I'm in Yellow Maple Valley, and I have one equipment slot!

Chapter 303 Exposing the Ancient Demon's Plot! The Mother-Child Sensing Talisman That Ignores Distance!

"The 'Blood Curse Gate' you're heading to now is not a treasure trove at all."

On the scroll, the scholar's face showed just the right amount of heaviness and compassion, and his voice carried a sense of worldly wisdom, which entered the minds of Tianhen, Nanlong, and Linghu.

"That place is actually an extremely dangerous trap left behind by ancient cultivators! I almost fell into it back then, which is why I am in this state now, with only a wisp of my soul left to eke out a living."

"Behind that portal lies not treasure, but a sealed, extremely evil entity capable of wreaking havoc on the human realm. Once opened, not only will treasure hunters be certain to die, but it will likely bring utter catastrophe to the entire Tiannan region!"

His sincere tone, combined with his identity as the "Ancestor of Cangkun" and his compassionate demeanor, made him extremely persuasive.

Upon hearing this, Tianhen Old Monster, Nanlong Marquis, and Linghu Old Ancestor all showed expressions of realization and lingering fear.

They were already puzzled by Zhou Yuan's sudden abandonment of the search for the "Gate of Blood Curse," but now, after hearing what the "ancestral remnant soul" said, they suddenly felt that everything made sense.

It turns out that Senior Brother Zhou had already learned the truth about the Blood Curse Gate through some unknown means; it was a deadly trap!

No wonder my senior brother said he wasn't going.

My senior brother is indeed far-sighted.

Exceptional insight!

"I see! Thank you for your guidance, ancestor!"

Marquis Nanlong bowed even more respectfully, his trust in his "ancestor" growing even stronger, and his admiration for Zhou Yuan increasing. It turned out that his senior brother had given up for everyone's safety.

"Yes, if you wish to find a truly great opportunity, break through your bottleneck, and extend your lifespan, you should follow me to the ancient Spirit Garden!"

Seeing the expressions on the three men's faces, the scholar was delighted and pressed his advantage, his voice full of seduction.

"There, spiritual energy condenses into liquid, and rare treasures abound. Ancient medicinal herbs are plentiful, and there are even legendary longevity fruits, nine-bend ginseng, and dragon-patterned grass—truly extinct treasures of heaven and earth!"

"Obtaining even one or two of these treasures would make breaking through to the later stages, or even glimpsing the Nascent Soul realm, a realistic possibility! That is the true treasure within the Fallen Demon Valley, the one untouched by the deadly traps set by the ancient cultivators!"

longevity fruit!

Nine-Bend Spirit Ginseng!

Breakthrough to the late stage!

Peek into the realm of the Nascent Soul cultivator!

Every word struck like a heavy hammer against the hearts of Tianhen, Linghu, and the other two monsters, especially Tianhen and Linghu, whose lifespans were nearing their end!

A flame of longing ignited in his eyes.

Compared to these, the unknown "Blood Curse Gate," described as a trap, suddenly lost much of its appeal.

"Alright, no need to go to such lengths."

Just as the atmosphere was becoming somewhat delicate due to the words of the ancient demon's split soul.

Zhou Yuan's calm, almost icy voice, like a cold wind in the twelfth lunar month, suddenly rang out, breaking the gradually escalating restlessness.

The scholar, Tianhen, Nanlong, and Linghu were all taken aback and looked at Zhou Yuan.

I don't understand what he meant by that.

In particular, Tianhen and his two companions were drawn to the promising future of "Lingmiao Garden".

Zhou Yuan's sudden, cold words took them somewhat by surprise.

"If you don't want to go to the Spirit Garden to seek your fortune, you can stay here. Why do you say that? Don't let your own doubts sever the path to immortality for other fellow cultivators!"

The Confucian scholar reacted swiftly, immediately turning his attention to Zhou Yuan, his tone carrying a hint of dissatisfaction and incitement, clearly intending to sow discord.

