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

Chapter 564 Flickering Shadows
Following the map, the group arrived at a spot where rocks had collapsed, where there was a half-meter-wide crack between two tilted, fallen boulders.

By squeezing through the crack in the rock, you can enter the hollow interior of the collapsed pile of rubble. Passing straight through the hollow interior will allow you to overcome this obstacle.

The group walked to the half-meter-wide crevice in the rocks, put away the map, and prepared to enter the interior of the collapsed pile of rubble.

Standing there, from this vantage point, they could see many bright red flower buds peeking out from the top of the collapsed pile of rocks. Some of these buds were the size of a fist, while others were the size of a human head; they were clearly mature devil's tongue flowers.

No wonder the map advised them not to cross over there. Looking from here, the devil's tongue on top of the collapsed rocks was almost everywhere.

This devil's tongue is highly poisonous and extremely difficult to deal with. One plant is enough to make them suffer, so wouldn't such a large area of ​​devil's tongue be deadly?

In this light, the map's suggestion is far too mild! It's as if there really are two paths, and they're just advised to go through the inner hollow area.

But given the current situation, climbing over there would be a dead end!

This isn't surprising, though. The map describes the situation twenty-nine years ago, and things have naturally changed a lot over the years. Perhaps twenty-nine years ago, the devil's tongue wasn't as rampant here as it is now, but it must have already caused quite a bit of suffering.

After all, those devil's thorn vines could hide in the cracks of rocks and suddenly burst out when people were leaping over them, catching them off guard.

They had already agreed on the division of labor and formation, with Guo Tian's group taking the lead in guarding the area.

Guo Tian and Yang Sui had already raised their lit torches.

Guo Tian, ​​holding a torch, glanced at everyone before slipping through the half-meter-wide crevice in the rock and disappearing into the pitch-black darkness.

After Guo Tian went in, Jiang Hanyan and Su Xinjue, who were on guard on both sides of the group, also went in.

Then, Duan Rong, Lu Chu, Xu Hui, and Du Wan went inside, and Yang Sui, holding a torch, finally squeezed into the crevice.

Upon entering, they discovered that the space beneath the collapsed pile of rubble was surprisingly large. Looking up in the firelight, they saw several enormous stone pillars lying horizontally, suggesting that this space was created by these pillars.

The space was pitch black, filled with a thick, damp atmosphere...

The group stood there, already in formation. Duan Rong, Lu Chu, Xu Hui, and Du Wan were in the middle, with two torches burning brightly at the front and back of the formation. Jiang Hanyan and Su Xinjue stood on either side.

Guo Tian glanced at the dark distance where a distant light shone through, indicating another exit from this space. He then walked towards that exit, and the group followed him.

This distance doesn't seem to be very far, probably only about a kilometer.

However, as soon as they entered the dark space, they began to feel nervous. After all, they had encountered evil spirits just a few hours ago and were still somewhat allergic to the dark environment.

However, reason told them that the probability of evil spirits in this space was really not high.

There will be at most two evil spirits within the entire ruins of gods and demons.

This is determined by the overall size of the ruins containing divine and demonic relics; at most, only two evil spirits can be born.

They had only been in the ruins of gods and demons for a day when they encountered an evil spirit; this was already incredibly unlucky.

Could it be that we just got rid of the "ghost bride" evil spirit last night, and only a few hours later, we encountered a second evil spirit here? The probability of that is even smaller than stepping in two piles of dog poop when you go out in the morning!

As for the "ghost bride" evil spirit, they were certain that the evil spirit did not follow them down this path.

However, being in a dark and confined environment, the group remained cautious and vigilant, with even Duan Rong and his three companions in the middle of the group not letting their guard down.

The group walked further and further into the darkness, where the dampness seemed to grow stronger, and a strange, indescribable odor permeated the air...

Their footsteps rustled on the mud, echoing in the deathly silence. But no one noticed that Yang Sui, walking at the back of the group, was growing paler and paler. He kept turning back to sweep the torch erratically into the darkness beyond the firelight.

He didn't know why, but he always felt that something was following him in the darkness behind him... but when he looked back, he only saw the dense darkness beyond the firelight.

Yang Sui had no choice but to follow the group and continue walking forward, wondering if he was overthinking things.

He followed the group for a while longer, but then he faintly noticed a very faint sound behind him again. Yang Sui pricked up his ears, and involuntarily, a layer of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

As Yang Sui walked, he suddenly turned around abruptly. In that instant, he clearly saw a pair of bloodshot, dark eyes flash eerily in the darkness behind him before disappearing...

