Mad Doctor No. 9

"Young friend," the old man guarding the well said in a deep voice, "as the successor of the Star Lord, you have the right to obtain three drops of water from the Source Well. However, you need the protection of star power to slowly absorb it. In addition, there are also relics left behind by the Star Lord at the bottom of the well, which can only be awakened by the power of the stars."

Wang Tian nodded, his star power coiling around his fingers as he gently probed the spring water. The sensation wasn't of flowing water, but rather like being immersed in warm, liquid light.

He carefully enveloped the three drops of spring water with his star power and placed them into a jade bottle he had prepared beforehand. As soon as the spring water entered the bottle, golden patterns appeared on its surface, as if they were alive.

Then, as the old man had instructed, he placed his hand on a special rune on the well opening and channeled his stellar power to its fullest extent.

The water in the well began to swirl, forming a whirlpool. At the center of the whirlpool, something slowly rose—a palm-sized silver token engraved with nine stars arranged in a mysterious way.

Wang Tian held the token in his hand, and immediately a massive amount of information surged forth:

"Star Lord's Decree - Kunlun Deputy Decree. The holder of this decree can activate some of the restrictions of Kunlun, open the three great secret treasures, and obtain the qualification to participate in the 'Starry Sky Trial'. The trial location is the 'Heavenly Reaching Platform' at the top of Kunlun Mountain."

At the same time, a 3D map marks the three hidden locations, as well as the location of the rooftop.

Wang Tian accepted the token, cupped his hands, and said, "Thank you, senior."

The old man smiled with relief: "Our mission is accomplished, and we can finally rest in peace. Young friend, Kunlun holds far more secrets than this; the Eternal Life Society is merely the tip of the iceberg. The real danger may lie beyond the stars... Just be careful."

As soon as they finished speaking, the three of them began to etherealize, transforming into specks of golden light that disappeared into the Well of Life. After thousands of years of waiting, the arrival of the inheritor had finally come; their obsessions dissipated, and they returned to the world.

Wang Tian paused for a moment, then bowed deeply towards the bottom of the well.

"Young friend Wang Tian," Master Zhang Qingwei said with emotion, "Now that this matter is settled, shouldn't we return?"

Wang Tian gazed at the dome, his eyes seeming to pierce through the rocks and reach the summit of Kunlun Mountain.

"No rush," he said slowly. "Since we're here, we should at least go and take a look at the 'Rooftop Terrace.' Besides..."

Just then, he felt the Star Lord's Token in his storage space heating up slightly, issuing a warning:

"High concentration of fel energy contamination detected. Location: One of the secret treasures, 'Valley of Ten Thousand Medicines'. Suspected 'Apostles' of the Eternal Life Society have infiltrated and are attempting to break the seal."

A cold glint flashed in Wang Tian's eyes. Sure enough, the Eternal Life Society wasn't just Lucas alone. The real confrontation was only just beginning.

"Let's go to the Valley of Ten Thousand Medicines first." He turned around and walked back the way he came. "There are some scores we need to settle."

However, Wang Tian was unaware that as they ventured deeper underground, an unprecedented crisis was unfolding at the camp on the surface—a squad of soldiers dressed in black, with a crescent moon embroidered on their chests, silently surrounded the valley.

The leader wore a bronze mask and held a bone staff in his hand.

A hoarse voice came from beneath the mask:

"Since that useless thing from the Zhao family failed, then the life of the Star Lord's successor will be taken by my Blood Moon Sect."

"The lord has ordered: Wang Tian must die in Kunlun."

Holding the Star Lord's Token, Wang Tian clearly sensed a surge of evil energy emanating from the "Valley of Ten Thousand Medicines".

It was a cold and twisted power, completely inconsistent with the pure spiritual energy of Kunlun, like a drop of ink falling into water, spreading continuously.

"Let's go!" He took the lead, leading Zhang Qingwei and Li Xuanfeng out of the tunnel.

Back on the surface of the fake well ruins, Qin Feng and the others had already cleaned up the mess.

Six members of the Immortal Society were bound by golden chains and lay unconscious; Lucas huddled in a corner, barely alive, clearly his transformation was over.

"Advisor Wang, what should we do with these people?" Qin Feng asked.

Wang Tian glanced around and said, "This chain will last for a day and a night. After that, they will naturally wake up. However, their cultivation will be halved."

"Let's go to the Valley of Ten Thousand Medicines now."

The group quickly packed their belongings and left.

According to the markings on the Star Lord's Decree, the location of Wanyao Valley is about thirty miles to the northeast, requiring passage through a dangerous place called "Wind-Eroded Stone Forest".

In the Stone Forest, rows of gray stone pillars, hundreds of meters high, stand tall. Over millions of years of weathering, countless holes and passages have been formed.

A fierce wind blew through the cracks in the rocks, emitting a shrill, howling sound that disturbed people's senses.

Master Zhang Qingwei cautioned, "Be careful, there's a natural maze here; it's easy to get lost."

Wang Tian did not stop. In his eyes, a star map was flowing, locking onto the source of that evil energy.

"Come with me, and don't look at those stone pillars to see if anything has changed."

He led the group swiftly through the complex stone forest, sometimes making ninety-degree turns, sometimes taking a few steps back, seemingly without any pattern, but always moving in the same direction.

Occasionally, scorpions or spiders would crawl out from the cracks, but they were quickly dealt with by the group.

It took a full half hour to gradually open up the view.

What appeared before them was a bottomless valley, surrounded by mountains on all sides.

In the misty valley, one can vaguely see all kinds of exotic flowers and plants, their spiritual energy so rich it's almost condensed into liquid.

But at this moment, the entrance to the valley was shrouded in a strange dark red light curtain, on which appeared a series of hideous ghost faces.

"The seal has been eroded by more than 30%!" Li Xuanfeng's face darkened. "Judging from the characteristics of this evil energy, it must have been the Apostle who made the move."

Wang Tian stepped forward and placed his hand on the light screen.

His fingertips felt icy cold, and a malevolent spiritual force surged into his consciousness.

"Hmph." He snorted coldly, his star power vibrated, and the dark red light trembled violently as if struck by lightning.

The next moment, his right hand formed a claw with its five fingers, and countless starlight converged upon it.

"Break!" he shouted.

Five fingers, like hooks, pierced the light screen! A sound like shattering glass rang out, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the dark red seal.

The view of the valley came into his view.

What should have been a secluded paradise in the medicine valley is now overgrown with black vines.

The vines seemed to be alive, constantly wriggling.

In the center of the valley, there is a broken stone platform, on which floats a fist-sized green jade slip, the "Compendium of Herbs," the core heritage of the "Valley of Ten Thousand Herbs."

Beside the stone platform, there were three figures.

The leader was dressed in a dark gold robe, his face covered by a hood, with only his eyes flashing with an eerie red light.

He held a twisted black wooden scepter in his hand, with a beating black heart at the top.

Morpheus, the "Plague Doctor," is the sixth apostle of the Order of Immortality.

To his left was a tall, pale-faced woman with pure black eyes, devoid of any whites.