Elder Han trembled as he used his hands, black and shriveled like expired chicken claws, to dig up the Nine-Leaf Phoenix Divine Herb along with its native soil. He carefully stored it inside a jade cauldron.
To obtain this spiritual medicine, he had searched for over a decade before finally finding it. Fallen Phoenix Ridge was not easy to locate. It lay at the bottom of a ravine thousands of meters deep, incredibly dangerous. Ordinary cultivators would never dare venture there lightly. This was already deep within the Primordial Ruins.
Then, he had spent nearly two more years plotting, and now his great undertaking was finally complete. On top of that, he had obtained a mutated Golden Centipede as a medicinal catalyst.
Jiang Ming glanced at the old thing's pathetic excitement and calculated with his fingers. Elder Han would not live past two years.
That was his fate. Even if he died, it had nothing to do with Jiang Ming.
"Hey, old man, have you thought it over? Have you decided whether to head to the Western Desert with me for further study? With your spiritual aptitude, you would be better suited to a life of blue lamps and ancient Buddhas."
Jiang Ming looked at Elder Han and offered the invitation in an utterly sincere tone.
"Thank you, fellow Daoist, for helping me. Alas, this old man does not have long to live and lacks such fortune. I cannot accompany you to the Western Desert and pay my respects at Mount Sumeru."
Elder Han could never agree to Jiang Ming's rotten idea. In his current state, he could live at most another three years. If he successfully refined a Longevity Pill, he might gain another two years. If he traveled all the way from the Eastern Wasteland to the Western Desert with Jiang Ming, he would probably die before reaching halfway.
"That really is a pity. Go tend to your business. I'll study this basic Dao Patterns scroll for a while, then return it to you. By the way, where are you from? Do you have a fixed address where I can contact you?"
Jiang Ming said as he flipped through the beast-hide book.
"This old man is an elder of the Spirit Ruins Grotto-Heaven. You may call me Fellow Daoist Han. Our Spirit Ruins Grotto-Heaven is affiliated with the Yaoguang Sacred Land. If you dare come looking for me, then come!"
Elder Han was more wary of Jiang Ming than anything else. At this moment, his tone was mostly bluster.
All he wanted now was to flee and safely bring the Nine-Leaf Phoenix Divine Herb back.
As for that ancient beast-hide book, since Jiang Ming was unwilling to give it back now, Elder Han would just treat it as having been fed to a dog. He did not believe Jiang Ming's nonsense about returning it.
As soon as he finished speaking, the old man's figure was wrapped in a faint green rainbow light. He flew low through the air, rapidly heading out of the Primordial Ruins toward the Spirit Ruins Grotto-Heaven.
"Fellow Daoist Han, with so little hair left, you might as well shave your head. Once you're done extending your life, I'll invite you to the Western Desert again."
Watching Elder Han's ghostly back, Jiang Ming shouted after him.
Elder Han's figure, wrapped in emerald rainbow light, staggered and nearly fell from the sky.
So this world's cultivation methods allowed Life Spring cultivators to fly by riding rainbow light. Their entire bodies were wrapped in it, meaning they could fly in any posture?
For example, sideways, standing upright, upside down, lying down, or even striking some elegant, embarrassingly dramatic pose—they could all fly.
The rainbow light one controlled was related to one's cultivation technique. For example, when Jiang Ming's master flew, the rainbow light he rode was purple.
Elder Han, meanwhile, looked like some old monster or mountain ghoul, glowing faintly green. It was truly speechless. One look and anyone could tell he was not a good person.
After thinking for a moment, Jiang Ming had already arranged his next steps. "Mm, next I'll find a spiritual medicine, then break through to the Seventh Qi Refining Layer."
Elder Han was an unopened gift package to him. To open that package, it would be best to raise Elder Han's favorability toward him slightly above fifty.
Right now, that fellow's favorability toward him was definitely below thirty. He was more guarded and afraid than anything else.
