Chapter 106

“Hm?!”

The instant Jiang Ye stepped into the ruins, his steps halted, a flicker of surprise passing through his aged eyes.

Inside the cave, light was dim, the air damp and cold, carrying the scent of accumulated time.

He quietly activated his Fire Eyes; a crimson-gold light flashed briefly within his pupils.

What met his gaze were countless intersecting side passages, like a vast spiderweb stretching in every direction, their scale astonishing—as if the entire mountain had been hollowed out.

The disciples who surged in after him were filled with excitement, their eyes fixed only on fanaticism and greed; they charged down any path they saw, with no time to think.

Soon, the crowd was split by the branching paths, their shouts and footsteps fading farther and farther, vanishing into the deep, dark corridors.

“Which of these side paths should I take?”

Jiang Ye raised an eyebrow, scanning the branching paths.

He mused inwardly: this ruin was far larger than imagined; every path might lead to a different direction—he must proceed with caution.

At that moment.

Zheng Feng hurried over with Zheng Hui, his handsome, refined face brimming with excitement as he lowered his voice:

“Elder Jiang, my sister says she smelled a powerful surge of vitality coming from that entrance—there’s likely a spiritual herb!!!”

“Oh?!”

Jiang Ye followed Zheng Feng’s pointing finger.

It was the third left-side fork, secluded and rarely visited; only a few scattered figures had vanished into the darkness.

“Go!”

The three wasted no time; their forms blurred as they darted into the side passage.

Their speed was swift: Zheng Feng led, Jiang Ye followed, and Zheng Hui was shielded between them—in the blink of an eye, they plunged dozens of zhang deeper.

But to their surprise, shortly after entering, several more forked paths appeared ahead, branching like tree limbs, layered and overlapping.

Both froze slightly.

This wasn’t a ruin—it was a massive labyrinth.

“That way!”

Zheng Hui sniffed twice, her long, pale fingers pointing without hesitation toward a right-side fork—she looked like a hunting hound with an acute nose.

“Go!”

The two dashed forward along her direction.

But after only a few steps, more forked paths blocked their way.

By now, not even a disciple’s shadow remained—they’d all been scattered into unknown corners, leaving only the three of them moving through the deep, dark corridors.

After roughly the time of one incense stick’s burn.

Endless branching paths finally gave way to a vast cavern emitting a soft glow.

“How can there be light inside this mountain cave...”

All three faces showed disbelief.

They quickened their steps and entered the cavern.

When they saw what lay inside, all three froze.

The ceiling of the cavern was embedded with several fist-sized luminous pearls, radiating a gentle, chilly light that illuminated the entire space as bright as day.

The pearls were smooth and plump, pure white, having glowed in darkness for countless years without dimming.

“What an extravagant display.”

Zheng Feng murmured in awe, his gaze lingering on the luminous pearls.

At current market value, a single high-quality luminous pearl cost at least five thousand taels of silver—but here, they were merely used as candles.

The former dynasty’s wealth was evident.

Jiang Ye also marveled, his gaze shifting from the pearls to the cavern’s depths.

“Brother, this cavern contains a medicinal herb field!!!”

Zheng Hui’s excited cry rang out.

They turned to see two massive herb fields arranged in the center of the cavern.

The fields were rectangular, bordered by blue stone, filled with thick layers of spiritual soil that, despite the passage of countless years, still emitted a faint spiritual energy.

Unfortunately, due to the extreme age, most of the herbs had withered and died, leaving only patches of dry, yellowed stalks and dead leaves, appearing especially desolate under the luminous pearls’ glow.

On each field, a single plant remained—lonely survivors standing amid the dead foliage, the last holdouts of this abandoned herb field.

On the left field stood a single plant, entirely crimson, resembling a sunflower.

Its petals layered and curled at the edges, glowing like flame under the pearls’ light, as if still burning with the last warmth of life.

On the right field stood a single golden fruit, shaped like a pear.

Its skin was mirror-smooth, faint golden patterns swirling across its surface; though no larger than a baby’s fist, it radiated a heavy, substantial weight.

“Sunfire Flower?!”

Seeing the crimson blossom, Zheng Feng’s eyes lit up instantly, his gaze locked, face flushed with uncontrollable excitement.

He stepped forward, crouched down, scrutinizing it closely, eager to pluck it immediately.

Noticing Jiang Ye’s puzzled expression, Zheng Feng explained: “Elder Jiang, this is the Sunfire Flower—a fire-affinity spiritual herb that rapidly nurtures fire qi, greatly aiding cultivation. For those who cultivate fire true qi, it’s a top-tier herb! You can’t find it on the market; even if someone finds one, they keep it for themselves—never sell it.”

