Chapter 216: Sudden Change

Chapter 216: Sudden Change

At the same time, within the small secret realm.

Yue Qianchi and Li Qingran successfully located the entrance to the ruins of the Medicine King Valley. Compared to last year, the location of the ruins had shifted, but it had become easier to find. However, actually entering the ruins proved to be a challenge—the sealing formation of the Medicine King Valley ruins was obscure and difficult to decipher. If they hadn’t happened to run into Yun Suxin, who was exiting the ruins, they might have wasted half a day just figuring out how to get inside.

“These are Dragon Tongue Apricots and Blood Wave Mandarins. No need to thank me.”

Yun Suxin handed the two missing medicinal ingredients for the Hundred Herb Detoxification Pill to Li Qingran.

“These two herbs weren’t anything special back in ancient times, but with the decline of spiritual energy in the Cangyun Realm, the environment outside the realm is no longer suitable for their survival.”

Li Qingran and Yue Qianchi looked at Yun Suxin, who spoke as if she were listing off household items, with admiration.

At the moment, they were inside the Medicine King Pavilion within the ruins. The pavilion had a spiraling tower-like structure, with wooden walls lined with countless compartments, each storing different types of spiritual herbs. Some compartments had already been searched through, but those protected by restrictions remained well-preserved. The two medicinal ingredients had been found among these countless compartments.

For them, this task would have been extremely difficult.

Yet Yun Suxin had done it in less than half an hour—including the time needed to break the restrictions.

“Miss Yun, did you also come to the Medicine King Valley in search of some herbs? Any luck?” Yue Qianchi asked curiously.

Yun Suxin’s expression darkened as she tightened her grip around the porcelain medicine bottle. Her long eyelashes cast fragmented shadows under her eyes.

The atmosphere grew heavy. Yue Qianchi felt a little awkward, realizing she might have asked something she shouldn’t have. She quickly waved her hand with a dry laugh. “If it’s inconvenient to talk about, forget I asked. I was just making conversation.”

“My mother has severe internal injuries. I came here looking for medicine to heal her, but her condition has already corroded her foundation and severely damaged her lifespan.” Yun Suxin shook her head with a bitter smile, her voice as soft as a fallen leaf. “The Medicine King Valley may be great, but there’s no longer any sign of a divine pill like the Primordial Replenishing Pill.”

Primordial Replenishing Pill?

Li Qingran froze for a moment.

That was the very pill her master had used to heal her dantian.

She had already known the pill was incredibly valuable, but now she realized it was even rarer than she had imagined.

She looked at Yun Suxin, who was weighed down by grief, her expression complicated.

What others had to risk their lives for—what might still be unattainable even after countless hardships—had simply been granted to her as if it were a gift from the heavens. ŘАŊȯΒЁṤ

If not for her master, wouldn’t she be in the same despair as Yun Suxin right now?

“The Medicine King Valley probably doesn’t have any Primordial Replenishing Pills left.” Yue Qianchi frowned in thought. “Five years ago, when the small secret realm’s Medicine King Valley ruins first appeared, twelve Primordial Replenishing Pills were found. Nine of them were taken by disciples of the Holy Land. Those twelve might have been the valley’s entire stock… However, there were many great sects in ancient times. Even if the Medicine King Valley has none left, perhaps another major sect does.”

“I plan to try my luck with Song Chiyue.” Yun Suxin steadied her emotions, a hint of hope flickering in her eyes. “Have you heard? Song Chiyue discovered the ruins of an ancient sect. This sect master’s ruins are newly unearthed and completely unexplored. Regardless of whether there’s a Primordial Replenishing Pill inside, anyone who helps purify the demonic energy there gets to make a request. I plan to ask for the Primordial Replenishing Pill—maybe she has one.”

Yue Qianchi thought this was a long shot.

The Holy Land had taken nine of the twelve pills, and in the past five years, they had surely used them on their disciples. But she still offered some reassurance. “The Holy Land’s disciples are all geniuses. There haven’t been any reports of their dantian suffering damage in recent years, so they must still have some left… We’re heading in that direction too. Why don’t we travel together?”

Yun Suxin glanced at Li Qingran, hesitant, her fair face turning slightly red.

She had clashed with Li Qingran before, and even though she had helped her obtain the medicinal ingredients, she still cared about what Li Qingran thought of her.

Traveling with Sword Pavilion disciples would be ideal.

Especially since Yue Qianchi was already at the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm—only slightly weaker than the top disciples of the Holy Land.