In his view, although Zhou Yuan was the leader, the other three might not completely follow his arrangements when faced with the temptation of the "Ancient Spirit Garden," which was enough to drive any Nascent Soul cultivator crazy.

Ideally, they should be allowed to fight amongst themselves. If this could help them get rid of or shake off Zhou Yuan, whom he found most unfathomable, then all the better.

however.

He finished speaking.

Contrary to expectations, the doubts or dissatisfaction that Linghu and the other two had towards Zhou Yuan did not materialize.

The old monster Tianhen frowned deeply.

My gaze shifted between Zhou Yuan's calm face and the "refined ancestor" on the scroll.

With his shrewdness.

How could they not see the provocation?

Linghu Laozu also looked thoughtful.

Although Marquis Nanlong believed in the words of his "ancestor" to some extent, Zhou Yuan's long-established prestige and the strength he had just displayed by easily subduing the Fire Toad Beast made him hesitant to question it.

After a brief silence, Old Monster Tianhen spoke first, his voice hoarse but firm: "Senior Brother Zhou, we three will follow your lead. This remnant soul dared to use divisive tactics against us; it should be annihilated!"

Having lived for nearly a thousand years and weathered many storms, he knew that opportunity often coexists with danger.

They have more faith in Zhou Yuan's judgment.

He had been momentarily captivated by the "Lingmiao Garden," but Zhou Yuan's words of advice have brought him back to his senses.

"That's right, it's all up to you, Senior Brother!"

Linghu Laozu also immediately expressed his opinion.

Seeing that his two senior brothers had expressed their opinions, Marquis Nanlong, though still hopeful about what his "ancestor" had said, knew which side he should stand on at this moment.

"Senior brother has his reasons, and junior brother has absolutely no objections!"

"you----"

The scholar in the scroll was dumbfounded!

He never expected that these three mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators would be so obedient and almost blindly trusting of Zhou Yuan in the face of such a temptation as the "Ancient Spirit Garden"! What kind of bewitching potion did Zhou Yuan give them?

Zhou Yuan nodded inwardly.

He had allowed the ancient demon's divided soul to say so much just now, obviously to let it put on a show.

This will reveal the truth of the matter.

On the other hand, it could also be seen as a small test of Tianhen and the other two.

He wanted to see what would happen if they were tempted by an "opportunity" that could drive them crazy.

These are the three new junior brothers who joined the sect.

What choice will you make?

In retrospect, the result is acceptable.

At least within this Fallen Demon Valley, when faced with unknown risks, they chose to trust him, their "senior brother," and their relationship remained relatively stable.

"Your true identity,"

Zhou Yuan stopped looking at Tian Hen and the other two, his gaze sharp as lightning as he stared directly at the scholar on the scroll. He spoke clearly, word by word, "It's not the remnant soul of Cang Kun, but—an ancient demon, isn't it?"

"What?!"

These words were like a thunderbolt from the blue!

The scholar's expression on the scroll changed drastically; his refined yet weathered face instantly twisted.

His eyes flashed with disbelief and horror, along with a deeply hidden panic!

He feigned an air of perfection, believing his act was flawless.

Today, his true identity was exposed by a mere mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator in a single sentence?!

"How—how did you know my identity?!"

The scholar cried out in shock, his voice trembling, all his previous composure gone.

"Logically speaking, with my disguise and the restrictions on this scroll, even a late-stage cultivator would have difficulty seeing through it! You are just a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator?"

How can anyone see through it?!

His words were tantamount to admitting Zhou Yuan's guess!

"An ancient demon?!"

"Isn't he the Ancestor Cangkun?!"

Upon hearing this, Tianhen, Nanlong, and Linghu were shocked and all voiced their doubts.

"I happen to have read some obscure ancient books about the ancient war and ancient demons."

Zhou Yuan remained expressionless and casually made up a plausible excuse. He couldn't very well say that he was a time traveler who knew the plot well.

