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

Zhou Jin stood in front of the stone platform, his gaze lingering for a long time on the dark red ancient cauldron and the magnificent crimson-gold flame beneath it.

That flame burned silently, burning for countless years.

Unlike ordinary flames that flicker and dance, it is extremely stable, as if it were solidified, yet it is clearly burning.

The flame is shaped like a blooming lotus flower, with layers upon layers of petals, each one clearly visible.

The magnificent crimson gold swirled around the edges of the petals, like the first rays of morning sunlight falling on dewdrops, a beauty that was breathtaking.

It was a strange feeling, like watching a living thing sleeping, inspiring both awe and an irresistible urge to get closer.

Zhou Jin reached out his hand, wanting to feel the temperature of the flame.

As soon as my palm came within a few feet, I felt a warm, gentle heat rushing towards me.

The heat wasn't scorching; instead, it felt like the warm sun in winter, making one feel comfortable all over.

Under the influence of this heat, the magical power within the body circulated significantly faster, and the meridians became smoother.

He could even feel the heat nourishing his meridians, making the previously sluggish flow of spiritual energy smoother.

"My darling..."

Zhou Jin muttered to himself, a look of longing flashing in his eyes.

This flame is definitely a priceless treasure.

But he quickly calmed down.

He carefully observed the restrictions on the stone platform. The runes were layered and interlocked, emitting a faint spiritual light.

Each rune is extremely exquisite, and they are all intricately connected.

He tried to use his divine sense to explore the structure of the runes, but found that as soon as his divine sense approached, it was gently pushed away by a soft force, and he could not penetrate it at all.

A single hair can affect the whole situation; if one were to touch it rashly, it might trigger a counterattack from the restrictions.

That Nascent Soul cultivator from the Heavenly Talisman Sect probably suffered because of this.

With his current skill in array formations, he can only discern a little bit of the pattern, but to break it is undoubtedly a pipe dream.

Moreover, this restriction was set up by a Nascent Soul cultivator. Even if he found a way to break it, he wouldn't be able to shake it with his current avatar's fifth-level Qi Refining cultivation.

If the restriction is forcibly broken, it will trigger a counterattack from the restriction...

He glanced at the pile of grayish-white powder at the entrance, the last trace left by the Nascent Soul cultivator of the Heavenly Talisman Sect.

Even a Nascent Soul cultivator died within the restrictions of this pagoda.

His mere fifth-level Qi Refining avatar was no match for him.

Zhou Jin took a deep breath, suppressing the greed in his heart.

The treasure is good, but my life is more important.

He withdrew his gaze and turned to look at the rest of the hall.

His gaze fell on a golden stone pier to the side.

The stone pier was about half a person's height, entirely golden, and its surface was as smooth as a mirror, without a single pattern.

The stone pier has a simple design; it is a square stone platform with rounded corners and smooth lines.

On the stone pier, there was a scroll of jade slips.

The jade slip was pale blue, about a foot long, and had a warm, smooth surface with a faint, shimmering light.

Unlike the jade slips I've seen before, this jade slip has a finer texture and feels warm to the touch, as if it were alive.

Zhou Jin extended his divine sense to carefully examine whether there were any restrictions around the rolled-up jade slip.

He carefully extended his divine sense around the jade slip, probing it inch by inch.

A moment later, he breathed a sigh of relief.

There are no restrictions.

The jade slip was simply placed on the stone block without any protection.

He stepped forward and picked up the scroll of jade slip.

As soon as he held the jade slip in his hand, a warm spiritual energy flowed into his body through his fingertips, invigorating his spirit.

He probed in with his divine sense.

In his mind's eye, lines of ancient characters slowly emerged.

The characters were ancient and beautiful, each stroke exuding a sense of vicissitude, as if they had traveled through the long years and arrived before him from ancient times.

The first volume of the Tianyuan Danjing!

Zhou Jin was startled and quickly continued reading.

The first volume of the "Tian Yuan Dan Jing" records hundreds of ancient alchemical formulas, covering an extremely wide range of topics.

It has everything from the Qi Refining stage to the Core Formation stage.

