Volume 1

Chapter 11: Deep Within the Ruins, Body Tempering with Evil Qi

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

Outside Black Wind Ridge, the original temporary camp had been expanded and reinforced. Banners fluttered in the wind; the official exploration team dispatched by the Yunni Sect had assembled. There were over fifty people. Besides familiar faces like Sun Miao and Chen Feng, there were several Foundation Establishment Stage deacons with steady Auras, as well as over a dozen elite Disciples uniformly dressed in green Inner Sect attire, all at the Late Stage of Qi Refining or above. At the core of the team, a young man in a moon-white brocade robe stood with his hands behind his back. His features were handsome but hinted at arrogance, and his Aura was deep and profound—he was clearly at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage. This was the elite leader of the Inner Sect, Han Feiyu.

Lin Xuan was still in his plain clothes, standing among the Guest Elders and Martial Artists, appearing unremarkable. However, he could feel several gazes falling upon him—some scrutinizing, some curious, and others, from within the Inner Sect Disciple group, filled with hidden hostility and disdain. Although Zhao Long had not come personally, his influence had clearly permeated the group.

Su Qingyue was also in the team. She stood at the edge of the Inner Sect Disciples. Her gaze occasionally swept over Lin Xuan before quickly moving away. Her expression remained as cold as usual, though upon closer inspection, there seemed to be a hint of complexity in her eyes.

"Everyone," Han Feiyu began, his voice clear and resonant, carrying an unquestionable majesty. "The Black Wind Ridge ruins involve the secrets of an ancient Body Cultivator and may hold a great Opportunity, but they also harbor great danger. This journey requires us to advance steadily and strictly obey orders. Junior Martial Uncle Sun, since you previously led the team to explore, please introduce the situation first and assign tasks."

Sun Miao stepped forward and roughly explained what they had learned from the previous exploration, as well as some information provided by Lin Xuan (omitting the core Legacy), and displayed a simple map. "The Restriction at the entrance of the ruins is special; it repels spiritual power. Only those with a strong Physical Body or pure strength can pass through safely. Once inside, there are ancient Puppets and Gold-Eroding Ants guarding the area. In the depths, there is a suspected Legacy stele, which has already been triggered. The deeper areas have not been explored yet; the Spiritual Qi is mixed with ancient Evil Qi, causing intense interference."

Han Feiyu nodded slightly, his gaze sweeping over the crowd and lingering on Lin Xuan for a moment. "In that case, after entering the ruins, the Body Cultivators and some Junior Brothers skilled in melee defense will lead the way. Junior Martial Uncle Sun, Junior Brother Chen Feng, you will lead the Disciples and Guest Elders of this team to be responsible for exploring the left wing and collecting samples. Junior Sister Su Qingyue, you will lead a team to be responsible for the right wing. I, this Young Master, will lead the core Inner Sect Disciples and two Foundation Establishment deacons to head straight into the center and explore the core area. Everyone, maintain contact with your communication jade talismans. Send a signal if you encounter danger; do not venture into unknown areas without authorization!"

With the orders issued, the team set off.

Arriving again before the entrance filled with dark red mist, the twisted oval outline remained. This time, the Yunni Sect was clearly prepared. A Foundation Establishment deacon skilled in Formations behind Han Feiyu took out several Formation Flags and placed them around the entrance, temporarily stabilizing part of the chaotic force field. At the same time, several sturdy Inner Sect Disciples and Guest Elder Martial Artists who had practiced Body Refining techniques attempted to enter first. Although there was still repulsion, with the assistance of the Formation, most were able to barely pass through, though their faces turned pale, clearly consuming much energy.

When it was Lin Xuan's turn, he walked straight in with steady steps just like last time. The invisible repulsive force had a negligible effect on him—it was even easier than last time, causing many Inner Sect Disciples to glance sideways, and even Han Feiyu raised an eyebrow slightly.

The team entered the ruins in batches, stepping onto that ancient and oppressive plaza once again. The air was filled with a mixture of dense ancient Spiritual Qi and Evil Qi, making many Disciples who were entering for the first time feel uncomfortable, forcing them to quickly take the specially made "Heart-Protecting Evil Pill."

According to the plan, the team split up. The left wing team led by Sun Miao included the original deacons, Disciples, and some Guest Elders, with Lin Xuan, Wang Mang, and Li Dali also assigned to it. Su Qingyue led another group toward the right passage. Han Feiyu led the most imposing core Inner Sect Disciples and two Foundation Establishment deacons, heading without hesitation toward the stone palace in the depths of the plaza where Lin Xuan had discovered the stele last time.

