Chapter Fifty-Seven: Ruins

  Outside the refined cottage, in the bamboo forest, Lin Xiao sat cross-legged on the tip of a phoenix-tail bamboo, gently swaying with the breeze. His white clothes and long hair fluttered, his figure resembling a white crane about to drift away with the wind. His ten fingers were entwined, manipulating a set of extremely complex hand seals, which often caused his fingers to become knotted together due to being newly learned.

  In the bamboo forest, a few plum trees were scattered about, and Ao Xue, dressed in white, sat under one of them, hands propping up her chin, staring blankly at Qing Chu as she skillfully manipulated a set of tea utensils. A wisp of pale white mist rose, and an unusual fragrance like orchids wafted out, Qing Chu lifted the green ceramic teacup and presented Ao Xue with a cup of fragrant tea. Ao Xue gave Qing Chu a slightly strange look, lowered her head to glance at her own slender and powerful palm, raised an eyebrow, snatched the teacup away, poured the scalding hot tea into her mouth, and swallowed it in one gulp.

  Next to the plum tree was a pit about one zhang in diameter, filled with a medicinal broth that seemed to be steaming with spiritual energy. As soon as Yaojing's head and upper body had just grown out, she lay slantingly on the edge of the pit like a female ghost in a nightmare, her big eyes blinking at Ao Xue, occasionally pointing at Ao Xue with her incomplete arm. Yaojing's small mouth kept moving, but it was unclear what she was quietly asking Ao Xue. The medicinal broth in the pit was slowly decreasing, and Yaojing's body was slowly regrowing. Her pale green skin matched the black medicinal broth, adding to the eerie scene of Yaojing's broken body, which was enough to scare a timid person to death.

  Ao Xue gazed at Qing Yun with a hint of annoyance, suddenly shouting loudly: "You want to take these two little girls to that ancient relic? One can only do household chores, and the other is completely useless! What are you taking them there for? Huh? You know I'm enough for you, don't you?"

  The changing seal suddenly stopped, and Lin Xiao, who was sitting cross-legged, was blown up by a gentle breeze and landed lightly on the cushion opposite Ao Xue. Lin Xiao quietly gazed at Ao Xue until she felt uncomfortable under his gaze. Turning her head awkwardly, Lin Xiao finally spoke: "With Qing Yun around, I don't have to starve or wash my clothes myself; with Yao Jing around, she can communicate with all plants between heaven and earth, and even interact with most wild beasts, which is also very helpful to me. Ao Xue, what can you do?"

  "I can" Ao Xue's arms swung vigorously, momentarily highlighting the muscles on her arms. However, she soon realized the unseemliness of this action and slowly lowered her hands. Ao Xue tilted her head and coldly snorted: "I am stronger than anyone in the current cultivation world, I can kill."

  Lin Xiao interrupted Ao Xue's words, saying calmly: "Don't forget, you and your clansmen were imprisoned on the planet of Da Jiao Xing! You also went back to Da Jiao Xing to release your clansmen. But that seal made it impossible for any blood dragon without a physical form to leave Da Jiao Xing! When you were imprisoned on Da Jiao Xing, you had just been born, and your clansmen were still dragon eggs! That seal has been operating for tens of thousands of years and is still so mysterious. You have no way to deal with that seal! Can you guarantee that the seals in the ruins are not as powerful as those on Da Jiao Xing?"

  He sneered a few times. Lin Xiao ruthlessly struck Ao Xue's confidence: "You indeed have the strength of an immortal, but don't forget that even immortals in ancient times were not rare! I, the Great Luo Dan Dao's Great Luo Dan Scripture. You've also read it, you said the people restricted by the formation, their cultivation is at least a hundred times deeper than yours! If there are such people left in those ancient ruins"

  Aoshu fell silent. Two days ago, she returned to Dajiao Star, wanting to take out the other Blood Dragons from Dajiao Star. However, a ban that shrouded the entire Dajiao Star prevented her actions. Aoshu, who had transformed, could leave Dajiao Star, while those untransformed Blood Dragons could only stay in Heijiyuan obediently. It was also this ban that stirred up some fragmented childhood memories of Aoshu's. She remembered that she seemed to have just hatched from the dragon egg when someone broke into the territory of the Blood Dragon clan and forcibly took her away.

