Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 379 Supreme Order [Kudzu Root Soup]

For the past seven days, Zhang Chengdao had searched high and low, but for some reason, he could not find any trace of Sun Ping. Even using "messengers" and communication talismans was of no use. The fluffy, white, and plump Northern Long-tailed Tit that had been circling above his head looked completely bewildered, unable to find its way, as if Sun Ping had never been there.

If he hadn't checked repeatedly to confirm that Sun Ping's status in the Golden Finger character card was indeed normal, he would have thought that this outer disciple had already been sent!

But He Yu had clearly told himself with certainty that since the dimensional rifts appeared at the same time, they must lead to the same place...

What exactly is going on!

He searched not only the entire island, but also areas outside the island.

Unfortunately, the world formed by this boundary passage is too small; outside the island—no, or rather, it's not an island at all, but a continent.

Beyond the mainland lie countless small islands of varying sizes, some no more than a few dozen miles from east to west, others with only a single tree growing on them.

As for human settlements, they were not entirely absent, but scattered and pitifully small forces. Even the largest of them might not have more than a thousand people in total. Zhang Chengdao confirmed with his divine sense that he had indeed not found Sun Ping, nor the composite soul body that resembled "Tang Mingming".

After searching for seven days without success, Zhang Chengdao had no choice but to return to the place he had agreed to meet with Su Yue Zhenren and the others, hoping that the other party, as the strongest fighting force in the Blue Night Realm, might bring some good news.

"I'm so sorry, senior, we haven't been able to find out about Sun Ping from the White Stone Realm that you mentioned..."

Su Yue Zhenren looked guilty, her eyes filled with unease, clearly feeling uneasy for not having done what Zhang Chengdao had instructed.

Zhang Chengdao certainly wouldn't hold a grudge against anyone over something like this. Besides, if he, a Nascent Soul cultivator, couldn't find them, it was only natural that he couldn't find these Nascent Soul cultivators, who were at the highest level.

He sighed and said, "Alas, it's alright. I've explored almost the entire Blue Night Realm these past few days, but I haven't found it either. Perhaps he mistakenly entered another world instead of the Blue Night Realm."

"Senior, why don't you come back to the Spirit Cultivation Realm with us and search for him? Perhaps that Fellow Daoist Sun Ping accidentally went to the Spirit Cultivation Realm. Well, who knows..."

Suddenly, one of the cultivators spoke up and made the suggestion.

Zhang Chengdao hesitated upon hearing this.

It's certainly not impossible, and having the opportunity to experience a world where a true immortal civilization resides would be a good choice. Besides, he might even learn some immortal knowledge that he lacks. After all, relying on cheat codes for cultivation makes him feel a little insecure.

"Mingfeng, you mustn't be rude!"

Unexpectedly, just as Zhang Chengdao hesitated, True Person Su Yue angrily rebuked the cultivator who had made the suggestion. Then, she turned to Zhang Chengdao and apologized, saying, "Please forgive me, Senior. Mingfeng was only concerned about the spiritual cultivation world and admired your strength, so he spoke nonsense. Please don't take it to heart..."

Zhang Chengdao was completely bewildered by this, but True Person Su Yue quickly explained: "To be honest, although there are still many cultivators and powerful figures in the spiritual cultivation world struggling to hold on, it has actually already fallen. The gates to the demonic realm are increasing, and demonic energy has infiltrated almost every corner of the spiritual cultivation world. And... the erosion caused by demonic energy is irreversible... at least for now, there is no cure. Any cultivator who goes to the spiritual cultivation world will be infected by demonic energy. At best, their cultivation will stagnate; at worst, they will fall into demonic possession and become inhuman monsters..."

As Su Yue Zhenren spoke, she reached out and pulled up her sleeve, revealing that her snow-white, alabaster-like arm was covered with fine, fish-scale-like black patterns, as if they were growing into her flesh, which was quite eerie.

"This……"

Zhang Chengdao stared wide-eyed at the fish-scale-like pattern in shock, speechless for a moment.

“But don’t worry, senior,” Su Yue Zhenren smiled wryly and added, “Although we are all tainted by demonic energy, as long as we don’t fall into demonic ways, we won’t release demonic energy, and therefore won’t pose a threat to the Blue Night Realm, nor will we affect you, senior.” These words reassured Zhang Chengdao somewhat. Otherwise, if he had just discovered another world and come to explore it, he would have faced a life-threatening situation. That would have been incredibly unlucky.

After Su Yue Zhenren finished explaining, the cultivator named Ming Feng hurriedly bowed and begged for forgiveness, saying, "Senior, please forgive me. I was just grasping at straws in my desperation and spoke nonsense. I deserve to die!"

It would be a lie to say I'm not angry.

If it weren't for Su Yue Zhenren's high moral standards, Ming Feng's words would have been tantamount to sending Zhang Chengdao to his death!

But it would be a lie to say that they were indifferent to this.

He came from a relatively peaceful world and a very stable country. Although it was hard for him to imagine such a disaster that could be described as genocide, he felt great sympathy for it.

This is more brutal than war.

No, or rather, this is war, a war that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, is destined to wipe out our race.

As long as it doesn't affect him, he won't hesitate to use any means to help them if possible.

After a moment's hesitation, he rummaged through his backpack and said, "I have a secret medicine here. Why don't you give it a try?"

"Secret medicine?"

The group exchanged glances, their expressions a mixture of hope and despair.

Even the most powerful cultivators in the spiritual cultivation world who have reached the Mahayana stage and are about to ascend to immortality are powerless against demonic energy. So what can this cultivator from an unknown place with a spiritual energy concentration even lower than that of the Blue Night Realm do, even if he has profound cultivation and is close to becoming an immortal?
It wasn't that they didn't believe in Zhang Chengdao, but rather that they had accumulated too much disappointment and dared not hold any hope anymore.

Zhang Chengdao didn't care whether the others believed him or not. He hesitated for a moment, then took out a bowl of [Kudzu Root Soup] from his backpack, the remaining amount of which had accumulated to five figures. He used his spiritual power to gently push it forward in front of Su Yue Zhenren, and then unconsciously adopted the kind of amiable attitude he had when facing his disciples, saying with a smile, "Try it. This stuff is for treating internal ailments. It can cure anything related to internal ailments. It might be of some use."

Since spiritual power is ineffective against demonic energy, then ordinary spiritual medicines are probably useless as well.

Just like in Zhang Chengdao's backpack, there are actually two kinds of [Kudzu Root Soup]. One kind was obtained from a member's red envelope, and the quantity was not large, only a few thousand. The other kind was made by him using kudzu root and other spiritual materials from the sect. Because it contains ordinary medicinal materials and is of lower quality than the former, it occupies a separate slot and there are tens of thousands of them.

What Zhang Chengdao took out was the [Kudzu Root Soup] that he had drawn from the member's red envelope.

He didn't believe in elixirs, but he believed in the code brought by his cheat system—that was the ultimate command!
Su Yue Zhenren stared blankly at the bowl of steaming Kudzu Root Soup in front of her, then glanced at Zhang Chengdao with a complicated expression. Without the slightest hesitation, she first said, "Thank you for the medicine, senior," then picked up the bowl and drank it all in one gulp.

It's not too bitter, even a little sweet, with the fragrance of unknown herbs and a hint of earthiness.

In short, it doesn't seem like anything special.

But this seemingly ordinary bowl of medicine actually brought about a miracle.

(End of this chapter)