# Chapter 49: The Good and the Bad Mixed Together
This was indeed good news for Ye Fan. If he could gather spiritual herbs there, or hunt rare birds and strange beasts, it could effectively solve his urgent problem. His golden Sea of Bitterness was like a lake on the verge of drying up, urgently needing massive amounts of vital energy to replenish it, so that he could continuously open it up and let the golden ocean reappear.
"This time, Elder Wu Qingfeng is personally leading the team, so there's no need to worry about that damn Elder Han pulling any tricks."
With this settled, both Ye Fan and Pang Bo would participate in this training expedition.
Two days later, Wu Qingfeng and another elder led over a hundred disciples out of the Spirit Ruins Cave Heaven and headed toward the neighboring ancient ruins.
There, ancient trees towered to the sky, presenting a primeval scene. Even from a great distance, they could hear deafening roars of savage beasts, and faint waves of fierce killing intent could be felt. They could also see strange ferocious birds circling in the sky, their bodies several meters long, enormous in size.
"Let me remind you once more—be extremely careful. Never underestimate this training, because it concerns your life and death..." Elder Wu Qingfeng explained many issues that required attention, and finally gave an example as a warning: "In the past, some disciples, in order to gather rare spiritual herbs, would often ignore the danger and venture deep into the ruins. If they encountered savage beasts there, they would surely die. Because the further you go in, the more terrifying the ferocious birds and beasts become. Many are ancient species left over from the Primordial Era, and even the elders of Spirit Ruins Cave Heaven cannot deal with them. So you must never take risks and go deep!"
The two elders led over a hundred disciples and soon arrived at these ruins. The spiritual energy here was dense, not much inferior to that of Spirit Ruins Cave Heaven. As soon as they arrived, someone discovered medicinal herbs.
"Don't pick those that are too young..." the elder surnamed Li reminded them.
The giant trees here were extremely tall—several people holding hands couldn't encircle them. The old vines were as thick as a person's thigh. Though called ruins, it looked more like a primeval mountain forest.
"Giant python!"
Just as they entered the forest, someone screamed, discovering a colorful python as thick as a water bucket.
"Puff"
That large python, covered in colorful spots, opened its mouth and sprayed out a cloud of mist, instantly enveloping the screaming disciple. A miserable scream immediately rang out.
The other disciples were horrified and quickly retreated. As the mist dispersed, it left behind a snow-white skeleton and some yellow liquid. The surrounding grass and trees had also withered.
Elder Wu Qingfeng quickly came forward and frowned, saying: "How could we encounter a Poison Dragon right at the edge of the ruins? Something's not right."
At this time, Elder Li also walked over and said: "This large python is called a Poison Dragon. It's extremely venomous. You must be careful not to be touched by the poison mist it sprays, or you'll die from the poison immediately." After saying this, Elder Li added another reminder: "Its gall bladder is good material for refining medicine. Disciples with sufficient strength can collect it."
Having just arrived at the edge of the ruins and already encountering such a venomous python, one could only imagine what terrifying beasts lay further inside. With one disciple dead on the spot, everyone felt a chill in their hearts and became cautious.
"I'll take the snake gall!" A sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl stepped out of the crowd and moved forward. A green light lit up in her Sea of Bitterness, quickly spreading to her arm and shooting out from her fingers. The green light was like a sword, and with a "chi" sound, it struck the Poison Dragon, cutting it in two.
The girl carefully extracted a fist-sized snake gall and immediately exchanged it with Elder Li for a bottle of Hundred Herbs Liquid. The other disciples were greatly encouraged—almost all of them had the strength to kill a Poison Dragon. As long as they had no fear in their hearts and could let loose, they could gain something in these ruins.
"Don't be afraid, but don't be careless either. In the time ahead, there may be more bloodshed and death, but this is something you must go through. Flowers raised in a greenhouse must one day face harsh reality, or they will never truly grow up."
Although the two elders said this, they still frowned. Having a disciple die right at the edge was really not a good omen.
Just then, the other disciples began to take action. Soon, someone dug up a "Dragon Tongue Grass" that was about ten years old. At the same time, another disciple discovered a "Azure Dragon Vine."
Suddenly, from deep within the ruins came an extremely sharp bird cry, like the sound of metal and stone piercing the sky. It made people's eardrums ache and buzz. At that moment, everyone was startled and stopped, looking toward the direction of the sound. They saw a golden lightning bolt streak across the sky, rapidly diving toward a mountain peak.