  She, along with her long-delayed and hatched clansmen, seemed to have been treated as gatekeeper dogs. They were imprisoned in the Great Horned Star for tens of millions of years. Lin Xiao also knew about the ban after seeing it. If not for Ao Xue's transformation, they would not have been able to bring out a single living Blood Dragon from the Great Horned Star last time.

  Two people sat quietly facing each other. The bamboo leaves fell gently, landing on their hair, collars, or drifting to the side of the green kiln, where they were carefully brushed away, lest they stick to the tea utensils. Yao Jing was soaking in the water pool, puffing out her small mouth and blowing out a faint blue mist, which sent the bamboo leaves flying all over the sky, causing dozens of nearby bamboo stalks to sway and shed even more leaves. The swirling bamboo leaves were like dark clouds blocking out the sun, casting a gloomy shadow over the bamboo forest.

  At that time, Qing grabbed the scalding hot kettle and heavily knocked it against Yaojing's head, loudly scolding: "Little Qing"

  Yao Jing rolled her eyes, and her eye sockets were instantly filled with mist. She looked pitifully at Lin Xiao and called out in a soft voice: "Lin brother is bullying me"

  Ao Xue snapped her fingers, and a powerful gust of wind slammed into Yao Jing's forehead, sending her flying out. She didn't even make a sound as she fainted to the ground. Qing Gun dropped the teapot and ran over, scared out of his wits, and scooped up Yao Jing's limp body, shaking her frantically. Ao Xue glared at Lin Xiao, her face puffed with anger, and shouted: "Isn't it just brewing tea, washing clothes, and cooking? Can't I learn that too? Don't underestimate me! Isn't it just brewing tea, washing clothes, and cooking? I can do it too! Humph, when the time comes, I'll drive this little servant girl Qing Gun away!"

  Qing Yun's body suddenly shook violently, and she turned her head around in a daze, staring blankly at Lin Xiao.

  Lin Xiao glanced at Qing Huo, slowly stood up, and pointed at Ao Xue with a cold smile: "You taught me the dragon clan's secret method, I owe you one favor. But if it's about driving someone away, driving you away would be better!"

  "You!" Ao Xue was so angry that her teeth were grinding, she furiously waved her fist at Lin Xiao and shouted: "I am your wife!"

  "Who said that?" Lin Xiao crossed his arms over his chest, gazing at Ao Xue with a fierce glare and sneering: "Just because I hugged you once, you think you're my wife? Then I've also hugged Qing Yun and Yao Jing. Shouldn't they all become my wives too? Tomorrow I'll go to the Yuan Zong Mountain gate and hug a little girl who's come to pay respects, shouldn't she become my wife too?"

  Lin Xiao's words made Qingchu's pretty face flush red, she lowered her head, and her cheeks almost touched her chest. Qingchu's small mouth trembled lightly, and it was unclear what she was saying. Yaojing, on the other hand, was excitedly waving her hands and shouting loudly: "Hurray, hurray! We'll all be Lin big brother's wives! That evil woman will die from anger! Hehe, what is a wife? Is it something delicious?" A drop of sparkling saliva dripped down from Yaojing's mouth corner, and she smacked her lips, lost in thought.

  Qing Yue lightly tapped Yao Jing's head. Lin Xiao continued to glare at Ao Xue with a fierce expression. Ao Xue looked up at Lin Xiao with a pitiful gaze, she secretly circulated her inner energy, causing the skin around her eyes to turn bright red, as if tears were about to fall. But how could the ferocious Blood Dragon cry? Ao Xue's eye sockets turned purple, then black, and finally shiny, yet not a single tear drop fell. Ao Xue pretended for half a day, only managing to make her own eyes ache, angering her so much that she let out a loud wail, transforming into a streak of bloody light and fleeing swiftly.

