Chapter 92: The Main Ingredient
Elder Han was not angered. He remained extremely composed, pouring himself a cup of tea. He lifted the white hair that draped over his face, raised the cup, and took a light sip.
At that moment, Ye Fan felt a chill run down his spine.
Elder Han’s fingers were like iron bars, each one withered and dry, with only a layer of old skin wrapping the bones. When his face-covering white hair was lifted, the exposed jaw made one’s skin crawl. It resembled crumpled paper, wrinkled and lusterless. What was most unsettling were his shriveled lips, revealing gums and teeth that were pitch black, devoid of any blood or vitality, and even his tongue had atrophied.
“Come with me,” Elder Han said, setting down his teacup gently and speaking in a flat, lifeless tone.
Ye Fan wanted to summon the golden book, but he dared not act rashly, knowing full well the vast gap in strength between cultivators of different realms.
“Elder Han, aren’t you afraid of divine retribution? Using living people as medicine ingredients—even your own sect wouldn’t tolerate this…” Ye Fan spoke while thinking of a countermeasure. Falling into this man’s hands would be worse than death.
“I’ve prepared for this. No one will know,” Elder Han replied, sitting still like a piece of dead wood across the table. His calmness only made him seem more sinister and terrifying.
Ye Fan took out the jade pendant given to him by Elder Wu Qingfeng. “If you kill me, Elder Wu Qingfeng will know.”
Elder Han lightly tapped a finger, and a chilling aura pressed forward. The jade pendant shattered with a crack, and the bone-piercing cold lingered for a long time.
“This place is over a thousand li from the Spirit Ruins Cave Heaven. I shattered the pendant right in front of you, and Wu Qingfeng won’t sense a thing,” Elder Han said calmly, then added with a sinister laugh, “You’re quite alert, boy. That day in the ruins, I patted you lightly and left a mark, planning to come back for you. But you slipped away, escaping my senses until today.”
“You old bastard…”
“Time to go,” Elder Han said, standing up. The people in the inn avoided him like a vengeful ghost, clearing a path.
Ye Fan moved like a cheetah, trying to escape through the window.
“Why bother with useless efforts?” Elder Han extended a withered hand, pulling him back with immense force and dragging him downstairs.
The gap between realms was like a chasm, impossible to cross. Ye Fan’s heart sank. The man had restrained him, leaving him powerless.
Once outside the city, Elder Han muttered to himself, “First, I’ll visit an old friend. He promised to gather some rare herbs for me. The time should be about right. Now that I’ve found the main ingredient, I can return to refine the pill.”
Ye Fan glanced at the sky, searching for the Ji Family knights. He would rather be killed by them than be refined into a pill alive.
Half a day passed. As the sun was setting, Elder Han brought Ye Fan into a mountain range, nearing their destination.
“Why haven’t the Ji Family knights shown up yet…” Ye Fan grew anxious.
“An old friend visits…” Elder Han shouted toward a valley ahead, his voice echoing like rolling thunder through the mountains.
Just then, a figure appeared on the horizon, speeding toward them. The Ji Family knight, who had been searching the area, was drawn by the sound and finally arrived.
The knight was formidable, exuding a terrifying aura of killing intent and battle spirit. Fully armored, he rode a savage beast as it swooped down, stirring a gale that snapped nearby grass and trees.
“Who goes there?” Elder Han retreated, pulling Ye Fan with him.
At the same time, an old man with graying hair and a sinister face emerged from the valley. He clearly didn’t look like a good person.
“Leave the boy behind!” the Ji Family knight said coldly, scanning Elder Han and the old man.
Elder Han sensed the knight’s strength but refused to give up Ye Fan. He shouted to the old man at the valley entrance, “Help me!”
“Chi!”
The Ji Family knight struck decisively. A blood-red beam slashed through the air—a blood-colored iron halberd glowing with crimson light, stained by countless cultivators’ blood, radiating terrifying energy.
“Clang!”
Elder Han summoned a green wooden ruler, shimmering with emerald light, to meet the attack. But it was sent flying, and he staggered, pulling Ye Fan back toward the valley.
At that moment, the old man at the valley entrance also acted, unleashing a bronze mirror. A dazzling beam shot from its surface, aimed at the knight.
“Chi, chi, chi!”
Simultaneously, Elder Han released twelve green wooden swords, tracing arcane trajectories to seal off the area, trapping the knight.
“Child’s play!” The knight showed no fear, urging his mount into the air to dodge the mirror’s light. His blood halberd swept across, striking the twelve swords.
“He’s too strong! Don’t hold back—find a way to kill him!” Elder Han shouted in panic. He sealed Ye Fan and tossed him into the valley.
“Thud!”
Ye Fan hit the ground, wasting no time. He quickly activated the mystic method from the *Dao Scripture* to break the seal. Fortunately, Elder Han had acted hastily and didn’t know Ye Fan’s true capabilities. The sealing technique was simple, and soon Ye Fan shattered the restraint.