“Sunfire Flower...”

Jiang Ye nodded slightly, his gaze fixed on the crimson bloom, lost in thought.

Then he turned to the other herb field and asked: “Zheng Zhenchuan, what about that golden fruit?”

“That is...”

Zheng Feng tore his gaze from the Sunfire Flower, focusing on the golden fruit, frowning in thought.

After a moment, his eyes lit up, his voice trembling: “This... might be the legendary Golden Vajra Fruit...”

But he immediately shook his head, his tone growing uncertain: “No, legends say a mature Golden Vajra Fruit is seven cun in diameter, completely encircled by golden veins—this fruit is far too small...”

He racked his brain, pulling out an ancient, weathered tome from his robes and frantically flipping through it.

A flicker of unusual interest passed through Jiang Ye’s aged eyes.

He caught a glimpse of the cover: three characters—“Record of Spiritual Herbs”—the paper yellowed, edges frayed from countless readings.

This boy, no doubt a nobleman from Linzhou’s great city, was thoroughly prepared.

After a long while.

“Found it!”

Zheng Feng held up the entry from the tome, excitedly thrusting it toward Jiang Ye: “Elder Jiang, this is the seed of the Golden Vajra Fruit!”

“Oh?”

Jiang Ye took the tome and glanced at it.

There, indeed, was a drawing identical to the golden fruit beside it, labeled with five small characters: “Golden Vajra Fruit Seed,” followed by dense annotations.

Zheng Feng explained, voice filled with awe:

“Elder Jiang, the Golden Vajra Fruit is a legendary marvel.”

“It’s said a common mortal who eats one gains strength like an ox, rivaling a Mingjin martial cultivator... whether true or not, I don’t know...”

“But for a cultivator with established foundation, consuming it greatly enhances the body—muscles, bones, skin, and membranes are all refined by its power.”

“A rare fruit for body tempering.”

He paused, then added: “But the Golden Vajra Fruit is extremely difficult to cultivate, requiring extraordinarily strict conditions. So far, aside from the Buddhist kingdoms of the Western Regions, no second Golden Vajra Fruit tree has ever been recorded.”

Hearing this, Jiang Ye raised an eyebrow, a hidden flame kindling in his aged eyes.

His gaze remained fixed on the golden fruit, refusing to move.

Seeing Jiang Ye’s interest in the Golden Vajra Fruit seed, Zheng Feng immediately said: “Elder Jiang, since you’re interested in the Golden Vajra Fruit seed, I’ll take the Sunfire Flower instead?”

In his view, although the Golden Vajra Fruit seed carried great fame, it was nearly impossible to cultivate—far less practical than the Sunfire Flower.

“Fine! Old man here is genuinely intrigued by this thing.”

Jiang Ye chuckled, accepting without modesty.

Almost simultaneously, both stepped into the herb field and carefully plucked the Sunfire Flower and the Golden Vajra Fruit seed.

“With this Sunfire Flower, I should soon break through eight main meridians and reach the late stage of Golden Core.”

Zheng Feng pulled out a delicate jade box, reverently placing the crimson flower inside, his face glowing with suppressed excitement.

Beside him, Zheng Hui teased with a grin: “Brother, you’re smiling too wide—you’re showing your teeth...”

Before she finished, her expression changed abruptly, brows furrowing: “What’s that awful smell?”

Thud!

A muffled boom erupted.

The herb field where Zheng Feng stood suddenly cracked open, soil spraying as a black figure burst from underground, carrying a stench of decay and rot.

“Ahh—!!!”

Zheng Hui’s eyes widened, letting out a piercing scream, instinctively stumbling back two steps.

Zheng Feng instantly stepped in front of his sister, true qi surging through his body, ready to strike.

Jiang Ye also looked up, his aged eyes narrowing slightly.

The emerging figure was covered in black fur, human-sized, its face blackened, wrapped in deathly aura, features twisted beyond recognition, fingers curled into claws, nails long, black, and gleaming with eerie luster.

The sight was horrifying—no wonder Zheng Hui screamed.

Fortunately, after bursting forth, the creature stood motionless, not attacking Jiang Ye or the others, like a thousand-year-old rotting log forgotten in time.

“Zheng Zhenchuan, do you recognize what this thing is?”

Jiang Ye looked toward Zheng Feng in the distance and asked softly.

He had already come to regard Zheng Feng as a walking encyclopedia.

Zheng Feng stared at the black-furred figure for a long while, his expression growing grave: “Elder Jiang, this looks like... a corpse ghost.”

“Oh?”

Jiang Ye blinked in surprise.

