Daoist Master, I'm really not an evil cultivator.

After venting his anger, Xu Changqing composed himself and turned his gaze back to the path ahead.

In the reddish-gray mist, a building, a mixture of flesh and magic materials, vaguely appeared at the end of the path.

From a distance, it looks like the internal organs of some giant creature, or the remains of a palace that has been melted by high temperatures and then haphazardly solidified, almost growing together with the surrounding fleshy cliffs.

"I'm really like a turtle crawling into a stove pit—suffocating and frustrated. I've walked for so long just to see this thing?" he muttered, but his feet didn't stop. Ghost Lotus carried him and slid forward silently.

The closer you get, the clearer the building's outline becomes.

Soon, the ruins of a pill furnace appeared before them, tightly bound by countless dark red fleshy tendrils, thick blood vessels, and pitch-black meridians that intertwined like tree roots.

The surface of the furnace was covered with a dark crust, the color of which resembled dried blood plasma.

From the cracks in the scab, fragments of metal and brick were faintly visible, and a thick, reddish-gray liquid, like pus, kept seeping out, carrying a pungent smell that was a mixture of rust, burnt metal, rotting medicine residue, and a strong, bloody stench.

On several relatively intact walls, some eroded and blurred relief patterns can be barely discerned. They seem to be cloud and thunder patterns, fire patterns, or patterns of some kind of forging magic weapon, but they are all distorted and deformed, as if they have melted under high temperature and then solidified again.

"Looks like we didn't go the wrong way," Xu Changqing squinted, examining the strange building. "The 'Earth Fire Yin Sha' and 'Rotten Wood Life Qi' are most intensely intertwined here, forming a 'Fire and Wood Punishment' situation, which is a common phenomenon in weapon forging places. However, the original weapon forging courtyard has probably already been completely devoured and assimilated by the flesh and blood of the great demon that this Ziyang Temple has transformed into, becoming a 'dirty organ' within its body that specifically 'digests' the essence of metal and melts impurities."

He recalled the record of the evil energy of the earth veins in the "Tu Yuan Zai Jing": "The fire evil energy is responsible for burning and smelting, while the wood evil energy is responsible for promoting life. When the two clash, if there is no neutralization, it will become an ominous place that 'burns the forest and boils the sea.' All things that enter it will have their foundation worn away by its energy and return to their original source."

The scene before us is nothing short of a living "burning of the forest and boiling of the sea," except that what is being burned are the remains of magical artifacts, and what is being boiled is the flesh and blood of cultivators.

As they were observing, a muffled "gurgling...gurgling..." sound suddenly came from deep within that "entrapment," like the churning of a giant beast's intestines.

Immediately afterwards, a large amount of even thicker, dark red to almost black "pus" gushed out from several larger cracks and slowly flowed down the flesh wall.

Wherever the pus passed, the fragments of ritual implements and pieces of brick embedded in the flesh were corroded and dissolved at a visible speed, turning into finer dregs that merged into the pus. The bubbles that constantly rose and burst on the surface of the pus released a nauseating stench.

"Good heavens, this digestion efficiency is even more powerful than the incinerator I saw back in the day." Xu Changqing pinched his nose, but his mind started racing. "However, as the saying goes, 'Where there is a venomous snake, there is always an antidote within seven steps.' This place has such heavy evil energy, and it was once the core of the Weapon Academy. It was used as a 'furnace' by the Great Demon, so perhaps some 'essence' has been settled and not completely digested."

His eyes gleamed with a purple light as he carefully scanned the area.

From this perspective, amidst the surging pus and twisted architectural ruins, besides the overwhelming filth and deathly aura, one could indeed vaguely see some magical materials deposited deep within the folds of certain fleshy walls.

"There really is a bargain to be found." Xu Changqing's spirits lifted, but he immediately frowned. "However, this place looks eerie. If we rush in and take it, it'll be like throwing a meat bun to a dog—a one-way trip. We need to think of a way..."

His gaze swept around and suddenly landed on the [Ghost Lotus] in his hand, which he had just refined not long ago.

"This thing is said to be 'unimpeded in its passage,' and it's especially effective in places thick with the filth and evil of the underworld... This place is filled with malevolent energy and filth, so it's practically 'filthy earth,' isn't it? Why don't we give it a try?"

Xu Changqing guided it to approach the "dirty" area ahead.

The blood lotus trembled slightly, then, as if a fish had entered the water, it became unusually joyful.

It actively absorbed a trace of the surrounding reddish-gray evil energy and the fishy smell of pus. Its lotus body glowed slightly, and the speed at which it carried Xu Changqing forward seemed to increase slightly. Moreover, it moved silently, greatly reducing the sense of rejection from the surrounding environment.

"Hey, it actually works!" Xu Changqing chuckled. "It's definitely a perfect match for my expertise. This rare treasure wasn't wasted on me. It seems that for the [Ghost Lotus], this place isn't a dangerous spot at all, but rather feels a bit like... going back to its hometown?"

He manipulated the [Ghost Lotus] and approached the nearest fold in the inner wall where magical materials were hidden.

The closer he got, the stronger the mixed stench and corrosive sensation became. Even with the protection of the Ghost Lotus, Xu Changqing could feel a slight stinging sensation on his skin, as if countless tiny needles were pricking him.

"Amitabha, this place is truly like 'practicing martial arts in a latrine—the energy is misdirected.' The aura of malevolent energy is so strong it could be used as a seasoning." He complained as he circulated his magic power to protect himself, his gaze fixed on that faint light.

Upon closer inspection, he could see that it was a palm-sized, dark golden magical material, partially embedded in the writhing flesh.

The edges of the ritual material were uneven, and the surface was covered with fine, seemingly naturally formed cloud patterns. At this moment, it was faintly shimmering with a spiritual light that resisted the erosion of the surrounding filth.

"This is... a fragment of 'Gengjin Cloud Pattern Gold'?" Xu Changqing examined it carefully and recognized it as a rather rare refining material. It was pure gold, extremely tough, and a top-quality magic material.

"It seems that Ziyang Temple was indeed well-off back then, as they even had stockpiles of this kind of material."

He reached out to take it, but the fleshy wall seemed to have a sense of feeling, and suddenly contracted. Several tiny fleshy tendrils peeked out from the side, trying to wrap around his wrist.

At the same time, the flesh around the metal piece began to secrete more mucus, accelerating its corrosion.

"Trying to steal food from me, Daoist Master?" Xu Changqing sneered, a wisp of condensed killing energy flicked from his fingertip, like the sharpest blade, instantly severing those few fleshy tendrils.

At the same time, his other hand moved with lightning speed, grabbing the edge of the metal piece and using his magic to pry it out of the flesh.

"Tear!" A soft sound, like flesh being torn apart.

The moment the metal piece detached from the body, the flesh wall writhed violently a few times, oozing a small amount of black blood, before slowly calming down, as if it had only lost a little insignificant "dead skin".

Xu Changqing weighed the metal piece in his hand, sensing the pure and undiminished spiritual energy within it, and nodded in satisfaction: "Not bad to have such a harvest outside."

He put the metal piece into his magic bag, then turned his gaze to several other places that were shimmering with light.