After reviewing all his gains, Wang Yu found his soul path knowledge almost without gaps. For the foreseeable future, he no longer needed to consider issues of legacy.
Even his body refinement path, in the long term, had no remaining obstacles.
This trip to the Heavenly Demon Bone Forest had resolved everything.
What he lacked now were only the corresponding resources. This was the most time-consuming problem to solve.
Confirming that this floor of the Scripture Pavilion held no omissions, Wang Yu approached the staircase. The moment he stepped down, he was directly outside the pavilion, emerging at the main entrance.
Long Yiran had actually come out before him. Wang Yu couldn't help but ask,
"How long has it been?"
"Not long. About two months. Brother Wang, were your gains satisfactory?"
"Barely enough to fulfill my wishes. And you, Array Master Long?"
At this, Long Yiran took out a brand new jade slip and handed it to Wang Yu. It clearly contained recently transcribed content.
Inside were the legacies obtainable from the Scripture Pavilion using the Heaven and Earth tokens—also a fourth-tier soul path cultivation art, though not as good as the Ancient Soul Art, only a mid-grade art.
Named **[Heaven and Earth Soul Tempering Art]**, it also contained many secret methods, pill formulas, and soul artifact and magic treasure diagrams. After checking, Wang Yu found some of it useful for him as well.
"My thanks."
"No need for that. This was agreed upon earlier. Where to next?"
Wang Yu didn't hesitate.
"The herb garden."
The Heaven Soul Sect's herb garden would certainly have many soul path spirit herbs. Having just obtained multiple pill formulas, it was an opportunity not to be missed.
The Heaven Soul Sect's destruction was sudden and swift. Even the space of their mountain gate was shattered, transforming into a secret realm maintained only by the Nether Tiger Layout. For ten thousand years, there had been almost no accidental intruders.
After the herb garden, the Heaven Soul Sect's treasure vault was also highly anticipated.
They could even obtain more disciple tokens from blood corpses, explore every floor of the Scripture Pavilion. There were many places left to explore in these ruins.
It all depended on their limits.
"Leave it to me."
Long Yiran confidently took on the task, pulling out her small compass and beginning calculations. In no time, she pinpointed a direction.
"Earth vein seeks spirit, Verdant Sovereign points the way."
"Plants and trees as guide, wind scents the earth's breath."
"The plant and tree spiritual energy is most vigorous to the east. It's likely over there—let's go."
"Mhm."
Wang Yu felt a bit envious of that compass.
This treasure was called a **[Feng Shui Compass]**. The second chapter of the *Earth Mother Scripture*, **[Mystical Chapter on Feng Shui Secret Arts]**, recorded how to forge such a compass.
The materials it required differed from ordinary magic treasures.
It needed the energy of the four directions, the qi of the surrounding heavens, assisted by the four winds and four waters, using **[Ink Bronze]** as material to forge. It was not only intricate but also easily damaged—a delicate treasure.
The one in Long Yiran's hand clearly had a long history.
Its edges and corners showed signs of decay. It was likely one of the gains when she first obtained her legacy.
With the Feng Shui Compass guiding them, the two easily found the place within the Heaven Soul Sect ruins where plant and tree spiritual energy was most vigorous. According to common sense,
"This is the Heaven Soul Herb Garden?"
"Couldn't be wrong."
Long Yiran confidently vouched for it.
After leaving the Scripture Pavilion, they spent several more days crossing multiple array-covered areas, finally arriving at the herb garden.
This place was shrouded in dense blood mist. Within it, the plant and tree spiritual energy indicative of many spirit herbs was indeed present, enclosed by white walls, arrays, and restrictions.
At a glance, it seemed endless.
"Blood mist this dense... there must be blood corpses inside. Let's try the tokens first."
"Alright."
However, neither the True Disciple token nor the Heaven and Earth tokens could open the herb garden's protective array. The residual power here was stronger than at the Scripture Pavilion.
Perhaps these two types of tokens simply couldn't open the herb garden's array. Logically, they should find the herb garden's elder token.
But that wasn't something they could find immediately.
"Can you break the array?"
"I'll try."
A short while later.
Long Yiran, sweating profusely, shook her head regretfully.
"The array here is connected to the earth veins. Inside, there are several core medicinal fields that can provide a continuous stream of plant and tree spiritual energy to the array. There must be a great medicine inside!"
Great medicine... usually referred to spirit herbs that had gained sentience.
Herbs judged by age like ginseng, Ganoderma lucidum, fleeceflower root... were most prone to gaining sentience. The higher the age, the stronger the medicinal potency, with no upper limit.
These plant and tree essences were also a type of demonic being.
But they possessed innate intelligence. The place where they grew greatly benefited the growth and cultivation of other spirit herbs. Captured by major powers, they usually became the kings of herb gardens.
If an important figure in a sect was about to die, they would take the Medicine King to extend life or treat injuries. It was also a form of sect底蕴 (accumulated resources). Legend said a ninety-thousand-year-old Medicine King could assist someone in reaching Divine Transformation.
To his knowledge,
The Reverse Spirit Blood Sect had at least ten Medicine Kings. They seemed common, but in the wild, they were rare, with traces only found in places like the Vermilion Bird Divine Mountain and the Primordial Wilderness.
The Heaven Soul Sect possessing a Medicine King was not impossible.
Only... it seemed unusual that it wasn't taken during the Blood Demon Cataclysm.
They had encountered situations where arrays couldn't be broken more than once. Wang Yu felt no need to use Array-Breaking Talismans unless necessary.
The value of this herb garden was evident. It was worth using such a trump card.
"First, walk around the perimeter of this herb garden, looking for weak points in the array. If we truly can't break through, I'll try with an Array-Breaking Talisman."
