136: Mysterious Valley

Su Sizhu pointed at Xu Ming's corpse: "This is already the third similar incident this month. The previous two cases were found on Outer Sect Disciples, but Xu Ming... he should have been safely performing Alchemy in the Spirit Pill Pavilion."

Lin Feng noticed her fingertips form a spell, and a faint medicinal fragrance wafted from Xu Ming's corpse. The scent carried an eerie sweetness, identical to what he had sensed earlier.

"I suspect someone is spreading this evil Medicinal Pill around the Tianxuan Sect," Su Sizhu said with a solemn tone. "If we can't investigate it in time, I'm afraid more Disciples will suffer."

"Before you arrived, I noticed that Xu Ming's spiritual energy fluctuations were extremely unstable, sometimes at Early Foundation Establishment Stage, and sometimes falling back to Qi Refining Stage," Lin Feng nodded.

Su Sizhu's hand, which was examining the corpse, paused slightly: "Three months ago, he was still in the Qi Refining Stage..."

Lin Feng took over: "From this perspective, it seems similar to a certain evil art of the Hehuan Sect. Cultivation rapidly increases in the Early Stage, but in reality, the Foundation is corroded, eventually turning one into a Cauldron for others to Cultivate."

Su Sizhu looked up: "Junior Brother Lin seems to know a lot about the Hehuan Sect's Cultivation Technique?" She cast a meaningful glance at Lin Feng, "Even secret arts like 'Cauldron' are known to you like the back of your hand."

Lin Feng lightly coughed, his gaze shifting: "I overheard a little during my travels."

"Oh?" Su Sizhu suddenly took half a step closer. "But I heard that the Hehuan Sect's Cauldron art has always been kept secret. Junior Brother, you seem to know quite a lot."

Lin Feng's ears felt slightly warm, and he recalled Flower Without Shadow, the Saintess of the Hehuan Sect, and Smoke of Willow from back then.

Seeing his expression, Su Sizhu couldn't help but chuckle: "However, Junior Brother has reminded me. This is indeed creating a Cauldron, but the method is more vicious, compressing a process that would normally take several years of nurturing into just a few months."

The medicinal fragrance condensed into eerie runes in the air, and Su Sizhu's expression was solemn: "What's more terrifying is that those who consume this Medicinal Pill will actively seek out the caster, like moths flying into a flame."

After speaking, a wisp of medicinal fragrance extracted from Xu Ming's corpse condensed on his fingertips, his brows tightly furrowed: "This fragrance is too faint; it will dissipate within three li of tracking."

Lin Feng pondered for a moment, and a pure white Slug slipped out of his spirit beast pouch. The Slug's antennae gently probed, and its body glowed with a pearly luster.

"This is..." Su Sizhu's pupils trembled slightly, "A Spirit Beast that can track?"

Before she finished speaking, the Slug suddenly shrunk to the size of a fist and lightly leaped onto Lin Feng's shoulder. Its two antennae stood up like an antenna, glowing faintly in the twilight.

"Keep up." Before Lin Feng's voice faded, his figure had already transformed into a streak of light. The Slug's antennae pointed southeast, drawing a silver-bright trajectory across the night sky.

Su Sizhu followed closely, her skirt rustling in the night wind. She gazed at the faintly visible pure white figure within the escaping light ahead, ripples forming in her heart.

When they first met at the Spirit Pill Pavilion, this young man was just a Menial Servant helping to transport medicinal ingredients, even stumbling with the most basic Qi Induction. At that time, she was already an Inner Sect Prodigy, and a Medicinal Pill casually bestowed by her would make him immensely grateful.

However, he actually Broke Through from a Qi Refining Menial Servant all the way to Foundation Establishment, and now he possesses extraordinary treasures and unfathomable Cultivation. Such a promotion speed made even her, the Grand Elder's granddaughter, unable to catch up.

What was even more alarming was that the Spirit Beast on his shoulder was clearly a rare species of heaven and earth, one that she had never even seen. And that pure thunder technique... Just then, the Slug's antennae suddenly trembled violently, pointing towards a deep valley below. Mist swirled at the valley entrance, and the faint glow of a Formation could be seen circulating. A sweet, cloying medicinal fragrance wafted from the valley, identical to the scent on Xu Ming's body.

The two concealed their aura and landed on an ancient tree outside the valley. Lin Feng gently stroked the Slug, and the little creature obediently shrank back into his spirit beast pouch.

