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

Chapter 591 Absurd
After calming down, everyone looked at Yang Sui, who had collapsed and died tragically not far away, and couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy.

This was the first time a companion had died since they entered the ruins of gods and demons.

Everyone was still under the terrifying shadow of the corpse demon, and could die at any moment. Therefore, they naturally felt a sense of shared sorrow for Yang Sui's death.

They approached Yang Sui with torches in hand. Under the light, everyone's expression changed instantly, especially Su Xinjue, who turned pale and almost vomited.

Yang Sui's entire face was rotting away; one eyeball drooped out of its socket, while the other eyeball was completely rotten inside its socket...

That face looked as if it had been scalded with molten iron...

Such a horrific and tragic death not only made Su Xinjue pale, but Lu Chu and Du Wan also immediately turned their faces away.

Guo Tian suddenly said, "We have to go; we can't stay here any longer."

Lu Chu hesitated for a moment, then said, "Shouldn't we bury Yang Sui's body?"

Guo Tian looked down at Yang Sui's corpse and said in a deep voice, "Do you still remember how Lin Youjian talked about the Corpse Fiend during the training camp?"

As he spoke, he suddenly looked up at a certain place in the darkness and asked himself, "Corpse Demons like shade and often live deep in water sources. The water source where they live is called Yellow Spring Demon Water, which is highly poisonous."

Upon hearing this, everyone's hearts stirred, and following Guo Tian's gaze, they suddenly remembered the water source they had just passed not long ago.

"You mean that pool of water just now was the Yellow Spring Fiend Water where the Corpse Fiend resides?" Du Wan asked in astonishment.

Guo Tian nodded.

Duan Rong said, "When Xu Hui tested the poison earlier, the Yellow Spring Fiend Water was already able to corrode and rot the silver needles. This shows that the Corpse Fiend has been lurking at the bottom of that pool for many years, which is why the Fiend Water has become so poisonous. Such Fiend Water has a nourishing effect on the Corpse Fiend and can help it heal. Just now, I used the Soul Needle to injure the Corpse Fiend's evil body. Now it must have gone back to the pool and is healing at the bottom."

"The Corpse Demon is at the bottom of that pool?" Lu Chu looked fearfully into the darkness towards the pool.

They weren't far from the pool at that moment!
"What if it finishes healing..."

Xu Hui, who was usually silent, suddenly said, "Yang Sui is already dead. We can't risk being attacked by the Corpse Fiends again just to bury him. Now that Guo Tian is injured, if the Corpse Fiends come again, it won't just be one person who dies. We must leave here immediately! It would be foolish to risk more lives to bury Yang Sui now!"

Xu Hui's voice wasn't loud, but his tone was very firm.

“Alright! Let’s go!” Lu Chu replied.

Xu Hui said, "The night is dangerous! Let Duan Rong and Guo Tian rest in the middle of the group. The rest of us five, go on high alert!"

Xu Hui spoke with absolute certainty, and the others had no objections.

After they lined up, they carried torches in the darkness and moved forward.

Duan Rong and Guo Tian were in the middle of the group, while the rest of the group stood guard on the perimeter. The number of torches was increased from two to three. Lu Chu, Du Wan, and Xu Hui each carried a torch.

Their pace quickened considerably compared to before. After all, the pool wasn't far from them, and the Corpse Fiend was currently lurking in it, healing his wounds, and could emerge at any moment.

No one objected to letting Duan Rong and Guo Tian rest. Guo Tian was injured, and Duan Rong was their trump card against the Corpse Fiend; he needed to be kept at full strength. Only if Duan Rong was in good condition could he deal with the Corpse Fiend if it attacked again.

They spent a rather long night in a state of tense vigilance.

As dawn broke, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the fine sweat from their foreheads with the corners of their sleeves, and were all exhausted from the tense journey.

They found an open space, sat down, and prepared to rest for a while.

By this time, after a night of activity, they were quite far from the Yellow Springs' malevolent waters, and it was already broad daylight. During the day, the evil spirits' yin energy would be suppressed. In addition, they were exhausted and really needed to rest for a while.

They sat there resting, when Jiang Hanyan and Su Xinjue suddenly got up and walked behind a boulder not far away. Everyone knew that the two of them had gone behind the boulder to relieve themselves.

At this moment, Du Wan's eyes suddenly lit up, and she asked with a focused gaze, "Isn't there supposed to be at most two evil spirits in this divine and demonic ruins? Why did we encounter a third evil spirit—the Corpse Demon—after meeting the Ghost Bride and Ghost Infant evil spirits?"