Zheng Feng explained solemnly:

“It’s a classic demonic sect technique—turning living people into half-human, half-corpse abominations, neither alive nor dead, neither human nor ghost. Supposedly, similar dark arts still survive in the far south, in Miaozhou. But—”

He shifted tone, his voice gaining confidence:

“Apart from the legendary Thunder Qi, our Fire-element true qi is precisely the bane of such abominations!”

The moment he finished speaking, Zheng Feng’s true qi surged violently, and he struck without hesitation.

“Blazing Blade!”

With a roar, potent Fire-element true qi coalesced in his palm into a searing flame-blade, its crimson body blazing like fire, wreathed in scorching heat as it slashed toward the black-furred corpse ghost.

Pssshhh!!!

The instant the Blazing Blade struck, thick, scalding black vapor erupted from the abomination’s body, filling the air with a pungent stench of burning flesh.

A fiery red slash marred the corpse ghost’s surface, its skin and flesh curled back—but not a single drop of blood appeared.

Yet it did not fall. It stood there, vacant and motionless, like a puppet devoid of pain, offering no counterattack.

“Didn’t cut it in half?!”

Zheng Feng froze, then channeled more true qi and slashed again, multiple times.

Psssh! Psssh! Psssh...

More fiery red slashes appeared on the corpse ghost’s body—but still, it did not fall.

“What’s going on?”

Shock flashed in Zheng Feng’s eyes.

His strikes had enough power to sever solid iron.

And his Fire-element true qi should have dealt extra damage to corpse ghosts—so why hadn’t it fallen after all those blows?

At that moment, Jiang Ye chuckled softly and stepped forward.

“Zheng Zhenchuan, let this old man try.”

He rose abruptly, took a step forward, and launched a Tiger Fist, his fist crowned with crimson-gold true qi, as if cradling a miniature sun, smashing toward the corpse ghost’s head.

In the next instant:

Roar!!!

A low, majestic tiger’s roar echoed faintly through the air.

The crimson-gold true qi coalesced into a spectral tiger, fangs bared and claws extended, lunging at the black-furred corpse ghost.

Boom—!!!

A thunderous, muffled crash—the corpse ghost’s head exploded under the impact of the crimson-gold qi, dissolving into wisps of black vapor that twisted and writhed before vanishing entirely.

Its headless body swayed, then collapsed heavily to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.

“Hm...”

A flicker of unusual expression passed through Jiang Ye’s eyes.

He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but before shattering the corpse ghost’s head, he thought he’d glimpsed a hint of relief in its blackened eyes.

Meanwhile:

After navigating a series of branching paths, Liu Yiyi and Wang Siyi finally entered a cavern bathed in light.

“Yiyi-sis, look over there!!!”

Wang Siyi’s eyes widened, fixed on the cavern’s center, her voice trembling with excitement.

There, a small patch of medicinal soil lay cracked and dry—but at its center stood a three-inch-tall, crystal-clear snow lotus.

The lotus was pure white, its petals as thin as cicada wings, edged with a faint blue glow. Cool energy radiated from its core, carrying a refreshing chill that could be felt from afar, invigorating the spirit.

Liu Yiyi looked up and was stunned.

Even with limited experience, she knew this snow lotus was an exceedingly rare medicinal herb, its quality unmatched.

“Wang-shimei, let’s split this medicinal herb evenly.”

Liu Yiyi took a deep breath and said firmly.

Wang Siyi grinned, her smile utterly guileless: “Yiyi-sis, just call me Siyi. Splitting this herb in half would ruin most of its potency.”

Liu Yiyi looked at Wang Siyi, her voice cool: “Then what do you mean...”

Wang Siyi dashed over, snatched the snow lotus without hesitation, and handed it to Liu Yiyi: “Yiyi-sis, take this herb. I’ll wait for another one later!”

Liu Yiyi fell silent for a long moment, gazing at the earnest face before her, then slowly nodded: “Alright.”

At that moment:

Heavy footsteps echoed as a tall man clad in Cold Sword Sect training attire entered the cavern.

He was Gu Yang—the very man who had previously defeated a Tianqing Sect disciple with his iron-body prowess.

When he saw the snow lotus in Liu Yiyi’s hand, his eyes widened like bronze bells, his face suffused with greedy excitement: “Heart-Cold Ice Seed Lotus?!”

“Hahahaha!!! So this is my destiny!!!”

Gu Yang burst into laughter, then forced a friendly smile and extended his hand toward Liu Yiyi:

“Come on! Hand it over!”

“Yiyi-sis, run!” Wang Siyi cried out. Liu Yiyi instantly understood—they turned and fled without hesitation.

Both had witnessed Gu Yang’s brutal rampage in the chaos—they knew this man could not be opposed by force.