Li Ze planned to stay in this city for a while. Cultivators preferred to go to remote mountains and forests where the spiritual energy was clean and abundant. He was the opposite; he preferred crowded places, because crowded places would breed more malevolent energy.

Considering that he needed to refine pills, Li Ze did not stay at an inn, but instead rented a small courtyard.

On the very night he checked into the courtyard, Li Ze began to try refining pills. He first mentally rehearsed the steps several times, and only after confirming that there were no problems did he begin to practice.

This time, Li Ze not only avoided a fire, but also succeeded in refining the pot on the very first batch.

"There is indeed a difference." Li Ze looked at the three pills with fine black lines around them in the alchemy furnace and thought that only demons could eat these pills.

Spiritual energy will not harm the bodies of demons, but demonic energy can harm cultivators and ordinary people.

When cultivators refine pills, they use spiritual energy to fuel the alchemical fire, and the entire process involves processing the medicinal herbs with spiritual energy, resulting in pills containing spiritual energy. He used demonic energy throughout, so the pills he refined should also contain demonic energy.

Li Ze picked up a pill and put it in his mouth. He carefully examined it and found that apart from a slight amount of demonic energy, it was not much different from the spiritual energy-rich pills he had eaten.

The effectiveness of elixirs depends primarily on the effects of spiritual herbs and fruits; spiritual energy and demonic energy are merely auxiliary factors.

However, since his pills contain demonic energy, they definitely won't sell to cultivators.

Perhaps he could try using spiritual energy to refine pills, or he could try using demonic energy.

Next, Li Ze tried refining pills using spiritual energy and demonic energy respectively. After succeeding, he had a sudden inspiration and used magic power, spiritual energy and demonic energy in turn. He produced strange-looking things in one pill furnace, but fortunately the effects were not much different and they were edible.

Li Ze was engrossed in alchemy, and when he finally came to his senses, more than half a year had passed. He had used up all the spiritual herbs and fruits he had gathered in the secret realm and purchased with spirit stones, and in their place, his storage bag contained hundreds of jade bottles filled with pills.

Li Ze took the pills he refined with spiritual energy to a pill shop and sold them. He exchanged all the spirit stones he got for spirit herbs and fruits.

After leaving Danpu, Li Ze went to the largest restaurant in the city, ordered more than a dozen dishes, and also asked for several bottles of wine.

"The malevolent energy here is quite strong," Li Ze muttered to himself, as his demonic core began to silently absorb the malevolent energy of the restaurant and even the entire city.

In a place unseen by the naked eye, malevolent energy from all directions was converging on this place and rushing into Li Ze's body.

Inside the restaurant, the temperature dropped sharply, centered around Li Ze.

"Huh, why does it suddenly feel colder?" said the cultivator at the next table.

"It's September now, isn't it normal for the temperature to drop?" Another cultivator said dismissively, changing the subject to something else. "I heard that an ancient ruin has appeared in the Rhinoceros Illumination Wasteland, is that true?"

"Of course it's true, countless disciples from major sects are heading there."

"But I've also heard that this ancient ruin is a bit eerie. People who go in never come back. Several months have passed, and no one has been able to come out of the ruin yet."

"That's true. That's why I'm here drinking with you, instead of just joining in the fun."

"We're just Qi Refining stage cultivators; we'd be cannon fodder if we went. Come on, enough said, let me toast you."

"......."

Upon hearing this, Li Ze silently picked up a cup of tea.

Ancient ruins?

Will Mo Xingjue go?

Li Ze didn't know if Mo Xingjue would go, but he planned to join in the fun. The more ancient the ruins or the caves of powerful beings, the denser the evil energy. The concentration of evil energy was probably no less than that of the human-demon battlefield.

Thinking about this, Li Ze's heart couldn't help but become excited. After finishing a table full of food, he went to the Treasure Pavilion and bought a map of the cultivation continent, as well as a disguise pill. Then, he couldn't wait to leave the city and fly towards the Rhinoceros Illumination Wasteland.

The Rhinoceros-Illuminating Wasteland is located in the western part of the cultivation continent. Li Ze is currently in the slightly eastern part of the central part of the cultivation continent. The journey from here to the west is long. If Li Ze is still in the Foundation Establishment stage and cannot fly on a sword, the ancient ruins will probably have already disappeared by the time he arrives at the Rhinoceros-Illuminating Wasteland.

Even though Li Ze could fly on a sword, he kept stopping and starting along the way, picking spiritual herbs and fruits whenever he encountered them. By the time he arrived at the Rhinoceros Illumination Wasteland, a month had already passed.

At this time, the Xizhao Wasteland was very lively. Fearing that he would be recognized by the Zhuoguang Sect, Li Ze swallowed a disguise pill as soon as he entered the Xizhao Wasteland.

This disguise pill is a low-grade medicine, and its effects only last for half a month. However, half a month is enough. After all, the ancient ruins are not secret realms and do not have fixed opening and closing times. As long as it does not disappear, one can freely enter and exit throughout the entire process. He can come out when the effects of the medicine wear off.

Before Li Ze saw the ancient ruins, he first saw a market, a temporary market where people bought and sold all kinds of magical artifacts, cultivation techniques, pills, pill formulas, spiritual herbs and fruits.

There were hundreds of stalls in the market, bustling with people. If you didn't know better, you might think there was a city or sect nearby.

Li Ze wandered around those stalls, picking and choosing, and finally spent over a thousand high-grade spirit stones to buy several pill formulas.

“Yesterday, another group of disciples from major sects went in.”

"I know, it was a Nascent Soul stage elder from the Tianyu Sect who led the rescue team. Two months ago, a group of disciples from the Tianyu Sect went in, and there hasn't been any news since. Logically speaking, this ancient ruin is different from a secret realm; it's now connected to the entire cultivation continent, and jade slips can communicate inside. However, everyone has discovered that as soon as they enter this ancient ruin, the jade slips stop working. Isn't that strange?"

"So what if it's strange? Everyone knows it's dangerous, but people still flock to it. Every day, there are at least dozens, if not hundreds, of people going in."

Several months have passed, and dozens of people are still entering the ruins every day, which is quite a number.

"I advise you not to go and die. Even Mo Xingjue of the Fengyang Sect is trapped inside. Do you think you are stronger than Mo Xingjue?"

Everyone shook their heads vigorously, "We're not going."

Li Ze paused for a moment as he passed by, then continued walking forward.

Mo Xingjue is also trapped inside?

Li Ze continued walking forward, but before he even got close to the gate of the ancient ruins, a dense aura of malevolence engulfed him.

How could there be such a place with such a strong malevolent aura?

What kind of ruins are these? An ancient battlefield?

A bad feeling welled up in Li Ze's heart; this ruin was probably very dangerous.

To go in, or not to go in?

Li Ze hesitated for a moment in front of the gate of the ancient ruins, but finally gritted his teeth and strode in.

He Xingjue has accompanied him through the space-time rift, and now it's just an ancient ruin. Is he going to back down?

At worst, I'll just die.

No, he wouldn't kill Ji Lin; he couldn't bear to die!