According to scattered records in ancient texts, there is a forbidden area in the Valley of Fallen Demons called the Gate of Blood Curse, which seals an extremely powerful ancient demon's soul. In another hidden place in the valley, its separated demonic body is sealed.

"You—if I'm not mistaken, you should be that ancient demon's soul, a split soul that emerged from the body after thousands of years, whether to escape or for other purposes, and which has developed its own consciousness and is no longer willing to be controlled by the original body, right?"

He spoke calmly, yet he recounted the origins and schemes of the ancient demon's divided soul in great detail.

"You—you even knew that?!"

The ancient demon's divided soul was completely unsettled, its eyes filled with terror as it looked at Zhou Yuan, as if it were looking at a monster.

This human cultivator knows far too much! This has completely exceeded the scope of "having read some obscure ancient books" (31).

The scope that can be explained!

At that very moment, another unexpected event occurred!

Perhaps realizing that his identity had been completely exposed and his plan had failed, or perhaps feeling extreme fear after Zhou Yuan exposed his true nature, the image of the Confucian scholar representing the ancient demon's divided soul on the scroll suddenly twisted and blurred violently!

"Whoosh—!"

A tiny, thumb-sized, green, and faintly visible struggling miniature demonic shadow shot out from the scroll with lightning speed, heading straight for the cave entrance!

It actually risked consuming its soul essence to forcibly break through the restrictions on the scroll in an attempt to escape!

"Trying to leave?"

Zhou Yuan sneered, and a flash of blue light appeared behind him, revealing a pair of two-colored phantom wings.

Fine golden arcs of electricity danced on the wings—Wind and Thunder Wings!

"Crack!"

A flash of lightning appeared, and Zhou Yuan's figure seemed to teleport, leaving a faint afterimage in place before his true form appeared a hundred feet away.

It happened to block the green light's escape route!

Its speed was several levels faster than the desperate flight of the ancient demon's divided soul!

"Imprisonment!"

Zhou Yuan raised his hand, and golden light shone brightly from his palm. A lightning net woven from countless fine golden arcs of electricity instantly opened up and covered the green light spot that was crashing towards him!

It is a net of thunder that traps enemies, formed from the divine thunder that wards off evil!

"Sizzle—!!!"

Caught off guard, the green light spot crashed headlong into the golden lightning net.

The next moment, an extremely shrill scream erupted from the point of light! A violent sizzling sound erupted where the green light and the golden net came into contact, and large clouds of green smoke rose up. The miniature demonic shadow struggled and twisted wildly in the lightning net, but it was like water droplets falling into boiling oil. Its soul body became dim and thin at a speed visible to the naked eye!

"Ah—! A divine thunderbolt to ward off evil?!"

The ancient demon's split soul rang out with its horrified screams and incredulous roars.

The Divine Thunder that Wards Off Evil is the nemesis of all evil spirits and demons!

Especially for a being in a soul form like it, it was a deadly poison! It never expected that Zhou Yuan not only possessed it, but could also condense it into a net so freely!

This single collision severely damaged its already weakened soul, which had been damaged by forcibly breaking through the scroll.

His breath was extremely weak.

"If it weren't for the fact that you still have some use, I could have annihilated you right now, body and soul."

Zhou Yuan's tone was icy. He tightened the lightning net in his palm, firmly imprisoning the dimmed green light that was almost unable to maintain its shape. Then, he used his other hand to beckon to the dimly lit scroll that had fallen to the ground in the distance.

The scroll flew into his hands.

He cast a spell, slamming the golden lightning net that imprisoned the ancient demon's fragmented soul, along with its physical body, back into the scroll, and instantly applying several seals.

The scroll trembled slightly a few times before returning to complete stillness.

Tianhen Old Monster, Nanlong Marquis, and Linghu Old Ancestor witnessed the whole thing and were speechless with shock at the series of changes.