"What is that?!"
Everyone was very surprised. The golden lightning was too fast to see clearly—they could only see a blazing golden light flash by.
Elder Wu Qingfeng looked solemn and said: "That's a Lightning Bird, as fast and terrifying as lightning itself. It's born with the power of thunder and lightning. Even if I encountered it, I would have to take a detour."
"Roar..."
Suddenly, a earth-shaking roar came from that mountain peak where the Lightning Bird had dived. A giant ape covered in scales leaped up, soaring over a hundred meters into the air, pouncing toward the Lightning Bird.
"It's a Scale Ape!" On the other side, Elder Li changed color and said: "It's probably a king among Scale Apes, otherwise it couldn't be this powerful, daring to attack a Lightning Bird."
Elder Wu Qingfeng frowned and said: "It seems the ruins are not peaceful. This training expedition might have some twists and turns. We shouldn't go too deep."
Sharp bird cries and beast roars sounded from deep within the ruins, as if tearing the sky apart, echoing from afar. The faces of the disciples present turned pale. Earlier, seeing someone easily kill a Poison Dragon had boosted many people's confidence, but now they finally understood that the ruins were far more terrifying than they had imagined. The deepest parts contained many super existences that they simply couldn't provoke.
"Let's enter the ruins from another place..." Elder Wu Qingfeng felt that this area was not peaceful today. Since the primeval ruins were vast enough, he led the group toward another area.
After walking more than ten li, they arrived at a forest of chaotic rocks. Only after passing through this did they enter the ruins again.
"Let me remind you once more—even if you want to go deeper, don't exceed ten li. Otherwise, you'll definitely be in danger of losing your life. You must act within your capabilities!"
Here, the group began to split up, forming groups of three or five, each traveling together, all hoping to gain something. The Hundred Herbs Liquid was a huge temptation for disciples who were opening up their Sea of Bitterness.
Han Feiyu also participated in this training. When he looked at Ye Fan and Pang Bo, a cold light flickered in his eyes. When Ye Fan and Pang Bo turned to look at him, he immediately averted his gaze and looked elsewhere.
"Han Feiyu, you were almost killed by these two?"
Traveling with Han Feiyu were several other young men and women, all around eighteen or nineteen years old. Each was full of energy, with divine light flowing through their movements. Han Feiyu accompanied them on the side, clearly just one of their group, far from being the central figure—he could only stand at the edge.
"One of them is a Spirit Seed, but he just joined and hasn't learned anything yet. The other is even more useless—can't cultivate at all. Being defeated by such trash, you've really disgraced Elder Han."
The young man and woman who spoke one after another were both around seventeen or eighteen years old. Although they were younger than the others beside them, they were surrounded like stars around the moon.
Pang Bo's anger surged. These two were too reckless, openly insulting Ye Fan as trash. He immediately said angrily: "How are you talking? Don't you know how to speak like a human?"
The seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl sneered coldly. She had a beauty mole at the corner of her mouth. Although she was very pretty, at this moment she gave off an icy, piercing feeling. She said coldly: "Quite a temper. Don't think that just because you're a Spirit Seed, you can look down on everyone else. Remember, no one can predict the future—even Spirit Seeds can wither!"
"Who's looking down on everyone? Did we provoke you? You come over and coldly call people trash. If we're looking down on everyone, then you could be called blind!" Pang Bo retorted without any courtesy.
"If the elder hadn't ordered that disciples aren't allowed to fight here, I'd really like to teach you how to be a proper disciple." The girl with the beauty mole shot cold light from her eyes, swept a glance at Ye Fan, then fixed her gaze on Pang Bo. "You may be a Spirit Seed, but you can't just bring anyone here. These ruins are an important site of Spirit Ruins Cave Heaven—how can you let some shady characters come and go as they please?"
The seventeen or eighteen-year-old young man standing beside her also sneered: "Not everyone can cultivate. People should know their place." As he spoke, he shot cold light from his eyes, looking at Ye Fan. "Please leave as soon as possible. This is where we disciples of Spirit Ruins Cave Heaven train—outsiders are not allowed to set foot here."
"Shut your bird mouths!" Pang Bo was furious. Insulting Ye Fan was like insulting him. He really wanted to rush up.
Ye Fan pulled him back, swept a few glances at those people, said nothing, just took out a jade pendant, shook it in front of them, and then strode forward.
"It's Elder Wu's jade pendant..."