  Lin Xiao let out a sigh of relief, gazing in the direction where Ao Xue had flown off. He muttered to himself: "Leave then. Leave and never come back! Heaven, I, Lin Xiao, have accumulated countless merits from treating illnesses and saving people throughout my life. How could I have encountered someone like her? Could it be that I owed her a debt in my past life? But she's over ten million years old... when did I incur this debt?"

  Shaking his head, he let out a sigh, and suddenly a strong gust of wind blew outside the bamboo forest. A Taoist priest, ecstatic with joy, flew over on the wind and shouted from afar: "Lin Xiang Dao friend! Lin Xiang Dao friend! It's done, it's done! Using the method you provided, my senior brother Yi Zhen has successfully created dozens of small dan furnaces, each with a fixed program for refining dan. As long as we put in the properly prepared materials, we can refine 80% of the most basic ling dan!" The Taoist priest grabbed Lin Xiang's shoulder and asked excitedly: "But this method can only be used to refine the most basic ling dan, can it be used to refine higher-level dan medicine?"

  Lin Xiao looked at Yidan with a helpless gaze, speaking slowly and deliberately: "Elder Yidan, if we can use such a clever method to refine high-grade spiritual pills, then what's the point of our Da Luo Dan Dao existing? Low-grade spiritual pills only require consideration of the fire timing and material configuration to produce good medicine. So as long as we refine a batch of special pill furnaces, we can continuously produce low-grade spiritual pills. However, refining high-grade spiritual pills is extremely difficult, where even slight changes in the fire timing and subtle transformations in the medicinal properties require immense mental effort."

  A Taoist priest nodded his head in distress and sighed: "Yes, I was too greedy. Is there such an easy thing in the world?"

  With a wave of his sleeve, the alchemist turned to leave. Lin Xiao hastily said: "Senior Yidan, I only offered this method for refining low-grade spiritual elixirs because of what Senior Yi said about maintaining the supply of elixir shops in Yuanzong City. It was an unavoidable trick and not the true essence of alchemy. Please don't be misled!"

  A Taoist priest waved his hand weakly and nodded in agreement, saying: "I understand this principle. Every high-grade spiritual elixir is born from the creation of heaven and earth, so it's naturally not easy to obtain. Taking shortcuts can only be done with low-grade spiritual elixirs that don't have much spiritual energy, I was too eager for success." The Taoist priest's eyes suddenly became extremely clear, and he said in a long voice: "There are thousands of ways to achieve the Tao, but this life, I will only choose one path to pursue. Forget it!"

  With a big sleeve fluttering, he walked forward for a while, and suddenly turned his head with a smile: "Lin Xiao, my friend, if I betray the Yuan Sect and join the Dalo Dan Sect, can you take me in?"

  "Ah?" Lin Xiao was stunned, standing still in his tracks, staring at the Taoist priest, speechless for a long time.

  On the flat ground, a golden whirlwind suddenly rose, and a Taoist priest let out a cry of surprise, being swept up by the whirlwind to fly high into the air. In an instant, he was swept away to unknown whereabouts. Xuan Yuan and Xuan Tong walked hand in hand into the bamboo forest, smiling and nodding at Lin Xiao: "Little friend, are you ready? We'll set off tomorrow. Hmm, these are some things prepared for you, little friend, take them well." While Xuan Yuan was talking to Lin Xiao, Xuan Tong raised her head, with a smile that wasn't quite a smile, looking in the direction where the Taoist priest was swept away, her two small hands clenched tightly, as if strangling the Taoist priest's neck.

  Xuan Yuan and Xuan Heng sent two sets of robes with automatic defense arrays, both of which reached the level of lower-grade treasure equipment; a flying sword made from thousand-year-old Qingcang wood, this was prepared for Yao Jing's use, as she already had a high-grade flying sword given to her by a true Daoist; and two extremely large storage rings. Two sets of flag doors that could set up the Inverted Five Elements Illusion Array, as well as a large number of attack-type talismans that only required a hint of True Essence to activate, were also prepared for Qing Chu and Yao Jing's use. They would be accompanying Lin Xiao into the ancient ruins, so Yuan Zong carefully prepared some usable magical treasures and artifacts for them.