He would start with Elder Han and test the proper way to use the Heavenly Calamity Lone Star System.
There were no useless systems, only useless hosts.
That was something he had learned from memories of Earth two lifetimes ago. It sounded rather reasonable.
Complaining was useless. There was nothing he could do about the system.
He might as well find a way to enjoy the benefits it brought, or ruthlessly squeeze out its true value and drain the system dry.
Before leaving, Jiang Ming put away the beast-hide book and transformed into a Six-Eared Macaque again. He began using the Six-Eared Macaque's innate talent to observe Fallen Phoenix Ridge. Since this place was so unusual, he wanted to take a closer look before leaving. Perhaps some heavenly treasure had been overlooked.
Zhu Yan's Seventy-Two Transformations really was useful.
The next moment, an ape appeared, standing one meter sixty-eight tall and covered in thick fur. Every strand of fur gleamed golden. Golden beams shot from its eyes as it began observing the entirety of Fallen Phoenix Ridge.
A while later.
Jiang Ming's eyes lit up. A thousand meters underground, directly beneath where the Nine-Leaf Phoenix Divine Herb had been growing, he discovered a blood-red stone the size of a thumb. It was this stone that occasionally emitted a wisp of bloody light, nurturing that Nine-Leaf Phoenix Divine Herb.
That was only natural. Since a Nine-Leaf Phoenix Divine Herb had grown here, there had to be some reason for it.
Once cultivators' divine senses passed through the ground, they were restricted. Even Divine Bridge cultivators had limited detection ranges, only around two hundred to three hundred meters.
Divine Bridge cultivators had a divine sense range of roughly four hundred to six hundred meters.
Other Shore cultivators could reach eight hundred to twelve hundred meters.
However, affected by the ground, even an Other Shore cultivator might not be able to inspect this place so clearly.
Moreover, the blood-colored stone itself was encased in a strange layer of matter.
Transform!
Jiang Ming used the Seventy-Two Transformations to become a Pangolin. In an instant, he vanished from where he stood, using the Pangolin lineage's Earth Escape talent to enter the ground and arrive before the stone.
So that was it. This was a Source Stone. For some unknown reason, it had cracked open along a fissure as thin as paper and as tiny as a grain of sand.
This Source Stone was as large as a millstone. It looked like an ordinary rock buried underground, and there were many such rocks nearby. Yet inside it was a thumb-sized blood-red stone.
This was neither Phoenix Blood Scarlet Gold nor Nine Heavens Scarlet Radiant Jade. It should have been a dried Phoenix Blood Crystal. However, after an unknown passage of time, its spirituality had severely dissipated.
Furthermore, the fallen Phoenix had not been as powerful as imagined. It was likely a Primordial Species with Phoenix Bloodline.
Even so, this drop of blood crystal was far more precious than the Nine-Leaf Phoenix Divine Herb. Even Dao Palace Realm cultivators would fight over it if they saw it.
Jiang Ming's heart stirred. It seemed that his Life-Bound Sword's transformation was guaranteed this time. With this Phoenix Blood Crystal, along with the wisp of Geng Metal Essence he had just devoured from the Golden Centipede, the success rate of his Life-Bound Sword's transformation had reached ninety-nine percent.
Next, to play it safe, he only needed to find a heavenly treasure in the Primordial Ruins and refine it. He would definitely break through.
He had forgotten to borrow some Hundred-Grass Liquid from his good friend, Elder Han.
Congratulations, Host. You have caused the death of a Life Spring cultivator you just saved. Random reward: one Nine-Leaf Phoenix Spirit Grass, automatically stored in the Host's Sea of Bitterness.
Hiss. Heavenly Lone Star, Jinx Star, Calamitous Star—the reputations were well deserved. This was far too vicious.
Jiang Ming was completely numb. Just moments ago, in a moment of kindness, he had saved three Rogue Cultivators. Now one had already died.
