I am in Yellow Maple Valley, and I have a demonic beast clone!

Chapter Fifty-Five: Back to Yellow Maple Valley! A Deacon of the Hundred Machines Hall! The Great Evolution Technique!

Three days later.

Zhou Ding returned to the bamboo grove courtyard.

Inside the pavilion.

Dozens of densely packed drawings were spread out on the stone table, outlining countless intricate rune lines, layer upon layer, interlocking, like a miniature array maze.

Some of the lines are as bold as dragons and snakes, while others are as delicate as strands of hair, intertwining with each other to form a vast and intricate system that is dizzying to look at.

Xin Ruyin sat at the stone table, her pale face showing undisguised exhaustion, and the dark circles under her eyes had deepened.

For the past three days, she has hardly left the house, devoting all her time to the restrictions on that golden treasure chest.

The meals Xiaomei brought her several times were left untouched and cooled to the side; she only occasionally drank a few sips of spiritual tea to refresh herself.

But her clear, watery eyes were exceptionally bright, sparkling with a kind of infatuated and excited light.

Whenever she deduces a key point, a faint smile appears on her lips, as if a child has discovered a beloved toy.

Zhou Ding sat opposite him, waiting quietly.

He didn't urge or disturb her, but occasionally picked up his teacup and took a sip, his gaze lingering on Xin Ruyin's focused profile for a moment before looking away.

In those three days, he witnessed firsthand what it meant to "work day and night without eating or sleeping."

This seemingly frail woman transforms completely once she immerses herself in the formation. Her focus, her obsession, and her heartfelt passion are truly admirable.

He recalled those scholars in his previous life who were devoted to scientific research, and they looked just like that.

"Young Master Zhou."

After an unknown amount of time, Xin Ruyin finally raised her head and gently exhaled.

She rubbed her sore eyes, a relieved smile appearing on her pale face.

"The complete array diagram has been replicated here."

She pushed the thick stack of blueprints in front of Zhou Ding, her voice tired but filled with an undisguised sense of accomplishment.

Zhou Ding took the blueprints and flipped through them page by page.

Although his current mastery of formations was not enough to fully understand those complex rune lines, he could sense the difficulty of the matter from Xin Ruyin's tone.

Being able to completely replicate the restriction is already a huge achievement.

"The complexity of this restriction far exceeds Ru Yin's expectations."

Xin Ruyin picked up her teacup, took a sip to moisten her dry throat, and a hint of awe flashed in her eyes: "The person who set up this restriction has been immersed in the art of formations for at least several hundred years. The shrewdness of their technique and the ingenuity of their layout are unparalleled in my life. Those runes are interlocked, and every part has been carefully calculated. If one thing is pulled, the whole thing will be affected. If it is forcibly broken, it may trigger a self-destruct mechanism."

She paused, then pointed to several key locations on the blueprint: "Especially here, here, and here, these are the core nodes of the entire restriction. These three points are interdependent and echo each other, forming a perfect closed loop. To break it, all three nodes must be dealt with simultaneously; otherwise, any imbalance will cause the restriction to collapse completely."

Zhou Ding was secretly alarmed upon hearing this.

The fact that this restriction could stump even a formation genius like Xin Ruyin shows that its power far exceeded his expectations.

"Thank you for your hard work, Miss Xin."

Seeing Xin Ruyin's increasingly pale face, Zhou Ding hesitated for a moment: "There's no rush to break the formation. With the array diagram here, you can take your time to deduce it. I'm not in a hurry."

Xin Ruyin nodded, about to speak, when she saw Zhou Ding take something out of his storage bag and gently place it on the stone table.

It was a medicinal herb, pure white with intact roots, emitting a faint fragrance.

The herb is about a foot long and has nine crystal-clear leaves, each as thin as a cicada's wing, which gleam with a warm, jade-like luster in the sunlight.

The edges of the leaves have faint, flowing pale golden lines, a feature that only appears after a long period of time.

A rich yet refreshing medicinal fragrance instantly filled the entire pavilion.

Xin Ruyin's gaze fell on the medicinal herb, and her pupils contracted slightly.

"This is... Snow Jade Ginseng?"

Her voice trembled slightly, filled with disbelief.

As someone who constantly needs elixirs to prolong her life, her understanding of various high-grade elixirs far surpasses that of ordinary people.

The appearance of this Snow Jade Ginseng, the number of leaves, and the golden patterns on its edges all indicate that it is quite old.

"An 800-year-old Snow Jade Ginseng!"

Xin Ruyin's voice completely changed.

She instinctively reached out, wanting to touch it, but then stopped in mid-air.

Her breathing became rapid, and an unnatural flush appeared on her pale face.

