Entering the Depths Underground

The three divided the Black Stone Mountain area into three sections, with each person responsible for searching one section.

Song Wen went to the west side of Black Stone Mountain and made sure no one was around.

Five Shadow Gu flapped their wings and flew out of his mouth.

These were all the Shadow Gu he carried with him; he left one more Shadow Gu outside the secret realm.

The five Shadow Gu entered five different rifts.

Before long, all five Shadow Gu returned.

Song Wen learned from the Shadow Gu that these cracks were not completely independent, but interconnected.

Deep underground, caves of varying sizes will appear, connecting these cracks together.

The investigation into the deepest Shadow Gu went more than thirty miles underground, but they found neither Purple Salvia Root nor any trace of zombies.

"It seems that this Purple Salvia Root is indeed not so easy to obtain, and the number of zombies is also less than expected," Song Wen thought to himself.

At Song Wen's signal, the five Shadow Gu headed towards other cracks in the distance.

However, none of the Shadow Gu went deeper than thirty miles; beyond that distance, Song Wen would lose contact with the Shadow Gu.

Song Wen was worried that if they went too deep, the Shadow Gu would encounter third or even fourth-tier zombies, making it impossible to control the Shadow Gu in time, resulting in the death of the Shadow Gu.

Half an hour later, Song Wen searched the area he was responsible for and arrived at the center of Black Stone Mountain.

Zhu Yin and Purple Cloud were already waiting there.

"Extreme Yin, have you discovered anything?" Zhu Yin asked.

Song Wen shook his head.

He didn't fake it; he genuinely found nothing.

"And you?" Song Wen asked.

"We haven't found Purple Salvia Root either," Purple Cloud said.

"At what depth did your sect's cultivators who previously entered the secret realm discover the Purple Salvia Root?" Song Wen asked.

Purple Cloud said, "Most of them are found deep within the fissures; occasionally, Purple Salvia Root can be found in the shallower areas of the fissures."

"It seems we're just unlucky," Song Wen said with some regret.

Then, Song Wen continued to ask, "What does Fellow Purple Cloud plan to do next?"

As a member of the Two Forms Sect, Purple Cloud's understanding of the secret realm far surpasses that of Song Wen and Zhu Yin. Therefore, Song Wen and Zhu Yin would consult her for her opinion.

Purple Cloud said, "Given the current situation, there's no other way but to risk venturing deeper into the crevice. Based on past experiences of obtaining Purple Salvia Root, the central area has the highest probability of Purple Salvia Root. Let's start our search from the crevice in this vicinity."

Song Wen and Zhu Yin nodded, agreeing to Purple Cloud's decision.

Purple Cloud looked around, found the widest gap nearby, and flew inside.

Song Wen and Zhu Yin hurriedly went up.

As the depth increased, the light gradually dimmed until it was completely dark. At the same time, the corpse energy became increasingly dense, and the range of Divine Sense perception became shorter and shorter.

When they had gone more than fifty miles underground, their Divine Sense could only perceive a few miles away.

"Gentlemen, bring out all your detection methods. Don't hold back. If we're not careful and a fourth-tier golden corpse gets into close combat, none of the three of us will come out unscathed."

Purple Cloud looked at the dark and narrow crack beneath her feet and spoke up to remind her.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yin did not hesitate at all. She raised her hand and waved it, and Ghost King at the Early Third Rank appeared out of thin air.

Seeing Zhu Yin's actions, Song Wen summoned his mid-stage third-tier Ghost King without hesitation.

"Isn't Limitless Island supposed to be good at refining corpses? Why are you raising ghosts instead?"

Purple Cloud casually joked, then patted the spirit beast pouch at her waist, and a Late Third Rank spirit beast suddenly appeared.

This mythical beast resembles a crocodile, is seven feet long, has a flat body, short limbs, and is covered with dark brown scales. It has a sharp horn like a drill on its head.

"This is a spirit beast I specially prepared for this trip to the secret realm. It's called the Earth-Drilling Dragon, and it's extremely good at burrowing underground."

Purple Cloud took the initiative to introduce herself, seemingly to show Song Wen and Zhu Yin how much importance she attached to this trip.

The Earth-Drilling Dragon burrowed deep into the crevice, clearing a path for the three.

The two Ghost King stood guard on either side of the rift, one on the left and one on the right.

After walking for another ten miles or so, the three stopped again.

The gap below is too narrow for a person to pass through.

They have searched every possible area along this crack, but still haven't found Purple Salvia Root.

Purple Cloud suddenly raised her hand and pointed to the right.

"Ten miles ahead, Earth-Drilling Dragon has discovered a cave that seems to lead to a deeper area. Should we continue deeper?"

"Let's go deeper!" Song Wen said without hesitation.

They had been searching in the Black Stone Mountain for an hour, but had not found any trace of the Purple Salvia Root.

Song Wen finally understood that obtaining the Purple Salvia Root required taking risks.

Led by Purple Cloud, the three arrived at a cave that sloped downwards.

The cave is very narrow, Rong Yi person to pass at a time.

Moreover, some of the broken stones in the cave are very fresh, indicating that the Earth-Drilling Dragon had just widened the cave to allow passage for three people.

The three entered the cave one by one.

Purple Cloud led the way, Zhu Yin followed in the middle, and Song Wen brought up the rear.

With the Earth-Drilling Dragon scouting ahead, the three of them encountered no unexpected problems.

After descending for another ten miles or so, the cave suddenly became spacious, several zhang wide.

"This place is practically a natural paradise for refining corpses," Zhu Yin murmured in amazement.

The corpse energy here was extremely dense, compressing the perception range of Song Wen and his companions to less than two miles.

The cave is not a smooth path, but rather a place filled with strangely shaped rocks.

Purple Cloud's voice suddenly became somewhat agitated.

"Earth-Drilling Dragon has discovered a Purple Salvia Root."

Upon hearing this, both Song Wen and Zhu Yin showed a hint of joy on their faces.

The three of them moved with incredible speed, and after turning several corners, the cave suddenly widened to a depth of several tens of feet.

In one corner of the cave, a magical herb, half a foot tall, grew.

The herb has three jet-black leaves.

After carefully observing the spiritual herb for a moment, Purple Cloud said softly.

"It really is Purple Salvia Root, and it's already three hundred years old."

Every hundred years, the Purple Salvia Root can only grow one leaf.

Purple Cloud turned her head and looked at Song Wen and Zhu Yin.

"This Purple Salvia Root is mine. Do either of you have any objections?"

Before Zhu Yin could speak, Song Wen spoke first.

"Throughout the journey, Fellow Daoist Purple Cloud has contributed the most, so this first Purple Salvia Root should rightfully belong to you. If we encounter more Purple Salvia Root later, Fellow Zhu Yin and I will divide it among ourselves."

Seeing that Song Wen and Zhu Yin did not object, Purple Cloud went to the Purple Salvia Root. She squatted down and reached out to pull it up by the roots.

Song Wen looked wary, his eyes fixed on Purple Cloud's movements. He subtly took two steps back, his inner Origin-Returning Sha Qi surging, ready to be unleashed at any moment.

The area where Purple Salvia Root grows has a significantly stronger aura of corpses than other places, which made Song Wen, who was seeing Purple Salvia Root for the first time, wary.