There are twenty-three kinds of pill formulas for the Qi Refining stage, including Gathering Spirit Pill, Nourishing Essence Pill, Marrow Cleansing Pill, Spirit Purifying Powder, and Qi Boosting Pill... Each of them can greatly increase the cultivation speed of Qi Refining stage cultivators.

He had never heard of several of the pill formulas before, but judging from the descriptions, their effects far surpassed those of similar pills currently circulating in the market.

There are forty-five types of pill formulas for the Foundation Establishment stage, including Foundation Establishment Pill, Golden Essence Pill, True Profound Pill, Jade Spirit Pill, Purple Mansion Pill, etc. Each of them is a pill that Foundation Establishment cultivators dream of.

He had seen some of the pill formulas in the Qingyang Pill Book before, but the records here were more detailed, with precise descriptions of every step, from the proportions of the medicinal ingredients to the control of the heat.

There were also some pill formulas that he had never heard of before, such as a pill called "Breakthrough Pill," which was said to help Foundation Establishment cultivators break through bottlenecks and was of immeasurable value.

There are thirty-one types of pill formulas for the Core Formation stage, including Condensing Essence Pill, Solidifying Essence Pill, Nurturing Infant Pill, Rejuvenating Soul Pill, Life-Extending Pill, etc. Each of them can help Core Formation stage cultivators stabilize their realm and improve their cultivation.

Some of the prescriptions even require thousand-year-old medicinal herbs; just looking at the formulas is enough to make your heart race.

What shocked Zhou Jin the most was that at the end of the alchemical text, there was a record of an ancient alchemical formula called "Ningying Dan".

Infant Condensation Pill!

Elixirs to aid in Nascent Soul formation!

The prescription details that the required medicinal herbs are actually ten-thousand-year-old herbs. The main ingredient alone requires two ten-thousand-year-old herbs, and there are more than ten kinds of auxiliary ingredients, each of which is a rare treasure that is over a thousand years old.

Reaching the Nascent Soul stage is an insurmountable barrier on the path of cultivation.

Many late-stage Core Formation cultivators spend their entire lives trying to cross this threshold.

With the Nascent Soul Pill, the success rate of forming a Nascent Soul will be greatly increased!

Zhou Jin's heart began to race.

This is only the first volume.

If it's the second volume, it's probably not aimed at Nascent Soul stage cultivators.

He suppressed his excitement and carefully put the "Tian Yuan Dan Jing" into his storage bag, keeping it close to his body.

He continued searching the main hall to see if there were any other treasures he had missed.

He walked around the wall, carefully examining every corner.

He examined the murals on the stone pillars carefully and confirmed that they were merely decorations and did not conceal anything.

He also tapped on each of the eighteen stone pillars, listening to the sound to determine if there were any hollows inside.

But each stone pillar emitted a dull, solid sound, clearly indicating that it was solid inside.

He then examined every stone slab on the ground to see if there were any hidden compartments or mechanisms.

But the stone slabs fit together perfectly, without any gaps.

Aside from the ancient cauldron and this alchemical scripture, there was nothing else to be found on the first floor.

Zhou Jin sighed and looked toward the pale gold door deep inside the main hall.

That should be the entrance to the second floor.

The gate was three zhang high and about one zhang wide.

The portal is a pale gold color, matching the tower's color, and is covered with intricate runes.

Those runes were different from those on the tower; they were denser, more mysterious, and faintly glowed with spiritual light.

Zhou Jin took a deep breath and strode toward the door.

Pushing open the pale golden door, a flash of light appeared before my eyes.

In that instant, Zhou Jin felt his feet slip and his body seemed to be falling.

All around was endless white light; nothing could be seen or heard.

Only the body is constantly falling, falling.

The feeling of weightlessness lasted for about three breaths, and then—

His feet touched solid ground.

He opened his eyes and found himself in a completely different world.

This is a medicinal herb garden.

The herb garden is not very large, about several tens of feet square, and is rectangular in shape.

The surroundings were shrouded in white spiritual mist, obscuring the boundaries. Only the mist flowed slowly, like a white veil.

The sky above was a hazy gray, without the sun, yet it was bright, just like the sky outside the Crimson Forbidden Land.

