Ji You was unaware that his reputation outside had been utterly ruined.
Such as one fiancée, two fiancées, fiancées everywhere and so on.
He was even less aware that someone was waiting for him at this moment, planning to see what his non-existent fiancée looked like…
At this time, he was hunched over, following Yuan Chen through a narrow and dark cave, feeling a tightness in his chest from being bent over for too long.
This jade plate, it must be a High Virtue Brand…
Ji You fumbled in the darkness, feeling that the surrounding Qi was already incredibly restless, like the eve of a storm.
At this moment, sounds of rushing through the air continuously came from the cave, accompanied by ecstatic shouts rising and falling.
Ji You didn't know what those Immortal Sect Disciples saw on the mountain, but the aura of breakthrough continuously emerged on the mountain, as if there truly was an immortal destiny here.
But the so-called comprehension of the Dao, it's about the word 'comprehension'.
If there was an opportunity to guide one to comprehend the Dao, Ji You believed it, but if there was something that could use external force to bypass comprehension and allow one to attain the Dao, that itself was illogical.
It was like studying; one could take medicines that boost memory, but ultimately, they still had to see things with their own eyes.
Unless, there was something in this Qingyun World that people didn't understand.
Just then, Yuan Chen, who was walking ahead, suddenly called out, "Brother-in-law."
Ji You looked over by the light of the jade plate and found that ahead were completely different blood-red rocks. The two types of stone formed a clear fault line where they passed, like oil and water separating.
"The outside of the mountain is rock, but what's wrapped inside… isn't necessarily anything."
Ji You muttered, "Hurry up and go forward, make a quick decision, then you pay and I'll retreat, money and goods settled."
Yuan Chen pouted after hearing him, "Where's my sister?"
"You shouldn't even think about using your sister to hook a brilliant and peerless brother-in-law like me to take home."
After hearing this, Yuan Chen sullenly followed behind him, and then the two passed through the cave and entered a spacious and quiet grotto.
What was chilling was that there were white bones everywhere.
The good news was that most of the white bones here were not from the Human Race, because just from their form, one could distinguish the differences.
Especially one incredibly huge object that looked like a leg bone, which was thicker than Ji You himself.
"Di Ren…" Yuan Chen murmured.
"What?"
Yuan Chen raised his head and looked at him, "It is said that in the ancient era, there was a very huge race that lived in the Ten Thousand Mountains outside of Kyushu, but they were eventually devoured by the Lasting Peace Race. However, a branch of the Barbarian Race seems to have preserved a trace of this race's Bloodline, but they need to go berserk to gain a giant body."
"Previously, when the Zhenbei Army attacked Beiyuan, they encountered such a Barbarian Race troop, but their physique was no longer as strong as their ancestors."
Ji You frowned, "The Barbarian Race isn't a single race, but a general term?"
Yuan Chen turned his head to look at him, making Ji You feel a sense of disdain, like a high school student looking at a middle school student.
Ji You chuckled, "I come from Yuyang County, Feng Province, a place where we often don't know where our next meal will come from. Only Chen Fuzi's family has a few tattered books, not even illustrated ones. What do you expect me to know?"
Yuan Chen was stunned for a moment, "There's such a poor place? No wonder Brother-in-law loves money so much."
"No choice, I'm afraid of being poor."
Yuan Chen turned to look at the leg bone, "Actually, this isn't a secret. The ancient war was too fierce, so other tribes fled to the desolate continent beyond Beiyuan to avoid the war. So the Barbarian Race is not just one race, but all races except the Human Race."
Ji You pondered for a moment and said, "Aren't there also the Yao Race?"
"That's right, but in that war, the Yao Race sided with the Human Race, so they are not categorized as the Barbarian Race."
As Ji You was pondering, he suddenly stretched out his hand and grabbed Yuan Chen, who was walking forward.
The sudden drop in gravity caused the veins on his arm to bulge, but the explosive force generated at that instant was just enough to pull the full weight of Yuan Chen's body.
