Qingping Spirit Ruins

"To be honest with you, Junior Brother, I derived the Meditation Fluid from an ancient incomplete recipe. These past few days, I've been studying..."

When it came to alchemy, Xiang Sui simply could not stop talking.

He went on and on about which medicinal herbs had to be paired together to truly unleash their effects, how to nurture them with pill fire and purge the impurities from the medicinal liquid, and which spirit medicines could replace the ordinary herbs used before...

In short.

I'm amazing... I've already deduced the ancient Meditation Fluid recipe to the level of a low-grade spirit pill. All that remains is to fire up the furnace!

Zhu Yu naturally understood the implication behind his words. Shaking his head with a smile, he said, "Senior Brother Xiang, just tell me how many Spirit Stones you need."

Xiang Sui's face lit up at once. He raised one finger. "One hundred Spirit Stones." Afraid Zhu Yu might misunderstand, he hurriedly explained, "I've long prepared the supplementary ingredients. I'm only a little short when it comes to buying the main spirit medicine, the Bewitching Flower."

He patted his chest and promised:

"But don't worry, Junior Brother. I've already refined pill fire. There is absolutely no chance of failure in this refinement, and everything produced from this batch of pills will be yours."

What else could Zhu Yu say? He could only take out the Spirit Stones!

The hundred Spirit Stones he had not even had time to warm in his hands fell into Xiang Sui's pocket. Having obtained them, Xiang Sui left behind the words, "See you in three days," before hurrying away.

"Take care, Junior Brother..."

Liang Kuan gave him an admiring look, then turned and headed toward the Demon-Slaying Guard encampment.

"I wonder what Dharma Seed Senior Brother Liang refined..."

Watching his retreating figure, Zhu Yu secretly marveled. After only one day apart, Liang Kuan's body seemed to have grown broader and thicker, while the waxy sheen on his face had become even brighter.

Clearly, this was the result of further refining the Dharma Seed, its corruption altering his flesh.

"The Corpse Control Art will be fully nurtured tonight..."

Feeling the Spiritual Power cocoon within the ring in his Divine Sea about to emerge, Zhu Yu was faintly excited. He called out to Little Black, then turned and walked toward the other side of the street.

Leaving the Market.

Without stopping, he drove Little Black straight toward the Underworld Grounds.

Half an hour later.

"Hm?"

Not far from his own Corpse Field, Zhu Yu spotted a pale, plump young man hurrying along ahead. After a moment of puzzlement, he urged Little Black to quicken its pace. Once he caught up, he flipped down to the ground and greeted him with a smile.

"Senior Brother Bai, what has you in such a hurry?"

The pale, plump young man was none other than Bai Meng, whom he had met at the banquet before.

"Junior Brother Zhu."

Bai Meng halted and returned the greeting with a smile. When he saw Little Black standing beside Zhu Yu—especially those two eye-catching oversized buckteeth—he said in surprise, "What a huge Bucktooth Insect Beast."

It was his first time seeing a Bucktooth Insect Beast as large as a millstone, but he did not think much of it. No matter how big it was, it was still only a Bucktooth Insect Beast.

Coming back to himself, Bai Meng glanced around like a thief on guard, then lowered his voice. "It's only because it's you, Junior Brother. If it were anyone else, I definitely wouldn't tell them." After a pause, he lowered his voice even further. "I have a nephew working in the Corpse Grotto. He just sent word through someone that a huge batch of Corpse Seeds has arrived there..."

"Let's hurry over. If we get there too late, all the good Corpse Seeds will be picked over by others..."

"A huge batch of Corpse Seeds?"

Surprise surfaced on Zhu Yu's face. After thinking it over, he decided to go have a look and invited him, "Little Black is fairly quick. If Senior Brother doesn't mind, would you like to ride with me to the Corpse Grotto?"

"Will that work?"

Bai Meng eyed Little Black's slender, long legs suspiciously.

"Rest assured, Senior Brother."

Zhu Yu nodded with a smile and stepped up onto Little Black's back.

Seeing this, Bai Meng hesitated no longer. In any case, the Bucktooth Insect Beast was not his. If it got crushed, Zhu Yu would be the one suffering the loss. He lightly stamped his foot and leaped onto Little Black's back.