"We are setting off too. Our target is this area on the left wing." Sun Miao pointed to a cluster of buildings on the map labeled with names like "Pill Refining Room," "Artifact Refining Room," and "Herb Warehouse." "Explore carefully and watch out for residual Restrictions and potential awakened guards. Little Friend Lin, your sense of Evil Qi is keen; if there is anything unusual, warn us in time."

Lin Xuan nodded. He could feel that the concentration of Evil Qi coming from the left wing seemed higher than elsewhere, and there was a faint sense of violence and restlessness, somewhat similar to the description of "Earth Vein Evil Qi" in the newly acquired Ancient God Body Refining Technique. This might not be a bad thing.

The buildings on the left wing were more dilapidated, with many houses left with only broken walls. The Evil Qi permeating the air was like cold, fine needles, trying to drill into the pores and erode spiritual power and blood Qi. Many Disciples had to continuously consume spiritual power to resist, slowing their progress.

Sun Miao held a special compass, constantly detecting the flow of Evil Qi and possible energy nodes. "The Evil Qi here... seems to have a source; it is not evenly distributed. Strange, it looks like it is being attracted or bound by something..."

As they were moving, a "rustling" sound suddenly came from a half-collapsed building ruin resembling a Pill Furnace room ahead, accompanied by a teeth-grinding metallic friction sound.

"Be on guard!" Chen Feng shouted in a low voice.

From the shadows of the ruins, several bizarre "things" slowly crawled out. They were not physical Puppets but rather seemed to be condensed from thick, dark red Evil Qi. Their outlines were blurry, resembling both humans and beasts, constantly twisting and changing. Only two scarlet lights served as "eyes," emitting a chaotic and violent Aura. The intensity of their fluctuations was roughly equivalent to the fifth or sixth level of Qi Refining, but that pure sense of Evil Qi erosion made people extremely uncomfortable.

"It's an 'Evil Spirit' mutated from Evil Qi! Be careful, their attacks carry strong Evil Qi erosion, which can damage Magical Artifacts and erode spiritual power shields!" Sun Miao's expression changed slightly.

Before he finished speaking, the few Evil Spirits let out silent shrieks and pounced like several dark red afterimages! Their speed was astonishing!

A Guest Elder Martial Artist swung his blade to strike, but the blade cut into the Evil Spirit's body as if cutting into thick mud, meeting great resistance. Furthermore, a layer of dark red rust quickly covered the blade, and the spiritual light dimmed! Although the Evil Spirit's form was cut open, it quickly absorbed supplements from the surrounding Evil Qi, recovering almost instantly, and its claw-like front end viciously grabbed at the Martial Artist's face!

"Use fire or lightning Spells! Or the power of Yang blood Qi!" Sun Miao shouted hurriedly, casting a blazing fire snake at the same time.

Several Yunni Sect Disciples hurriedly cast Fireball Spells. The effect was decent; it could burn the Evil Qi and slow down their recovery speed, but the consumption was not small.

Lin Xuan's gaze narrowed. These Evil Spirits were essentially formed by the combination of dense Earth Vein Evil Qi and some residual will. Physical attacks had limited effects, and they also had erosive properties toward spiritual power. His mind stirred. He did not use [Source Martial Spiritual Energy] but instead attempted to simulate a "pure Yang and fierce" Aura using his own blood Qi, as recorded in the basic chapter of the Ancient God Body Refining Technique, and coordinated it with his physical strength to meet an oncoming Evil Spirit.

He threw a punch, the wind of the punch burning hot, his blood Qi like a furnace!

"Hiss—!"

The Evil Spirit was struck by the punch wind and let out a shrill screech (although silent, it could be perceived on a spiritual level). The Evil Qi in the part that was hit evaporated and dissipated violently, and its recovery speed was greatly reduced! Lin Xuan followed up closely, his fists and palms striking in succession, his pure Yang blood Qi erupting, actually beating the Evil Spirit into retreating repeatedly, its form constantly shrinking and fading!

"It's effective! Brother Lin's blood Qi is indeed pure Yang!" Seeing this, Wang Mang also roared and surged his blood Qi to charge up. Although he did not understand fine manipulation, his own blood Qi was vigorous and fierce, which also had a certain restraining effect on the Evil Spirits.

