Jin Wanliang, Suppressed

"A thousand-year-old blood essence, along with Tai Sui, Lingzhi, Huangjing, Bitter Apricot, thousand-year-old ginseng, Drunken Peach, and Silver Fruit, can grant immortality. Medicines have their time to take shape, but humans cannot wait a thousand years."

"Regretfully consuming the elixir of immortality, now we are separated by life and death!"

"So hateful, so hateful, so hateful..."

"No need to read it anymore!"

Bound to the painting demon, Huo Qubing could read the remaining text on the palace floor.

Zhang Xuezhou hadn't expected that the ground wasn't a secret location, but rather involved a Pill Formula. As for the rest, it was filled with resentment and hatred, with many repeated words expressing hatred.

Zhang Xuezhou signaled to Huo Qubing that there was no need to continue translating.

He looked at the Pill Formula on the ground and felt that Pill Formula somewhat familiar.

If you remove the millennium blood essence, flesh-like Ganoderma lucidum, and other substances, traces of the remaining medicinal ingredients can be found in the Nine Treasures Wine.

This is a Longevity Pill formula for immortality, but the quality of many of the ingredients is extremely demanding.

Perhaps Da Yi couldn't gather all three great medicines—Tai Sui, Zi Ling Zhi, and Huang Jing—and thus had to cultivate them in a secret place, which caused him to regret it for the rest of his life, leaving him with many words of hatred carved on the ground.

Zhang Xuezhou found it difficult to guess what had happened in the past, and these things seemed to have no meaning for him.

"This Da Yi must have not drunk enough water before he died, which is why he left behind so many words of hatred," Huo Qubing said, smacking his lips.

"I think he must have drunk too much water before he died, and that's why he wrote so many words of hatred when he accidentally choked to death!"

Zhang Xuezhou reached into his Lesser Heaven and Earth Bag and grabbed the Qingyan Staff that Lu Baibai had given him.

The staff originating from Fangzhang Island can amplify his suppressive power, while the staff originating from Lu Baibai has a certain auxiliary use for earth-based Technique Method. For example, Zhang Xuezhou's fossil spell was affected by it.

If he really couldn't find a water source, Zhang Xuezhou felt he had to consider digging a well.

In any case, as long as there are trees in the mountains, the probability of finding water by digging down into the mountains is relatively high.

After ransacking the palace, Zhang Xuezhou had no choice but to pick up his staff and fly down the mountain.

"I'm so thirsty!"

"Shut your mouth and save your saliva, or I'll feed you a mouthful of poison to quench your thirst!"

Huo Qubing, who was lying in the shade on the ground, cried out. Zhang Xuezhou had no choice but to tell Huo Qubing to stay in bed and not run around.

He landed at the foot of the mountain in this secret place and began to dig downwards.

Not much different from Li Shaojun's method of digging pits, Zhang Xuezhou could only dig the ground using the branches of oak trees, and when he encountered rocks and tree roots that blocked his way, he used petrification techniques to dissolve them.

This kind of manual labor was clearly not friendly. Zhang Xuezhou kept digging down, and although the soil was moist, there was hardly any water.

"I hate it... I hate it so much!"

Huo Qubing's low, panting breaths as he begged for water came from afar. Zhang Xuezhou looked at the pit, which was ten feet deep, and was at a loss for what to do.

"Stop yelling! A person can live for three to five days without water. It's fine if you don't train your strength, but what are you yelling about while lying here? I'm already digging water for you!"

Zhang Xuezhou called out towards the distance, and the Demonic Sound Technique carried his voice far and wide.

Although he was more than 300 meters away from Huo Qubing, it did not affect their conversation. Zhang Xuezhou could hear Huo Qubing's low breathing, and he could also send his own voice to Huo Qubing's ear.

But water was a problem that Zhang Xuezhou couldn't solve. He always avoided going hungry and never considered the issue of drinking water.

Zhang Xuezhou's many techniques are about avoiding or reducing, not about generating.

Without the Golden Crow Great Emperor's feathers, he would have difficulty even starting a fire.

"What a pity about the water hyacinth!"

In the past, Zhang Xuezhou hadn't thought much of carrying water hyacinths, but when he needed them, they undoubtedly caused him a great headache.

As the sky shifted from light to darkness, and then from darkness to light, the pit Zhang Xuezhou dug grew ever deeper.

Even after digging more than 20 meters deep, he could still see the fine roots of the oak tree below.

