Chapter 426 Exploring the Ruins 3
Zhong Cai and Wu Shaogan instantly released their spiritual senses to observe the mountain walls on both sides.
Upon seeing this, Zhong Cai gasped in shock.
The mountain wall was covered with countless black insects covered in stiff hairs!
If it weren't for the presence of the soul, the insects covering the mountain wall in a continuous mass would appear as if the mountain wall was originally that color, making it truly difficult to distinguish at first glance.
However, under the influence of the soul, the insect's appearance can be seen in the finest detail.
The insect is only about the size of a thumb, covered in a carapace. Its tiny eyes are hidden beneath the carapace, and unless you get very close, you can't see the faint light flashing in its compound eyes.
On both sides of its carapace are thin, delicate wings that flutter gently...
This insect isn't actually ugly, but once you see it clearly, it's hard not to feel a chill down your spine.
It's very creepy.
Zhong Cai subconsciously rubbed her arms.
At that moment, he realized that the ear-piercing demonic sounds were probably produced by the extremely slight flapping of the insects' wings.
Zhong Cai lowered her head, rested her chin on Wu Shaogan's shoulder, and looked at his profile.
[Old Wu, what do you think?]
Wu Shaogan remained expressionless. After slightly sensing the levels of aura emanating from these insects, he turned his head and rubbed his face against Zhong Cai's back.
【You take out the Purple Gold Bell and activate it, then I'll kill these bugs.】
With a thought, a small purple bell instantly appeared in Zhong Cai's palm.
This purple-gold bell can block external sonic attacks. Once activated, it can shield the noise emitted by the insect wings. At the same time, it can also release a layer of purple-gold light shield, which can cover the two of them according to Zhong Cai's will. In this way, when Wu Shaogan fights with the insects, no matter how much disgusting blood and flesh the insects splatter, it will not splash onto the couple.
Zhong Cai understood Wu Shaogan's thoughts very well, and at that moment he completed the setting of the Purple Gold Bell in an instant.
At the same time, he didn't forget to give instructions—
Kill the bugs however you like, but remember to leave me a few intact corpses, and some blood and gore too. Also, include some rocks and dirt from the mountainside!
Wu Shaogan readily agreed.
Don't worry, Acai.
Zhong Cai was relieved.
He lay on Wu Shaogan's back, ready to fight alongside his old man... well, not exactly side by side, but rather "chest and back against each other"!
·
From the moment the two observed the insects to when Zhong Cai took out the Purple Gold Bell, only a breath's time had passed.
Those insects react very quickly; the moment they start flapping their wings, it's already a signal to attack.
At this moment, the buzzing of the insect wings became even louder!
With the Purple Gold Bell protecting them, the Zhong and Wu couple were able to block out all the sounds. Then, Wu Shaogan didn't hesitate and slapped each of the two mountain walls.
Wu Shaogan's profound energy instantly formed two enormous palms, which slammed into the mountain walls on both sides!
The mountain wall did not even tremble slightly, which shows its solidity.
At the same time, many insects emitted sharp chirps—this time not from flapping their wings, but from their mouthparts, a different kind of sound attack quite different from flapping their wings.
However, they were still blocked by the Purple Gold Bell.
Wu Shaogan didn't stop moving. He continued forward along the straight path in the cave, slapping the mountain walls on both sides as if swatting mosquitoes.
Every step they took, countless insects perished, turning into a bloody mess.
These countless insects were still too low-level, at most only at the fourth or fifth level. How could they possibly deal with Wu Shaogan, who had reached the Spirit Transformation stage?
They were easily defeated.
With Wu Shaogan's airtight method of slaughter, Zhong Cai was initially eager to make a move... but then he realized that he didn't have a chance to do so at all.
Because Wu Shaogan never let even a single culprit escape from the very beginning!
And just like that, the couple easily traversed this path strewn with insects.
When we got to the very beginning, the walls behind us were covered in a bloody mess of insects, and then suddenly a bug the size of a washbasin sprang out from the corner just before the turn!