From Zhou Yuan revealing the ancient demon's identity, to the ancient demon's split soul suddenly escaping, and then to Zhou Yuan capturing and resealing it with unbelievable speed and terrifying exorcising divine lightning—

All of this happened in the blink of an eye. Their awe of Zhou Yuan had reached a whole new level.

This senior brother is not only unfathomably powerful and has an endless variety of tricks up his sleeve, but his knowledge and cunning are also far beyond their imagination!

Even the ancient demon's fragmented soul, hidden for thousands of years, was manipulated by him!

"Although this demonic soul is malevolent, it might still be of some use in the study of the ancient demon race—"

Zhou Yuan put away the resealed scroll and offered a brief explanation.

He then looked at the three of them. "The Blood Curse Gate is indeed a trap, containing the sealed soul of the Ancient Demon Lord. As for that Ancient Spirit Garden..." — Perhaps the Fallen Demon Valley exists, but given the nature of this demon, the path it points to is certainly not the Spirit Garden, or it may have some other purpose. We need not take the risk. This matter is settled; let's prepare to return the way we came.

"Yes, Senior Brother!"

The three of them were now completely convinced of Zhou Yuan's abilities and had no more doubts, so they responded in unison.

Next, the four of them carefully retraced their steps.

When Zhou Yuan passed through the passage containing the "Gangyin Sand" mineral vein and filled with Arctic Yuan light once again, he suddenly stopped.

His gaze swept over the stone walls on both sides of the passage, where faint silver-white spots of light shimmered. After a moment's thought, he raised his hand and patted his waist.

Three beams of light of different colors flashed past and landed in the passage, transforming into three figures with considerable auras.

The man on the left is eight feet tall, robust and strong, wearing heavy earth-yellow armor. In reality, he is a tortoise shell transformed. His face is rugged, and he exudes a calm earthy aura. He is a demon cultivator transformed from an eighth-level demon beast, the Earth-Splitting Tortoise.

The person in the middle is tall and thin, with a pale face and vertical pupils.

It is an eighth-level demonic beast called "Shadow".

The person on the right is obese, with a round head, large ears, and a big nose; he has an endearing, simple appearance.

It was transformed from the level eight demon beast "Sea Rhinoceros Beast".

After the three demons appeared, they all bowed to Zhou Yuan and said, "Greetings, Master!"

"What?!"

The three old monsters, Tianhen and his companions, gasped again, their eyes nearly popping out of their sockets!

A transformed demon beast! And it has three heads!

Each one possessed an aura no weaker than that of a Nascent Soul stage cultivator!

Including the Gale Beast we saw before, Senior Brother Zhou now has four transformed spirit beasts under his command who have submitted to him?!

This—this completely shattered their understanding! In the history of the cultivation world of Tiannan, has there ever been such an outrageous record? Subduing even one transformed demon beast is incredibly difficult, yet Senior Brother Zhou has four! How did he manage that?!

"This vein contains '罡银砂' (a type of mineral), a precious material for refining top-tier flying swords and magical artifacts."

Zhou Yuan instructed the three demons, "Lie Tu, you are skilled in earth and stone manipulation. You are responsible for surveying the vein's direction, finding the richest points, and securing the excavation channels. You Ying and Hai Xi, you are responsible for the main excavation and preliminary refining. Extract and refine as much of the Gang Yin Sand from this vein as possible!"

"As you command, Master!"

The three demons responded in unison and then each set about on their own.

The Earth-Splitting Turtle demon cultivator crouched down, pressing his hands to the ground, and earth-yellow spiritual light seeped into the rock strata.

After making the arrangements, Zhou Yuan set up some early warning barriers near the exit of the passage.

Only then did they leave the passage between Gangyinsha and Beiji Yuanguang, with Tianhen and the other two still in shock, and continue their journey home.

In the days that followed, the four did not immediately leave Fallen Demon Valley.

It will be some time before the spatial rift within the valley enters another period of instability.

Zhou Yuan decided to use this time to continue exploring the relatively safe outer valley area and look for other opportunities.