“Fight to the death, you two! I hope you both end up crippled!” Ye Fan plunged deeper into the valley, scaling the cliffs to escape. He burst out of the mountains and, upon seeing a roaring river, dove in without hesitation.
He sank into the river, carried who knows how far. Only when the stars filled the sky did he crawl ashore. In the desolate wilderness, he rested briefly before striding off into the distance.
Half an hour later, lights flickered ahead. A town was not far off.
“Heh heh heh…” Suddenly, a chilling laugh came from behind.
Ye Fan’s heart jolted. Without looking back, he sprinted forward. But the sinister laughter, now near, now far, like a night owl’s cry, lingered around him.
“You old bastard, you’re hard to kill!” Ye Fan stopped, realizing escape was impossible.
In the darkness, Elder Han’s gaunt figure floated like a ghost, his feet barely touching the ground. His left arm was severed, his hair disheveled, and his body covered in blood. In the night, he looked like a vengeful spirit.
Ye Fan felt a chill from head to toe, cold sweat breaking out. This old fiend hadn’t been killed by the Ji Family knight, and now he was truly trapped.
“Pity my old friend was chopped into mincemeat. I barely escaped with my life…” Elder Han’s voice was icy, like a ghost grinding its teeth.
“Too bad he didn’t take you with him,” Ye Fan taunted.
Elder Han’s eyes shot out cold beams. He drifted forward silently, his withered body exuding a deathly aura.
Ye Fan planned to summon the golden book for a desperate strike when the distance was right, but he never got the chance. A green light lit up the night, like ghost fire, enveloping and sealing him. In the darkness, Elder Han’s corpse-like form closed in. His white hair flew, revealing a shriveled face, hideous and terrifying, with hollow eyes gleaming with eerie light.
“I love vibrant life. Your body is full of vitality. I bet your blood is sweet…” Elder Han grabbed Ye Fan’s arm and shot into the sky with him.
Ye Fan’s heart sank. After all his struggles and escapes, death was still inevitable.
“I left a mark on you. You can’t escape!” A green light burst from Elder Han’s body, wrapping around Ye Fan as they vanished over the horizon.
He didn’t return to the Spirit Ruins Cave Heaven. Instead, he took Ye Fan to a desolate mountain range in the Yan region, entering a cave on a cliff that led deep into the mountain.
“Don’t be afraid. Death isn’t painful…” Elder Han’s eyes gleamed with a terrifying light.
The cave dwelling was deep, lit by pearls embedded along the path. Elder Han soon carried Ye Fan into a spacious stone chamber, filled with the scent of herbs. Dozens of large medicine cauldrons, each over a meter tall and carved with intricate patterns, stood there, looking ancient.
“Finally, I’ve gathered all the herbs, hahaha…” Elder Han laughed, his voice grating like a ghost’s wail, making one’s scalp tingle.
Besides the cauldrons, the chamber held over a dozen medicine cabinets. Elder Han opened them one by one, releasing a wave of herbal fragrance.
“Look what I’ve prepared for you—rare herbs that money can’t buy!” He opened a wooden box, revealing a lotus seed the size of a pigeon’s egg, black and glossy like carved obsidian. A rich aroma burst forth, seeping into one’s bones.
“Do you know what this is? It’s a seed from the Black Jade Divine Lotus. Only one forms every five hundred years. Its value is unimaginable, brimming with life essence.”
Elder Han set down the box and opened a simple jade container. A brilliant green light spilled out, revealing an egg-sized green fruit, like carved emerald, glowing with a soft, crystalline radiance.
“Do you know what this is? It’s the fruit of the legendary Green Jade Snow Lotus, growing on snowy peaks tens of thousands of meters high, never seeing sunlight for a thousand years. Guarded by powerful beasts, it took me eight years to pluck just one.”
These items were packed with immense life essence. If Ye Fan consumed them, he could surely expand his golden Sea of Suffering significantly.
Elder Han moved on, picking up another wooden box. When opened, a faint red light emerged. A nine-leafed herb, red as carved ruby, shimmered with a unique grassy fragrance.
“Do you know what this is? The legendary Nine-Leaf Phoenix Grass!” Elder Han said excitedly. “Legend says it only grows on soil stained by phoenix blood. It took me over a decade, leaving the Yan region, traversing countless ancient lands and ruins, to find this single one. Priceless, a rare treasure!”
Elder Han kept opening boxes, revealing over a dozen rare herbs, each incredibly precious, beyond valuation.
The cave glowed with multicolored light, the herbs exuding a refreshing fragrance.
Even in his dire situation, Ye Fan was dazzled. These herbs were so valuable that if he could consume them, his cultivation would soar.
Elder Han laughed grimly. “Don’t be jealous. Soon, you’ll all be in the same cauldron, stewing together.”
“You’ve gathered so many herbs. That should be enough to extend your life. Why capture me?”
“If I were only refining a Resurrection Pill, it would be enough. But since I know you’ve consumed the legendary sacred fruit and divine spring, my standards have naturally risen.”
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