It's the same type of insect as before, but it's many times larger!
It was incredibly fast! Those foul-smelling mouthparts were already right in front of us!
Wu Shaogan remained calm and unhurried, throwing a punch the instant the insect appeared—
The power of this punch was terrifying; the moment the fist made contact with the insect, the insect was already torn to pieces.
It's just a... level six insect.
It should be the king of all such insects. The extinction of its species drove it to attack frantically, but it was still no match for Wu Shaogan.
There were dozens of other small, live insects nearby, the last remaining ones.
Wu Shaogan released his aura, instantly crushing many insects to death. He only left behind some level two to six insect corpses that had just died, stuffing them all into an ordinary mustard seed bag and attaching a special label to confirm that this was one of Zhong Cai's research materials.
Of course, the mustard seed bag also contained soil, stones, and paste, which was placed together for Zhong Cai's convenience in taking them out later.
Besides the items that Zhong Cai had already instructed him to include, Wu Shaogan also unexpectedly discovered some moss, grass, and vines, which he also picked in large quantities and collected together.
Zhong Cai smiled broadly and praised it in her heart.
Lao Wu is so thoughtful! Lao Wu is the most considerate! Lao Wu loves me the most!
Wu Shaogan revealed a gentle smile.
Nature loves A-Cai the most. Only A-Cai.
·
At this moment, the couple needed to make a turn.
Wu Shaogan carried Zhong Cai and turned directly to the right.
There's no need to make any choices here, because there's no road at all on the left.
For the rest of the journey, nothing unusual happened.
Zhong Cai carefully searched the vicinity for strangely shaped plants and trees that might have mutated. She didn't overlook things like soil either.
Their main business is to take advantage of every opportunity.
They looted every resource they could possibly find!
The two of them had plenty of storage bags, and they usually stored most of their resources in the ancient city. So, most of the time, the storage bags were used by Zhong Cai as a "research material library".
While these things could be put into the herbal medicine hall in the ancient city, many of the research materials are not very attractive, and some are even quite strange. If they were displayed openly on the shelves, it would be somewhat unsightly. It would be better to categorize and store them in a small bag.
·
After walking for a while, Zhong Cai collected a variety of research materials.
This time, a red clam the size of a fist suddenly jumped out from some bush nearby and quickly stuck out its long tongue!
How long is it?
It can launch you at least ten meters away!
This cramped and narrow cave is actually very deep and winding, and is divided into many small caves—this is one of them.
It is easy to imagine that in a confined space, such a long tongue could move back and forth at great speed, making it extremely difficult to catch and naturally very dangerous. It could pierce and kill any creature in the cave at any time.
However--
This will only pose a considerable crisis to ordinary cultivators.
It was of no use to Wu Shaogan.
Wu Shaogan didn't even need to consider what was going on with the red toad; he simply pointed his finger in that direction—
The next instant, the red toad had turned into a pool of blood.
Very well, this blood now belongs to Zhong Cai.
·
And so the couple continued on their journey, encountering countless similar dangers along the way.
Wu Shaogan could eliminate them at any time.
From beginning to end, these dangers failed to exert any restraint on Wu Shaogan.
Zhong Cai's mustard seed bag has become increasingly rich in various materials.
As Wu Shaogan continued to slaughter the creatures inside the cave, Zhong Cai increased his vigilance while observing the situation.
The deeper the couple went into the cave, the more dangers they encountered.
The creatures that attacked were almost all very strange-looking. Upon closer inspection, one could actually find some physical characteristics of ordinary small rare beasts or savage beasts... In other words, most of them were probably descendants of those rare beasts or savage beasts, or were directly mutated by the environment here.
The reasons for these effects can be determined through comparative studies.
·
Gradually, the two became increasingly close.
Somehow, they slowly began to feel a sense of suffocation.
Cultivators can hold their breath for a long time, so the current feeling of suffocation is quite unusual.