An elixir aged eight hundred years!

The medicinal power of this herb is enough to suppress her illness for at least two years!

This would allow her to focus more on deducing formations and finding a cure, instead of worrying about life-extending spirit stones every few months as she does now.

Xiao Mei covered her mouth, her eyes filled with unbelievable joy.

She looked at the medicinal herb, then at Zhou Ding, and then at her young mistress, and was so excited that she couldn't speak.

Only one thought echoed repeatedly in her mind: With this miraculous herb, the young lady will suffer much less!

No more suffering excruciating pain every month, secretly shedding tears in the middle of the night, forcing a smile to comfort yourself and saying "it's okay"!

Her eyes reddened, and she almost burst into tears.

Zhou Ding pushed the elixir in front of Xin Ruyin, his tone calm:

"Miss Xin, consider this herb as advance payment for breaking the ancient restriction."

Xin Ruyin was taken aback, then quickly waved her hand, "Fellow Daoist Zhou, this...this is too precious! I haven't even finished breaking the restriction yet, how can I accept such a valuable gift?"

Her voice carried a hint of panic.

She knew the value of this medicinal herb better than anyone else.

An 800-year-old Snow Jade Ginseng is absolutely priceless and unavailable in the market!

In the past few years, she has earned spirit stones by explaining formations and customizing formation diagrams, but the total amount of spirit stones she has earned is not enough to buy this spiritual herb.

Zhou Ding shook his head and looked at her honestly.

"Miss Xin, you must be aware of your own health condition, so please don't refuse."

The complexity of this ancient prohibition will likely take a long time to decipher.

What if Xin Ruyin dies before the restrictions are lifted?

Then his plan would fall through.

Xin Ruyin gave Zhou Ding a deep look.

She stood up and bowed deeply to Zhou Ding.

"Thank you for the medicine, Young Master Zhou."

Xiaomei hurriedly followed suit, her face full of gratitude, her eyes red and brimming with tears.

Her impression of Zhou Ding had risen from "generous sugar daddy" to "Miss's savior".

Zhou Ding waved his hand, indicating that the two did not need to be so polite.

He then took out a talisman from his storage bag and handed it to Xin Ruyin.

It was a light blue talisman, about the size of a palm, with flowing runes on its surface and faint spatial fluctuations emanating from it.

"This is a spirit communication talisman, capable of long-distance communication."

He explained, "If Miss Xin encounters danger in the future, or if a way to break the restriction is found, she can use this talisman to notify me. If I am in Yue, I will come as soon as I receive the message."

Xin Ruyin took the spirit talisman and carefully put it into her bosom.

"Rest assured, Young Master Zhou, Ruyin will do her utmost to break the restriction as soon as possible."

She paused, then added, "If there is any progress, Ruyin will inform you immediately, young master."

Zhou Ding nodded, stood up, and took his leave.

Xin Ruyin and Xiao Mei saw them off at the gate of the courtyard.

Zhou Ding turned around and cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards the two of them.

"Miss Xin, Miss Xiaomei, take care."

As soon as he finished speaking, his cloud-stepping boots flashed with a faint blue light, and his figure transformed into a streak of light, soaring into the sky and disappearing into the air above the bamboo forest in the blink of an eye.

Xiao Mei looked up at the receding light until it was completely out of sight before turning her gaze away.

"Miss, will Young Master Zhou come back?" she asked softly, her voice tinged with reluctance.

For the past year, Zhou Ding has come every afternoon to discuss formations with Miss, listen to her explain the principles of formations, and occasionally bring her some trinkets.

She's used to it.

Xin Ruyin withdrew her gaze and nodded gently.

"Yes."

She looked down at the snow jade ginseng in her hand, feeling the immense medicinal power and life force contained within it, and a faint smile appeared on her lips.

"With the array diagram there, he will definitely come back."

……

Taiyue Mountains.

A white streak of light pierced the sky at an astonishing speed, like a white lightning bolt, and in the blink of an eye, it passed through layers of clouds and landed in a hidden valley.

It was Zhou Ding.

He put away the Divine Wind Boat, stood at the entrance of the cave, and looked at the ever-flowing five-colored light curtain, feeling a sense of homecoming welled up in his heart.

After a year away, I'm finally back.

He cast a spell, and a portal opened in the light barrier, through which he flashed.

Everything inside the cave remained the same.

The Spirit Eye Spring continues to gush forth, its spiritual energy permeating the cave as a faint mist.

The medicinal herbs in the herb garden are growing well, and the thousand-year-old Golden Scale Fruit tree has grown even larger, its golden fruits hanging from the branches, faintly radiating a fragrant aroma.