What was going on?
Could that sinister and vicious old thing, Elder Han, have some backup plan?
Fortunately, two were still alive.
It was all because their fate was bad.
He wondered whether the Nine-Leaf Phoenix Spirit Grass judged by the system was the same species as the Nine-Leaf Phoenix Divine Herb Elder Han treasured beyond life itself.
Congratulations, Host. You have caused the death of a Life Spring cultivator you just saved. Random reward: one three-hundred-year-old Jade Snake Orchid, automatically stored in the Host's Sea of Bitterness.
Jiang Ming: "--"
It had nothing to do with him. Debts had their debtors, and grievances had their culprits.
Thankfully, one was still alive. Why didn't he just hide somewhere? He was so badly injured—couldn't he find a place to heal first?
Jiang Ming sincerely worried for this generation of Rogue Cultivators. They had clearly escaped already. Couldn't they just live properly?
Congratulations, Host. You have caused the death of a Life Spring cultivator you just saved. Random reward: one Azure Jade Snow Lotus Fruit, automatically stored in the Host's Sea of Bitterness.
They were all dead!
What a sin. Damn system, look at what you'd done. Was there any need to be this cruel?
It had to be that old schemer Elder Han who had left behind some backup measure. He was worried that news of the Nine-Leaf Phoenix Divine Herb would leak out, so he had killed them to silence them.
Jiang Ming sat deep underground, summoned his Life-Bound Sword, and began carving out a temporary stone chamber. There was no need to leave in a hurry now. He had enough cultivation resources.
After finishing everything, Jiang Ming adjusted his condition and slowly absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. At the same time, he took out the basic Dao Patterns beast-hide scroll and continued studying it.
About an hour later, Jiang Ming's condition had reached its peak.
Next, Jiang Ming took out spare beast hide and demon beast blood, inscribing two talismans and placing them around the stone chamber. This made the place seem like nothing more than ordinary rock.
With his talisman mastery, once these three talismans were placed, even Dao Palace Realm cultivators passing by would be unable to see through them.
That was only because his cultivation was too low for him to inscribe deeper and more profound talismans.
As for that basic Dao Patterns scroll, Jiang Ming had already finished reading it.
For him, getting started had been quite easy. It was like a modern PhD in Classical Chinese returning to ancient times to study ancient texts. He might not understand everything immediately, but after studying for a while, he would naturally master it all.
Then, Jiang Ming looked at his Life-Bound Sword. A golden thread had appeared inside it, located at the very center. Through accumulated refinement and gradual devouring of other metal-element heavenly treasures, the Geng Metal Essence could slowly grow stronger.
Next, Jiang Ming took out the three-hundred-year-old Jade Snake Orchid. He had once eaten a similar Jade Snake Orchid that was only a hundred years old. This second time, Jiang Ming directly gnawed on it as if it were a white radish.
In his previous life, Jiang Ming at the same realm would never have dared to do this. He could easily have exploded and died.
But now, he bit off a third of the Jade Snake Orchid in one mouthful. It tasted incomparably sweet, its fragrance spreading through his mouth and nose.
The entire stone chamber was filled with a refreshing fragrance. He finally understood what "richly fragrant" truly meant. Compared to the hundred-year-old Jade Snake Orchid, this was far more delicious.
Both the texture and moisture of the Jade Snake Orchid gave him an excellent experience. Once its medicinal power entered his stomach, it immediately flowed through his limbs and bones, making every pore across his body feel as though it had opened.
His entire body seemed wrapped in the essence of heaven and earth. He felt light and blissful, as though he had become a spiritual serpent soaring and swimming through a world veiled in spiritual energy. Fine wisps of essence nourished his organs, while radiant light flowed throughout him.
Jiang Ming knew very well that having too much essence was not necessarily a good thing. It was only because his physique was special that he felt comfortable. An ordinary cultivator would now feel the agony of their body being torn apart.