The next moment.

He felt a gentle force rise beneath him, light and floating, as though he were standing on cotton.

Bai Meng said in astonishment, "An innate spell! A Bucktooth Insect can awaken an innate spell?"

"It's only a worthless little spell..."

Zhu Yu chuckled softly.

He knew why Bai Meng was so surprised. Insects like Little Black, which occupied the bottom rung of the Insect Nest, would usually grow a little larger, stronger, and faster after drawing spiritual energy into their bodies.

Those capable of awakening innate spells were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.

Little Black truly counted as a genius among Bucktooth Insects.

"Tut..."

Having roughly understood the use of Little Black's spell, Bai Meng felt the fierce wind sweeping past him. Envy appeared in his eyes. If he had such a mount, why would he still need to walk everywhere on his own legs?

"Junior Brother, your luck is truly good..."

He had seen Little Black at the banquet before. It had been nothing more than an ordinary Bucktooth Insect. Who would have thought that after a little over ten days, it had successfully drawn spiritual energy into its body, become an Insect Beast, and even awakened an innate spell?

Any mount that had awakened an innate spell, regardless of species, was never cheap. At least, he could not afford one.

On the way to the Corpse Grotto, the two began chatting.

Through Bai Meng's account, Zhu Yu learned that every half-year or year, Corpse Transport Ships of various sizes would deliver Corpse Seeds to the Corpse Grotto, their quality and varieties differing greatly.

Some were humanoid, some beast-shaped, and some were neither human nor beast.

None of that was important. What mattered was that Bai Meng said some Corpse Seeds might contain hidden surprises. That was one of the reasons he was rushing so anxiously toward the Corpse Grotto.

"Surprises?"

Zhu Yu looked at him in confusion.

Bai Meng grinned and said mysteriously, "You'll know what a surprise is when you come across one, Junior Brother Zhu. If you don't come across one, there's no use telling you..."

Seeing how cryptic he was being, Zhu Yu grew even more curious about this newly arrived batch of Corpse Seeds. Could they be beast Corpse Seeds containing bloodlines? Or something else entirely?

As he pondered, a soft glow lit up the darkness ahead.

Bai Meng's expression brightened with delight. "Sure enough, the Corpse Transport Ship has arrived..."

Zhu Yu could only see a single point of light.

When they drew closer, the view suddenly opened up before them.

Before the halls of the Corpse Grotto was moored an enormous vessel nearly a hundred zhang long. Powerful spiritual radiance flickered across its surface, and from up close, a heavy pressure came crashing toward them.

At this moment.

Quite a few people had already gathered outside, pointing at the vessel and excitedly discussing it among themselves.

"Hmph..."

Bai Meng snorted and muttered, "They came early enough." Then, unable to wait any longer, he jumped down and sprang onto a Blue Stone, craning his neck to look.

At that glance, his expression immediately became excited.

"It's actually a Corpse Transport Ship returning from the Qingping Spirit Ruins!"

"Qingping Spirit Ruins?"

Zhu Yu was slightly stunned. It was the first time he had heard of this place. Judging by its name alone, he knew it was a Spirit Ruins entirely different from the Immortal Grave Spirit Ruins outside the Heavenly Dao Sect.

"The Heavenly Dao Sect is at war with another Sect..."

His heart tightened as he looked on. Laborers carried corpse after corpse off the Corpse Transport Ship—some naked, some clad in tattered robes, others mangled into a bloody mess...

Their appearances differed, but one thing was the same: every corpse had a bloody hole in its lower abdomen, as if someone had deliberately cut it open in search of something.

"This is..."

Seeming to notice his confusion, Bai Meng excitedly explained, "The Corpse Transport Ship brought evil-path cultivators from the Qingping Spirit Ruins this time. These are all top-quality Corpse Seeds..."

Without pausing, he told Zhu Yu everything he knew about the Qingping Spirit Ruins.

A short while later.

Zhu Yu gazed gravely at the corpses being carried by the laborers and murmured, "Qingping Spirit Ruins... evil-path cultivators..."

It was indeed as he had thought.

The Heavenly Dao Sect was at war with another Spirit Ruins.

And these Corpse Seeds came from the Qingping Sect of the Qingping Spirit Ruins.