Chapter 25: Demonic Energy
The contents recorded in the book were entirely about various spiritual herbs in the medicine garden.
However, that wasn’t the most important part. What mattered most was why a large portion of the content described how to handle these herbs and what ingredients to pair with them to make the best dishes.
Ying Tong flipped through it briefly. The entire book contained over a thousand pages, and two-thirds of it was dedicated to how to cook these spiritual herbs.
After putting the book away, Ying Tong said, “It seems that the person who built this medicine garden was someone who loved gourmet food.”
Typically, the use of spiritual herbs was either to eat them directly or to refine them into pills. However, it turns out that spiritual herbs can also be used for cooking.
It’s just that compared to eating them raw or refining them into pills, turning spiritual herbs into dishes is much more difficult.
*
On the other side, Qin Xuan, who had come up empty-handed yet again, was almost furious.
This newly emerged ruin was massive, far beyond the scale of the previous Jinghong Secret Realm.
Quickly, half a month passed, and during that time, no one found any clues about the inheritance mansion.
However, many heavenly treasures were discovered.
In addition, some observant people noticed that a fierce battle seemed to have taken place in these ruins a long time ago.
The most direct evidence of this was the battle scars and skeletal remains they found multiple times.
Judging from the clothing on these remains, which had not yet decayed, it was clear that they came from an era very far removed from the present.
During this time, Ying Tong had been trying to track down any sign of Ying Xuechen and the others.
As a result, while many treasures and opportunities were found, not a single person was located.
Afterward, she killed a fire-breathing beast and collected the Fire God Flower it was guarding.
She couldn’t tell if her luck was good or bad anymore.
Around the Fire God Flower, Ying Tong discovered several skeletal remains, some of which had already turned into white bones. One of the skeletons lay very close to the Fire God Flower.
Next to it was a damaged storage pouch.
Inside the pouch, she found a few black seeds.
After observing them, Ying Tong confirmed that these black seeds were none other than the seeds of the Fire God Flower.
This was intriguing.
The Fire God Flower had not originally grown here but was brought to this place by someone who had planted its seeds.
Naturally, the person who did this was the owner of the skeleton before her.
Perhaps bringing the Fire God Flower seeds here wasn’t his intention. Judging by the circumstances, it seemed that this person had met an untimely death.
Looking at the faint greenish-black hue of the bones, she thought she had figured out how this person died.
Ying Tong examined the other skeletons and uncovered another shocking revelation.
Before their deaths, these people had been members of the Ying family.
She noticed faint phoenix patterns emerging on the bones of these remains.
Even though many years had passed, the patterns were still remarkably clear. Moreover, the cause of death for these people was different from the first; they had not been poisoned.
This became even more interesting.
The Ying family placed great importance on their members and would never allow their bloodline to be left outside the family.
Judging by the phoenix patterns on the bones, it was clear that these people were not from a branch of the family but were direct descendants of the main Ying lineage.
Just then, a sudden, violent commotion erupted from the depths of the ruins.
A divine light shot into the sky, followed by an aroma that spread throughout the ruins.
At first, the fragrance was mouth-watering, like a freshly cooked gourmet meal.
But soon, the scent changed. It began to smell like food left out for too long, slowly rotting and festering, even attracting maggots.
Some of the weaker cultivators couldn’t hold back and started to vomit.
Some of the more sensitive cultivators with heightened senses quickly realized that there was something seriously wrong with the smell.
At the same time, the demonic beasts in the ruins became agitated. They lost their sanity and began a frenzied rampage, attacking any living creature that crossed their path.
The entire ruin started to change under the influence of this aura.
First, the surrounding environment transformed. The once vibrant green leaves began to dull and turn yellow, eventually falling to the ground and decaying.
What had once been a flourishing, almost paradise-like realm turned into a barren wasteland in the blink of an eye.
The small puddles formed from gathered spiritual energy had now become stinking pools of foul water.
Ying Tong picked up a stone from the ground and casually tossed it into one of the puddles. The next second, it emitted a sizzling sound.
Within just a few breaths, the stone was completely corroded and vanished without a trace.
This shocking transformation hit the cultivators searching for opportunities like a bolt from the blue.
Many were filled with fear and considered retreating. As important as these opportunities were, they weren’t worth risking their lives for.
However, even more cultivators chose to press forward, abandoning the chance to seize any immediate fortune, and instead, rushed toward the depths of the ruins.
As the saying goes, fortune and danger are intertwined.
It seemed impossible to gain supreme fortune without facing deadly risks.
But these people quickly realized that the closer they got, the stronger the stench in the air became.
Without even realizing it, they themselves began to be affected.
First, their clothes started to rot little by little, followed by the weapons they held.
Some of the less skilled cultivators who had hoped to take a chance were directly reduced to puddles of black water.
This gruesome scene served as a harsh reminder of what it meant to gamble on one’s fate—sometimes, fortune does not favor the reckless.
Witnessing this, many cultivators were struck with horror. This was no opportunity; it was clearly a slaughter trap set specifically for them.
Suddenly, everyone in the ruins was gripped by fear, wary of the danger lurking around them.
“Demonic energy? It’s been a long time since I’ve encountered this,” Ying Tong murmured as she sensed the air around her.
Using the scent of rotting food to mask the stench of demonic energy?
She couldn’t help but chuckle at the absurdity of it. Whoever came up with this clever idea was definitely an odd genius.
Around Ying Tong, a circle of red flames instantly ignited, burning away all traces of the demonic energy within a one-meter radius of her.
“Ah… the air smells much better now. I just hope Ying Xuefeng and the others aren’t foolish enough to do something reckless,” she muttered as she advanced toward the area where the demonic energy grew even thicker.
Clearly, someone had triggered a mechanism deep within the ruins, causing the demonic energy to leak out.
This meant that the owner of these ruins was likely connected to demons in life.
Thinking of this, Ying Tong clicked her tongue. “Well, this is going to be troublesome.”
When she reached the core of the ruins, she immediately saw Ying Xuechen and others, struggling to hold their ground with their fellow Ying family members.
On the other side, Qin Xuan—shrouded in a thick, swirling black demonic energy—was attacking them with reckless abandon.
“Aren’t you supposed to be so powerful? Fight back! Why aren’t you resisting? You’re nothing but a bunch of worthless trash from that so-called prestigious family!” he taunted with malicious glee.
