Chapter 42

After returning home, Butler Fubo told him that Lord and Lady had been looking for him for half a day. He was instructed to go to the study as soon as he got back.

Song Li hurried to his father's study, and from a distance, he heard his mother Yun Lin's worried voice: "Where could this child have gone? Could he have gone to Mount Langya?"

"It's impossible for him to go to Mount Langya without any reason," his father reassured her. "This child has been in seclusion for so many days, maybe he's just bored and went out to play with Pang Da and the others."

"No, no, Pang Da came to look for Li several times. When you weren't around, I told him Li was out, and he was quite surprised," his mother said, growing more anxious. "You, as a father, don't even care. With such a big event happening near the capital, how can he just run around? What if he gets hurt?"

Hearing his parents' deeply concerned words, Song Li felt a warm surge in his heart. With a smile, he walked into the room with a leisurely and light step, calling out, "Dad, Mom, I'm back."

At the sound of their son's voice, the Duke and Duchess of Hai County were like they had heard celestial music, turning around in surprise and rushing to Song Li's side. One grabbed his left shoulder, the other his right, and almost in unison, they asked, "Brat, where did you go?"

"Wow, you two are really in sync, worthy of being a couple," Song Li couldn't help but whistle.

Yun Lin's hand accurately pinched the soft flesh behind Song Li's ear and gave it a gentle twist, glaring at him. "Stop being cheeky with me! Tell me the truth, where were you for so long?"

"Ouch, Mom, it hurts, easy, easy," Song Li, whenever his mother pinched his ear, would pretend to be in great pain, shouting loudly. He said with a hint of nervousness, "I went to Mount Langya."

"What?" Even the Duke couldn't help but jump up.

"You, you dare to go to such a dangerous place as Mount Langya?" Yun Lin was really angry this time, and the strength in her hand increased.

Song Li winced and said, "Mount Langya has beautiful scenery, it's one of the ten wonders of the Holy Lion Empire. How could it be dangerous?"

"Really? You didn't see the eruption of the core fire when you went there?" Song Xinghai asked, a bit incredulous. "We saw it in Holy Lion City."

"I did see it. The flames were dozens of feet high, spewing out of the Langya Cave, quite terrifying. But they quickly died down," Song Li explained. "I waited a long time after the flames died down before I went into the Langya Cave."

"What?" Yun Lin was almost scared to death, her voice trembling. "Are you made of iron? How could you dare to go into a cave that just spewed flames?"

The couple felt a bit of fear when they thought about it. What if the core fire erupted again? Their only precious son would be instantly turned to ashes. Recently, because of Song Li's unexpected performance, the couple had felt a great sense of achievement from their son. They hadn't enjoyed this enough, and if their son suddenly disappeared, they couldn't imagine how to bear such a devastating blow. This child really doesn't make things easy for them.

"Actually, the reason is this. Mom, you always emphasize how important the primal fire seed is for alchemists, right? This time, I just wanted to visit Mount Langya, but unexpectedly encountered a volcanic eruption. At that moment, I thought, could this core fire be a primal fire seed? But I didn't think much about it. Unexpectedly, the flames didn't last long and quickly died down. I really wanted to explore the Langya Cave to see if I could find any traces of the primal fire seed. I waited a long time, saw that the flames had indeed stopped, and the lava had cooled, so I went into the Langya Cave. But I didn't find any primal fire seed, just a rather strange stone in the cave." Song Li took out the "candlestick" that held the primal fire seed and presented it to his mother.

His words were partly true and partly false, not out of a desire to hide things from his parents, but because some secrets weren't the right time to reveal yet.

Yun Lin, who was still angry, instantly widened her eyes when she saw the crimson "candlestick"!

"Son... you... you found this in the Langya Cave?" Yun Lin took the stone from Song Li's hand, its color crimson, shape flat. As an alchemist, she immediately sensed a familiar "fire element" fluctuation from the stone, which resembled a candlestick. The energy fluctuation was extremely powerful, and Yun Lin let out a cry of surprise!

"Lady, what's wrong? What is this thing?" Song Xinghai scratched his head, not understanding how this unremarkable stone could make his wife so flustered!

"Primal fire seed! Primal fire seed!" Yun Lin was so excited that her words were incoherent, repeatedly muttering these four words.

"Mom, are you saying this stone is a primal fire seed?" Song Li, of course, knew it wasn't a primal fire seed; he had already swallowed the real one. But he had to give some response to his mother's extreme reaction, or it would seem too abnormal.