Everyone was taken aback when Du Wan asked this question. They had been so anxious and worried about being attacked by the Corpse Fiend that they hadn't had time to think about this issue.

At this moment, when Du Wan brought it up, they were all full of questions.

"Yes! Why is there a third evil spirit?" Lu Chu said, his face full of doubt. "Didn't Lin Youjian and Liu Su say during their training that there are usually only two evil spirits when entering the Divine Demon Ruins? Why are we so unlucky to encounter a third one?!"

Just as everyone was wondering, Duan Rong suddenly said, "Actually, the Corpse Fiend is not the third evil spirit."

"Not a third evil spirit?!"

Seeing Duan Rong's words, they all looked at him strangely, wondering: What's wrong with Duan Rong? Has he started to forget how to count?! Could he have been bewitched by some evil spirit?
In their view, the Corpse Demon was clearly the third evil spirit, one that even a child could count.

Duan Rong glanced at their expressions and sighed slightly, saying, "The Corpse Fiend is actually the second evil spirit."

They still couldn't understand Duan Rong's words.

Lu Chu then asked, "What about the ghost bride and the ghost baby?"

Everyone stared blankly at Duan Rong. Lu Chu's question was the same one they wanted to ask: Duan Rong had seen both the ghost bride and the ghost baby. What was wrong with him? Had he lost his memory? Or was he just confused?

Duan Rong said slowly, "The ghost bride and the ghost baby are actually an evil spirit."

Upon hearing Duan Rong's words, everyone stood there speechless for a long time.

They seemed to have thought of something, their eyes darting around.

Lin Youjian and Liu Su wouldn't lie to them for no reason; there would only be two evil spirits at most within these divine and demonic ruins. Every group that entered the ruins over the years had only encountered a maximum of two evil spirits. This was beyond doubt.

How could they have encountered a third evil spirit, the Corpse Demon? This contradicts what Lin Youjian and Liu Su said. Moreover, it's quite strange that they were attacked by two evil spirits, the Ghost Bride and the Ghost Infant, as soon as they entered the Divine Demon Ruins.

The reason why only two evil spirits can exist within the ruins of gods and demons is determined by their size. In other words, given the size of the ruins, only a maximum of two evil spirits can be born. And these two evil spirits are usually some distance apart.

If we accept Duan Rong's seemingly absurd statement, everything seems to make sense.

If the ghost bride and the ghost baby are a single evil spirit, then the number of evil spirits they encountered makes sense—that is, two evil spirits, consistent with what Lin Youjian and Liu Su said.

Another point is that the ghost bride and the ghost baby were encountered when they first entered the ruins of gods and demons, while the corpse evil spirits were encountered when they were about to reach the central altar.

This also aligns with another theory proposed by Lin Youjian and Liu Su: that evil spirits operate within the area where they are born. Wherever an evil spirit can be born, there must be something to nourish it, and it generally won't stray too far from that nourishing place.

Everything makes perfect sense!

After some deliberation, the way everyone looked at Duan Rong changed!
They were all direct disciples of the sect and possessed considerable knowledge. If an absurd statement is reasonable, then no matter how absurd it may be, it is very likely to be true.

The reason it seems absurd is simply because it happens to hit a blind spot in people's habitual thinking.

But if Duan Rong is right! Then... why are the ghost bride and the ghost baby the same evil spirit? They are clearly two separate entities!
Du Wan looked at Duan Rong and asked in a questioning tone, "Duan Rong, could you explain further? Why are the ghost bride and the ghost baby considered to be the same evil spirit?"

Duan Rong said, "Do you remember? In the confined space of the collapsed boulder, the ghost infant was quite afraid of the red veil from the ghost bride. And I also used that red veil to wipe away the ghost infant's kiss left on Jiang Hanyan's neck. All of this shows that the ghost bride's power has a suppressive effect on the ghost infant."

At this moment, Jiang Hanyan and Su Xinjue had returned from relieving themselves and sat down not far away.

Duan Rong glanced at the two of them and continued, "After the ghost infant left its kiss on Jiang Hanyan, the ghost bride followed us because of the ghost infant's aura on her. She disappeared after we wiped the kiss off with our red veils."

As soon as Jiang Hanyan sat down, she heard Duan Rong mention this matter. She subconsciously touched the back of her neck, and the terrifying feeling from not long ago resurfaced in her mind.

