"Was this power only meant to awaken the Sacred Body's potential?"
Li Yu glanced at the unconscious crowd on the hill, lingering especially on Ye Fan for a moment. He chuckled. "Since you're all unconscious, I'll go gather some herbs first!"
A flash of escaping light streaked out, and Li Yu's figure shot away in an instant.
Each of the nine peaks in the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Ground contained a divine spring and a divine herb. They were nine portions of an Undying Elixir. How could Li Yu possibly let such treasures slip by?
The escaping light faded, and Li Yu appeared on the peak where the Nine Dragons Coffin Pull had fallen.
"Where are the divine spring and divine herb?"
Li Yu turned his head and looked around for a while, yet found nothing at all.
"Forget it. I can't be bothered to search myself. System, mark the locations of the divine herbs on all nine peaks."
The moment Li Yu gave the command, the system displayed the locations of the divine herbs.
"So they're here?"
Li Yu smiled and walked toward where the divine herbs grew.
An open patch of ground lay surrounded by ancient vines. At its center was a spring about a meter wide, its crystal-clear water flowing with a soft gurgle.
Beside the spring grew a row of small trees about two feet tall. Their shapes were peculiar, and every leaf resembled a palm. When the breeze stirred them, they looked from afar like little green hands waving.
At the tops of the trees hung blood-red fruits. The egg-sized fruits were crystal-clear, like brilliant red gemstones.
As he approached the spring, a refreshing fragrance washed over him, making Li Yu feel invigorated all over.
"As expected of an Undying Elixir!"
Li Yu was overjoyed and hurried forward.
"For an Undying Elixir, I only need to collect the fruits. As for the divine spring, I'll take half for now. I can't be too greedy. This belongs to someone, after all. If I provoke that ruthless woman, I'll be finished!"
With a wave of Li Yu's hand, the system's collection function automatically gathered the thirteen crimson fruits and half the divine spring water.
"Eight more places!"
Li Yu's figure flickered. Escaping light rose around him, and he landed atop another peak.
Ahead lay a spring around two meters wide. Clear spring water gurgled forth, dotted with specks of radiant light, mystical beyond compare.
Beside the spring grew eleven plants resembling dwarf pines. The dwarf pines were entirely emerald green, like Jade Trees carved from jade, yet each bore a glittering golden fruit the size of a longan at its top.
"Not bad! Not bad!"
Li Yu chuckled, waved his hand to collect the fruits and half the divine spring water, then turned and left.
Afterward, Li Yu traversed all nine peaks, collecting the divine herbs and divine springs from every mountain. Only then did he leisurely leave the sacred mountain and head toward where everyone had collapsed.
By then, the people unconscious on the hill had gradually begun to wake.
"Ah..."
A piercing scream jolted Zhou Yi awake.
"What happened? What—"
Zhou Yi rolled over and climbed to his feet. Turning toward the source of the scream, the sight before him left him dumbfounded. "What... is going on?"
Everywhere he looked were old men and old women with wrinkled skin, white hair, and withered faces. All of them trembled unsteadily, on the verge of death, as though only half a step remained before the grave.
"What is—"
Zhou Yi had just intended to ask when he suddenly saw his own withered hands and wrinkled skin. His heart jolted. Could I have become like this too?
"Heavenly Book Spirit, what is going on? Didn't you say I would be reborn? How did I end up like this?"
Furious, Zhou Yi questioned the Heavenly Book Spirit indignantly.
"Your Majesty, using life force to awaken potential naturally results in excessive consumption of life force. There is nothing unusual about that," the Heavenly Book Spirit replied unhurriedly.
"There's nothing unusual about this? How many days can I still live looking like this? If I'm dead, what use is potential?"
Panic had already begun to rise in Zhou Yi's heart.
"Why did this happen?!"
"How did I become like this?!"
"Ah!"
At this point, the others gradually woke as well and discovered the changes in themselves and everyone around them. Wailing, sobbing, and cries of despair rose one after another.
"It must have been that evil sorcerer!"
Liu Yunzhi shakily rose to his feet, pointed at Zhou Yi, and gritted his teeth. "That evil sorcerer must have used some wicked art to drain our vital essence. Zhou Yi, did you join hands with that evil sorcerer to harm us?"
"Are you insane?"
Zhou Yi shot Liu Yunzhi an irritated glare. "Can't you see I'm the same as all of you? Draining vital essence? Have you been reading too many ghost stories?"
"Who else could it be if not you? If that evil sorcerer hadn't tricked us into coming here, how could we have ended up like this? Zhou Yi, you need to take responsibility for this."
Liu Yunzhi stared at Zhou Yi with a face full of hatred, as though he wanted to tear him apart.
"Don't jump to conclusions."
At that moment, Ye Fan stepped forward and stopped Liu Yunzhi.
"You..."
Zhou Yi looked at Ye Fan's appearance in such surprise that he could not speak for a long while.
Ye Fan also looked like an elderly man with white hair, but his complexion was flushed and radiant. He was the very picture of white hair and a youthful face.
"Yes, I find it strange too."
Ye Fan helplessly shook his head. "My hair has turned white too, but I feel as though my body is actually better than before. There must be something strange going on."
"What's strange about it? Could it be that you joined hands with that evil sorcerer too, Ye Fan?"
Liu Yunzhi turned to Ye Fan, his expression twisting slightly. "Ye Fan, your body has improved. You must have joined hands with that evil sorcerer, drained our vital essence, and then left some for you. That has to be it!"
"Hmph!"
Ye Fan snorted and ignored Liu Yunzhi completely.
"Heavenly Book Spirit, what is going on with Ye Fan?"
Seeing Ye Fan's appearance, Zhou Yi felt somewhat puzzled and hurriedly asked the Heavenly Book Spirit.
"Your Majesty, Ye Fan possesses the Sacred Body. His physique is extraordinary, so after his potential was awakened, even though he consumed life force, his body instead became stronger."
The Heavenly Book Spirit waved a hand, scattering a curtain of light that unfolded like a scroll, listing all the information about the Sacred Body.
"Unprecedented? Peerless?"
Seeing those descriptions, Zhou Yi's expression became somewhat strange. Ye Fan's physique actually had such an incredible origin?
Only when he saw that the Sacred Body was no longer suited for cultivation did Zhou Yi finally breathe a sigh of relief. The name Indestructible Golden Body was simply too terrifying.
"Hm? You're all awake? Good, good. Your potential has all been awakened."
A streak of rosy light descended, and Li Yu appeared on the hill.
"Evil sorcerer, how dare you use such vicious methods? You'll die a miserable death!"
The moment Liu Yunzhi saw Li Yu appear, he flew into a rage and pointed at Li Yu as he launched into a torrent of curses.
"Uh?"
Li Yu turned to glance at Liu Yunzhi. He frowned, then shook his head with a sigh. "With a temperament like yours, you truly won't amount to much. If I really were an evil sorcerer, speaking to me like that would be seeking death, wouldn't it? Your ambition exceeds your ability, and you know neither advance nor retreat. You won't go far."
Li Yu no longer paid attention to Liu Yunzhi. He turned to the others. "Everyone, do you want to become young again?"
"Ah? We can become young again?"
"Wonderful! This is wonderful!"
"Thank you, Immortal Master! Thank you, Immortal Master!"