Especially the Spirit Candle Fruit.

Several days later, on the edge of an "oasis" that stood out starkly against the backdrop of the surrounding lava and scorched earth, the four stopped.

This oasis is not large, only a few miles in circumference, with a small, clear lake in the center, surrounded by some strange plants that are heat-resistant and moisture-loving, full of vitality.

Beyond the oasis lies a vast, desolate desert stretching for thousands of miles, with endless yellow sand and utter silence—a stark contrast in scenery.

Zhou Yuan's divine sense had already locked onto a certain spot on the shore of the oasis lake.

There, a spiritual herb, only a few feet tall, with a vibrant green color, resembling a piece of fine jade, was quietly growing.

The stem of the herb is straight and covered with thick, oval leaves about the size of a thumb, each one crystal clear and shimmering with spiritual light.

At the very top of the spiritual herb, four strangely shaped fruits hung forlornly.

The fruit is only the size of a walnut, bright red all over, narrow at the top and wide at the bottom, and its shape is somewhat like an unlit candle, with a faint red light appearing and disappearing at the top, like a candle wick.

A unique, refreshing fragrance emanates from the fruit, soothing the mind and soul.

"The Spirit Candle Fruit! We've finally found it!"

A hint of joy flashed in Zhou Yuan's eyes.

This fruit is the main ingredient for refining the "Creation Pill"!

With it, one can experience the wonders of the next realm in advance.

This greatly increases the success rate of breaking through bottlenecks!

Without further hesitation, he flapped his Wind and Thunder Wings, transforming into a streak of pale golden lightning that instantly traversed hundreds of feet, appearing beside the Spirit Candle Grass.

With gentle yet swift movements, his five fingers grasped lightly, and a soft force enveloped the four spirit candle fruits. With a gentle pluck, they fell into the wooden box he had prepared beforehand.

The entire process was smooth and seamless, without harming the medicinal herb in the slightest.

However, just as he picked the Spirit Candle Fruit, a strange thing happened!

"Boom!"

Suddenly, a huge column of water burst forth from the seemingly calm, clear lake beside them!

A huge and ugly figure, accompanied by the foul-smelling lake water, burst forth and rushed straight at Zhou Yuan!

This beast was seven or eight zhang long, and its appearance was extremely strange and disgusting.

Its body resembled a pool of writhing, flowing, black, rotten flesh, its surface covered with numerous large and small holes that opened and closed, from which viscous black liquid seeped out.

At the front of the body, only a huge, fleshy head was slightly raised. Apart from a single, dark eye that occupied nearly half of the head and was filled with violence and greed, there were no other organs such as a mouth or nose.

Overall, it looks like a huge, contaminated, living tumor.

"roar--!"

Although it had no mouth, a roar filled with chaos and greed, which directly affected the soul, instantly assaulted the four people's consciousness!

Clearly, this ugly ancient beast is the guardian of this oasis and the Spirit Candle Fruit.

"court death!"

Zhou Yuan's gaze turned cold. Faced with this sudden attack, he neither dodged nor avoided it, but his mind stirred slightly.

"Clang clang clang—!"

Thirty-six dazzling golden rays shot up from his body and instantly transformed into thirty-six Green Bamboo Bee Cloud Swords infused with Geng essence!

The flying swords did not split, but instead arranged themselves according to a mysterious trajectory, instantly setting up a "half-set" Great Geng Sword Formation!

The sword formation had a range of only ten zhang, which just covered the ugly ancient beast that pounced on it.

"cut!"

With a change in sword technique, all thirty-six flying swords trembled simultaneously, and countless strands of Gengjin sword energy, refined to the extreme, burst forth from the sword formation, intertwining with each other to form a dense, airtight golden sword net that covered the entire sword formation space, descending upon the ugly ancient beast and twisting it!

"Hiss hiss hiss hiss—!!!"

