A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

Chapter 560 Miracle Drug and Schemes

After drinking their water, the group continued walking in a certain direction, intending to verify their location at the second landmark not far away.

After walking for about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Guo Tian, ​​who was walking at the front, had taken out a map. While looking at the map, he also looked around with a serious expression.

Lu Chu, too, looked at the map, his face showing a hint of disappointment. "This should be the area! But there's neither the remains of gods and demons, nor the ancient well!"

Everyone's faces were grim. They looked around, seeing only broken walls and scattered boulders. Where were the remains of gods and demons, or the ancient well?
During the ten days of intensive training, Lin Youjian and Liu Su had already guided them to understand the map and the true scale of the world within the Divine and Demonic Ruins. A small simulated world of Divine and Demonic Ruins had been built in a dense forest within Changliu Mountain. Therefore, they would definitely not have mistaken the location of this second landmark.

Since the location is correct, but the expected second landmark was not found here, there is only one answer: it is the pool of water at the first landmark, which was neither the one pointed out by Duan Rong nor the one pointed out by Lu Chu.

Guo Tian walked a little further, but still didn't find it. He slowly walked back and shook his head at everyone.

Lu Chu looked at Duan Rong with a sullen expression and said, "It seems we were both wrong. There are neither the remains of gods and demons nor the ancient well here!"

Duan Rong held the map, glancing around from time to time. His gaze was focused, and he seemed not to have heard Lu Chu's words.

Guo Tiandao said, "Let's keep going. Maybe we'll find other landmarks after walking a little further."

The entrance to the Divine and Demonic Ruins, once opened by the grand formation, cannot be precisely located. Therefore, their first task upon entering the ruins was to determine their position within the ruins using a map. This was the first lesson of their ten-day intensive training.

When the group heard this first lesson, they didn't pay much attention, thinking the task would be easy. After all, with a map and detailed landmarks marked on it, how could they not find their way around?
But since they entered the ruins of gods and demons, they have been wandering around like headless flies for nearly two hours, and they still haven't been able to determine their location within the ruins.

The ruins of gods and demons were completely unfamiliar to them, and the place was filled with chaotic rocks, making it a chaotic jungle covering a radius of hundreds of miles.

It's like suddenly being thrown into a desolate, dense forest; even with a map in hand, you'd have a hard time figuring out where you are!
After hearing Guo Tian's words, everyone sighed and prepared to follow him forward.

The only way to determine their location was to find a landmark. Since they couldn't pinpoint the location of the pool they had just found, they had no choice but to look for another landmark. There was no other way!
At this moment, they were all somewhat disappointed, after all, they had run over full of hope only to find nothing.

Just then, Duan Rong suddenly said, "Wait a minute!"

Upon hearing this, they all turned their heads and saw Duan Rong still standing there, holding a map, staring at a spot by the roadside that was overgrown with weeds and vines.

Everyone looked at Duan Rong with puzzled expressions.

Lu Chu asked, "Duan Rong, what's wrong?"

In fact, Lu Chu had been thinking about Duan Rong's words as he walked along the road, but he still couldn't figure it out. When he saw Duan Rong still standing there stubbornly, he felt a sense of sympathy for him.

Duan Rong did not answer him, but walked quickly to the roadside, suddenly picked up a stone the size of a head, and smashed it hard into the depths of the place overgrown with weeds and vines.

Everyone was puzzled by Duan Rong's strange behavior.

Guo Tian's eyes lit up, and he suddenly said, "The well is right there!"

As soon as Guo Tian finished speaking, everyone heard a splash, which was clearly the sound of a large rock falling into the water!
Actually, this problem wasn't difficult to solve. However, among everyone present, only Guo Tian understood Duan Rong's deduction and stood on his side.

The others didn't believe Duan Rong's deduction in the first place; they came over looking for the remains of the gods and demons.

The remains of gods and demons that are marked as landmarks on the map are all very large. Since the bodies of gods and demons are as large as mountains, the remains marked as landmarks on the land are actually small, grayish-white hills. Therefore, they can tell at a glance that they don't exist.

Guo Tian also wanted to find the ancient well, but he didn't see it.

The map actually marks this ancient well as a water source, and it doesn't mention that the well is covered by weeds and vines. The reason is simple: twenty-nine years ago, there were no weeds or vines growing here.

However, after twenty-nine days, various changes inevitably occur in some places. The growth of wild grass and vines has obscured the ancient well.

Duan Rong had also had some doubts about his judgment, because he hadn't noticed the ancient well at first glance in the vicinity. Then he unfolded a map and, by comparing the surrounding scenery, determined the exact location of the ancient well, where weeds and vines were growing.

