Several hundred kilometers away, at the Luo Ridge.

After traveling for several hours, the travel-worn young man made his way through the mountains and wilderness. He furrowed his slender brows along the way and lifted the hem of his light-green long gown, avoiding the wild weeds growing at his feet.

The weeds didn’t reach his knees. Their sharp, serrated leaves protruded from them, savagely opening their bloody mouths at the young man’s calf.

Hidden in the grass were a large number of tiny flying insects that no one knew about. They gathered in groups of three or five to form a dense fog.

Wu Cong had no choice but to raise his vigilance to the highest level. He used his profound strength to open a path. The bright yellow earth energy swept up the yellow sand and whipped through the grass on both sides like a whip, causing chickens to fly and dogs to jump.

Following the crystal’s guidance, after a long trek, the young man finally walked out of the endless thickets, thorns, and maple trees. He saw a cave in front of him.

The stone platform on the outside had been baptized by the wind and frost, but the marks on the cliff wall were very fresh. It was clear that there was only one stone platform here, and that someone had recently dug it out to create a cave that sheltered him from the wind and rain.

Wasn’t Master in seclusion?

Why would he come to this kind of desolate place for no reason?

Wu Cong touched the rock wall with his right hand and carefully stepped into the dark cave. He couldn’t help but mutter softly, “I really don’t know what that old man is thinking …”

He didn’t take more than a few steps before his vision was completely shrouded in darkness.

The young man impatiently reached out his hand and stroked it for a moment. He took out a torch, but before he could light it, he stepped on a hard object. It was lighter than a rock, and the sound of it shattering was even louder. After a kick, he rolled back a few steps and slammed into the wall with a bang.

Wu Cong frowned deeply.

In the next second, the torch lit up, and the dim yellow light of the fire illuminated the cave.

Beneath his feet were densely packed, yellowed and blackened white bones that glowed dimly under the light of the fire.

“Holy shit!”

Wu Cong was so shocked that his heart skipped a beat, and he blurted out a dirty word.

Cultivators weren’t afraid of things like corpses and bones.

But at this moment, the young man had been guided here by the Dean. He hadn’t expected to see such a scene. In his shock, he was too shocked, and the number of corpses in front of him was truly too many. There wasn’t even a place for him to step on. The flickering flames, the flickering light and shadows, coupled with the ghost-sobbing wind in the cave … made Wu Cong think of many strange folklore.

The young man’s scalp went numb. His bright yellow profound energy rippled outwards in the form of light, instantly blasting away the piles of white bones and sweeping out a clean area under his feet.

But after the bones were swept away, the situation on the ground became even clearer in front of the young man —

Blood.

Large amounts of blood.

Solidified red, suffused with a faint fishy odor, and appeared a deep, dark black under the flickering light of the fire.

Wu Cong: Oh my god!

He covered his nose with his sleeve and turned around, intending to run wildly and escape this area.

But the faint old voice drifted from the depths of the cave, hoarse like a broken bellows. It faintly contained a strange smile as it said in a low voice, “Kid, come here.”

Wu Cong’s right eyelid twitched wildly. Before he could respond, he heard the man say again, “Did you burn the Crafty Butterfly Orchid that I’ve been nurturing for ten years?”

He had no choice but to answer this question.

Wu Cong swallowed a mouthful of saliva and forced himself to calm down.

The young man turned around and bowed. He said carefully, “Master, it was Junior Brother’s mischievous behavior that caused no damage. Your disciple failed to fulfill his duty to take care of him. Please … punish him, Master. ”

“Sigh …”

The man in the depths of the cave let out a long sigh.

What followed was the sound of rustling, rustling, rustling, rustling sounds of wild beasts moving through the forest. A figure slowly appeared in front of Wu Cong.

His body was stooped and his hair was all white. His face was as dispirited as a withered flower petal, and his eyes were as turbid as mud.

Compared to a few days ago on Reflection Peak, Guan Heng had seen him look even more decrepit. The flame of his life was like a flickering candlelight in the cold wind. The slightest carelessness would instantly extinguish.

Only his lips were bright red and full, glowing scarlet under the light of the fire.

Wu Cong was so frightened that he almost lost his grip on the torch. He said in disbelief, “Mas … Master?”

How could his master have aged so much?

His master was the dean of the Central Academy, the strongest cultivator in the world!

When he had taken him into the academy a few years ago, his master had still looked like he was in his prime. He had thick eyebrows and big eyes, and he had the back of a tiger and the waist of a bear. His smile was as forthright as a mountain, and his gaze was as sharp as a star.

It had only been a few years. How could he suddenly look like he was about to die?