At this moment, Yuan Chen's feet were suspended in the air, and cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead.
He hadn't noticed when he was moving forward that there was no ground ahead; he was now suspended in mid-air, and below him was a downward pit.
If Ji You hadn't reached out in time, he would have fallen straight in.
Subsequently, Yuan Chen was pulled up, and then looked down by the light of the jade plate.
The deep pit in front of them was filled with corpses, lying haphazardly, piled layer upon layer.
Unlike the ancient skeletons from before, these corpses were all human, or rather, cultivators.
All the corpses had their abdomens cut open, with large empty cavities in the center.
Before Ji You came here, he was just a clear and naive university student; he didn't know how to determine the time of death for corpses.
Moreover, there seemed to be no natural decomposition like "rotting" in this ruin, so even a master detective would be helpless.
But from the dried bloodstains and the dust covering their clothes, these corpses shouldn't be recent.
The good news was that none of these people were alchemists.
Ji You squatted down, pointing at the empty areas and looking at Yuan Chen, "What is missing from this spot?"
"Spirit Origin…"
"?"
Yuan Chen swallowed, shuddering.
Alchemists are also physicians; they have a deep understanding of the human body's structure. Cultivators will produce Spirit Origin after Body Tempering, which is hidden here.
But even he had never seen such a thing as live dissection for Spirit Origin.
How painful would that be…
Although Yuan Chen did not cultivate the Heavenly Dao and did not condense Spirit Origin, he also had an inner core, and just looking at it made him feel pain.
So he turned back to look at Ji You, finding that the other person's expression was normal, without any reaction.
Ji You also turned to look at him at this time, thinking, 'Why are you looking at me? I don't have something like that.'
"What can be done with Spirit Origin once it's taken out?"
"Once Spirit Origin leaves the body, it becomes a Dan Bead. It shouldn't have anything special, or perhaps there's something else I don't know."
Tianshu Academy had previously experienced a Disciple disappearance incident, and later five bodies were found in a cave.
However, to avoid causing panic and to prevent other Immortal Sect Worldly Families from having any ulterior motives, the Master's Courtyard did not publicly disclose the details.
Yet, even so, Ji You could vaguely recall those missing Tianshu Academy Disciples.
"Let's keep going, quickly find the person. Can't earn money and not have a life to spend it…"
Ji You drew the long sword from his hand, and Spiritual Qi attached itself to the blade like smoke, a cold light blooming in the night.
The Lower Three Realms cultivate the body, following the path of Spiritual Qi Body Tempering.
Only upon reaching the final Ninghua Upper Realm can one condense Spirit Origin, ultimately achieving Junior Third Realm Completion.
This means that the lowest Realm of those who died here was Ninghua Upper Realm, and some might even have been at Junior Third Realm Completion, with the same cultivation as him.
This thousand taels of gold was truly hard-earned.
As the two continued forward, they saw countless iron cages arranged throughout the grotto, densely packed, with claw marks all around.
In addition to the iron cages, there were also some prayer mats, incense burners, and so on, and judging by the number, there were quite a few people.
But just like the corpses in the pit, these prayer mats and incense burners were all covered with a layer of fine dust, and by time estimation, they hadn't been moved for at least half a month or more.
The ruin, originally called the "Unknowable Place," had actually been occupied long ago, followed by continuous evil calamities and the emergence of immortal destiny…
Then the people here had left early, leaving behind a massive conspiracy.
As Ji You pondered, Yuan Chen looked at the jade plate in his hand, which suddenly emitted a brilliant light.
Subsequently, the aura emitted by the mutual sensing of Spiritual Qi quickly drove the rotation of the jade plate, finally locking onto the southern direction of the cave and fixing itself there.
Yuan Chen held the jade plate and quickly ran inside.
Just then, a rumble came from the peak of the high mountain, and the mountains began to shake continuously.