Duan Rong immediately understood what had happened.

The group immediately rushed over, stood there, and looked into the depths of the wild grass and vines. They saw that a large, dark hole had been created by the large rock that had smashed and torn it open.

That's clearly a well!

"Ancient well, water source, two landmarks!" Du Wan had already spread out the map, pointed to a certain spot, and exclaimed happily, "We're here!"

Having used the first pool of water and the ancient well here, they had accurately pinpointed their location within the ruins of gods and demons. Their first task within the ruins was now complete.

Everyone took out cinnabar pens and began marking certain points on the map. They were using these two landmarks to deduce their initial entry point into the ruins of gods and demons—the location where the great formation's passage opened.

Twenty days later, the grand formation's passage will reopen, still in the vicinity of that location, with minimal deviation. They must mark it beforehand to avoid forgetting it on their return journey.

After everyone marked the spot, they looked at Duan Rong. Although they didn't understand the basis of Duan Rong's judgment, the facts were undeniable, and Duan Rong's previous judgment was correct.

Lu Chu folded the map, looked at Duan Rong with a smile, and said, "Brother Duan, you're right after all."

Du Wan also laughed and said, "Duan Rong, thanks to you, we were able to determine the location so quickly. However, I was also very wise to stand on your side from the beginning."

Du Wan initially agreed with Lu Chu's judgment. He only sided with Duan Rong because he saw that even if he sided with Duan Rong, Lu Chu's side still had more supporters. If he had been given the crucial vote, he would definitely have chosen Lu Chu. Because differing judgments would influence their subsequent actions, he had to express his true opinion.

Duan Rong said, "Let's go! It will take twenty days to make the round trip! The central altar is still far away!"

Duan Rong was right; finding the location was merely the first step in a long journey. Only now had they truly begun their arduous journey.

Guo Tian glanced at the map, then suddenly pointed in a certain direction and said, "We should go this way!"

Xu Hui glanced in that direction, pointed to the map, and said, "Isn't going that way a bit of a detour? We can go this way and go straight through!"

Guo Tian didn't even look at the place Xu Hui was pointing to on the map, but he knew exactly where he was talking about. He said, "That road is indeed the shortest route. But there are no water supply points along the way. If we take that road, we'll all be dehydrated in two or three days. Not only will our speed be greatly reduced, but it will also be very dangerous."

When dehydrated, they are unlikely to survive if they encounter evil spirits.

Upon hearing this, Xu Hui's expression froze. He looked down and realized that there were indeed no water supply points along the route.

At this moment, Duan Rong looked at the map and said, "Brother Guo's choice is the best route. It's a good distance and has ample supplies!" Seeing that Duan Rong agreed, the others had no further objections, and the group continued on their way.

It was daytime, after all, and although the sky inside the ruins of gods and demons was a pale yellow, the visibility was still excellent.

Therefore, as they traveled along the way, each of them managed to collect some medicinal herbs, more or less.

Along the way, one or even several miraculous herbs would occasionally sprout from the roadside and crevices of the rocks. Twenty-nine years have passed, and some of these herbs, which were not yet old before, are now mature.

Duan Rong also occasionally looked around, but he only looked at the shady places. The only thing he paid attention to was the Azure Flame Grass. He ignored the other divine medicines even if he saw them.

Because they were gathering medicinal herbs along the way, the group had become somewhat scattered. However, it was daytime, and they weren't very far apart; they could see their teammates in front and behind them with just a glance.

Actually, you can be attacked by evil spirits during the day in the ruins of gods and demons, but the probability is higher at night.

The evil spirits were one of the two main focuses of the ten-day training, the other being the illusionary realm of gods and demons.

Within the ruins of gods and demons, the losses among fellow disciples mainly fall into two categories: either they die in the illusionary realm of gods and demons, or they die at the hands of evil spirits.

Duan Rong glanced at his fellow disciples who were picking divine herbs with some concern. However, he couldn't stop them from picking them, since divine herbs meant resources. No one was like him, able to cultivate by the ancestor's side, where resources were no problem at all! Besides, wasn't he also searching for the Azure Flame Grass?

Duan Rong had just turned his head from a shady spot when he saw Du Wan slowly walking over, carrying two rather old silver-edged purple plants. She looked at Duan Rong and said, "Duan Rong, how many divine herbs have you picked?"

Seeing that Duan Rong was also running around along the way, Du Wan guessed that Duan Rong must have collected a lot of divine medicine, so he came over to ask.

Duan Rong shook his head and said, "I didn't pick a single one."

