This ignited a fire inside him which forced him to push himself. Luckily for him, his experiences this time in the Misty Mountains seemed to have benefited him a lot.
He could feel that he had almost reached the peak of the fifth rank and would soon break through in at most a week. This delighted him as he continued focusing his attention on cultivation.
The night gradually passed, and soon, it was morning. Adrian exited his cave and went to the lake to have a bath. Though still wary of his surroundings, he enjoyed the feeling of safety he felt. After a light breakfast, he returned to the edge of the lake.
Excitement was etched on his face as he dived down to the depths of the lake. This time, he went far deeper than before until he arrived in front of a massive cave near the bottom of the lake. This cave obviously belonged to the Stoneveil Crocodile.
The density of Qi was immense at this depth, and it kept increasing as he neared the cave. He was now sure that whatever treasure was causing this was definitely in the cave of the Stoneveil Crocodile.
He brought out his sword just in case while swimming into the cave. However, a peculiar sight greeted him. He could see bones in multiple corners of the cave. This meant that he wasn't the first person to discover the peculiarity of the lake. Others had seemingly done the same and had ventured to retrieve the supposed treasure within the lake.
However, they all met with the same fate. Death by the Stoneveil Crocodile. This also explained why there was no previous information about this region. Anyone who found it would immediately dive in wanting to retrieve it for themselves and would consequently be vanquished by the crocodile.
A peculiar thought arose in Adrian's mind.
'It seems this was its own form of fishing.'
He soon discarded these thoughts as he swam deeper into the cave.
He didn't know what he was looking for, but it wasn't hard to find it. All he had to do was follow the trail of increasing spiritual Qi. This led him to a secluded corner where he found a peculiar flower growing through the soil in the cave.
It resembled a white rose despite it being about three times the size of a normal one. However, it seemed that it wasn't fully mature yet, as most of its petals were still closed. Only its outermost petals were open, with a faint hue of red tinting their edges.
Waves of pure Qi were emanating from the flower as he swam closer to inspect the flower.
Adrian began trembling in excitement as he couldn't believe his eyes.
This was the flower that was in the Sage of Slaughter's inheritance, the Rainbow Rose. Such a rare and precious flower was actually growing in a cave inhabited by a rank 3 beast. If those powerful individuals were to hear of this, who knew how they would react?
He was even tempted to just sit down there and start cultivating. Unfortunately, he didn't have enough time or air for that endeavor.
He forcefully calmed himself down while gently digging into the soil with his hands.
He acted very carefully, afraid of damaging even a single root. After successfully uprooting the flower, he then transplanted it inside the blood star.
After planting it in a section of the blood star, Adrian surveyed his surroundings. After confirming that there was nothing else of value in the cave. He swiftly resurfaced.
He then made his way out of the valley and ran at full speed for a while. He changed direction several times in order to make sure no one was following him. After running for a few hours, he arrived deep within the borders of the outer regions.
He couldn't have made his escape too soon. Unbeknownst to him, about an hour after he left the valley, another group of cultivators had found the valley and were instantly intrigued.
The faint smell of blood and previous marks all over the wall indicated that a fight had occurred there. However, that was all they could find there.
Adrian, while standing on top of a mountain, was staring into the distance. He didn't rashly rush forward. He had already entered the region where Rank 3 beasts weren't uncommon. So he had to tread carefully.
While he was running, he encountered various beasts but chose to avoid them. He was currently holding a map made out of beast skin.
This was the same map that he had gotten from the bandits on his way to Roser town. He had been searching for the mountain range depicted on the map but didn't have any luck in finding it. This led to one conclusion.
The mountain range wasn't in the outer regions. Of course, he hadn't searched everywhere in the outer regions. However, he didn't need to. Most of the precious resources in the outer regions had already been found. Anything worthwhile would have to be in the inner regions.
Currently, he didn't have enough strength to roam freely in the outer regions, not to mention heading into the inner regions. He sighed inwardly as he turned around to leave.
He had only been in the Misty Mountains for about a week, so he wasn't in a hurry to leave. He started hunting for Rank 2 beasts and more resources.
Like this, a month passed swiftly. He had broken through to the sixth level of the foundation establishment realm. This was, of course, due to the help of the rainbow rose. Every night, in his cave, he would enter the blood star to cultivate.
He was previously unaware that he could enter it, but when he tried to transplant the rainbow rose, he inexplicably found himself drawn into the blood star. His shock turned into ecstasy as he realized that he had another major trump card at his disposal.
As the rainbow rose adapted itself to the environment inside the blood star, it filled the space inside with extremely pure qi. The once barren landscape now had signs of vegetation sprouting, making it feel more lively.
However, a problem soon arose. The current rainbow rose only has one color on its petals. For it to grow, it would need a massive amount of energy. With his body cultivation and alchemy, the addition of all these expenses left him speechless.