Chapter Ninety-One: The Fire Essence

The group was practically wetting themselves in terror.

The consequences here were infinitely worse than getting caught cutting class and bumping into the dean. Those who had never stayed on Bathing Fire could never understand the bone-deep dread the locals felt toward the Steward. Just looking at his face made one's nerves tense up involuntarily. All sensory input was reduced to a single sensation—fear, fear, and more fear!

Of course, as long as one didn't make a mistake, there would be no trouble. But once he caught even the slightest slip-up, almost no one survived his wrath. To them, the Steward of this place was a true demon!

Resist?

They had once personally witnessed a powerful cultivator from the outside attempt to gather some fire essence ore on Bathing Fire. The Steward had intercepted him, and without a single word of exchange, struck immediately. That cultivator was of an extremely high realm, later rumored to have already stepped into the Core Gathering realm!

In the mortal world, such a realm definitely put him at the very peak of the pyramid of cultivators. Yet before the Steward, he had no power to resist at all, reduced to ashes in the blink of an eye.

That scene was even turned into a warning video, repeatedly shown to every newcomer arriving to work here. Every time they watched it, the blood-curdling screams of that Core Gathering expert being burned alive deepened their dread of the Steward.

Chi Mingyu and his gang had only wanted to squeeze out some blackmail money and get some cheap benefits. They never in their wildest dreams expected the person here to be the Steward!

They must have forgotten to check the almanac before leaving today, only to run straight into the devil!

They knelt on the ground, weeping silently. Tears streamed down their faces, yet they didn't dare make a sound, only kowtowing repeatedly for mercy. What was dignity? Was face important? At this moment, staying alive was all that mattered!

They didn't even dare ponder why the Steward had returned early, or why he had quietly come to Song Chao's place. The reason was bound to be a weight they could not bear. They didn't dare to think about it!

Song Chao looked at the group indifferently. His heart was also filled with rage.

Normally, these people called him brother and acted incredibly warm toward him. Although he wasn't fooled into thinking they actually treated him as a brother, at least they came from the same planet and belonged to the same race, so he felt a psychological closeness. Yet today, these bastards had done something that broke him out in a cold sweat.

Fortunately, his younger brother was incredibly capable, actually disguising himself as the Steward in such a short time. Even he could barely spot any flaws. How on earth did the little guy do it?

Shaking off these thoughts for the moment, Song Chao's mind raced. What happened today was no small matter. If the Steward noticed anything amiss later, let alone what would happen to the people present, even Song Yue, who would return to Earth, might be implicated.

Therefore, he had to drag this entire group down with them!

"You all... *Sigh!*" Song Chao let out a heavy sigh and said in a deep voice, "Do you know why I was willing to pay to settle this?"

The others didn't dare answer, but they all felt they understood. Song Chao had wanted to avoid exposing the Steward's presence here; he was trying to protect them! Yet they had foolishly gone all the way down a dead-end path. It was too late for regrets now; they could only beg for mercy.

"Brother Chao, for the sake of us all being from Earth, please plead with the Steward to spare us this once. We're still useful. We won't say a word when we go back, and we'll work twice as hard..."

"We'll definitely act as if nothing happened when we return, and in the future, we'll work like dogs for you..."

Song Chao felt even more contempt for them in his heart. Now they remembered they were all from Earth?

He looked at them coldly. "The Steward said that each of you must go back and bring ten kilograms of fire essence."

Chi Mingyu and the others shuddered on the spot.

Ten kilograms of... fire essence?

Although the fire essence ore reserves on Bathing Fire were massive, that was ore, not refined fire essence! Most of them were mining ore, and the refining of fire essence was carried out at locations designated by the organization.

Every sub-mining district did have a certain reserve of fire essence, but those were prepared by the big boss in charge of this place to deal with other high-ranking figures in the organization! Because they never knew when some high-level executives from the organization would come for an inspection.

Those people held extremely high status, the kind that even the Steward had to accompany with utmost caution. Wherever they inspected, that place had to present some fire essence as a gift. If they pleased the big bosses, they might even rise rapidly in their careers. Even if the big bosses didn't care, it would at least make the Steward's perennially gloomy face look a bit brighter.

Now Song Chao demanded ten kilograms of fire essence from each person... this number was too ruthless, almost completely wiping out their savings. If any big boss from the organization came to inspect in the near future, they would definitely not be able to offer fire essence.