It makes your heart race.
At that moment, in the blink of an eye, the two of them felt as if many strange flowers had bloomed on the mountain wall in front of them.
The petals are very strangely shaped, with each petal seemingly painted with a human face—upon closer inspection, they are actually just the patterns on the petals, but they give off a strange feeling, as if they are always maintaining a mysterious smile.
Each petal seems to represent an entrance.
The flower petals were inviting them inside.
·
Zhong Cai curled her lip: "Who would dare to venture into such an unorthodox place!"
Wu Shaogan, supporting Zhong Cai, casually weighed her in his arms and continued to look at the flower petal openings with a somewhat strange expression.
Zhong Cai, lying on Wu Shaogan's back, didn't notice the change in his expression. She looked at all the flower petal openings and didn't know which one to choose. What if she chose the wrong one and entered an extremely dangerous evil sect's lair? Wouldn't that be like handing herself over to the enemy?
No, no.
Wu Shaogan suddenly said, "Acai, let's go to the cave entrance on the lower right."
Zhong Cai always respected Wu Shaogan's opinions, but she still nuzzled her chin against Wu Shaogan's shoulder and asked, "Old Wu, what did you choose?"
Wu Shaogan smiled slightly: "It's not that I want to choose, but something is calling me."
Zhong Cai immediately became interested: "Oh? They've even summoned Old Wu, so maybe he's the source of Yin and Yang attributes?"
Wu Shao chuckled dryly without saying a word, then paused for a moment before saying with concern, "You'll know once you go in and take a look. Ah Cai, remember, if you encounter any danger, immediately retreat into the ancient city."
Zhong Cai readily agreed – he would absolutely not hold Lao Wu back!
Without further hesitation, Wu Shaogan carried Zhong Cai on his back and headed straight for the cave entrance!
But good things often come with difficulties.
We don't know yet if it's a good thing or not. Just as the two of them approached the cave entrance, the strange human face on the "petal" disappeared. At the same time, a huge python with its mouth wide open suddenly leaped out!
The howling wind from the python's head and the foul, fishy stench were extremely irritating to the eyes.
Zhong Cai held her breath and couldn't help but tap Wu Shaogan on the shoulder.
Wu Shaogan moved with lightning speed, dodging the attack.
The giant python brushed past Wu Shaogan, who attacked without hesitation!
In an instant, the giant python staggered, and most of its body was sent flying, along with its tail, which was still hidden at the cave entrance, flying out involuntarily.
The giant python crashed into the other half of the wall with a loud bang.
Because Wu Shaogan's strength was truly terrifying, the giant python's body broke in half after it crashed into the wall!
The giant python went limp in one go, becoming like a giant target, and was easily killed by Wu Shaogan.
This is a seventh-order giant python.
The terrifying aura emanating from him sent chills down one's spine.
If it were just Zhong Cai alone, he probably wouldn't have been able to dodge the python's head the moment it sprang out, and would have had to flee into the ancient city to survive!
This time was different. Aside from the python's sudden attack, which could easily startle someone, Wu Shaogan was otherwise completely at ease… Zhong Cai was only slightly frightened.
Because of Wu Shaogan's presence, the seventh-tier mutated savage python easily fell into Zhong Cai's hands.
As for why it's said to have mutated...
That was naturally verified by Zhong Cai herself.
·
After the python was captured and killed, the opening of the flower petal cave widened a little.
Zhong Cai noticed that her husband, Lao Wu, seemed to be observing something, so she whispered, "Lao Wu?"
Wu Shaogan said, "The energy that attracts me is permeating this cave entrance, and my sense of what lies deep within is even clearer."
Zhong Cai patted Wu Shaogan's shoulder and said with a grin, "Then it's even more likely to be your treasure."
Wu Shaogan couldn't help but smile: "A-Cai is right. Let's go inside."
The next moment, Wu Shaogan stepped in.
The moment Zhong Cai followed Wu Shaogan inside, she felt a wave of dizziness.