These trees, which have lived for countless years, have very deep roots. Wherever the roots are, it means that the tree absorbs water, but it has never reached a water source.

"Difficult!"

Zhang Xuezhou looked up at the sky from inside the pit. It was easy to dig when the depth was limited, but as the depth increased, the soil below was not only squeezed to be as hard as rock, but also difficult to remove and throw out.

Zhang Xuezhou also relied on the physical resilience granted by his physical body techniques to forcibly dig indiscriminately.

"That doesn't make sense!"

Nearly two days have passed, and Zhang Xuezhou has dug down to a depth of more than 60 meters.

The oak tree roots had long since disappeared, and Zhang Xuezhou had shattered the rocks at the bottom of the pit into pieces, but Zhang Xuezhou was unable to dig out any water.

It seemed as if the oak trees in this secret place survived solely on rainwater. Zhang Xuezhou thought this place was absurd and completely unsuitable as a secret place for living.

Huo Qubing, lying in the ruins of the palace, had fallen silent and was trying to stay in the shade to avoid being exposed to the sun.

Why isn't there any water at all?

Zhang Xuezhou reached down and poked, the golden light on his arm trembling slightly, and his finger pierced down like an iron rod.

His fingers felt hard, cold, and damp, but they didn't touch any liquid water.

If he had all the necessary tools, he could even condense water using the moisture from the temperature difference between day and night. But even the most skilled cook can't make a meal without ingredients. Despite having ample theoretical knowledge, Zhang Xuezhou couldn't produce a single cup of drinkable water at this moment.

"Little Huo, why don't you try entering the Realm Entry of immortality, and then learn my Grain Avoidance method!"

As Zhang Xuezhou dug deeper, he became increasingly disappointed, wondering if Huo Qubing, who had never Realm Entry, had any hope of Realm Entry, and whether he could cultivate the Grain Avoidance Instruction.

His last-minute cramming method was undoubtedly extremely unreliable, but Zhang Xuezhou had no choice but to prepare for both possibilities.

Confucius taught me the "Zhongni Qiguan Shuo" (Confucius's Sayings on the Seven Officials). He said that my body was not yet fully formed, still a rough, unpolished piece of jade, and even the simplest methods would be insufficient to fully Realm Entry!

Huo Qubing's low voice came over, and Zhang Xuezhou couldn't help but mutter a complaint.

"If you still believe his lies before you die of thirst, then you can only wait to die of thirst!"

Having thoroughly read "Zhongni Qiguan Shuo," Huo Qubing clearly possessed the necessary knowledge of the methods to Realm Entry, thus preventing Zhang Xuezhou from using the Yin-Yang School's Realm Technique to deceive people.

"I'll tell you a method of Grain Avoidance. You can listen to a bit if you want, or just keep lying there if you don't!"

Zhang Xuezhou exclaimed, disregarding whether Huo Qubing was capable of learning it, and then began to recite the introductory method of the Grain Avoidance Instruction Bigu) cultivation technique.

The purpose of practicing Grain Avoidance Instruction to prevent Huo Qubing from being hungry, but to reduce his physical functions as much as possible, thereby prolonging his tolerance for thirst.

After Zhang Xuezhou finished speaking, Huo Qubing did not respond.

"Water~"

"There's no water. I haven't found any yet. Please wait patiently, I'll dig a little longer, there's bound to be water!"

When he heard a strange noise, Zhang Xuezhou responded casually.

"Water~"

"Um?"

When the sound reached his ears again, Zhang Xuezhou realized with a start that it was not Huo Qubing's voice, but rather the sound originating from the bottom of the pit he had dug a hundred meters deep.

"Who?"

Zhang Xuezhou shouted.

His scalp tingled, and then he heard the sound of 'water' again.

"Water? Who? Are you asking who I am? I'm Li Shaojun, who are you?"

Zhang Xuezhou shouted, using a fake name and amplifying his voice with Demonic Sound Technique.

"Godfather? Are you my godfather? Help!"

The cries from the bottom of the pit paused briefly, then were followed by inquiries and cries for help.

Zhang Xuezhou's eyelids twitched; he had finally recognized Jin Wanliang's cry for help.

He had previously thought that Jin Wanliang had escaped after digging the tunnel and disappeared, but he never expected that Jin Wanliang was suppressed in the formation and could not escape.

If I'm not mistaken, Zhang Xuezhou is trapped inside the secret realm, while Jin Wanliang is suppressed within the four-gate protective formation outside the secret realm.