The consequences of that... would surely be severe!

"Is there a problem?" Song Chao asked.

"No... no problem!" Chi Mingyu answered, trembling.

Failing to produce fire essence to please the big bosses indeed had severe consequences, but if they refused Song Chao, they wouldn't even survive the present moment! Besides, this was definitely not something Song Chao wanted—he didn't have the guts! It had to be the Steward!

The group understood: the Steward wanted to drag them down with him. But here, who dared disobey that sinister demon king?

They left in fear and trepidation to prepare the fire essence. With their reserves wiped out, they would have to work much harder to accumulate enough to please the big bosses again. Regardless, they had kept their lives, which was a stroke of luck in itself, wasn't it?

Song Chao returned to the lounge and saw his younger brother sitting there leisurely. With lingering fear, he said, "How did you pull that off?"

Song Yue glanced at him. "You can't learn this."

The Physical Body Art—setting aside that the man in white had told him the art should not be shared with a third party—even if he hadn't, it wasn't suitable for a pure cultivator like Song Chao. On the other hand, scriptures like the *Great Wind Scripture* and the *Water Control Scripture* were things Song Yue felt he could copy for his brother to try and see if he could learn them. Additionally, he planned to leave some high-grade medicines for the Channeling stage for his brother and father.

Since they couldn't leave, they might as well focus on cultivating here!

While Song Chao was dealing with that greedy pack of scoundrels outside, Song Yue had taken the opportunity to use his brother's smart device to look up information about this place. He finally understood why Bathing Fire was occupied and treated as a restricted zone.

The fire essence ore produced here was extremely scarce within the entire range of human exploration, making it a highly rare, top-tier cultivation resource. Refined fire essence extracted from the ore was a divine object that fire-attribute cultivators dreamed of. Just as martial artists always needed top-tier ingredients, fire-attribute cultivators always needed fire essence!

Its uses went beyond that; it was also used in crafting high-grade fire talismans, powerful fire-based arrays, weapon refinement, alchemy, and many other fields. If the cultivation world had a universal currency, then fire essence was definitely one of the hard currencies.

It seemed the organization occupying this planet was incredibly powerful! Otherwise, it would have been impossible to monopolize such a mouth-watering piece of meat that everyone envied.

By this time, Song Chao's tense nerves had finally relaxed. He downed two cups of water, ate a few pieces of crab and shrimp meat, and leaned back in his chair.

He muttered, "Today was truly too close. Fortunately, you know this incredible disguise technique. But... how did you know what he looked like?"

Even though it had happened right before his eyes, Song Chao still found it miraculous. In such a short time, his brother had actually pulled it off! For the first time, it gave him, the older brother, the feeling that his little brother had truly grown up. Even though he had known Song Yue was powerful before, the feeling had never been this intense.

Song Yue's actions just now were nothing short of a miracle! It was a true escape from the jaws of death!

Song Yue pointed to the smart device left on the table. "You didn't turn it off just now, so I used it to look around and saw some video materials..."

"Just like that?" Song Chao didn't mind his brother touching his things; he just found it hard to believe.

Song Yue nodded.

In truth, his transformation technique could only last for a short moment. If it went on any longer, he would inevitably expose himself. Fortunately, the Steward's usual style was sinister, cold, and taciturn. If he had been a chatterbox, Song Yue would have had to babble a few lines, which would have surely given him away. If that had happened, the two brothers would have been completely doomed.

"Brother, do you have a spatial artifact?" Song Yue asked.

Song Chao shook his head. "No one here is allowed to have a spatial artifact. If discovered, it's a death sentence!"

Why wasn't it allowed? Naturally, to prevent the theft of fire essence! This stuff rarely made its way into the mortal world. Even when it did, it was a fleeting occurrence, sold by the gram in auction houses.

So, although every sub-mining district had reserves of fire essence, anyone working here would undergo extremely strict inspections when leaving. If they were caught smuggling any, they would face certain death. This was also the root cause of why Chi Mingyu and his crew had rushed over to blackmail them without any hesitation the moment they discovered an outsider had entered Song Chao's mining district.

Song Yue thought for a moment, then asked, "If I leave some top-tier cultivation techniques for you and Dad, will it cause any trouble?"

Song Chao was taken aback. "How top-tier?"