The light, seemingly from nowhere, fell evenly upon every inch of the land.

But Zhou Jin's gaze was completely drawn to the scene in the herb garden.

His pupils suddenly contracted, and his breathing stopped for a moment.

Miracle cure!

A garden full of medicinal herbs!

The medicinal herbs grew in the herb garden in a pleasing and orderly manner, some tall, some short, some with lush foliage, and some with blooming flowers.

Each plant exudes a rich medicinal fragrance, which blends together to form a unique aroma that invigorates the spirit and activates the magical power within the body.

He strode into the herb garden and squatted down in front of a medicinal herb to examine it carefully.

It was a golden-yellow spiritual herb, about a foot tall, with leaves that resembled dragon scales, layered upon each other, and with fine serrations along the edges.

The leaves have faint golden veins, like the scales on a dragon's body. At the top grows a fist-sized golden fruit, its surface smooth as a mirror, emitting a faint golden light.

Thousand-Year Golden Scale Fruit!

He was overjoyed and quickly checked the other plant next to it.

It was a pure white spiritual flower, about two feet tall, with a straight stem and petals as thin as jade, as delicate as cicada wings, nine in total, blooming in layers. At the stamen, there was pale yellow pollen, emitting a refreshing and delightful fragrance.

Thousand-Year Jade Spirit Flower!

The third tree was a crimson spirit tree, about five feet tall, its trunk like blood jade, with fine veins on its surface. Several crimson fruits hung among its branches and leaves, each the size of an infant's fist, emitting a faint red glow.

Thousand-Year Blood Spirit Fruit!

The fourth plant, the fifth plant, the sixth plant...

They're all thousand-year-old medicinal herbs!

Zhou Jin roughly counted them, and there were a total of fifty-three plants!

Moreover, these are not ordinary thousand-year-old medicinal herbs.

Some of the medicinal herbs are clearly over a thousand years old.

He walked up to a purple Ganoderma lucidum, squatted down, and examined it closely.

The Ganoderma lucidum was the size of a washbasin, with thick leaves and fine veins on its surface.

Three golden lines have appeared on the leaves, like three golden dragons coiled on the Ganoderma lucidum.

That's a characteristic that only purple Ganoderma lucidum that's over three thousand years old has!

The three golden stripes represent seven thousand years!

This level of Ganoderma lucidum is said to be sentient and can move on its own, seeking out places with abundant spiritual energy to grow.

He then walked to a vine that was entirely green.

The vines were wrapped around a stone pillar. The vines were as thick as a baby's arm, and the leaves were as green as jade, each leaf being the size of a palm.

Several bright green fruits grew on the vine, their surfaces covered with fine lines, like fingerprints.

That's a jade fruit that's over five thousand years old!

Each line on the fruit represents a thousand years.

These fruits each have five lines, exactly five thousand years ago.

He then discovered a small, silvery-white grass, only the size of a palm, with slender, needle-like leaves that emitted tiny points of light, like stars in the night sky.

That's a Star Spirit Grass that's over three thousand years old. It's said that each leaf has a star on it, and the older the grass, the more stars it has.

There are three stars on this little blade of grass, exactly three thousand years ago.

Each of these spiritual herbs, if taken out, would be enough to drive a Core Formation cultivator mad.

Even Nascent Soul cultivators would be tempted.

A thousand-year-old medicinal herb can sell for at least several thousand spirit stones in the market.

Those that are seven thousand or five thousand years old are even more priceless and unavailable.

But what shocked Zhou Jin the most were the three spiritual herbs in the very center of the herb garden.

The three spiritual herbs were shrouded in a faint golden light, with runes flowing on the light and emanating a chilling aura.

The light curtain is very thin, only a thin layer, yet it gives people a sense of being unshakable, as if even if the sky were to fall, it could not be destroyed.

Zhou Jin strode forward and carefully examined the object through the light screen.

The first tree was a golden spirit tree, about ten feet tall, with a trunk as thick as an arm and lush foliage.

The bark has fine veins, like dragon scales, that shimmer under the golden light of the screen. Three golden fruits, each the size of a baby's fist, bear fruit on the tree, their surfaces adorned with flowing cloud patterns and radiating a dazzling golden glow.

