A Stronger Mind and Will Meant More Suffering

After a night of cultivation, Fang Qing's strength had greatly improved once more.

The Longevity Art, the Bodhi Seed, and the Divine Fruits—these treasures working together had allowed Fang Qing to reach the Innate Realm in a single night.

Such progress was astonishingly fast. If the martial world learned of Fang Qing's advancement in cultivation, they would surely refuse to believe it.

For ordinary people to cultivate from scratch to the Innate Realm, they might need decades of practice for even the slightest chance of reaching it.

Yet Fang Qing had ascended in a single leap.

The opportunities Fang Qing had obtained were simply too immense. An opportunity like the Divine Fruits was something no martial artist in any wuxia world could possibly acquire. Even in their dreams, they likely could not imagine obtaining such treasures at the very beginning of cultivation.

Fang Qing had obtained them, and so he had become stronger.

When some of Fang Qing's classmates woke the next day, they immediately felt that their old classmate had changed enormously. He seemed almost enlightened.

His skin was several times smoother than that of the most beautiful women, and his bearing was utterly extraordinary. Compared to the other students, he stood out like a crane among chickens.

Although comparing his classmates to a flock of chickens was somewhat insulting, that was indeed the impression Fang Qing gave them.

Quite a few female classmates stared at Fang Qing with shining eyes, eager to approach him and explore the way of men and women, or discuss life's great matters such as skincare. Yet with a single sweep of Fang Qing's gaze, they inexplicably grew nervous and even felt somewhat inferior.

None dared step forward.

Pang Bo clicked his tongue in admiration. He had not slept much the night before, perhaps because the fruit had left him full of energy. He had seen Fang Qing cultivating all night, and this old classmate of his had become increasingly unfathomable, ever more attractive to both the male and female students.

"We should get moving."

Fang Qing spoke.

"Alright, let's go!"

"Follow Brother Fang!"

"Let's get out of here quickly. Hopefully, we can find somewhere to stay."

Everyone set out together. After walking for two or three full hours, they still encountered no danger.

By afternoon, the towering ancient trees gradually became sparse. A relatively open stretch of land appeared before them. Birds flew nearby, and the roars of beasts could be heard. It was no longer so deathly silent.

"There's a rabbit over there!"

"And a badger!"

Upon seeing some ordinary animals, many people relaxed.

"Huh, there are words carved into that cliff face!"

Someone noticed a stone wall ahead, upon which several enormous ancient characters had been carved.

Ancient Desolation Forbidden Zone.

Those words had appeared again. This meant they had finally made it out safely and reached the edge of the Ancient Desolation Forbidden Zone. They had finally escaped danger unharmed.

Everyone relaxed even further, all feeling that safety was within reach.

But at that moment, a female classmate said somewhat awkwardly to the girl beside her, "Why do I feel like my body is heating up?"

"I feel it too. Do I have a fever?"

"Ah, this hurts so much!"

Everyone realized something was wrong. Their skin had turned a terrifying red, as though blood might drip from it. Every one of them felt incomparably hot, as though fire were burning inside their bodies.

"This is unbearable!"

Some students could no longer control themselves. Tears and snot streamed down their faces as they collapsed to the ground and rolled about nonstop.

Then a second and third student could no longer endure it either, writhing in agony on the ground.

"What is going on? What happened?"

Nearly everyone had fallen to the ground in pain. A layer of blood qi swirled around their bodies, as though crimson flames were burning. They struggled violently and screamed in agony. In the end, the intense pain caused them all to pass out.

Fang Qing, however, remained conscious.

Of course, he was still in pain.

More precisely, he was consciously experiencing the pain, which made him even more unfortunate than the others.

"Cultivating until my mental will is stronger than everyone else, and I still suffer for it."

Fang Qing felt the pain in his body and tried to sit cross-legged to regulate it.

But the slash dealt by Desolation was not something he could yet regulate. Amid the agony, he watched the changes in his body with his own eyes.

The Desolation Force of the Ancient Desolation Forbidden Zone was reducing his lifespan, while the Divine Fruits he had eaten were increasing it. In the end, Fang Qing, who had eaten three Divine Fruits, actually became somewhat younger than before.

Ye Fan and Pang Bo were the same, becoming somewhat younger as well.

Liu Yiyi had aged by around twenty years.

All the other students had aged by over forty years.

Thus, those young men and women who had only graduated three years ago had now all become old men and old women.

Male or female, every one of them had wrinkled skin and looked incredibly aged.

A beauty growing old in an instant—this was how terrifying it was.

As time passed, Ye Fan and Pang Bo awoke. They were stunned when they saw their own changes, and even more shocked upon seeing the others.

"Brother Fang, what happened?"

Pang Bo asked in alarm.

"I think it was most likely the Ancient Desolation Forbidden Zone."

Fang Qing spoke.

"Ancient Desolation Forbidden Zone—it doesn't sound like a good place. It seems the power of the Ancient Desolation Forbidden Zone stole their lifespans."

Ye Fan came to the same conclusion and also guessed why they had not aged.

The method of seeking similarities and differences indicated that it was highly likely the fruits had protected them.

The three who had eaten the fruits looked at their old classmates. After a while, everyone else gradually woke up, and miserable cries immediately erupted. The sound was hair-raising, while sobs rose and fell one after another.

"Why have I become like this?"

Zhou Yi trembled as he looked at his white hair. In an incomparably aged voice, he roared, "Why?"

Beside him, Wang Ziwen was trembling as well, his voice equally ancient. "I don't believe it!"

"Ah..."

Lin Jia was on the verge of collapse. As a beautiful woman, losing her appearance was more painful than death.

Not far away, Li Xiaoman was the same. She was in such pain that she wished she could kill herself. The face she had once been so proud of was now dull and lustreless, covered in wrinkles and sagging skin, making her want to die.

"Why haven't you grown old?!"

Liu Yunzhi roared, demanding an answer from Ye Fan and Pang Bo.

The others also temporarily set aside their grief and all looked over.

"I say, Grandpa Liu, you don't think we were behind this, do you? If we had such great divine powers, we'd have become Xian long ago. We could make you a god, so why would we still be mortals?"

Pang Bo rolled his eyes.

"Why did this happen? What should we do to regain our youth, like you?"

Lin Jia stopped crying and looked toward Fang Qing and the others pleadingly.

"Perhaps it was because we ate a kind of fruit on the mountain."

Fang Qing said nothing. Ye Fan spoke instead.

"Ah!"

Upon hearing this, many people trembled, utterly unsure whether they should continue onward or return to pick the fruits on the mountain.

Just then, a streak of multicolored light came from the distance, heading toward Fang Qing and the others.

Within that light was a figure.

It was a woman.