When Wu Shaogan stopped, Zhong Cai's temples were still throbbing painfully.
The surrounding air currents surged, and all sorts of complex auras were too dense!
If Zhong Cai hadn't remembered to hold her breath beforehand, she would have instantly inhaled a large mouthful of mixed airflow, and might have ended up as unlucky as Gao Nan.
At this moment, he carefully looked around.
This seems to be another stone-built passageway...
There are still many branches inside, making it impossible to tell which one is correct, forcing people to make a choice.
But immediately, Wu Shaogan was able to easily identify the road with the strongest sensation again—it was that same magical feeling.
After Wu Shaogan embarked on this path, all the other paths collapsed.
As they collapsed, Zhong Cai looked around and found many useful things among the countless "ruins".
Zhong Cai put them all away.
Immediately afterwards, Zhong Cai happily collected materials from the ground, stone walls, and soil.
At the same time, the gas-gathering bottle hanging around his neck was also activated instantly, continuously absorbing the countless streams of air flowing nearby. After entering the bottle, these streams formed droplets at an extremely fast speed and were accumulating rapidly.
In this way, Zhong Cai worked for at least several hours.
Wu Shaogan also slaughtered several waves of savage beasts—all of which came looking for trouble and were just providing him with materials.
Zhong Cai's harvest was incredibly abundant.
It's conceivable that once he goes into seclusion again and cures Gao Nan's illness, Zhong Cai's alchemy skills will surely improve further, and his ranking on the Sky Ranking will likely rise.
·
The sensations Wu Shaogan received grew stronger and stronger, and he became somewhat impatient.
Instantly, Wu Shaogan revealed a smile.
Zhong Cai sensed that her husband, Wu, was in a good mood, so she couldn't help but lean closer and whisper, "Old Wu, what's wrong?"
Wu Shaogan didn't speak, but only transmitted his voice.
The thing that summoned me here has lost patience.
Zhong Cai's expression instantly turned solemn.
The smile in Wu Shaogan's eyes deepened.
Wait a little longer.
Zhong Cai suddenly understood.
[Old Wu, are you sure what that is?]
Wu Shaogan shook his head slightly.
[A-Cai is extremely knowledgeable about all kinds of rare and precious herbs and medicinal plants. Even you couldn't make a judgment, so naturally I couldn't recognize it immediately either. However, based on that intuition, I have a few vague guesses in my mind... but no matter which one, they would be of great help to me.]
Zhong Cai nodded.
Let's go take a look!
[If it's useful to Lao Wu, we'll get it no matter what it takes!]
Wu Shaogan also nodded.
He was determined to win.
After all, if he wasn't mistaken, it should be a resource suitable for him to cultivate secret techniques.
Perhaps, he can use it all the way to the Heavenly Realm.
He had acquired some in the past, but something that the evil sects had gone to such lengths to obtain must be extraordinary.
You absolutely can't miss it.
·
After that, the two encountered even more dangers.
Whether it was a test or a defense, Wu Shaogan had to slaughter so many attacking creatures that there was no time to stop, and the attacks were like a tidal wave.
This process is repeated again and again, in an endless cycle.
But for Zhong and Wu, it was no big deal.
In their early years on the Dan Shen Tree, Zhong Cai focused solely on refining elixirs, while Wu Shaogan faced relentless attacks from wooden beasts. He also underwent various academy examinations and trials, all of which were extremely oppressive.
If Wu Shaogan could survive even that kind of situation, what are these few crises?
He calmly resolved each issue one by one.
As countless attacks arrived, the surrounding air currents grew increasingly turbulent, like a pair of invisible giant hands trying to seize Zhong and Wu.
Hidden on Wu Shaogan's back and protected by the Purple Gold Bell, Zhong Cai was not afraid at all, and even had the mind to collect the animal carcasses left behind by Wu Shaogan's slaughter.
Wu Shaogan, however, killed even faster.
Suddenly! All the attacks vanished!
