CFSMS -Chapter 54 Humans, Birds Protect You

“Chirp!”

After the last bird finished eating, the little creature chirped again.

But this time, its voice carried a hint of impatience.

Hearing it, the flock rose into the air, but kept circling overhead, unwilling to leave.

“Chirp!”

No one knew what the birds were communicating, but the little creature suddenly grew angry. It flapped upward, opened its beak, and spat out a golden-red flame.

The moment the flame appeared, the surrounding temperature surged dramatically.

Crack!

The ice-attributed spirit stone on Lu Wu’s stall exploded.

Lu Wu’s expression also “exploded.”

Her heart ached, but she didn’t dare make a sound.

She was afraid that the seemingly noble and terrifying flame would reduce her to ashes so fine not even dust would remain.

This secret realm… was too terrifying.

Qin Zhan, Lou Xiaotian… Lu Wu suddenly missed them so much.

But after being threatened by the little creature, the flock finally dared not linger any longer and fled in a panic.

The space in front of the stall instantly emptied, leaving only the little creature happily bouncing on Lu Wu’s shoulder.

“Little one, do you have a name?”

“Oh, you’re saying your name is Huohuo (Huohuo)!”

Lu Wu answered her own question.

Chirp?

The little creature tilted its head.

It had been born in this secret realm and had no name, nor had it ever interacted with humans.

It had actually been asleep earlier. Half-awake, it sensed something cool had appeared in this blazing realm.

This place was filled with fire everywhere.

Ice and water couldn’t last long here—but that cool presence was strong enough to resist the realm’s heat.

So it came to take a look.

In fact, it had already arrived earlier and saw this human eating something from a small bowl.

It looked translucent and smelled fruity; it seemed quite tasty.

Having never eaten human food before, it had wanted to try it.

And the moment it did, it fell in love with it.

Soft. Smooth.

But compared to the sweet fruit humans called mangoes, it preferred foods made from sour spirit fruits—tart and refreshing, perfectly suited to its taste.

Peach-like ones were also good.

All of it was far better than the fruits in this secret realm.

Its belly had even become round and full.

Although it couldn’t speak human language, it was very happy eating—so it wanted its little subordinates to taste it too.

Its subordinates were not as strong as it; they were constantly burned by the realm’s heat.

Even though their bodies had partially mutated toward fire attributes, the remaining fire toxins still caused them great suffering.

This ice-cold food could dispel fire poison.

As the eldest, it naturally had to take care of them.

Now that its subordinates were better, it wanted to make sure this human continued making food for it in the future.

To achieve that, it didn’t mind accepting the name “Huohuo.”

“Huohuo, when will more people come here?”

The stall time for today had already passed, and Lu Wu didn’t know how to spend the rest of the day.

People?

In this place, aside from this sweet-smelling human, the bird had only seen one other location where humans appeared.

“Chirp!”

Follow me.

Huohuo said this, flying ahead. When it saw the human not moving, it chirped again insistently.

“You want me to follow you.”

Lu Wu finally understood, and followed it to a stone stele where Huohuo landed.

“You want me to go inside?”

Lu Wu asked tentatively.

Huohuo nodded.

Lu Wu hesitated.

The environment she had seen when she previously touched the stele did not seem like a place suitable for exploration.

“Chirp…”

Humans, I’ll protect you.

Huohuo lifted its small head. Its beautiful feather crown shimmered under the sunlight.

The gorgeous little bird tempted Lu Wu.

“…Alright, I’ll try.”

Just in case, she checked the items given by Uncle Li, then ate another bowl of ice jelly.

A cool sensation flowed through her body, allowing her to move freely even in this extreme environment.

She placed her hand on the stone stele—and this time, it responded to her call.

The feeling was similar to when she first entered the secret realm. Lu Wu was once again pulled in, along with Huohuo.

The teleportation was quick.

When she opened her eyes, she found herself standing in flames.

All around her were burning fires.

The dancing flames carried faint golden hues, very similar to Huohuo’s fire.

And on her shoulder, Huohuo stood firmly.

The flames seemed unwilling to approach her, leaving a small vacuum around her body.

Combined with the cooling effect of the ice jelly, Lu Wu found she could move here with surprising ease.

This realization gave her a bit more courage.

She walked forward toward a cave-like structure.

Anyone who had read cultivation novels had once dreamed of entering some immortal’s cave abode and obtaining powerful inheritance.

Lu Wu felt that her luck had finally arrived.

The ancient doors were made of gray-white stone, with traces of formation patterns flowing across them.

She could not decipher them.

Whoosh!

A burst of flame erupted above her head—Huohuo was acting.

When the flame landed on the door, the stone gate reacted as if it had finally found its key and opened with a loud boom.

Incredibly simple.

Lu Wu cautiously stepped inside.

What she saw was a grand hall.

Tall stone pillars stood within it.

At the highest point was a chair, and on it leaned a skeleton.

The bones had endured countless years yet remained as white and jade-like as ever. Their smooth, warm texture told Lu Wu that they were already a treasure.

Taken outside, they could serve as high-grade refining materials.

Take it… or not?

After some thought, Lu Wu averted her gaze.

She had come for treasure, but it felt better not to disturb the owner’s remains.

“Chirp!”

Huohuo led the way.

Lu Wu followed, circling a thick pillar, and found a small lotus pond.

The water in the pool was a deep red, almost like blood.

At the center stood a lotus bud about the size of a face, entirely crimson.

Its petals looked like crystallized fire—beautiful and radiant. Upon closer inspection, a layer of glass-like flame could be seen enveloping the bud.

The flame was nearly transparent, with a hint of gold at its core.

Even with the cooling effect of the ice jelly, Lu Wu could still feel the intense heat.

She took out a hard mineral stone and tossed it forward—but before it even reached the bud, it melted into golden liquid mid-air. The liquid was instantly incinerated, leaving nothing behind.

If not for Huohuo and the ice jelly, she would have died the moment she entered.

Fully aware of her limits, Lu Wu had no intention of touching it, even though it looked extraordinary.

After a careful inspection, she was still hesitating when Huohuo suddenly spat a flame toward the bud.

The moment the flame touched it, the glass-like fire erupted violently as if awakened.

The surrounding space distorted under extreme heat.

Lu Wu’s breathing grew rapid—not from fear, but because even the oxygen she relied on was being burned away.

This flame burned everything.

It was extremely similar to Huohuo’s fire, yet slightly different.

The two powers were colliding.

The violent surge of flames forced Lu Wu to retreat.

She noticed that the blood-like water in the pool was rapidly evaporating, while the lotus bud trembled—slowly opening a fraction.

The flower was about to bloom.