Even Li Qingran had reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment realm, an absurdly fast improvement.

Traveling with these two would significantly increase her safety.

Li Qingran noticed the hesitation and embarrassment in Yun Suxin’s expression. She stepped forward, taking Yun Suxin’s cold hands in her own, and smiled warmly. “You helped us find the two medicinal ingredients, so now we’ll help you find the Primordial Replenishing Pill. If that doesn’t work, we’ll look for alternative pills. There’s definitely a way to extend your mother’s life!”

Yun Suxin’s fingers trembled slightly in Li Qingran’s palm.

The words

"thank you"

were on the tip of her tongue, but when she spoke, they came out as a choked whisper instead.

Inside the ruins of the ancient sect.

A group of cultivators was locked in battle with the remnants of demonic cultivators.

Song Chiyue wasn’t standing idly in the back—she was leading the disciples of Jade Pool at the very front.

Her flower vines rampaged through the battlefield like a maddened dragon. She stood at the heart of the writhing vines, her white dress billowing as the soul bell rang sharply. Amidst the scarlet mist, she was like a winter plum blooming in the snow. A flick of her wrist sent vine tendrils as thick as wooden planks sweeping through the battlefield, reducing everything within ten meters to mangled fragments.

She didn’t slay many of the powerful demonic remnants.

But she had single-handedly killed more of the ordinary ones than all the other cultivators combined.

Her flower vines had a massive attack range. Normally, they were as obedient as fresh sprouts at her fingertips, but now, they had transformed into ruthless blades, a grinding machine shredding every demonic corpse that came too close. This greatly eased the pressure on the other sect disciples—each of them only needed to focus on a single opponent at a time.

The demonic remnants within the sect ruins ranged from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core in strength.

They felt no pain and had only an insatiable instinct for slaughter. Normally, they would have been formidable enemies, but the Buddhist light formation set by Monk Huikong suppressed them, and with the demonic energy within the ruins gradually dissipating, their strength was reduced to about sixty percent of its full potential.

“Hahahaha! What a thrill!” A disciple from the Blade Sect cleaved a demonic remnant’s head off and kicked its body aside. Drunk on the exhilaration of battle, he howled in laughter. “I hardly ever see demonic cultivators in the outside world, and I always regretted not getting a chance to kill any. But now, I’m getting my fill in this secret realm!”

“Well said! Well said indeed!” The surrounding cultivators cheered as they glanced at Monk Huikong, who was maintaining the Buddhist formation, and at Song Chiyue, who was fighting the hardest at the front. They praised, “With cultivators like Song Daoist, Huikong Daoist, and Qin Daoist in our Cangyun Realm, how could mere demonic cultivators dare to cause trouble? They must be hiding in some dark corner, trembling in fear!”

Mo Shumei, standing behind one of the cheering disciples, rolled her eyes.

She hadn’t chosen to be a demonic cultivator, but she was one nonetheless. And from what she knew, demonic cultivators weren’t cowering in fear at all. On the contrary, they had moved into the mortal world, living like kings while righteous cultivators constantly fought over resources.

Now wasn’t the time to engage these self-righteous cultivators. She needed to lay low.

“Daoist friend, if you are in any difficulty, you may stand behind our Sword Pavilion.”

A gentle voice spoke.

Mo Shumei looked up and saw that it was Xu An, one of the personal disciples of the Sword Pavilion.

Interesting. These Sword Pavilion disciples sure were kindhearted.

She didn’t refuse. Offering a polite thanks, she retreated to the rear and found an inconspicuous spot to sit.

She could feel something inside the sect ruins’ bronze gates drawing her in.

But the time wasn’t right yet.

As the cultivators advanced further into the ruins, the demonic remnants they encountered grew stronger.

But with the sect’s great gates in sight, they gritted their teeth and persevered.

Then—

BOOM!

From the fragmented sky above, a sudden red light shot down, piercing the mist.

The terrifying energy wave crashed directly onto the core of Monk Huikong’s formation.

The formation, once bathed in Buddhist light, was instantly corrupted. The energy wave, infused with a reversed Daoist resonance, spread across the entire formation in the blink of an eye.

Monk Huikong’s face changed drastically. He tried to retract his inner energy, but he was a step too slow.

A bitter taste surged in his throat. With a violent cough, he spewed a three-foot-long stream of black blood.

Around him, all eighty-one eternal lamps flickered and went out.