The old man seemed to see the young man’s confusion and fear, but he only narrowed his eyes and wrinkled his wrinkled cheeks. He didn’t answer.

His voice was light and ethereal, even more seductive than the wind passing through.

“I know it’s you,” the old man said slowly. “Boy, I understand you. I can turn a blind eye to the little tricks you played in the past — but not this time. ”

“Ten years, my Sly Butterfly Orchid …”

The old man shook his head faintly and sighed. “Look at me like this. How can there be another ten years?”

Wu Cong swallowed his saliva quietly.

An indescribable fear spread silently, burrowing into his sleeves like a viper and winding up his spine. The cold and slippery feeling made the young man’s scalp tingle.

He stuttered, “Master, are you … are you sick?”

“What do you need? Spirit plants? Our Wu family has a lot of spirit plants. Even if we don’t have them, I can buy them for you — ”

The old man chuckled softly and shook his head repeatedly.

“I’ve been in seclusion for many years and traveled all over the world’s famous mountains and rivers, but I’ve only found one magical species, the Sly Butterfly Orchid.”

“Do you think it only releases illusions to confuse passersby when dawn and dusk intersect?”

“Boy, you’re too shallow. You have to observe its gray Qi. It’s the only tiny Qi in the world that condenses on this special plant at the moment of day and night intersect — it’s called Chaos. ”

The softer the old man’s voice was, the more alarmed Wu Cong felt, and the more ominous he felt.

His legs felt weak, and he broke out in a cold sweat that soaked the back of his brocade robes. When the cold wind blew, it clung to his back.

“The Sly Butterfly Orchid can help me nurture this body.”

“But now that you’ve burned it all, I … can’t hold on for much longer,” the old man said indifferently.

“However, I can still use the last bit of Chaos power I’ve saved up to fuse myself into a new body and live out a new life.”

“Actually, I’ve been waiting all this time. I’ve been waiting for a perfect shell. I’ve waited many years for you — I told myself that you’re already very good, at least not inferior to this one. ”

“But not long after that, another Xie Ziyou appeared.”

The old man sighed faintly for the first time, but there was a hint of laughter in his voice.

The strange, hoarse voice reverberated on the stone wall, ramming into the ears of the young man who had long since lost all his courage in the battle. It was as piercing as a sharp arrow, causing Wu Cong to almost fall to the ground.

“Bones, talent, potential … That girl is good at everything.”

“There’s only one problem — she’s a woman. She’s a little girl.”

“I’m conflicted!”

The old man’s long, snow-white eyebrows slightly drooped, and he looked distressed. He shook his head and sighed, “I’ve seriously thought about it for a long time. Should I be a woman?”

“Yes, I can’t overcome it psychologically. But I don’t want it. I won’t be able to see such a wonderful body again in many years.”

“I said to myself, wait, wait, wait. When the Devious Butterfly Orchid matures, when this body in my body can’t hold on any longer, it won’t be too late to change. ”

“But I really didn’t expect that the heavens would treat me so well — on my deathbed, they sent me an even better disciple.”

The old man suddenly raised his head, and his turbid eyes burst with a brilliant light.

The pressure of a high level cultivator instantly poured out, pressing down on Wu Cong’s head like it could topple mountains and overturn seas.

The youth’s vision blurred, and his feet went soft. When he opened his eyes again, he was already kneeling on the ground, unable to move!

“Your little junior brother, why do you think I must take him as my disciple?”

“Because his profound energy attribute is actually the long lost Primal Chaos.”

The old man was so excited that he spat everywhere, and his white, withered hair fluttered in the wind.

“This is simply a gift from the heavens.”

“I followed the traces of his life all the way to this mountain ridge — can you imagine?”

“The aura of Primal Chaos is everywhere. Even the most ordinary of beasts and mushrooms have a Primal Chaos energy that is a hundred times stronger than that of the Deviant Butterfly Orchid!”

His right hand brushed past his lips, and the old man smacked his lips, a strange redness appearing on his cheeks.

He slowly walked in front of Wu Cong and looked down at the youth on the ground. He looked straight into Wu Cong’s sweaty cheeks and frightened eyes. After a long silence, he slowly revealed a comforting smile.

“This place is simply heaven,” the old man said.

It was as if a mountain was pressing down on him. The youth cowering on the ground shivered, but he couldn’t even move his fingers.

His lips trembled, and his voice was clearly sobbing. He pleaded, “Master, Master!”

