Qi Yun moved swiftly, quickly tossing all of the nearly three hundred Blood Floating Luo flowers in his possession into the altar to be refined.

After consuming a massive amount of Treasure Medicine Essence, his Cultivation shot up like a rocket.

Within his Dantian Purple Mansion, wisps of pure True Essence had already permeated and transformed nearly one-fifth of the area.

A hazy light suffused the space, and its aura was several times more profound than before.

Watching his hard-won supply of Blood Floating Luo rapidly dwindle to only a hundred or so, Qi Yun stopped the refinement process. He couldn’t help the thoughts that surfaced.

’No wonder the Sect sets the basic threshold for entering the Inner Mansion at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer, and not the later Seventh Layer.

This process of Condensing Qi into Essence is such a long, grinding effort. The resources required are simply immense.

Without this lucky break, if I had just cultivated normally, the ten-year deadline...

I’m afraid only the direct heirs of the Masters, backed by a deluge of resources, could be confident of success.

Ordinary Disciples like me would probably never even come close.’

Resources were, and always would be, the greatest barrier on the path of cultivation.

Composing himself, Qi Yun was no longer satisfied with collecting them one by one.

With a flick of his sleeve, a hundred prepared Thousand Crane Talismans activated at once, transforming into nimble, silent paper cranes that scattered soundlessly in all directions.

Fuluo Province was vast; it was impossible for the Demon Snakes to have only one nest.

Searching for Blood Floating Luo one by one was too inefficient.

Having tasted the sweetness of wiping out an entire nest, this was the first method that came to Qi Yun’s mind.

As the hundred-plus Thousand Crane Talismans fanned out from Qi Yun’s position,

every detail of the landscape within a hundred-li radius—the mountains and rivers, the flow of streams, the tracks of Demon Beasts—was transmitted in real-time to his Sea of Consciousness through their spiritual connection.

It formed an exceedingly detailed, dynamic map.

But a hundred-li radius wasn’t large enough, and he found no signs of any large nests of Demon Snakes.

Qi Yun wasn’t too concerned. It was impossible for the Demon Snakes’ lairs to be so densely packed.

He rose, mounted his White Bone Skull Meditation Mat, and began to move deeper into Fuluo Province.

At the same time, the hundred-plus Thousand Crane Talismans maintained their reconnaissance formation, moving along with him.

Like a gigantic scanning circle with Qi Yun as its epicenter, it continuously probed the unknown regions ahead.

As he ventured deeper into the heartland of Fuluo Province, the surrounding environment began to change.

The air, once merely humid and sultry, grew sinister and cold.

The rain falling from the sky was no longer clear, but had a strange turbidity to it.

Viscous and frigid.

"Hmm?" Qi Yun keenly sensed something was wrong. He extended his hand and caught a few drops of rain.

The instant the rain touched his palm, he felt a faint but distinct stinging and numbing sensation.

Faint red marks also appeared on the surface of his skin.

’This rain... is poisonous?’

With a single thought, the Abyssal Iron Sand swiftly gathered above his head, forming an impenetrable black dome that completely blocked the downpour of poisonous rain.

Continuing forward, the ground below had long been completely submerged by the turbid rainwater, forming a vast, shallow marsh.

The trees were half-submerged in the water, their branches and leaves a bizarre shade of purple-black.

Before long, surrounded by marshes and shattered woods, a vast, collapsed ruin appeared at the edge of Qi Yun’s vision.

He guided the Meditation Mat closer.

Crumbling walls and broken ramparts were everywhere, but he could still vaguely make out its former silhouette.

On the sole remaining, fractured mountain gate, covered in thick moss and vines, he could vaguely make out two blurry and ancient words in seal script:

"...Medicinal Garden"

There seemed to be other words before them, but they were completely weathered and indecipherable.

"It seems this was once the exclusive Medicinal Garden of some ancient Sect..." Qi Yun murmured, his gaze sweeping over the desolate ruins.

’To use an entire, independent Secret Realm as a Medicinal Garden for cultivating herbs...

The scale and power of this Sect, even if it couldn’t compare to the current Wuji Holy Sect, was probably not far behind.’

Silently raising his guard, he had the Skull Meditation Mat slowly descend, entering the ruins of the Medicinal Garden that had been abandoned for ages.

An incredibly dilapidated scene greeted his eyes.

The once-orderly medicinal fields were long buried under weeds and silt; only through the broken, Array Pattern-engraved stone slabs that occasionally peeked out from the ground could one guess at their former layout.

Many of the seedbeds, crafted from Jade, were askew and shattered.

Some remaining racks had toppled to the ground, and upon them, one could vaguely see the withered, rotted remains of plants that had long lost their spiritual nature.

Farther away, several Side Halls—obviously used for processing medicinal materials—had completely collapsed, leaving only their foundations and a few massive stone pillars standing defiantly.

The air was thick with the stench of decay and a faint, almost imperceptible scent of spoiled herbs. A profound sense of desolation permeated the dead silence.

Following a stone path overgrown with weeds, Qi Yun arrived at the core area of the Medicinal Garden.

Several giant Medicine Furnaces, each over ten meters tall and covered in thick moss and weeds, stood there in silence.

These Medicine Furnaces were ancient in design. Despite the ravages of time, he could still sense the extraordinary quality of their materials. Faint, blurry engravings of flames and medicinal herbs were still visible on their surfaces.

’What kind of Elixirs were such massive Medicine Furnaces used to refine?’ Qi Yun wondered, his eyes glinting with curiosity.

