Chapter 1052: Birds of a Feather

He Dajiang hadn't expected the Devouring Sky Python to be so resilient; its earlier collapse was merely feigning death.

By the time he thought to pursue it, it was already too late.

Now that they had entered the region of hundred-thousand-year-old beasts, if he left abruptly, the main force would easily fall prey to wild beasts.

Helpless, he could only watch the Devouring Sky Python escape.

Returning to count his disciples, He Dajiang was immediately furious.

The cloud of venom from the Devouring Sky Python had directly poisoned dozens of disciples from the two major forces, resulting in heavy losses.

Among these disciples were many elites he had specifically brought out for training. He hadn't expected them to die so inexplicably before even entering the dangerous zone.

At this thought, his anger turned directly toward Wu Yuanqiao.

Looking at Wu Yuanqiao, his entire face had turned a pale purple, especially his lips, which were blackish-purple!

Brother He, this is all... all that Ji Qingyun's fault! May I... may I first suppress the poison and heal?

Wu Yuanqiao could barely speak; he could only use his imperial qi to protect his heart meridian, preventing immediate death from the poison. As for the rest, he would have to think of a way slowly.

Of course, that was assuming He Dajiang would let him go.

He Dajiang frowned upon hearing this and said, "You provoked Ji Qingyun?"

Wu Yuanqiao nodded weakly, briefly recounting the whole story, and sighed, "I didn't expect that despite his low cultivation now, he would be so troublesome!"

He Dajiang and Yue Xinping exchanged a glance, both showing deep wariness.

Although Ji Qingyun currently only had the strength of the first level of Dao Xuan, he seemed even more troublesome than in his previous life!

In his previous life, although he held a very high status, he did not have such terrifying schemes. But in this life, Ji Qingyun's mind was clearly already extremely mature.

“Brother He, as long as you let me expel the poison and heal my injuries, I, Wu Yuanqiao, am willing to swear a Heavenly Dao oath to assist you, the Seven Absolute City, in this Eternal Herb Garden, and all the spiritual herbs obtained will belong to the Seven Absolute City!” Wu Yuanqiao panted.

This was Wu Yuanqiao's final bargaining chip. He had originally set out for this trip to the Eternal Herb Garden with high ambitions, but now he had completely stumbled.

And all of this was thanks to Ye Yuan!

He no longer thought of anything else now, only of taking revenge on Ye Yuan.

Wu Yuanqiao knew that the Seven Absolute City faced many opponents on this trip. With the divine-grade spiritual herb appearing, these major powers would inevitably engage in a fierce battle.

Having an extra Void Xuan realm expert in command would obviously greatly increase the Seven Absolute City's chances of victory.

Sure enough, upon hearing Wu Yuanqiao's words, the killing intent in He Dajiang's eyes immediately diminished considerably.

Indeed, the Eternal Herb Garden had caused too much of a stir this time, and none of these major powers would miss such an opportunity.

When the divine-grade spiritual herb appeared, they would definitely come to blows. If Wu Yuanqiao could swear a Heavenly Dao oath, it might be worth considering.

Wu Yuanqiao was a rogue cultivator, without a sect or school, so joining the Seven Absolute City's camp would not be much of a burden.

“Fine, if you can help me obtain the divine-grade spiritual herb, this matter will be settled!” He Dajiang said coldly.

Wu Yuanqiao nodded weakly and began to expel the poison and heal his injuries.

He was in such a state that even swearing a Heavenly Dao oath would be difficult.

The Void Profound powerhouse was indeed formidable; even a Divine King would surely die from the Purple Abyss Heavenly Nether poison.

But as time passed, Wu Yuanqiao managed to force most of the poison out of his body.

"Ji Qingyun, if I don't avenge this grievance, I, Wu Yuanqiao, am not a man!" Wu Yuanqiao slowly stood up, grinding his teeth.

He had been famous for many years, and since stepping into the Void Profound realm, he had never suffered such a loss. This time, he nearly lost his life—how could he not hate?

Yue Xinping looked at Wu Yuanqiao with some sympathy, thinking that his own losses at Ji Qingyun's hands were nothing compared to Wu Yuanqiao's.

...

After Ye Yuan collected the Purple Abyss Heavenly Nether, he walked deeper into the valley.

The group following Ye Yuan was astonished; ever since they had tricked Wu Yuanqiao, they had not encountered any more wild beasts.

Ao Qian and the others finally realized that the wild beasts they had encountered along the way were deliberately arranged by Ye Yuan to mislead Wu Yuanqiao.

Ye Yuan was completely familiar with this place; he knew the hundred-thousand-year zone like the back of his hand!

"Sir, this is practically cheating! I feel like you treat the Eternal Medicine Garden like your own backyard," Jiang Taicang said in astonishment.

The others didn't speak, but their expressions largely matched Jiang Taicang's thoughts.

Ye Yuan smiled and said, "My father is the strongest alchemist in the Divine Realm, bar none! Every time the Eternal Medicine Garden opens, he almost always enters it, so he knows it inside out. That year I followed him in, just tagging along, and incidentally memorized most of the terrain."

Upon hearing this, everyone gasped.

Ye Yuan said it lightly, but the terrain of the Eternal Medicine Garden was extremely complex, filled with formations; memorizing all of it was harder than reaching the heavens.

Back then, he was just a boy of eleven or twelve, yet he had such an astonishing memory—it was simply unbelievable!

Forget eleven or twelve; even now, they couldn't remember it all!

This guy was truly an endless prodigy!

"But sir, since you're so familiar with this place, why don't you take all the spiritual herbs? Not to mention other places, even just the hundred-thousand-year spiritual herbs are priceless treasures!" Jiang Taicang said greedily.

Ye Yuan shook his head and said, "For an alchemist, spiritual herbs are life, but draining the pond to catch all the fish goes against the Heavenly Dao. If one does that, they will suffer divine punishment. That year, my father brought me here mainly to familiarize me with the properties of these herbs and let me experience them firsthand. As for taking them away, that is absolutely not allowed."

"Is that so?" Jiang Taicang said in surprise.

Ye Yuan nodded. "Spiritual herbs are born from heaven and earth; the more powerful the herb, the greater the spiritual energy it contains. In a place like the Eternal Medicine Garden, one must never take all the herbs away."

Jiang Taicang muttered, "I'm afraid no one but a freak like you could take all these herbs away, right?"

Just look at what happened to Wu Yuanqiao.

The herbs in the hundred-thousand-year zone were not so easy to take.

Ye Yuan led the group to a cliff and looked up, saying, "That's the hundred-thousand-year Heartbreak Grass! Five hundred years have passed, and it's still here."

Seeing the Heartbreak Grass, Ao Qian also trembled, unable to calm his emotions.

Ye Yuan smiled and said, "You don't need to be so excited. Even the Zixu Awakening Divine Pill made from hundred-thousand-year Heartbreak Grass can't restore your peak strength. At best, it will bring you to the level of that day's Golden Needle Acupuncture."

Ao Qian nodded. "I know! But that's enough!"