Qin Yi threw a thin coat over his shoulders and slowly stepped out the door. The pale, fading sunset cast its glow across his face, making his figure appear somewhat lonely and desolate.
"Wang Xuan, what brings you here?"
A gentle breeze swept past the eaves, carrying a chill.
Wang Xuan shuddered slightly, pulled his clothes tighter around himself, and stepped forward.
"I—I'm here to bring you some medicinal pills, Senior Brother!" His reply was a bit nervous as his hands incessantly twirled a small cyan jade bottle.
Qin Yi glanced down without a word. He walked over to the side of the door, took a crimson medicinal bottle out of a small cabinet, weighed it in his hand, and said, "This is the one you brought me last time. I haven't even used it yet."
"Surely you aren't trying to bring me more medicine, are you?"
Hearing this, Wang Xuan nodded. His face flushed even more, and with a touch of shyness, he said, "I brought even better pills this time. Please give them a try, Senior Brother..."
He handed the jade bottle to Qin Yi, his innocent eyes revealing a look of eager anticipation.
Indeed, the medicinal pills brought this time were vastly superior in grade to all the previous ones; otherwise, they wouldn't have been stored in a Hu-yu bottle.
Qin Yi looked at the crystal-clear cyan jade bottle, which emitted a serene luster in the sunlight, faintly radiating a wisp of faint profound Qi.
This was a vessel bottle of the middle-tier profound grade. To own a vessel bottle of this grade required hoarding spiritual stones for at least half a year just to exchange for it.
This was not merely a bottle of medicinal pills; it was Wang Xuan's hard work over the past six months!
He could not accept it.
Besides, for him at present, simply relying on consuming medicinal pills to curb the leakage of spiritual energy was far from enough. Rather than wasting these precious items, it was better to leave them to someone who truly needed them.
A flash of reminiscence crossed Qin Yi's eyes. He sighed and said softly, "There's no need."
Although his tone was calm, it carried an unspeakable heaviness, as if he were bearing too many secrets and pains.
Wang Xuan's expression instantly turned desolate. He lowered his head in silence, his hands clutching the cyan jade bottle so tightly that his knuckles turned slightly white. He bit his lip, wanting to say something, yet feeling as though he didn't know where to start. An indescribable emotion flickered in his eyes.
Was it disappointment, regret, or deep helplessness?
"I've already tried so hard!"
"Why?"
Suddenly, Qin Yi placed a hand on Wang Xuan's left shoulder, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly as he comforted him, "Thank you for not giving up on me." With that, he suddenly withdrew his hand and turned to face the setting sun. "Although my spiritual power has stagnated for three years, over these past three years, relying on herbs and cultivation techniques, my cultivation has slowly come under control—at the very least, it hasn't continued to drop. And the fundamental reason isn't your fault..."
His gaze gradually grew profound, as if piercing through the sunken sun and looking out into the endless void.
Wang Xuan widened his eyes, looking at Qin Yi with incomprehension. He could not understand the meaning behind Qin Yi's words, but he could feel the weight they carried; Qin Yi was not blaming him for the mistake he had made back then.
Herbs?
Thinking of this, Wang Xuan suddenly recalled that some time ago, he had accompanied the senior and junior brothers of the Seventh Immortal District on a trip to a northern valley, where they had encountered a plant emitting a purplish, eerie glow. At the time, they had felt it was extraordinary, and he had even tried to pluck it, only to discover that the plant was enveloped in a layer of overbearing turbid Qi, making it impossible to approach.
Perhaps that could be used as medicinal material to treat spiritual energy backlash.
As Wang Xuan pondered this, a troubled look appeared on his face. Noticing that something was amiss, Qin Yi tentatively asked, "Junior Brother Wang Xuan?"
Wang Xuan hesitated for a moment before speaking with reservation, "Senior Brother Qin Yi, I went to the northern valley some time ago and saw a strange plant there!"
"The northern valley?" Qin Yi's pupils suddenly constricted, a look of disbelief flashing in his eyes as he asked with a trace of excitement, "You went to the bottom of Abyss Valley?"
Wang Xuan nodded and let out a soft "en," looking somewhat nervous.
"That's a forbidden zone. Why would you go there?" Qin Yi was baffled, his words tinged with worry. The bottom of Abyss Valley, originally named 'Yong'an Gorge,' was the founding place of the primordial Reincarnators from the Desolate Antiquity era. It was originally a sacred ground of flourishing spiritual energy, but during a catastrophe several thousand years ago, it was infected by the Demon King and turned into a land of thorns.
Legend had it that demonic seeds were nurtured deep within the valley, which were later jointly sealed by the fifteen Immortal District Lords, leaving behind a field of divine essence.
Whenever he thought of this, Qin Yi felt as though he were right there, plunging into that thrilling scene.
"What did that strange plant you just mentioned look like?" Qin Yi asked, his curiosity piqued.
"Its entire body is purplish-cyan, somewhat like a vine winding around a lampstand, and its whole body is shrouded in a layer of turbid Qi. It's very bizarre," Wang Xuan described, then continued, "We ventured deep into the valley at the time and discovered that there was actually a huge cave entrance inside, bottomless.
"But out of fear, we didn't dare to venture further. However, as we were retreating, I found that plant emitting purple light at a corner around the cave entrance. Senior Brother Qin Yi, do you know what that is?"
A vine winding around a lampstand?
Qin Yi took a deep breath, a look of shock flashing in his eyes.
He remembered his master telling him: In ancient times, there was a herb capable of slaying immortals. It was born from the condensation of the Dao contract of heaven and earth, forming vines from the Great Dao's origin spiritual tide, with its realm acting as the lampstand;
It used the guidance of immortals and demons to forge its own golden body, possessing heaven-destroying and earth-shattering power. However, the place where it was sealed was perilous, inaccessible to mortals, and existed only in the upper realm!