Yang Sui's teeth started chattering instantly, though only for a moment, but he was certain he hadn't misread it.

There is an evil spirit in this space!
Yang Sui said in a trembling voice, "Guo Tian, ​​there's something behind me!"

Guo Tian, ​​who was walking at the front of the group, stopped in his tracks upon hearing this. Everyone turned around to look at Yang Sui, who was standing at the back of the group, holding a torch, his face covered in cold sweat and deathly pale. The torchlight made his face glisten with sweat.

Guo Tian walked over, stood there, and scanned the darkness, but he didn't find anything unusual.

Lu Chu looked at Yang Sui and said, "Don't scare yourself. We just encountered one evil spirit, how could we possibly encounter another one here?!"

Yang Sui said, "It's true! I just saw a pair of terrifying crimson eyes in the dark."

As Yang Sui spoke, a flicker of fear crossed his face.

Everyone could see that his terrified appearance and frightened eyes were definitely not an act; he must have seen something.

Duan Rong suddenly looked at Yang Sui and said, "Yang Sui, were there any faint sounds following you just now?"

Upon hearing this, Yang Sui looked at Duan Rong with astonishment and asked, "You heard that too?"

Duan Rong nodded and said, "When you stopped, I stopped twice too."

Guo Tian looked at Duan Rong, seemingly waiting for his opinion.

Duan Rong said, "Let's go quickly! Let's get out of here as soon as possible!"

The group then resumed their formation and continued walking forward.

This time, their pace quickened considerably. They knew something lurked in the darkness, likely an evil spirit. They quickened their steps but also paid closer attention to their surroundings in the darkness.

The group hadn't walked far when Su Xinjue suddenly caught a glimpse of a dark shadow in the darkness to her right. It flashed by with terrifying speed.

Su Xinjue exclaimed, "Something just flashed by over there."

From the front of the group, Guo Tian's cold and resolute voice rang out: "Maintain formation! Move quickly!"

They continued forward at their pace. Since Su Xinjue had said something flashed through the darkness on the right, everyone's attention focused on that area. Perhaps the evil spirit was hiding there. Even Jiang Hanyan, who was standing guard on the left side of the group, kept glancing towards the darkness, as if something terrifying was watching her from within the dense gloom…

Just then, she suddenly heard a faint rustling sound nearby.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she turned her head sharply. In that instant, she saw a pair of dark eyes, bloodshot and staring intently at her in the darkness.

Before Jiang Hanyan could scream, a dark blue thing darted out of the darkness.

The thing, like a large rat, was extremely agile and pounced on her back in a single leap.

Jiang Hanyan screamed in fright. At this moment, everyone saw the thing. It was a creature with a huge head and thin limbs. Its head took up almost half of its body. Its eyes were bloodshot and its body was dark blue. It was clearly a "ghost baby" evil spirit!
The ghostly infant was extremely agile, darting and climbing between Jiang Hanyan's back, waist, and legs...

Jiang Hanyan trembled with fear. She didn't dare to reach out and pat the wound. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she cried out for help in a panic...

No one knew what evil magic the ghost infant possessed, so they dared not approach it. Guo Tian drew his broadsword from his back and rushed over, but the ghost infant was too fast and was climbing on Jiang Hanyan's body. He was in a dilemma, hesitant to act rashly, afraid that he might not only fail to harm the ghost infant but also injure Jiang Hanyan.

Just then, a flash of silver light appeared, and Duan Rong, already wearing phosphorescent gloves, slapped at the ghost infant.

The ghost infant was incredibly fast, and Duan Rong also used his grappling technique. In an instant, two streaks of light, one dark blue and one silver, moved and flashed around Jiang Hanyan!

Duan Rong was greatly alarmed. Even with his full cultivation level, he was still unable to capture the ghost infant for the time being.

After a standoff, Duan Rong had no choice but to jump away, his face looking rather grim.

At this moment, the evil "ghost baby" with its two slender arms clung to Jiang Hanyan's shoulders, hanging its entire dark blue body on Jiang Hanyan's back. It looked at Duan Rong with a pair of eerie and terrifying eyes filled with bloodshot veins, and a hint of mockery flashed in those eerie and terrifying eyes.

Jiang Hanyan knew the ghost baby was clinging to her back, but she dared not move. She simply turned her head, sobbing softly, and looked at Duan Rong, pleading, "Duan Rong, save me..."