"No, no, I'm not saying this stone is a primal fire seed!" Yun Lin's eyes were fixed on the stone, muttering, "If I'm not mistaken, this flat stone is the vessel that holds the primal fire seed. It grows alongside the primal fire seed, absorbing part of its energy, making it a treasure of heaven and earth. If used as a material, the artificial fire seed it produces would be second only to the primal fire seed!"

"Really? That powerful?" Song Xinghai's face was full of shock. Living with Yun Lin, he had some understanding of fire seeds. Hearing that the stone Li brought back from the Langya Cave was the vessel for the primal fire seed, the Duke was truly shocked!

"Son, can you tell me, when you found this stone, was there anything unusual? For example, was there a small flame burning on it?" Yun Lin's face was full of hope. Oh, this is the vessel for the primal fire seed! If she hadn't heard her father describe the characteristics of this vessel multiple times, she wouldn't have recognized it. Since the vessel for the primal fire seed appeared in the Langya Cave, it was certain that the primal fire seed had also been there.

She never imagined that the primal fire seed her father had sought all his life was just fifty miles away at the foot of Mount Langya!

"No, nothing unusual. When I got to the Langya Cave, the flames had long died down, and the lava had cooled into strange rocks. I just thought this small stone was different from the surrounding rocks, so I picked it up. I didn't realize it was the vessel for the primal fire seed..." Song Li continued his partly true, partly false explanation.

"There's no reason for the primal fire and its vessel to be separated. If they are, there are only two possibilities. The first is that the primal fire seed was tamed by someone, which is highly unlikely. The person who could tame a primal fire seed would definitely know the value of this vessel and wouldn't just throw it away."

Song Li thought to himself, "I, your son, am that 'highly capable' person. I swallowed the primal fire seed. If Mom knew the truth, would she faint from joy or from shock?"

"Mom, you're right. The first possibility is highly unlikely. First, whether such a powerful person exists is questionable, and second, if such a person did exist, they wouldn't leave the vessel behind after taming the fire seed," Song Li nodded. "What's the second possibility?"

Yun Lin continued, "The second possibility is that the primal fire seed has reached the end of its life. After tens of thousands of years, its energy is exhausted and it naturally dies out. That's why you had the chance to find its vessel."

"Ah? The primal fire seed can naturally die out?" This was the first time Song Li had heard this.

"I'm not entirely sure, but I think it's possible. The primal fire seed, though powerful, can't have infinite energy. After burning for tens of thousands of years, it could naturally die out," Yun Lin said, carefully caressing the smooth surface of the "candlestick."

"This possibility makes sense," Song Li clapped his hands. "The core fire erupted for a while and then died out, probably because the primal fire seed that provided its energy had reached the end of its life."

Song Xinghai tapped his fingers on the table. "That's right, this explanation is very reasonable."

Song Li stared at his mother's face, hoping she would accept this explanation. He knew the primal fire seed was inside him. If his mother didn't give up and spent a lot of effort searching for the non-existent fire seed in the Langya Cave, it would be a waste of resources and time.

Life is short, and there are so many things to do. He didn't want his mother to waste resources on a futile task.

"Ah, if I get it, I'm lucky; if I don't, it's my fate. It seems I have no connection with this primal fire seed," Yun Lin sighed, feeling melancholic for a moment. But she was an optimistic person and quickly recovered, holding the "candlestick" and smiling. "Fortunately, Li is clever and found the vessel of the primal fire seed, which is a pleasant surprise. I'll keep this for you first. When there's an opportunity, I'll have your grandfather make you the best artificial fire seed. Then our Li will be amazing!"

"That's great, Mom, you can keep it for me." Song Li had the "Imperial Fire Seed" inside him and naturally didn't care about artificial fire seeds. But since his mother said so, he went along with it. He actually thought about having his grandfather use this to make a better artificial fire seed for his mother. When his cultivation improved and he became more proficient with the Imperial Fire Seed, he could make a "primal fire seed" for his mother, but the time wasn't right yet. For now, his mother could use an artificial fire seed.

Seeing Song Xinghai holding Song Li's arm, deep in thought, Yun Lin asked, puzzled, "Hey, Duke, what are you thinking about?"

Song Xinghai, puzzled, said, "Strange, why does the energy fluctuation in Li's body feel so powerful? This isn't the level of someone at the peak of the Body Tempering stage. Could it be..."

"Scared? Is that so?" Hearing Song Xinghai's words, Yun Lin also noticed. Song Li's eyes were filled with a crystalline glow, his breath long and strong, and the energy fluctuation in his body was more than ten times stronger than before, clearly a sign of the Qi Induction stage...

"Dad, Mom, you don't need to guess. I indeed broke through the Body Tempering stage and am now at the initial stage of the second level of the Qi Induction stage," Song Li said casually.

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