  Yao Jing's upper body, which had just grown perfectly, shook her head and woke up. She saw the big pile of good things in Xuan Yuan's hands, and her eyes widened. When she heard that these things were prepared for her and Qing Luo, Yao Jing suddenly let out a cheer. Her half-body flew up with a gust of evil wind, snatching all the things into her hands, excitedly flying back and forth above the bamboo forest, constantly emitting sharp whistling sounds. Her half-body was still dripping black medicinal liquid, looking like a female ghost who had accumulated resentment for many years.

  Lin Xiao saw the strange expressions on Xuan Yuan and Xuan Heng's faces, and he couldn't bear to see Yao Jing's bizarre appearance either. He hastily pulled Yao Jing down from mid-air and tossed her into the medicine pool. He bowed his head in respect to Xuan Yuan and Xuan Heng, saying: "Thank you, seniors. For such trivial matters, it would be enough for any senior brother to send someone over, why bother both of you?"

  Xuan Yan and Xuan Heng smiled slightly, and Xuan Yan said softly: "As for going to that ancient ruin, it's better not to let too many people know. My wife and I are also free now, so we'll come take a look at whether you've made all the necessary preparations, little friend. If everything is ready, we'll set off for the ancient ruin tomorrow. Don't forget, little friend."

  Lin Xiao nodded and said, "I'm ready to leave at any time." He had already taught some improved alchemy techniques to the disciples of Yuanzong Dantang, and together with Yizhen Daoist, they had developed an improved version of a special furnace that could mass-produce low-grade spiritual pills. Even if Lin Xiao left, there would be no shortage of medicinal pills in the market set up by Yuanzong. Lin Xiao's actions were also motivated by some ulterior motives. Judging from the quality of the magical artifacts and instruments personally delivered by Xuan Yuan today, it was clear that Lin Xiao's recent efforts had already gained recognition from Yuanzong.

  Lin Xiao himself was very poor. Entering the ancient ruins, although it was said to be safe near the entrance, there was no guarantee that something unexpected wouldn't happen. Lin Xiao offered some low-grade elixirs and other items in exchange for two sets of good protective gear, all for the sake of Qing Luo and Yao Jing's safety.

  Ao Xue didn't understand why Lin Xiao had to bring Qing Luo and Yao Jing to that ancient ruin, only Lin Xiao himself knew what he was thinking.

  Qingyě is a lonely and pitiful orphan girl who grew up in Yuánzōng, but was often bullied by her fellow disciples. Lín Xiāo, who had come to regard her as his own kin, naturally wouldn't leave her at Yuánzōng. Even though he knew Qingyě would receive attention from the likes of Yīxíng and others, Lín Xiāo still couldn't bear to let her out of his sight or protection. This was a unique desire for protection that men possessed; even knowing that the ruins might be more perilous, Lín Xiāo insisted on bringing Qingyě along.

  As for Yaojing! Since even Qingchu was taken away, this little demon who seemed to be unable to die no matter how much he was beaten, must also be taken away. The Yuanzong sect had raised many small spirits and small monsters, but they were only raised, these spirits and monsters were simply the drudgery of the Yuanzong sect, doing all sorts of troublesome and hard work. For example, when that little monster who discovered the Blood God's lair was rewarded with only a single low-grade Condensing Qi Pill. Lin Xiang did not want to leave Yaojing in the Yuanzong sect, where she would be driven by others in the future.

  So, Qingchu and Yaoyue were to follow Lin Xiao to the ruins. So, Lin Xiao used a little trickery to exchange a batch of artifacts from Yuanzong that would increase Qingchu and Yaoyue's self-defense capabilities by a hundredfold.

  As for whether this will make Ao Xue angry or jealous, Lin Xiao can't control that.

  Who is Ao Xue? If she's angry or jealous, what does it have to do with Lin Xiao?