A look of surprise flashed in Sun Miao's eyes. He looked deeply at Lin Xuan, then directed everyone to concentrate their firepower, quickly eliminating these Evil Spirits. In place, only a few wisps of pure but extremely cold dark red Evil Qi Origin remained, slowly dissipating.

"These Evil Spirits should have been formed over the years by the dense Evil Qi here, perhaps mixed with the violent will dissipated when ancient Body Cultivators cultivated." Sun Miao said thoughtfully, "The deeper we go, the denser the Evil Qi, and I fear there will be more and stronger monsters of this kind."

The team continued to advance. Sure enough, the closer they got to the area suspected to be the "Herb Warehouse" and the Earth Vein node, the higher the concentration of Evil Qi, and the more Evil Spirits appeared. There even began to appear traps similar to vines or ground spikes condensed from Evil Qi.

The Yunni Sect Disciples and Guest Elders were under great pressure, and their spiritual power consumption was rapid. Lin Xuan, however, was like a fish in water. His blood Qi seemed to naturally restrain this Evil Qi. Moreover, in this environment rich in Evil Qi, the operation of the Ancient God Body Refining Technique seemed even smoother. Wisps of pure Evil Qi were guided by the technique, not invading his body to cause damage, but instead, like a whetstone, began to slowly temper his bones and muscles, bringing a faint tingling and aching sensation. It was an excellent environment for Body Refining!

"Elder Sun, the Evil Qi ahead is forming a vortex. There seems to be a strange treasure, but there could also be great danger!" A Disciple responsible for detection reported.

Everyone looked over and saw that at the entrance of a relatively intact stone house (suspected to be a warehouse) ahead, the dark red Evil Qi was slowly rotating like a liquid, forming a vortex with a diameter of about a zhang. The center was deep and emitted heart-palpitating fluctuations.

Sun Miao looked hesitant. The energy fluctuations in the center of the vortex were indeed unusual, and there might be precious spiritual materials or ancient relics, but the danger must also be great.

"Elder Sun, I will go in and take a look first." Lin Xuan suddenly spoke. He felt that in the center of the vortex, besides pure Evil Qi, there seemed to be a trace of an extremely faint fluctuation that vaguely echoed with the dark red metal piece in his bosom.

Sun Miao looked at him and pondered, "Alright, Little Friend Lin, be careful. If something is wrong, pull out immediately! Chen Feng, you take two people to provide support outside!"

Lin Xuan nodded, took a deep breath, and urged his blood Qi to a pure Yang state. A faint golden halo (deliberately controlling the manifestation of [Source Martial Spiritual Energy]) appeared on his skin, and he stepped into the Evil Qi vortex.

It was like stepping into a world of ice and fire. The outer circle was the scouring of bone-chilling Evil Qi, while the inner circle brought a trace of strange, scorching, and pure energy. The pressure inside the vortex was immense, and his vision was obstructed, but for Lin Xuan's formidable Physical Body and special perception, he could still endure it.

The vortex was not deep, and he soon reached the bottom. This was a small stone room. In the center was a small recessed pool. At the bottom of the pool were several strange crystals the size of pigeon eggs, crystal clear, with dark red flames seemingly flowing inside—these were "earth-fire sha crystals"! This was a kind of Heaven And Earth Treasure containing pure Earth Fire Evil Qi, which had miraculous effects for cultivating fire-attribute techniques or certain special Body Refining arts and was worth a lot in the outside world.

What made Lin Xuan pay more attention was that beside the pool, there were several heavily rusted metal fragments scattered. The style was somewhat similar to the metal piece in his bosom, but they were more damaged. And in the corner of the stone room, a strange plant with dark red throughout and only three leaves was rooted in the stone crevice, emitting a faint fragrance that could actually disperse the surrounding Evil Qi—this was "three-leaf soul-clearing grass," one of the main ingredients for refining high-grade Soul-Clearing Pills.

Lin Xuan quickly put the few earth-fire sha crystals and the three-leaf soul-clearing grass into his Storage Ring and picked up the few metal fragments. The moment he touched one of the larger fragments, the dim patterns on the fragment suddenly brightened slightly, and the sense of connection with the metal piece in his bosom suddenly strengthened a bit. At the same time, an extremely vague and intermittent fragment of a scene flooded into his mind: endless earth fire... a huge furnace... a blurred giant figure hammering something... and a terrifying axe shadow that pierced the heaven and earth...

