but instead matched the hill-sized bulk of the Titanhide Rhino.

It possessed vast wings folded tightly against its sides, and its entire body shimmered with the deep luster of polished ruby, as if sculpted from crystallized fire itself. From its open jaws poured crashing torrents of red, ruby-colored flame, twisting the air into waves of heat and rippling distortion.

Once again, Mikael’s knowledge of demonic beasts proved sorely lacking, as he didn’t recognize what he was looking at—if he had, he would’ve known it was a Crimson Pyrogryph, and not just any one, but one of immense power, even by the standards of its own species.

Of course, at that moment, Mikael wasn’t concerned with what it was called. His entire focus was locked onto the overwhelming aura radiating from the demonic beast. ‘4th layer Core Formation… no, I think it’s 5th layer?’

He tried to sense the aura he was feeling—even from tens of kilometers away, its intensity was so potent he could vividly feel it. ‘I think it’s maybe 6th layer, so it should be at the peak of the Mid stage or something in those waters… I can’t be sure—it’s too far from me, and the disparity between our cultivation levels is too massive—but it should be somewhere between the 4th or 5th, up to possibly the 6th layer of the Core Formation Realm!’

At that moment, he realized what he was doing. ‘Why the fuck am I calmly analysing it??? I should be getting the fuck out of here—and right now—while it’s still focused on attacking…? What is it attacking?’

For a moment, curiosity took the upper hand, and he focused his eyesight on the situation unfolding tens of kilometers away. Initially, he didn’t see anything beyond the Crimson Pyrogryph’s massive form spewing ruby-colored flames at… something?

As he narrowed his focus on that “something,” he finally realized what it was. “What? A group of humans?”

Earlier, he hadn’t seen them—he was too far, and they were too small, especially compared to the moving hill that was the winged lion. In comparison, they barely drew attention… but now that he concentrated—

He was able to see a group of nearly twenty people, all dressed in the recognizable Taoist robes of the Flame Sovereign Sect. The majority of the group were Inner Disciples, with a few Core Disciples scattered among them, and at the front, standing firmly before the rest—

There was an old man clad in Core Elder robes, his hands extended before him, from which a yellow barrier shimmered into existence. The ruby-colored flames of the Crimson Pyrogryph crashed against it with enough force to burn through anything—but the barrier held, shielding the group from a grim fate.

💬Got Thoughts? I read every comment, and your words genuinely shape Mikael’s path.

———

A/N:

Mikael experienced the fastest ‘get rich’ scenario—in two days, he went from a ‘random’ to a billionaire’s equivalent in a cultivation world, and the worst…

Is that it was pretty easy!

He didn’t need to fight any desperate fights or do anything too hard during those two days, but it makes sense. After all, not all opportunities need to be fought for in a life-and-death battle—some exist that just ‘fall into your lap’. Of course, this didn’t exactly fall into his lap since he had to go search for it, but the principle still holds.

At the same time, we saw a confrontation erupt between a Crimson Pyrogryph and a group from the Flame Sovereign Sect. Where will this lead? That’s still to be seen… (for both you and me, as I still haven’t 100% made my choices…)

———

📚 Chapters ahead await on Patreon: www./SDASLUMMY

⭐ A single rating or follow helps more than you’d expect. 

Glad you’re walking this path with me.

— End of Chapter —