The Thorne of Destiny

Adrian came out of the cave and started descending towards the mountain. He soon discovered a valley that appeared between two mountains. He approached it slowly but he was weary. He didn't find any beasts which was a bit peculiar. His only conclusion was that the region had an overlord so he had to be careful.

He didn't know that what was keeping them away was the stench coming from him. At the bottom of the valley was a small lake. Its clear waters sparkled under the sun's rays while radiating a serene atmosphere. Its surroundings are filled with vegetation making it resemble an ambient paradise. Adrian could even recognize some rank 1 herbs among them as he made his way towards the lake.

The fog around it was denser but it couldn't hinder his vision too much as his body increased in strength.

He noticed that he could see everything much more clearly even within the fog.

'This must be one of the benefits of body tempering.' Adrian thought as he reached the edge of the lake.

Staring at the clear water of the lake, he noticed that he couldn't see the bottom of the lake. It was too deep for him to make out. However, he could recognize some species of fish swimming within the lake so it wasn't uninhabited.

After surveying the area for a few minutes, he finally took off his clothes and entered the lake. The cool water cascaded off his body as he swam in the peripherals of the lake. Even if he couldn't find anything dangerous there, he wasn't going to let his guard down.

After diving for a few meters, Adrian noticed that the amount of qi increased the deeper he dived. Even if he couldn't see it, he could sense the qi in the water getting denser, the deeper he dived. He knew that there had to be something valuable there.

A dilemma arose in Adrian's mind. He wanted to check out the mysterious treasure but he knew that it would also be dangerous. Such a valuable item would not be without protection and judging from the density increase in qi in the environment, such an area would contain a powerful beast.

He was even surprised that no one had discovered this place before and raided it. If it was before, he would have returned to the city to form a team to scour the whole lake.

He soon swam to the surface and put on his clothes. He sat down on a nearby boulder to access his options.

The danger that was lurking deep within the lake was immense, but its reward would be equally worth it.

Adrian heaved a long sigh as he made up his mind. 'No risk, no reward.' He thought as he steeled his determination. He was going to go after it. Whatever it was, it seemed immensely useful. He had an inkling as to what it could be but the sheer unbelievability of it made him disregard that thought.

According to the sage of slaughters' memories, there was a magical flower that fed off the qi in the environment. However, its peculiarity does not stop there. After its feeding, it would then release much purer qi back into the environment. It was in a perpetual cycle of refinement.

The value of the flower couldn't even be represented by ranks. A single one of them could turn a barren area into a cultivation paradise.

However, this flower was exceedingly rare. It was so rare that even the sage of slaughter had only seen it a few times during his lifespan. It wasn't the kind of item that could be sought after. It could only be discovered.

Even if it was found, no one would be willing to sell it.

The possibility of Adrian finding the flower in this sort of environment was virtually zero which was why he quickly dismissed this thought. His mind wandered, trying to come up with a plan to seize whatever was down there. Countless ideas soon popped up in his head but he discarded most of them until he finally decided on the one most likely to work. He swiftly jumped off the boulder and left the valley to find his bait.

'It's time to go fishing.'