A series of teeth-grinding cutting sounds rang out. The ancient beast's seemingly soft body was actually exceptionally tough, but under the strangulation of the sword net containing the evil-repelling divine thunder and the Geng metal energy, it was still easily cut, torn, and disintegrated like a hot knife through butter!

Black blood and bits of flesh splattered everywhere, but were quickly purified and annihilated by golden lightning.

In the blink of an eye, this ancient guardian beast, whose aura was comparable to that of an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator and whose appearance was terrifying, was reduced to a rapidly dissipating black smoke by half of the Great Geng Sword Formation. It didn't even have time to let out a few more screams before its body and soul were completely destroyed.

Clean and efficient, without any hesitation or fuss.

The three old monsters, Tianhen and his companions, were already used to Zhou Yuan's strength. They were only slightly surprised when they saw this, and then went forward to investigate the lake and oasis to see if there were any other spiritual objects.

Having defeated the guardian beast and obtained the Spirit Candle Fruit, Zhou Yuan was in high spirits.

The four continued their exploration of the outer valley of Fallen Demon Valley.

Time flies, and more than half a year has passed quickly amidst constant searching, risk avoidance, and occasional gains.

During this time, the four of them discovered several hidden places that had never been found before, and each of them gained something, especially some longevity fruits.

This delighted the three of them.

He was deeply grateful to Zhou Yuan.

Zhou Yuan himself also reaped considerable benefits.

In addition to the Spirit Candle Fruit he had previously obtained, he also collected more than a dozen rare and even extinct medicinal herbs.

Furthermore, in the ruins of an ancient cultivator's temporary cave dwelling, they found a strange talisman with special material and ancient runes.

This talisman is called the "Synergy Talisman".

It consists of two sheets, a mother sheet and a child sheet.

The holder of the child or mother talisman only needs to inject a trace of magic power into it, and no matter how far apart they are, or even if there are strong restrictions blocking them, the holder of the other talisman can immediately sense it and vaguely perceive the other's location and approximate distance.

This is somewhat similar to the "Ten Thousand Mile Talisman" of the Chaotic Star Sea, but the sensation is clearer and more direct, and it seems to be unaffected by ordinary spatial interference.

It is truly an excellent treasure for communicating and locating companions in perilous or secret realms.

"Senior Brother Zhou, judging by the time, the spatial rifts within Fallen Demon Valley will probably soon return to their previous unstable and violent state."

On this day, while resting in a relatively safe stone forest, Old Monster Tianhen frowned and reminded her, looking at the spatial fluctuations in the sky that were subtly intensifying.

They have been in the Valley of Fallen Demons for almost a year.

The end of the once-every-fifty-year safe period is not far off.

"Well, it's time to leave."

Zhou Yuan nodded.

The main objectives of this trip have been achieved, and the additional gains far exceeded expectations.

"I'll escort the three of you out of the valley first."

Zhou Yuandao.

With Xiao Zi's help, he could sense the invisible spatial rift and escort the three of them away first.

The three, including the old monster Tianhen, were eager to return home.

He was eager to return and refine the Longevity Fruit into elixirs to extend his lifespan.

With Xiao Zi's accurate warning, the four of them, though it took some time, finally made it through the death passage full of spatial rifts again without any major incidents, leaving the area of ​​Fallen Demon Valley and returning to the Wanling Mountains.

"What a pity!"

Zhou Yuan stood atop a peak in the Wanling Mountains, looking back at the entrance to the Fallen Demon Valley, and sighed.

This trip was very fruitful.

However, he could never find any trace of the ancient herb garden that Han Li had entered in the original story, which he vaguely remembered.

That medicinal garden contains countless rare treasures.

Many elixirs that have reached the age of ten thousand years.

If used for alchemy, its value would be immeasurable!

Unfortunately, that medicinal garden is located in a separate space, and the only way to find it is to try entering each spatial rift one by one.

Even after a year, it's still too difficult to find a suitable job.

Later, we can put Xiao Zi inside and slowly search for the herb garden in the spatial rift!