Swordholder

"Oh right, where were we again?"

Zhong Yue looked at Chen Yuan with a meaningful smile on his lips.

Chen Yuan thought for a moment and said, "You said that in the central area, besides the forbidden terror, there is also a strange medicine from three thousand years ago."

Getting back to the main topic, everyone's expressions immediately turned serious.

Li Taiyi shared some of the profound secrets of the Purple Mansion with Chen Yuan and the other two, and at the same time called everyone to leave, telling Zhong Yue to talk as they walked.

Zhong Yue nodded and said, "Yes, those extraordinary medicinal herbs from three thousand years ago mean they were uncontaminated spiritual plants!"

A fiery light instantly appeared in everyone's eyes.

They cultivate the righteous path of humanity, and the extraordinary medicine from three thousand years ago means they can use it!

And it doesn't require purification.

"There is an ancient barrier in the central area that has always protected that region, preventing the turbid spiritual energy of heaven and earth from polluting it. Of course, that ancient barrier also has a filtering function, allowing those great herbs to continue to grow inside without being contaminated."

Zhong Yue continued, expressing the doubts that Chen Yuan and the others had in mind.

"A barrier capable of filtering the spiritual energy of heaven and earth?"

Chen Yuan's heart stirred.

Could the barrier of the Chen family's Five Finger Peaks also have this function?

Otherwise, why weren't the mortals within the Chen family's barrier so severely polluted by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth?

"If only we could move that ancient barrier to our own family's territory."

Li Taiyi murmured, his eyes filled with anticipation.

"Hey, stop daydreaming," Zhong Yue grinned. "It's guarded by powerful Purple Mansion beasts inside; it's not that simple."

"Otherwise, why would that bastard Bai Ze say that's the most dangerous place?"

Chen Yuan nodded slightly, finding it to be true.

Although this area is dangerous, most of the ferocious beasts are at the Yellow Court Realm.

The three demon kings he killed yesterday had entered the Purple Mansion realm, making them among the most powerful beings.

"So where do we go next?"

Li Taiyi stopped and turned to look at everyone. "The trial here lasts for ten days. The time hasn't come yet, so we can't leave."

Currently, they have over fifty human prodigies here, making them a formidable force.

Even if they encounter ordinary ferocious beasts and strange creatures, they can handle them.

They did manage to obtain a little bit of the profound meaning of the Purple Mansion, though not much.

However, they did not obtain a single one of the strange medicines mentioned by Bai Ze.

The group exchanged glances, then their gazes fell on Li Taiyi and Zhong Yue, who were at the head of the group.

Li Taiyi said, "Why don't we move closer to the central area and search for those rare and powerful medicines?"

This statement was agreed upon by many, including Chen Yuan, and the group was about to set off.

Just then, a woman cried out in a shrill voice, "Brother Li, Brother Zhong, we can't stay with him anymore."

Everyone was surprised and looked at the beautiful woman in green.

"Eileen, what do you mean by this?"

Li Taiyi spoke in surprise, because the person the woman named Ai Lian was referring to was Chen Yuan.

Ailian looked at Chen Yuan, a hint of fear surfacing deep in her eyes. "He...he is a demon. We can't stay with him anymore, or we'll all die."

Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked and looked at Chen Yuan in disbelief.

"I saw with my own eyes that he had a head full of blood-red hair, horns growing from his head, and beast claws growing from his hands."

Eileen continued, then tugged at the man beside her, "Zhang Qing, you tell me, is that right?"

Zhang Qing hesitated, but still nodded and said to Li Taiyi, "Brother Li, he is indeed a demon."

If he were to unleash his power, none of us here would be a match for him.

He paused, then spoke again, "A huge black umbrella appeared in the southeast last night, and I suspect it's related to it."

What!

Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked and turned to look at Chen Yuan.

"Chen Yuan, what else do you have to say?"

Zhang Qing stared at Chen Yuan. Although he was afraid of Chen Yuan's strength, he still spoke in a deep voice, "For everyone's safety, you had better tell us the truth, otherwise you cannot be with us."

Zhong Yue frowned, about to speak, but was stopped by Li Taiyi beside him. Li Taiyi shook his head, signaling him not to speak.

"hehe!"

Chen Yuan chuckled lightly, glancing indifferently at Zhang Qing and the woman named Ai Lian, "I have nothing to say."

"As for whether I can join your ranks? Aren't you mistaken about something?"

As Chen Yuan spoke, he approached Zhang Qing, "Do I want to join your side, or do you want to join mine?"

Zhang Qing's expression changed, and he staggered back a step.

"I saved you, do you two intend to cause trouble for me?"