The faces of those people immediately turned very ugly. They had wanted to drive Ye Fan away, but ended up wasting a bunch of words for nothing.
Han Feiyu stepped forward and said: "Senior Sister Li Lin, Senior Brother Li Yun, don't cause trouble for them for now. My great-uncle told me not to provoke them right now. If he finds out, he'll definitely punish me."
After walking several hundred meters, Pang Bo said: "I remember now. I've seen them at the back mountain of Spirit Ruins Cave Heaven. I was far away at the time and didn't pay much attention. Elder Wu Qingfeng casually mentioned a couple of things—that woman seems to be called Li Lin, also a Spirit Seed. That man seems to be called Li Yun. Although he's not a Spirit Seed, his talent is special, not much inferior to a Spirit Seed."
Ye Fan looked back and said: "It seems that although you won't be in any danger in Spirit Ruins Cave Heaven, your days won't be very comfortable either."
Pang Bo didn't care at all and said: "Pressure brings motivation. My goal now is to trample all those bastards under my feet within three years. I finally understand why Elder Wu Qingfeng once sighed and said that in recent years, the good and the bad have been mixed together..."
"Spirit Ruins Cave Heaven doesn't seem as peaceful as it appears on the surface. There's likely opposition among the elders. You must be careful in the future." Ye Fan reminded him.
"I know. Elder Wu Qingfeng said he wants to take me as his closed-door disciple. I think after you leave, I might go to the back mountain to cultivate. I won't cause trouble until I've learned something."
Ye Fan thought for a moment, then shook his head again. "Unfortunately, we don't have enough strength right now. Otherwise, we could plan something to help you get rid of these troubles."
"It's fine, don't worry about me. They can't do anything to me." As he said this, Pang Bo was still very angry. "Don't mind what they said."
Ye Fan smiled. "Don't worry. I can't be bothered to say anything to them, so naturally I won't care."
"That's good. Now don't worry about anything else—just focus on cultivating. When your golden Sea of Bitterness opens up, let them see who the real trash is."
Before long, Li Lin, Li Yun, Han Feiyu, and the others caught up. But this time, they weren't coming for them—just passing by.
"We're going deeper into the ruins. Leave the outer areas to those trash..." Li Lin said with a faint cold smile. The beauty mole at the corner of her mouth looked somewhat glaring, giving people a chilly feeling.
Ye Fan stood to the side, quietly watching them leave, still saying nothing.
"That bitch!" Pang Bo was furious, but for now he could only endure. He didn't have the strength to fight back.
In the following two days, Ye Fan and Pang Bo found dozens of types of medicinal herbs, but when they brought them to the two elders to exchange, they only got two bottles of Hundred Herbs Liquid. In fact, many people were in the same situation—many couldn't even exchange for one bottle of Hundred Herbs Liquid. And in those two days, three more disciples died.
"No good. Although there are some medicinal herbs in the outer areas, they're not old enough—they've already been mostly collected by those who came before. As for the rare birds and strange beasts, seeing so many people coming in at once, they've probably fled far away. There's no way to hunt them."
Two bottles of Hundred Herbs Liquid meant nothing to Ye Fan—they couldn't have any effect at all. After discussing it, they both agreed that if they wanted to dig up real spiritual herbs and hunt spiritual beasts, they would have to go deep into the ruins like Li Lin and the others.
"It's too dangerous inside. Those ferocious birds and savage beasts are not something we can handle. Besides, if we run into Li Lin and Li Yun and the others, even if they don't dare to act openly, they'll probably cause trouble in secret..."
The two discussed for a long time, and finally turned their gaze toward the distance.
They wanted to stay away from this area and head to another region. Two days ago, the Lightning Bird that had streaked across the sky, blazing with golden light, had left a deep impression on them. And that Scale Ape King, covered in scales, leaping over a hundred meters from the mountain peak, had also deeply shocked them. At this moment, the Lightning Bird and the Scale Ape King kept appearing before their eyes.
For the past two days, sharp bird cries and beast roars had been coming from deep within that area, very loud and intense. Only today had it gradually quieted down. Why were these two terrifying strange beasts fighting? Both of them felt there must be some unusual reason.
Now that the depths of the ruins had gradually calmed down, they felt that if they could sneak into that area, they might have an astonishing harvest.
Ye Fan and Pang Bo were both very decisive people. Once they made their decision, they immediately set out, sneaking toward that area.
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