The messy things like blood, flesh, and other debris that were originally inside the cave have all disappeared.
It's like a "one-click clear," leaving the space completely empty.
Zhong Cai lowered his eyes and quickly noticed that there were originally some medicinal herbs growing haphazardly on the ground and in the cracks of the rocks, but many of them had been destroyed in the previous battle, leaving only some broken branches and leaves.
...It hurts so much.
At this moment, Zhong Cai's face scrunched up, and she couldn't help but have an opinion about the way that was calling out to Lao Wu.
If it hadn't released so many attackers, this situation would never have occurred!
The various medicinal herbs here must all be useful!
Wu Shaogan seemed to sense Zhong Cai's thoughts, and gently rubbed Zhong Cai's hand twice to comfort her.
Zhong Cai let out a breath, jumped off Wu Shaogan's back, and reluctantly began collecting the items.
Alright, let's get everything done quickly, just in case something unexpected happens later.
·
Fortunately, everything around was calm and nothing unusual happened again.
Wu Shaogan stood there waiting for Zhong Cai. After he finished his work, he pointed to a spot ahead and said, "Cai, let's go take a look."
Zhong Cai also looked over.
There, a pool appeared clearly.
It exudes many strange auras.
Wu Shaogan bowed slightly.
Zhong Cai understood and jumped onto Wu Shaogan's back.
Wu Shaogan carried Zhong Cai on his back and walked steadily over step by step.
There were still no further attacks in between.
Both of them remained extremely vigilant.
Anything can happen in the ruins of heretical cultivators, and all sorts of unexpected events are likely to occur.
We must never let our guard down.
Once she stood by the pool, Zhong Cai's face darkened.
The pool was filled with a large amount of blood.
Blood of various colors...
It exuded a strong smell of blood, as well as the aroma of some very ancient medicinal herbs.
Zhong Cai was almost knocked over by the fumes and was also furious.
All of this blood is semen!
Wild beasts, rare beasts...
It even contains the essence and blood of many humans.
It can be roughly determined that beasts account for more than 80% of them, while humans account for nearly 20%.
A beast or a human contains very little essence blood in its body, only a small amount in its heart.
Now that the blood in this pool is entirely composed of essence blood... one wonders just how many living beings must have been slaughtered to achieve this!
Even more terrifying is that the intensity of the aura emanating from the blood in the pool reached at least level six!
In other words, countless beasts and humans at least at level six had their hearts ripped out and their blood extracted!
It's not so bad for beasts. After going through a few large beast tides, a large number of savage and rare beasts will be slaughtered, and then you can get them.
But the human race...
Even in a large city, how many human cultivators can reach the Palace Building realm?
Even if it's just 20% of the human blood essence, the number of humans harmed by the evil path has reached a terrifying level!
In addition, there are various medicinal herbs.
Zhong Cai casually discerned the auras and discovered a large number of those at the seventh and eighth levels.
The preparation method was very crude and wasteful.
If it were given to Zhong Cai, he could refine a considerable number of pills, which would benefit many cultivators.
However, evil cultivators collected large quantities of it to blend the essence and blood of beasts and humans.
And then, they were refined into this pool of blood... this filthy thing.
·
The blood pool seemed to think that Zhong Cai was not angry enough, and before long, a bead about the size of a fist actually emerged from it.
The beads have a color that is half black and half white... at least that's how they originally were.
But now, its surface is covered with blood-red patterns, which is very strange, as if it has formed a small blood-red net that envelops the bead and imprisons it firmly.
Inside the bead, a faint glow of blood seeped out, as if it were soaked in blood from the inside out.
Zhong Cai almost screamed out loud.
This is a Yin-Yang Bead!
One of the most suitable resources for Lao Wu to practice his secret techniques!
It's been contaminated to this extent!
At this moment, Zhong Cai was absolutely furious.
It's all in such a terrible state, how is Old Wu supposed to refine it now!
Old Wu isn't into evil practices!
He's so angry!
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