Duan Rong said, "This means that the ghost bride has been tracking the ghost baby, but the ghost baby has evaded the ghost bride's pursuit in some way. If they are two different evil spirits, they should have been born in different places and have different ranges of activity. And one evil spirit would never track another evil spirit."

Jiang Hanyan stared intently at Duan Rong, her eyes shining with focused attention. She knew that Duan Rong had already touched on the most crucial point.

Duan Rong said, "That ghost baby should be the posthumous child of the ghost bride who died in the womb. They were born in the same place. When the ghost bride became an evil spirit, her posthumous child who died in the womb also became an evil spirit."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at Duan Rong with shocked expressions.

Lu Chu suddenly realized, "So, the ghost bride's belly was turned inside out! That's where the ghost baby crawled out."

Duan Rong glanced at Lu Chu and said, "That's right! The ghost bride's belly wasn't cut open from the outside, but rather ripped open from the inside by the ghost infant!"

Upon hearing this, everyone gasped. The ghost bride's sinisterly exposed belly was what disgusted and terrified them the most, and hearing the reason for its formation sent chills down their spines.

In fact, Duan Rong had already made some vague guesses about these things, but because he thought they were unimportant, he didn't think about them too much. However, after they were attacked by the Corpse Fiend last night, he and Guo Tian stayed in the middle of the group without having to be on guard. At that moment, Duan Rong reconsidered some of his previous thoughts and came to this seemingly absurd conclusion.

Everyone was convinced by Duan Rong's analysis. By this time, they had rested enough, their doubts were dispelled, so they stood up and continued on their way. The farther they were from the Yellow Springs Fiend Water, the safer they would be.

For the next day and night, they remained on high alert. After nightfall, they endured another tense and long night until dawn broke again, at which point everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems that Duan Rong's three Soul-Slaying Spikes did indeed deter the Corpse Fiend. The Corpse Fiend is adept at flying, and once it finished healing, catching up with them wouldn't be difficult for it.

But it has not come, clearly because it is wary of Duan Rong's Soul Piercing Technique!
Looking at the pale yellow sky in the distance, they couldn't help but smile at each other. Based on their estimated distance, they should be able to reach the central altar within the day.

Since entering the ruins of gods and demons, they have endured many hardships. Reaching the central altar with only one companion killed is actually a pretty good result.

Guo Tiandao said, "Let's not rest any longer and hurry on our way. The central altar is not far away. Let's rest when we get there."

"it is good!"

"it is good."

Everyone agreed with Guo Tian's statement and continued forward.

Several hours later, they suddenly smelled a rich fragrance.

The fragrance floated in the air. It was rich but not overpowering, refreshing but not intoxicating; after a few sniffs, I actually felt more clear-headed.

"What's this fragrance? It smells quite nice!" Du Wan suddenly wrinkled her nose and said, "Is it poisonous?"

“Non-toxic!” Duan Rong suddenly said, “This is the fragrance of the Red Arrow Flower! It seems we are almost there.”

The sect's patriarch, Lü Yinlin, instructed Duan Rong to find two divine medicines to cure Lü Qingzhu within the ruins of gods and demons: the Red Arrow Flower and the Jade Flame Grass.

He already had the Azure Flame Grass. As for the Crimson Arrow Flower, he had received word of it before entering the Ruins of Gods and Demons—the area around the central altar was covered in Crimson Arrow Flowers!
Because of the different laws, the medicinal properties of the Red Arrow Flower would dissipate after several hours outside the ruins of gods and demons, so Duan Rong naturally did not smell its fragrance.

But since Lü Yinlin had instructed him to come in and find these two divine medicines, he naturally told Duan Rong about their properties in detail.

The distinctive feature of the Red Arrow Flower is that its flowers resemble arrowheads, have a rich fragrance, and its aroma is quite invigorating.

Duan Rong felt refreshed after smelling the fragrance of the flowers. In addition, they should be approaching the central altar according to their route, so the fragrance was probably from the Red Arrow Flower.

Sure enough, after walking for a while, the group found themselves on a road with collapsed rocks on both sides, and the view suddenly opened up before them.

In the distance lay a lake, its surface rippling in the gentle breeze. The lakeshore was ablaze with crimson flowers, clusters upon clusters stretching as far as the eye could see. The blossoms swayed in the breeze, their reflections shimmering on the water's surface, fragmented into a chaotic mess…

The group had traveled a long way when they were suddenly struck by this beautiful scenery, and they were all stunned.

(End of this chapter)