The scene vanished instantly. Lin Xuan's heart shook. These metal fragments really pointed to a more important place, and they were very likely related to the subsequent parts of the Ancient God Body Refining Technique or the true core secrets of the ancient Body Cultivator!

He did not linger and quickly exited the vortex.

"How is it?" Sun Miao and the others asked eagerly.

Lin Xuan took out three earth-fire sha crystals and one three-leaf soul-clearing grass and handed them to Sun Miao: "There are a few earth-fire sha crystals and this Spiritual Plant inside. The Evil Qi was dense, so I took them out. There are also some useless metal fragments." He concealed the abnormality of the metal fragments and most of his gains.

Sun Miao saw the earth-fire sha crystals and the three-leaf soul-clearing grass, and joy immediately appeared in his eyes: "earth-fire sha crystals! three-leaf soul-clearing grass! Good! Little Friend Lin has made a great contribution! These two items are worth a lot, especially the three-leaf soul-clearing grass, which is of great benefit to the Sect's Alchemy Pavilion!" He carefully put them away and looked at Lin Xuan with an even kinder gaze, "Little Friend Lin is indeed blessed with great fortune! This exploration contribution will definitely be recorded heavily for you!"

Other Disciples and Guest Elders also cast envious gazes. Wang Mang and Li Dali felt honored as well.

After this gain, Sun Miao decided to slow down the deep exploration and first use this place as the center to carefully explore the surrounding area, collect more samples, and especially look for other possible earth-fire sha crystals or Spiritual Plants. Lin Xuan was happy to take this Opportunity to help with the exploration while secretly guiding the Evil Qi to temper his body. He could feel that his bones were becoming denser and harder, and his muscle fibers were becoming tougher. The progress of the Ancient God Body Refining Technique was advancing steadily.

Half a day later, the left wing area was basically explored, and they harvested a batch of scattered ancient minerals, fragments of incomplete Magical Artifacts, and several types of Spiritual Plants rare in the outside world that thrived in Evil Qi environments. Sun Miao was satisfied and was about to order the team to join up with Han Feiyu's central group.

Suddenly, the entire ruins space shook violently! It was as if a muffled thunder had rolled underground!

Immediately after, a heaven-shaking roar came from the direction of the central core area! That roar was full of violence and pain, and it was definitely not something a human could emit! At the same time, a terrifying pressure that made the Soul tremble spread like a tide. Even separated by a long distance, it made the blood Qi of everyone in the left wing churn, and the Disciples with lower cultivation were even paler!

"It's Senior Brother Han and the others! Something happened!" Chen Feng said in horror.

Sun Miao's expression changed greatly: "Quick! Send a message to ask about the situation! Everyone, move toward the center and prepare to provide support!"

However, just as the communication jade talisman lit up, Han Feiyu's urgent and slightly embarrassed voice came from it, mixed with intense explosions and roars: "The central route encountered... an ancient War Spirit Puppet! Its strength is comparable to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage! The Evil Qi is soaring! All teams... come to support quickly! Coordinates..."

War Spirit Puppet? Strength comparable to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage?

Everyone gasped!

Sun Miao did not hesitate anymore and said sharply: "Advance at full speed! Support Junior Martial Nephew Han!"

A strange light flashed in Lin Xuan's eyes. War Spirit Puppet? Evil Qi soaring? This seemed... not entirely a bad thing.

He clenched his fists, feeling the surging power in his body due to the Evil Qi tempering, and followed the team, speeding toward the core area where the roar and pressure came from.

The real test might only be starting now.

(End of Chapter 11, Volume 1)

[Next Chapter Preview]: Deep within the ruins, Body Tempering with Evil Qi! Lin Xuan gains earth-fire sha crystals and mysterious metal fragments, tempers his body, and his strength advances again! A sudden change in the central route! An ancient War Spirit Puppet comparable to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage awakens, Han Feiyu falls into a bitter battle, and the distress signal resounds through the ruins! The three teams are forced to gather to face an unprecedented strong enemy. Is it to work together, or does everyone have their own hidden agenda? Lin Xuan possesses the Body Cultivator Legacy; in this place where Evil Qi soars to the sky, is it a crisis or a supreme Opportunity for further advancement? Has the secret move set by Zhao Long also been activated at this moment? What choice will Su Qingyue face? Next Chapter: War Spirit Puppet, Evil Qi Soaring to the Sky! Lin Xuan: "A War Spirit Puppet at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage? Just right, let me test if my tempered fists are hard enough."