Chen Yuan narrowed his eyes, staring at Zhang Qing and Ai Lian, and said mockingly.

Jiang Qing and Ai Lian's expressions changed, and they were about to speak in rebuttal when Chen Yuan interrupted them.

"Shut up!" Chen Yuan shouted coldly. "Since you don't want to be with me, then get out!"

As he spoke, he glanced at the others and said, "Whoever wants to come with me, come on over; whoever doesn't, do as you please."

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Yuan strode straight ahead.

Li Wei and Nuomi snorted, tossed their heads, and hurriedly followed.

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances, and finally all looked at Li Taiyi and Zhong Yue.

"Hehe, I'd be willing to be with him. So what if he's a demon? He's powerful and trustworthy, that's enough."

Zhong Yue grinned and then chased after Chen Yuan.

A few others thought for a moment, their eyes darting around, and then immediately followed Zhong Yue.

Chen Yuan and his two companions are too powerful; it's not surprising that they resort to some blackmail tactics.

As long as you don't hurt yourself, isn't that enough?

Who in this world has not been polluted?

The crowd was excited, but some worried that Chen Yuan might go berserk and kill them as well.

Li Taiyi hesitated.

"Brother Li, you are a sword cultivation prodigy, with the potential to become a Purple Mansion Sword Immortal. You can't follow a demon."

Eileen looked at Lee Tai-il, stepped forward, grabbed his arm, and gently persuaded him.

Zhang Qing and some of their friends echoed their sentiments.

Li Taiyi hesitated for only a short while before Chen Yuan and the others disappeared into the jungle ahead.

He sighed softly, knowing he could only take these people with him for now.

……

Chen Yuan and his group traveled at a great speed, and after running for several dozen miles, they saw spiritual plants radiating a glow in the forest.

These spiritual plants exude a rich spiritual energy, and their surfaces are covered with a layer of crystal luster, making them look extremely precious.

Some have already borne fruit, the fruits of which are crystal clear, bright red, and exude an enticing aroma.

Everyone stopped in their tracks, their eyes wide with surprise.

"Be careful, there are definitely ferocious beasts guarding this place. Let's conceal our presence and approach quietly."

Zhong Yue reminded him

The group of about ten people nodded in agreement, their eyes burning with enthusiasm.

They approached the spiritual plants cautiously, not daring to make a sound.

Chen Yuan, Zhong Yue, and Li Wei and a few others walked at the front.

"Wow!"

Looking at the bright red, translucent fruit in front of her, which exuded an enticing aroma, Nuomi couldn't help but drool.

"wait……"

Chen Yuan tried to stop Nuomi, but it was too late.

A piece of fruit was picked by glutinous rice and put in its mouth to chew.

Chewing, chewing...

In an instant, the aroma filled the air, and rich juice flowed down Nuomi's lips.

Chen Yuan's eyes widened, and he asked with concern, "How are you? Little Nuomi, are you alright? Is anything bothering you?"

Nuomi shook her head, too lazy to answer Chen Yuan. She reached out again, and with a whoosh, quickly stuffed several more fruits into her mouth, making her little face bulge out in an instant.

At the same time, a faint layer of spiritual energy emanated from her body, making her aura of cultivation even more profound.

Li Wei's breath hitched, and then he couldn't resist. He reached out and plucked the fruits from the spiritual plants beside him, stuffing his pockets full.

Then he stuffed a fruit into his mouth and began to chew it frantically. As he swallowed it, smoke began to rise from his ears, nose, and hair.

That was an extremely concentrated spiritual energy, which overflowed from his body because he couldn't absorb it quickly enough.

"Holy crap!"

Zhong Yue instinctively exclaimed in surprise, his eyes widening. He then realized what was happening and immediately rushed over to snatch the spiritual plants and fruits.

The others also realized what was happening and immediately followed suit, frantically picking the fruit.

Glutinous rice is picked one grain at a time, while Li Wei plucks it handful by handful.

But Chen Yuan pulled up the entire spiritual plant and put it into his storage bag.

He ate while he was plucking the fruit.

His body seemed to be a bottomless pit; the spiritual fruits he swallowed were digested very quickly.

Then a powerful aura of spiritual energy emanated from his body.

Zhong Yue and the others stared at Chen Yuan in disbelief.

Realizing what was happening, they immediately rushed over to grab the spiritual plants and fruits.

"Damn it, you beast! How could you uproot it completely?"

Zhong Yue laughed and scolded, but he didn't mean to blame Chen Yuan.

"These spiritual plants and fruits are especially precious. If we take them back and cultivate them for our family, wouldn't we become rich?"

Chen Yuan chuckled and uprooted it without any hesitation.