He didn’t rashly approach these ancient artifacts, which might still pose unknown risks.

Instead, he took out another dozen or so Thousand Crane Talismans. With a wave of his hand, he turned them into new scout cranes and ordered them to delve into every corner of the ruins for a more detailed search.

Before long, one of the Thousand Crane Talismans sent back a strange fluctuation through their Heart and Spirit connection.

Qi Yun immediately focused his consciousness on it.

It was a small hall, located deep within the Medicinal Garden, that was still relatively intact.

Its entrance was blocked by collapsed boulders, but there was a broken gap where a window once was on one of its walls.

Through that gap, the Thousand Crane Talisman’s vision faintly caught a weak, unusual flash of colorful light in the darkness of the hall.

’There’s something in there!’

Realizing there might be something valuable inside the buried little hall, Qi Yun immediately flew over on his Skull Meditation Mat.

「A moment later.」

Gazing at the hall door, which was firmly blocked by a large amount of collapsed rock and broken bricks, Qi Yun scanned the area and formed a hand seal for a Spell.

The Abyssal Iron Sand rapidly converged into two huge, nimble black hands.

They began to carefully but forcefully clear away the obstructions blocking the door, one by one.

Rubble tumbled and dust flew.

Before long, an ancient hall door was revealed.

Though covered in dust and scratches, its structure was still largely intact. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Qi Yun silently retreated some distance.

Then, with a command of his mind, the giant hands formed from the Abyssal Iron Sand gripped the door rings and, with a slow, steady force, pushed open the hall doors that had been sealed for who knows how many ages.

The hinges let out a piercing, unbearable GROAN.

A gust of air, mixed with stale dust and the faint scent of medicine, rushed out.

He didn’t enter himself, but instead sent one of the paper cranes flying lightly inside.

Through the Thousand Crane Talisman’s vision, Qi Yun saw that the hall’s interior was extremely dim and thick with dust. All sorts of debris and toppled racks littered the floor.

Following his command, the Thousand Crane Talisman flapped its wings and flew toward the general direction where he had caught a glimpse of the strange light.

"This is..."

When the Thousand Crane Talisman’s vision focused on that area, Qi Yun’s brows twitched slightly.

Beneath a pile of toppled objects—clearly small Alchemy Furnaces or Medicine Furnaces—something scroll-like was pinned.

The Thousand Crane Talisman moved closer, getting a clear look. It was a Jade Scroll, about a foot long and pale green in color.

The surface of the Jade Scroll was covered in fine cracks, like ice-crazed porcelain, but its overall shape was still complete and it hadn’t shattered entirely.

It was half-buried in thick dust. Only one corner, not completely covered, faintly reflected a weak luster.

’It looked like a Cultivator from this Medicinal Garden must have accidentally dropped it here while fleeing in a hurry.’

The large hands formed from the Abyssal Iron Sand moved again, forcefully moving aside the small, empty, and abandoned Pill Furnaces.

Then, they carefully picked up the Jade Scroll, which was almost completely covered in dust.

"A Jade Scroll?" Qi Yun drew the scroll into his hand, brushed off the accumulated dust, a flash of surprise in his eyes.

"Does this mean this Medicinal Garden ruin is at least three thousand years old?"

He made this judgment because the current Cultivation Realm universally used the more convenient Dharma Transmission Jade Talisman, which could store much more information.

The Dharma Transmission Jade Talisman as a standardized product was first proposed and popularized by the Great Dream Three Thousand Sects three thousand years ago.

Since a more ancient Jade Scroll remained here, one could only imagine how old these ruins were.

He tried to unroll the Jade Scroll. Upon it were several lines of small text, engraved in an ancient and complex script.

The first few large characters at the top had a peculiar structure, completely different from the script he was familiar with.

’Is this... the *Wood Element Command Skill*?’ Qi Yun managed to identify the name at the beginning of the Jade Scroll, relying on a fragmented record he had once chanced upon in the corner of some ancient book.

’Siming Seal Script... an ancient form of writing common in the Cultivation Realm three thousand years ago.’

His knowledge of it was extremely superficial; recognizing the name was the extent of his ability.

If he wanted to read and understand the Magic recorded within, he would have to find another way.

’Judging by the name, it should be a Magic Technique aligned with the wood attribute.’

Qi Yun stroked the cool Jade Scroll, his mind buzzing with ideas.

’Three thousand years ago was the "Era of Ancient Skills." The Magic from that period was said to be universally tyrannical and unparalleled in power, far surpassing Modern Skills.

But they almost all came with bizarre, troublesome, and even life-threatening side effects.

That’s precisely why they were gradually improved upon or even eliminated by later generations.’

However, this characteristic, a fatal flaw for others, might be a huge opportunity for Qi Yun!

He had the Magic Technique Panel.

’The problem of Ancient Skills being powerful but having immense side effects might be solvable through a "version update."’

If he succeeded, he could obtain a powerful Magic technique that had its side effects removed, retaining only its ancient, ferocious power.

’However, translating this Siming Seal Script is a big problem...’

Qi Yun carefully put away the Jade Scroll, a plan already forming in his mind.

’For this matter, I’m afraid I’ll have to trouble the Elder Master.’

This kind of ancient script, Siming Seal Script, was something that likely only a veteran Foundation Establishment expert with a deep background, like the Blood Demon Master Deng Yin, would have studied.

’Looks like I have another important matter to attend to after leaving Fuluo Province: visiting the Elder Master,’ Qi Yun thought to himself.

...