"Alright."
Long Yiran nodded repeatedly, obediently following behind Wang Yu. Golden rings appeared in her eyes again as she observed along the way.
This walk took several more days.
"—Found it!"
Hearing this, Wang Yu's eyes lit up, looking at his reliable companion. She said,
"An array with a Medicine King as its eye. Its success lies here, its failure too. After these days of investigation,
"I found the Medicine King inside has a problem. It seems to have not been rooted in the soil for a long time, causing a flaw in the array. This is the weak point."
Without needing urging, Long Yiran immediately began her attempt.
Array patterns transformed into solid talisman imprints, stamped onto various nodes of the towering white wall, finally forming a peculiar array shape—outer eight trigrams, inner four directions.
"It's done!"
Visible spiritual light began to dissipate. The inner four directions transformed into a doorway. Long Yiran stepped through first, Wang Yu following closely.
"So dense, this blood mist."
Upon entering, her exclamation was heard.
Compared to the ruined environment outside, the Heaven Soul Herb Garden gathered more spiritual energy from the fifth-tier spirit vein. And the blood mist was vast, almost reaching the point where you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.
Their feet trod on black medicinal soil. They were in a trench by the wall, likely a shallow channel for irrigation, resembling a paddy field.
"Don't move. The blood mist blocks spiritual sense penetration. Once separated, reuniting will be difficult."
Long Yiran agreed, crouching to pick up a handful of medicinal soil.
She sniffed it, saying,
"This is the highest-grade spirit soil. It contains much medicinal qi left behind from decayed herbs, greatly benefiting spirit herb growth.
"Following the earth energy flow, that direction should be the location of the first Medicine King array eye."
The array master remained reliable, pointing the way. But an ominous feeling lingered in Wang Yu's heart. Last time blood mist gathered, they encountered the Blood Corpse Giant, which they couldn't handle.
This time, the blood mist concentration in the Heaven Soul Herb Garden far exceeded that encounter. Their strength had increased significantly, but they might not handle higher-level dangers.
Moreover, after triggering the Nether Tiger Prison-Suppressing Layout's power twice, the secret realm space was already somewhat unstable. One more time... who knew what would happen.
Considering for a moment, Wang Yu took out a Spatial Escape Talisman, gripping Long Yiran's wrist with his left hand. This made her blush, unable to speak.
That thing about fortune...
—Bah!
Almost thinking of that phrase, Wang Yu quickly cleared his mind, pulling her towards the array eye location. Within the Heaven Soul Herb Garden, the Medicine King was undoubtedly the most precious item.
Naturally, they headed that way first.
After just a few steps, Wang Yu paused. Beneath his feet grew鬼哭花 (Ghost-Weeping Flowers)—the main ingredient for second-tier Soul Origin Pills.
He had only obtained many thanks to Jin Miaoshan's help.
Never expected them to be everywhere here.
After picking them all, he obtained thirty-two plants. Following their agreement, he gave half to Long Yiran, making her even more embarrassed.
Continuing forward.
More second-tier spirit herbs came into view. Due to wild growth, their appearance wasn't ideal, but many perfectly formed herbs were also present.
"Yin Vine Serpent Fruit, Evil Root Fruit, Corpse-Fragrant Taro... Jade Lotus White Stem."
They walked and picked.
For some reason, the spirit herb distribution here was very scattered, not resembling organized cultivation. Instead, it seemed like seeds that had sprouted after being excreted by birds that had eaten spirit herbs, scattered everywhere.
They grew in clusters, with chaotic varieties.
Half an hour later, Wang Yu's pace suddenly quickened, his expression惊喜 (joyful and surprised).
He had discovered another material for the **[Exquisite Inner Pill]**.
"—Hundred Herb Qi Root!"
Adding the Golden Qi Root and Turbid Qi Root, only one final Qi Root was needed to recreate this ancient pill formula's former glory.
Wondered if the even more precious and rare **[Seven Apertures Qi Root]** might be here. He picked it, sealing it in a jade box.
Turning his head, he said,
"Array Master Long, this spiritual material is something I've long sought. The next third-tier spirit herb will be yours."
"No need to be so polite. I trust you, Brother Wang."
"Alright then."
Since she didn't mind, Wang Yu said no more. His anticipation for the Heaven Soul Herb Garden gradually rose. This was like picking up gold—extremely easy to沉迷其中 (get addicted to).
Unknown rewards, simple acquisition conditions.
This herb garden visit was too worthwhile. Wondered what spectacle the Heaven Soul Sect's treasure vault would be. The legacy of an Archaic Era hegemonic power was enough to fill both their pockets to overflowing.
Not long after.
Perhaps because they were getting closer to the array eye, the quality of spirit herbs improved. Each new discovery was almost always third-tier.
Even split between them, the收获 (gains) exceeded those from the Serpent Dwelling's underground toxic plants. Moreover, each was a rare variety,价值更高数成 (value increased by several tenths).
Wang Yu also found many main materials for refining third-tier soul pills, gathering most. Perhaps he could start refining upon leaving.
Of course, for absolute safety,
He preferred to have the pill formula reach perfection through the Placement Slot, thoroughly understanding the原理 (principles), obtaining the Placement Slot's refining experience before actually starting.
Now that he had more pill formulas, he realized alchemy and pill formulas had a相辅相成 (mutually reinforcing) relationship. Improved alchemy produced higher quality pills.
Perfecting pill formulas, with the大量炼制经验 (vast refining experience) fed back, could also advance alchemy skill.
Thus, the third slot he specifically reserved for alchemy could be rotated with pill formulas, allowing him to master perfected third-tier alchemy faster.
**(End of Chapter)**
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