The golden light was so intense it was almost tangible, like three small suns hanging on a tree.

Golden Fruit That Lasts Forever!

The second plant was a pure white spiritual flower, about three feet tall, with a straight stem and layers of petals, as if carved from white jade.

The flower has twelve layers of petals, each layer containing twelve petals, for a total of one hundred and forty-four petals. At the center of the flower is a white bead the size of a pigeon egg, emitting a soft, shimmering white light.

The white light was warm and gentle, yet it contained an extremely terrifying life force, as if it could bring the dead back to life.

Eternal Snow Spirit Flower!

The third plant was a bright red spiritual herb, only about a foot tall, with slender, needle-like leaves and a bright red fruit at its tip.

The fruit was only the size of a thumb, yet it emitted a red light like flames, causing the surrounding air to distort slightly.

The surface of the fruit has fine lines, like flames dancing.

Ten-thousand-year-old Fire Spirit Grass!

A miraculous elixir that lasts for millennia!

Three ancient medicinal herbs!

Zhou Jin stood there, speechless for a long time.

His mind went blank, with only the three spiritual herbs flashing before his eyes.

A miraculous elixir that lasts for millennia—that's a legendary existence.

You probably couldn't find a single one like it in the entire cultivation world of Yue.

And here, there are three of them at once.

He took a deep breath, suppressed his excitement, and began frantically picking those thousand-year-old medicinal herbs.

He squatted in front of a thousand-year-old golden scale fruit tree and carefully dug away the surrounding soil with his hands.

The root system of that golden scale fruit plant was very developed, extending more than a foot into the ground, with fine, hair-like roots that were entangled in the soil.

He dared not pull too hard, for fear of damaging the roots, so he could only dig away the soil little by little.

He had to stop and check that each root he dug out was intact before continuing to dig.

It took him the time it takes to drink a cup of tea to completely dig out the golden scale fruit plant.

He took out a jade box, put the golden scale fruit inside, affixed a sealing talisman, and put it into his storage bag.

Then came the second, the third, the fourth...

He handled each medicinal herb with utmost care, trying his best to keep the roots intact.

Some medicinal herbs had roots that grew several feet deep, so he had to kneel on the ground and dig them out bit by bit with his hands.

His hands were covered in mud, and his fingernails were full of it, but he was completely unaware.

The roots of those medicinal herbs are very fragile and can break easily if not handled carefully.

Once the roots are broken, most of the medicinal power of the herb will be lost.

Therefore, he had to be extra careful.

Time slips away unnoticed.

An hour later, he had acquired all fifty-three thousand-year-old medicinal herbs.

In his storage bag, there were fifty-three jade boxes, each containing a priceless thousand-year-old elixir.

The jade boxes were neatly stacked, filling one corner of the storage bag to the brim.

Zhou Jin stood up and stretched his stiff body.

His knees were numb from kneeling, his hands were covered in mud, and sweat was beading on his forehead.

But he couldn't care less about that; his gaze was already fixed on the three ancient spiritual herbs shrouded in golden light.

He stepped forward and carefully examined the light curtain.

The light screen was very thin, only a thin layer, yet it exuded an extremely powerful aura.

The runes on it were extremely exquisite, more complex than any restriction he had ever seen.

The runes were layered upon each other, one after another, forming a perfect whole.

The runes were layered upon each other, one after another, forming a perfect whole.

Each rune seemed to have a life of its own, flowing slowly across the light screen and emitting a faint golden glow.

He tentatively reached out and gently touched the light barrier.

"Buzz—"

The light screen trembled slightly, and a gentle yet irresistible force repelled him.

He stumbled back several steps before regaining his balance.

That force wasn't domineering, but it was like Mount Tai pressing down, making it impossible for anyone to resist.

He didn't give up and tried a few more times.

When the divine sense was used to probe, it was gently pushed away by a soft force as soon as it touched the light screen, making it impossible to penetrate.

The light curtain was like an invisible wall, blocking his divine sense from the outside.

He used his magic to attack, channeling the magic power within his body to unleash a wave of spiritual energy.