Song Yue replied, "Beyond the limits of anything you can imagine."

Scriptures that could support one all the way to the Spirit Severing, Shell Shedding, or even higher realms would absolutely shatter the limits of a mortal cultivator's imagination. How much one could comprehend from them depended entirely on the individual, but the scriptures themselves were undoubtedly supreme, genuine treasures. Otherwise, the Lin family ancestor, Lin Zhenyuan, would never have claimed that a single scripture was worth more than the entire Lin family.

If they could truly produce an exceptionally brilliant genius who used the scriptures to cultivate to the Spirit Severing or Shell Shedding realms—realms where one could become a sect master in the cultivation world—what would a mere trillion-dollar family in the mortal world matter?

Song Chao took a deep breath. Without the preceding events to pave the way, if his brother had suddenly blurted this out, he would have instinctively laughed it off. That was just how brothers were, especially with such a large age gap. He couldn't help but still view Song Yue as that mischievous little kid from the past.

But now, Song Chao knew his brother had truly grown up. Just as Song Yue had said, he now had the ability to support the family in return!

"Don't leave them here!"

After thinking it over, Song Chao ultimately refused. Because it was too dangerous! Neither he nor their father could show any anomalies. Once noticed, if today's incident came to light, the consequences would be catastrophic!

Song Yue looked at his brother. "In fifteen years, it might be too late."

When it came to cultivation, the younger, the better. The so-called "late bloomer" first required one to be a "great vessel." Only with that talent could one bloom late.

Among the three children of the Song family, Song Yue's martial arts talent was maxed out. As for Song Yu and Song Chao, their cultivation talents could be considered quite high in the mortal world; both had successfully established their foundations before the age of thirty. But to say they were peerlessly brilliant geniuses would be an exaggeration.

For them, they needed resources to pile up! The most top-tier cultivation scriptures, the best cultivation resources, and the guidance of the most powerful mentors. Even then, their ceiling might still be somewhat low. But at least having it was better than not.

Song Yue hoped his family members could all become stronger. Ideally, they could form a powerful faction in the future, rather than how things were now, where a mere Zhang family of the Hangzhou Star Martial Arts Club dared to covet the Song family.

Song Chao was actually very conflicted, but in the end, reason triumphed over impulse. He looked at Song Yue and said, "Since you've truly grown up, I'll discuss it with Dad later and see if we can find a way to leave here early."

Song Chao looked at his brother. "Dad is one of the very few people on Bathing Fire who has some connection with the Steward. We'll give it a try then!"

Song Yue nodded. He would keep an eye on this place in the future, seeing if he could find an opportunity through Ling Xiaohan's comrades-in-arms to learn more about the situation here.

To achieve complete freedom, the root ultimately lay in oneself. If one was strong enough, there was no need to rely on any external forces or objects. A single person would be enough to make the other party wary and force them to make concessions.

Soon, Chi Mingyu and the others returned, each carrying ten kilograms of fire essence. Upon seeing Song Chao, they showered him with another round of flattering words. Amusingly, the group had even pooled together ten million Star Coins to secretly give to Song Chao. Song Chao accepted it without the slightest hesitation.

After sending the group away, Song Chao gave all the fire essence to Song Yue.

"Remember, if you use this, you must be extremely cautious! If anyone finds out, our family will be in deep trouble!"

Song Yue indicated that he understood. There wasn't much of this stuff in the entire mortal world, so he naturally wouldn't use it in a flashy manner.

"Knowing your current achievements makes me happier than anything else. Before those people return, you should leave quickly."

Song Chao began to urge him to leave. He was also reluctant to part with his brother right after meeting, but staying here any longer might easily lead to accidents.

Song Yue nodded, leaving his brother a large amount of seafood and dragon-patterned leopard meat, telling him to hide it well and share it with their father later.

He boarded the aircraft, passed through the thick red atmosphere, and returned to the massive starship. Soon, the starship tore through the sky and departed.

Below, Song Chao watched his brother's starship fly away. Returning to his room, he began to alter and delete various records. At the same time, he secretly contacted Chi Mingyu and the others, telling them to delete all their messages as well.

Those people understood perfectly and even gradually transitioned from fear to excitement—did this mean they were now the Steward's men?

However, they absolutely could not show it; keeping it to themselves was enough! If they ruined the Steward's plans, it would be disastrous.