Lin Feng observed intently, seeing that the Formation light barrier at the valley entrance was in a Nine Palace pattern, with Hehuan Sect Disciples guarding each Formation eye. What was even more alarming was that Cultivators with dazed expressions continuously walked into the valley on their own, their jade tokens at their waists resonating with the Formation light barrier, as if they were actively walking into a tiger's den.

Lin Feng formed hand seals, concealing his aura, and walked around the valley, sensing the flow of Spiritual Qi. Every three steps, he drew a rune in the Void Realm, which caused subtle ripples when it touched the Formation light barrier.

"This Formation..." Lin Feng frowned slightly. "It resembles the Nine Bends Bewildering Formation, but the person who set it up clearly hasn't grasped its essence." He drew an arc in the Void Realm with his fingertip. "The Formation eye in the Xun position should have been invisible, but now it has a flaw."

Su Sizhu scrutinized it, and indeed found subtle spiritual energy fluctuations where Lin Feng pointed. She had heard her grandfather mention the Nine Bends Bewildering Formation before; this Formation could confuse people's minds and trap them invisibly. It was an ancient and wondrous Formation. But the one before them was, as Lin Feng said, merely a superficial imitation.

Lin Feng took out seven small flags from his black jade bracelet. With a flick of his wrist, the flags accurately inserted themselves around the valley.

Su Sizhu watched Lin Feng's Formation-setting technique, which was clearly extremely experienced. The placement of each small flag secretly conformed to the star positions, and the Spiritual Qi flowed from his fingertips like flowing water. She was secretly alarmed, wondering when Lin Feng had acquired such profound Formation attainments.

A faint blue glow emanated from Lin Feng's fingertips, and the seven small flags lit up simultaneously. The Formation patterns at the valley entrance gradually showed wave-like cracks.

"Break," Lin Feng softly uttered a word. The Formation patterns fluctuated violently, revealing an opening just wide enough for one person to pass through.

Su Sizhu was alarmed. This level of Formation-breaking skill was probably no less than that of the Core Formation Elders within the sect who specialized in this Dao. Turning her head, she saw that the Disciples guarding the Formation had not noticed any abnormality, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

However, as the two flashed into the valley and hid in the shadows of ancient trees, they saw that the Formation light barrier at the valley entrance had already returned to its original state. A Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Sword Cultivator stumbled closer, and when the jade token at his waist touched the light barrier, a pink glow appeared, and the Formation automatically opened a gap.

"Today's Forgetful Sorrow Pill..." the Sword Cultivator mumbled to himself, his eyes unfocused as he walked towards the altar in the valley. The greenPattern on his neck was deeper than others, but the Spiritual Qi around him was unusually surging, clearly indicating he had been harvested multiple times.

What was even more alarming was that not far away, a emaciated Cultivator was collapsed by the stream. A purple-clad woman bent down and took the jade token from his waist, casually tossing it to a Disciple behind her: "This one iswaste, drag him to the Corpse Dissolution Pool."

The Cultivator suddenly struggled, grabbing the woman's skirt: "Fairy... give me one more... I can still do it... I can still hold on..."

The woman sneered and shook him off: "A Cauldron with completely wasted Cultivation has no value for harvesting." She flicked a wisp of pink mist from her fingertip, and the Cultivator immediately went limp, like mud, and was dragged by two Menial Servants towards the depths of the valley.

Su Sizhu's fingernails dug into her palms. She recognized the wasted Cultivator as an Outer Sect Disciple who had disappeared half a year ago. At that time, rumors said he had gone out to seek an Opportunity to Breakthrough to Foundation Establishment, who knew he would end up like this.

After observing for a moment, Lin Feng sighed softly: "They are disposing of the Cauldrons in grades." Cultivators who had taken the Medicinal Pill were continuously led into stone houses next to the altar; the high-quality ones were led to exquisite pavilions, while the inferior ones were sent to crude sheds.

Several Hehuan Sect Disciples were counting jade tokens:

"Send this one with the Thunder Spiritual Root to Seventh Elder."

"Keep the one with dual Water and Wood Spiritual Roots for the Saintess."

Suddenly, a strong light erupted from the central altar in the valley. A Late Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator twitched violently in the center of the Formation, and the Spiritual Qi around him surged like a tide towards the crystal at the top of the altar.

The Red-Robed Elder presiding over the ceremony nodded in satisfaction: "This batch of Cauldrons is of superior quality, enough for the True Disciples to impact the False Core."

Just then, Su Sizhu suddenly grabbed Lin Feng's sleeve: "Look at the east side of the altar..."