The wave of spiritual energy struck the light barrier and was instantly swallowed up without even causing a ripple.

He used talismans to bombard the area, then took out a fireball talisman, activated it, and threw it at the light screen.

The fireball exploded on the light screen, scattering sparks everywhere, but the light screen remained completely still, without leaving a single trace.

Zhou Jin's expression froze.

The power of this restriction far exceeded his imagination.

With his Qi Refining Level 5 strength, he simply couldn't break through it.

Even if the true form were to arrive, someone with late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation would likely be powerless to help.

This is a restriction set up by a Nascent Soul cultivator.

After a long silence, Zhou Jin sighed.

It seems we won't be able to get those three ancient medicinal herbs this time.

He glanced longingly at the three medicinal herbs, his eyes filled with yearning.

The Ten Thousand Year Golden Yuan Fruit is said to be able to boost the cultivation level of a Core Formation cultivator by one level by consuming just one.

The Eternal Snow Spirit Flower is said to have the power to bring the dead back to life; as long as there is still a breath left, it can revive them.

The Ten Thousand Year Fire Spirit Grass is said to be able to temper the physical body, raising the physical strength of cultivators to a terrifying level.

A single plant can drive a Nascent Soul cultivator to their death.

Three plants are enough to ignite a major battle.

But he quickly came to terms with it.

Obtaining over fifty thousand-year-old medicinal herbs this time is already an enormous harvest.

One should not be too greedy.

These spiritual herbs are enough for him to refine countless pills, more than enough to support his cultivation up to the Nascent Soul stage.

He turned around and looked around the herb garden again, only to find that apart from these medicinal herbs, there was nothing else on the second level.

There were no cultivation techniques, no magical artifacts, and no treasures.

Only these medicinal herbs and those three ancient medicinal herbs that are protected by a forbidden technique.

Finally, he looked at the soil on the ground.

The soil must be extraordinary to be able to support so many thousand-year-old and even ten-thousand-year-old medicinal herbs.

He squatted down, grabbed a handful of soil, and examined it closely.

The soil was dark brown and fine-textured, like the finest black jade.

Holding it in your hand, you can feel a warm spiritual energy seeping out from it, nourishing your palm.

The spiritual energy was extremely pure, containing no impurities, as if it were extracted directly from the spiritual veins.

He brought the soil to his nose and smelled it; there was a faint fragrance of grass and trees mixed with the scent of earth, which was refreshing.

The spiritual energy contained in this soil is many times more concentrated than that of the spiritual soil outside.

The best spirit soil he had ever seen was the kind sold in the Yellow Maple Valley market, which could be bought for one spirit stone per bag.

But compared to this spiritual land, it's like comparing mud to jade.

Zhou Jin's eyes lit up.

This soil is absolutely a treasure.

If we could take it back to plant medicinal herbs, the effect would definitely be far superior to ordinary spiritual soil.

Although his herb garden in his cave also had spiritual soil, it was far inferior to this place.

He simply started digging.

That day, the ancient cultivator of the Fu Sect had a very large storage bag, more than enough to hold all this soil.

He scooped up handfuls of soil and put them into storage bags, removing most of the soil from the medicinal herb garden.

The roots of those medicinal herbs were very developed, extending several feet into the ground, and he even dug up the soil around those roots.

Those soils contain the medicinal power of residual herbs, making them even more precious.

Half an hour later, a large area of ​​the ground in the herb garden had sunk, and it was full of potholes. The once tidy herb garden now looked like a field that had been turned over.

Zhou Jin clapped his hands in satisfaction and stood up.

He looked again at the three ancient medicinal herbs protected by the seal, a hint of reluctance flashing in his eyes.

"I'll come back to pick you up next time."

He muttered to himself, then turned and walked toward a golden gate at the edge of the herb garden.

Pushing open the door, a flash of light appeared before my eyes.

The next moment, he appeared in a grand hall.

This hall is smaller than the first floor, but more exquisite.

The palace is circular, about twenty feet in diameter, with a hemispherical dome inlaid with a huge golden jewel.

The pearl was the size of a human head, and its entire body...