“I helped you trick Guan Heng into coming here. I helped you trick him into coming here! You’ve taken a liking to him, right? ”

“Don’t look at me. I’m too weak. I’ve dirtied your hands …”

Tears flowed from the corners of the youth’s eyes, mixing with the snot that he couldn’t wipe away. They dyed the youth’s handsome face with a variety of colors. His entire face looked as if it had been soaked in water. His cheeks were deathly pale and almost swollen.

His originally handsome facial features were twisted into a ball, and his outline could no longer be discerned. All that was left was an indescribable fear in the face of life and death.

The old man stared at Wu Cong’s crumbling appearance. He slowly bent down and gently stroked the youth’s forehead with his withered fingers.

Almost lovingly, he wiped away his disciple’s tears. Under Wu Cong’s gaze, which had rekindled his hope, and his pleading gaze, he pressed his sharp fingernails against the youth’s forehead.

Wu Cong’s heart suddenly tightened!

A wisp of gray energy quietly drilled out from under his heart valve, wriggled out of the top of his head, and broke through the shackles of his skin — the instant the gray energy appeared, the youth’s profound core seemed to be suddenly gripped tightly by a giant invisible hand, and his profound energy suddenly went out of control.

There was only an extremely small wisp of gray energy, but along his meridians and blood, the hair-like gray energy quickly split and multiplied, turning into a large and complicated mass of strange air currents that wantonly twined around Wu Cong’s profound core, gradually forming a strange pattern of orchids.

Long ink-colored leaves, thin and long like sharp mouthparts, Wu Cong powerlessly fell to the ground. He watched helplessly as all the profound energy he had cultivated since he was infected by the gray energy, turning into dark streams that rapidly flowed into the old man’s dried meridians.

“Don’t blame me, child.”

The old man felt helpless and regretful. His other hand gently stroked Wu Cong’s messy hair bun, and his tone was almost gentle.

“I have to have a body to return to the academy. Look at my current appearance, I can’t walk, I can’t straighten my back — if I don’t borrow a new body, how can I go back? ”

“Also, other than your body, I want your profound energy as well.”

“I’m conscientious and conscientious, playing the role of a dean whose students are all over the world. What am I after?”

The old man chuckled in a low voice. His voice grew louder and louder until it gradually turned into a maniacal laughter. His demonic voice reverberated back and forth between the stone walls, and was carried away by a cool breeze. It drifted out of the cave and floated in the sky above the Luo Ridge.

Enjoying the wonderful feeling of profound energy entering his body, the old man sighed, “Such pure profound energy. As expected, the fastest way to cultivate under the heavens is to plunder.”

Under his palm, Wu Cong’s gaze gradually turned to despair.

This damnable gray energy that had instantly taken over his profound core and rendered him completely powerless to resist — when did it begin to lurk in his body?

The Central Academy had dozens of instructors and thousands of students. The dean had countless mysterious methods to secretly contact them. If even he himself was unaware of this gray energy, what about the others?

If everyone’s body had been secretly manipulated by the dean, and everyone’s profound energy was gathered together, what kind of monster would it create?

But very quickly, Wu Cong no longer had the energy to think about this terrifying question.

A deep sea of drowsiness and exhaustion assaulted him from the depths of his limbs and bones, drowning his entire mind in an instant.

Above his profound core, the ink-colored orchids quietly closed. Their long leaves meandered, densely wrapping into a fine sphere.

The young man’s pupils slowly darkened.

One eye remained wide open, revealing the scarlet whites of its bloodshot eyes.

“I’ve focused on education for more than ten years.” The old man laughed maniacally as he muttered to himself, “Now, it’s time for the harvest.”

His maniacal laughter came to an abrupt end.

The old man’s body, like a candle in the wind, tilted to the side and smashed heavily onto the ground.

A streak of dark black light climbed onto Wu Cong’s pale face, burrowing under his skin from the spot where his fingernails had shredded his forehead and where the gray lines had popped out. It spread all the way to his heart meridian and profound core.

The young man’s lifeless face gradually turned gray, and his skin bulged strangely, as if there were foreign objects shuttling back and forth under his skin.

Outside the cave, the wind howled, and the branches and leaves fluttered.

A row of black birds suddenly rose from the ground in the forest. Their black wings cut through the sky, and like arrows, they flew toward the distant horizon. Two or three dark feathers fluttered in the wind, accompanied by a series of mournful cries, and slowly drifted down.

In the Central Academy, hundreds of kilometers away.

Xie Ziyou, who had just kicked Guan Heng out of the door with a blushing face, suddenly felt his heart skip a beat.

It was as if a bug had burrowed under his heart’s membrane and bit him.

The young man covered his chest suspiciously.

But he didn’t see that under the bright and beautiful sunlight, a streak of gray Qi quietly spread and climbed onto his white, porcelain like face.

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