The Burnt Scroll

As Luo Yang stepped inside, a gentle chill passed over him. The air smelled of old herbs, medicine, and a bit of metal. It wasn't dusty—rather, it was filled with a quiet, spiritual freshness, like the air inside a deep mountain cave.

The walls were covered in shelves. On these shelves were all sorts of items—bottles of pills, dried herbs sealed in jade jars, small weapons glowing with faint light, and even some cultivation technique scrolls wrapped in spirit paper.

Luo Yang walked slowly, his eyes moving from one object to another.

He noticed some Rank Three pills—these were valuable, strong enough to help even Core Spirit Realm cultivators like himself. Some of the herbs were rare and old. He could tell that a skilled alchemist could use them to make even Rank Four pills.

But… there were no actual Rank Four pills here.

That made sense.

This Red Feng Sect was only a medium-level sect in a small city. Not many Golden Core Realm experts had ever lived here, so having high-rank pills was nearly impossible.

Still, this place wasn't without value.

As he was looking, Jiu You, the Sect Master, stepped ahead.

She walked to one of the deeper shelves and gently pulled out a box made of soft green jade. She turned and brought it to him, her face calm but serious.

Inside the box was a scroll.

It was strange—half of it was blackened, as if it had been touched by fire. But it wasn't fully burnt.

"This is the thing we found in the Dragon Burial Mountain," she said.

Luo Yang took the scroll in his hands. He didn't open it right away.

The moment he touched it, he felt something special. The scroll wasn't made of paper, silk, or even beast hide. It was wood, but not just any wood.

"This is Dragonwood," Luo Yang said softly.

Dragonwood only came from trees that had grown for a long time in places filled with dragon aura. That kind of aura was rare and almost lost to the world now. These trees could only grow in ancient places like the Dragon Burial Mountain.

But Dragonwood was supposed to be extinct.

Even more surprising—the scroll felt soft to the touch.

That meant the wood had only been cut within the last ten years.

Jiu You nodded. "Yes… we also realized that. It's strange. There shouldn't be any Dragon Trees left in that mountain."

Luo Yang thought for a moment.

"Then, this means… there might still be one or more Dragon Trees hidden somewhere in the mountain. If that's true… then something good may also be nearby."

He looked at the scroll again.

As he carefully opened it, strange letters began to glow across the wooden surface. But these were not written with ink. They were formed using soul power—a very rare technique.

"This must have been written by a powerful alchemist," Luo Yang thought. "Someone at least Rank Four, maybe more."

No wonder no one in this city could read it.

But Luo Yang could.

He had trained in soul cultivation techniques in his past life—secret methods passed down by the Blood Dragon Saint. He understood enough to read this script.

But there was a problem.

Scrolls written in soul power could only be read once. The moment someone truly read and understood it, the soul energy would vanish, and the scroll would be destroyed forever.

So, if Luo Yang wanted to keep it, he had to take it—before trying to read it.

Just then, his system gave him a message inside his mind:

"Why are you hesitating? Don't you have face? Don't you have wealth? Just act like a true young master. Throw her a pill and take the treasure!"

Luo Yang gave a small smile.

He turned to Jiu You and said in a slow, firm voice, "Your Red Feng Sect wouldn't mind if I took this scroll… would it?"

He wasn't really asking.

He was telling her.

Jiu You's eyes widened slightly. Her heart began to beat faster.

This scroll was important to her. For many years, she had reached the peak of Golden Core Realm, but she couldn't move forward. Her talent had limits, and she had already used every method possible.

What she needed now was something to help her break into the Lord Realm.

That was why she kept the scroll. She had hoped it might contain a clue… something that could give her a new path.

But before she could say anything—

Luo Yang had already placed the scroll into his storage bag.

Then, without turning back, he tossed her a small medicine bottle.

She caught it in her hands, almost without thinking.

She wanted to yell at him, or at least question him—but when she looked at the jade bottle, her voice died.

It was not ordinary.

It was the kind of bottle used to hold high-grade pills. She opened it slowly and looked inside.

There was one crimson pill.

As she took it into her palm, her fingers trembled.

"This… this is… a Fire Essence Pill…"

Her voice was low, almost shaking.

She had dreamed of this pill for years. It was a top-rank Rank Four pill, designed to help Golden Core cultivators understand fire laws. It could help one reach the half-step Lord Realm within a short time.

And she… used fire techniques.

This pill was perfect for her.

It wasn't just a replacement for the scroll.

It might actually be better.

"This… this pill could help me break through… within half a year… or at most two years," she whispered.

Jiu You stood frozen in place, holding the bottle, watching Luo Yang disappear through the vault's glowing entrance.

She had lost the scroll.

But gained… a chance to ascend.