Duan Rong only looked at the Azure Flame Grass; indeed, he had not found a single old Azure Flame Grass along the way.

"You didn't pick a single one?" Du Wan's expression was somewhat surprised. Then, her eyes flickered, and she took one of the two silver-edged purple plants in her hand and handed it to Duan Rong, saying with a smile, "I've already picked several! These two silver-edged purple plants are growing together, Duan Rong, here, have one for you!"

Duan Rong looked at Du Wan's honest smile, and his heart stirred slightly. He said, "Thank you, Du Wan! But it's not necessary. I only need the Azure Flame Grass."

"Azure Flame Grass?!" Du Wan's eyes flashed, already recalling the characteristics of Azure Flame Grass. Identifying divine herbs was one of the main tasks of the ten-day intensive training. These people all possessed strong spiritual senses and good memories, and could basically remember everything they saw.

“Azure Flame Grass grows in shady places!” Du Wan then remembered that when he walked over earlier, Duan Rong had been looking at the shady side of that boulder.

“That’s right!” Duan Rong said, “Three mature Azure Flame Grasses will be enough.”

Du Wan said, "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on things for you."

Duan Rong smiled slightly and said, "Thank you very much."

Du Wan said, "No need for thanks. You saved my life."

Duan Rong smiled faintly and continued walking forward.

Du Wan then placed the two silver-edged purple herbs in his hand into the black jade box in his backpack. The divine herbs instantly frosted over as soon as they were placed in the black jade box, and the two herbs he had put in earlier had already solidified into ice sculptures inside the black jade box.

After that, Du Wan really started to pay attention to all kinds of shady places, just like Duan Rong.

Duan Rong noticed Du Wan's actions from time to time, and a slight thought struck him. He had initially thought Du Wan was just casually agreeing with him, but he hadn't expected her to actually start searching for him so diligently. "This kid is quite a genuine person!"

Duan Rong could clearly sense that after entering the ruins of gods and demons, everyone's state of mind had changed, and the trust between them was obviously much higher than during the training camp.

During their training camp, they were in the Nine Provinces world, a place teeming with people and rife with treachery. But once inside these divine and demonic ruins, they were the only eight living beings present. Only those who had truly entered this realm could understand their current state of mind.

Within this place, only the few people who share your identity can give you a sense of belonging. You will quickly develop a kind of intimacy and trust towards those around you that you wouldn't feel outside.

Su Xinjue had been secretly watching Duan Rong, but because she was distracted, she only managed to pick one divine herb.

She had already noticed that Duan Rong was paying attention to shady places. Later, after Du Wan went over and chatted with Duan Rong for a few minutes, she also began to pay attention to shady places along the way.

After walking for a while, Su Xinjue deliberately moved closer to Du Wan.

As soon as Du Wan turned around in a shady spot, Su Xinjue walked over with a smile.

Su Xinjue smiled charmingly, her alluring beauty causing Du Wan's eyes to flicker slightly.

Su Xinjue laughed and said, "Senior Brother Du Wan, what were you looking at in that shady spot just now?"

Su Xinjue didn't dare to ask Duan Rong directly, as that would easily expose her. So she came over to try and get information out of Du Wan.

Du Wan casually replied, "Nothing. Just looking for a miracle drug!"

Su Xinjue looked at Du Wan and asked with a smile, "Do you only look in shady places?"

Upon hearing this, Du Wan frowned, and a sense of vigilance arose in her heart.

Su Xinjue noticed the change in Du Wan's expression, lowered her head slightly, and said softly with a smile, "I think the shady places are more dangerous, so it would be better if you were more careful, Senior Brother."

Su Xinjue was already quite beautiful, and now, with her head slightly lowered, she looked even more shy and bashful, her words filled with concern for Du Wan.

Du Wan immediately relaxed her guard and said, "Junior Sister Su, thank you for your concern. I'm looking for the Azure Flame Grass. This divine herb grows in shady places, so I've been paying extra attention to those areas. Don't worry, Junior Sister Su, I'll be careful!"

"So that's how it is!" Su Xinjue looked up and smiled, "No wonder Senior Brother always looks at the shady places..."

Su Xinjue was about to say something when she suddenly noticed that Duan Rong was standing by the roadside not far ahead, looking in their direction. Her brow twitched, and she immediately curtsied to Du Wan before turning away.

Su Xinjue turned her face away and murmured, "So Duan Rong was looking for the Azure Flame Grass!"

Although she didn't know why Duan Rong was looking for the Jade Flame Grass, this information was clearly very important.

(End of this chapter)