"Jiang Hanyan, don't move!" Guo Tian suddenly roared, and with a flash of cold light, he slashed at the ghost infant hanging on Jiang Hanyan's back with his broadsword.

The ghostly infant flashed and darted to Jiang Hanyan's front waist, wrapping its arms around her waist.

Just as the ghost infant hugged her waist, it looked up at Jiang Hanyan, who was weeping with her head down, and gave her a sinister smile, which made Jiang Hanyan shiver. At that moment, a flash of silver light appeared, and Duan Rong's palm strike landed. The ghost infant swayed and hugged Jiang Hanyan's lower back again.

Despite Guo Tian and Duan Rong's combined attack, they couldn't even scratch the ghost infant.

Guo Tian angrily said, "Jiang Hanyan, stand still and don't move, lest I accidentally hurt you. Duan Rong, Jiang Hanyan's back is mine, and the front is yours!"

"it is good!"

Duan Rong uttered a single word, "Good!" and Guo Tian's broadsword slashed down from above, almost grazing Jiang Hanyan's back. Duan Rong's hands flashed with silver light, and he was already waiting in front of Jiang Hanyan. As soon as the ghost infant dodged past, he would strike out with his palm.

But at that moment, a green shadow flashed on Duan Rong's right arm. The ghost infant did not flash in front of Jiang Hanyan, but instead leaped onto Duan Rong's right arm and then used the momentum to jump and hide on Duan Rong's back.

Duan Rong swung his arm forcefully, turning his back to Guo Tian and calling out, "Brother Guo! I'm here!"

Guo Tian turned his blade and slashed at Duan Rong's back.

The ghostly infant in green leaped forward and jumped down.

As soon as the ghost infant landed, it noticed a red shadow beside it. It suddenly turned its head and saw a crimson veil, as red as blood, floating down from above.

The ghost baby was so frightened that its soul flew out of its body!
The ghost baby had been lying on Duan Rong's backpack. When it jumped down, it accidentally pulled out the red veil that Duan Rong had put in the backpack earlier!

When the ghost infant saw the red veil falling to the ground, it cried out as if it had seen something extremely terrifying, then darted into the darkness and disappeared.

When everyone saw the red veil fall to the ground on its own, they thought that the evil spirit of the "ghost bride" had come after them again, and their faces turned pale!

Duan Rong said, "After I destroyed the ghost face under the red veil, I casually copied one over, intending to study it."

Everyone gave Duan Rong a strange look, but they also secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Du Wan said, "That ghost baby just now... seemed very afraid of this red veil..."

Duan Rong nodded, his eyes flashing. The ghost infant had clearly been frightened away by the red veil; otherwise, it probably would have jumped onto someone else.

At this moment, Jiang Hanyan was squatting there, covering her face and sobbing. She had obviously been frightened. Su Xinjue was squatting beside her, patting her shoulder and comforting her.

Duan Rong bent down and used the phosphorescent wire handpiece to pick up the blood-red veil that had fallen to the ground.

"Hey! This is..."

After Duan Rong picked up the red veil, his gaze suddenly sharpened. He noticed a slender leaf on the ground where the veil had been, illuminated by the firelight.

The leaves have serrated edges and white spots on their surface.

Duan Rong's eyes flickered, and he picked up the leaf, sniffing it under his nose.

Du Wan leaned closer, took a look, and said, "It looks like the leaves of a mature Azure Flame Grass!"

Duan Rong nodded. These were indeed leaves from a mature Azure Flame Grass, characterized by the white spots on the surface of the leaves.

Duan Rong held the leaf in his hand and looked around into the darkness.

They hadn't seen any Azure Flame Grass along their journey, so where did the leaves of this Azure Flame Grass come from? It's very likely that they were attached to the ghost infant and brought to it.

In other words, the ghost baby is related to the Azure Flame Grass.

Duan Rong entered the ruins of gods and demons for the sake of the two divine medicines, the Crimson Arrow Flower and the Jade Flame Grass.

Red Arrow Flower is easy to obtain, but the Green Flame Grass has a rather demanding growing environment, and mature plants are even rarer.

Upon realizing this, Duan Rong's eyes flickered. This space was not only shady but also quite damp, making it a rare place for the Azure Flame Grass to grow.

It's not surprising that there are mature plants of the Jade Flame Grass here.

Duan Rong stared blankly into the surrounding darkness, knowing that somewhere in this darkness, there must be a mature plant of Azure Flame Grass.

(End of this chapter)