  Qingchu held the storage ring in his hand, his big eyes blinking rapidly as he counted on his fingers: "Hmmm, Brother Lin's clothes need to bring at least 180 sets, who knows when we'll be back; Brother Lin's favorite fragrant glutinous rice porridge needs to bring several thousand catties of jade green rice; and Brother Lin's favorite white bud monkey leaves must bring at least a thousand catties too; and the various dried fruits that Brother Lin likes to eat while drinking tea, each one also needs to prepare several hundred catties... Ah, so many things to prepare!"

  Without looking at Xuan Yuan and Xuan Heng, Qing Chu tightly grasped the storage ring and hastily rushed into the pavilion.

  With several crisp jade flute sounds coming from the Jing She, dozens of Daoist priests rushed into the Jing She and soon ran out frantically, scattering in all directions.

  Xuanyuan, Xuange and Lin Xiao looked at each other, Xuange smiled as if hinting something and said: "Little friend, Qingchu is quite concerned about you!" Xuange pursed his lips and smiled, seemingly finding this very amusing.

  Lin looked at Xuan blankly, unable to understand what other connotations were hidden in his words.

  On the second day, Gu Weng transformed his Doukui Town God Seal into a small purple boat, carrying Jin Zun, Hua Shen, Qing Yi, Qing Chu, Xuan Yuan, Xuan Hong, Xuan Luo, Ao Xue, Lin Xiao, Qing Chun, and Yao Jing, among others. They turned into a purple light and left Qiyuan Star. The unified external statement from the Yuánzōng was: "The Dān Dào Zōng Shī Lín Xiāo has gone into seclusion to contemplate the Dān Dào, so within ten years, the number of high-grade spiritual pills provided by the Yuánzōng will be reduced by 70%, and the price of each pill will also double!"

  For three consecutive months, the high-grade spiritual pills released by Yuan Zong every day were snatched up in a short time, and Yuan Zong's chief steward, Yi Dao Ren, laughed so hard that his chin almost fell off.

  At this time, Lin Xiao and his companions had already deeply entered a vast starry sky, rapidly traversing between unfamiliar planets, finally arriving at a desolate domain where not even a speck of dust existed within a billion miles. The small boat transformed from the Town God Seal sailed straight into the core area of the domain. Gu Weng pointed to the empty space in front and said in a deep voice: "This is that ancient relic we call the Fallen Boundary! It's mysterious and unpredictable, with its own heaven and earth, full of danger yet also filled with great auspiciousness everywhere. Once inside, every word and action must be cautious."

  The golden-faced man spoke in a serious and solemn tone: "When I first entered the Ruins, I saw a senior who was hundreds of times more powerful than me. Because of a treasure being shattered by the Purple Fire Heavenly Thunder, he cursed the master of the Ruins and was immediately struck by billions of heavenly thunders, turning him into dust! Therefore, after entering the Ruins, one must be extremely cautious in words and actions, and absolutely cannot be careless."

  The Flower God also nodded and said, "Except for the entrance where we set up the forbidden area, every step inside the boundary is fraught with danger, and there are crises everywhere. Lin Xiao, Qingkuang, and Yaojing, you three must not leave the forbidden area we set up. As for Awu Snow..." The Flower God turned his head to look at Awu Snow, seemingly finding it a bit difficult.

  Ao Xue's small mouth curled up, and she coldly laughed: "I naturally have my own ideas! This Fallen Boundary, it's not like it's anything special, you're just too weak now, so you think it's a big deal. Isn't the entrance to this Fallen Boundary just a Tai Wu Void Forbidden Spell? Although it's also an extraordinary spatial forbidden spell, in the eyes of my dragon clan, it's nothing special!"

  Gu Weng, Jin Zun, Hua Shen, Qing Yi, and Qing Chu looked at Ao Xue together. Jin Zun said in a calm tone: "It's the Taowu Void Boundary Restriction, but there are 36,000 layers! If we didn't have the Void-Piercing Arrow in our hands, no one in the Cultivation Realm would be able to open the entrance to the Fallen Realm."